The Box - part I of III...

I have 3 wonderful stories that all revolve around 'The Box'!!!
Part I:::
So a while back...i decided that it was time i needed to expand - to learn something new, re-energize the brain cells, take on a new goal, but in order to do so....i would need to go outside the BOX!! Outside the comfort zone + routine, and throw myself into.....something that really interests moi............

And that would be Photography!!

I've always wanted to better my skills in that department, but never had the guts (as i am in NO WAY at all tech savvy ) to take it to the next level
So i sucked it up + signed up for photoshop program at the local college, and i gots to say...i had a blast. The average age of peeps in the class was about....um 70!!! So i buddied up with the other spring chicken in the class, sat up the back and stumbled my way through photoshop basics with a far bit of chit chatting + a lot of giggling!!
So next on my hit list of going outside the box...was finding a Sparky Model!(being stubbornly independant can waste alot of time i have realized!!) And funny enough I recently ran in to this loverly creative lady who has cut my hair once or twice in the past and was game for a bit of modelling !!

So we hit up the HQ's back alley for a bit of a Cosmopoliton feel....for the latest Kepp Jones:::

'Cosmopoliton Greens'

My most beautiful dress made this deep khaki beauty -all the industrial seamlines made the classiest lil Cosmopoliton Kepp Jones!! I used a yummy upcycled olive canvas that can be sneakily seen on the underside of the brim + flap on her side...and is finished up with...A MATCHING DEEP KHAKI BUTTON - but of course!!!!
The lining - well all i gots to say is it matches perfectly...and will fit comfortably snug!!
Adorned with organic + upcycled eco Sparky Jones labels....this lil number is going to be the favourite part of your day!!!! Bye bye for now
lil jj
Life Lesson 587:: When people know less about computers than you do...i can make you seem really smart- giggle!!

hot off the press...

So i happened to be running DANGEROUSLY low on my Sparky big labels...and i was all outta the delicious fabric that i had used previously. No biggy i thought, i'll just jump on the net and order some similar fabric, ummmmmm not so much!! I searched high and low for beige organic twill.....and its like one of those things you see everywheres until you supa dupa need it!!!
I ended up ordering some tan organic twill that was soooooooooooooo unbelieveably scrumptious when i got it............but it was more like WHITE!!! So i investigated low-impact dyes....got the goods, dyed my yummy fabric ...a loverly shade of PEACH!!!!
So by this point...i'm really starting to sweat. WHAT DO I DO?? So what did i do...i went straight to my happy place:Value Village!
Rummaging through fabric makes me so unbelieveably happy, like a kid at christmas - i get all sorts of ideas, i see fabrics that would look great as a hat, oh that would make a nice bag yada yada, oh that would make awesome labels: LABELS....could you believe it...it was the absolutely 'spot on' coloured fabric that was 100% cotton!!! So i whip it up, run to the cash registers, yelling 'i've finally got it..i got it did you hear me everybodies!-I'VE FOUND IT!!'
So here are all 282 of em, that the peeps at Zink Print whipped up for me in a jiffy. The eco inks worked a charm on my upcycled fabric...so now all i have to do is get busy cutting and ironing them into the lil labels that are lovingly hand sewn into each Sparky character.......crisis averted!!!
bye bye for now
lil jj
life lesson 375:: never leave things until you have one left!!

Bernard + his corduroy trousers.

Bernard is a shortish man who loves corduroy everything...so much so, his lovely wife of 40 years has started to clean out his wardrobe of some of this corduroy goodness to make way for a her new trend.....DENIM! So a pair of his loverly deep Olive cords, were lovingly snipped + stitched to make this Cozy Mae Jones.

'Winter Greens' is her name...she's the colours on a cold wintery day on a misty moor - deep olives, stone greys and earthy khaki. All i could think of whilst i was making her was eating my Mama's famous zucchini soup(secret ingredient = bacon! Yummo!) horseriding and strolling in the hills of the brisk Irish landscape(not that i have ever been there...just seen it in the movies!)......truth be known i'm a bit of a daydreamer and have a tiny bit of an over-active imagination:::giggle!!!
Anyways you can check her out a bit more in the 'Fancy Pants' Nogginware in the shop!!
Bye bye for now
lil jj

Just a quicky

A trip i mean!!! Thought we'd better make a quick dash to the woods before it gets too cold...so we headed across the border to do some campin' n spurging! Heading into the hills, on twisty logging roads, passing by lakes and rocky outcrops...we came upon this::: a huge landscape of a past wildfire. It was oddly beautiful and sooooooo serene due to the eerie silence. The only thing that seemed to be moving around was trucks....and lots of em'.
We couldn't figure out what was going on...these pick-up trucks just kept driving by.....UNTIL we realized, these guys were shooting the wildlife too- but they were wearing camo n' guns instead of a camera!!! Aparently Hunting Season in the U.S was officially OPEN! - what a fantabulous time to go camping::giggle

my 3 mischievious sidekicks (the little devil is dressed up in the cute white fluffy outfit!!)

