Friday, August 29, 2008

Friday I'm in love...

It's Friday. It's pay day. And it's been a rough week. What's a girl to do but turn to Etsy for a little retail therapy?

I've had my eye on some of these pieces for a while, but have held off for a moment just like this. Today I treated myself to:




{"Bonnie and the Bee" by Kenneth Rougeau at Art Familia}


{"Hive" by Julianna Swaney at Oh My Cavalier!}


{"4/20 Limited Edition Print" by Geninne's Art Store}



Over the years, I've become a bit older and wiser - which is a different way of saying I've learned some self-restraint! And a good thing, too, otherwise I also would have walked away with these gorgeous pieces:




{"Tiny Sparrow" by Little Robot - As an aside? if I ever wanted someone to draw me an avatar, it would have to incorporate elements of butterflies, birds, and the sea. This is just about perfect!}


{"Claire Voyance" by Art & Ghosts}


{"Silently Waiting" by Brooke Kent Fine Art and Illustration}


{"She Will Grow Weary" by Swan Bones Theater}


{"Anne Boleyn paper doll" by Lisa Perrin (LeLapinTriste)}


{"Windy on the Coast" by Jayme McGowan}


Phew! After window shopping like that, I've got to catch my breath!

Oh, yeah... And here's my new boyfriend:




{"Mystical Cowboy - printed art doll" by Little Robot}


(Do they make real guys like that? I bet you have to assemble them yourself...)

Thursday, August 28, 2008

birds and blooms

I make no secret of my love of birds. As such, I have a near-pathological fondness for these gorgeous prints at Gennine's Art Shop at Esty.





When I noticed that a few of the birds also incorporate some coral and other beachy themes - nevermind the vintage postcard feel of some of them - I began to love them even more!



{images from Gennine's Art Shop}


Honestly, I think the artist should change the name of her Etsy shop to "Gennine's Art Shop for Kate!"

Wednesday, August 27, 2008

last trip of the summer

I could just about write an entire novel based on this piece of art in Brian Booker's Etsy shop:



{"Hotel II"}


Actually, come to think of it, in a way it's kind of already a novel.

state fair (featured artists)

It's just about that time of year again, isn't it.... Browsing through Etsy, I've found some carnival-inspiring shots I wanted to share.





{top right: "The Swing Set" by irenesuchocki, top left: "Playing Alone" by uncommondepth, bottom right: "Paris Carousel" by SnappyChic, bottom left: "nice day for a ride" by buckscountyframes}



{top right: "And the World Spins" by AliciaBock, top left: "Going to the Fair" by dandytree, bottom right: "Spun candy" by irenesuchocki, bottom left: "Carousel" by ModernClassicsPaper}


(Has anyone else noticed an abundance of yellow and aqua lately?)

Anyway, *please* visit these artists' wonderful Etsy stores!

Friday, August 22, 2008

fragrance

It's been a busy week over here catching up from my mini-vacation, but I wanted to pop in to gush about one of my favourite discovered scents: "Wild Ginger" by Thymes of London.





It's definitely one of the most fresh and clean scents I've come across, and high on my personal wish-list!

Although I haven't tested the fragrance yet, I'm also loving their packaging design for the "Red Cherie" collection:




{images from thymes.com}


Browsing the Thymes site just now, I noticed that they've even created travel sizes of many of their fragrance collections!

Wednesday, August 20, 2008

lazy stitch

A little while ago, I spotted this embroidery tutorial from the Purl Bee while I was browsing the Creature Comforts blog.





Looking at the instructions, this project looks too easy to be true. What a great way to spruce up a plain old pillow case!

They've got tons of projects in a wide variety of materials - and I can't wait to try some of them out!

Friday, August 15, 2008

four-day weekend


{images from marthastewart.com}


I'll be taking the best kind of little break from things for the next four days: a birthday weekend! Wishing you all the best.

Wednesday, August 13, 2008

my kind of camping

My father and stepmother are huge campers - always have been. Recently, packing both themselves and their two (soon to be three) oversized dogs into their old camper became too much and they decided they had to upgrade to a slightly larger model. Me? I'm thinking smaller:





Yes, believe it or not, that is a mobile camper, designed and built by the Tumbleweed Tiny House Company. There are several styles and sizes available, such as the "Epu," pictured below.












Looks like it's got enough space for just about everything I'd need on the road!

What's more, they also offer plans for tiny (stationary) homes. My favourite style by far is the "Loring."





{images from tumbleweedhouses.com}


Sadly, unlike the campers, you have to build your own Tumbleweed house based on the plans they sell. But there are some tiny houses scattered across the country which you can check out before you build, such as this one in Franklin, Maine.

I feel a bit like Goldilocks checking out these tiny dwellings. They look "just right" to me!

Now...to decorating them!

Tuesday, August 12, 2008

nifty!

My friend Kelly started selling some handmade books on Etsy!





Most of these funky little books are just about the size of a playing card or slightly larger. In other words, the perfect size to tuck into a random bag for all those grocery lists and things you suddenly want to jot down when you're not at home so you'll remember them later.





Check out her shop!

Monday, August 11, 2008

envy

I know they say that green is supposed to be the colour of envy, but lately I can't seem to get enough of white.







I love the ceiling beams in this room so much!

And, of course, I can't talk about rooms I would kill for without talking about my most-coveted room, the laundry:





And, ok...maybe a little green.





I never would have thought of putting spring green and pale aqua together, but I love it!





I keep reminding myself, too, that I really want to look around more for outdoor inspirations. I have no "outdoor" area of my own, but every time I see something like this, I'm completely captivated...





