Far East, but not so far away!

I have been working on a collection that started a few years back when I had the opportunity to develop a few goodies for all of my teacher friends. We were having a teacher appreciation luncheon with asian food and I made each staff member a little take out box with fortune cookie, a tea bag container and a menu-thank you card. The little tiki box that you see in the photo was for another project, I will explain that another time.

That little asian set developed into a theme that I have now been able to create into a collection that will debut this spring for one of my clients. I will also be using it as a collection for the Surtex Show in May. Here is a sneak peak at some of the patterns in the collection done in two different colorways.

Besties Club Collection

I have been working on a collection of paper dolls for the etsy shop. These dolls are based on the idea that everyone has a bestie, or a best bud, friend, pal, galpal, bff, whatever you call your forever friend. I wanted to create the collection so that people could get them, personalized with the two best friends. They can choose from a number of characteristics for each girl and then have their dolls made to those specifications.

The set will come with the two bestie dolls, the little accessories and animals for that theme and a backdrop for the scene.

Each month will have a new theme based on a holiday or season in the year. I am also working on a series of global roaming locations the besties will travel to throughout the year. The collections will likely come in three sets or months at a time so that the girls can enjoy changing and playing with a couple of themes at a time.

I have started with the spring collection, Easter Hunt, Rainy Days and On the Farm. Here is a sneak peak of the Besties Club!

Music Video Monday: The Verve- Bittersweet Sympony & The Drugs Don't Work

I've always found it interesting that these music videos flow into each other.

Review: Queen Helene Mint Julep Masque

I've been using the Queen Helene Mint Julep Masque for about a month now. You can get a large 8 oz bottle for around $4 at most drug and beauty stores. I got mine at Ulta. It smells minty but isn't overpowering. It reminds me a bit of Doublemint gum. It claims to help dry up acne pimples, rinse away blackheads, and shrink pores. You put it on a leave it for 15 minutes while it dries then you wash it off with warm water. Some people feel a burning sensation the first few times they use it. I felt a little sting around my nose where my skin gets the driest but it never bothered me enough to take it off. This only happened the first couple of times I used it, now it never stings. I know it dries out some people's skin as well. I get patchy spots of dry skin in the winter but I always put on moisturizer after I use this and I haven't had any problems with it making the dry spots worse in fact they seem like they're getting better. I was breaking out pretty bad because I was having problems with my hormones. Since using the mask I have definitely seen improvement in my acne and my pores. It seems like it dries up pimples almost immediately. I've read that you can use it as a spot treatment though I've never tried it. I think I will soon. So far I really love it and will be keeping it as a regular part of my skin routine.

Oh another plus is that they don't test on animals or use any animal ingredients! :)

Music Video Monday: Spinnerette- Ghetto Love

I have such a girl crush on Brody Dalle. She's one of my rock icons. I'm not sure how I first found the Distillers but I'm so glad I did. Her lyrics are raw and powerful. They were exactly what I needed at the time. I'm really digging the new sound she has with Spinnerette. It sounds like a girl version of Queens of the Stone Age (what's not to like about that?). Even though it's a little more polished than the Distillers or Sourpuss (Brody's band before the Distillers, if you haven't heard them check them out you can find some of their songs on Youtube) it still has that edge that only Brody can give it. I can't wait until they come out with their first full album.

The Fabric of Our Lives

This year I wanted the valentine to represent a place so dear to my heart. I grew up in many places throughout my childhood, jumping back and forth from coast to coast with an occasional stop in the middle. However, there was one location in the Midwest which would become the most meaningful of them all. It never was my own home, and it never changed throughout the years. It was the family farm where we spent many summers and occasional holidays. I wanted this year’s valentine to depict that wonderful place where my best childhood memories were made. Here is the card and the meaning behind it.


Here are some additional images showing the assembly-clothes-line and the completed valentine for this year.

Top Ten Reasons to Be Mine, Valentine!

This is a collection of the last ten years of handmade valentines I have sent to my peeps. It took about ten years to develop my style into what you will see here. The first ten years were a little like wandering in the wilderness. Even the valentines from that era incorporated elements from the wilderness; handmade paper, twigs, dried flowers and grasses. Well, truth is, I'm just not an outdoor person and finally got myself out of that wilderness and into a pristine studio. This is where I know I belong! Take a look at the valentines starting back about ten years and ending with last year's design.

It takes a lot of Valen-time . . .

...but it's worth it all. For nearly twenty years I have been making valentines for my dear friends and family. This year marks the 19th in the series. In the beginning, I made them primarily from handmade paper and bits of ribbon, flowers and art or photos. As my style and technology progressed the cards became more detailed and complex.

