a bit of inspiration

the dress. the interior. wow. 'nuf said.

found via the butterfly collector

undies on etsy

i love finding surprises on etsy. i mean, who really considers buying handmade underwear? the thought never crossed my mind, to be honest. but there is an amazing variety of handmade undergarments, all on etsy! here are some that caught my eye. the above pic is the gilda silk bow bustier by gildapearl. gorgeous.

watercolor bralette set by clare bare. so pretty!

high waisted button-up bloomers by little miss crow. ooh, i think i need bloomers. they can be my housepants, i would feel so 19th-century feminine.

so, if you're looking for something unique on etsy, take a look at the variety of underthings :: some of it is practical, some is silly, {some is downright naughty!} but it's all very impressive.

the swifts

okay, these photos are a little hard to see, but if you look at all the little dots in the sky- those are birds. swifts, to be precise. apparently, every year during the month of september, thousands of swifts all come together every evening at sunset to roost in the chimney of portland's chapman elementary school. they slowly gather together in the sky and eventually form a swirling mass of wings that spirals straight down into the chimney.

the photos i took do not do justice to the actual sight of this annual phenomenon. plus it was so dark, i had to punch up the exposure on my camera as high as it would go and the pics still turned out dark. but if you live in/around portland, i recommend going to see this at least once in your life.

nature never ceases to amaze me. you can always find order and chaos working together in ways that are completely astonishing and utterly beautiful.

weekend plans

time to soak up the sun while i still can! it's going to be a pretty nice weekend in portland and i intend to enjoy it. dx is back in school this term, so i don't see him much during the week lately. i think we'll take a nice lazy bike ride somewhere for lunch. and i'll be snapping pictures, i've got to put my new camera to use! i hope you have a happy weekend too!

photo from here

coffee cozies

i've been meaning to share some pics of the coffee cozies that i've been selling at a local coffee shop... and here they are! i use all scrap fabric, meaning the odds and ends that i can't really use for anything other than small projects, so it works perfectly. i can use fabric that might otherwise be thrown out AND the cozies are re-usable. i try to do my part. ;)

if you're in portland, you can find these at vivo espresso on se 9th and morrison.

cold weather fashion

well, i can't live in denial forever... fall is officially here and i am in desperate need of a new fall/winter coat. i've had a lovely charcoal-colored gap coat for years, but the poor thing is looking a bit worn. now, let's see what i can find {and what i can afford!} ::

cotton candy double breasted coat from ruche {only $45.99! that seems too good to be true...}

kimchi blue hooded dress coat in ivory by urban outfitters $138. if it's as warm as it looks, that seems reasonable...

sunlit grove coat from anthropologie

this is one cute. maybe too cute. oh, {choke, gasp} it's $528. yep, that's a little to "cute" for me.

taffeta weave trench by tulle {marked down from $115 to only $46!} it doesn't look terribly warm, but i like the pretty bow.

eh, maybe i should just go back to the gap. actually, perhaps a vintage coat is just what i need. ooh yes, time to go vintage clothes shopping! {my favorite pastime.}

felicity's wedding invitations

here they are!

to protect the privacy of the bride and groom, i always wait until after the wedding to reveal the invitation design. felicity and jack got married last saturday and this is the invitation i designed for them. it's quite simple and classic, with a single olive tree as the design theme. felicity wanted a more formal look, so we used a nice script font and chose chocolate brown and light pink for the envelope and border colors.

i have officially started my wedding invitation shop on etsy, but i want to get a few more items on there before i start to get the word out. if you're interested to see the few designs i have up right now, please visit my shop at www.paperandpinafore.etsy.com. i'll make an official announcement soon!

new to shoppe :: army clutches

here is some new product just added to the shoppe! i made these clutches from a 1944 u.s. army sleeping bag cover. each one is lined with a unique vintage fabric and is pleated along the right side for a cute little feminine touch. {darling + savage, no?} the little buttons and trim are also vintage, which makes each clutch 100% vintage, except for the zippers.

tell me what you think! i'm very proud of these and will be making more very soon!

you can visit my shoppe here

my favorite etsy shop :: chet and dot

i've been a big, big fan of chet and dot for as long as i've been a part of the portland craft community. not only does this shop have THE cutest wares i've ever seen, but you can find a little bit of everything there :: bags + purses, plush softies, art, accessories, jewelry, paper goods... and a lot more. look at some of these adorable items ::

bear snapshot flat notecard set of 4

aqua lace and linen purse

pistachio cream cake pin cushion

hello whale art print

handmade sewing kit maison of turquoise and brown

cute felted cupcake bird and her nest

stuffed softie josephine jelly bean

elsa owl of pink and red

is that not the cutest stuff you've ever seen?

i've had the pleasure of meeting the multi-talented chet and dot owner jen at a couple of craft shows and she is always so wonderfully sweet. and i seriously have to hold myself back from buying everything from her table.

you can visit the shop at www.chetanddot.etsy.com

and jen's cute blog at www.chetanddot.blogspot.com

craft bazaar this weekend!

