Tuesday, August 24, 2010

etsy storefront design

curating your own etsy shop is a tricky business. you not only want your products to look good, but your banner + avatar ought to be pretty impressive as well if you really want to grab a potential customer's attention.
most etsians are artistic enough to make their own banners and digital designs but for some, a little help is needed in the area of computer graphics. thankfully, there are etsy shops set up to help with this very issue. i'd like to showcase my favorite two:

these designs are offered by 1sweetorange, a very lovely etsy shop specializing in etsy shop banners. i really like the simplicity, the neutral tones, the basic fonts- nothing frilly or distracting. just good design.

these impressive designs are offered by ohmeohmydesign, another etsy storefront shop. this individual is obviously a graphic design professional with a variety of different style options. but again, they're all simple + natural :: the text is well-placed, the designs are modern yet timeless.

sadly, i have to mention, these were the only two etsy shop designers on etsy that were worthy enough (in my opinion) to even blog about. well, that's the beauty of etsy, i suppose :: anyone can open a shop no matter how good (or, um, bad) an artisan they are. and if you haven't heard of regretsy yet, well, if you're a part-time cynic like me, it's worth a peek... you'll see.

Monday, August 23, 2010

matryoshka monday

our russian doll is attempting to keep the garden green in the summer heat. :)
happy monday!

Thursday, August 19, 2010

vintage pink chair

i so love my vintage pink chair. i picked it up at portland's house of vintage for only $42. !!! it must be my lucky month because i'm am scoring on these vintage finds.

i love the naturally 'distressed' look of the pink paint on wood. i was so afraid that dx would just hate it, but when i carried it timidly into the apartment he actually approved. whew!

if you live in/around portland & like to browse the vintage shops, i do recommend house of vintage- it's cluttered and cram-packed, but if you're a little patient and do some digging, you will find amazing treasures for very nice prices! much like my pink chair. did i mention i love my pink chair?

Tuesday, August 17, 2010

brooch bears

these cute little bear brooches by ememem stopped me in my tracks- what a delightful design! each bear is holding an armful of jewels + tiny bobbles and each comes in a different, lovely color. so cute!

this guy is holding a cat! gah!

some etsy artisans just amaze me- there are some fantastically creative ideas out there and this is a great example. and the craftsmanship too! top-notch.

Monday, August 16, 2010

matryoshka monday

our favorite little russian doll fits perfectly in this typeset tray :: she looks quite cozy, don't you think? i found the tray at a vintage shop in portland for -get this- only $9! i gotta tell you, that made my day. i love browsing at vintage shops but i especially love a good deal.

happy monday!

Friday, August 13, 2010

i love summer

it's getting hot out there! i wish i was at the beach- preferably under a pretty striped umbrella. dx will be done with school in a couple of weeks and i think a trip to the beach is long overdue.
i hope you all get some beach time this summer! have a great weekend!
photo by simply hue

Thursday, August 12, 2010

print your own fabric

i am giddy with excitement! i just discovered spoonflower, a website that lets users upload their own fabric designs and have them printed :: what a fabulous idea!
fabric designers can choose to make their designs public so that anyone can purchase yardage of that design. i, of course, browsed the website a wee bit {for like, an hour} and here are some of my favorite designs for available for purchase::

{this one might be my favorite fabric ever}

"Fleur de Cuillère" by heatherdutton

"shrooms 2" by jadegordon

"spoon_flower_cakes" by daniellehanson

"untitled" by kventura

now, if i could just find time to design fabric... i'll just add it to my list of "things i'd love to do but i'd have to forgo sleep", along with "learn how to screenprint", "start dreamweaver tutorials", & "write three blog posts a day". ha!

Tuesday, August 10, 2010

stewart + brown :: early fall 2010

i'm totally not ready for fall yet, but i've got my eye on these pieces by stewart + brown...




shop stewart + brown collections online at these locations

Monday, August 9, 2010

matryoshka monday

"понедельникам я люблю"
copy/paste here for translation {from russian to english}

Friday, August 6, 2010

giveaway friday

oh my! there are so many fabulous giveaways in the blog world today that i just have to share!

multiple-etsy-shop giveaway {including darling savage!} on the prone to wander blog ::

my "three wish fish" wall decor

+ + + + + + + +

leah duncan print + tea towel giveaway on the ardent sparrow blog ::

"hills" print by leah duncan

+ + + + + + +

orglamix giveaway from nomie.eco.ware ::

"petal" {my personal fave} by orglamix

+ + + + + + +

sara smedley hand-printed napkin set giveaway on the green-eyed monster blog ::

"stoplight" napkin by sara smedley

+ + + + + + +

kiki & polly print giveaway on the lost & fawned blog ::

this one is my fave :: "all together" by kiki & polly

have a lovely weekend!!

Thursday, August 5, 2010

polaroid

a couple of weeks ago, i was walking through the neighborhood on my daily "coffee-walk" when i spotted a box placed out on the sidewalk with "free" written across it. cheapskate that i am, i went over to investigate and behold :: there it was, waiting for me :: a beautiful polaroid camera.

i quickly glanced around to make sure nobody else had sights on my newfound treasure, scooped it up + brought it home. i should mention though that when i found it, the camera was "decorated" with bits of broken mirror {no doubt some teenage "art" experiment} so it took a bit of cleaning {and a couple of nasty cuts- ouch!} but here it is- my polaroid camera.

so now it's time to buy some film!! thanks to the impossible project, this is now... um,... possible. the only problem is, film is expensive! i'm worried that i'll buy the film and then be too scared to take any photos {i'm kind of type-A like that}. but i'm super excited to try it out:: and, of course, i'll be posting my photos right here.

Wednesday, August 4, 2010

blog post-it



i do spend a lot of time every day at the computer but there are some old-fashioned things that i just can't give up :: my sticky notes! i love writing little to-do tasks on my sticky notes. i have to write these notes to keep myself organized. so these cute little "blog post sticky notes" might be just the thing for me! at least i can pretend that i'm not still living in the dark ages with my pen + paper habit, ha!
found via modcloth

Monday, August 2, 2010

matryoshka monday

oh dear... it appears that the kittens found my little russian nesting doll and they've made her their own personal cat toy. come to think of it, they've made cat toys out of my sewing supplies, pens + pencils, the houseplants, anything on my desk, my sunglasses, my purse, anything inside my purse, my fingers and toes... the list is pretty long. but such is life when you have kittens and all in all, they're worth it.