Archive for December, 2010
I get so excited when I have a new house tour to share. It feels a little bit like Christmas: like a wee gift to unwrap during the week. So, here’s your gift… Today, we are peering in to the home of designer (and artist) Sofia Barao of Sbarao boutique, a shop filled with all kinds of beautiful things (crocheted jewelry and accessories, mixed media artwork, and the occasional piece of vintage clothing).
Not only did Sofia agree to share her home with everyone, she also answered a few of my questions. Here’s our mini interview (and a couple images of Sofia’s work as well)…
-Tell us about yourself.
My name’s Sofia I’m a Portuguese artist-designer, and I live now in France with my French husband. We live near Paris, about 45 minutes away. Our pretty town is between a forest and a river and several small lakes. I work part time at a museum and the rest of the time I create.
I call myself a maker and a daydreamer. I love to create all the time. Whether it is with paints, paper, fabric, yarns, leather, cold porcelain, feathers or whatever I can get my hand on. I mostly work with vintage supplies, dead stocks and small stocks; I especially love to create unique pieces. I have a passion for literature, especially poetry. Sometimes I need to write as I need to breath and when that happens I can write for months every day.
-How would you describe your design style?
I don’t really think I have a design style. Or maybe yes because most of the things are from flea markets. I love vintage so here in France and especially around Paris I really am lucky to have such wonderful flea markets. I always find something whenever I go.
-What is your favorite decorative element in your home?
I love the big Paris school map I have above my sofa. It is from the 40’s-50, and I found it for nothing at a flea market too.
-And how has having such a creative career inspired you in decorating your home?
I guess that when you have a creative career it reflects a bit on your home’s decoration, but not always. I can say it does at my home when I go to my friend’s houses or when they come to visit me because in terms of decoration we don’t really have the same type of deco at all.
I need to have things that I love around me, and also things that inspire me that will inspire my work. I also think that I have too many things around, I just can’t throw anything away so I accumulate and accumulation leads to creation…almost every time, so it’s like a circle, I need what’s in my home to create and my home needs my creations to continue to expand.
Thank you so much Sofia for allowing us to peek into your beautiful home.
Please visit Sofia Barao‘s website and online boutique to learn more about her work.
Calendars are a great gift during the holidays and the new year. And guess what? We are giving away a pretty awesome 2011 calendar from photographer Tali Schiffer right now. Oh yeah! One lucky winner will win this twelve month calendar featuring twelve different photos from Tali. Retail value $30.
Here’s how to enter. There are four ways to play and you can enter up to three times…
1. Browse Tali Schiffer’s photography to get a good feel for her work, and then come back here and tell us what you like most about her photographs (color palette, composition, subject matter, etc).
2. Subscribe to the papernstitch blog by clicking here and then leave a message in the comments that says “subscribed”. **I’ll know if you really did or did not subscribe, so let’s play fair.
3. Since this is a calendar giveaway, share your plans for 2011 in the comments. Anything big planned? A trip, goals for your business, etc?
4. Twitter, facebook, or blog about this giveaway and leave a link in the comments. You can use the retweet and facebook buttons below to make it easy, if you’d like.
**Giveaway will end on December 31st at 11:59 pm eastern time.**
Here are a handful of beauties to get your morning started…
1. Washi Tape Duo $9
2. Holiday Party Bow Headband $33
3. Hello, Morning fine art print $20
4. Insta-Matic Vintage Memory Locket $34
Remember, this is only half of the story. To see the other four items (for a total of eight), you’ll have to click here.
A guest post by Jenna Thompson of Small Bird Handcrafted Jewelry.
I love handmade Christmas decorations, but I hardly had any that were made by my own hands…until now…
I think I meant to make this felted garland last year…but I never got around to it. (That’s a familiar tune around here this time of year.) It was not *quite* as quick and easy as I had hoped, but that’s probably due, in part, to my perfectionism rearing it’s ugly head halfway through this thing. That’s not to say that it was difficult, by any means. I just added some extra steps.
I used about 1.5 oz. wool roving in several colors, and got about 48 balls out of it. I needed two pairs of stockings to tie up the roving, and used the washing machine technique for felting. The problem was that wherever the stocking gathered between knots, it created a crease in the felted ball. I wound up with 48 little brightly colored…fannies (which you can sort of see in the bowl in the photo below). Ahem. So I hauled my fanny to the craft store and bought some needle felting tools. I’d only tried needle felting once, at a sheep and wool festival, but that little demo provided me with all the knowledge I needed for this project i.e., stabstabstabstabstabstabstab…
I arranged the various felted balls in a perfectly random pattern (I know, I have a problem), and used a natural, twine-colored worsted weight yarn to string them. I love the handmade touch they add to my mantle.
About Jenna: Jenna is the designer and crafter behind Small Bird Jewelry. When she’s not making jewelry, she’s probably knitting, sewing, or doing home improvement projects. Get shop updates by following smallbirdshop on Twitter at this link.
Jump into the nostalgic jewelry shop of The Blue Balloon, with unique pieces like these. All designed by Milwaukee artisan Marie Bee. When I look at this shop, I get a little crazy. I want this and this and this and this…
Seriously! This shop had a freakin’ door knocker ring for goodness sakes. How can I resist wanting absolutely everything?
Use this Special Offer: Use coupon code ‘blue10′ for an additional 10% off of your purchase- even on sale items.
Visit The Blue Balloon now to use your coupon code.
Having trouble picking a cool gift for your man this year? Don’t worry. I just posted my picks for handmade (and eco-friendly) gifts for men on Organic Authority, the web’s leading resource for all things organic living. Check it out right here.
And for even more handmade gifts for men, visit this handmade gifts for men gift guide on papernstitch.com for 30 products he’s sure to love.
I am not even sure I need to give anyone a reason to love popular print and accessories shop Wolfie & the Sneak, but just in case, here are the top four reasons to love this shop…
Reason #1: This limited edition illustrated calendar that Wolfie & the Sneak make every year (and sell out of every year) is officially my best handmade calendar of 2011 pick.
Reason 2: You will not find anything else like this! I can practically guarantee it. Its a handmade pinhole camera made of wood from Wolfie & the Sneak’s Sweet Haven Homestead series. This is the perfect gift for any camera enthusiast, beginners to experienced photographers. So cool!
Reason 3: Embracing the nature of found wood, this kindling shelf is hand-hewn from firewood, and is also from the Sweet Haven Homestead series (like the camera above). Definitely a unique addition to any home.
Reason 4: Renee and the Wolfie team are offering a special discount for pns readers! Enter “papernstitch” at check out for 20% off your entire order. Yeah! Thanks Renee.
Visit Wolfie & the Sneak now and get to shopping!
