We indulged in the ultimate lady getaway – morning yoga, afternoon winery visits, health food store beauty section stock-ups, magazines galore and of course a Diane Lane movie marathon. Oh, and did I mention the fabulous hot tub located on the property?

The ladies….clearly we are thrilled about our arrival. 

I couldn’t believe the view we were greeted by from the hot tub.

Joanna’s Mother in Law Jackie & her lovely friends created this incredible spread for us.

Bea, Joanna and me soaking it all in.

We awoke the next morning to silence, the smells of Spring and this incredible fog that lifted by early morning. Perfect weather for yoga on the patio.

Heather enjoying the sunshine.

We visited the local farmers market. These chamomile bunches smelled like honey!

Sweet pea explosion, anyone?

Bea and her charming ways. She can make a cocktail like nobody else I know.

My favorite new hostess gift – Almond Oil from A L’Olivier in Provence. Obsessed!

Overjoyed (to say the least) at Edna Valley Vineyard. Can’t wait to go back for another weekend!

How do you feel about Valentine’s Day? Do you see it as a chore, a hallmark holiday, a day just like all the rest?  Or do you see Valentine’s Day as a moment to remember the sweet things about your beloved, the minutia of why you fell in love in the first place? If you’re single – do you abhor the thought of a V-Day spent alone, or do you enjoy the empowerment of turning a little love on yourself to remind you of your well honed awesome-ness? Do you suffer from the gifting-is-a-nuisance bug or do you plan a thoughtful gift ahead of time, reveling in the secret of your covert sensitivity?

Friends, with my business, I have seen it all in the V-Day department. Whether it be heading out for last minute ‘thoughtful’ go-to grabs for a client, to filling a room with hand crafted and antique objects focused on the declaration of love, to a request to choose gifts for the three ladies in someone’s life (ahem, this one I just couldn’t accommodate), I’ve now been privy to the mental mayhem that those particular 24 hrs can inspire.

I’ve spent some time this past week thinking about ways to remind us that Valentine’s Day is an opportunity to be mindful, thoughtful, considerate of the one you love. I’ve shared some of these ideas with a few of my favorite blogs and hope that you will check it out and find something that inspires…inspires in you a reason for you to look forward to Feb. 14th.

The beautiful Shiva Rose, of the holistic lifestyle blog The Local Rose and I discuss V-Day giving tips that are loving to the environment. Be prepared to spend some time getting lost in Shiva’s site – it is chock full of goodness.

Elaine, of the uber-savvy site The List Collective and I have been thinking about creating an A-List for a while now. As luck would have it, the starts aligned for Valentine’s Day. I culled together some of my favorite finds that won’t break the bank. Check out the top – ten here.

Over at Bungalux, the super chic one stop shop for all things luxey (new word?) & lifestyle, founder Alex Brunkhorst and I chat gifting. We get down to the nitty gritty of my own greatest gifting challenges, some favorite shopping spots and of course, V-day giving advice as well.

We handled 1200 gifts this season hard to believe the studio walls could hold the constant production flow. I snapped this quiet moment below, as these little beauties were flying out the door. I love a little wrapping romance.

We stocked up in a major way on my favorite French candles, Mad et Len. Hand forged iron container, scents that appeal to masculine + femimine sensibilities and just a bunch of chic-ness all around. I’m a major fan. Stateside, you can purchase from Scotti & John over at Garde.

We created a special tasting set for a select clients recipients which included the divine chocolates from Compartes. A high risk, completely dangerous project in retrospect. Take 10 creative girls who are slap – happy from deadlines and present them with perfectly packaged chocolate in bulk. No flavor shall go untested….

One of my favorite shops, Terrain, ordered my gifting accessories and shadowboxes. Happiness, gratitude and giddiness ensued.

In the midst of it all….we created gifts. The 250 lucky recipients of these beauties below were spread across the country. Natural, black, crimson & evergreen were a color theme this past season. The packaging felt sleek and appropriate for many different types of recipients – while keeping the festive touch.

I had the perfect escape at Heather’s holiday wrapping party. Lovely ladies, laughs, wrapping and holiday cocktails carried us through the evening.

We created a gift of fine wine, etched glasses and these beautiful wood boxes for a new client. A new client that arrived on December 20th. Who needs to sleep in December?

