Isak Posters for the Nursery

I finally decided to buy a set of posters I’ve been eyeing for months. If we’d had a boy, I would have totally done his room up using these colors as inspiration. However, they’ll still look great in Chloe’s room.

I first saw one of Sandra Isaksson’s 123 posters in an issue of LMNOP (a fun quarterly kids pdf magazine) and was drawn to it instantly. Then I looked up her other work and now she is one of my favorite designers. And check out this sweet “All About Baby” book! Is it silly to have two baby books?

Ladygil.com Banner & Avatar

I was recently contacted again by the talented Rachel of Ladygil.com to design another banner and avatar for her newest blog. Taking visual cues from the previous banners I made for her Etsy shop and studio blog, plus her love of green, we came up with this fun and friendly design. She’s excited about it and so am I. And check out the cute little promo magnets she had made using the avatar image. What a great idea!

Love this image

There is just something about this image that makes me smile. I wish I could find it again, so I could give the artist credit. I think it is a screenshot originally from threadless.com, and I just thought I’d share it.

Amy Butler’s Little Stitches

I just happened to be perusing craft books on Amazon the other day and was excited to see that Amy Butler has a new book out called Little Stitches for Little Ones. Such perfect timing!

Here’s the description from her site:

In my new lavishly illustrated sewing projects book, you’ll find all new charming and contemporary projects for the nursery, baby wear, soft toys, and many more surprises! The projects are designed for babies 0-12 months and their mothers, featuring beautiful photos of the finished designs by our friend Colin McGuire. It was fun to produce these little treasures, and I think you’ll find many projects in here for all the wee ones in your world. 176 pages, 7 pattern sheets, wire binding (same format as In Stitches). Retail $24.95

Modern Wall Decals

I am really loving the new look of wall decals. They add an artistic touch with such a minimal amount of work, and are often customizable in colors to match your existing decor. David and I have talked about getting one for the living room, but I’m almost sure I’ll get one for the nursery. Here are just a few of my faves:

Cherry Blossom Branch with Birds (singlestonestudios.etsy.com)

Birds in Birdcage Grouping (singlestonestudios.etsy.com)

One or Two Color Tree (holly.etsy.com)

Birdhouse (holly.etsy.com)

Love Birds on Flower Branches ( decorette.etsy.com)

In Our Neighborhood

While on a walk with Barkley last night I noticed that one of our favorite houses in the neighborhood was going up for sale. The previous owner was walking to his car just as I approached, so I was able to introduce myself and ask a couple of questions. Sadly, the house is smaller than I’d hoped, only a bit larger than ours, with 2 bedrooms, one bath, and a one car garage. Plus they are asking one of the highest $ per sqft in the neighborhood. Sigh. I guess when you know your house is this cute, there is no need to start pricing at the bottom.

What I love about this house is its mid-century modern lines. To some people, this building is probably no better than a track house, but to me it is so elegant, with a charming simplicity. There is such potential with regard to our style of living and sense of aesthetics. I love its flat roof, high vaulted ceilings and huge picture windows facing the sunny, landscaped backyard. If only it was bigger (and if only we could afford it)! As it is, I only hope that the next owners appreciate it and care for it as well as the previous owner did. He said it was perfect for when he was a bachelor, but now that he’s married, they decided to find somewhere with more space. I can’t blame them. With our growing little family, I already wish for the same thing.

Photos taken from the rmls website.

Birth announcement

Recently a very good friend of mine asked if I would do the honors of designing a simple birth announcement for their new baby girl. Of course I was delighted. There is something extra fun about designing announcements and invitations, although I often get somewhat nervous designing for friends. It is just so important that they end up with something they like.

In this case, I did two versions – one in traditional pink with a classic black-and-white photo and a more modern pink and brown version (shown above) which was ultimately chosen. I just love how the card highlights Ava wrapped all snuggly in that gorgeous pink and brown baby blanket.

Best of all, the cost of printing these announcements were a steal compared to specialty companies which usually charge $1.99+ per card (not including shipping). After doing a little internet research we settled on psprint.com where we purchased (50) 4×6 recycled matte postcards with pre-printed return address on the back for less than 50¢ a piece, including shipping! I’m pretty sure we’re going to use the same printing service when we design our own this winter.

Japanese Variety

I seem to be stuck in a procrastination phase. I was hoping to be more productive this weekend, but I don’t think I was. Actually, I can’t even remember how I spent it all. Some of it was watching a few netflixed Alias episodes (great eye candy, although the mini anxiety attacks from all the suspense and drama are rough), surfed the net, a little gardening, attended a baby shower and put together some swap packages. I did get a little work done, too, so that’s good.

……….

Not far from my house is a Japanese supermarket called Uwajimaya. It’s a great place for exotic foods and asian gifts like ceramics, specialty papers, and traditional art supplies. We had an asian theme to our wedding (red tablecloths, paper lanterns, chopsticks, etc) and most of our food was ordered from here. I picked up the packages of candy shown above this weekend for some swaps (as well as some Haribo candy for myself). The whole side of an aisle is devoted to sweets, and of course I want to try them all.

Next door to the supermarket there is a Tokyo-based bookstore called Kinokuniya. Besides their unique office supplies and selection of kawaii, I love to browse the imported craft books. Their fine aesthetic and clean photographic style really appeals to me. Sometimes they’re written in English, too. My budget has pretty much limited me to only looking, but someday I’d love to bring a few home with me. For now I just try and soak up the inspiration while I’m there.

Cool Online Game

gettheglass.com

If you haven’t already, check out this creative online game. I can’t believe how well it was designed, with gorgeous graphics and advanced interactive details. It sort of reminds me of Myst. Very impressive for a milk campaign. We came in at about 9400 out of 41,000. How well can you do?

Artful Photography

I recently learned about photographer/artist Al Magnus and thought I’d share a couple of my favorites here. I like their dreamy, magical quality, and how they open up the imagination.

Originally spotted on The Erraticist.

Crafty Giveaway

I’ve been having fun designing and making plastic pendants lately. I love combining colors and shapes and patterns into these little (mostly) 1″x 1″ works. You can kind of see what’s been on my mind lately – birds, patchwork, snowflakes, leaves and flowers. I don’t tend to wear much jewelry myself, but I like how necklaces can provide just the right amount of polish and character every now and then. Anyway, I hope you guys like them. To celebrate recently reaching my 250th post and to thank everyone who stops by my little blog, I’m holding my first crafty giveaway!

To enter, simply leave a comment on this post. That’s it! On Friday I’ll announce a winner by having David draw a name. The winner will get to chose a pendant from the selection shown above, and I’ll attach it to a leather cord for wearing. Be sure to leave a valid email address so I can contact the winner for a shipping address. Thanks for visiting and good luck!

Zhena’s Gypsy Tea

Yesterday when we were at the grocery store I asked David to pick me up another box of green tea. I stayed in the car talking on the phone to my Dad. And just look at the pretty tin he came back with. I’ve never heard of Zhena’s Gypsy Tea, but the artwork and packaging is adorable. Fair trade and organic. My honey, he knows how I’m such a sucker for pretty packaging. And the tea is good, too!

So, I did a little online research and found Zhena’s story on greenmoneyjournal.com, which I found very interesting, real, and inspiring. Read her story here.