illustration: greasychickenface

Birds birds birds. What is there not to love about birds? Greasychickenface loves them, and her love is apparent-- look at the variety of gorgeous birds in her watercolors!

I'm tempted by all of these paintings. I think they are fantastic. AND, the best part is that greasychickenface is having a one day only sale in her shop RIGHT NOW, today, and all these beautiful pieces are just $15.00!

That piece at the top just might have to be mine....

You can also find greasychickenface on flickr, where you can browse more of her bird paintings. LOVE.

Blissful Monday: week 2

Hello hello hello! Happy November- wow, right? November already.

Here are some things that have made me happy in the past week. My BLISS LIST, if you will.

1. Waking up on Sunday morning without an alarm, and remembering that the time change had happened over night. So it was an hour earlier than usual! Love that.

2. New friends + trivia night at a smoky suburb bar. SO FUN. (Not the smoky part, but the rest of it.)

3. Beyoncé. I've had "Single Ladies" stuck in my head for DAYS, and I've even gotten Ryan in on it. We run around the house dancing to it while we're making dinner!

4. FALL. Oh swoon, this is my favorite season by far. The air smells good, the temperature is perfection, and walking around my neighborhood gets me all inspired.

5. Working on a super fun, hilarious project that I'm keeping *secret* for right now. I worked on it all day yesterday, even though last week I said Ryan and I were going to start taking Sundays off. Oh well- next week! To be revealed in the next few weeks.... :)

What's on your bliss list this week?

halloween 1989

Oh yes, that's me above. Halloween, 1989. Nine years old. Notice the remnants of my crimped hair-- I lived for crimped hair back in the day. My friend Kristen (picture below) and I made an alien and spaceship costume together, and for some reason she got to wear the papier maché spaceship that we jointly made. Probably because she was taller. And cooler.

We had these awesome purple 2-toed feet that my mom made, which you can see in the photo of Kristen, and these killer 3-fingered silver gloves that Kristen's mom made. We tie-dyed the shirts ourselves. Kristen and I were very crafty together.

Thought you'd enjoy a little blast from the past this morning-- I hope you have a fantastic Halloween tomorrow, whatever you might be doing. :)

See you Monday!

illustration: george mitchell

I love these illustrations by George Mitchell! A church wearing an eye patch and waving goodbye to a man on a cross-laden skateboard? Heck yeah!

Check out more on George's flickr page. Love it.

All the Single Ladies: Pomplamoose

This is making me intensely happy right now.

What I Wore Today

{gemma correll}

You may have seen this project that Gemma Correll started already, and I've been meaning to blog about it for forever now, so if by chance you haven't yet seen the What I Wore Today project, here it is!

{emilie boudet}

Basically, the idea is to draw what you wore today, and then post it in the flickr group. Gemma also chooses her favorites to post on the blog of the same name. (She posted my drawing a couple days ago!)

{marina collings}

Here is my drawing from October 16th:

I really want to do another one soon!

{hamptone}

Definitely check out the group, because it's really so wonderful, and new drawings are being uploaded all the time. I really hope a publisher picks this up, because I think it would be SUPER book. Don't you? Now get to work on a drawing so you can add it to the ever-growing group!

{kiddy factory}

{umbrella_head1}

julie morstad

Julie Morstad is talented. So very talented.
I can't stop staring at these images.

Both of these are available as archival prints on bamboo rag paper in her shop-- doesn't that sound delicious?

And Julie's website has many, many more beautiful and creative drawings, if you would like to ooh and ahh some more.

mark weaver

I'm digging these images by Mark Weaver. I love how they feel sort-of vintage-y and retro. And you know I love the colors.

BLISSFUL MONDAY: week 1

Good morning!
A couple weeks ago, if you remember, I talked about creative mission statements and starting Blissful Monday here on Treasuring, and by golly, I think today is the perfect day to begin. And I want you to join in!

So here is the deal. Blissful Monday is a place for us to make our own rules. It's a place to talk about what makes us really truly happy. To ruminate on what we want our bliss-filled lives to look like, in all its dreaminess. To reflect on the past week and what we've loved. Memories. Aha moments. Insights. Touching compliments. A gorgeous breakfast. A smile. Gratitude.