We spent quite a bit of time in this cutsie lil town that was totally vintage everything - shops,signs, buildings, gas stations the lot:::and managed to buy some absolutely kitschy jewellery from a flee market for a steal!!(you'll get to see that in some upcoming photo shoots!)

Went for a bit of a cruise in the forest, stopped for some supper n' scenery by the lake - on high alert mind you ...no sudden movements were made!!!

AND when camping...you need to treat yourself to a lil' MudPie and a boozy coffee RIGHT!

And check out the campsite....was such a beautiful morning, the air was still and fresh...and i was woken by the sound of gunfire!!! NO S**T!

But alas, the holiday had to end...and we had to come home, but a we are both a lil refreshed and ready for exciting new happenings.

bye bye for now

lil jj

Day Two of the Onslaught

Well it continued....I came home at lunch again to check up on the villain in question, only to find he had devoured my most favourite book of all time, parts of my nerdy plant bible and the Piece de resistance ::: a whole roll of toilet paper had decorated the crime scene, the living room and the bathroom and there was not one break in the roll to be found -
But i seriously thought, well he wouldn't be dumb enough to do it twice in a row, but now that i think about it, perhaps he was the smarter one!!! Aaaaaaaaaaahhhhhh
Life at the headquarters is a lil more calming, so i have been busying quite effectively. I've found that if i have about 3 things on the go, its WAY more fun than ploding away at the one thing all day. So I decided today that i should call my coin purses 'Waste Wonders' coz they are just as wonderful as the 'Waste Wonderfuls' but just a lil more compact. I use mine for my few essential cards, sanity in a cup money( aka coffee)+ lipbalm

I put some vintage trim on the sides, coz i just so darn cute i had to use it somewhere...and its kinda practical ....you could say, um attach them to a D ring in a fantabulous bag or something:::giggle

And a sneeky peeky of 'Winter Greens' that is looking out the window at the gloomy weather

Can't wait to write my next post!!!! I'm on an exciting new adventure called ' You worked hard to save it....now lets spend!!' YiPpy for retail therapy....I FEEL ON TOP OF THE WORLD RIGHT NOW!!!!! Who says money can't buy you happiness...giggle!!

righto will be posting my new goodies throughout the week

bye bye for now

lil jj.

He loves me....he loves me not...

I have been stitching away this week + getting back into entrepreneur mode. Just finished up some new wintery Mae Jones hats that are splendifiously cozy + currently cooking up a new batch of Kinn Jones ....that i think might just be called 'Beachside Bleu'......in a colour range of sand dunes, blue skies and ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh just plain ol beachy goodness!!!
And in the meantime...these cute lil guys called "BubbleGum + Broccoli' are in production. I'm working on some great ideas for the ever nearing festive season, to make life a bit more stress free + ummmmm fun!!!
So i snuck home at lunch, only to come across this:::

A fuzzy monster that lives in my abode, had decided to pick everything off the bookshelf and shred my belongings into pieces. At least he had the decency not to nibble on my photos, but he did find the Post impressionism quite tasty in my very expensive art history book . And he even managed to digest alot of information from my Canada Lonely Planet guide book!!!!

Now let me give you the list of items lost in the war with this Tyrant:

-2 pairs of sneakers

-3 maybe 4 pairs of flip flops

-3 printer cables

and then there is the outside......well at least i haven't had to waste time pruning this year.

So i figure he either...just really loves me so he needs to eat anything i touch , or he is secretly working on my demise, so that he my have my beau all to himself (and thats when he would snicker like shifty evil characters do in the cartoons)

On the flipside tho, it really has taught me to put things away after using them!!!

Bye bye for now

lil jj

ps: Did you guys hear that fantabulous speech from Steve Jobs :: what an totally amazing + down to earth kinda character! I'm going to have to listen to that speech everytime i have the Blah's.