Tara Ackerman's Blog

Art Wynwood In Pictures and Video...

2012-02-23T16:20:00.000-05:00

This past Monday I made the last stop on my art filled weekend and took a drive down to Art Wynwood. This was the first year of this awesome show in my favorite Miami neighborhood so I had to check it out...

Here goes....

Two tents were set up just south of the Shops at Midtown Miami and were chock full of the most amazing International Contemporary Artwork the world's artists have to offer.


One of the Art Wynwood tents

So now... I invite you to join me in my experience and take a look at what I found were the best pieces shown...

One of the highlights of the show were the special camo deer areas by Ron English. They were around the sides and in the walkways to get from one tent to the other. You may recognize the camo deer from one of my previous post on the Wynwood Walls. Very neat aesthetic, they were made to show different seasons as well.

Ron English - Camo Deer

When I first walked in I couldn't take my eyes off this awesome video piece by Daniel Cherbuin - Amazing!

Amazing - Video Artwork by Daniel Cherbuin

On to the rest of the show....

Artwork by Hugo Lugo


Artwork by Heidi Popovic

Pit Stop! Time for lunch... The Art Wynwood cafe...

Cool artwork all over the walls in here too!

VIP Lounge with "The Flying Murals" of Wynwood

Artwork by Martin C Herbst

Artwork by Mel Bochner


Artwork by Robi Walters

I couldn't believe that this amazing piece (below) was made from Light Bright pegs! It consists of 55,000 pegs and 36 pegboards. Made to look like The Lady and the Unicorn tapestry hanging in Paris.Very cool!


Artwork by Joey Syta

Artwork by Arno Rafael Minkkinen

And so ends my day at Art Wynwood...

Bye bye Art Wynwood... Til next year!

Sooooo...... What did you think? Did it bring inspiration to your little computer or smartphone screen?

Saturday Coconut Grove Arts Festival....

2012-02-20T10:17:00.001-05:00

We woke up bright and early on Saturday to make it down to the Coconut Grove Arts Festival before it got crazy busy!

We were on the road at 9:45am and before we knew it, were overheating the FL sunshine - it was so hot this year! We were talking about how in years past it was so cold. The cold would have been totally welcomed this year.

Entrance to Coconut Grove Art Show

Sooooooo we spent a few hours perusing the amazing artists that comprise the fest.

First, stopped and talked to Kimberly Willcox. She's an amazing artist from Gainesville, FL. I have a few of her pieces from way back when I worked at Seldom Seen Gallery, including my amazing jewelry holder. It has to be my most favorite art piece that I own - AND it's functional. She said she gets requests for them all the time, but doesn't make them anymore. I did a little celebration dance that I was able to get one.

My Kimberly Willcox Jewelry Stand

My next favorite stops are at Mullanium and Fobots by Amy Flynn - I love, love, love both of these artists.

We have a Mullanium mirror in our house, (again, back from Seldom Seen days)

Our Mullanium Go Fish Mirror

Along with the mirrors, I'm obsessed with the birds that they make. OBSESSED! The attention to detail on them is absolutely superb, but they are priiiiiiicey!! Woo! Someday, we will make a purchase... someday. The prices for the birds start at about $300 and go up from there.... Maybe when I turn 30.... hint hint, wink wink....

Beautiful Mullanium Bird

The second artist I mentioned is Fobots by Amy Flynn.

Amy is the first person I've seen making these robots going back for years. They are very often imitated (as I've seen at several other art shows), but never quite get the attention to detail that these Fobots (Found Object Robots) carry. Again, they are pretty pricey.... I would say again they start at about $250 and go up from there. 30th birthday again? ;)

Fobots by Amy Flynn Designs

After doing the first half of the show, we always check out the St. Stephen's Art Show. I applied to get into this show this year and wasn't accepted. Actually, they never notified me whether I was accepted or rejected. My application status on ZAPP still says Received. I think it's safe to say at this point, that I didn't get in. My mom bought a really cool metal flower at St. Stephens - pics to follow!

Every year it's an Ackerman family tradition to have lunch halfway through the show in Cocowalk at Cheesecake Factory. This helps to cool down before the second half of the show.... Much needed this time.

Starting the second half of the show...

For the second half of the show, the artist I was most excited to see was Ed King. Ed makes the most amazing pop art and lives right here in Miami. It's his 5th year doing the show and he says it's his fave. His artwork is so bright and cheerful... not to mention so is he. Just a wonderful experience in his booth. I'm totally eyeing this Garden of Ganish piece....

Ed King Pop Art - Garden of Ganish

So there it is.... My 2012 Coconut Grove Arts Festival experience. I'm off to Art Wynwood today, my last stop on this crazy art filled weekend - lots of more cool art to come!

Crazy Art Filled Weekend Ahead....

2012-02-16T10:46:00.000-05:00

At the end of my last post, I spoke about the crazy amount of arty things to do this weekend... Can you believe there's even more than I originally anticipated? There's no better time to try out some of the awesome art events South Florida has to offer us!

So much to do.... it's like Art Shows A Go Go!

Here's a breakdown of the weekend....

Art Walk Las Olas - Thursday, February 16th

Art Walk Las Olas is an arts driven, reoccurring event the Third Thursday monthly from 6-10pm on Las Olas Boulevard. The participating galleries host exhibit openings, receptions, artists, and outdoor entertainment to combine for a truly memorable evening on the boulevard.
Third Thursday Dates: Feb 16th, March 15th, April 19th, May 17th

Art Wynwood - Thursday, February 16th - Monday, February 20th

Art Wynwood will feature paintings, photography, sculpture, art video and new media, conceptual art and urban street art by 500 artists from 13 countries: Argentina, Austria, Canada, China, France, Germany, Ireland, Mexico, Spain, the Netherlands, Venezuela, United Kingdom and the United States. With representation from 100 cities from around the world, including 50 across the U.S., Art Wynwood will further distinguish the Wynwood Arts District as a leading cultural destination for acquiring contemporary art. A VIP Private Preview will be held in celebration of the opening on Thursday, Feb. 16, 2012.

Coconut Grove Art Festival - Saturday, February 18th - Monday, February 20th

Celebrating its 49th anniversary in 2012, the Coconut Grove Arts Festival® is the nation’s top outdoor fine arts festivals. The three-day festival showcases the works of over 360 of the finest artists and craftsmen in the world. A signature event of the South Florida cultural calendar, the Arts Festival is a true “Celebration of the Arts” offering visitors the opportunity to meet with exhibiting artists, sample fine cuisine, enjoy live entertainment and take in the tropical waterfront views of Coconut Grove.

Coral Ridge Home & Craft Show - Saturday, February 18th - Sunday, February 19th

A Fun and Unique Mall Experience this Weekend in Fort Lauderdale! Come on out Saturday February 18th from 9am-9pm ... and/or on Sunday February 19th from 12noon-6pm to the Coral Ridge Mall (Oakland Park Blvd & N. Federal Hwy - where Target and Publix are located) You will see a unique display of fashion, health, beauty, travel, home decor, garden and outdoor living, kitchens and baths, home improvements and much, much more. This is a show you won't want to miss!

City-Wide Market - Saturday, February 18th

City-Wide Market is a huge MONTHLY garage sale, flea market, vintage and local product fair rolled into one fantastic INDOOR event!You’ll find tons of locals selling a wide range of items, including:
- Gently Used and Good Condition SecondHand Goods
- Vintage/Retro Items
- Collectibles and Novelties
- Locally Made Products and Crafts
Plus: Food, Drinks and Fresh Brewed Coffee, Music and More!
** FREE Goodie Bags for the FIRST 100 guests in line!!**
FREE Admission / FREE Parking!
This event is comprised of LOCALS selling their stuff! NO mass "made in China" merchandise, NO in-your-face perfume vendors, NO knockoff and bootleg sellers!

ArtiGras - Saturday, February 18th - Monday, February 20th

The ArtiGras Fine Arts Festival takes place Feb. 18 through Feb. 20 at Abacoa Town Center.
The festival is ranked as one of the top 50 art shows in the United States, with a juried exhibition of 280 artists from all over the country. The three-day event also features interactive art exhibits, music, and demonstrations. ArtiGras is produced by the Northern Palm Beach County Chamber of Commerce and benefits over 60 school art programs and non-profit organizations.
Festival hours are Feb. 18 and 19 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Feb. 20 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

A lot to do right!?

Our schedule is to go down to Coconut Grove Arts Festival Saturday morning and hit up City-Wide Market Saturday afternoon. Sunday we'll check out Coral Ridge Home and Craft Show - Cari will be there with Doopiemoos! On Monday, we'll head down to Art Wynwood. We probably won't make it up to Artigras, but figured I would share for those up in WPB. There's only so much driving a girl can take in one weekend!

