Trunk Show THIS saturday 12/15/12

Cuff Bracelets are Back

It's the holiday season, and the desire for sparkle and bling is in full effect. Thanks to a beautiful article in the Pittsburgh Post Gazette, a huge number of women (and a few men too!) shopped online and came to Handmade Arcade to purchase bel monili's latest favorite thing: vintage component leather cuff bracelets!

We sold out over the weekend, but fear not my dear friends...they are BACK! 

With limited quantities available, these adorable cuffs are one of a kind and sure to be YOUR new favorite accessory. Check them out in our Etsy store and grab one before they're gone again.

Happy Holiday Shopping Season!

Handmade Arcade!

It's almost here! Handmade Arcade 2012 is THIS Saturday, December 8, 2012, and we here at bel monili couldn't be more excited. Below you'll find the map of the incredibly well-organized floor plan with a nice little circle showing where you can find bel monili! Table #2 will be packed full of bel monili goodies and treats for you to take home...grab something special for your friends, family members, and don't forget to treat yourself!

Time to Start The Holiday Shopping...

I waited and waited and pushed it off as long as I could, but I can no longer deny the inevitable:

the Holiday Season is here.

Now, don't get me wrong, I LOOOOVE the holidays. Good food, good friends, good family time...and I especially love when people start to count their blessings and share what they are thankful for. Sure, there are always going to be Negative Nancys and Debbie Downers, but I choose to turn a creatively blind eye to the naysayers and poo-poo-ers.

This holiday season, I find my plate full of joyous activities, events, and goings-on. There's nothing I love more than showing up for a holiday marketplace to sell my wares and having friendly faces stop by to warm my spirit while they shop for loved ones. There is something so satisfying about seeing someone find the PERFECT gift and knowing that your hands were the ones who crafted this ideal item, that one special thing that was lovingly chosen to give.

I would love to share my holiday gifts with you; my customers and friends make these events so wonderfully special. So...make your lists, check them twice, and mark your calendars for these amazing holiday events where you'll find bel monili along with countless other artists. Cheers to the season!

9th Annual Go Red for Women Fashion Show
Wednesday, November 14, 2012
6:00pm-9:00pm
Wyndham Grand - Downtown Pittsburgh
600 Commonwealth Place
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, 15222

St. Louise DeMarillac Guild’s Christmas Craft Show
Saturday, November 17, 2012
9:00am-3:30pm
St Louise DeMarillac School
310 McMurray Road
Upper St Clair, PA 15241

I Made It! For the Holidays
Friday, November 30, 2012 5pm-10pm
Saturday, December 1, 2012 10am-6pm
Bakery Square
Pittsburgh, PA
www.imadeitmarket.com

Girls Gone Shopping
Sunday, December 2, 2012
9:00am-3:00pm
Center Stage
Monaca, PA

Handmade Arcade
Saturday, December 8, 2012
11:00am-7:00pm
David L. Lawrence Convention Center
Pittsburgh, PA
www.handmadearcade.com

Bazaar Bizarre Cleveland
Saturday December 8, 2012, 10:00am-6:00pm
Sunday December 9, 2012, 10:00am-6:00pm
1300 West 78th Street - 1305 West 80th Street
Cleveland, Ohio 44102

Back to the Flea!

The first Sunday in October, and I am thrilled to say that I spent my morning happily perusing the local flea market. The fall flea has an amazingly fresh appeal: the leaves are turning, the air is crisp, and folks are cleaning out their stashes in preparations for the holiday season. Unlike the summer flea market, which is packed full of vendors selling their finest, the fall vendors are the true die-hards. These folks haul out their vintage goodies, dirty, rusty, and otherwise unloved, and set them out on folding tables for hunters like me to sort through and discover.

Look at this haul!

Vintage Madalin tins and assorted bakeware

For me, there are few things that thrill me as much as finding a gorgeous old suitcase, a perfectly enameled pink bin, or a vintage jewelry box jam-packed with old earrings and brooches.

$2 was enough to score this pristine vintage round suitcase with impeccable kelly green taffeta lining

The perfect shade of pink enamel makes this vintage meat drawer too much for me to resist, and at $3 how could anyone pass it by?!

Boxes full of jewelry fuel my creative fire, and the boxes themselves will be great displays after just a little bit of love and elbow grease

As an urban hunter (a term I've coined...like it?), I am not only looking for things that are, but for what they could be. There are lots of fancy new words to describe it: "upcycling", "repurposing", "refurbishing", but to me, it's simply giving uncovering the possibilities that already lie within. That old jewelry box? A little spray paint and some pink velvet and I've got an amazingly adorable display. Rusty trays? Add some scrapbooking paper and Mod Podge and I've got myself an adorable tray for my dresser. The possibilities are truly endless.

A vintage silver hand mirror will give bel monili customers a perfect look at that necklace they're trying on, and with a price tag of $0 (it was "thrown in" with the green lined suitcase), the taste is that much sweeter

I have so many ideas for these little trays...

$1 for this gorgeous book, complete with adorably perfect vintage holiday graphics

So friends, here's to the weekend flea. Shop on!

January 24: David & Leigh-Anne Weiss, Airheads Balloon Art

Dear friends, you have NO IDEA what a balloon could do until you've seen the amazing handiwork of David Weiss and the talented twisters at Airheads Balloon Art.  I have had the fantastic joy of knowing David and Leigh-Anne (featured earlier this month, Leigh-Anne Weiss, Madison Handbags) since I was in high school a hundred years ago (ok...it was ~1998).  David is an amazingly talented artist, a savvy businessman, a fantastic husband and father, and an all around awesome guy. Check his date book and you're sure to find exciting events, time with his kids, or some wonderful surprise he's planning for Leigh-Anne. David and the Airheads team are experts in their field of fun, joy, and truly awesome event decor.

The Weiss Family (at their fabulous Spy Kids themed party)

So, you might wonder what you could need balloons for other than a birthday party. My friends, while I do have my way with words, this is something that can truly only be conveyed accurately with pictures. Here are some of the most amazing works of balloon art I have ever seen:

Alice in Wonderland: Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dumb

The Grinch

ok...love this but I am admittedly terrified of clowns

Leigh-Anne with a "balloon monster"....how does he DO that?

Yup, that's a balloon bikini and chopper, featuring David Weiss (resident balloon badass)

balloon Stillers!

Airheads Balloon Art was founded in 1999 by David Weiss and a fellow balloon artist. At the time Mr. Weiss had over 10 years of experience in balloon sculpture and was the former owner of A&D Party Performers, a costumed-entertainment company. His colleague was an award-winning balloon artist and professional clown. They decided to combine their artistic and entrepreneurial talents to form Airheads Balloon Art!

In 2002, after his partner chose to pursue another career, Mr. Weiss enlisted the help of his multi-talented wife, Leigh-Anne, and excelled the growth of Airheads Balloon Art by purchasing Balloons Over Pittsburgh ( Pittsburgh’s 1st and oldest balloon company).

Committed to excellence, Mr. Weiss is a Certified Balloon Artist achieving the most respected certification in the balloon industry and has served as President of the Western PA Qualatex Balloon Network. As a charter member of BalloonPlanet.com, Airheads Balloon Art has moved beyond the Pittsburgh region as a part of a global network of balloon professionals, providing decorating and balloon delivery services worldwide.

The next time you or your business is having an event, make sure you keep Airheads on the top of your list to create a uniquely special atmosphere. Check them out online, "like" them on Facebook, subscribe on YouTube, and follow them on Twitter to find out where they'll be twisting next!