What a fun season of trades and collaborations it's been!  For me, a favourite thing is finding someone with a special handmade product or talent that resonates with me.  Often, those of us who make items with love and care are bumped together by the Universe and end up becoming fast friends!  Such is the case with my friend Jody in Victoria.  Her company is Jody's Natural Bath & Body Products - a line of stunningly delicious smelling natural soaps, body butters and lip balms made with conscience-clear ingredients like shea butter, Sunflower oil, and natural fragrances.  Though Jody and I only met at the Mikone sale this summer, we kept in contact and have now made a way to share with each other, our specially made products.  Jody came to me looking for my Winter Love Christmas tags as she designed her Holiday gift baskets for seasonal fairs and markets.  It just seemed natural to trade some swoon-worthy soaps for the little sets of tags she required!  And let me tell you, people...it was like Christmas, waiting for that fragranced little box to arrive in the mail - So thrilling!  Now that my soaps are here, the house smells of fresh citrus, cloves and vanilla bean ( I KNOW, right?!).  After skipping home from the mailbox, I joked to hubby over breaky, that I wanted to crumble little bits of vanilla bean soap on to my oatmeal - it smells divinely edible!!   Thank you Jody!

I will leave you with this glimpse in to the festive 'happenings' on my art table.  Have I mentioned that Christmas makes my heart go pitter patter?!!?

It's time to start thinking about winter bulbs for the house.  To me, this means brilliant Paperwhite Narcissus blooms boiling forth from sturdy green stems, set atop some wintry bit of decor!  Often I 'force' my winter bulbs (white Amaryllis and Paperwhites) in fanciful soup tureens for a romantic and utilitarian look.  If started now, blooms should be emerging by early November, just in time for Holiday decorating and entertaining.  I try to start a new batch of bulbs every two weeks to stagger the supply, thus, having an ever-lasting display of blooms (start collecting soup tureens!).  Many a decorating enthusiast has posted on this very subject, so I will leave you in good 'how-to' hands here, and simply do my part by providing some imagery! These dainty watercolours are my tribute to the fresh and happy Paperwhite blooms- an inexpensive way to have your home look like a florist's shop!

Image Creds:  Little 'Holiday' baggies (Tokketok.com), bowl o' bulbs (PamGarrison.com), half-way starts (thiscobbledpath.blogspot.com), Tablescape styled by BrownPaperDesign, shot by Jose Villa.  All others: Highberrydew

Hi folks, I have wanted to catch up with you and share some of what I have been working on!  Along with some fun interior design clients, some packaging/branding projects, and the ever-present garden harvest schedule, I have managed to keep up with my graphic design work.  Today I want to share with you some work I'm doing for one of my most industrious clients!We all know what a special Island spot Bird's Eye Cove Farm is....right?!  You may remember our Springtime styled shoot out at their glorious timber-frame barn.  Well that venue is a hot topic, let me tell you!  It's a smashing success and a sought-after destination for events and weddings of all backgrounds (Brides and Grooms; 'The Barn' is booking for 2014!).  To keep the smiling guests rolling through, the spirited Lynn, Chef Ashley, and the BECF team have been hosting a series of their own fun and welcoming events.  Through some Highberry Dew graphic work, have a look at what has been going on down at the bay and what's to come! 

Front and reverse of Harvest Supper promo postcard...

Front and reverse of BECF promo material for the upcoming Brewery and the Beast, brought to you by Phillips Brewery in Victoria (who, by the way, have a fabulous graphics person!)  Happy filling-up-the-calendar!

SO, with Vintage Farm Sale behind us, the Corg and I are launching into new projects!  They are 'new' in that we are "about" to tackle them, even though they are projects that have been sitting about for awhile!  This lovely old camera tripod (a nice light-weight one) was a score from junking at the beginning of the summer.  I had put it out into the universe that I wanted one, and 'BING', the very next Saturday (aka "Junking Day"), TWO landed in my lap!  With a fresh, crispy lamp shade to coordinate, I will now attempt to create the tri-pod lamp I have always wanted.  Not a new concept at all, but on this rock of an Island, projects like this can turn into a mighty search - we simply don't have the resources that creators in, oh, say L.A. or Chicago have!!  That means that when I decided to don my lamp with lovely 'vintage-look' silk lamp cord, I knew to be prepared for a  hunt!  As usual, I began with the interweb!  After finding all that I wanted and more - cord in most hues of the colourwheel and beyond - I began running into the usual problems.  This cord that I have my heart set on, only ships to the U.S.  and THIS cord that I have my heart set on, ships to Canada for 5 times the price of the actual product itself.  It was about now that I decided I could pay MUCH more for the cord (here in my own country), if I took in to consideration, the shipping costs.  So, the Corg and I towed out the good 'ol yellow pages and began our phone marathon!  Finally, when I talked to the last store listed on the page, McLaren Lighting in Victoria (bless their hearts and their good service), I found black, silk-covered lamp cord for $1.50 per foot - a good 20 cents less than my American brethran were offering BEFORE shipping.  By this time, the Corg had lost interest and fallen asleep on the phone book (I must say, it was mighty tempting to stop and take a nap!).  Never give up on good taste...and often the 'shop locally' approach will pay off at the same time!  Stay tuned for my 'bright idea' in its completion (road trip to Victoria first!).