Soooooooo which one(s) are you going to?

Saturday Retro Indie Market Fun...

2012-02-13T09:35:00.000-05:00

I've been so excited for the past few weeks to head up to Boynton Beach and check out this show!

Flyer for the event....

Cari and I (and little Casey) made the trip up on Saturday and were lucky enough to score some awesome finds!

First a little history on the event:

Retro Indie Market is the creation of Amanda Linton and Michelle Parparian two long time friends who share a love of vintage and indie crafts. With two 2 successful shows between them (Amanda with Stitch Rock and Michelle with The Vintage Trunk Show) they wanted to combine their love of vintage and indie crafts together to create a unique marketplace showcasing some of the best local crafters and vintage dealers under one roof. Making things by hand has long been a part of the vintage home and we are happy to bring the two together once again.

Located in an old library that now houses meetings and events, this show is a mecca for awesome handmade goods, vintage finds and yummy snacks!

We arrived around 11:15am and waited in a line that wrapped around the building (people know good stuff when they hear about it) The line moved along very quickly and we were in! The building was filled with room after room of the best of the best South Florida vintage and crafters.

One of the rooms filled with goods.....

Our first purchase was from CABFAYRE of an awesome necklace for Casey. She has an amazing selection of awesome cut acrylic pieces - Octopi, music notes & deer necklaces and accessories... Casey settled on a My Little Pony necklace.

Casey and her CABFAYRE necklace

For my first purchase, I scored an awesome vintage navy train case (On the floor next to Casey)! I've been on the hunt for one of these for the longest time and was elated when I came across this one. There is an abundance of super cool ones on etsy, but because of the nature of them (size, weight, etc) shipping is always as much if not more than the case itself. So when I saw this Navy beauty with the gorgeous pink satin lining... I had to have it! If someone knows which shop I bought it from could you please let me know? I'd love to give credit where it is due... I was so excited I paid and walked away without grabbing a card! They were next to the With Sugar on Top booth!

Next we moseyed on upstairs where Cari made purchases from Our Lady of Perpetual Pickles - Yum! and I went over to see Jennifer at OBIE Handmade. I mentioned her awesome rings in my previous post about Odd Duck - I'm obsessed! At this point I think I have 5 or 6 of them - Of course I bought an awesome sun ring... Jennifer is the best! :)

My awesome new Obie Handmade ring

After perusing the upstairs we decided to do another round of shopping downstairs to get at the pieces /shops that were too packed to get to the first time around. This brought us back to Traci with Reinvintage Jewelry and My Little Thriftstore. Through talking to Traci, Cari noticed the awesome stool she was sitting on... and then noticed that it had a tag... Could it be for sale?! YES!

Cari's vintage stool and my sweet train case

That stool is crazy awesome. The date stamped is 1908 and is so cool and rustic. Though hard to tell in this pic, it has amazing claw feet and an awesome cracked wood top. I die. Of course we couldn't leave without purchasing cupcakes from Sugar Mama Sweets....

French Toast with Bacon on top.... Yum!

And so ends our fun morning at Retro Indie Market. With more and more of these events popping up in South Florida there is a great show or market to attend almost every weekend. There's no better way to support handmade and local artists!

Actually.... there's no better time to get into the scene than this coming Presidents Day week/end (Feb 16th-20th)! For this weekend alone, here comes Coconut Grove Art Festival, Art Wynwood, Art: Sunny Side Up @ Coral Ridge, City-Wide Market AND ArtiGras up in WPB!

If you're attending any of the above let me know, would love to see you there! I'm going to try to make my way around to all or most of them!

Reviews, Pics and fun to follow - XO

Yard House.... Yum!

2012-02-06T09:58:00.001-05:00

This weekend Andy and I ventured down to Hallandale Beach and went to The Village at Gulfstream Park for dinner and a little light gambling. We particularly went because we wanted to check out the restaurant we've heard so many rave reviews about - Yard House.

The entire area in Gulfstream has been completely revamped over the last couple years. It now hosts 2 casinos and lots of great restaurants and shopping. We've been to a couple other restaurants in the center and always noticed The Yard House being packed... Now we know why - this place is awesome!

With around 112 beers to choose from and a great food and drink menu, Yard House was a great evening out! We did have to wait almost an hour for a table, but went at peak time - around 7:30. We also wanted to sit outside which was a longer wait. Must say, it was well worth it! We perched at the bar, watched the Heat game and it went by quickly.

Dark and not so great pic from the bar....

Once seated, we decided on the Lobster, Crab and Artichoke dip for an app. I had the Shrimp Rice Bowl for dinner and Andy had Lettuce Wraps and Calamari. Everything was great! It was a great portion size and we were even able to take home lunch for the next day. Everything was priced right, including the drinks. The menu was so crazy big it was so hard to decide on what to eat. Very excited to have tried this place - We now have a new fave spot!

After dinner we went to the casino which we were amazed and laughing hysterically that the house wine (red and white) was $2.12 a glass - amazing - drinks for everyone!

$6.36 for 3 glasses of wine? Sign me up!

We left the casino at about even for spendings and winnings all thanks to Andy on the Roulette machine - Bonus!

You can check out my Yelp on Yard House here - We will definitely be back many many more times!

Accepted - I'm an Odd Duck...

2012-02-02T11:46:00.000-05:00

Ahhhhh the Indie Craft Show, like a traditional art show, but so much better!

Unique and affordable wares and the chance to meet the actual artist (might I mention a real person) behind the work. What could be better than supporting a local and handmade artist?! AND you'll have something that no one else will ever have... This place is chock full of one of a kind pieces. Even better, the money you are spending is going directly to the person you are buying from to make their dreams of being an artist come true - Hello? No brainer!

Sooooooo this past Friday I found out that I was accepted to the Odd Duck Handmade Indie Craft Show and Bazaar - Yipee!!!!!!!

Andy and I attended Odd Duck last year (second year of the show) in the Old Davie School Historical Museum. What a cool show!

We purchased awesome wares from some amazing artists including - Beautiful rings from Obie Handmade, and fun prints from Chloe The Hot Dog & Friends AND Peace Owls and Other Lovely Things


You can see Peace Owls and Chloe the Hotdog in this pic - View inside one of the buildings

Shot of one of the outdoor tents...


Inside another one of the buildings... Obie Handmade in the background

As you can see this event is massive and fun! The location is set for this year at the downtown Hollywood Performing Arts Center (5 minute walk from young circle) on March 31st from 12:00-6:00pm.

Odd Duck is hosted by the Hollywood Craft Mafia - A collection of awesome peeps that are committed to seeing the craft market in our area flourish. You can get more info on joining or the other events they host here.

For more info on the show you can check out the Odd Duck website here.
Also follow Odd Duck on Facebook and Twitter.

Andy and I will be there with bells on promoting GCD!

Would love to see you - Buy local and handmade!!!!

FAT Village Art Walk & Tap 42...

2012-01-30T15:36:00.000-05:00

Saturday night in downtown Fort Lauderdale.... So many things to do!

We started out our Saturday night at a funky new restaurant downtown called Tap 42. Tap 42 is Ft. Lauderdale's newest craft beer bar and kitchen. They have 42 different beers on tap and over 100 bottled beers. AND... right up my alley, though it is new construction, they've used as much local, recycled and refurbished materials as possible... Awesome! Located off Andrews Ave and SE 14th Street it's easy to get to from whatever area you're coming from. This entire downtown area is going through a revitalization... or as Keith said, "Gentrification" - We all learned a new word.

We had an awesome table outside (and impeccable timing as it poured rain like an hour or so after we left) Unfortunately I didn't take any pics of my own here, so I had to rip some off of their website (I was too consumed in our bottle of wine)

Outside of Tap 42...

Outside area where we sat and view indoors...

Inside Area of Tap 42...

We were there around 6:00pm and didn't have a problem getting a great table outside for a party of 6. It definitely got a lot busier the later it got. We dined happily on our bevy of appetizers which included an awesome meat and cheese platter... Yum!

For the main course most of us had burgers, which were yum! The price was reasonable for the service and ambiance - Very cool in that you're at a restaurant surrounded by high rise buildings and the hospital. Just an overall fun experience - Great for date nights or a night out with friends. Very glad we tried it out!

You can see the entire Tap 42 menu here.

You can also check out the entire beer menu here.

After dinner we went to an art walk downtown that I have been wanting to check out for a while. Every month there is an event called FAT Village Art Walk... FAT (Flagler Arts and Technology) Village is located downtown just North of Broward Blvd on the intersection of 1st & 5th. The Art Walks are held on the last Saturday of every month from 7:00pm-11:00pm.... Oh and did I mention it's all FREE?


