jessica rae gordon

how great are these illustrations by jessica rae gordon? they just make me want to inspect every detail and try to figure out the story in them.

you can see more on her lovely website and on illustration mundo. oh, i'm in love with them!!!

naeem khan

i am nuts for this dress. i totally adore it. this is the shape that my wedding dress is going to be, but it will be white, of course, and a bit longer. (also, did you know that shannon is making my dress? *so excited*)

this gorgeous creation is made by naeem khan, who is "quickly becoming the newest big name in fashion." (i learned this from his bio page). i know next to nothing about fashion, and i am tragically unfashionable (i practically live in jeans and t-shirts and plain colored sweaters, and yoga pants to work in!)

i also really love this dress, and i can't resist a good side ponytail! i wish my hair was that long.....

i sort-of wish i lived in NYC so i could be there for fashion week-- i bet it's totally inspiring for creative people! do you all know of any incredible designers that you think i might like? do tell!

you are like no other

here's the latest pecannoot drawing! if you're saying to yourself "what the heck is pecannoot?", read about it right here! and click here to check out the rest of the blog- it's there to give you a lift!

aren't you curious? :)

new pattern: geometric stars

does this pattern feel holiday-ish at all to you? be honest!

spacesick

i was just over at design gossip catching up on emily's amazingness, and she had posted about this designer, spacesick-- i'm blown away! these are all vintage-looking book covers based on famous movies that he created, and they are just incredible! check out spacesick's blog and flickr page for a bunch more- i love the selection of movies he chose. mean girls? sixteen candles? YES. it makes me want to go watch 'mean girls' right now. sheesh! it's only 9am! no movie watching yet. :)

stacey durand

i think i'm stacey durand's new biggest fan. i love everything about her work- the colors, the thick feeling of the paint, the subject matter... i used to paint a lot of houses and buildings, and i'm naturally drawn to paintings of architecture like this.

lucky for me stacey has a website full of gorgeous paintings, so i can get my fill this morning!

pecannoot

i don't think i could be more excited to tell you about this, because i've been trying to keep it a secret and i just can't anymore!

i've started a new blog, called pecannoot, which means pecan in dutch. i read somewhere that pecan trees are a symbol of abundance, and amsterdam is one of the places i've felt most inspired in my life, so putting those two elements together produced the name 'pecannoot.'
plus, i just think it's such a cute word!

so, the idea behind the blog is that i was looking for a place to get some positive messages about abundance, when all you hear these days is doom and gloom about the economy. personally, i think the more we worry about it, the worse it makes it, and focusing on the positive aspects of our lives is what's going to pull us through.

so, then i though, why not make the positive messages myself instead of looking outside for them? i'll be reinforcing my own thoughts of abundance, and perhaps i'll be able to help inspire others in the process to do the same. and the really fun part is that i'm doing it in art form!

we think in pictures, yes?
why not create our thoughts in pictures then?

and so i give you (and give myself!), pecannoot.

and here is the next part, where you come in.
would you like to join me by creating an image, however you'd like-- photography, illustration, collage, painting, etc-- that represents abundance for you? because we need these thoughts, people! i want to post the images of abundance that you create!

if you would like to submit a piece to be featured on pecannoot, please send me an email. hopefully we can get a whole slew of creatives involved, making our own abundance reality right here in blogland. :)

wedding map

somehow my brain has entered full-on wedding mode in the last week or so-- it's seriously consuming me! weird. so yesterday i spent more time than i realized it would take to draw a map of the area where ryan's family lives and where we are getting married, for people that will be traveling from out of town. drawing maps is harder than i thought it would be! but i'm pleased with how it turned out, and i'm excited to illustrate some more things for the wedding. stay tuned!

also, do any of you, dear readers, have any suggestions for where to get a fabulous (read: inexpensive) wedding cake in the los angeles area? i feel like this might be a challenge, since we don't live there.... you're supposed to do cake tastings, right? well, i don't see that in my future since we live in atlanta, so hopefully someone will have the perfect place to share with me.

comment away!

rae dunn

good monday morning, my lovelies! i hope your weekend was splendid. did you do something special for valentine's day? ryan andi went out to breakfast, and it was rainy/misty and lovely. it was a good day. (heart heart!)

i wanted to share these eggs in a nest by rae dunn with you that i came across recently, because they are right up my alley. i think they would be lovely to have around your house, as little positive reminders to be joyful and grateful and live in the moment.

rae creates all types of clay pieces, from plates and cups and vases to eggs and pears and more. her website is lovely and well worth a visit, as is her etsy shop and blog.

astulabee

be still, my heart. this print by astulabee (aka: nicole licht) is making it go all pitter patter! i love it so. it makes me want to go out searching for crows. what fascinating creatures!

