Haute Man...dles!

Check out Mandles mention in Haute Apple Pie Blog! I'm all about this blog! Such great gift picks, plus Modern Homemaking! Sign me up!



Ok...this is the part where my stomach takes over blog writing.
Hello, I'm Danielle's stomach. I'm the devil. Sometimes I makes her rationalize eating beans and rice withe the idea that because she's Mexican she's genetically predisposed to not gain weight. My latest ploy is to make her prepare this amazing Apricot Jalapeno Pulled Pork that I saw on the Haute Apple Pie Blog because it's got jalapenos, which are good for Mexicans, and apricots, which are healthy because they're a fruit. Healthy!

Don't scroll down...deliciousness is about to happen....



Enjoy...don't tell Danielle about my evil plans.

Cyber Monday!?!

Did you know it's Cyber Monday? For some reason, this kind of freaks me out in a "Welcome to the future" kind of way. Anyhow, evidently it's the future and I'm having a Cyber Monday promotion! Yay!

In honor of Cyber Monday, Custom Mandles are the price of in-stock Mandles in my etsy store! So find 25 bucks and get your Mandle on!



Clicky click here for some Mandle Awesomeness!

Rare Sasquatch sighting..on Etsy's Front Page!!!

What uuuuup? That's what I say when I get all cocky. This is my first
etsy front page and I owe it all to AYLLA! Evidently she included ole' Sasquatch in her treasury and it was picked up by etsy to be front page material. I didn't get to see it when it was up, but I saw that it was featured and verified it Craft Cult Yeaaaah!




Sorry for the arrogance...that was just really exciting for me.

First Weekly "Friday is the official day of shopping instead of working" blog!

So, I've never big on working on Fridays. My friends think that this is very European of me. Not really sure this is true, but it's good enough for me. My favorite thing to do at work instead of working is shopping. That's why every Friday from now on, you'll be able to swing by and see the coolest of bits of my random online shopping finds. Buckle up people, it's gonna be a bumpy ride that may or may not lead to unemployment...

First up, my new favorite named shop The Tiny Tiara. Love this ring! I want to wear it at my rehearsal dinner. I'm so wedding obsessed right now, it's a little nutty.



This pendant from Stunning Anna K. I can't look at it without singing Womanizer, but the Sliimyversion, not Britney (at least not today)




Yay! I'm so happy I found Pijo Designs! Awesome ring and she writes an awesome wedding blog,Rebel Bride




Last, but not least Blue Heart Boutique. Her paper pack feeds my obsession with lists. Must add this to my wish list...perfect reason for more lined paper!




Pretty productive Friday! I made coffee and shopped.
Impressive, right? Don't be intimidated by my productivity...

Mandles Man Candles are working their way around the internets...

This is what happens when I'm left to my own devices. I love beer, I love candles...evidently I love making up weird scents. And so, here's what I've come up with!

MANDLES: CANDLES FOR MEN IN RECYCLED BEER BOTTLES

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=34177380


They come is some of the most man-tastic scents ever, like:
Hooter's Girl (Suntan oil and deep fryer oil)
Stripper Breath (Watermelon Jolly Rancher and Stale Smoke)
Hungry Man TV Dinner (Roast Beef and Creamed Corn)
Ham and Cheese Sandwich on Rye
Munchies (Fritos and Dried Pot)

The soy candles are poured into recycled Rogue Brewery beer bottles which have been hand crafted in a very manly studio filled with power tools and beer, while Whitesnake plays in the background. Now and then I spit on the floor too, 'cause that's how I roll.

Take a look at these Mandles in all their Man-ish glory here in my Etsy Shop

They're going fast, but there's a Ducks game on the this weekend, so I expect that there will be plenty of Rogue bottles to work with come Monday, so stop crying...Man up!

Etsy Virtual Labs: Shop Live with Design for Mankind

Wow! Seriously had such a great first time experience with etsy virtual labs today. While checking facebooktoday I saw that the was this live shopping event with Design for Mankind . So, I wandered in to check it out and was really inspired!

Reason # 148,279,446 why I so LOVE etsy: such an amazing sense of community with other artists who are just trying to spend their time making cool stuff and checking out other people's cool stuff.

Erin Loechner, who btw is my new favorite person on the internets, was talking live via webcam about her etsy holiday gift picks. She has an amazing eye and found some really great etsy artists who are now part of my ever-growing list of hearted favs. But, that wasn't the coolest thing. She was super inspirational, answered lots of our questions, and made me want to create something that would catch her eye. Who knows, maybe next year there will be a little Koi Kouture creation on her pick list.

