Archive for March, 2011
It’s called the dorm (from ferm LIVING). What a nice “welcome home” for your mini collectibles. No kids needed for this cabinet of curiosities. And speaking of curiosities, here are a few links that piqued my interest this week…
-DIY Pantone chip magnets from the brilliant mind of Jessica Jones (How About Orange).
-Thanks to this blog I now want a french bulldog about 100 times more than usual.
-And speaking of dogs, how cool are these hand painted staffordshire?
-Learn how to make an industrial candlestick with a few supplies from the hardware store.
-Ez of Creature Comforts just introduced me to an amazing resource through her blog. It’s called Stylizimo (there’s a blog and a free member’s community as well). I just signed up. Excited to explore this new (to me) source over the weekend.
That’s it for me. Have a great weekend!
If you like your clothes to be quirky and comfortable, you’ll love Urbarian.
Urbarian (a combination of “Urban Barbarian”) is an organic line of t-shirts for men, women, and children. If you shop around and don’t see the exact design you crave, tell them what colors you like and they’ll make you a one-of-a-kind T-shirt, Onsie, or Tote Bag.
Another plus, Urbarian offers free shipping within the US (no code necessary)!
Please visit Urbarian on Etsy for more.
A few weeks ago, I was introduced to a site called MAMMOTH, and I honestly couldn’t believe I hadn’t come across it before. Since chatting with the owners Ben and Troy, I’ve been visiting the site almost daily to view all the limited edition prints in their collection. *By the way, Ben and Troy have an awesome blog too: Hey Mammoth.
Anyway, aside from carrying really great work from unquestionably talented artists, the guys at Mammoth are good people. Which is why, now thru Friday, MAMMOTH will be donating all the profits from ALL their print sales in the collection to Doctors Without Borders’ Emergency Relief Fund. They’re hoping to raise a ton of money to help support the relief effort in Japan.
Any help you can give in spreading the word via facebook or twitter (or picking up a print to help support their efforts) would be hugely appreciated.
Inspired by her neighborhood streets of Southern California and their history, Gina, the creator behind Acute Designs, has cooked up quite a collection of accessories. Using a mix of materials, her hair accoutrements and jewelry are constructed to be simultaneously current and timeless. I’m a fan of the Esther, with its flapper styling, for day or night. Check out Acute Designs for an accessory you’ll see yourself in now + forever.
Even better: Receive 10% off your order when you enter the code PAPERNSTITCH at checkout.
View Acute Designs on Etsy to see the entire collection.
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Post written by Rachel Anne Williams. Rachel Anne is a 20-something wife and mother of one, who enjoys making things for her embroidery and tiny handmade goodies shop called Goose and Trisser.You can visit Rachel Anne on her blog here.
Indoor gardens were the focus for last week’s Interior Obsessions with FormFire Glassworks. But although many of us may bring a plant or two inside our homes, we may not plan to take it to the extent of a full garden space. But one thing we all need is light. Most lighting designers would agree that overhead lighting, in the form of recessed cans or surface-mounted fixtures, is not quite sufficient when it comes to lighting a room. To make a room feel truly comfortable, light needs to come from multiple locations, and the best way to achieve this effect is through the use of lamps, either wall-mounted sconces, table lamps or floor lamps. Although sconces can be great when space is at a minimum, I prefer to use table and floor lamps because of the multiple uses they serve.
Not only do lamps provide light right at the level where people inhabit the space, either an all-over ambient light or directed task lighting, but the fixtures themselves serve a purpose within the decor. The lamp becomes an object which fills space at the mid-level between furniture and ceiling. Think about your standard 8-foot-high room with a sofa, coffee table, chair, and end tables. It has some recessed fixtures in the ceiling for light, but the entire band between the top of the sofa and the ceiling is bare. You add a piece of artwork to the wall over the sofa, which helps to fill that void, but that only occurs way at the back surface. A good lamp bridges the gap between these two, and brings the object out into the living space itself. A lamp can be understated, add a shot of color, be wiry and thin, or have a lot of substance to ground the vignette. Try moving different lamps into each of your rooms and see how it changes the feeling of your space – you’d be surprised what a difference such a basic addition can make!
(above) Articulated Floor Lamp
Task Floor Model + Natural Curvy Base
Sculptural Floor Lamp + Heavy White Base
Julie from Olive & Joy has such a great workspace. That’s it above. Pretty cool, huh? She actually re-covered that chair herself (it use to be brown- see the before version of the chair here). And although she mentioned that she hadn’t really made time for decorating this space yet, I happen to think it looks great just as it is.
For more info about Julie’s space, visit her ‘new’ old desk chair post.
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Today I am honored to be speaking with the founder of Whip Up and the author of Whip Up Mini Quilts: Kathreen Ricketson. Kathreen is sharing her story as a part of the informative interview series I’ve been doing this month. And with her second book set to release later this year and Whip Up entering in to its six year, Kathreen is one busy lady, as you can imagine. So, it’s extra special that she was able to take some time out of her schedule to sit down with me (virtually of course) for a 30 minute interview.
Here’s what else we discussed in the podcast:
-How to connect with readers and build your blog with tutorials and craft projects.
-The kinds of tutorials that will capture bloggers’ attention.
-How to land a book deal and what the process of publishing a book is like.
-And what it’s been like to switch gears into digital self publishing with her latest project.
One of things we talked about towards the end of the podcast was the a new project that Kathreen has been working on. She recently launched a printable Mini-Mag for kids in an easy downloadable PDF format, priced at just $5. The mag is called Action Pack and it is filled with 20 pages of craft projects, outdoor activities, cooking, drawing and more. For more info about Action Pack, click here. Listen to the podcast now…
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Be sure to visit Kathreen’s website Whip Up for daily craft inspirations and tutorials. And also follow her on twitter @WhipUp.