i am the trend.com

i recently discovered a site that i thought all you other artists and designers out there might be interested in, too-- it's called iamthetrend.com and is a growing online directory of independent artists, designers, musicians, clothing designers, shops, and more! and you can submit your shop or whatnot for free! i submitted mine, which you can see below.

get yourself on there and keep it growing!

feed your soul: the free art project

i'm really excited to tell you all about this project over at indie fixx that launched yesterday, and i want to give jen a big shout out thank you for inviting me to help start the whole thing! 'feed your soul: the free art project' was created out of jen's belief that art is a vital part of our lives. it's also one of the first things to go when people need to tighten their financial belts (sad, but true). we need to focus on the positive, though, and artwork helps us do that! so, each month jen will share art on indie fixx from artists that she invited to participate in the project that you can download for free! print it out, frame it, do what you will with it, it's yours for the taking.

this first month you can download a piece from me (pictured in the middle), samantha hahn (on the left above), and jen herself (on the right above)! just click here to visit indie fixx and then click on the individual links to get the downloadable pdf versions of each piece.

jen printed them out and framed them up-- don't they look nice?

enjoy!

susan schaffer

i enjoy this painting by susan schaffer very much. it reminds me of a project i did when i was a senior in college, making a whole bunch of chalk pastel portraits of people in my life. i should really dig those out and have a look at them!

susan has many lovely prints and original paintings, all portraits such as this, available in her shop, as well as a shop where she sells gorgeous handmade books. do stop by!

poolga: iPod + iPhone covers

i recently discovered poolga, and i'm pretty much obsessed with the site-- they have wallpapers for iPhones and iPods that you can download for free, made by designers and artists from all over the world!

these are some of my favorites. the artists are as follows:

1. laszlo kovacs
2. ana galvañ
3. thereza rowe
4. luis mendo / GOOD Inc.
5. nomono (no website listed- sorry!)
6. maría simavilla
7. paolo lim

8. paolo lim

i wish i had an iPhone so i could download one of these beauties to use. i do have an iPod touch, though, so i can put one on there! once you start clicking, you, too, will become obsessed. i'm sure of it.

oh, and if you are an artist or designer and think your work would be a good fit, you can request an invitation to design some wallpapers for the site. it's by invite only-- fancy!

new pattern: carmen

there's no better way to start off the day off by posting a new pattern is what i always say!
i finished this last night, and boy do i like it. i wish i had a skirt made out of that hot pink version. wouldn't that be killer?

barnaby ward

another amazing artist to share with you today, and WOW! this is a goodie. oh, barnaby ward, i wish i could draw like you. can you say amazing? i thought so.

he has a book out called sixteen miles to merricks that looks fantastic and is full of his illustrations and comics!

and is this dwight from the office? awesome.

barnaby has a bunch of downloadable desktop wallpapers, too-- i just downloaded the one below! i love it.

new pattern: elaina

this pattern was a first attempt at a commissioned pattern for someone that is not going to be the chosen one, so i thought it would be ok to show it to you! i'm sort-of fond of the blue one, because it's not a color i use very often-- i'm feeling like i want to get out of my color comfort zone lately and try some new things. any suggestions for interseting color combos?

catherine lepage

the texture in these pieces by catherine lepage is making me really happy this morning.

check out catherine's website to see her complete body of work-- and also her profile on the communication arts website.

become a fan on facebook!

did you guys know you can create pages on facebook and let people become your fans? how cool is that? i'm a fan of quite a few people and places: chronicle books, anorak magazine, and poketo to name a few.

want to be my fan? click here!

vote for me in this etsy poll!

i just found out that one of my prints is included in this poll on etsy right now! they're trying to find out which item is the cutest and makes you go "awwwww"!

click here to go vote for me or whoever's goodie you think is the cutest-- the person who receives the most votes will be featured on the etsy blog and in the gift guides! woo hoo!

voting is open for 6 more days.

thanks, etsy, for including me!

new pattern: dasha

i've been thinking about 2 or 3 color pattern lately-- my patterns are usually many more colors than that, so it's a fun challenge to think about designing using less colors.

this pattern is called 'dasha', and i made it in a couple other colorways, too, which you can see on my flickr page, but these 2 are my favorites.

tia factor

ok, i am so completely taken with tia factor's work that i don't even know what to say about it. i love that piece above more than every other piece of artwork i've seen lately. i want it on my wall so i can stare at it every day.

tia's work can also be seen at swarm gallery in oakland, ca, which i wrote about yesterday. knowing of this gallery and the incredible artists there is making me want to sneak off to the bay area for a visit and some oohing and ahhing over artwork! in the meantime, i will be drooling over tia's website. :)