confectionary stencils

Artist Megan Herbert turned some of her illustrations into stencils for decorating coffee and desserts; I love that using these would allow fondant-impaired persons such as myself to create a presentable dessert without requiring too much work and frustration.

images via Megan Herbert, found via paper tastebuds

stationery vs. stationary

Amen.

Stationery Stationary tote by Sapling Press; found via Oh So Beautiful Paper

flea market finds

On Sunday, we visited a huge flea market near Nick's parents' house (and "huge" may be an understatement; it's like nothing I've ever seen before). It is nothing short of awesome, and while I brought home a few treasures, there were many more that I left behind. As soon as we have more space, I can't wait to pick up more vintage goodness! (Nick is rolling his eyes as he reads this.)

I picked up this set of 3 children's books, published in 1959. No, we're not expecting, but I just couldn't resist the charming stories and illustrations (and they'll look cool in a baby's room someday!)

Apparently these books belonged to Ricky... should I call him?

We also found some cool old postcard books. I love the detailed illustrations and the colors; you just don't find postcards like this anymore.

What's your favorite flea market find?

music philosophy posters

I love this music philosophy project... and I'm sort of mad that I didn't do it first.

Music Philosophy designs by Mico, found via Mint

recycled paper garland

How adorable is this? I love pretty much any project that involves taking old book pages and making them into something charming and decorative, but this one might take the cake. I love the simplicity of this garland — and what a pretty thing to spruce up any room.

Check out the bookity shop on Etsy for this and other sweet items made of recycled paper.

found via Oh So Beautiful Paper

app magnets

Oh my. These are just too cute. And about 90% of the people I know are going to need them. (Because I truly think only 10% of my friends and family DON'T have an iPhone. Yup, we're all that nerdy.)

from Urban Outfitters, found via Duet Letterpress

missed connections

Have you seen the blog Missed Connections? It's where artist Sophie Blackall posts the beautiful and whimsical illustrations she creates based on missed connections websites. I love the stories and imagery she creates from each snippet she finds.

images via Missed Connections

You can buy some of her work in her Etsy shop.

Handmade Nation

image via buyolympia.com

Last night I attended a screening of Handmade Nation, an indie documentary by Faythe Levine about the craft movement. I bought the book by the same name last year, but seeing the artists' stories played out on screen was delightful and re-inspiring.

Photos via Handmade Nation blog

If you are an independent artist or interested in pursuing a craft, I highly recommend seeing this film to get your creative juices a-flowin'. It's available on DVD or there are screenings nationwide. Or, pick up the book!

image via Handmade Nation on Flickr

rainbow

It's a yucky, rainy day here today. I'm just going to keep looking at this pretty photo and hope that a real rainbow will show up with the sun when it comes out later. (Please, sun?)

photo by Livia Cetti, found via Oh Happy Day

Luren Jenison

When we have our own house someday, I'd love to paint some sort of mural in a tucked away space, or maybe my home studio space. I'm earmarking this amazing piece for inspiration; the cross-stitch effect is genius and I love that it doesn't require the entire wall to be covered with the design. You could have little bits and pieces of the design throughout the room.

by Luren Jenison, found via designworklife

William Dohman

I came across these great recycled wood signs by William Dohman (via decor8) and I love their worn, slightly imperfect appearance. I'd love to get my hands on one, particularly, "Keep Calm"— I'm a little bit of a spaz sometimes and could probably use this reminder once in a while.

He also has some great photos and prints available. This one made me laugh:

(I'm immature.)

images via Willam Dohman on Etsy

Blanca Gomez

I absolutely adore the sweet and stylized illustrations of Blanca Gomez. I particularly love these cheerful city illustrations that she created for The Art Group; don't they just make you sigh with delight?

images via Blanca Gomez

introducing... Curious & Company

I've been a bit quiet on the blog front this week, but with good reason: today is the day that my business partners and I are officially introducing our company to the world!

That's right — I am now a small business owner. This is something I have always dreamed about; I often felt a nagging feeling that it was what I was meant to do, but I didn't know if it would ever become a reality. I was never quite sure how I would do it on my own, so when the opportunity presented itself to work with people whose talents I admire and whose friendships I value, I couldn't say no. While this has been a scary leap to take, it has also been an extremely fulfilling and exhilarating one. The last few months has been full of transitions, penny-pinching, soul-searching and fear-facing; this is an adventure, for sure, but I am enjoying the ride.

Please check out Curious & Company and let us know what you think! You can also follow @CuriousAndCo on Twitter and become a Facebook fan to stay up-to-date on what we're working on.

20x200

My friend Maggie recently introduced me to 20x200, an art website where limited edition prints are sold at reasonable prices. At least two new pieces are introduced on the site each week, and there is quite a range of beautiful art to choose from. A few of my favorites at the moment:

Winter Flags by Youngna Park

Residential Web by Amy Casey

Secret Language 3 by Valerie Roybal

iSketch818 by Jorge Colombo

Polaroid projects

Who doesn't love stumbling upon old, weathered Polaroids, tucked inside an old book or buried under a pile of mementos and forgotten memories?