Here are some of my favs from her picks:


Customized Notebook Pouch by Squirrellicious


I'd have mine read: Do you like me? Circle yes or no


Let's Make Out Pillow by AlexandraFerguson


Yes, lets!


Child TeePee by GracieBeanBaby


So Teepees are really "in" right now. Ya learn something new everyday.


Book of Lists Notebook by jedgell


Did you know that crossing stuff off on a list releases endorphins? I ask you, what better gift is there than endorphins?


Check out her entire list of gifts here

And don't worry if the links to the products show them as "sold". The artists have plenty more in their etsy stores, so browse it up.

Sasquatch is a little sassy!

One Saturday afternoon my fiance and I came across the weirdest movie called "The Sasquatch Gang". I have the reputation of falling in love with absolutely ridiculous movies that nobody else likes or gets and I have a feeling that this is one of the movies that my fiance refers to as "your weird movies you watch over and over again".

Anyhow, it inspired me to make this little Sasquatch necklace, because what's the point of making jewelery if I can't make the kind of weird stuff that I like, right?

Take a look at Sasquatch in his natural habitat...


He's pretty awesome if I do say so myself.
Check out my etsy shop to get a sassy Sasquatch of your own. Click on over to Etsy!

Flying Fish!

Okay, I'm seriously addicted to Flying Fish! Actually, anything Catalina related measures up to heroin in my book...I get my fix while I vacation there every August. I'll get an early dose this year, since I'm getting married on the island next spring!!! Until then, GoldenState,an awesome new etsy shop is giving me my much needed fix.


Check out this super cute shirt!



I swear...Flying Fish heaven...



Ahhh...I needed that. I'm good for at least a few more days.

I met the owner, Meg, while I visited the island in August. She's got some really great screened stationary and gifts, not to mention her amazing jewelry! Definitely a shop to keep your eye on. I'll be stalking it for my weekly Catalina fix!

Toe Tag invites continue to creep out etsy!!

Click for treasury goodness


ChloesRuffleButt over at etsy has featured my Toe Tag Invites in her kick-ass treasury! Check it out, then check out her shop!!

Instead of "real" work, I jammed out to this all afternoon!

So, I've said before that I'm planning a wedding. This means that I am easily distracted by all things wedding!

Check out this great blog! The Flash Dance
These guys are like the answer to my prayers right now. Great DJ, amazing photography and all around good people.

Take a listen to his mixes and see if you aren't inspired to bust out and dance around your house...clicky!

Everybody needs some blog love!

My Toe Tag Invites were just featured in another blog!
Woo hoo!!!

Check out Pixie Treasures and spread the blog love!
She tracked down some awesome Halloween finds on etsy.

She's definitely on my list of etsy party people, so check out her shop Aglimpseofreality!

Don't forget to visit Koi Kouture while your there :)

Ch...ch..ch...ch...changes.....

After checking out Fall Into Pink's blog, I realized that there were better things on the Koi Kouture Blog horizon. She has given me the 3 Column Format gospel as well as lots of insight into making this blog a bit better. Me, being someone who can't leave well enough alone, was inspired to overhaul my blog.

So, you may notice things looking a little wonky for a few days while I figure out what I'd like to do. Of course, since I am not a website-y person, this will take me longer than most ;)

If you notice me doing anything stupid, shoot me an email and help a girl out!

Hopefully the blog survives my mettling...I have the uncanny ability to completely erase hours of work with one swift clicky.

See ya on the other side...

Fishy Finds...

I'm always on the lookout for new koi designs to add to Koi Kouture's offerings (stay tuned for our current line-up to be added to the Koi Kouture store any day). I love searching around etsy for fun new creations by amazing independant artists.
Check out what I found today while shopping working...


How cool is this fold out card by foldoutcards! It's a whole pond scene in a card. These cards a really tiny too! I'm a sucker for miniture things.



I want to cuddle this pillow by DeCoccoDesign . Handmade felted wool...what more can I say? Love.



Such a nice change of pace from the kinda boring classic koi art we normally see. These three little prints by staceyfirth. They even have names (of course they do).
Say hello to Amber, Ruby and Tangerine!



I'm loving these adorable
Koi Thank You cards
from Badsister.
Super cute!
I love the glassine envelopes with the blue koi label.



Ok, now I want to remodel a bathroom. Mosaicsinconcrete may have won the Koi Crazy award of the day. This is some serious koi love :)

So we made a little vino...

