La Marquise des Anges

These hand painted 100% cotton tea towels were found on the {La Marquise des Anges} Etsy shop. I liked how they are simple yet playful and love the colors together :)

Letterpress Belt Buckle

So I have posted cool accessories for us type-nerds out there - like the {KERN ring}...so here's another one! (Thanks for the find Delman!) This great {buckle} is cast in pewter from letterpress type. It snap attaches and is available separate from the belt. This belt is made of recycled double-layered recycled biked tubes. Together these look great!

Wunderlust Whimsical Nests

Marichelle, the designer of {Wonderlust} creations - an ultimate work-in-progress - is a platform that reflects her personality and her constantly evolving ideas and passions. The goal is to create a new limited series of whimsical treats every month! For this month, she created these adorable eggs in nests out of fabrics/textiles. Now, I have seen a lot of super cheesy Easter/Springtime decorations for so long - but this is something I would love to have!

Rain Gutter Planters!

What a great idea! Mounting rain gutters on the sides of your house for a {layered garden}!

Waterrose Handcrafted Cuff

This awesome handmade wrist cuff is made of dyed, felted wool, subtle plaid, vintage buttons and hand-embroidered folk art. They are made by {Waterrose Handcrafted Obsessions}.

Wiley Valentine ~ Inspired Paper Delights

Emily and Rachelle grew up inspired by each of their grandmothers' - Mary Wiley and Norma Jean Valentine - artistic and eclectic expressions of life. Their grandmothers inspired them to pursue creative endeavors. After working at the same graphic design firm in California, they both realized that they were going about passionless projects that were too mainstream. They found a common sense of enthusiasm for using their creative aspirations to revamp the paper industry. They left their jobs to found the E & R Design Group, which formed the groundwork for the fashionably classic line of paper products. They called it {Wiley Valentine}. With sustainably being more important now than ever before, they made the commitment to become a 100% sustainable paper company. Today, all of their paper prints are either 100% recycled PSC or 100% cotton, a natural, renewable resource. No trees! In their studio, they reuse all of the 100% recycled fax paper and shred every mock-up and misprint - they reuse all of these in resourceful and colorful packaging material!

Stacked bouquet

This style of bouquet is very unique. It's an example of a stacked bouquet that uses different types of flowers in layers instead of mixed together. This was a bridal bouquet that we did in April.

The top layer is mini callas, the second layer is ivory roses, and the third layer is mini gerbera daisies.



Stacked bouquets usually have a more linear shape verses a rounded shape like most bouquets.

This is what the bridesmaid carried. It was a mixed, round version of what the bride carried in similar flowers and colors. The stacked bouquet gave the bride something that would really stand out, while the bridesmaid had something more traditional.

Isette's Handmade Jewelry

{Isette} - a typography obsessed graphic designer- created this line of beautifully crafted handmade jewelry. The ones I have shown here are made of black acrylic and are either laser cut or etched. I love the ampersand pieces...and well, I also love the Damask style earrings - her inspiration being Victorian wind vanes.

Oslo Press

{Oslo Press} specializes in unique wedding invitations that combine the use of rich wood veneer and elegant paper. Each invitation is made of wood veneer and laser engraved with an original design, while the coordinating elements to each set are created using paper and the centuries-old method of letterpress. This unique combination of materials, methods, and contemporary design provides a unique invitation set - full of texture, character, and originality. These will surely leave a lasting impression with your guests :)

Google Maps Typography

So, I have previously posted similar typographical studies - one using fire and the other using architectural photography - here is one more! With Google Maps being so popular these days, I found this to be pretty awesome. {Rhett Dashwood} is a Creative Director with experience in a broad range of creative media, including interactive, animation, branding, print, film making and digital art. He currently resides in Melbourne, Australia. Over the course of several months, he spent time between commercial projects searching Google Maps hoping to discover land formations or buildings resembling letter forms. He limited his results to be within the state of Victoria, Australia. If you visit his site, he has a link for each letter to the actual location on Google Maps.

Gatnabour a.k.a. Milk/Rice Pudding

This is one of my favorite Armenian desserts! Gatnabour is our version of a milk and rice pudding. It is absolutely delicious and worth a try even if you are unsure...

Ingredients:
4 cups milk
2 cups water
1 cup Calrose, short grain rice
2 cups sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
Zest of 1 lemon
2 tablespoons orange blossom water

Garnish: Finely chopped or ground pistachios

Directions:
In a pot, combine the milk and water and bring to a boil. Rinse the rice and add it to the milk and water mixture. Reduce the heat, stirring frequently until the rice is thoroughly cooked and the mixture has thickened. It is important to keep stirring in order to prevent the mixture from clumping or sticking to the bottom of the pot.