i will be participating in the skating with scissors craft bazaar this weekend! this is the first craft show to be hosted by the awesome rose city rollers, a group of bad-ass roller derby girls here in portland. it should be a good time! if you're in the portland area, stop by and say hello!

design to drink

i am such a sucker for great package design. but when you mix creativity with humanitarianism, you get something even better ::

lemon-aid and chari-tea! most of the profits of these beverages go to social causes. mmm... i'm feeling thirsty.

found via a design mafia

new :: vintage wool pinstripe purse

remember the pinstripe wool clutch i made last month? well, i just made a matching purse to go with it! the wool is actual vintage fabric i scored at scrap. and the button is also vintage, from my grandmother's collection. i lined the inside with a pretty blue fabric and added a zipper {because every purse needs an extra pouch inside}.

yay, i'm so proud of this one! it even has a magnetic snap closure for security. if i don't sell it this weekend at the craft show, then i'll put it up in my etsy shop. i'll keep you posted!

dreamy photography :: jacqleen bleu

me without you

my cup runneth over. tea party.

lessons in flying part 2

cotton candy trees and yonderflies

all photos by jacqleen bleu at her etsy shop. spectacular.

i'm a finalist!

hey! i'm posting like a crazy today! but guess what- i made it! i'm a finalist in the "this is home" postcard contest! my design will be published along with 9 others in a postcard pack to be sold on etsy sometime this month! if you didn't get enough of enjoying my design in my other numerous posts, here's another peek:

i have to give a big thank you to jenny, who let me borrow her awesome camera so i could play around with toys and take pictures of them for no reason. who knew one of them would be printed onto a postcard! hooray jenny!! if iwas getting paid for this, i'd give you some of the money! but, uh, i'm not. i get a free postcard pack... you can have some of those...

:)

etsy treasury

has anyone ever tried to create a treasury list on etsy? it's maddening! you have to wait for that exact moment when the list falls below 333 and then pounce before the number goes back up! well, i wasted a whole bunch of time this morning doing just that, ha... and i created a pretty darn adorable treasury, if i do say so myself. here's a tiny version :

click here to see the actually treasury list on etsy. leave a comment and tell me what you think! i titled it "Life is a Candy". haha, what a silly waste of time, but i love it!

fall fashion :: stewart + brown

a few pieces from the stewart + brown fall collection. and lovely photos too!

vacation pics + thank you

i want to start this post by saying thank you to everyone who voted for my submission to the "this is home" contest! i didn't expect such a huge response! i'm pretty sure i made the cut for finalist, but i'll know for sure sometime soon, keep you posted.

so, remember how last week i wrote that dx and i were going to go to the beach for a few days? well, he surprised me by changing plans and getting a room at the ace hotel in seattle! the ace is a fabulous boutique hotel with a modern design theme located in the heart of downtown seattle. the design focuses on clean lines, white walls, and funky touches like the re-use of old army textiles in the guest rooms. here are a few pics ::

looking at the lobby from the entry stairs

the lobby :: they bring in a lot of natural light with the use of skylights

you can see the bright area by the door is lit by a skylight. the room is, yes, a bit sparse but that is part of the design. nice wood panelling and a strip of mirror {reflecting more light!} on the side wall. a swiss army blanket is at the foot of the bed and the "headboard" is made from some old green army fabric. {the bed was SO comfortable!} oh, and the little side table you can barely see on the right... is a big chunk of unfinished wood. very basic.

bathroom. again, sparse. nothing fancy here.

my favorite feature is the white painted brick wall. i love brick-faced interior walls. there's dx reading the seattle guide before we head out for the day.

and i had to pose for a pic too. :)

the hotel is literally a few blocks from the famous pike place market.

they don't just throw fish... this guy is catching a crab.

produce! lovely bright colors.

lots of pretty flower stands too.

we passed a little "boardwalk" area with games and rides. {interior, of course. it rains too much in seattle for an outdoor venue.}

we had to stop by the seattle central library :: i've seen lots of pictures of this architectural marvel, but it was much more impressive to see in person. designed by reknown architect rem koolhaus and completed in 2004, this building is breathtaking- from the outside and the inside.

one of the seating areas... amazing!

all of the escalators are bright yellow! it's a good way-finding technique and adds quite a splash of color to the interior.

the whole 2nd floor is painted bright red {ceilings, everything} with a few purple walls. i felt like i was inside a giant piece of candy. i appear to be glowing in this picture. interesting.

from the library, we headed to the tallest building in seattle, the bank of america tower. it has a viewing room on the top floor of the whole city! you can barely make out the space needle in the distance. {as i was walking out, i realized that the date was September 11th. that was a little creepy.}

a nice afternoon walk along puget sound.

a lovely sunset.

it was a wonderful little trip! i saw seattle in a whole new light. it's a really lively city, filled with old neighborhoods and new ones, lots of fun shops, and delicious restaurants. i've been here a few times before but it was especially fun just walking leisurely around downtown with dx and discovering new things around every corner. i love this city!