Last September we started a little wine project at a local company, Grape Expectations. We picked out what type of grapes we wanted to use and their proportion and then came in now and again to stem the grapes, press the grapes, transfer into barrels, and all the other fun stuff involved with making wine. Actually, the best part was indulging in wine and appetizers every time we showed up for our very official "wine appointments". It was a perfect excuse to plan mini parties mid-week, which was right up my ally! When it was all said and done, our portion of the barrel yielded about 65 bottles of wine!

Of course, my favorite part of this whole thing was getting to create the labels for our bottles. Well, let me correct that last statement....I'm sure my favorite part will be drinking the wine, but it's not really ready until Christmas. I'm hoping that it will be a very merry Christmas indeed :)

With all the wine in the house I felt line a wino, and I was about ready to stick each bottle in a paper bag and roll like the real winos roll. Instead I came up with an idea for making lots lof cheap wine very special. So, left with 65 unlabled bottles, my new gocco machine, and a 40% off coupon at Michaels, I started down the path of making my own wine labels. From that came "Brown Paper Bag" wine.

I started with cutting rectangles out of brown packing paper...


Created a gocco screen with my design with a carbon pen. The labels say
Brown
Paper
Bag
Wine
2008
Future Fauskes Vineyards
Once the screen was made, I inked it up!


Placed a brown paper rectangle down and pressed...

and viola...Brown Paper Bag Wine labels!


After I crinkled the labels up, I ran them through a sticker machine so that they would stick to the bottles...

And then it was time to label our bottles...

Overall, lots of effort, but totally worth it. Only my second attempt at gocco, but can I just say this....I soooooo heart gocco!

Nishikigoi Mondo!

Attention Crazy Koi People! Nishikigoi Mondo, the new book from Japan, is available at http://www.koikouture.com/! Check it out! It's in the Home & Garden section!

When all is said and done with shipping and whatnot, it's the same price of $140.00 that it's available for at our parent company http://www.livingwatersolutions.com/. I just thought I'd make it a little more accessible over here at Koi Kouture.

Enjoy. Seriously. This book is really great.

Oh! Don't forget to check out the sample chapter. It's availabe in the description of the book....right here!

My other obsession....

Crowns! Love them...a whole lot! I'm such a sucker for anything crown related. Actually, the hardest part of creating the Koi Kouture logo was creating the perfect crown. I swear, my amazing graphics girl, Lauren Brown, showed me at least 300 different crown designs. Thank god she's such a saint, most people would've given up on my quest for the perfect koi crown. Check her out at Ten Red Toes!

Anyhow, in addition to all of my other duties, I'm also planning a wedding! My boyfriend of 8 years proposed on May 25th, 2009 in our favorite vineyard, Maresh Red Hills Vineyard, in Dundee, OR. So, you'll be seeing lots of my favorite wedding finds as we move towards the date, or dates as it were. We're having two weddings!

Check out this awesome downloadable crown wedding invite pack! It's free from the Wedding Chicks.

First Post and I'm already behind schedule!

Wow! Seriously, after procrastinating for forever, I've finally gotten around to getting this Koi Kouture Blog show up and running! So...hmmm...yeah...

Anti-climactic so far.

I guess I'll clarify what I'll be doing here so that no one is reading and wondering, "When is she going to start talking about koi?!?". I probably won't be doing much koi talking or writing as it were. Koi Kouture was originally started so that I could get my creativity out and about while continuing to devote lots of time to koi ponding and filtration. After building an inventory of unique koi related jewelry, clothing, and gifts, I decided that I wanted to explore my creativity a bit more and create my own jewelry. So I started that. Love it. Need more time to do it. I also started writing an article for Koi Nations Magazine promoting and exploring what I call the pond lifestyle. You know, sitting outside by your pond with a glass of wine and enjoying your pond and your fish. Things have just sort of radiated from the little side projects that I picked up. Now a days, it seems that Koi Kouture has become an excuse for me to explore all sorts of things I'm interested in and call it a job. So, this blog will reflect all the stuff I love about my job as a business owner, awesome girlfriend (or fiance, now that I think about it), non-professional party thrower, jewelry artist, anti-cheesy crafter, wannabe foodie, fish lover, writer (only one page at a time), novice mixologist and pre-filtration enthusiast (that's for my pond filtration dork friends).

Don't forget to check out http://www.koikouture.com/.
Truth be told...I'm not the most tech-savvy person (don't pretend that you're not impressed with my amazing ability to make the blog background blue...did that myself). Hopefully I'll be able to figure out how to add a little link-y thingie that will take you right to http://www.koikouture.com/. One day.