2010, reviewed. 2011, ready.

wow, what a year it's been. i've been pretty quiet around here for the past few weeks- working on overdrive to get out christmas orders and finish out the year. ready to start 2011 with a bang. very excited/anxious about what I have in store starting out next month. so before the clock strikes 12, let's recap. we'll highlight the big things, otherwise I could go on and on and on...

january-march: basically all 3 months encompassed wedding planning and lots of trial and error in creating the perfect gift for my bridesmaids. :)
april: married the most wonderful man and experienced joy like I had never felt before celebrating with our family and friends. you can read more about that here. or just watch this. so so so fun!
may: a relaxing, lovely month. just enjoyed being newly married.
june: it's about to get wild in my household. our wedding was featured online and it seriously changed the course of the next half of 2010. all because of the picture used as the header in this blog (scroll up to see). it was the kick in the butt I needed to open my etsy shop where I had 2 orders before I even posted any pictures. whaaaa??
july: began learning about the power of social media. holy moly did I have a lot to learn (and still do!) so thankful for the wonderful community I've found. #TWIPS!
august: realized I really need to get better at time management because balancing a full time job, a household and a small business is really tough. oh, extracurricular activities? wine nights with friends? gym at my usual 545 am after staying up until 1 or 2? forgoing these more often than not stinks.
september- november: realizing how much I love working with the ladies that visit the shop. loving that I get to create something special and unique for each bride. totally makes late nights and long days worth it. especially since I'm starting to receive great feedback.
december: little bit crazy. note to self: have a lot of merchandise in stock next year for christmas orders. made some life changing decisions (I think) that are going to kick start 2011 into being an amazing year. starting with attending making things happen in tampa next month. hope you'll follow along.

i'll leave you with just a few photos that make me smile. {ELD, Style Me Pretty, Erin Werner}

xo- mckay

baby it's cold outside.

Short, sweet and to the point post today. It's tuesday shoesday. My sister has them and I'm jealous. {buy them for me here}

alright stop. collaborate and listen!

I love the holiday season. Exciting stuff is going on the studio right now! I'm overloaded a tad on caffeine and sugar (thanks for the peppermint patties, Mom) and the fabric is flying. Just for giggles, we teamed up with Collared Greens for a little holiday accessorizing, and debuted a limited edition of the CG/OLADE Clutch online this weekend. Collared Greens was founded in Sun Valley, Idaho and is geared towards american made, eco-friendly clothing. They make the most beautiful silk ties that would certainly please any bride/groom looking to top off a wedding day ensemble. Here are a couple in action. Modeled by the men in my family. Handsome, right?? So here's our thought. Coordinating clutches for the bridesmaids and ties for the groomsmen. I think it is the perfect combo- not too matchy matchy, but ties (ha.ha.) it all together. Simple, preppy, classic. What do you think??

Check out their site and let us know what patterns you would like to see in upcoming collaborations. They've got some great patterns to choose from (stripes, plaids and penguins, just to name a few!)

I'll leave you with these super sweet bowties. I die! {photo courtesy of collaredgreens}

thursday- etsy day!

The 'thursday purseday' bag I wanted to feature today sold out on etsy (boo!!) and I couldn't think of a back up on the spot. Oops.

Anywho- I was looking through my list of favorites today and since it is the winter/holiday season I had to show you all this gorgeous 'Christmas Tree Forest' painting done on a slice of a real tree trunk. (Paintings on a wooden plauqe? sold!) I so want this to hang on the wall right now! Do you have any favorite etsy items you'd like me to feature? I'm going to start making sure I do a weekly post on etsy finds.

Go see more of Sarah McCay's work at her shop A Lost Feather. (um you guys- do you have any ideas why I like her even more now that I know her name?!?!?!?) :)

handmade holiday scavenger hunt!!!

I'm so excited to participate in this holiday scavenger hunt organized by the lovely Jacquelyn over at Exceptional Charm. Go to her site for details here and enter to win one of 7 great prizes from some amazing vendors on Etsy. I'll be giving away a $25 gift certificate towards anything in the shop. Good luck and have fun!

give thanks.

