::freelance::

Soon after college I realized I enjoyed creating the art for advertising...not selling advertising or media buying. So, why not start my own graphic design company? Okay. CreativeFreedom was born. I've been lucky to work with a hand full of clients on a wide range of projects: billboards, a newlywed cookbook, Christmas self-mailer, business cards, posters, etc.

Recently, I put together some art for a community event downtown. It involves beers and bratwursts-- how could I resist?!

Get ready for some polka!

::hello peafowl::

Bet you didn't know this tidbit of trivia: peafowl. The male is referred to as a peacock and the female is a peahen. For the record (and for simplicity) I will call them peacocks.

I grew up in a small town and lived on the end of a dirt road in the cutest little brown cottage (I know, sounds like Little House on the Prairie doesn't it?). One thing I loved was seeing peacocks roaming the neighborhood. Lately, I end up seeing them at the zoo or some random street corner, but far fewer than "back in the day". I even remember my first pair of peacock feather earrings. An inspirational bird of a colorful feather...

images courtesy of weheartit

::closet case::

In an effort to reorganize my life a bit, I thought I'd start in a small space: the closet. A girl can dream, right?

images courtesy of elle decor & weheartit

I'm ready to swap out plastic and wire hangers with quality wooden and fabric hangers. I admire the clothing items I have and have done well throughout the years to take great care of my wardrobe. Fun fact: I still have pieces from 9th grade that I wear on a regular basis. I'd like to think of my closet as another room in the house. With all the lovely fabrics, textures, colors, and let's not forget, SHOES. Most of my organizing woes stem from my lack of ample space for my shoes. Of course, the possibility of having shelving (as in some of the above photos) isn't in the cards for some of us, but I'll keep my fingers crossed.

A few tips to closet organizing:

1. Arrange your closet based on where you are (physically and/or emotionally). Your geographical location plays a large part. Obviously, if you live in Florida, put the coats in the back of the closet, and even store most of your sweaters in an under-the-bed storage bin. Emotionally, if some items "don't fit" put them in another location, or even donate them to make space for what fits your body well.

2. Keep a consistent system. Choose a system that works for you and your lifestyle. For example, pick a certain day out of the week to do laundry and take dry cleaning. Also, make a point to hang your items shortly out of the dryer to save on ironing time! And, put on your favorite tunes to keep yourself dancing around while folding your t-shirts.

3. Make the most of your space. No matter what size your closet is, make it functional. There are lots of great products that can fit, hang, collapse, and expand to fit your needs. Research and find what works for you.

Happy organizing.

*p.s. In completely unrelated news, my surfer-friend Leah landed front page on Liquid Salt. She's quite the badass. I thought I'd share the love for waves-- take me to the beach!

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::rennigers, everything AND the kitchen sink::

Happy Friday (can I get an AMEN?!). After a long, arduous week the weekend is welcomed with open arms. I'm excited to share that I'll be making the trip to the Florida Antique Fair at Rennigers in Mount Dora. This is like Christmas morning for 6 petals! 400 vendors from all around the country will be in attendance sharing their unique, one-of-a-kind goodies. There's no telling what I'll find on this visit. I blame my mother for my addiction to all things vintage-- she's been taking me to the Rennigers Antique Extravaganza, among other great places, to find treasures for the house since I can remember. A girl must shop.

Have a lovely weekend. Cheers!

::indulgence::

My birthday discount arrived in the mail from Anthropologie. It won't be hard to spend this next paycheck-- where's will power when you need it?

I'll take this whole outfit, please.

images courtesy of anthropologie

::one step closer::

1970's vintage zen floral tin

1970's vintage new world floral tin

ride 'em cowgirl pink boot

vintage silver compact with mirror

gold leaf sage vase

vintage mahogany Jordache handbag

emblem tin in deep blue

emblem tin in violet

teal floral checkbook & notepad with gold pen

red rose locket & necklace

golden leaf brooch

jar of pearls necklace

1970's laughing 'shroom penny bank

Finally. After much anticipation, your first true glimpse of 6petals-- and there's still so much more. I've taken some time to play around with Blogger and I'm now utilizing Google Picasa web albums to upload my photos. It also offers a great storage facility for all my images.

The online store will be up shortly*. Sorry for the delay you guys, but life happens. Bachelorette parties, birthdays, and my day job really gets in the way of things :)

I'm so happy to be sharing this with everyone. Thanks for stopping by!

*In case anyone is interested in any of the items, feel free to leave me a comment for now with your email address.

::lights, camera, 25::

A quarter-century, the big 2-5, halfway closer to 50, and best of all...Grandma Crooks. These are all some comments from this past weekend of events. First of all, Julia's bachelorette party was a huge success. Pink, black, and white panties decorated the house fixtures, but classy nonetheless, with flowing pink ribbon and diamonds glittering the tables. From there some celebrating, relaxing, and ghost tours, oh my!

We headed back on my birthday, which meant lots of driving to Florida. Luckily at the end of the long haul I had a nice, warm dinner waiting on me compliments of J. And...presents.

Say hello to _______. (I haven't named her yet! Any ideas??)

I still need to get an SD card until I can take some shots {visions from the bachelorette party are coming back...shots, ugh.} I mentioned that 6petals needed some professional photos for the store, so I was all set to pull in a photography friend from college. Much to my surprise...this!

So now, I'm going to read the instruction manual.

::bling blang::

WANTED: This top

If anyone knows the whereabouts, holla at your girl. This weekend is my first bachelorette party and the theme is 'bring on the bling'. Julia is the first one to take the plunge into wedded bliss out of my high school gang. The type of gang that met in sketchy places like a classroom for secret/SGA meetings and frequented the dangerous streets of Martin County. She marrying another "gang" member who liked it and put a ring on it.

I really have no idea what to expect. It's in Charleston, so leave all the Las Vegas imagery out of it-- no tigers in the bathroom or babies in the closet (well...). The bling-y theme is especially convenient given all the love for sequins this season (here, here and here). Who knew sequins would make such a comeback?! Either way, I welcome the extra sparkle. How should I prepare for this occasion? I'm thinking about dusting off the ol' BeDazzler and high waisted jeans (yea, I know, I wish I had a BeDazzler too). I want to be "blinged out" but still look classy & keep my look without spending too much. I need a way to incorporate diamonds galore with hippe/street style. Luckily, I have fellow bloggers that I can count on:

p.s. Don't forget to ship the WANTED TOP overnight because the party is Saturday. Ok? Thanks.

p.s.s. This sexy, yet classy, floral number in black is for the bride-to-be (hopefully she's too busy preparing to read today's post). Gotta love BJ.

images courtesy of wehearit

Have a wonderful Labor Day weekend, friends.

::ring around the rosy::

images courtesy of weheartit

One of my favorite things is a hand-full of big, borderline gaudy, unique rings. And, it's becoming easy to find these beauties. My girls, MK and A Olsen, always don their tiny fingers with bold, colorful, and large rings (here, here, and here too).

I recently made a one-of-a-kind ring for my friend for her birthday. I'll try to remember to get a picture of it when I see her. Actually, she's the woman behind m.marie, a local boutique (quality clothes are hard to come by sometimes when you're in the Florida agriculture belt-- yea, oranges!). You should check out her store, if you haven't yet, to stock up on Free People, RVCA, and Ella Moss.

6petals vintage silver ring holder