currently in love with: sarah hankinson

Photo credit: Sarah Hankinson

I rarely post about other people's work on my blog, but when I do, it means that I really love it. Even though I try not to do it,  it means that I love it so much that I couldn't not share it with others. Recently, I've been looking for artwork to frame and hang in my room. I knew that I was most drawn towards watercolor paintings and photographs but I couldn't find anyone's work that really stopped me in my tracks...until I stumbled upon Sarah Hankinson's gorgeous 2013 calendar currently available and I am dying to have it. Her illustrations have the perfect amount of drama, color, and sweetness that I love. Insanely talented, this illustrator, whew! You can purchase her calendar here. You can also find her other work on her blog or read more about her on her website.

sunny, bold, and graphic craspedia flowers

another favorite flower of mine is the craspedia, also known as a billy button. it is such a graphic, energetic, and unique looking flower, and i love their sunny yellow color. in the middle of this year's gray autumn and winter, i love the pow of a bright yellow paired with gray and white to bring down the energy and complement the icy weather outside. who says you can't have a warm and sunny indoors when its cold and gray outdoors?

last saturday, my good friend Jill taught me how to crochet. (thanks jill!) the crochet pattern reminded me of craspedia flowers, so i ran out to the craft store the following day for some yellow yarn to explore my idea. the photo above is the unfinished result. even though fresh craspedia are supposedly available year round, they can difficult to find. now i can have fuss free billy buttons in my room forever :) 

i'll likely make up a tutorial on how to create these faux flowers, but you'll need to know how to crochet first! if you don't know how to crochet, designsponge has a very easy craspedia tutorial using wool roving.

until next time!

thenoveltea blog redesigned

hello blogosphere! it's been quiet over here lately, hasn't it? i've missed this little corner. so many life changes happened since my last post, i can't even begin to tell you. as the new year is rolling around quickly, i just wanted to recharge and resume this blog as well as announce the official redesign of my blog! it is such a relief to finally rid of that "under construction" sign. 

a lot of my readers on this blog are people that i personally know. thus, since the start of this blog a year ago, i've never felt the need to formally introduce myself or explain the meaning behind the title "thenoveltea." as 2012 progressed, the blog expanded and i've had the pleasure to cross paths with a few talented food/lifestyle/photography bloggers. therefore, i think that an introduction and blog title explanation is in order. i'll explain the blog title today and save my introduction for a separate post (although, you can find out a few things about me from my blog title explanation.) :)

The title was originally created to mean "the new tiffany" ("novel" meaning "new" and "tea" standing for the first letter of my name, tiffany) -- inspired by ezekiel 36:26 ("And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.") thenoveltea blog was meant to document my life as the "new tiffany," being transformed by Christ daily, being changed by new experiences, and challenging myself to be different and improve everyday. It so happened that the title was also a clever homonym for "the novelty" and the mental image of novels and tea captured the simple and sweet essence of my style.

over the past year, this blog has been a filing cabinet for photography challenges, craft tutorials, and other things that i was and am still wildly passionate about. there's much more of that to come when the new year rolls around -- as well as a few life updates thrown in here and there -- and i hope that you'll stick around to enjoy the ride with me. 

that's it for now! feel free to leave a comment about what you'd like to see more of on this blog or just leave a word to let me know you dropped by if you prefer. :) 

love, tiffany

P.S - while i was redesigning my blog, a few of my posts had been republished, which may have spammed your rss feed if you are subscribed to me. my apologies! and if you aren't already, feel free to subscribe below ;)

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