The New York City Polaroid Project began in 2003 when Andrew Faris moved to NYC after graduating from college. He explored the city with his Polaroid camera and his curiosity, and the result is a delightful collection of images. He recently revisited the photos and decided to share them, after seven years of being stowed away.

source, found via Doug Wilson

My friend Scott has been keeping a Polaroid diary of his own — these, however, are iPhone Polaroids, and Scott's subject is, most often, the city of Philadelphia.

source

You can buy prints of some smaller collections of Andrew Faris' images here.

spreading the wisdom: "DIY is not 'Duplicate it Yourself'"

I have seen this article linked on a few other blogs in the last few days, and I usually don't like rehashing what I know is already out there... but I think this article is important enough to continue spreading around in case you haven't already seen it. It's a great article from Decor8 entitled Real Talk: DIY is not Duplicate it Yourself!

I see a lot of personal interpretations of DIY ideas, especially in the wedding world, but for every unique interpretation I'd bet there are ten more blatant rip-offs. As a designer, I have most definitely been asked to replicate something another designer has created, and my answer has always been a resounding "no"; after all, I hope that other designers would do me the same courtesy if someone asked them to replicate one of my original designs. When it comes to individuals replicating something for themselves, though (meaning they do not intend to resell it), it is still a slippery slope — particularly when those projects are blogged about. Even if "inspiration" credit is still given, that doesn't necessarily make it okay to have stolen someone's design.

Inspiration and copying are two very different things, and I've seen a lot of copies in blogland that have made me really uncomfortable.

Here's an excerpt from the post on Decor8 that I find particularly notable:

“Perhaps some people feel like their homemade invitation (or cake or dress or bouquet or centerpiece or curtains or pillow…) that looks exactly like the original couldn’t possibly change anything in the world or hurt someone else. While I think that the vast majority of bloggers understand the difference between inspiration and copying, and act professionally and ethically, I’m not sure that many are doing an excellent job of pointing out the difference—and the real effect that copying has on the people behind the businesses that supply creative content and products—to readers. The simple fact is that when somebody decides to “duplicate it yourself” (instead of getting inspired to “do it yourself”) it hurts a real person."

Check out the original post on Decor8 to read more.

What is your stance on "Do It Yourself" versus "Duplicate It Yourself"? Do you think anything is fair game, or do you make sure to put your personal spin on any ideas you use as inspiration?

simple desktop designs

I'm always changing up the image on my desktop... I get bored easily and like to keep things fresh. Sometimes super busy designs make it difficult to see the folders on my desktop, and they're not exactly calming, either. Thanks to How About Orange, I found these charming and perfectly minimal desktop designs yesterday.

There are a slew of others to be found at simpledesktops.com. Have fun!

PS - which one do you think is on my desktop right now? :)

feel the love

Happy (almost) Valentine's day! Now that our Valentines have hopefully arrived in the mailboxes of our friends and family, I can share them with you.

I'm normally not a pink-and-gold kind of girl, but for some reason, I was really feeling a Marie Antoinette-esque color scheme for this design. After all, it's happy and lovey and Valentiney, right? Plus, I'm not gonna lie — I do enjoy the metallic ink when it comes to Gocco projects. It's sparklyyy.

I chose to design our card around a quote from Vincent van Gogh, one of my favorite impressionists. Using Blossom cover stock and A6 envelopes from Paper Source, I screen printed the design with my Gocco and gold ink.

See? Sparkly!

Sending Valentines may become my new tradition — it's not like Christmastime, when everyone expects several holiday cards in their mailboxes each day, so I've loved the genuine surprise and delight that our friends and family members have displayed after receiving our Valentine's Day cards.

Happy Valentine's Day, all! Enjoy the weekend with someone you love.

retro pretties

I always used to dream of my future kitchen having a colorful, retro vibe, like an old-fashioned soda shop. I'm not so sure that's a realistic vision anymore, but boy oh boy, one of these Smeg refrigerators would be the perfectly retro addition to my awesome imaginary kitchen (yet, hopefully with the reliability of something a bit newer).

first image via Design Mom; second image via Casa Sugar

early art from my formative years

Ever since I've lived on my own, I've had the same piece of art hanging in my bathroom. It's a piece from 1985, and it's truly invaluable to me; I could never sell it. You see, I actually created the piece myself. I think it strongly represents the eye I have always had for fine art, and my early appreciation for the nude form. Don't you agree?

Yes, it's true — I started with nudes at the incredibly young age of 4 1/2. I was quite advanced for my age, if I do say so myself. This piece, aptly named "Mommy Getting Ready to Take a Shower," is approximately 8" x 10", Crayola on scrap paper. The detail is remarkable. Shall we have a closer look?

I was too young to sign it, so "Mommy" herself labeled it for me.

Now if you'll excuse me.... the MoMA is calling.