buy a calendar, get a free print sale!

just a reminder, since today is the day of sales, that you can buy a 2009 calendar in my shop and get a free print of your choice!

also, there is another part to the sale: buy 3 prints, get one free. now's the time to snap up those prints you've been eying, my dears!

doesn't it feel so good to buy handmade? plus, you don't have to fight the crowds at the mall!

happy thanksgiving + i was tagged again!

since i don't have time to whip up a cute thanksgiving-y drawing this afternoon (i've been running around mailing things and making illustrations for this and vacuuming and buying ink... one of those days!), i thought i'd post a painting of an onion that i did a while back, in honor of all the cooking that i (and many of you, i imagine) will be doing tomorrow for thanksgiving.

i want to say thank you to each and every one of you for continuing to visit my blog, and leaving me comments, and wishing me well, and inspiring me beyond measure. i hope you all have the most lovely thanksgiving, full of pumpkin pie and stuffing and turkey if you eat it. (i do not, as i am a vegetarian, but there is a fried turkey in ryan's future tomorrow, and he is sooooo excited. yes, we live in the south now.)

and now, samantha hahn tagged me a couple days ago to share 6 unimportant things that make me happy, so here goes!

1. feeding the fish and watching them gobble up the food. they're so cute!
2. eating breakfast first thing when i wake up. it's my favorite meal.
3. getting into bed every night and snuggling up really close to ryan, especially in the winter, because he's so warm! i call him my personal heater. :)
4. stepping on acorns as i run. i love the feel of it.
5. buying new socks and wearing them for the first time.
6. singing along to my favorite songs in the car.

and now i'm supposed to tag 5 more poeple to play along, sooooooo... i tag: michelle of cicada daydream, diana of please sir, julie of life's a peach, xander of primitive culture, and ambika of into the fray. have fun!!

big announcement!

hey friends! remember when a few months ago i told you i had some big exciting news that i couldn't tell you yet? well, today is the day that i get to tell you what i was hinting at all those months ago.

i designed 2 sidekick cell phone shells for t-mobile, and they're now for sale on the t-mobile website and in stores nationwide! crazy, eh?

i'm so excited-- if you are near a t-mobile store, please go check them out in person! i'll be stopping by a store today for sure to see if they're there.

3 other artists also created shells-- susie ghahremani of boygirlparty, ilk, and aleksandar velasevik, so do check those out, to, because they're awesome.

i hope you like them!!

second lives: remixing the ordinary

wow, i just read about this fantastic exhibit called 'second lives: remixing the ordinary' at the new museum of arts & design in new york city--the artists in the exhibit created "objects and installations comprised of ordinary and everyday manufactured articles, most originally made for another functional purpose." (quoted from here) my favorite is that chandelier made from glasses-- how inventive!

you can read more about it on the mad museum website!

{via cube me blog}

take it tuesday: cute christmas cards!

howdy friends! it's take it tuesday time. yay! here are some cute little holiday cards that you can print out to use as you please-- click on the very bottom image (where the panda is sideways) to download a high res 8.5x11" file that you can print out. just slice down the middle and then fold 'em, and you'll have yourself 2 cute christmas cards!

let me know if you have any questions or problems! hope you enjoy them. :)

you are my sunshine

just a quick note to let you know that i framed up some 'you are my sunshine' gocco prints in lovely white frames that are now for sale in the shop! wouldn't this make such a nice gift for someone special?

fabric and paper garlands

i am obsessed lately with the idea of making a whole bunch of fabric and/or paper garlands for my wedding next summer, so i thought i'd do a search to see what kinds of garlands are out there floating around in internet-land. and look at the fruits of my search! the top image is from jill bliss and saelee oh's recent show at tinlark gallery in los angeles-- it's not really a garland per se, but i love the look of all those pieces hanging down together. beautiful!
{via my love for you is a stampede of horses}

and these strings of gorgeousness are by french artist sophie cuvelier. she creates garlands out of hand-dyed paper. i'd love to string these beauties all over my house!

you can buy her garlands in the selvedge shop.
{originally via this is love forever}

and the cute one above is from the small object-- i love the simplicity, and the idea of hanging a bunch of garlands all made of triangles hanging down is really appealing to me.

and this last one is from a free people store display last year that i so wish i could've seen in person! i love all those different shades of green together and how the squares look like they're just fluttering down from the sky. beautiful!

calendar sale!

attention, people! if there is something in my etsy shop that you have had your eye on, now is the time to scoop it up! through the end of 29008, for each calendar that you buy, i will include a free print of your choice!

awesome, yes?

if you are like me, christmas shopping goes a little like this:
"one for mom, one for me, one for my sister, one for me..."

this solves that problem, because you don't even have to buy the thing for yourself-- it'll be free!

this is just my little gift to you for being so wonderful. :)
now get thee to the shop! (the calendars can be found right here.)