Fat Village Art Walk Map

We had such a great time walking around here - Our favorite (and I really hope I'm getting it right from the map) was the Fort Lauderdale Scenic Studio in 523A. This studio holds all of the props, costumes and whatever other fun stuff you've seen from events around Ft. Lauderdale. Like parade floats, massive Hard Rock signs from the boat parade, mermaids... And all of it is there for you to play with. You can touch everything, climb on it, take pics with it, go inside...whatever you want. So much FUN! All of the people that work here are so nice too. We were talking to one woman who said they just open the warehouse up because they love to see peoples reactions to everything. She even helped us pull out the 7 foot Rio Jesus that you'll see in the pics... Yep!

Here's some silly pics from inside...

Me with a massive Hollywood sign...


Another massive boat parade sign...

Cari and a giant 7 foot plaster copy of the Rio Jesus...

Rachel and Cari in a mini gingerbread house....

As you can see, you can spend hours in this place playing! After this were a few more galleries with serious artwork. Serious expensive artwork! There was also a bar with a live band playing with a free open bar! Of course the line was crazy, so we spent our $3 on a glass of wine each (cheap, right?) Such a great time!!!

There were food vendors and a couple of art vendors in the street. Cari bought a pretty new turquoise necklace outside of the next gallery we went into which was the Rolling Stock Gallery and Rolling Stock Alley. They also had a live band playing and artists doing graffiti in the back alley. In the middle area there was a blank banner with spray paint and sharpies in all colors to play with.... So we did!

Green Cycle Designs....

Doopie Moos.....

Andy's contribution... Our initials and anniversary... What a cutie!

So..... that was our night out at Tap 42 and FAT Village Art Walk - We definitely recommend checking out both of these destinations. You can also check out my Yelp on Tap 42 - See you at the next Art Walk!

Peace 25 cents... At Rolling Stock Alley

Meeting Kyle Richards...

2012-01-27T10:14:00.000-05:00

This past Wednesday Cari and I took a trip up to Boca Raton to meet Kyle Richards and have dinner.

Yes.... THE Kyle Richards of Real Housewives of Beverly Hills fame.

Cari and I in line outside the store

A few years ago we were also able to meet Jill Zarin of Real Housewives of NYC - I'm going to share our secret with you...

Cari and Jill having a laugh... Awww she was preggo with Sam...


Jill Z and I - BFF

The secret is a little shop called Alene Too... The ladies that own this shop have a connection (somehow!) with the ladies of Real Housewives fame. The Real Housewives ladies like to write books... Alene Too likes to have them in to sign them... Bonus for you! Actually, I shouldn't even say Real Housewives because they had Nikki Hilton in a few months ago too. Go on their website, sign up for the mailing list, like them on facebook, follow them on twitter - DO IT! They will send you emails as to when the celebs will be in town for your schmoozing pleasure. Just a little FYI... You have to buy the book there for them to sign it... I was reading on Twitter about a girl that was turned away because she didn't buy it there. Play it safe.. Buy it there!

If I had to compare the two events I would have to say that we were a little spoiled with Jill Zarin. The store was in a different location at the time and I think there wasn't as much publicity, not to mention it was on a weekday at like 10:00am. We were able to chat with Jill, take as many pics as we liked and it was just more relaxed. Notice also my nice professional photo with Jill - not so much with Kyle... The new location was a mad house!!!

It was definitely a very cool thing to be a part of. They made all of the mannequins in the store look like Kyle and had tons of corporate sponsors... IE free Smartwater.... free coconut water... free champagne... free candy... free chips.... free cookies... I'm probably leaving a lot out here....Very cool branding and SMART! We waited in line for probably about an hour, which wasn't terrible - part of it was in the store so you could shop.

We finally made it to the front of the line and were able to meet her....


Cari and Kyle...

Me and Kyle...

She was so gracious and thanked us each twice for being so patient and waiting in the line. There really wasn't a lot of time that you could spend with her. You were only allowed one picture each... Cari and I wanted one together with her and it wasn't allowed. While you were next to her there were like 10 other people taking her picture, reaching over her refilling water, cleaning the table... LOL such a time crunch and such a difference from out previous encounter with Jill, but still great! Yes... She's just as beautiful in person as she is on TV. Yes... She was very nice.

You can check out my Yelp! on Alene Too here.

So get on that mailing list and maybe we'll see you at the next signing!

Wednesday, but last Wednesday...

2012-01-25T09:45:00.002-05:00

A week late, but hey it's Wednesday again! Last Wednesday Cari and I ventured over to Pembroke Gardens for some drinks, shopping and candle sniffing... yep...

Behold Village Tavern.... Home of Wine and Dine Wednesday - Half-Price Wine and Dine Wednesday mind you... Score!

This place can get a little crazy with winos as you can see:

Village Tavern Bar Area

We had a great time in our own little world enjoying our half price bottle of wine and flat breads. We've both been here before (together and separate) and have to say that the food here is ok... O.K. It's definitely the wine that drew us in. Village Tavern has a pretty extensive menu covering all bases, there is sure so be something for everyone.

After dinner we proceeded to shop around the center (which is beautiful, despite it's location in the middle of nowhere) Perusing Banana Republic, Z Gallerie and the Yankee Candle store, we each picked up a few purchases.

Of course after shopping we headed right back to Village Tavern for another glass of wine. There is a wine store in the plaza that we considered... but then remembered Half Price Wine! I will definitely say it's great in that at least there's no catch with this deal, it's just that - half price everything on the wine menu.

It can easily turn two business talking chicks into this by the end of the night....

Doopie Moo's and GCD out on the town...

Cari is modeling the newest rope bracelets in her line. She was generous enough to give me a sneak preview and samples...Woohoo! All of her creations can be purchased here.

For more info on Wine Wednesdays you can click here.

For my Yelp's on the locations featured - see here - Village Tavern, Pembroke Gardens.

Sushi Night at the Ackerman's....

2012-01-23T09:18:00.000-05:00

Saturday night in the Ackerman household - It's make your own sushi night!

We had the Kaufman's over because we haven't seen them in a while (not to mention that Ryan won fantasy football this year and needed to collect his winnings!) and went at it like master sushi chefs. Master sushi chefs whose rolls explode or are too big to be sealed, but still master sushi chefs...

Andy and Ryan taking to it....

Though it may seem hard to do, the basics are pretty easy. All that's needed is a one time investment in the bamboo mats and soy containers, the rest needs to be purchased on the day of so it's fresh fresh fresh! Bamboo rolling mats can be picked up at any supermarket - I think we bought ours at Publix. Actually, most of the supplies we purchased were from Publix.

Here is our shopping list:

Publix - Whole Foods/Doris' Italian Market:

Seaweed Sheets ( for outside of sushi) Salmon
Sesame Seeds Yellow-fin Tuna
Cucumber Sriracha (spicy sauce)
Scallions
Cream Cheese
Sushi Rice
Soy Sauce

We only go to a specialty store for the fish - you can get the other supplies there too, but you'll pay a lot more than at Publix. This time we tried Whole Foods for the fish and there wasn't a good selection so ended up at Doris' Italian Market - so fresh!

Master Sushi Chefs R, J & T with closed eyes

We all played around with different combinations of the ingredients above - making what we chose for our dinner. Spicy tuna rolls, JB rolls, inside out explosion rolls, you name it - It was a sushi making frenzy! Luckily, all of the instructions on how to roll up the sushi, how to make the rice, etc. is all on the containers they come in so no cookbook or even Google has to be utilized.

No breaks... Not even to get soy containers...

In my opinion, the sushi even tastes better when you make it yourself - it definitely gives you a deeper appreciation of the man behind the counter when your JB roll explodes and there's cream cheese everywhere.

I should also mention that one of the benefits to making your own is all of the leftovers. Though the sushi doesn't last more than 24 hours it's still good for lunch and possibly dinner the next day. We had a lot of extra salmon which we froze and will use for a meal again too. It's a win win!

Insane leftovers... Hello, Sashimi!

Stuck... And Pinterest as a means of getting unstuck...

2012-01-20T10:02:00.000-05:00

I don't know what it is, but since the turn of the new year I've been completely stuck creatively....

Just stuck... I don't feel like making anything. I've got the same vases on my work table that are already painted and ready to go for a while. The same flowers already cut into squares that just need to be folded, done up and listed, new contacts to promote GCD with - I just don't feel like it.... Should I even be admitting this? I'm hoping that in outing myself it will lead to the creative juices flowing again.