Sound like fun?

The only guidelines:

There is no room for complaining on Blissful Monday. If you need to vent about something, please take it elsewhere!

There is also no room for judging. It's just not helpful to anyone, right? Right.

Please keep it positive and fun, and feel free to interact with one another in the comments!

So, here is my BLISS LIST for today:

* My husband, Ryan, and I decided to start taking Sundays off together as often as we can. We decided this while sitting on the porch in the sun, drinking protein shakes after going to the gym, and it was pure loveliness. This means no work, no feeling guilty about not working (this is key), and no studying (Ryan is in med school.) We decided that it'll help us stay motivated through the week to focus and get done what we need to get done, so we can relax fully on Sundays.

* Stepping on acorns while walking through my neighborhood. I get an enormous amount of satisfaction from this, I'm not sure why, but man I love it!

* Fresh, clean sheets on the bed.

* Soup. I made a delicious vegan tomato corn chowder last night. I'm planning to make LOTS of soup this fall/winter.

* Feeling cozy. This means: tea, my fuzzy white robe, being on the couch under a blanket, soup, my pink knit hat, my car heater, rainy days.

***
How about you?

What are you loving? What do you want more of in your life? What is your inner urge telling you to do that would brighten your day if you listened to it? What can you let go of that's keeping you constrained and stressed, so you can feel relaxed and happy instead? (Hint: it's probably something you "should" be doing. Those shoulds can really cause trouble!)

I hope you have a fantastic Monday!

Hiroshi Tanabe

Have you seen Hiroshi Tanabe's work before? Somehow I have managed to not know of him until just this morning, and now I am completely smitten.

These illustrations are so fantastic! I love the color, and wow, those black backgrounds-- so intriguing. They suck me right in. They remind me of those drawings we used to do in elementary school, where you color with crayons and then paint over it all with black india ink, then scratch away so the color comes through. Do you know what I'm talking about? These are like that, but in ultra-sophisticated form. I love when things remind me of childhood, but in a grown-up way.

Hiroshi is represented by Jedroot, and many of his gorgeous images are on their website. You can also find more on his personal website, and I've been oohing and ahhing there for the last 15 minutes. SO GOOD.

Sasha au Passage: by Pil Animation

Hello, lovelies! I told you I'd be back here yesterday, but it didn't happen, did it? Well, here I am today. I had a lovely time in Boulder, where it was full-on fall and just beautiful, but now it's nice to be back home and back to the blog. I missed you!

I wanted to share this animation studio that I just discovered with you this morning, because I think they are just incredible. Pil Animation is based in Tel Aviv, Israel, and this animation, called Sasha Au Passage, is hilarious. And you absolutely must check out their website because it is a visual feast and *so* creative. I love it!
(Make sure you click on the independent button under the productions heading, and watch the wedding and Dr. Pilkenstein short animations. They're my favorites!)

where the wild things are: FORTS

Good morning and happy Friday! Are you going to see Where the Wild Things Are tonight?
I have an early flight to Boulder tomorrow morning, but I think I may drag my dear husband out to see the movie anyway tonight. It looks so good!

I *loved* the book as a kid (and still do-- doesn't everyone?) and I was definitely a fort-maker, so I was excited when I saw this project over at Booooooom. It's a fort-making contest! Booooooom and Weloveyouso (Spike Jonze & Co.) teamed up for the contest, and the submissions are incredible. Pictured here are some of my favorites, but you really have to go check out all the entries. People went all out. It makes me want to build a fort in my living room right now!

CLICK HERE to see the winners, who were announced yesterday!

{ps-- I'm going to be in Boulder through Tuesday, so I'm taking a mini blogging break. I'll see you back here on Wednesday!}

these dresses are made of WHAT?

Gosh, you guys, I haven't been making any art of my own lately! I've been working on client projects, getting ready for art shows, going to weddings....

Soon I will show you some new things, but for now, more images that inspire me:


These dresses are made of toilet paper.

WHAT??!?

Yes, TOILET PAPER.

In honor of breast cancer month, 15 of Canada's top designers created these amazing pieces of wearable art out of toilet paper.

That takes talent. And vision. And I imagine a lot of toilet paper.

