What the heck? Is this a lobster?

Beware! There may be a wild stowaway in your order. Lately, just for the heck of it I've been adding these miniatures to my packages.  

When I mail out orders, I get excited thinking about someone receiving my package. I know how much I love snail mail & getting packages, so I always try to make mine beautiful and fun. 

Hoping these lil' guys make people smile. I'm also laughing thinking of someone opening their order and being like, "What the heck? Is this a lobster?" 

Get in on the funs! Use code LIONSTIGERSBEARS for 10% of order this week :)

Kind of extra excited for this latest batch to be received!

p.s. all this mini talk has got me pinning all the cute little things.

New items!

Excited that I finally added some new things to the shop...

First up, The perfect head wrap! Made from a lightweight, beautiful denim this head wrap is super versatile. You can wear it as a headband, a turban, or with a bow. Wrap it once for a big bow or twice for a little bow. I'm growing my crazy curls out and wanted something that could help me hide my awkward hair length, wear easily, and look really nice too. I thought I'd share what I made for myself with you! Find it here.

I also added some Cyanotype Pillows. These are all one of a kind, made from a fabric that's sensitive to the sun, and I used garden clippings from my mother's garden to make these graphic, botanical images. I love making sun prints, and making them into useful object for the home is even better! You can find them here.

Thanks for taking a peek! Have a great day everyone!

New: Handkerchiefs!!

“Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful.” -William Morris 

Over the past few years I've been falling in love with fabric, and making marks on it with thread. I've introduced my handkerchiefs back into the shop yesterday. This time with fancy fabric like chambray and denim with custom cross-stitched details. Perfect for Valentine's Day, weddings and of course, my favorite, just because.

These are by far my most beautiful and useful objects, if I say so myself.

Happy friday friends....

New kits: Mini Arrows!!

>>>>------>  Welcome my newest kits, miniature arrows! I love them. They are ridiculously cute and sweet and fun to stitch up. It's kinda hilarious silk screening them, because I have the tiniest screens and use a credit card to pull the ink. Maybe for the next run I'll make them on a much bigger screen! I really enjoyed picking all the silk screen colors (hot pink, turquoise, navy, magenta) and coordinating floss colors. It just makes them a blast to stitch up!

You can find them all here!


























I always love to see the behind the scenes of a photograph, so here's my mini photo studio. Just window light, a reflector, a step stool, props, and a small vintage school desk. This desk is my favorite surface to shoot on. You can see it throughout my product photos....

Behind the scenes

on photography day...


Spent the sunny afternoon hours photographing some items for the shop yesterday. I really enjoy planning a shoot, styling the images and pulling props from around the house. Between my boyfriend and I, we have our own mini prop house. I always like the moment where the mess I've made becomes a lovely tableau. I find it so hard to create randomness, but if I step back from my work there it is...






I'll be offering up blank library catalog cards and glass vials I use as storage for crafty bits and our travel collections. They'll come with a set of label stickers too!

Funny how my offerings here are all about collecting and storing. I like the idea of creating a personal archive. I'll have these ready by the end of the week. I'm not sure about the quantities I'll offer as these are really destash items. What do you think? 25 cards in a pack, or more? Bottles in sets of 3 or 5? I'd love to hear!

MR shop reopening // 1st post of the New Year...

First, I have to say that this is my first post of the new year! Happy New Year peeps, hope it's even better than the last one!

It's been awhile that the MR shop has been closed, so I missed the busiest season of the year. Totally o.k with that, but I do feel bad about letting anyone down who wanted to support my shop. I'm just so very grateful for the time I'm able to share with my family during a hard time. It means the world to me.

Soooo, the good news is– I'm ready to reopen the shop! I've missed it so. I'll be live this Monday, 1.16.2012 bright and early. My shop will be stocked with valentines cards, like the gold + gingham (!) ones above,  a special valentines embroidery, and for the first time in about a year Custom Heart Embroideries!!