Each year I look forward to the challenge of designing the next valentine and trying new processes that can make each one unique. I thought it would be fun to share the creative and production process that I work through each time Valentine's Day rolls around.


I have chosen the Valentine from 2004 as it is one of my favorite themes. I usually begin the concept stage anywhere from a year ahead to as close as one or two months before Valentine's Day. This begins with very basic and crude sketches that I then scan in and redraw in the Adobe Illustrator program. I also determine the card size, shape and format at this time. I make sure that the card will fit into an envelope properly and be able to mail without complications. It is at this time I figure out what all the little details and attached pieces will be. Of course that requires running all about to different stores, searching for just the right parts, and finding enough of each for the project.


After I get the whole card designed, I print out samples, cut and fold the card, attach the pieces and confirm that the valentine with work as an aesthetic and functional design. Once I get all the little details tweaked I start the assembly line process; printing, cutting, folding and attaching each little piece to the card. I also design the envelope at this stage.

I started nineteen years ago making about twenty-five cards and now send out about one hundred. Each card takes at least an hour to make, which does not include the conceptual and design stages. Obviously this is a labor of love and a love of labor. Love for the creative process, love for the freedom of making art without specifications and most of all, love for the recipient.

Here is the finished valentine showing the card from the front, back and inside. I also designed a little candy heart box to go with this card. Many times I will design additional pieces or be inspired to create a complete collection based on the valentine.

Forever Flowers

My studio will always have fresh flowers. This bouquet of flowers grew out of the fresh, new patterns developed for my Love Bird collection.




Don't forget your fine feathered friends this Valentine's Day!

Music Video Monday: Why Do You Let Me Stay Here?

I thought I'd try something and post a music video that I find musically and visually inspiring on Mondays. The first video I'm going to post is She & Him- Why Do You Let Me Stay Here?

I've loved everything I've ever come across of Zooey Deschanel's including her music. She's got such a cute quirky style. I actually want to learn to play the ukulele because of her.

Drawers Galore

There are a few pieces in the studio that are simply made to stuff the stuff in. They have drawers-a-plenty and are all nearly full with 'necessary' bits and pieces of the past, someone else's past, now come to live in the corner of my little world.

Need a tiny parasol? How about a Dr. Pepper bottle cap? Surely I have it organized in one of the fifty or so drawers, but which one? Oh, that's what those little label holders are for on the handles! Here are a few of the collections stashed away in these drawers.




The vintage valentines are pretty clearly the inspiration for the Valentiny collections I have been working on. Some are original to the family, from my mom, aunts, grandma and one or two from my own past. Many however, come from people I never knew, but I treasure them as well.

The white cabinet with lots of thin drawers has a little history of its own. It came from one of our church schools when it was time for them to update. I paid all of two dollars for it at the sale. The husband rolled his eyes to see yet another stray brought home. I promised him that this was a necessary one. And for the price, come on, we needed it!

It's original purpose was to house all the felts. Well, now it's been re-purposed. It comes with all the dings and scratches that anyone would after fifty years of children, but I'm happy to have it all the same. The wooden knobs were replaced with porcelain, which came about 50 in a bag from the local thrift store for another $2.50 and a little white paint was added to complete the look.

Next week we'll review the socks drawer. Who's excited now?

Gardening

I've always been really good with plants even when I was little. Maybe it's because I talk to them and care for them like they're another pet or maybe it's because I've been growing them from such a young age. I love helping my parents raise flowers and vegetables in our backyard. We used to have a much bigger garden than the modest one we grow now. I remember we grew so many different kinds of vegetables and I think we even tried to grow watermelons. It was so much fun but the deer that live in the woods behind our house ate nearly everything. Now we only raise tomatoes, squash, and cucumbers. It's so nice to have fresh vegetables to cut up and put in a salad. I get to plant and take care of the marigolds that are there to keep bugs from eating our yummy food. I kind of wish it was spring already so we could start planting.

One thing I've always dreamed about having is an herb garden. I think fresh herbs for cooking would be lovely. I'd really like to learn to make my own teas. I think once I have a place of my own I may get a tiny one that you can keep indoors. The trick is going to be keeping my cat from trying to eat any of it. He's pretty well behaved though and only really comes after you if you have turkey or BACON! He goes crazy over bacon.

Here's a couple pictures of our garden last year.

The Sheri Berry Studio is finally done!

It has been two years in the making, but worth it all. The studio is finally ready to move into. Here are a few snapshots of the little space where I will be spending much of my time creating.






These are some of the fabrics, colors and fixtures I have used for the decor.


My wonderful and ingenious husband turned my favorite fixtures into gorgeous lighting, using parts from Grand Brass. They really are a work of art.