Fresh Flower Candle

I'm a sucker for ambiance, which is why I'm always on the lookout for interesting lighting tips. For me, candles have always been a good way to create a soothing, calm atmosphere. After Valentine's Day, I found a great way to put fresh rose petals to even greater use. This is my Fresh Flower Candle...

Step 1: You'll need two round (or square) vases of different sizes. The smaller of the two should fit comfortably inside the other. You will also need a votive candle and fresh picked flower petals of your choice.

Step 2: Place the smaller glass vase inside the larger one.

Step 3: Take your freshly picked petals and place them in between the two vases. The larger the gap, the more creative you can be with the assortment of flowers. If you're lucky enough to get a hold of fresh fragrant flowers, think of the wonderful aroma the warmth of the candle would create.


Step 4: Arrange the petals so there are gaps in between for the candlelight to shine through. Once complete, place the votive candle inside.

Step 5: Sit back and enjoy!

Key To My Heart

Now available here.

Houses on the Hill

'Houses on the Hill' is the second print of my summer collection. Now available here.

Detail

Spot on the Beach

I'm currently working on a series of vivid, Summer themed prints. 'Spot on the Beach' is the first of this collection. Soon to be in my Etsy shop here.

Detail

Spring in the Morning

Spring is in the air and with it comes great inspiration. Here are some new prints I've added to my shop. You can visit me at khiti.etsy.com.

Birds on Pedals

LoveRocks

Find A Happy Place

With the way of the world these days, "Find A Happy Place" has become a daily mantra of mine. It's a means of mentally transporting one's self to another place in times of distress.

Long post office lines, rowdy lines at the grocery store, etc. I tend to use it quite often during morning rush hour traffic when I'm standing in a packed subway car ...stuck in between stations.

When do YOU need to find a happy place?

Prints also come in Apple Green, Ocean and Ochre/Green. Available here.

NEW, Blossom in Lavender

Detail

Exotic Plant Study

After picking up a book by German biologist Ernst Haeckel, "Plant Forms in Nature", I decided to do a series of drawings. Inspired by the various forms and a night of watching the ever so charming, cheesy classic 'Little Shop of Horrors', what started out as a simple plant study made a slightly exotic turn. As my new silkscreen image dries in the window after exposure, I can't wait to see how this drawing will translate onto fabric.  Stay tuned!

Had to Share..

What a great room by Interior Designer Muriel Brandolini. Such intricate detail and blending of colors and patterns!

Beautiful rug by Fedora Designs

BLOSSOM

I've been a busy bee lately!  I haven't been able to post much, but I thought I'd share this new pillow design I've just added to my shop.  I call it Blossom, and it comes in Sea Foam Blue and Marigold!  More to come later...

I'm also working on pics for a sneak peek of my humble Brooklyn abode, so be sure to stay tuned!!!

Don't forget to visit me and all the wonderful artists of this month's Poppytalkhandmade.

Poppytalk

Today is the opening of Poppytalk's Home Sweet Home Market, and I am so pleased that mine will be among the featured shops. It's a housewares themed market and will run from June 7th - August 8th. Here are a few of the items that will appear...

You can visit me on Poppytalk here or at my Etsy shop, Khiti.Etsy.Com

Thanks for stopping by.  Hope you enjoy the market!

Have You Seen Me?

Where did you go?   

A question for the ages that even the Mighty Bosstones once asked.

I think we can all relate to that one missing sock after a fresh load of laundry.  What happens to them is one of life's mysteries.  They must have some kind of premeditated escape plan that happens during the dryer - basket change over.  They use the static cling to scale down the side of the machine like a high tech thief on an extension wire down the side of a skyscraper.  But after all, who could blame them? They don't have the best job in the world. I guess its just they're version of a major career change.

No matter what the cause, reason or phenomenon, it's a part of life, though it doesn't make it any less irritating.   If socks and laundry machines existed in the times of great kings and be-headings, I think it would have meant the demise of many royal servants.

So, join in the search for missing socks everywhere.  Maybe they'll eventually turn up with Jimmy Hoffa and the five Navy Avengers lost in the Bermuda Triangle.

My new Missing Sock prints can be found here.

Lotta Prints!

Friday evening I had the pleasure of attending Lotta Jansdotter's 'Printing Party' held at her new Brooklyn studio.  It was the second of two parties to celebrate her new book 'Lotta Prints'. I've been following her work and fell in love with her signature hand printed fabric. Her designs have such a great rustic elegance about them. Needless to say, I was not only thrilled to meet her in person, but absolutely ecstatic to experience first hand some of her favorite stamping and printing techniques.

A wonderfully mixed crowd of fans and curious participants both young and old gathered around her studio work table supplied with paint, rollers, sponges, brushes, stencils and hand carved potato stamps.  Following a demonstration of each printing technique, we all dove in and began to create our own designs on the same type of crisp cotton fabric Lotta uses herself. 

Due to the large turn out, finding a spot on the work table took some effort.  But one could hardly complain with her wonderful collection of art and design books throughout the studio to keep you occupied, not to mention the mini shop with signature Jansdotter items!