I was thrilled as in thrilled to be featured on Martha Stewart’s blog. I gave my tips on thoughtful gifting and did I mention I was thrilled to be included?

Another new client popped up this season and we created some of my favorite graphics of the season for them. I’ll be uploading the full gift in all of it’s glory shortly on the site. The clients created a little known show called Top Chef and let’s just say the gift was about fine food. perfect packaging and a tasting trip from East to West.

Okay, a shameless self portrait, I know. I was thrilled to have my gifting go-to tips featured on Refinery 29. We had a blast shooting and the day was the perfect excuse to stop by a few of my favorite shops around the city and find a few key things to covet.

I worked with a leather maker to craft these lambskin boxes for some gentlemen Executive gifts. The boxes had embossed initials on them and inside, held a really beautiful repurposed wood desk lamp I designed. More pics on those later as well. They were really lovely inside and out…and I am itching to make some more.

After wrapping up (no pun intended) the season – I was at the same time excited, inspired and exhausted. After the last gifts were delivered, I rested for a few days before heading to Ojai for New Years. We had a group of 20 friends that all descended on this magical & restorative spot. I cannot wait to go back.

Oh and I must tell you about the most fabulous Chai that my friend Joanna turned me on to. It’s divine. How to find happiness through Chai recipe here. 

Post New Year’s, we headed off to Sundance. My beloved produced 2 films that were in the festival – In A World and Big Sur. Check them out! We had a blast, the films rocked and I was thrilled to absorb the surroundings and the snow. I loved being an outsider having access to an insiders perspective. I aim to make inspiring gifts, not inspiring films after all…

Utah has extraordinarily peaceful sunsets, did you know?

I headed back to LA ready to hit the ground running. I’m so happy to have been traveling , sourcing and have had a bit of restoration from the Holiday season, yet  I’m thrilled to be back at it. Valentine’s Day is upon us after all! And speaking of Valentine’s Day….

I had the best time working with Alex, the brilliant and talented founder & editor of Bungalux. We go deep into the heart of mindful and considered gifting…and offer some tips and how – to’s along the way. Do take a peek and I hope you enjoy. xxS

Materials: yarn//felt//scissors//glue gun//cover weight metallic paper//Martha Stewart paper punch

1. cut your felt into approximately 2″ wide x 3″ long strips.  2. keep your cover weight paper as large pieces, this allows you to make mistakes! It takes a bit of effort to get the rhythm of the paper punch down so give yourself room to play a bit.

3. Take your yarn and cut two 5 yard pieces. You can experiment with the length of the pieces, as these will determine the size of your pom pom. Longer = BIGGER. Shorter = SMALLER. For this project, the pom-pom should be approx. 1.5″ diameter when finished. 4. Cut another piece of yarn about 4 – 5″ long. This piece will tie your pom-pom together. 5.Wrap your yarn around a 2 ” base of something. Literally. You can wrap it around your fingers, or for something a little more consistent, cut a 2″ piece of cardboard or stiff paper and wrap it around that. Wrap until your yarn is fully used. 6. Now here the trickiest part: slide your yarn off of the base. You will have a little yarn ‘o’ or donut. Keep it that way – you don’t want it to come unraveled. 7. Tricky part #2 - tie the 4 – 5″ piece of yarn around the center of your yarn bundle. Tie it tight – this is the center of the pom pom! 8. Once you’ve secured the center, snip through at the end of the looped edges. You now have a pom – pom. Fluff it out and make it beautiful!

9. Get to know your paper punch. Play around a bit and make sure you have the pressure bit under control. Once you do, slide your cover weight paper in the punch. I punched a series of strips and cut down the center to create the ornate band below. The finished strip should be about 3″, with 1/2″ of the paper at the bottom uncut (this will be your swallow tail) and 1″ at the top uncut (you will glue your pom pom to this part).

10. Once you have mastered the punch and you’re feeling good about your paper band, lay it on top of your felt strip. Make sure the bottoms line up evenly. Snip em’ into a swallow tail…an inverted V. Snip snip. Add a tiny bit of glue at the top of the paper to affix it to the felt. (This will be covered by the pom pom later on)  12. Make a 3/4″ fold at the top end of the felt (this will be your loop for your ribbon to slip into so you can tie it on your gift). Add a light bit of glue from your glue gun to anchor it down on the backside. 