{just let me know which print(s) you'd like in the notes to seller when purchasing}

...tagged

so, i was tagged twice recently, once by vineeta over at artnlight and once by cindy at quaint handmade... and since i haven't been tagged in a while, i thought it would be fun to play along!

so, now for 7 random things about me....


1. i have super sensitive skin and have itchy red patches show up at weird times in weird places. lately they are around my eyes, which is so attractive. i'm using lots of calendula cream these days to hopefully soothe the angry skin!

2. i don't like eating things in odd numbers-- like, if i have one piece of toast, then i have to have 2. and if i have a third, then i have to have a fourth. not so good when it comes to things like cookies. :)

3. i make a smoothie every morning for breakfast, and they are almost always strange concoctions of ingredients. for example, this morning's was: banana, yam, chard, flax seed, sea salt, date, milk thistle, soy milk. no, i'm not kidding. and they are always delicious!

4. i can't stand having long fingernails or toe nails. if the white tip starts to show, i have to cut them immediately.

5. i have a knack for remembering birthdays and phone numbers. i still remember childhood friends' phone numbers.

6.i once got yelled at by an old lady in a bathroom at a train station in warsaw, poland because i didn't pay her to use the toilet. i didn't know i was supposed to and ended up appeasing her by giving her some lithuanian money that i had in my pocket i think.

7. i have 4 younger siblings, and my brother is 6'5". and we all reeeeeeally like taking stupid pictures of ourselves, each other, and other poeple. it's never stops being funny.

lisa riddle = love

goodness gracious, i don't think i've ever seen anything cuter than this. hand-stitched notebooks and cards? yes please.

please please please visit lisa riddle's etsy shop (called nowvember) to see the rest of her goodies-- she has some hilarious stickers and really clever stuff in there..... you're going to freak out. it's that awesome!

new pattern: giselle

good morning lovelies! did you have a fun weekend? i went grocery shopping for thanksgiving... goodness, we're going to turn into big ol' blobs with the amount of food we bought! pumpkin pie, here i come....

anyway, i also made some patterns, as expected. :) i'm picturing this pattern as fabric for skirts. wouldn't that be awesome? i'd totally wear the green one. maybe i'll start a clothing line made from fabric printed with my designs.... fun!

new pattern: mimi

i couldn't go into the weekend without showing you just one more pattern. this one is called 'mimi'-- when i can't think of a good name, that's when people names come to play!

happy friday, and have a terrific weekend!

julie verhoeven: fashion illustration

perhaps i'm completely out of the loop, because when i googled julie verhoeven, i saw that her work is all over the place, but i'm just now discovering her and i am blown away by her gorgeous work! (that was quite the run-on sentence, eh?)

julie has collaborated with international companies such as louis vuitton and mulberry (see image from the mulberry collection here), and often contributes to publications liked dazed and confused. i'm definitely going to be keeping my eye out for her work out in the world now.

do you ever wish you could have a do-over in your life? these drawings make me wish i could go back and study fashion illustration in college and get some fantastic internship with an incredible fashion designer.... sigh.

new pattern: deep summer

yep, they are still coming. you are in the midst of a pattern-making frenzy here on the treasuring blog. have i mentioned how much i adore color? :)

studio marlene

this is not usually the type of art i am drawn to, but something about these pieces by studiomarlene is just so striking to me and i really love them so much. i would love to have one of these beauties hanging on a large white wall in my dream house!

studiomarlene sells affordable prints in this etsy shop, and also sells larger, original pieces at the renee taylor gallery in arizona. you may also see all available paintings on the website.

new fabric! new fabric!

my new fabric from spoonflower arrived yesterday! it looks *beautiful.* i am so so pleased with my orders from spoonflower so far, and i would most definitely recommend them to anyone wanting their designs printed on fabric. it comes wrapped up all pretty in tissue paper with a nice sticker on it, too, and i've had 2 hand-written notes on the invoices-- i just love those personal touches!

i feel myself becoming obsessed with having my designs printed on fabric.... i'm wanting to be the next amy butler now. :) i think i could spend all my money at spoonflower!

speaking of amy butler, cindy sent me a link to a podcast that jennifer ackerman-haywood of craft sanity did with amy butler, and it is so fun to listen to how amy got her start and what she's up to now. she is one busy lady!

caz taylor

caz taylor is a genius.

here is a description of this project from caz's website:

an edition of A2 screenprinted posters asking the question 'what are your greatest achievements?'. these were designed in response to the fact that we are always thinking of all the things we should be doing rather than the things we have achieved and should be proud of.

aaaaaand, caz made it into a book!
inside are photographs of people with their posters filled in with their achievements-- it looks incredibly inspiring, and i just love this idea so much. click here to see more images.

new pattern: rain

i can see this becoming wrapping paper.... wouldn't it be fun for birthdays?