2011 was the most hectic, crazy, fun year for me with GCD - From October and the Heartsy feature onward it was just pandemonium... Order after order, show after show... I don't want to complain because it was amazing, but I think it's what attributed to my burn out. Maybe I'm just being too hard on myself?

I know sometimes in life you just go back and forth between your creative and intellectual side (hmph hmph!) - But it's hard when you make art for a living - you're supposed to be ON all the time right? Right now I'm only in the mood to read, and go and see and do. With all the amazing artwork I've been surrounding myself with it's still not kicking in. I'm reading 4 books at the same time... (like, what?! really?!) Dining out, going out and overall just working on me and the loving relationships I have with my friends and family... Everyone needs that too in life, so it's got to be normal right?

Through this rut some positive things have come of it... I've cleaned up my work space, thrown out any extra crapola that was laying around, organized myself AND I'm finally keeping my social media outlets up to date (this blog included, yay!). I'm now also addicted to Pinterest - Pinning away on my boards in hopes that inspiration will come.

If you haven't already heard of or requested in invite to Pinterest, prepare for the obsession. Think virtual bulletin board... You can create a board with any topic and collect images, products or whatever else floats your little boat. You can follow your friends or just awesome pinners, re-pin cool pins, like pins... All very addicting!

My Pinterest Boards

Right now my obsession is with the Home Stuff and Vintage Photos... Who wouldn't get inspired by old pics of Twiggy and houses with massive book collections? ;)

You can see or follow my Pinterest boards by clicking here.

So hopefully this will pass... Some picture will come along and bring me back into the flow. It's crazy... I get like this and then usually snap out of it and put out like 10 pieces in one day... Cheers to hoping it will happen soon!

I'll leave you with my favorite creativity quote EVER -

"People might think you can turn creativity on and off, but it's not like that. It just kind of comes out. A mash up of all these things you collect in your mind. You never know when it's gonna happen, but when it does ... it's like magic. It's just that simple and it's just that hard." - Gwen Stefani

Saturday Night in Wynwood...

2012-01-18T11:07:00.000-05:00

I seriously CAN NOT get enough of this place... I know to those that have been coming down here for years, the newbies can be a little frustrating. You have all that pomp because you've known about it for years and us freshies are just learning and learning and it's turning your cool underground world into something to be desired. Well I say, poo poo on you - Let this up and coming area shine!

Andy and I ventured down to Wynwood Saturday night for one of it's famous Art Walks. Art Walks are on the second Saturday of every month and include (but are not limited to) some of the freakiest shit you've ever seen. LOL good and bad! All of the galleries open their doors, serve drinks and food.

The food trucks also make their way down to Wynwood during Artwalk. There's an empty field that just gets PACKED with them... I'm talking there had to be 30 of them, and when that ran out of room, there was at least 15 more parked in the streets where ever they could. The food trucks... that will be next time!

This time, we went to Joey's

Teeny Tiny, but oh so yummy.....

I was SO excited to eat here having read all of the amazing reviews online. I made a reservation via opentable and we were set. I definitely recommend making a reservation here, we had one for 6:00pm and it was fairly busy. As we were done with dinner it definitely started to get crowded. Our waiter told us the later it gets you can't even move in there. With the bar so close to the door, I believe it... The place is so tiny! There is a small dining room, terrace and small tables in the front. Another perk of Joey's is the $5 valet. It can be kind of hard to find parking in Wynwood at night, so this is a major +!

The decor is very modern and cool. The back wall is amazing... There are pics of it on the website and you can kind of see it in the pic above, but I had no idea it was all mosaic. So cool!

Our food was excellent! Most of what we had were specials, so they aren't on the menu. We had an appetizer of scallops, shimp and sausage over polenta. So yummy... it had a sweet sauce over it. For dinner we ordered the Parma e Funghi Pizza (They are known for their pizzas, so had to try) and another special - the Funghi and Beef Lasagna. Our waiter told us it was the first time they served the lasagna and it didn't disappoint! All of this and a bottle of Bordeaux came to a total of about $80.00 - not terribly priced considering. We ate it all and even had some pizza to bring home.

Enough eating... Bring on the art!

The Space Invader Wall

Right next to Joey's are the Wynwood Walls... Right outside the walls and next to Joey's is the Space Invader wall. You can read more about the artist Invader here... Basically, he's a super cool guy that started out by traveling the world and placing his mosaic "Space Invaders" on public buildings and the like where ever he went. In Wynwood... He did an entire wall. Super cool - black palm trees (Miami inspiration) and the traditional red Space Invader.

Within the walls is the Wynwood Kitchen and Bar - Another stop to eat in the future, already bookmarked in Yelp! For now we just stopped in for drinks.

Bar back designed by Shepard Fairey

Also behind the bar... My favorite of his images

Drinks here were also reasonably priced.... surprising for the proximity to South Beach where $20 a drink is usually the standard. We managed to escape with 2 drinks for $17 - again, not terrible! I was more anxious to go in to see all of the Shepard Fairey artwork. It's everywhere in this restaurant - to read more on Shepard see here. He also does my favorite wall in the Wynwood Walls....

Shepard's Wall - Tried to get the people in the shot for size proportion

After lounging around for a little while we walked around the galleries... running into the art robot and such.

Unfortunately I didn't take many photos in the galleries in respect to the artists. I often feel a little queasy when people walk up and start taking pics of my stuff too. Like what are you going to do with that picture dude?

Most of the galleries have the artist on site so you can ask questions. Some of the galleries offer space for rent (for those of you aspiring artists at a reasonable $99) I should have looked into it further, maybe it was just $99 for the night. I did manage to snap a pic of a crystal on suede Beatles piece (Of course!)

The Beatles by Milani at Myra Galleries

Sooooo as I said, I just can't get enough of this place. I definitely recommend the drive down be it for an Artwalk or just to check it out. You can get more info on the locations and artists by clicking the links within this post or check out my Yelp's on Second Saturday, Joey's and the Wynwood Walls - Enjoy!

Definitely feels that way sometimes.....

A Birthday and a Rok:Brgr Detour...

2012-01-17T10:37:00.000-05:00

This past Friday night we went downtown to celebrate our friend Jarred's birthday. The location was set, the standard... Tarpon Bend. We arrived to find Tarpon SO packed that there was no way in bloody hell we would get in there. So we took the Rok: Brgr detour...

Lovers Ackerman

Lovers Goodstein - Happy Birthday Jarred!

Jennifer, Lenny and Rachel

This was our second time at Rok:Brgr and I must say that our experience was much better this second time around. This prohibition 1920's style restaurant is so fun in style and decor. With an extensive food and drink menu including over 65 different beers from around the country, our waitress was great in keeping the drinks, apps and food flowing. We were crammed in at our table tight tight tight, but the weather was so beautiful out that there was no way we were sitting inside!

The food here is good, though I feel a little pricey. You're paying for the ambiance and those gourmet burgers get you! As winner of the 2011 New Times Best Restaurant in Broward County & The Channel 10 Best Burger Contest it's definitely worth checking out. The D Wade, Las Olas and Prime Burger all sound so yummy. Andy likes ordering the salad that comes with a burger on the side... Yum! The fries are also great (Truffle or not).

Rachel ordered the build your own burger with Kobe beef and a monstrous amount of toppings....

Rachel's Monstrous Meal

We ended up having a great night!. All of us were filled to our maximum beef, salad and ultimate brownie overload capacity. Since we were celebrating Jarred's birthday they were great about bringing desserts (with a candle) for us to have our fiesta too. I should also mention that the manager was super cool about bringing out our special request (that ultimate brownie is no longer on the menu) - You can check out the menu for yourself here.

You can also check out my Yelp! on Rok:Brgr here

I'm sure we'll be back many many more times... Such a great spot downtown!

Anthropologie Lunch Run Fun....

2012-01-13T13:31:00.000-05:00

I love doing this... It can be a little hectic and I don't do it too often, but I had a couple gift cards to splurge with from the holidays... So here we go!

Ahhhhhh behold the Anthropologie lunch run...

Anthropologie Aventura

Trying to make it from work to Aventura Mall, park, find clothes, try them on, check out and drive back to work all within an hour. Yes, it can be done! I've even managed to bring along my friend Sara before and we both made it out alive AND with purchases!

This time I had a mission. I knew exactly what I needed so I made a bee line for it!

My Selections....

I always do so much better at Anthropologie when I see what's online first and then go in... The clothes are always so smushed together - beautiful but smushed. Hey, when you only have an hour browsing is not really an option!