13. Now, simply glue your pom- pom at the top on the face of your felt et voila!

]]> http://simoneleblanc.com/wrapped-pom-pom-holiday-toppers/feed/ 1 http://simoneleblanc.com/shadowboxes/ http://simoneleblanc.com/shadowboxes/#comments Thu, 11 Oct 2012 19:27:53 +0000 Simone http://simoneleblanc.com/?p=18604 I’m so excited to tell you a bit about the Shadowbox collection I created for Terrain. Not only are the pieces close to my heart (yes of course, because I made them…), but also in the sense that they mark the start of the Gifts & Goods collections. I have some very special projects lined up related to mindful gifting and gift accessories and am beyond excited to be able to bring these ideas to fruition. These pieces mark the start of all of that goodness!

I’ve been mulling around on the idea of creating objects that capturing fleeting moments & memories, visceral sensations that inspire us when we think back on them. The idea of landing on the tiny moments and the forgotten stories that collectively make us the individuals that we are is a concept that I have always loved. The shadowboxes were created from this idea. To kick off this concept, I worked with some specific ideas that combine natural elements mixed with the human experience; medicine wheels, agate stones & their healing properties, the landscape of hand planted flower fields, and driftwood and the sea.

I worked with my favorite woodworker to build the boxes. I wanted a wood that was deep, rich, and had an old – growth feeling.

I thought the pieces looked so lovely all stacked together, and so special when hung as a collection together on a wall.

Below are some of the medicine wheel wands. I used my favorite yarns, Lagarus blooms and gold & copper leafing. More on my thoughts behind the medicine wheel pieces below.

There is nothing I love more than a well worn linen. I gathered a few of my favorite linens and hand stitched them together. The gold thread represents the stars, the cream colored yarn represents the grounding cord that connects the earth to to the sky. 

These pieces were inspired by the Native American tradition of medicine wheels which represent harmonious connections between all living beings on earth. The yarn wrapped spokes represent the colorful elements of the earth and the lagarus ‘feathers’ represent harvest and abundance. The metallic flecks of gold, copper and silver honor the great unknown, the expansive possibilities of the universe and our individual part in shaping our experiences. The placement of the wands, which radiate in all directions, as well as the central circular embroidery stitches, is meant to be a reminder that we are all connected and our actions and thoughts affect one another.  The central ‘X’, represents you & me & all of us. It’s a reminder to be present and honor our connections to everything around us.

I hope you love the meaning and message as much as I do.

& jeux de casino machine a sous

The past 6 months have brought on many fine changes; a new studio, a new home, a new dog (Higgins, our rescue) new gifting pieces for clients and some truly special creative projects that have been close to my heart. I’m excited to share with you our custom shadowboxes for one of my favorite stores, Terrain. Hand built in the studio, each piece has a story inspired by natural elements, legends, and mysticism. There are a few more projects in the works that I hope you’ll love…and that I can’t wait to post about here.

In the meantime, I wanted to share an inspired little gift wrapping collection I put together recently using felt, yarn and paper. I’m always on the lookout for new ways to embellish packages, – as much for work as for my own creative pleasure. What sounds better than a few quiet hours of making messes in the studio? Not much, I’ll tell you. Flowers, pom – poms, pennants and bows – I think I love them all equally. They’re fairly simple to make – let me know if you’d like a DIY and we’ll post something fun up here for you.

I love the idea of a sophisticated and subdued palette to balance out the craftiness of the felt & materials. My personal challenge was to try and make everyday felt feel a little more special, a little more luxurious.

The pom – poms were simple – I mixed a few different yarns so each colorway would have a hint of metallic running through. The metallic papers are from papersource – you just have to make sure to get the heaviest weight.

I like the burgundy red mixed cool silver and icy lavender as a fresh feeling color combination for Holiday.

I couldn’t resist also pulling in the brightest colors I could find. That green was a challenge. I don’t love the hue on its own, but mixed with the aqua and burnished gold, I thought it started to take on a new life.

