cozy cross-stitching

After our frozen tundra weekend, sitting down with a nice cup of hot coco under a blanket makes all those below zero thoughts disappear. Something I always find cozy is great cross-stitching, this is not your grandmas cross-stitching though. Chez Sucre Chez mixes it up a bit with modern design and vintage flair. Wouldn't it be wonderful to fill a whole wall with those hot air balloons!

lovely birds...

These collages from kupkup give me a happy outlook for spring...if it ever gets here!

Noshii :: beautiful embroidery

stunning embroidery on wood. seriously the last thing you would ever think to embroider on but something london born, dallas based designer, Noshii has mastered!

VIKINGS!

It starts with plushies and then they take over everything...isn't that what Vikings do? well, sandra monat's vikings are taking over everything from one of a kind plushies to plates to note cards to stamps and mobiles. I do adore that she has taken such a brutal concept and made it sooo cuddly cute!  I mean have you ever seen such "cute" vikings before? everything about sandra is whimsical especially her site and blog so if you want some cute eye candy to brighten your day please do go check her out!

Flora and Fauna Show

The lovely Julia Rothman has documented her works in progress for her upcoming show with Jennifer Judd-McGee at the Nahcotta gallery in Portsmouth, NH this friday! some really beautifully bright and cheery pieces!!

dee beale

I do i love Scandinavian design so very much! such simple shapes but so elegant, it's just brilliant and so are these beautiful prints by UK designer/printmaker, Dee Beale. and can you believe these are printed on a gocco!

new work from lisa congdon

A long time favorite of mine, lisa congdon, illustrator, designer and co- owner of rare device has once again blown me away with some awesome new work. check out lisa's fancy hand painted bird "condo's". i just adore the bright bold colors of them! also lisa is dabbling in a bit of textile work with a new custom printed cotton fabric continuing the birdhouse theme. definitely go check out these beauties before they are gone!

paper cuts and screen prints

I do adore the work of Uk artist, rob ryan. He is brilliant at what he does, from delicate paper cuts to bold screen prints, rob brings back the age old sensibilities of shape making. I have his new book, This is for you, and it's pictorial eye candy, the perfect gift giving book for anyone. he is truly an inspiration!

claire nereim

beautiful and simple graphic cards by san francisco artist, claire nereim. These and some other great prints and treasures available at her etsy shop.

linda solovic

Happy monday everyone! thank you to linda solovic for sending me these super cheery owls to post for this beautiful sunny monday morning! I really love all the textures that play around in her pieces especially the little hints of book parts! check out a bunch more great collages at her etsy site here.

Nydam Press

beautiful WIP shots of Nydam press's latest block printing project. depicted here are a wonderful series of linoleum block printed pressed flowers and some sun prints or also known as cyanotype prints. these are just simply gorgeous!

Geninne Zlatkis

It's a bit warmer here this morning and we finally have bird seed int he feeder. all the little chickadees and sparrows are on a feeding frenzy and it makes me feel like spring is right around the corner, yeahy! since i was greatly inspired by the birdies i thought it was only fitting to post these great prints by mexican artist Geninne Zlatkis. lovely bright colors and great collage work as well. makes me smile even more!

sponsor spotlight :: mimimouse

fb is proud to introduce to you our newest sponsor, mimimouse! this beautiful boutique run by the very talented Nathalie Ducaud is full of adorable original silkscreened goods for baby, kids and even accessories too! posted above are some new creations from nathalie's new 2009 collection. as an added bonus mimimouse would like to offer fb readers a special discount on their goods if you put in this code (*FB09*) at check out, you'll recieve 10% off your purchase! how awesome, thank you mimimouse!

new take on Rorschach

I remember when i was little i used to play this game with my dad where he would draw a simple shape on a piece of paper and i had take that shape and illustrate something with it. i guess you could say it was almost a watered down version of the rorschach test. When i saw these beautifully stated illustrations by L. Filipe dos Santos, it totally brought me back to that time in my life where i think now it really was a great thing to be doing to keep my young mind sharp. There is more of dos Santos' beautiful work here.