After trying on my online finds I committed to two pieces... Basics for Spring! A long white tee with fun pockets in the front and a tangerine fun top with a collar. Tangerine is THE color for Spring don't ya know. Refinery29 and Little Pink Book as well as numerous other sources are all screaming for tangerine! I love both of my purchases so much I reviewed them on Anthropologie's website and they actually posted them.

You can find the reviews here: White Shirt & Tangerine Shirt - Woohoo! I'm famous :)

On the way out I had to drool over this bed.... Ahhhhhh Someday.....

Amazing Bed Display... Droooooooool

You can also find my Yelp! on this Anthro location here. - Hope you enjoyed coming with me to the mall ;)

Completely New in 2012....

2012-01-12T15:05:00.000-05:00

Happy New Year!!! In an effort to become a complete and total social media nerd, I bring you tons and tons of changes for the year....

The first of which.... It looks a little different around here huh? Little cleaner, little different... Nice! Also with the changes comes a new name for my blog because let's face it... the last name of this blog was a little hard to figure out. I'm loving the new name.... Do you know what a Green Tara is?

Well, you know I love to read all that New Age stuff.... The Secret, Spirit Junkie, Chakras, etc.... Go ahead, call me a Hippie :) LOL Anyway, in my readings I came across the Green Tara...which hello, that's me! A Greenie and a Tara, but theres a deeper meaning. Rather than try to explain it all to you let me consult a little thing called the internet for some help:

Tara (Sanskrit, "star") is a Buddhist savior-goddess especially popular in Tibet, Nepal and Mongolia.The goddess of universal compassion, Tara represents virtuous and enlightened action. It is said that her compassion for living beings is stronger than a mother's love for her children. She also brings about longevity, protects earthly travel, and guards her followers on their spiritual journey to enlightenment. In Buddhist religious practice, Green Tara's primary role is as a savior. She is believed to help her followers overcome dangers, fears and anxieties, and she is especially worshiped for her ability to overcome the most difficult of situations. Green Tara is intensely compassionate and acts quickly to help those who call upon her.

Green Tara

There ya go... it had me at hello :) Of course the love part of the blog name is just that... Love!

So back to the changes.... I kicked around the idea of doing another blog about the places and faces I love here in South Florida and then realized I can't even maintain one blog let alone two... So here now we have the merging of the two. GCD and fun, all wrapped up into one cute little package.

You'll notice on the side a new Yelp! app... FUN!!! I created a yelp account oh about 2 years ago and never used it again until recently... I'm in love again. It's a great way to get and give reviews of your fave restaurants, shops, events and more. Since Andy and I like to eat, shop and play all around South Florida, I thought it would be fun to share the events and adventures we go on. Both of us love our city so much - art shows, concerts, restaurants... AND some reviews here and there. If there's an upcoming event you think we should know about or if you attended the same one we did - OR if you want to just scream "I like Potatoes!" feel free to post post post!

So that's all for today, I hope you had an amazing 2011 - here's to 2012! Cheers!

My Art Basel Experience...

2011-12-15T10:34:00.000-05:00

Art Basel.... What an awesome experience!

First of all, after living in South Florida for over 10 years... wait... make it 15 years... and not making the trip down (how embarassing) it was well worth the wait. This will definitely become a staple in our calendar for many years to come. Though tickets to Basel are $40... each... yes, each....I must say it's so worth it for the experience!

From the Convention Center to Wynwood everything was so inspiring... Such a great event, my only regret is that I wish I could have done more!

Here are some pics of my favorite pieces - Let's start with the Convention Center....

The Entrance

It's so very Muppets isn't it?

The Andy Warhol Room.. Awesome!

There is Magic in All Things... Warhol

It Should... Shouldn't It?

This is a Bikini Contest in Fort Lauderdale in March of '83 (My Bday)

They were just plain cool....

You are encouraged to touch and run through.... GO!

Loved this.... I'll take it!

The newspaper from the day John Lennon died,
pictures removed to focus on the words

Me being silly in the mirror box

And now on to Wynwood....

The Wynwood Walls.... Finally got to see them!

Another one of the walls....

Just thought the juxtaposition of the deer being camo was cool

We do!

It took me a couple tries to read it... But it's great!

Random, but cool!

So that's it in a nutshell... An amazing art filled weekend with so many events, exhibitions, gatherings, concerts, food trucks and SO much more. Hope you enjoyed the pics - I can't wait til next year.... actually forget next year - I'll be down in Wynwood again ASAP!

Holy Crap It's Been 2 Months....

2011-12-14T08:44:00.000-05:00

Time seriously flies when you're having fun....

This season has been amazing! It's been so filled with personal and professional achievements - As Cher would say in Clueless, "I'm Combelling!"

Heartsy was awesome.. The experience, the sales, the exposure... I would recommend it to any etsy seller. It's a great system with a great organizational tool for managing the sales you make... Just the greatest thing ever. For info on how to apply check out their website - Heartsy

Also since my last post Art in the Park has come and gone. That's always the best show- the weather always works out and is gorgeous, the people are awesome and the food - YUM!

Theeennnnnn we had Art: Sunny Side Up .... Which was a show I did at War Memorial which was awesome as well. The thing that was the most special with Art Sunny Side was that I got to do it with my fave artist peeps - Phairytale & Doopie Moo's - and we all had a fun little section to call home... Also Penelope Lane was there to take some awesome pics... Check 'em Out:

Sara, Elisha and Me

Me and Susie

Lorna, Me and Cari

Soooooo... now it's just on to prepping for 2012. GCD has been steadily growing and I'm definitely looking forward to what next year will bring. No new art shows on the horizon yet (though I'm sure there will be soon) I'm kind of liking just focusing on etsy and improving techniques and getting organized for once!

Thanks for everything to family and friends - you've made this an awesome year and I couldn't do it without your endless love and support!

Love you and all the best - Tara

Everything Happens For a Reason...

2011-10-06T14:44:00.000-04:00

In an amazing turn of events, my shop will be featured THIS weekend on Heartsy.... The same weekend that would have been Langerado.... Oh and might I also add that this weekend calls for rain in South Florida.

Someone up there is looking out for me.... :)

So starting tomorrow (or today if you're a Heartsy VIP) you can buy a voucher and spend $10 for $21 worth of GCD products... Become a VIP and you can receive $31 worth of products for $10... Pretty snazzy!

Join and enjoy!

http://www.heartsy.me

If you need me I'll be folding and gluing my little heart out this weekend...

Love!

News and Holiday Craziness.... Already!

2011-10-04T15:36:00.000-04:00

It's been a while, so just taking a moment to stop by and catch up.... Hello!

It's been so crazy (in a good way) I can definitely tell the holiday season is upon us and because I'm already feeling the rush.... Such a good problem to have!

This is the year/season that GCD is going to grow grow grow....

So the first in a series of news... and the BIGGEST one... Is that a curator from the website heartsy.me contacted me saying that they want to feature my company. Heartsy has a reach of 150,000 people... that's right folks... 150,000. Think of them as basically Living Social for artists. I offer up vouchers for my store at a discount and they promote me to their followers. Sounds like a good deal no? I offered them a quote and they accepted so we're off and running. I will definitely be sure to let you know the date I'm being featured. Have to write a bio, new shop info and a couple of other logistics.... This is going to be great!

Check out Heartsy here:

http://heartsy.me
The second is that I've been accepted to Art: Sunny Side Up - Holiday Show. It's on 12/3 at War Memorial Auditorium and is sure to be a great time as well. There will be lots of local companies, artists and other fun holiday fare...

More info on the show here:

http://www.artsunnysideup.org

I'm learning to get out of my comfort zone in a lot of aspects of my company. The familiarity of the same shows, the same products, etc. I'm trying out a lot of new styles, will be trying to get into new stores, etc. So be on the look out for all the new products!

The one product that I'm most happy to have on the horizon for the holiday season are the new small flower ball ornaments I've been making. They are mini-versions of the big kusudama flower balls I have shown before and look great stacked in a clear vase, hung or even to be used as Christmas Ornaments. They can be made custom to whatever book/style/color scheme you're looking for - Here are some examples:

Harry Potter Paper Flower Ornament

Map of South America Paper Flower Ornament


Beatles Sheet Music Paper Flower Ornament

All are $12.50 - The possibilities are endless..... Special Requests Welcomed!

That's all for now - will write more soon with the deets of the Heartsy feature - I'm so excited!

Not too shabby for the week that was supposed to have Langerado at the end of it... :)

It only takes a week to turn around...

2011-09-21T15:32:00.003-04:00

So here I sit.... A week, maybe a little bit more and everything has turned around... Everything.