{mtsofan}
The picture says it all. This year has been good to me and I'm excited and a little bit anxious to see what the future holds. I'm at a place I never dreamed I would get to (totally serious here) which is super scary and exhilarating all at the same time. Oh, so thankful for my supportive family and friends. Couldn't have gotten here without you. I know I can be a stress case and I appreciate your patience and understanding. You know who you are! And to the brides and wonderful ladies I've gotten to collaborate with this year- you are amazing! Thank you so much for the opportunity to create something special for you and for sharing this time in your life with me. I am humbled by you all.

If you're celebrating Thanksgiving this week, hope you have a happy and safe holiday weekend with loved ones. I know I will. We're celebrating our first turkey day as a family. :) xo {mattmiller}

I won something!!!

So this morning I have been trying to whittle down my google reader that was just about to hit 1000 (yikes!) and got to my Twig & Thistle feed. Lo and behold, I saw that they had announced the winner of the Minted giveaway that I had entered a couple of weeks ago and it said this: Unless there is another 'McKay P' out there I believe I am entitled to a fist pump or two. :) So excited to send out holiday cards now. And if you want to get a daily dose of inspiration for your home or the next party you're throwing start following her blog now! You won't regret the decision, I promise.

tuesday shoesday. bring on the bling!

At the complete opposite end of the spectrum from my wedding day Rainbows :), today I wanted to feature the most gorgeous, to-die-for shoes worn by my friend Brooke at her wedding this past July. Let the pictures speak for themselves. {here}
{here}
Is that not one of the most amazing ring/shoe shots ever?? Their photographer was awesome. Love love love.

guest post- fall inspiration: accessories.

hi guys!!! i hope you'll come over and check out my first ever guest post at She Said Yes today. jacin organized a great collaboration with some wonderful wedding bloggers to show off different inspiring items and ideas for those of you planning a fall wedding. i have the honor of highlighting ideas for bridal accessories. so. much. fun!

you can see my post here. (on twitter? link up at #fallinspiration for up to date info on all the posts coming your way!)

here's a little sneak peak of a few accessories i'm highlighting...

{all accessories found on etsy}

Holiday Gifts From the South

I was so pleased when Erin of Deep South Magazine approached me to see if I might like to include the Sweet Caroline Seersucker Clutch in their holiday gift guide. She's put together a great grouping of gift ideas for those of you looking for items made by southern hands. In addition to the Handmade Gift section, they will also be featuring three other categories highlighting the following:

- Eats & Snacks collection,
- Books, Cookbooks, Music & Film, and
- Southern Attire.

So grab a glass of sweet tea, some crackers and pimento cheese and settle in to peruse the offerings they have here.

bags lately, part II.

I know, I know, you guys are all wondering what I've been up to lately. I don't call, I don't write...Well, rather than bore you to tears with a wordy post, I'll take you on a little picture journey of the past few weeks. Enjoy!
(click any image to enlarge) Maybe you remember this one from the gorgeous shoot that was put together by Lauren over at Every Last Detail and photographed by Tina Bass Photography. Thanks again for including me ladies!! A little peak into the Oatmeal Lace packaging. And, you can't escape without at least oohing and aaahing over one photo of my big babies. Hope you have a lovely weekend! I'm planning to unveil some new items on the blog and in the shop next week, so stay tuned!!

breaking out the clutch.

This past weekend I was back visiting the family in Tallahassee and finally got to break out my FSU clutch for the homecoming game. Although the outcome of the game stunk, the day was amazing and I'm so glad we all were able to head up before the season ended. Just for fun I thought I'd include a few photos that we took while hanging at the tailgate before the game. Enjoy!

Me and the hubs. Gotta love the garnet and gold shirt I scored for him at Marshalls. Those of you who know me know just how much I love a good deal.

London Ladies minus Shari- we missed you lady!!!!

Gratuitous bag shots.

And I have to end all Tallahassee posts with a few photos from home. The dogs can't get enough of Grandma and Grandpa's house. Very grateful that I grew up in a wonderful place that I can share with them.

Clutch Magazine Fall Release Party

I was tickled pink when Chandra Robrock, PR Director for student run fashion publication CLUTCH at Florida State, contacted me to see if I might be interested in donating an FSU Collegiate Clutch as a raffle prize for their Fall 2010 release party. Support my alma mater, student run organizations and my hometown community with one of my creations? Sign me up!

