nature nurture

It's friday and i've been diligently working on some book cover designs so i thought it was a time for a break.  when i looked out the window, i saw nothing but white so i thought it would be a good day to post some nature inspired pieces since it's so lacking outdoors. from top to bottom: beautiful photography from knitalatte, lovely felt necklace from get felt up,  and cozy owl softies from kate durkin.

Blogged with the Flock Browser

sponsor spotlight :: ginko papers

Fb would like to welcome Ginko Papers to our sponsor family! Garin Hussenjian launched Ginko Papers in December of 2008 in order to give a home to her massive collection of cards and stationary brought back over the years from Japan. She launched a site in order to give others the chance to browse through all the unique cards, stationary, stickers, erasers, and postcards that you can’t find in the States. Each time she finds something new, a huge smile spreads across her face. "May your search through these finds be as fun as my search in gathering them." she says.

Go check out the new valentine's items they just got in stock!

from jewelry to home design

I am so delighted to blog about this today. i had the opportunity to meet megan auman at the very first second storie indie market a few years back and she is just a laid back sweetheart of a woman who talents just brighten the sky!

Megan has specialized in the jewelry realm until now, shes putting her small pliers aside for a more "heavy duty" take on her delicate whimsical touch! Based on the botanical forms of her jewelry, megan has created a line of laser cut steel home accessories.  The new collection includes wall panels, baskets, and these lovely pendant lights.  Everything is available in matte black or gloss white.

Megan will be debuting the collection at the New York Gift Fair this week ( booth 4055), and everything will be available for sale online in February.

custom valentines from hello handmade

don't know what to say to that special person in your life? feeling so overwhelmed by love and admiration that your too weak in the knees to speak up? well the gals at hello handmade have that answer for you. HH is offering a special custom valentine postcard designed and illustrated by shanna murray and featuring the exquisite calligraphy of betsy dunlap. for more info on what you can customize take a gander at their etsy shop.

these beauties are letterpressed by the alway impeccable Pistachio Press with a shockingly beautiful fuchsia ink. talk about quality, this card is printed on 100% cotton cranes lettra paper too! seriously what can be better then this! i'm going to go write my lovey-dovey message to my hubby right now!

Rose hip cards

Rosehip - A6 notebook designs, originally uploaded by inspire*inspire.

i saw these posted on inspire inspire this morning and was so pleased to see how eco-friendly these are. based in the UK, rose hip strives to use environmentally friendly products wherever possible, either paper which is 100% recycled or from well managed sources. i just love their kitchy colors and designs. pictured here is a small sampling of their A5 notebooks, see more here.

poketo cafe mugs

if i had more room in my kitchen i'd love to make a whole wall of collected mugs, these would be there...alas i must be patient for that dream kitchen to actually become reality so for now i will just collect the pictures and blog about them. check out these totally cute cafe mugs new at poketo.

baby news

so now i'm just over 24 weeks and starting to feel the reality that there is a baby coming soon! in preparation and to feed my sudden nesting cravings, we've decided to start cleaning out jays office to make a nursery...oy vey!....



this is so reminiscent of when we first moved into this house, nice empty uncluttered rooms soon to be filled to the brim with STUFF, the only problem this time is that the stuff that was in this room has to go somewhere else, including the ferrets....


hence it's new home, in order to compromise, i've invited the husband and ferrets to share space in my studio, we've done it before in a smaller room so how hard could it be right....this is his side.


here is her side, minus the lack of proper shelving storage i think we can pull it off if we both stay on our own sides that is! lol....it's not my ideal space but it will due for now, sometimes we all have to make sacrifices to enjoy other things in life.

new at rare device

i am totally in love with these new japanese tea pots at rare device. these little babies are made from sturdy ceramic(which is even hard to find these days) and can hold a nice 26 oz. of boiling hot water. these colors are exactly the inspiration i've been looking for while i prepare for my next project.

cheering up the cold with warm cushy wishes!

i needed something happy to share this morning for it's so cold here and i didn't really want to get out of bed....you know it's the worst when you get out of bed and step onto a cold hardwood floor with no socks on, just to find your cat sleeping on your bathrobe that you want so very much to keep you warm! my public apologies to puppy-kitty for swiping my bathrobe out from under her sleepy paws!
anywho, aren't these brooches so darn cute! they are from little odd forest and what makes them extra special is that you can get them as hairpins too, it just makes me want to have this baby quicker so i can dress her up and put cute things like this in her hair!! there is more in their store to check out too, so much eye candy there, it always brightens up my cold snowy days when i go surf the little odd forest shop!

kris's color stripes

i'm so in love with these colors and patterns. these handmade notebooks are made by kris's color stripes. If you check out her blog you can see how she calculates her colors and where she pulls inspiration from, it's very inspiring.

sponsor spotlight :: Fyndes

we are so pleased to have some great new sponsors this new year. one of which is fyndes, a FREE showcase for independent designers and artists, whether they are new or established. The overall criteria is that they produce interesting, imaginative works. The members design furniture, ceramics, lighting and floral sculptures, and are photographers and artists. They also list 18th - 20th century antiques and some independent, boutique shops. The aim is of the website to be a source of inspiration to interior designers and decorators.

Fyndes is based in Los Angeles but we have members in the UK, Ireland, Italy, Canada as well as many US states.

sponsor spotlight :: paper n stitch

Paper N Stitch is an online exhibition space that was created to promote talented artists, designers, makers selling handmade goods, and independent boutiques. In addition to this, the site also fosters  a monthly contest for the exhibitors, where they compete for the most votes. The winner receives a cash prize ($150USD). (They figure its the least we can do to show our support.) Papernstitch is maintained by and created by Brittni and Jeff. In addition to wanting to collaborate on a project together, there was another, more important reason why the site was created. Brittni, as an artist herself, felt she was always struggling to get her work seen, but she just didn't have the means to do so. She had a website and a shop, but needed an extra boost. She thought, if she was having trouble, there most be others with the same issue. And that is how Paper N Stitch came to fruition.




*paper n stitch is having an upcoming exhibition starting on jan 19th which they will be taking submissions for until jan 14th so check it out here. and also check out the newly redesigned paper n stitch blog here.

too cute terrariums

as i start to think about how i'm going to decorate the baby's room, i keep seeing this woodland theme in my head with little baby forest animals and organic life all around her. i'm in love with these clever little handmade fabric terrariums by french toy maker Apol Lejano-Massebieau. You can see her other curious creations at her etsy shop la pomme.

re-design for mankind

new year also brings in new ideas...design for mankind has a new redesign and great new content. love the euro spin on the cover this month! you can download your PDF copy for just $1.99 here.

bestiary ink

It was such a lovely surprise to open my email this morning to get a lovely note from blair lambert of bestiary ink inviting me to view her great new shop. i love when you guys share with me your work, it's like Christmas every day when i get a note in my virtual mailbox about something new and inspiring to share with the world. these truly are the things that get me started in the morning, other then maybe some tea or hot co-co! please do check out more of blair's gorgeous works here.

sponsor spotlight :: ruthie designs

I'd first like to take a moment and wish everyone a happy 2009! I'm back from my long needed blogging break and feeling refreshed and renewed. i'm proud to start off this new year with an extra special post from a dear friend who has finally joined the ever so talented handmade community. meet ruthie designs by kim collignon. Kim and i went to college together for illustration and her talent has just exploded onto the scenes of handmade buffalo just recently. her attention to detail is uncanny and you know when you see her designs that she puts her heart and soul into everything she lays her hands on. so  lets give kim and ruthie designs a nice big warm welcome to the fb sponsor family! so nice to have you aboard!

her flickr
etsy shop
blog