things i am loving...

I've been coming across lots of things I love on etsy lately, so I thought I would share some of them this morning.

I would like to own everything above. In a bad way. Like, one or two of them might be making their way into my etsy shopping cart in the next minute or two... uh-oh!

Here's a list of everything that's pictured above:

1. Pink iPod Cozy, by On A Roll
2. Sewn Paper Raindrops by Kate Greiner
3. Chunky Lemon Ring by Muse Glass
4. Breakfast at Tiffany's Sleep Mask by Lovely Art
5. Ireland High Neck Warmer by While They Play
6. Custom Antique Victorian Glass Button Ring by elseetee2
7. Recycled Lunch Bag by The Craft Pantry
8. Little Blue Horse print by Blanca Helga

* Have a marvelous day! *

...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.

...sick sick sick

hey there everybody. i'm a sick little puppy this morning, so i think i'm going to skip posting today. ryan brought home a nasty virus from school (i sound like i'm talking about a little kid! but no, ryan is the fiance who is in med school :)), and i guess my body wanted to jump on the band wagon, too.

i never get sick, so i'm a big ol' baby when i do!

hope you all have a good day and stay healthy!!
xo

{the photo above is me drawing last night, when i was not sick. boo.}

over & over: by mike perry

holy hell, people.

those of you on strict budgets should stop reading this post right now. those of you who are not should pre-order yourselves a copy of this new book of hand-drawn patterns, called over & over, by mike perry (think, author of hand job), as fast as your fingers can type amazon.com.

it look INCREDIBLE. i kid you not.
betsy walton has some drawings in it (the first 2 images came from her flickr photostream), and the rest of the catalog looks pretty dang intriguing.

and while you're at it, check out the rest of mike perry's site, because it's pretty spectacular.

{via ~ <> ~, lena corwin's blog}

japan and its cuteness

good lord, these matchbook covers from japan are the CUTEST things i've ever seen.
i have a feeling that if i ever went to japan i probably wouldn't ever want to come back. if it is full of adorable stuff like this, i could stay there forever and not even miss the good ol' us of a. seriously.

and this is a package for biscuits. biscuits! since when did biscuits become so arty? i love it!!



[via the dieline, a blog about package design]

a few random unrelated things i'm loving

no words needed. i love this.
[via supermundane, via fffound]


and this made me smile this morning. :)

[via nova clutch culture space]


and this is something i wish i could see in person. each note has something written on it.
[also from nova clutch]

enjoy!

sufjan stevens

i think i am in love with sufjan stevens.

archigram

i have always been inspired by artwork that i sort-of fantastical-- the kind that looks as if it could sort-of be based in reality but has these elements of unreality that are so clearly rooted in somebody's intensely imaginative vision that it just stops me in my tracks.
archigram's work is does that for me: i am floored by this work.

here is a little info about archigram, in case you want to know more:

"ARCHIGRAM dominated the architectural avant garde in the 1960s and early 1970s with its playful, pop-inspired visions of a technocratic future after its formation in 1961 by a group of young london architects – warren chalk, peter cook, dennis crompton, davd greene, ron herron and michael webb." (excerpt from design museum website)

i think this is leading to a new feature on my blog.... sort-of like an art history feature in a way, so i can learn (and thus you can learn, too!) about inspiring artists or movements from the past. there are so many artists from the past that are worth knowing more about-- how did they live? how did they work? who were their inspirations?

i think it would also be inspiring to see how these artists/movements have inspired artists in the present. like a pas & present kind of thing. ooh, i'm so excited now!!

keep you eye out for this new column....

today i am loving...

WHALES!

i'm working on a painting with a whale in it right now, so it got me wondering what other whale art was out there in internet-land. i'm in love with the piece above by orange willow. love it. may have to buy it. then, when i popped over to etsy, what should i see on the front page? this! another whale, this one by eggman studios:

and this one by lizette greco made me laugh and laugh.... i would love to see this sitting out on a pier somewhere!

then there's this one from all-time favorite artist, renee (aka: wolfie and the sneak):


i'll post my version as soon as it's done!

i am loving...

these fonts from da font:

most of their fonts are free to download, and i could browse them for hours. now i want to make a new header for my blog with one of these fun new fonts that i found this morning!

dwell magazine

yesterday i received an issue of dwell magazine in the mail, and boy was i pleased!

i tend to shy away from magazines focused on home design, because i do not yet own a home, i do not yet have a lot of money with which i could renovate or build a home, and i can easily head down that spiral of self-pity because the people in the magazines always seem to have such perfect, cool lives.

dwell exceeded all my expectations yesterday afternoon as i sat at the kitchen table
reading page after page.

first off, i loved the fun mix of great photographs and creative illustration.



the magazine does not feel stuffy or pretentious-- instead, it feels fun and fresh; something that can appeal to those seriously looking to renovate or build a new home, or someone like me who is looking for some inspiration, and some ideas for the day when i can finally purchase my own home.

next, i loved the wide variety within dwell's pages. it is not just a magazine about home design. it encompasses so much more. i felt it gave attention to many parts of the design world:

for example, while praising the return of hand-lettering in the design world, they, in fact, had some illustrations with hand-lettered type as part of their features.


{this is a book that i want badly. i'm hoping to receive it for christmas. :) }

{this is part of an ad for jen bekman's gallery in nyc. the drawing is by kate bingaman burt, who just had a show at rare device in san francisco!}

and they had an article on alex steinweiss, the man responsible for the idea of creative album covers.


green building was also of importance, and i liked the eco-friendly carpet options provided in the magazine, as well as a feature on a solar-powered house in new zealand.

i felt they had a nice mix of indoor and outdoor spaces, homes and public institutions:

like the Institute of Contemporary Art in Boston
(this is not a photo of the ICA, but a photo of boston from the magazine that i particularly liked)


and Flora Grubb Gardens in the Bay Area


and homes in minneapolis, puerto rico, and houston, texas.


all in all, i do believe i've become an enthusiastic reader of dwell magazine.

fire hydrants

i have always liked fire hydrants. while browsing keri smith's flickr page this morning, i saw this image of the yellow fire hydrant, which reminded me of this image that i took of a red fire hydrant, so that got me thinking about other fire hyrants, and there is an amazing variety of them in the world! here is a small sampling of my favorites from flickr:

{from cyclingbill2003}

{from pixel packing mama}

(from judeanpeoplefront}

check me out on crust station!

babelfish kindly posted about my work this morning on crust station! (one of my favorite blogs, i might add.) check it out right here!

...on the girl wide web

just wanted yo let you all know that i am now officially a part of bust's girl wide web!

check it out right here...