If you're in Tallahassee, the release party is happening tonight at the Filling Station on Thomasville Road starting at 9:00 pm. The first 50 guests will receive a VIP goodie bag filled with items, treats, coupons, & giftcards from Clutch's advertisers & other vendors and then they will be hosting the raffle with all proceeds benefitting the Refuge House. If you aren't familiar with the Refuge House, they have been providing the Tallahassee and neighboring communities for over 20 years with support and services for battered women, children, and sexual assault survivors. So get out there and support a great local cause while checking out the latest trends in music and fashion.

While you're at it, check out the Spring 2010 issue of Clutch Magazine here.

it's business time.

Seriously I cannot believe it is already November!!! This year has just completely flown right by. It's been one of the best years yet- married my best friend and found out that the right side of my brain was a lot more active than I gave it credit for- I feel very blessed and content.

Of course, there is always room for improvement and in my case, that means specifically honing better time management skills and getting my workload and work space organized and under control. If you remember way back to here, I had high, HIGH hopes of having my studio up and running back in the summer. It's a little behind schedule- the foosball table is still in it's spot and the sewing cabinet is still in it's natural, un-painted state, stuffed between the foosball table and fabric storage shelf...good times. Here it is in all it's glory (the picture was taken in it's old home...):

So before this year is over I plan to tackle those issues as well as a few others to get my 'business housekeeping' under control. I'm posting them publicly so that it's even more incentive to stick to it. I could wait til the new year to really buckle down on these goals but I'm hopeful by then that there will be some new and exciting creations I want to work on which will prompt a NEW goal set. Hooray!!!

So there they are in no particular order (along with a few personal goals I have as well):

- Finish writing business plan (I know I am way overdue on this one!!!)

- Donate the foosball table & have it removed 

- Run with Moose 3 times a week

- Finish up all pending orders that were started in October

- Organize all receipts/bank accounts for accountant

- IKEA trip and shelf assembly for studio (foosball has to be gone first)

- Prepare our first Thanksgiving as a married couple

- Start new section of etsy site offering custom diaper bags

- All fabric and inventory organized (need shelf built first)

- Paint sewing cabinet (finally)

- Homemade dinners at least 3 times a week (including days with leftovers...)

- Finish watching all the past seasons of Bones

Holy moly. There are a lot of big goals on here, but really, all need to be completed by end of month so that holiday gift season and end of year will be as painless as possible. Can I do it? YES I CAN! :)

friday favorites.

Inspired by my fall favorites post (maybe even including a few of them...) I took a stab at creating my first Etsy Treasury, aptly entitled 'Inspiring Autumn'. I'm using that board for my Friday Favorites post. The picture above is a screen shot of the page, but you can see the whole thing here. I mentioned on my facebook page that I would seriously be thrilled to have any item on this list (Christmas is just around the corner folks!) and there are lots of different price points too- so it's not like I'm being a Greedy McGreederson over here. People are always asking 'What would you like for Christmas? and my typical answer is 'I don't know. Money?' Always good, but oh so boring to open.

Regardless, I think there are a lot of items on here that make great gifts, so check it out. As a matter of fact, treasuries on Etsy are a great way to find something for the hard to shop for person in your life. Type in a couple of key words that describe items/colors/etc they might like and voila- you might stumble across something fabulous. Try it out for yourself here!

Plus, you will be supporting artists and small businesses that create unique handmade items! Hooray. :)

I really can't say enough good things about Etsy. I did a majority of my wedding shopping on the site and could not be happier with the customer service and products received.

Also- don't forget to head over to Emmaline Bride and enter to win a custom clutch made by yours truly. If you are one of my dear, dear readers I would really love to make a bag for you!!!

Hope you all have a very Happy Halloween!!!

fall favorites.

Thought it was high time to do a short and sweet post dedicated to my favorite time of year (see title of post). Changing leaves, chilly nights, bonfires, pumpkin spice lattes, hoodies, scarves, college football, dry air...I LOVE fall.

Here are just a few things I've noticed around the web this week that reminded me we're almost in November!

Need to make these Pumpkin-Gingerbread Muffins with Mini Chocolate Chips TODAY!

EmersonMade has a clothing line? with tweed coats?? YES, please.

A mini pine cone necklace. love.

You guys know how much I love handmade, one of a kind items, right? Check out these chic and stylish knit hats, scarves and headbands made by IndeeMitch! They've got super cute models too. :) (hi sissy!)

Birch wall art? I so want this over my bed.

