Bow ties, bow ties, everywhere (and some cufflinks as well)

Great news ladies (and also gents), after much ado, and way to much waiting I've finally added my bow ties to my Etsy shop.  One was sold the first day it was posted, to the lovely Ms.Audi for her fiance on their wedding day (can't wait to see pics).  However there's more available, and also cufflinks for that spiffy dresser in your life.  

The best thing about these bow ties?  They're adjustable, and can fit neck sizes up to 18 1/2, and also I can custom make them for you in any fabric your little heart desires.  So check them out, and look for more on the way soon!

This one, and the mustard colored one are my faves.  Which one's your favorite?

love, emmy-ray

P.S. They were also featured in the most recent issue of Spaces Magazine.  Hooray!

The Money Pit: Water is not a Homeowner's Best Friend

A few months ago we started smelling a musty aroma coming from the fireplace area.  Thinking it was just the old chimney that needed a good scrubbing of course we ignored it.  One day I went to clean off the mantle and noticed that one of my Hammerpress prints had some waves in it, you know the kind that paper gets when it gets wet and dries.  I went to pull the print down from the mantle and a 6 inch long piece of paint from the wall came along with it.  Much to our dismay there was water coming in from somewhere, the source of which we still haven't exactly uncovered.  So my lovely mantle that I worked so hard on went from looking like this...

to this...

I had tried to decide to repaint the 6 inch rip, as we were having a lot of friends over last weekend for a party.  However instead I ended up ripping a gigantic portion of peeling paint off.  Don't ask me what happened, I think I blacked out.  So what to do?  I came up with a temporary solution..

I stapled up some vintage fabric.  This way until we discover where the damage is coming from we can hide the peeling paint, and also the fabric is washable and of course easily removable.  Wah lah!

love, em