I think I've finally learned how to get out of my own way... After this whole debacle went down with Langerado and the store, I blogged about out which got it out of my system and it's been completely different. I know what I can control and what I can't control...and stressing about the things I can't doesn't get me anywhere it just bleeds into other aspects of life.

The first thing to mention about the turn around is that I was accepted to another art show - Yay! I applied to Indie Craft Bazaar last minute and got in! I had applied once before and didn't, but this time it's fate. The show is October 16th at Cinema Paradiso in downtown Ft. Lauderdale from 1:00-6:00pm. Would love to see you all!

Here are the event info pages:

Page : https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1662217928#!/indiecraftbazaar
Event: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1662217928#!/event.php?eid=237187406333407

It's a Halloween theme so we will all be dressed up with candy to pass out and lots of other fun themed goodness - I'm so excited!

Here are some pics of the custom orders I received in my etsy shop

that were sent out this week:

Doggie Vases and flowers for Dennis and Maria of Three Bean Bakery in Plantation, FL


18 Custom Beatles Flowers for Janice in NY


Awesome New Orleans Vase for Maren in Plantation, FL


Royal Blue Nautical Bottles for Rejena in TX

These are among many that I have received, will post more pics again soon! I've also been prepping for the holiday season with a couple new ornament options that I'm hoping to have listed this week as well. Check the GCD shop for new items every day!

That's all for now - Have a good week!

Blog Therapy Session...

2011-09-14T10:13:00.000-04:00

What a crazy crazy crazy couple of weeks.... High Highs and Low Lows....

Unfortunately the lows have left me in a bit of a funk for the past few days.... You know when you can feel the funk? Like I feel like I could physically stand outside of myself and see it... Yuck!

So if you haven't already heard, Langerado has been canceled. Done, Finito, arrivederci...... Might as well say goodbye to it for good because this is the second time in 3 years that it's been canceled.

I took it really hard... Though I know, and Andy keeps telling me it obviously had nothing to do with me AND it's not like the show is going on and I wasn't chosen. It's still hard. It was something that I built up in my mind for a long time and saw as a major huge thing - My target market, demographic - 20,000 of them all in the same place at the same time... Ok maybe not 20,000 because of the terrible music line-up, but still! We think that was it's demise... The terrible music line-up was the reason I decided to "vend" at the show anyway... I didn't care about missing the music. Oh that and Yom Kippur - Who schedules a music festival in South Florida on a Jewish Holiday? Good Job C3! This has also turned into a fun job of trying to cancel checks, cancel insurance, request insurance refunds... Nightmare!

So on top of dealing with that... Andy and I drove up to WPB last weekend (Same day as Langerado being canceled) Because "so exciting" GCD was going to be picked up by another store. Get all the way there, North Palm Beach - North Lake Blvd with my 10 pieces, through torrential downpour, and guess what? No one is there! No one is answering cell phones, emails.... Awesome - Fab Day! Thank god for Jamie and Ryan and Taverna Opa at City Place! :)

So enough of the bad... Lets get on with the good....

Under the Mango Tree, a shop that carries GCD in South Beach emailed to say that almost everything is sold out and they need a replacement order. Yay! Always a fun Saturday to head down there for a drop-off, dinner and a little trip to the Delano!

While sitting at dinner down there I got an email saying that I was accepted to Art in the Park. Yay!

What a crazy week right?! From Saturday to Saturday it's like WTF?! When things like this happen it's so important to stay positive and always know that things happen because something better is about to happen. Which it did :) Hard to maintain that attitude in the thick of it, but it really really is true.

So on to a new week.... I've already got a crazy amount of orders on the horizon (Again, all good news) Including an entire wedding! Bouquets, Boutoneers, Flower Girl bouquets.. the whole kit and kaboodle! The wedding isn't until next June, but stay posted - I'm sure there will be lots of fun with that. :)

Oh and Julie - my friend that I wrote about having done her baby shower flowers and vases, she had her baby! So exciting - Congrats!

Hope everything is well by you - Keep Calm and Carry On Greenies!

New website & I've been a bad blogger....

2011-08-24T16:08:00.000-04:00

I've been a bad bad blogger and haven't posted in over 3 weeks... OMG it's terrible! Ok Ok I'll look on the bright side - I haven't blogged because it's been so busy! My fingers have been folding crazy amounts of flowers ;)

The first and most important piece of news is that GCD has a new website! Yay finally!

Here it is in all it's beauty:

That's just a screenshot, but to see the whole thing in all its splendor check out:

http://www.greencycledesigns.com/

There are several different pages with a new bio, upcoming shows and links to my GCD facebook and twitter. So exciting!

I want to thank Jodi Logan for all of her awesome design work and going back and forth with me 50 million times - ha! Thank you, you rock!

AND I also want to thank Sara Oestreich for all of her English/Librarian skills on my bio, you're the best! You helped me remove what Andy classified as "cheese"... LOL :) Oh and thank you for adding a link to my Twilight flowers in your blog. If anyone is a reader or likes book reviews or just wants to follow an awesome blog, check it out:

http://thelibrarianreads.wordpress.com/

On top of the new website, this has been a crazy month for applying and general art show stuff. Art in the Park which is a Plantation show that I do each year is coming up in November. I find out on that one (accepted or not) in the next couple weeks.

And then - BIG NEWS! I applied to be in the St. Stephens art show - You may be like "What is that?" Well..... it's adjacent to the Coconut Grove Art Show... If you've been to the Grove show, then you've been to St. Stephen's - they go hand in hand... The Coconut Grove Art Show is one of the largest in the country. I think I've gone every year for the past 8 years or so. It's always amazing and a great turn-out. That one is in February, but I don't find out until the end of October. Fingers crossed!

Judges if you're reading this... Please accept a little local green girl!

Accepted to Langerado....

2011-08-02T10:42:00.000-04:00

If you've been reading my blog you know that I've been anxiously awaiting the result of whether or not I've been accepted to Langerado... The verdict is in and I've been accepted!!!!!!!

Yay!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So excited - everything seems to be smoothly falling into place lately. I'm very excited to do this show. For the past few years (other than the ones it was canceled or didn't come to fruition) Andy and I have been attending this show- way back to when it was in Hollywood Circle. Love it!

Here's some pics of us having fun at past Langerado's:

Hope you'll make it out on October 8th and 9th to listen to some quality music and see some fab artwork.

Here's the shows site:

http://www.langerado.com/

Big Time!

Julie's Baby Shower - GCD Style....

2011-08-01T10:14:00.000-04:00

Heeeeeeyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy.....

So it's been a couple days - but I've been busy around here! Lots and lots of custom orders!

There's one custom order in particular that I want to share with you.....

So back in 2008 when I was just a fledgling little artist, I set up shop at a local art show called Woodstock. This was back before I knew about etsy, before having a website, blog, twitter, etc. (Geez its like caveman days! jk) I shared the booth with my friend Angie who was also testing the waters with her creations. So this was my first show EVER. I had a pretty good response at the show, enough to give me confidence to know that I had something here.

At this show I met Julie.... A fun, spunky, 20 something chick who made my day... I should say made my show. She has a pig, loves DMB and was just the coolest chick. It was 2008 so I had made some Obama recycled paper flowers, that she really liked. We talked, she bought a couple pieces and within a couple days she called me saying she needed some flowers for a friend - I kept thinking "How cool is this?!" She came by and bought a couple more things and my little artist heart was so happy!

A couple years have gone by now and Julie and I have kept touch. She came to Woodstock again the following year and came to see me at Garden Fest in March of this year. Well... My best customer/Miss Julie is preggo! At Garden Fest she told me that she wanted to have my work at her baby shower - Super cool! We brainstormed over a couple ideas until the final decision was made.

Sooooooooo a couple weeks ago she brought over copied sheets of her sonogram, which we cut and made into flowers. She also brought over some clear glass vases that I painted with her shower colors of blue, green and white (It's a boy!) Her shower was over the weekend on Saturday so she picked everything up on Friday - Here's some pics:

The first pic is the beginning stages - painting the vases. Second is the flowers in their vases! Bellisima!

Close-ups of the flowers, made with her sonogram. Super cool :)

Check out the cool shirt she had made too - Mommy! Of course daddy had one too. Love it :)

And last, but certainly not lease a close-up of the flower that has her name on it and a pic of the mommy-to-be with the vases and flowers!

Here's to you Julie! Thank you so much for everything - you rock!

Updates for the week...

2011-07-19T09:04:00.000-04:00

Hey greenies..... Ok ok so I slacked because I was on vacation... :)

But here I am, BACK - So many fun things happened this week!

Right now I'm working on a couple custom orders - 3 Alice bottles for Katie in Maryland to give as a shower gift AND flowers and vases for my friend Julie's baby shower. The flowers are made from her sonogram pics of the little baby boy - Will post pics soon!

