The Craft Begins

1.  Something about this pendant necklace from Tundra Dear seems like a relic from another time.  I love the rich texture and finish.

2.  This illustration from Valentina Design really grabs me with its exuberant colors and patterns, and the little sayings are lovely as well.

3.  I don’t know why but I am absolutely obsessed with address stamps.  I guess I just get bored writing my return address all the time.  Get your own personalized stamp at Sugar Letter.

4.  I’m not usually a big fan of clocks (I hate seeing my life literally tick away) but these lacy, plastic designs from And Furthermore are pretty fantastic.

5.  These night landscapes from Amanda Friedman are amazing, not only for the originality of the subject but also for the fact that they’re not post-processed at all.  Photoshop has its place but it’s no substitution for gorgeous photography.

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.

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?

His illustrations look like something you’d discover in a naturalist’s journal 200 years later in some far-off land.  Imaginative, precise, and a little bit eerie.

I like the muted color palette and all of the texture and depth in his illustrations.  I’m on a calligraphy kick this week so that really impressed me as well.

See more at his portfolio here.

1.  John W. Golden has an amazing skill of creating digital images that look like old-school illustrations.  His pieces have tons of color, texture and humor.  And his prices are reasonable as well!  A win-win situation for everyone.

2.  Who doesn’t love a big of faux bling?  This gorgeous “sapphire” from Treasure Field takes the shabby chic look to the extreme.  I love the tongue-in-cheek aspect of it.  And the color is great as well.

3.  Rosa Murillo‘s illustrations are whimsical and colorful and happy.  I love her illustrative style.  And all of her pieces just have such personality – they’re great!

4.  For all the polaroid lovers out there, here’s a little journal to document your film and your sarcasm.  A place for a picture and a fill-in-the-blank area to go with it – what else could you need?  My polaroids are always slightly weird, so this journal from Cracked Designs would be perfect for me.

5.  I have a life-size realistic rubber lobster that lives in the cheese drawer of my fridge.  I bought it one day on a whim, and the drawer seemed to be the place that it wanted to live.  I like that its antenna shock people who have never been to my house before.  Needless to say, I have an affinity for fake shellfish, and this leather shrimp brooch from sacaclaques fits right in.

Thanks to this week’s sellers! Make sure to check out their shops for lots more great stuff.

I’m totally enamored with the work of Cristóbal Schmal.  It’s very mid-century and swinging, and a little bit raw while still being sophisticated and playful.  I really wish that I had the confidence in artistic vision that he clearly has.  Check out more of his work here.

It’s the middle of the week, so if you’re bored at work or home, here are some blog fancies to keep you occupied for a while!

1.  The famous Anna Bond of Rifle has a lovely blog where she details some of her illustrations and inspirations.  Just reading this gets me really inspired too.

2.  I love the illustrations over at automatism and the blog behind them displays the same sophistication and style.  Lots of cool things here!

3.  I find myself making a lot of floral arrangements for various reasons lately, and Fleurs is a great resource for me when I’m trying to think of something different and new.  Even if floral design isn’t your thing, the colors and textures are wonderful to explore.

4.  Double Takes is a great place to check out what’s hot in the world today.  Lots of gorgeous art and illustrations and modern design of all kinds.

5.  Darling Dexter has lots of interesting things to share on her blog – personal projects, fun finds, and my favorite, her daily outfits.  It’s strange and slightly voyeristic to check this out but I’m also enamored with all of her outfits so too bad.

6.  I love Irene Suchocki’s etsy shop and it turns out that she has a blog as well!  Beautiful and dreamy pictures abound here.  A great way to get yourself out of a midday rut.

More free downloads for you to enjoy – this time of an old children’s encyclopedia from the 60′s.  I love the illustrations – they are so colorful and the artwork is just great, not to mention the variety of things that they chose to illustrate.  Find more  of the letter N here.

Did you ever read the Very Hungry Caterpillar?  It was one of my favorite books as a kid, and Eric Carle is one of my favorite illustrators/artists to this day.  His collages are so colorful and joyous and fun.

I just found out that he has a blog!  How cool is that?

What was your favorite Eric Carle book?

Combining vintage European postcards and modern friendly invading robots?  Pure genius.

There’s something about these that is simply charming.  Find more at illustrator Franco Brambilla’s website.

There’s something poignant about the missed connections section on craigslist, but I’ve never really been able to communicate exactly how it makes me feel.  I think that these illustrations do it for me.

See more work here.  Found via frolic!

This one is unabashedly girly.  Sorry to my male readers (if  I have any male readers – hello?).

1.  What on earth could be better than 70′s wallpaper?  Nothing, in fact.  And Thrifty Pyg is the place to go to find it.  They may not be huge pieces, so you probably wouldn’t be able to cover up the wood paneling on the rec room walls, but enough that you could make something fun.  Scrapbooking, lining the inside of a medicine cabinet – oh, the possibilities!

2.  Keeping with the vintage theme, I love this tea dress.  Soho Mode makes all sorts of colors and designs from vintage cotton with the kind of silhouette that can only be described as “charming”.  I saw someone suggest that these would make great mismatched bridesmaids dresses, and I have to agree!  If nothing else, it would be great for a summer lawn party.

3.  I love mid-century everything, so these paintings by Leah Giberson are right up my alley.  She takes pictures of suburban landscapes, often focusing on the overlooked angle or element, and distills them into wonderful paintings full of depth and texture and intrigue.

4.  Who doesn’t love stripes?  I know that I do.  This bag by Banyan Hippo hits all of the right nautical notes.  It’s big and roomy and you could cart around just about anything.  The seller suggests diaper bag as a possible scenario and I say, why not?  You could be the hippest mom on the block.  Me, I’d use it for a beach bag.

5.  I just purchased a little pouch from Oktak and I was blown away by the quality and craftsmanship.  I can see why she’s so popular!  Next for me is going to be one of these little adorable frame pouches.  She always comes up with the best fabrics and colors, and her designs come in enough sizes and shapes to satisfy any need.

Thanks to this weeks sellers for their awesome product!

1.  My first favorite of the day has to be crystalindumentaria.  Another Etsy seller from Buenos Aires (Argentina seems to be coming into its own on Etsy) she sells some very cool clothing.  Very figure concious.  To me, there’s nothing better than an interesting white shirt, and I think this one fits the bill.  A nice shape, a great neckline/collar and the ability to mold it to fit your body – what could be nicer?

2.  Next is Champignons – I’m sure you’ve seen her work all over the place but I just can’t get over it.  Aside from the awesome name, she has great whimsical and slightly victorian items.  This piece is like an early movie – if you spin it around fast enough, you find that the bird will actually find itself inside of the cage!  I’ve seen this done in movies but never in real life.  Many more treasures about in her Etsy shop!

3.  It’s not often that I want to buy everything in a shop, but I do when it comes to Hisss.  There is no shortage of excellent illustrators on Etsy but her style speaks just to what I like – historical figures and animals, all with a slight visual pun.  I love this illustration – called “polar opposites”.  She has a photography site as well that’s worth checking out.

4.  Last is argonzales.  Her shop is filled with things for “manly men and girly girls”.  She has a great color palette and lots of little delicate items that are just interesting and strong enough to walk the line between feminine and awesome.  Ever since I took a silversmithing class years ago I’ve been obsessed with stacking rings and she has plenty of sets to choose from.

Thanks to all these wonderful creative folks for their amazing talents and energies!  I look forward to seeing what is to come from them.