we scout wednesdays {artist, crafter, blogger}

*Today's We Scout Wednesdays theme over at Scoutie Girl is a favorite artist, crafter, or blogger. I am reposting my Carolina Handmade interview with Natalie from Stitches and Purls to participate!*

Good morning Lovelies! I am very excited to bring you a new weekly series called Carolina Handmade! This series will focus on a variety of artists from North Carolina and will showcase their talent, work, and ideas. I believe that art encompasses anything that requires use of your creative mind so you'll see artists, crafters, designers, photographers, event designers, sewers (sewing crafters, sew masters?) and more in the spotlight. I hope you enjoy the new series and learning about all the talented people in our beautiful state!

First up is the talented Natalie Lodato of Stitches and Purls. I won a headband from Natalie and few weeks ago and I love it! The colors are beautiful and you can really tell it is made with love and care and that Natalie really loves to knit. I'll let her take it from here!

Name: Natalie Lodato

Company: Stitches and Purls

Store: www.stitchesandpurls.etsy.com


How did you get started in your craft? To make a long story short - I taught myself to knit from kit about five years ago! I was at job training in NYC and decided I needed a hobby in my downtime :). Then about a year ago one of my best friends taught me to crochet. Little did I know that my hobby would turn into an obsession, favorite thing to do, and pseudo business.

Is this your day job or a hobby? For now - it is my hobby and side job. However, I would love for my designs & work to turn into something more permanent one day.

What is your favorite thing about creating? Hmmm... well I have a 'thing' about being unique. I love the fact that when I design - I get to make every item one of a kind. It is so much fun to pick out every aspect from the yarn to the construction to the finished product. In short? I'm kind of a control freak :)!!

Who is your strongest supporter? Oh gosh - I can't pick - definitely friends & family & my knitting buddy.


What keeps you motivated? Great feedback from customers! There is nothing more motivating than seeing or hearing how happy a customer is with a product that has so much of 'me' in it.

Any thing else you would like to tell us? Well - since this is for Carolina Handmade, it is relevant that I am a native North Carolinian :) . Born and raised! I have a great dog and a wonderful husband and family... and I hope ya'll will check out my blog & store to learn more about me and my work!

Thanks Natalie! It is so fun and motivating to hear other people's stories about how they got started and how they stay motivated! Check out Natalie here: Etsy, Stitches and Purls Blog, Facebook, and Flickr.

we scout wednesdays {weddings}

hmmm...any excuse to talk about our wedding is a good excuse to me! It's we scout wednesdays over at Scoutie Girl and I couldn't be more thrilled that the theme this week is weddings! I started this little blog well after the wedding and haven't had an excuse to share pictures of stories here yet.

I'll start with the only snafu of the day and then the details!

 A story to remember: the only detail that did not go as planned was the cake. I had ordered a four tier cake, all different flavors, in a light turquoise with fondant gerbera daisies splattered over the cake. The baker got rear-ended while delivering it, and my cake ended up in pieces all over the back of her delivery vehicle. My aunts ran out to the local grocery store and bought this cake so that we would have something to cut on our wedding day!

I loved every minute of planning the wedding. Not once did I feel stressed or overwhelmed and I loved researching all the different possibilities and DIY projects. We knew from the moment we got engaged that we wanted an outdoor beach wedding close to my family's beach cottage in Emerald Isle, North Carolina. We chose the Dolphin Ridge club because of it's simplicity and because it could hold our 125+ guests. We rented 6 large beach cottages within walking distance of the club for the wedding party and families. All events were local and we rented a shuttle for the rehearsal dinner and party the previous night.

 I'm a huge fan of color, so I incorporated all my favorites into the day - bight pink, turquoise, lime green, yellow, and orange.    One of my bridesmaids told me she thought I was nuts when I told her that the bridesmaids dresses would be pink and turquoise, but when she saw them she absolutely loved them.  

 The boys wore khakie seersucker suits with turquoise ties {even the ringbearer!}.  The flowers were mixed bouquets of the wedding colors with a focus on gerbera daisies. 

 I either made or customized the favors {flip-flops with our initials on them and koozies}, the programs, and the guestbook {a scrapbook that followed our path to the wedding with spaces for personalized notes from the wedding guests}. We had an awesome selection of comfort/real food including chicken tenders, shrimp and grits, and roasted potatoes. We had a dj and a band so there would not be a lapse in music at any time during the celebration. These images were captured by our fantastic photographer, Leslie Ann Mills.  I wouldn't do anything differently and wish we had another excuse to throw a huge party!

Oh happy day!