In other highlights of my week, Yoko Ono answered a question for me on her website - I know I know, I'm the ultimate Beatles nerd!

But how cool is that?! It's definitely the little things in life :)

I listed quite a few new items in my etsy shop, as well as did a whole new facelift to the GCD facebook page. I created a welcome/landing page, twitter page, added pics - See I really did read facebook marketing for dummies - HA! It's crazy how easy these services make it for you to do - I used pagemodo which was extremely use friendly.

Let me know what you think: http://on.fb.me/mOAYum

Langerado was supposed to start notifying artists yesterday that they have been accepted, but so far no email :( Nothing posted on their website either - so my fingers are still crossed.

What's new with you this week?

Hooray I'm All Caught Up!

2011-07-12T14:57:00.000-04:00

Phew!!!

I write to you at 2:45pm on Tuesday 7/12 to say that I am officially all caught up on my special orders. Such a feeling of relief and I'm really proud! It's been a little crazy (in a good way!) lately in my GCD shop and I'm officially ready again - bring it on!

I'm on vacation this week (from my 9:00-5:00) so it's been great catching up on etsy stuff, movies, facebook, reading, etc. Love it - it's like playing good housewife with an artist career. I like this game :)

I'm almost done with the Bossypants book - seriously a laugh out loud read. Andy thinks I'm nuts when I just start cracking up! How could I resist when Tina Fey admits that she didn't realize it the first time she got her "monthly friend" because no one had talked to her about it and she assumed it was supposed to be blue like on the TV commercials... LOL Come on!

Guess what!? My flowers are featured today in the Favor the Earth Daily Green blog.

Check it out:

http://ftedailygreen.wordpress.com/

Since I'm all caught up, I'm going to work on my Europe scrapbook I've been putting off. Yay!

So.....What's new by you?

A few of my favorite things....

2011-07-08T08:50:00.000-04:00

It's like Oprah's favorite things special, except you have to buy them yourself!

Just thought for fun on Friday I would post some of the latest items I'm obsessing over on etsy...

I found this awesome vintage shop called More to Adore Vintage - most of the dresses in this list are from there. So cute and so reasonably priced.

The shoes featured are both vintage Christian Louboutin - How can a girl resist those?! The white sandals might be a little small for me, but $54.00 for a pair of Louby's? Crazy!

The necklace is made from a Veuve Clicquot champagne cork topper - So cute!

A vintage atlas book - which I may need to purchase for flower making :)

The Kimono Shrug and Bathing Suit bottoms are my new obsession - they are from the etsy shop jmorco - Located out in San Fran they make the cutest workout/bathing suit/fun clothing!

The believe necklace - how cute - a little piggie with wings!

The Our Adventure book - I swear the first time I saw it I teared up. What a sad movie (I'm talking about Up! if you haven't recognized the book) She made it to look like the one from the movie. I have visions of filling it with pics from mine and Andy's travels.

The little mint julep bloomers - couldn't resist!

And last, but not least is a little red dress that is in the running for my halloween costume this year - Veruca Salt! Andy is going to be Willy Wonka, so I've been scouring the internet for a purple velvet jacket. If anyone sees one - let me know!

I hope you have a great weekend - I'm going to get back to finding new fun items to obsess over.

4th of July fun.... and the week to come!

2011-07-06T10:10:00.000-04:00

Happy belated 4th of July everyone! I hope you had a restful and fun holiday filled with fireworks and BBQ's! Spent the 4th at my parents for a BBQ - had a blast all day complete with water gun fights, water balloon fights, frisbee, bouncehouse and whole lot of eating. Felt like a kid again for the day!

I've been so crazy with GCD special orders it's been so much fun. So cool to take a persons favorite book and make it into flowers. Right now I'm working on a bouquet for Elaine in LA for her wedding. It's a vintage themed wedding so I'm taking old pics and clippings from an encyclopedia and making it out of that. So cool.... Looking back I wish I would have been making these bouquets when Andy and I got married. You can keep the bouquet forever!

Here's some of the other newest items in my etsy shop:

The first flowers are made from a vintage Charlotte's Web book that I found thrifting - it even had that hard cover on it from elementary school complete with little kids inappropriate says on the drawings of Wilbur and the farmer LOL - Second is a flower ball made from contrasting pink gift wrap and brown packing paper - Third are flowers made from a vintage The Old Man and the Sea book.

In addition to ripping apart books I'm also making progress on my summer reading. I'm excited I got an email this morning that Bossypants is on hold for me to pick up at the library. Yay - Guess where I'm going today! It's the little things in life that get me excited :)

I have my vacation next week - Insert excited dance! Looking forward to having the time to clean out my second bedroom/studio/storage area. Spring (or Summer) cleaning is ahead - followed by a massive garage sale... Seriously don't know when or how we aquire so much junk!

Have a good Wednesday greenies - Adios!

Happy Birthday Mom!

2011-07-02T10:38:00.000-04:00

Just wanted to take the opportunity today to say Happy Birthday to my mom Glorianne Fullone! We call each other every year with either just the standard Happy Birthday singing... or the Beatles Birthday song. This year I chose the standard :)

She's been one of the greatest influences in my life. As an artist herself, she was the first one to encourage me to follow my artistic dreams. Having the cojones to take her work to a gallery, have it sell and be proud in the moment made me realize I could do it too. She has so many layers of talent. My goal for this year is to get her set up with an etsy shop all her own (even if she doesn't know it yet) Ha!

Me, My Mom and Sister Dawn

Thanks mom for being you! Happy Birthday - I love you!

I read it in a day! and other summer reads...

2011-07-01T08:52:00.003-04:00

I got through this entire book in just one day....

I'm so proud of myself as it was such a boring read.... I know it's a little cliche, but I really am a fan of the "For Dummies" series! For boring topics or things that you just need to get more info on they really break it down for you (or me in this case). All the talk of insights and analytics is enough to make someone go crosseyed!

Did I learn anything from it? You be the judge over the next few weeks... Feedback and Comments appreciated!

A lot of other bloggers and artists are talking about their business summer reads. Here are the next ones up on my list (some business and others thrown in for pleasure):

These along with the unlimited amounts of etsy newsletters and the "Quit Your Day Job" series (which is always inspiring)

So what are you reading this summer?

Flowers, Flowers Everywhere!

2011-06-30T08:33:00.001-04:00

Can you believe it?! Two posts... two consecutive days in a row!!!

Just thought I would do a fun post with a photo collection of all of my latest flowers.

All available in the GCD shop:

Many many more options to come... If you have a favorite book, photos or color scheme I can always make them up for you :)

Anticipation is killing me to know whether or not I've been accepted to Langerado. Won't find out until the 18th or so and I definitely have enough time in between then and October to prepare - but I just want to know... Ahhhhhhh!!!

And now to catch up on my reading/ etsy shop updates!

Have a Good Day Greenies!

Back from Europe... Updates!

2011-06-29T09:46:00.016-04:00

Wow... Its been a long time.

Everytime I write a new blog, I always say that I plan to do it more, but Ahhhh!!!!

So a lot has happened since I last wrote.

Of course Andy and I went on our trip and had the most amazing time!

Here are some pics:

Crazy fun amazing... I took over 1000 pics - be happy I only subjected you to 4! :)

We visited London, Paris and Rome - 10 days is not enough! Why is it always when you plan something you feel that it's here and gone before you know it. Kind of like a wedding... I'm so ready to go back - even move there. I have this thing when I visit different places, I always want to move there after. Hmmmmm.... maybe someday?

I seriously do plan on writing more blogs now though (you're thinking... yeah right!)

Summer is here and there is a lot more time to be had.

In GCD news... Things have been amazing! The last few weeks have brought in a slew of special orders. I think the trip brought out a lot of inspiration for new flowers and color combos for vases. Art in the Park is coming around again in November, plus I've applied to be a featured artist at this years Langerado in October. All on the up and up!

Etsy shop is under renovation - new/more crisp photos are being added all the time along wit listing updates. With the rain we've been having it's been kind of hard to get outside and take the pics, but all with time :)

I've added a 10% off coupon to my GCD facebook page. All you have to do is "like" me and you can save indefinitely! Here's the link - http://on.fb.me/mOAYum

What are your summer plans?

Talk soon... no for real for real!

Love, T

It's a Marshmellow World...

2011-02-11T13:27:00.005-05:00

Well maybe not a Marshmellow World - maybe like a sunny and sandy world... In any case - Hello World!

