The Craft Begins

Animals and Polka Dots

admin — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 13:59:19 +0000

Sometimes, I get really bored when I’m sitting in front of the computer, and I end up doing silly things. Like animals in polka dots.

I’m thinking that if I do the whole alphabet, it might make a cute little book. Mostly, I just love polka dots. So be it.

Girly Reading

admin — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 23:30:49 +0000

1. Love. Obsess. Inspire. is a great place to stop by for visual treats in a number of flavors – fashion, interiors and more.

2. One of my favorite things on This is Glamorous is the image mashups – usually some gorgeous design paired with a coordinating fashion photo. Simply beautiful.

3. All the Mountains…I don’t even know what to say. Really unusual and gorgeous finds with huge pictures. Can’t get enough.

4. If you’re looking for pointers and inspiration for a stylish life, Coco + Kelley is a one-stop shop.

5. Simple + Pretty satisfies my daily need for fashion and awesome paper products.

Inspiration Board #109

admin — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 18:30:11 +0000

All the Green Bits in London

admin — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 14:29:25 +0000

What an interesting concept – a picnic blanket illustrating all of the green spaces in London in a sort of “map”.

by Ben Branagan

Catherine’s Animals

admin — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 23:28:57 +0000

Well we all know how much I love animal photography, and how much I love patterns and campy, vintage-y decor. Thus, these animal photographs from Catherine Ledner are pretty much the best thing in the entire world.

I’d love to hang one on my wall, but the problem is, which one would I choose? There’s too many good ones to pick just one. See them all at her website.

Artistic Tattoo

admin — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 22:40:16 +0000

When I first saw these abstract tattoos from Amanda Wachob, I thought that they were simply finger paint on people’s bodies. Nope. They’re real tattoos.

They’re joyfully expressive. And kind of amazing. I’ve always been fascinated by people’s tattoos and these are right up my alley. See more of her work here.

LOST Posters

admin — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 18:25:44 +0000

I’m entralled with these LOST posters from Mattson Creative. SO clever and just a hint of mid-century design. A perfect combination.

See the whole series here.

Inspiration Board #108

admin — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 14:36:42 +0000

Kari Herer

admin — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 23:17:31 +0000

I cannot even communicate how beautiful I find these well-composed and lit still lifes from Kari Herer.

Something about them is so magical and transcendent. Simply gorgeous. You can purchase a print for yourself at her etsy shop.

Warby Parker Glasses

admin — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 18:49:33 +0000

Suddenly, nerdy is hot again.

I’m so excited about this eyeglass company. Their glasses are super-affordable, they ship for free, they let you try on glasses at home for fit for free, and for every pair you buy they donate a pair to a person in need. Plus they’re totally zexy. I’ve been searching for frames like this for ages and have a hard time tracking them down. What’s not to love?

Inspiration Board #107

admin — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 14:29:09 +0000

Free Pattern Resource

admin — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 00:22:34 +0000

I always have a hard time finding knitting patterns that I like. They’re usually a bit too bulky and 80’s for me. The free ones can be particularly bad. Which means that most of the time I improvise my creations, to mixed results. I was excited then to find this massive collection of free knitting patterns from Drops Studio. Tons of cute and modern knits.

See all of the patterns as well as the yarns that they carry here. Bonus for non English speakers – the patterns come in lots of different languages.

Blog Love – Eggplant Elephant

admin — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 20:00:58 +0000

I recently discovered that one of my friends from freshman year that lived in my dorm is a kick-ass illustrator.

And she has an awesome blog to prove it. I love the bright colors and the excellent use of text. Hop over to Eggplant Elephant for more illustrative goodness.

PS – Can someone please help me convince her to start selling some prints?

Museum of Foreign Groceries

admin — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 17:55:09 +0000

One of my favorite things to do in any strange place is to go to the grocery store and have a look around. Food is a really interesting and direct way into a different culture, especially at the grocery store.

This set from Steve Portigal on flickr is kind of amazing. A great illustration of the joy that I find in foreign markets.

What is your favorite strange supermarket find?

Inspiration Board #106

admin — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 14:54:41 +0000

The Monster Engine

admin — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 22:46:24 +0000

My lovely friend Amy sent these over to me because she thought that I would like them. She knows me so well!

Dave Devries takes children’s drawings and re-configures them into something a little more “professional”. While the results are fantastic, I can’t help but think that there’s something a bit sinister about them. Like your worst childhood nightmare come to living, breathing life.

You can find his website here, and see where I got these pictures here.

Supermarket Sarah

admin — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 18:43:29 +0000

This genius online curator displays here collections on her living room wall, presenting them in unique and interesting ways, then photographs that wall and allows you to buy things off of it, just by clicking on the items.

How clever is that? You can see her site as well as purchase some of her goodies here.

Tilt Shift Video

admin — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 14:39:59 +0000

OK, this is taking tilt-shift photography to the extremes of awesomeosity. I’m not sure how you would go about accomplishing something like this, but I really enjoy the result.

Inspiration Board #105

admin — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 22:10:52 +0000

Ft. Huachuca Architecture

admin — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 19:02:50 +0000

Last year we were stationed in a small town in Arizona, home to historic Ft. Huachuca. I’m not going to lie – that was about the only interesting thing to be found in town. The newer parts of the post aren’t too interesting – they look just like every other military base in America. However, the historic parts of the base are simply beautiful. The buildings date back to the late 1800’s and just sing old Americana. I want to to build a guest house like this, lounging on the front porch to watch the evening sunset and catch some cooler wind.

Ft. Huachuca was built to protect travellers from the Apaches that swarmed the area in the latter part of the 19th century. It was instrumental in the eventual surrender of Geronimo, and survived the rounds of cuts to be the only active army base remaining in Arizona. It was also the home of the Buffalo Soldiers.

Mostly, I just love the stonework and the expansive patios and windows. The architectural style reminds me of the early National Park style.

I see this reflected in homes with a sort of rustic Craftsman-style look. However, I just want to live in one of these old buildings. Plus it’s really pleasantly located at the base of some large mountains with running water and lots of trees.