How we should ...

... celebrate Valentine's day.  We are not much for big hoo-ra's for the mid February festivities so I thought this fit quite nicely instead.  My night will be filled with creating new paintings for the shop, praying desperately for snow, and chasing the stinker pup around.  I hope that yours is just as nice. 

Gilded and Scarves Sneak Peek

For real this time!


I am busy working on building up new inventory.  Last night we made a special trip to Haus of Yarn across town and I picked up some merino/silk blend yarn for some breezy, spring oriented scarves and shawls.  It is sort of difficult to get in a spring mindset when the weather keeps yo-yoing from freezing and snowing to warm and sunny.  That's what we get for living in Tennessee.  I am excited, however, to get the delicious new yarn on to the loom.

I am also busying myself with some illustrations that are going to be featured on Etsy.  Here is my Gilded sneak peek:

Well, what do you think?  I can't wait to get some of these little babies up and running in the shop.  

This weekend we are spending some much needed time with my husband's parents.  We are going to have to do some relaxing and might possibly be able to meet up with some friends we have not seen in far too long.  I hope that you have a wonderful weekend!  See you next week.

Illustrations Sneak Peak

Well, sort of.  I'm currently working on a collection of illustrated paintings titled Gilded.  I am so excited about it and I can't wait to debut them.  But while I finish up the last touches to my first few paintings I give you my favorite affordable gilded items:

True Bee Honey

Nicolette Earrings by Fay Andrada

Odette Blade RinG

Wood Slice Drawing from The AldasProject

Kiehl's Essence Oils Rollerball (maybe in Chinese Flowers, oh my)

Honorable Mention Necklace in Navy from Last Prize

Astrological Maps Bracelet

And, with love, I leave you with this wonderful video about Sophie Blackall of Missed Connections.  I had to watch this video three times because I could not get enough.  Maybe one day I will be as fabulous an illustrator as Miss Sophie.

Sunday Artist Crush - Furze Chan

I can't get over Furze Chan's DIY Paper Puppets.  I want them all for my little studio.  The color combinations and the wonderful little added details keep me looking every time.  Furze has a fantastic selection of artworks, especially her handmade books, but I keep returning to her little loves.  Here are a few of my favorites from her etsy shop:

I realize that there are only two left from the entire set, but it's terribly hard to only pick a few.  They are so wonderful.  Perhaps a too good to be true Valentine's gift from the husband?  We shall see.

Rainy Day

It's rainy and gross here in Nashville so this weekend we are going to be working on a little home decor project.  Georgia was very excited to do a little shopping at the local Home Depot.

In the meantime, here are a couple of home decor items that are currently on my wishlist:

Reclaimed Rustic Barn Wood Picture Frames via 3 Sisters Country Store

Terrarium Postcard set via Quill and Fox

porcelain and leather hanging container via farrahsit

Round Chalkboard with Bamboo Tray via ThisCenturyModern

White Jewelry Hanger via ulibi

Meet Dodger

Hello, there.  I know that I will get the knack of blogging.  Until then, here is a belated post about our beautiful weekend.


The husband and I started the weekend off at the dog park.  We don't have a yard yet, so we try our best to take Georgia Bee to the park at least three times a week.  It gets her tired out long enough for us to do our own thing and it makes her so happy.  Who could lose?  We met so many wonderful dogs but Georgia really attached herself to a little Boston Terrier boy named Dodger.  Seeing as that I have obsessed with getting another dog for her and a Boston being the main choice I was ecstatic.

Aren't they perfect?  A little Boston boy is going to make a perfect brother for Georgia.  

After the park we took Georgia home.  When she laid down for a nap we were off across the river to East Nashville.  The husband took me to Five Points Pizza in the center of town.  We ended up sharing the Greek pizza and garlic knots which I highly recommend.  

We packed up lunch and walked around Five Points.  There are too many good things about East Nashville.  It's the perfect Saturday adventure with amazing places to eat and fun things to discover.  There are far too many things to put in just one post so I'll just post this wonderful brick-a-brack tree house behind a couple of buildings.  I can only hope that we will have something similar in our future dream home to be an escape nook. 

We ended the weekend with some fresh flowers from Trader Joe's, homemade rolls from a yeast that has been in my family since the 40s, and a well deserved nap.  I can only hope that your weekend was just as nice.

Daydreaming on a Sick Day

Today I didn't feel so well.  Mid day I could feel a fever flaring up but I plowed through the rest of work.  To combat the icky feeling, I found myself daydreaming of all the things I had rather be doing during the day:

Sipping on some extremely hot tea.  

Cuddling in bed with Georgia and this pillow.

Enjoy the soft crackle and glow of candlelight.

And dosing to the smooth sounds of Etta James.


:: Gorgeous tea image via Elephantine.

Day One

Welcome!  My name is Nicole and this is Monday Mint, my blog about the things I make and things that make me happy.  Monday Mint means the beginning of something fresh and new.  I created Monday Mint based on my esty shop to showcase my art and sell fun and unique scarves that I weave on my little Leclerc table loom.

 A Little Bit About Me:

I'm an artist who lives in Nashville, TN.  I am always trying to hone in my craft of weaving on my loom, create new art, and learning new ways of making things.  I love to cook, explore our city and new ones with my husband, and playing with my dog Georgia. Just a couple of things that I am obsessed with include candles, tea and coffee, being organized, and try to maintain beauty and grace in my life.

Stop by anytime to see what's going on.