What a wonderful night indeed.  I look forward to more printing events with the infamous Lotta Jansdotter in the future.

For her online shop, visit www.jansdotter.com

Hot Fun in Summertime

Summer has arrived, and along with it, humid 90 degree weather and sweating in epic proportions.  My Grandma preferred the Winter months over the Summer ones.  Her philosophy was that you can always put on more clothes to warm up, but there's only so much you can take off.  After years of living in the concrete jungle where the heat rises from the sidewalks, and more specifically in Brooklyn, on a street where trees are few and far in between, I completely understand her way of thinking.

However, one of the best parts of warm, sunny days are barbecues and picnics. I salivate at the thought of grill cooked burgers, slightly burnt hot dogs with baked bean dip, buttery corn on the cob, crisp salad and large glasses of iced tea lemonade to cool off with.

Inspired by these images, I've created a line of silkscreened butterfly wall art and linens.  He are a few...

Hand silkscreened 9X12 canvas wall art in Charcoal, Blue and Yellow.  

Available here in my Etsy shop

18x14 Butterfly placemat sets in Red, Charcoal and Ochre.  

Available by special order.

These placemat sets are my favorite.  Like the canvas wall art, I love how the pair create whole images when set along side each other.  Also available in an Ochre/Blue colorway.

 They too are special order items.

Left Side

Right Side

Detail

Detail

The butterfly canvas sets are available here at my Etsy shop.

For more information on the special order items, contact me at nykeiam@gmail.com 

Enjoy and Stay Cool!

In a New York Morning

New York subways are definitely not for the timid or the claustrophobic! It's beginning to feel like a chaotic, moving mosh pit by the day. For a calm person, even I admit to a slight feeling of panic (sometimes rage) and lack of breathing air during really bad rush hour traffic. But if the crowd or lack of oxygen doesn't get to you, the messages on the loud speaker may. That is, if you're an out-of-towner.

On the way into work this morning, my usual thoughts of wishing I were on the way home was interrupted by the usual announcements. I was ever so casually reminded of all that I really do have to fear on a daily basis in a city like this. Things like, be sure to watch our bags and wallets, beware of pickpockets, be cautious of panhandlers, stand clear of closing doors, make sure you still have your kidneys when exiting the train...And of course, the all too important..."If you see a suspicious package, tell a police officer or an MTA employee". All good advice. However, this last one is the hardest of them all when having to take action. What you don't want to do, is ignore something that could potentially be an exploding device. But at the same time, do you really want to be responsible for hysteria, bedlam and bomb squads over a bag with a half eaten ham sandwich inside?

What an odd state of affairs to be in when, not only are we warned about possible dangers in our immediate vicinity day in and day out, but that we've all become so accustomed to it. It's about as typical as hearing the current time and the next arriving station.

To check out more phobias

'Sweet Aroma Cold Therapy'

There are two things that are always constant in my little apartment in Brooklyn...

One: Having to bang on the kitchen faucet for the water to come on (I've acquired quite the touch. Fonzie would be proud). Two: Extremely dry heat at night during the winter. I never complain about the heat because I know the minute the landlord turns it down (which I'm sure she'd love to do) subzero degree weather would roll in. And believe me, getting her to turn it back up wouldn't be nearly as easy. So I usually just sweat it out...literally!

Over the weekend, I picked up a cold...for the second time this winter, and I rarely get colds. I fear I may turn into a germaphobe and carry a bag of wipies everywhere I go. Or become like those people on the subway train that would rather fall and get a concussion before they touch a pole or handle.

Anyway, back on subject...I have this cold. Sneezing, painful coughing/hacking and congestion...Oh the congestion! As you know, trying to sleep with a cold is one of the hardest things to do, especially when you can only breathe through one nostril. And there's only so many times I can switch sleeping sides during the night to give the other nostril a break. How that happens, I don't know. But, it feels so good for the two minutes the stuffiness breaks up before traveling to the other side!

So, in the midst of my suffering with the cold, stuffy nose and dry, nostril burning heat that makes it painful to breathe, I came up with a solution! I made a sweet concoction of Essential Oils which included peppermint, lavender, eucalyptus and hot steaming water. After letting a wash cloth soak in the water, I rang it out, folded it and placed it across my nose. Breathing in the moist aromatic air was just heaven. The eucalyptus and peppermint cleared my stuffiness and the lavender put me to sleep...not to mention made me feel all warm and fuzzy.

So for all of you Rhinovirus infected suffering souls out there, I implore you to try this easy at home Aroma Cold Therapy.

• 3-4 drops of Lavender
• 3-4 drops of Peppermint
  
• 1-2 drops of Eucalyptus
  
• Washcloth
  
• 1 Bowl
  
• Hot Water
  

You can experiment with the percentages depending on what works best for you. Note: Eucalyptus oil is very very strong!

Find Essential Oils here.

Perfect Fall Day in New York

Fall is my favorite season!  The mild brisk weather, comfy sweaters, coffee and parks.  On my lunch break, I had to take a picture of the entrance to Madison Square Park on 23rd Street.

There's a light drizzle, wet walkways and a cool breeze in the air. It's the perfect day for hot drinks and good books.