But I saved the best for last. If you are married, engaged or just a couple in love, High Cotton Events and Leslie&B have teamed up to give away a styled love shoot for free! Check out Carlee's post here to enter! The only requirements are that you must live in the Southeast. (You will have me for competition, fyi) ;)

tuesday shoesday! simple, casual love.

Lots of fun ladies over on twitter post awesome shoes up on their blogs every tuesday. I know some of you might be a tad confused as to why I'm featuring plain old flip flops, but these are my all time favorites. I even wore them in my wedding when the fancy shoes I had put me on the verge of a panic attack bc they hurt so bad during pre-wedding photos. True story. Here are my lovelies. The thin strap, tan leather rainbow. L.O.V.E. And yes, they sell them at Nordstroms so you can check out fun stylish footwear while trying out a pair of these bad boys. (did I mention they have a lifetime warranty on the sole???) :)

Lacea + Sal, The Bridal Clutch

Ok. So I hope to feature a lot more of this lovely wedding but I couldn't wait to post a little teaser of the bag I made for Lacea, the bride. Erin Werner did an amazing job with capturing their day and I need her to come over to my studio and take all my product photos for me. Want to come visit Florida, Erin? :)

You can check out more photos of their wedding here.

Erin is based out of Oakland County, Michigan but is available for travel wherever you might need her. (...tampa...)

**disclaimer: I did not, I repeat, did not, make the jewelry in the above photo, although I wouldn't mind owning it myself!

blog neglect.

To my 9 dear followers, one of which is me (I can't figure out how to unsubscribe from my own blog, oops...), I apologize for the neglect on the blog. It's been a very hectic couple of weeks, what with last minute orders, a baby shower to plan, trips to visit relatives and my real job. Lame excuses, I know. (I started the post off with a funny smilebooth photo though, so if you really were mad, that should make up for it, right??)

I promise to get back into the swing of things after the weekend! I have an exciting announcement regarding a wedding I'm going to be involved in and I'll also have a new product to debut in the shop that isn't a clutch. So you big bag ladies get ready!

I will note that I added a new type of clutch in the shop yesterday. Some ladies had been begging and pleading for a wristlet, and I was getting a little tired of all the whining and constant badgering (just kidding) so I came up with this fun little fold-over version. My sweet twitter friend, Erin, wrote up a cute little post about it over on her blog, Sparkle & Hay, for her Thursday Purseday pick. If you don't know what that is, then you need to join our ranks on twitter and follow her, and me! She also gave us a sneak peek of her engagement photos- gorgeous! Did I mention that I have the honor of making all her bridesmaids bags for her wedding this October? So excited.

Alright, back to work. Hope you all have a fabulous Friday and an exceptional weekend!!! Go Noles!

oatmeal lace (the delectable cookie)

Ok, so as I've stated before, this blog is dedicated more towards my fabric creations and less towards food- even though my company's namesake was derived from my grandma and her cookies. This is where Jessica comes in. She is the brains, looks and muscle behind My Baking Heart; a blog dedicated to her passion of creating yummy treats and generously sharing the process with the world. Thank you ma'am! She, too, drew inspiration from her mom and grandmother (we are some lucky ladies to have amazing women in our families) Now, she cooks in the same kitchen where she used to watch them create as a child! How cool. :)

She was kind enough to purchase a custom collegiate clutch from me to support her TCU Horned Frogs. If you are here via facebook, you may have seen the adorable photo she posted on my wall. Here's a photo of the clutch for reference: So what is the point of this rambling story, you ask? Jessica asked me for the recipe to the Oatmeal Lace cookies and did a write up over on her blog. Please go take a look here at how amazing they came out and then take a look around for even more delectable goodies to create in your own kitchen. You will not be disappointed!!!

And if you're feeling a little inspired after perusing her blog, head over to the Project Food blog here and vote for her for the Next Food Blog Star. Voting ends Thursday, September 23rd, so any love would be appreciated. :)

roll tide! collegiate clutch round IV.

I figured it was time to show a little love to college's #1 ranked football team, good ole Alabama. Plus- houndstooth is an integral part of their gameday stylings (thanks bear bryant) and I think you all know my fondness for the pattern. :) So, for your viewing pleasure this Tuesday morning, I present the B.B. clutch (and matching pin). Roll Tide!!!!!