Even more things going on around here! First things first - Andy and I are going to Europe! So excited for all the inspiration to come! I'm sure there will be many things to share... Especially being in Liverpool on Earth Day. Talk about all of my worlds colliding... In a good way! Going in April so there is definitely time and more blogs before then, but still so excited.

In other fun news, we are now being carried by this cool shop in South Beach called Under The Mango Tree. Yay! If you are ever in the area stop by and check it out. Ask for Patty and tell her we sent you!

The address is:

708 6th Street
Miami Beach, FL 33139

We're also heading back up to The Hive in the Bradenton/Tampa/Santa Maria Island area this weekend to drop off another order. Rachel has such an awesome shop - we're excited to be a part of it. So excited to drive up there later today - Going up for our friends Meg and Steve's wedding! Good times to be had!

Our website has also undergone a mini face lift in preparation for a huge one that is going to happen soon. You can now shop on the site, as well as see more upcoming shows - AND where to buy our pieces in person instead of online. Sweeeeeeeeeeeeeeetttt.....

Which reminds me - In our last post we mentioned that we were doing the City of Sunrise show in April - Theres been a little change of plans and scheduling conflict, SO our next show is actually going to be March 26th & 27th at Volunteer Park - The show is called Garden Fest. We think it will be a good show - When you purchase flowers you need something to put them in right?! :)

Hope everything is good in your worlds... Enjoy! Life is good :)

New Year, New You....

2011-01-23T18:12:00.008-05:00

New Years Resolution #4217... Blog more often....

Things have definitely been buzzing around here! Do you like the new layout, background and little mini etsy shop on the side? I love it!

We had a crazy awesome holiday season - Thanks to all that supported us! This year I've made my #1 New Years resolution "No more plastic waterbottles.... EVER" 26 days in and it's still in full gear! ... Insert bow and applause ...

So since my last post I've launched my recycled paper flowers line in my Etsy shop and had them at the Art in the Park show in November... So far they've gotten a great response! They've been used as bridal shower favors, a bouquet for a wedding rehearsal dinner and just overall decorative pieces as a bouquet or individually in bud vases... If you haven't seen them yet, head over to our etsy store and check them out!

http://www.greencycledesigns.etsy.com

We've also been featured in a variety of different blogs and treasurys in the last few months - which is awesome! Keep your eye out for sales that we have now too... Etsy brought out this cool new feature to let us give discounts... Sweet! If you aren't a fan of us on facebook - Sign up to be the first to get the info!

Our next show is going to be April 9th @ Sawgrass Sanctuary... Stay tuned for more info and more blogs more often.... I promise...Take Care!

Love,
T

Updates, Updates, Updates!!

2010-09-09T10:21:00.005-04:00

Ok..... Once again it's been a while.

So so so much stuff going on!!! It's been such a great month in the world of GCD!

We are now being carried by a shop in Illinois called Favor the Earth! Check out their website for fabulous eco-friendly finds. Lots of great kids stuff too... Say hi to Stefanie and tell her we sent you :)

http://www.favortheearth.com

We are waiting to hear back from Art in the Park - An art show in the Plantation area which is November 13th & 14th... Come out and see Andy and I - It's always a great show. We'll keep you posted on times and booth number.

We're also involved in a new event called Sip and Shop. It is September 25th from 5:00-9:00 in Weston... We will have a table as well as 7 other awesome vendors... Come out - dude free wine and food! Who could ask for more :)

For more info on Sip and Shop follow this link:

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=152986024727043

Theres also lots of cute new pieces in our online shop. I can tell I'm getting older as I'm starting my holiday shopping so early. It's crazy! I remember being younger and being the chick scrambling at the mall on Christmas Eve!!

That's all for now... Stay tuned for more updates!

Yoko Ono Experience...

2010-08-02T14:18:00.003-04:00

I had to write on here today because of my Yoko Ono experience that I'm still freaking out about... Andy said I have a new BFF... I wish... It's amazing to me that one little click by her (and probably a little copy/pasting action in her message) made life for me all lollipops and rainbows... That's a lot of power...

I actually have found in the past few days that I'm becoming addicted to Twitter.. I think its because of the iphone app... Very easy and easy to use... Not exactly that I tweet so much, but just seeing what everyone else is... It's funny to see ChunkHandler ask "How do you know if your dog is a virgin?" LOL... that just made me laugh again.

How is everyone doing?! How you feeeeeeeeeeeeellliiiinnnn??!

It's been a week full of websales so I'm a very happy girl once again...

Finding all kinds of inspiration in the world... I've actually taken to reading song lyrics too... I don't know.....Something about reading them kind of makes them jump off the page. Or finding that one line that you couldn't understand... Love it!

I wonder if Yoko contacting me had anything to do with the fact that there's been a beetle (or maybe beatle) outside our door for over a week and I named him John the other day... LOL.. you think I'm crazy, but seriously....

Lollipops and Rainbows...

It's been a while.....

2010-07-21T10:53:00.002-04:00

Ugh... What a week... What a month I should say since I haven't written in about that...

Bad things always turn into good right? I'm having one of those moments in life where you realize that things from your childhood slowly disappear as you get older... As much as you can kick and scream everything happens for a reason.... right?!

RIP - Penny Fullone... :(

On the business front all is well and growing... I'm pleased to say :)

Big up and thanks to Ang for the order last week! Did I just say Big up?! LOL

Also shipped out my order to Australia....FINALLY!! $60 for 6 pounds... Insane!! Though it is going to the other side of the world... GCD is officially global!! Prestige Worldwide!! Andy and I have watched Step Brothers on Encore probably 5 times this week.... Boats and ___ (Insert inappropriate movie quote)

Anyway.. just wanted to say hi... Hello blogosphere (Did I spell that correctly?!)

TTFN

Vacation all I ever wanted...

2010-06-29T17:18:00.003-04:00

Soooooooooo enjoying being home this week... Ahhhhhhhhh!!! Love it!!

Publix is so pleasant at 3:00 on a weekday. Just did a full shop with a cart and didn't have to worry about running grandma over in the produce section :)

Dropped off the 8 pieces at The Hive on Friday - Such a great experience and cute shop! I wanted everything in it. If any of you are ever on Ana Maria Island in FL - Def check it out!

Andy's making fun of me for being a "blogger".... who cares!

Been making lots of new things.. Trying to work on the photographs in my etsy shop. Reading, Cleaning and just relaxing enjoying the time off.... Playing with all the little features on my macbook. Managed to not kill any of Dennis and Maria's fish... LOL yessssss!!!

That's all for now.... Stay tuned!

First Blog EVER

2010-06-23T10:34:00.002-04:00

There's no where you can be that isn't where you're meant to be... It's easy

-Lennon/McCartney

Soooo I guess this is where I'm meant to be if I'm here right? If it was good enough for John and Paul, it's good enough for me! The recommendation was to start a blog to go along with my business. Here it is!

My name is Tara Ackerman and I'm an green-aholic! I'm growing and learning and working on building my brand - Green Cycle Designs! I guess this blog will serve as an outlet and an open forum. I'm not looking to get all Julie and Julia on this... I would burn the house down on recipe 1, but it is what it is...

Let the blogging begin!

I started GCD 2 years ago. I have always been an artsy fartsy type, but never really had the correct outlet for it. I'm a Pisces so let's start there - Imaginative, Artistic, Sensitive, Compassionate and Escapist. Right straight dead on.... It's crazy how my horoscope is always wrong, but all of the "traits" of a Pisces are just scarily correct.

So here I am 2 years in with GCD and it's been steadily building... I'm physically taking my stuff to a gallery this weekend - I've mailed my pieces in before, but haven't personally delivered. Excited and nervous all the same... I hate the vulnerability factor, but without risk there is no reward.

Hey at least I pulled that quote instead of the Spiderman one :)

A couple months ago I was lucky enough to meet one of my mentors, Gabrielle Bernstein. Awesome Awesome chick... Google her. Friend her. Love her. So during the mini lecture I asked her about promoting my business and the risks (mostly emotionally of putting yourself out there) and her response to me was that it should never feel like work. If you are passionate about what you are doing others will see it and everything else will fall into place. So that's been my mindset and so far so good...
I should mention that I have the best support system ever. My husband always backs me in my shinanigans, he puts up with a house full of half finished artwork, paint everywhere and mod podge all over the tv remote. Love you Andy! My family and friends are amazing too - always giving me boxes, bottles, vases, corks - Anything to reuse - It comes to me.

I'm like a frickin bag lady - Please don't call me in to Hoarders. Seriously though, you guys rule! I really really appreciate it!!!

Is that enough for blog 1? Is this supposed to have some sort of structure?

I'm hearing Forrest Gump saying, "That's all I have to say about that"