Porcupine Quillwork is the oldest form Native American embroidery and was the primary form of decoration until the mid-1800′s when glass beads became available through trade with Europeans. The quills were dyed before the embroidery process began. The pointed, barbed end of the quill makes a natural needle to thread the quill through the holes in the bark and the layered nature of the birch tree’s bark holds quill in place. After each quill is threaded through the pair of holes the ends are bent under on the back side and then usually covered with a liner sewn on to hide and protect the ends of the quills. Later Native American beadwork was built upon these quillwork techniques.

How much would you love to have one of these to gaze at each morning?

Nova Scotia, Canada; late 1800s. Birchbark, dyed spruce root, dyed porcupine quills.

A Woodlands Native American Micmac Porcupine Quillworked Birch Bark Box and Cover from the Mid 19th C.

I’m so curious how the colors were made – that blue must have been so vibrant back then.

Quite stunning, wouldn’t you say?

here, here, here

NY SS13 was of course streaming through while I was away and I couldn’t help but take a peek (or 100 peeks, actually) to get my fashion dose. I started to see the connection between the details of the collections and my surroundings in the every day. I’m not sure if this is a case of being more seduced by the collections or my immediate environment, but either way, I was drawing connections everywhere.

the rich earthenware terracotta and metallics from the DVF collection

reminded me of this hand-painted gold leaf shelf…

the vibrant blues and relaxed beauty from Nonoo’s collection

reminded me of with this textured wall from the streets of San Miguel…

Suno’s gorgeous ornamental slingback’s  in dark black blue

brought to mind this repetitive patterned wall in the mountain town of Dolores Hidalgo…

the classic Mexican inspired embroidery patterns at Suno

showed up everywhere – even beyond the textiles.

The hand painted details and intricate pattern-work in the every day surroundings kept me inspired the entire time!

]]> http://simoneleblanc.com/travel-in-the-air/feed/ 2 http://simoneleblanc.com/snapshots-of-summer/ http://simoneleblanc.com/snapshots-of-summer/#comments Mon, 20 Aug 2012 16:39:47 +0000 Simone http://simoneleblanc.com/?p=16023 I’ve missed this dear blog and have been longing to put some time aside to post for a while now. I’ve been swept away into the daily practices of work, Summer living, a long awaited home move on the horizon and…more work!

What has been keeping you busy this Summer? Are you longing for a bit of what Fall will bring? Although we’re still deep in the heat out here in LA, I’m feeling ready for this season to close and the onset of Fall to come our way. I wanted to give thanks to the heady, sultry days of Summer by sharing with you some snapshots of my Summer, below.

clockwise from top: one of my favorite necklace by the talented annie costello brown//beautiful bouquets from a wedding this past weekend//my studio collection of yarns (soon to be spun into something quite lovely)//Clare’s super chicness 

a studio shot of my materials for an upcoming project//sun-faded flowers from my new neighborhood//The Chelsea Papers by Farrow & Ball (my dining room wish – list)//detail of my collaboration with Le Papel

my latest Gentleman’s wrapping//one of my Falliday wrapping palettes//detail patterns while carpet hunting for the new casa//view from my favorite morning hike at Runyon Canyon

]]> http://simoneleblanc.com/snapshots-of-summer/feed/ 1 http://simoneleblanc.com/in-the-studio/ http://simoneleblanc.com/in-the-studio/#comments Wed, 13 Jun 2012 14:49:39 +0000 Simone http://simoneleblanc.com/?p=15990 I wanted to share some pictures with you that we’ve been snapping around the studio. These days, we’re having quite the love affair with instagram (come on, come and see us over there!) but I thought it would be fun to share some of our favorite snaps you in case you’ve missed them.

We’ve been working with florals a lot lately – dried and preserved flowers of all kinds. Bringing the great outdoors indoors as they say and making the studio smell fantastique in the process. Some of our new favorite wrapping below…

One of our (many,many) lovely messes. Shots like this remind me that even in the midst of constant computer needs, hands – on creativity is happening…always.

We’ve put together quite a few of these little beauties for a *special* event. I love the miniature scale – handheld, and so easy for each guest to take home.

The aftermath of the aforementioned little beauties. I can’t get enough of this palette – find it inspiring like I do? Hope you enjoy these few pics, more to come!

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