This reminds me a lot of the various "yurt vacations" I've been seeing everywhere lately. (Apparently this is the new big thing in camping?)

And, of course, there's always classic rustic:






In other news, I think I have temporarily reached a state of detente - or, at least, cease fire - with the hideous suspended ceiling in my bedroom. The funny thing is, this surrender (ok, yes, it was more a case of my surrendering to the hideous power of that ceiling than a mutual lessening of tension) came out of what was actually a really great accidental brainstorming session this weekend with my friend Ali.

Because my birthday is coming up and not all of my friends are available to celebrate with me, she treated me to my first ever manicure this past weekend. (I could not be happier about that! I've always wanted a French manicure, and I think I'm hooked!) While we were waiting for our nails to dry, we happened to glance up in the tiny manicurist shop to notice that the entire ceiling (a suspended ceiling, mind you) seemed to be covered with a pattern, as though the individual tiles had been papered over. This lead to ideas such as covering my ugly tiles with wallpaper, cloth, or contact paper - and even Ali's ambitious suggestion of using fabric to cover the entire ceiling and then affixing simple flat dowels (along the lines of a Japanese paper screen) to conceal the ugly. And then there's always the old standby - something like Armstrong's decorative ceiling tiles.

After mentally going over all these ideas, however, I've done a cost-benefit analysis. The bottom line of which being that I really don't own my apartment (nor would I want to!), nor do I plan to stay indefinitely (frankly, I'm moving as soon as I start earning enough to afford a new rent...any, uh, year now...), and much of this would require that I lay out money and effort I would never see a return on... Alas, for the moment, I surrender.

Friday, August 8, 2008

chalkboard paint

I'm a little bit taken aback by the fact that apartment therapy just sent me an email announcing: "Chalkboard paint has finally crossed the line, graduated beyond children's decor and become a full on modern design trend for 2008." I don't know about you, but back around 2001-2002 when I was watching a lot of Trading Spaces on TLC you couldn't get through a single episode before one of the designers gleefully whipped out some chalkboard paint and went to town with it. (Who'd've thunk they were so ahead of their time??)

Historic popularity of chalkboard paint aside, I wanted to share two of my absolute favourite examples of its use:

1. Director Roland Emmerich's London home (which you can see more of here):





(I could probably live without the naked Barbie doll tumbleweed, though...)

2. Martha Stewart's suggestion of making chalkboard paint calendars on your walls:



Thursday, August 7, 2008

beach decor done right

While browsing over lunch today, I found some images of what I consider to be absolutely spot-on perfect beach decor:










I love the fact that, in the first picture, that might actually be a mobile made of sea glass and driftwood. How perfect!

Speaking of ideal beach-themed home accessories, I know I have to get my hands on one of these "gurglepots." My mother had a fish pitcher somewhat similar in shape to this (in white, of course) when I was growing up, and it was one of the many "grown-up" items in the home that I was strongly drawn to as a child due to its whimsical nature.





And on the very top of the "design lust" list is a fabric I found a few months ago: the pricey "Dzhambul," available at Brunschwig & Fils. I think the below treatment of the fabric - upholstering an ottoman with books and a starfish on top, as seen on style court - is absolutely perfect for a beach design.



today's bag obsession





I love this Chinese Rice Tote from Pedlar's U.K. Web store, which I spotted on Cafe Cartolina yesterday. I saw it and loved it then, but kind of hoped I'd be able to put it out of my mind since it costs an arm and a leg plus shipping after the exchange rate! (Unfortunately, it's been buzzing around the back of my mind ever since!)

It reminds me a lot of some postcards I have framed of vintage Chinese matchbox designs.

Wednesday, August 6, 2008

random stuff I would totally buy on Etsy right now if I happened to have loads of cash to just throw around

1.




Structure by recraft. Already sold when I found it, thank god, because: a. I think it is so awesome, I probably would've gone into debt to get it, and b. it actually doesn't match any of the colour schemes in my apartment. Seller has several other great pieces of this type.

Really, I'm loving the bug art right now - always kinda have. I have a couple of framed butterflies in my bedroom, actually. I only have a few rules for bug art, namely what types of bugs I don't want to see. Beetles are totally "safe" territory for me and pretty much always score points, aesthetically.

2.




Revolution de les Media Femmes by artkatstudio. I have a thing for collage.

3.



En Constellations by turtlebones. Seller has a great one of Houdini, too - but as much as I am intrigued by Houdini, I actually liked this one better.

4.




Recycled poppy bobbypin set in coral by Foundling It is ridiculous how much I love the things in her shop. And I saw somewhere that coral is supposed to be one of the "it" colours this fall.

5.




Swirled simplicity necklace by Rachelle D.. If I stayed true to type, I would think the beads and the flower are just a little bit too large for my tastes. I tend to like very small, delicate beads and pendants, myself. But I love the way this necklace looks in the picture!

6.




Bee necklace at Ampersand. I have had a special place in my heart for bees for a long time now.

7.




Natural bee pendant at juicy christians.

8.




Bonnie and the Bee by paperstreet. I really love this.

9.




Purses by Vicky Riley, which I found out about on decor8 last night. Since I learned that it is possible for a purse to have a pleat, I have become obsessed!

10.




Magnetic typewriter key bulldog clips from Bubbo.

11.




Urchin earrings from the Glass Onion. (I really like their Roses & Copper, too.)

12.






Bee Beard and Hive from Oh My Cavalier!

13.




Ancient Archetype No. 1 - The Alchemist by dollface design.


'Nuff said!