Merry Christmas!

I hope you are enjoying the holiday season! This is my last post for a week or so. After spending Christmas day with family and friends, SO and I will be packing up our lives to move into downtown Lancaster. We're excited to be getting out of the small town we're currently in and into a more vibrant (small) city.

With that said, I'll be back sometime around New Year's with a post reflecting on the past year, the past decade (seriously, where did it go?!), and my plans for the coming year and decade.

So for now, I'll simply say "Merry Christmas and happy holidays," and leave you with a few of my personal holiday photos from this season! Peace, joy and hope to you all and I'll see you in 2010!

A snow storm for Winter Solstice

Happy Winter Solstice! I'm ready for longer days, even we only get them one minute at a time. :-)

In light of the holiday, I thought I'd post some pictures I took of the snow storm that hit the Mid-Atlantic this past weekend. Normally, I'd rather see sand than snow, but around the holidays I can at least tolerate the fluffy white stuff. It really is beautiful (even if it foiled my dinner and theatre plans on Saturday night.)


PS- I know the blog has been quiet lately. My apologies! I've been wrapping up lots of things- grad school projects (done!), freelance projects (almost done), Christmas presents and holiday shopping (not even close to being done)...yeah. And I'm getting ready to move, so things are a little past crazy and veering steadily into the ballpark of completely insane.

But, I'll be back next year with new ideas and new plans! I'm hoping to make 2010 a breakout year for The Blooming Wildflowers Project and I'd be thrilled if you join me on the journey!

Cozy up! { Sweaters from Spool No. 72 }

The weather outside is completely passed frightful. I think it made a wrong turn somewhere around frigid, and somehow ended up lost in a blizzardy snowy mess. At least where I am. Howling winds, terrible wind chills, white flakes falling from the sky. A winter wonderland this is not. If it's winter your part of the world, too, stay warm in these cozy sweaters from Spool No. 72- winter wonderland perfection when paired with a turtleneck, skinny jeans and knee-high boots.




Top left: Frosty Caplet Sweater
Top right: Barn Sweater
Bottom left: Yukon Belted Sweater
Bottom right: Icicle Cozy Sweater Vest

Just a little tweak

As always, my brain has been running a million miles a minute and I came up with a few ideas. What? You didn't think I'd actually take a break just because it's the holidays, did you? PSSHT. Never.

In case you may or may not have noticed, there are two changes you should be aware of on my blog. And because I'm nice blog poster person, I'm going to tell you what they are in case you fall into the "may not have noticed" side of the spectrum. And even if you did notice, you might still be wondering wazzup. So...

First- my banner and title. It's no longer just "Blooming Wildflowers." It's now called "The Blooming Wildflowers Project." So, what's that? Well, I'll tell you.

Just in case you didn't click that link, here's the basic idea-
As someone who passionately supports small businesses, handmade artisans and emerging designers, I feel compelled to spread the word and attempt to make a difference.

I love nothing more than walking down a vibrant, bustling street that's lined with independent shops and boutiques. Whether that street is in New York City or in small town America, these shops and boutiques are vital. They help our economy survive and we need to support them and I'm going to start shouting it from the rooftops! Okay, not really. I'm just going to start posting about it on this blog. I'll still remain fashion, art and design focused, but I'll be scouting the web and my town (and towns I visit) for the best indie businesses out there. I do have future plans to promote this project to help spread the word and to allow you, readers, to announce and promote your support of independent businesses and designers (but more on that later...as in next year).

And, second- I just got approved as a publisher for Project Wonderful. YAY! Happy dance, happy dance! Oh. Erm...

Anywho.

I'm a publisher for Project Wonderful, so, all you independent shop owners, Etsy/ArtFire/1000Markets artists, and emerging designers, go, go, go and start advertising here in those pretty little ad spaces to your left.

Homespun holiday

When I was a kid, my mom and I hand made all of our Christmas tree decorations. Over the years, our collection grew and our tree was filled with crafty, homespun holiday ornaments.

Capture that homespun spirit in your own home with these festive decorations, hand made by talented artisans. As for me, I still have those handmade Christmas ornaments from my childhood hanging on my tree today.



Happy Snowman Ornament, by Kikibird Crafts
Violet Vixen Yarn Wreath, by Knock Knocking
Meet the Gingers felt ornaments, by Georgetown Cottage Crafts

Plaid, Plaid World

Perfectly plaid handmade and indie pieces. Just in time for the holidays. Buy them as gifts or keep them for yourself.


From top left:
Blue Plaid Rose Bib Necklace, Forever and A Day on Artfire
Sidesaddle Top, ModCloth
Boyfriend Dress, Spool No. 72
The Karrie Clutch, Little Ms Boutique
Deck the Halls Fa La La La La Necklace, Vintage Wave on Etsy
Plaid and Antique Gold Earrings, Brittany Chavers Studio