{Read all about it right here and right here.}

fantastic artwork: REtro Whale

Oh dear. I think I have a new favorite artist today. Retro Whale, I'm crazy about your work. Oooooooh, boy!

Are these director coasters not the most wonderful coasters you've ever seen? They are. Believe me.

Retro Whale has a killer etsy shop, and a blog, too, so you know where I'll be today. Oh yes.

helmo: colored smoke

I love the other-worldliness of these photographs by French graphic artist duo Helmo. They feel magical, don't they? Slightly eerie, too, I think-- for some reason I keep thinking of the Blair Witch Project-- do you remember that movie?

I can't stop staring at the colored smoke and wondering how they achieved these effects... I think it's just beautiful. Be sure to check out Helmo's website for more.

fly buffalo fly

Oh, Monday, here you are. Did you all have a lovely weekend? I spent mine at the Candler Park Fall Festival here in Atlanta, where I had a booth to sell my art. What a fun weekend! It was rather amazing, actually, because the forecast said it was supposed to rain all weekend, but it ended up raining hard on Friday night, staying clear through the weekend (and yesterday was the PERFECT fall day), and now it's pouring again this morning. The gods were smiling on Atlanta this weekend!

The highlight of my weekend was this:


I'm sad that I didn't get a great picture from the front, but I saw this person walking around in the most amazing buffalo costume EVER, with wings. Which may not seem all that amazing to you, but if you remember this painting of mine:


It becomes a little more wonderful. :)

I feel like there's a message in there somewhere for me, but I'm not sure what it is.... And now I'm dreaming about owning that buffalo costume. Oh, the fun I could have with a big, furry buffalo costume!

Candler Park Fall Festival THIS WEEKEND!

Just a quick note here to tell you that I'll be at the Candler Park Fall Festival here in Atlanta this weekend!

If you are in Atlanta, please come by and visit me! It's going to be a fun weekend, and I'll have lots of goodies to sell. Coasters, calendars, prints, oh my!

Have a great weekend!

animation: aviarium by muench

It's an amazing feeling to be completely captivated by a piece of art. I mean, like, really really captivated, to the point of being moved. One time that's coming to mind for me was seeing Egon Schiele's drawings in person in Amsterdam. Another time was watching this animation.

I'm absolutely captivated by this animation by Arne Muench. It's beautiful. Some of the imagery is stark and forboding, mixed with beautiful images of plants and flowers, and the whole piece is just incredible. Wait until you see the bird in the wind. Oh, the wind!! Arne is one talented guy with one heck of a vision.

Please watch this. It'll be a good way to ease into your Friday. And if you love it, please visit Arne Meunch's website and his vimeo page to see more of his animation and video work.

creative mission statement: update

Oh my goodness, Ijust realized I didn't share my progress on my mission statement on Monday like I said I was going to!

This is what happens when I don't write things down. They cease to exist in my brain.

So, here is what I have so far.

*I am dedicated to bringing vibrant, joyful, and quirky designs and patterns to a variety of different surfaces, to impact people who want to live in happy, inspired environments and want their surroundings to make them feel good.

*To foster and raise up good thoughts and feelings in those who view my work.

* To add positivity and uplifting feelings to the universe through my art and design.

*To celebrate happiness and abundance.

I need help!

I know that mission statements are supposed to be focused and inspiring. They are supposed to be the spine of everything that a company does. How do I make mine more focused? How do I make one inspired sentence?

Here are the things that I want to feel in my work/life:

*connected (to the universe & people in general)
*creative freedom
*loving
*inquisitive
*curious
*abundant/affluent
*celebratory
*appreciated/needed
*full of meaning and purpose

How do I include these desired feelings in my statement?

I want my statement to be RADICALLY INSPIRING.
I want to read it and think "Hell yeah! That's why I'm doing what I'm doing."

I also love the idea of having a MANIFESTO, like Jonathan Adler. I've mentioned this before.
I'm thinking mine will be called my BLISS LIST. I'm working on it.

Do you want to make a bliss list with me? Maybe we should have Blissful Mondays here on the blog, and talk about all the things we believe in and stand for. Read Jonathan's. You'll get the idea.

PLease share your thoughts, and also any tips you might have on inspired writing and creative mission statements! I'd love to hear your thoughts.