a weekend full of birthdays, burritos, modelos, tequila, visits with old friends, new friends, pop up dance parties, ubers, downtown roof decks, coffee shops, donuts, convertibles, hollywood adventures, cooking, baking, new bars, old bars, and of course photos to remember... i'm already missing this place a lot.
A lil cabin in the woods
I've always had this dream of living in a cabin in the woods. Of course I have many dreams of living in so many different places, but the more I think about the woods and mountains the more i'm inspired to go and live a simple life in a little cabin. Trees, nature, plants, rocks, lakes, and minerals have always inspired me, and as i'm working on this new fall collection I have been thinking more and more about creating this dream in to reality. Last weekend a friend and I went on a hike in Mt. Charleston to Mary Jane Falls. It was probably one of my most memorable days of this year so far. Some times I forget how much I miss those moments of just being in mountains, the woods, and seeing trees and plants. I grew up in upstate NY, so I always had these things around me but now that I'm living in a desert I forget how much I miss the smell of the adirondacks, pine, and just seeing green.
About six months ago I came across this video on a blog, and whenever I need some creative motivation and inspiration I watch things as such. I really do believe that if you have an idea and you're passionate about something, anything, you can make it happen. #inspiredalways
Summer Dreams
This collection is a lil extended collection from the S/S14' "it was all a dream.." The "Summer Dreams" collection is inspired for the dreamers, lovers, and rebels who day dream about taking summer adventures to unknown places, sandy beaches, and deep blue ocean floors.
The jewels in the collection are made from coppers, silver, quartz crystals, aqua aura quartz, aquamarine, turquoise, moonstone, vintage skeleton keys, crystal claws, mermaid charms, and more. Check it out in shop now www.nikdreamer.com/summerdreams
DIY feather smudge fan
A few weeks ago my sister and mom surprised me for a visit on my day off with a morning smoothie and a bag full of crafts. My mom had mentioned a few weeks prior how she saw these beautiful feather fan smudge sticks at a healing shop in Sedona and how she thought it would be a fun project for us to make our own. Between the three of us, we have collected many feathers that we had to use for the smudge fans. Below is a lil recap from the start to finish of our lil project.. so fun! i cannot wait to use mine to cleanse my house and crystals for this week's full moon.
For more info on how to use these fans and sage sticks for house cleansing, go here: http://incenseincense.hubpages.com/hub/smudging
Free People: The Ride
I don't know about you, but i can't stop watching this FP video. Obsessed with everything about this. And can we talk about my next day off, how I'm going right in to visit my sister at Free People for at least one of these amazing white spring dresses!
Ughh.. road trips, deserts, motorcycle, mountains, adventures, dive bars, vegas weddings, LOVE like this.. seriously too good to be true.
Tucson Gem Show
This show was incredible. I've been to other gem shows before, but nothing like this. If you are a jewelry designer or gem/mineral collector, you must go to this show! I couldn't even describe in words the energy I felt when I entered this little city in southern Arizona. I drove to Arizona just for the weekend and stayed at my parents house in Scottsdale, so I only had one full day to spend in Tucson. In that day I only made my way through three of the forty shows. I didn't even make it to the main event show room, but the shows I did go to were all amazing. Most of the hotels in Tucson close down for the first couple weeks in February for this event, and all the vendors showcase their gemstones in different rooms at the hotel. I was literally in gem heaven! Cannot wait to share with you all the gems I picked out to be made into jewels. Spring cannot come fast enough! Enjoy the little slideshow I made of the show.
A lil update
This past week I took a few days off to travel around Arizona with my family in their RV in search of new findings and inspiration for 2014 collections. I have a lot of work to do now that I'm home. So much inspiration has been built up all week. Right before I left, I saw an ad for a casting machine (something I've been wanting to get my hands on for quite some time now). So literally hours before I went on my road trip, I went and picked up my newest tool. I have no idea how to use it or what I'm going to create from it, but now I am a proud owner of a beautiful vintage neycraft casting machine. So here's to the new year, and new tools and findings to play with!
home
Having a space to myself with the freedom to do whatever I want to it is something that always excites me. I'm constantly looking for new home decor inspo ideas.. i've been in my home almost a year now but there's still so much I'd like to do in every room. I love to keep things simple and modern in my house. But I am always hunting for signature vintage pieces to add in a contemporary home.
Here's a few that inspire me for the new year.
i keep my bedroom black, grey, and simple.
i adore this bathroom wall.
fun kitchen lighting.
wall art like this.
this workspace.
the little things.
photo cred: pinterest
Dark Beauty
A couple weeks ago, in the blurr of the holiday craziness i had the pleasure to work with some talented local artists and makers on a shoot called, "Dark Beauty." I recently met Mae Mariano (make-up stylist) for the shoot through instagram, when she asked if I'd like to collab on this shoot. She did all the coordinating (and hair and make-up) for this whole "Dark Beauty" vision. Couldn't have worked with a better team! Serentity Shae, who modeled, miss Elle Heavin who designed the wardrobe for the shoot, and lastly photographer Antonia Abrego who shot this beautiful collection. Such a fun high energy shoot right before Christmas. Loved it! Even Roman had a blast on his first time out at photo shoot.
DIY splatter christmas balls
This year I didn't have any time to decorate the house and buy a real tree for christmas like I have in previous years here, here, and here! But my parents brought me over a mini tree that stayed undecorated in my house until two nights before christmas. I didn't even want to go in to storage and pull out my boxes of decorations, so I stopped at target on the way home from work for some christmas balls and thought how fun would it be to splatter paint them before putting them on my tree. They actually came out better than I thought! Even though it was small (and fake), i loved our lil tree. Hope everyone had a very merry christmas!