The first post of the new year wouldn't be complete without a list of new goals. Goals feel much better to me than resolutions. I hope that committing them to paper and sharing (even if I'm slightly embarrassed to share them) holds me more accountable. Feel free to check in on me & I'll do the same if you wanna share some goals with me....

MR + Red Cross

I hope you all are having a great weekend so far!

The news of the earthquake + tsunami in Japan got me thinking of ways that I can help. I often feel helpless in these kinds of situations, in awe of natures power. For all sales in my shop now through the 19th I'll donate 15% of every purchase to the Red Cross for the disaster relief in Japan.Please feel free to spread the word!

Here are some other ways to help too!

p.s. awesome power! (when I read this post to my boyfriend this is immediately what he thought of when I said I was in awe of natures power...)

Valentine's Day sweet treats

Valentines Gift Box, originally uploaded by miniature.rhino.

Homemade + Handmade...

My friend, Nicola runs Kiki's Baklava, where she makes the best baklava anywhere! It's her families traditional recipe all the way from Greece. I've teamed up with her to create the sweetest and most personal Valentine gift box, her baked deliciousness + my Message in a Bottle.

I'm really excited to collaborate with her and make some lovely valentines... Right now we are taking pre-orders and offering a special price. You can find them here!

Out of hibernation....

On new years day I woke up and wanted to feel different, have a clear delineation from the past year, a fresh start. Somehow, things don't feel too much different. I was in California for awhile, taking my vacation very seriously, and not paying too much mind to the internet. I'm rarely home and love being with my family so much. Sorry blogland for my absence and neglect of this little blog.

Some excellent holiday press in InStyle Magazine had my little fingers so busy that I really needed that time away to decompress from the hustle of my handmade, freelance life.  I missed you though, and am back full of new ideas and renewed energies.



I've got high hopes for the new year. I sat down with myself and made a list of the things I'd like to see unfold for Miniature Rhino:

• Stress less about work! This is my job and I take it very seriously. Yes, I take hearts and stars that seriously. It's a unique job, with unique problems. It's physically demanding and keeps me on my toes all day, everyday. It's only me doing everything, so I stress a lot about all the details.
• Create wholesale relationships, especially here in NY. Know stores that MR would be great for? Have a shop & you'd like some MR? email me! hello{at}miniaturerhino{dot}com
• Teach more. HEY! I'm teaching at Squam!!

I'll be teaching at Squam Art Workshops this spring in New Hampshire. Squam is like summer camp for adult creatives and I am so very excited to be participating. Just take a peek at some of the classes offered and read about it here and I bet you'll want to go. My class is "pictures & stitches" combining two of my favorite things- photography and embroidery! I'm only teaching two sessions and the first is already full!

So, I guess I do feel a bit different. I'm excited about upcoming projects and have a lot of hope for the new year...

I know it's late, but Happy New Year Everyone!!

labor day love for you....

little hearts to share...

AND since i like you, how about a little labor day sale on these little tokens of affection. Miniature Custom Hearts will be 15% off! woo hoo! how about a good code word, like... Labor of Love. Ha! get it?!

hope you're having a great weekend!
jessica

drumroll please...

drumroll please, originally uploaded by knottednest.

2 sales away from 700! that seems like a lot, no? imagine making 700 things: all that stitching, all those little strings to tie, papers to cut, boxes to make, notes to write, and all those little packages lined up ready to mail. 700 is good right now. here's to the next 700!

to celebrate i'm offering 15% off the shop till 8/31/2010. just use the code: renegade and i'll apply the discount via PayPal after your purchase. sorry, etsy doesn't have an automatic coupon system.

also, you can read my first Miniature Rhino Newsletter, which enjoyed making here

thanks to all who've supported my little shop with your hard earned dollars, or nice words, kind actions and simple blog comments!!!

ps. don't you want to beat your own mini paper drum now? ....

update: it's done! 700 high fives, errr sales. high fives sounds so much better, right?