Add sugar, vanilla, lemon zest, and orange blossom water. Mix thoroughly, remove from the heat and immediately pour into individual cups or one large bowl.

Sprinkle the surface with ground pistachios.

Tip: Ground cinnamon can be added to the gatnabour for an added kick.

Passing Notes

{Passing Notes} was started by Abbie, a designer who embraces the thrill of the first folded note. Her intimate design boutique has a personal approach to design - design that touches the heart. She feels that as the ways of communication get more and more distant, we crave things that connect us in a small way, hence "passing notes". She speaks to those who appreciate the value and beauty in the imperfect, inconspicuous, and overlooked details in life.

This is one of her wedding designs with a golf theme. All components were so well thought out and tied together beautifully - through color, theme, pattern, design, style, materials, texture, etc. Love the favors being golf ball soaps! My favorite part is the departure from traditional monogram designs and the creation of one that worked so well with the whole system and did not just look like it was added on in the end like so many wedding invitations do.

In terms of branding, packaging, signage, and many other elements that went into designing the look and feel for {Sketch Ice Cream}, this one takes the cake. Once again, a very well thought out design that carries out beautifully in all the different forms of products, packaging and marketing collateral. Sketch celebrates our interpretation of ice cream – slow churned and undisguised by colors, additives, artificial flavors, stabilizers or extracts other than pure vanilla in every bite.

Lastly, I also wanted to point out the design done for {Lola Home}. A very clean and simple solution that speaks well to the brand and line of products. Lola creates a beautiful balance between luxurious furnishings coupled with rustic charm - which i believe is represented well, especially in the signage for the store exterior.

Beautiful work from {Passing Notes}!

Mypressi Twist

I couldn't believe it when I saw this! How cool!! One of the world's first truly portable espresso machines - the first being {Handpresso}. The {Mypressi Twist} has a pneumatic engine, which works with CO2 cartridges that can make 8 cups of espresso each - making it possible to brew fresh espresso without an external power source. All you need is coffee and hot water. This is seriously genius!

Before & After Tiny Kitchen

I thought this was a great example of what a huge difference knocking down that small wall made to the kitchen. Though the actual working space in the kitchen did not change by much, just having it open to the living space gives it the illusion of being much larger. This was a find
on {Apartment Therapy}.

Bright Colors and Texture

These bouquets are great examples of bright mixed colors and LOTS of texture! They are from a wedding we did this month.

This bridal bouquet was a shop favorite here at Sisters that week. It included purple stock, mini callas, lisianthus, blue thistle, fuchsia heather, and looped lily grass (and later purple anemones). We LOVED all the textures and brightness!

The bridesmaids' bouquets had the opposite color scheme of the bride's. Fuchsia stock, anemones, heather, purple lisianthus, and looped lily grass made up these gorgeous hand-tied bouquets.






We had a lot of fun using these flowers and colors together for one wedding!!

J.Crew Tees!

I had a few gift certificates to {J.Crew} back from my graduation but haven't been able to use them since we don't have a store in San Luis Obispo. This weekend I finally had the chance and needless to say it was quite difficult to stay within the range that the certificates would cover - too much cuteness to handle for the summer! I guess it is better that we don't have a store here? So here are just two of my great finds :) Two techniques I really want to try now!

Armenian Genocide Commemoration - 33rpm

April 24th is the day that we commemorate the 1.5 million lives lost in the Armenian Genocide committed at the hands of the Ottoman Turks in 1915. To this day, the genocide is not recognized as anything more than a "tragedy" by the United States and Turkey. Hundreds and hundreds of different forms of evidence are ignored in hopes of it being forgotten. This was the first genocide of the 20th century. Adolf Hitler was quoted saying "Who, after all, remembers the Armenians today?" He used the fact that these crimes committed were not punished as ammunition for his own agenda. He thought he too would get away with it. This is solid proof that history does in fact repeat itself and that crimes that go unpunished will come back to haunt us - as we are seeing today in so many parts of the world. Due to extreme geopolitical interest in the region of Turkey, the United States presidents continuously make the promise to recognize the genocide for what it was, but are then threatened into not doing so. It is time that my ancestors and the ancestors of all Armenians are able to rest in peace, to know that their deaths were not in vain, and let this be a lesson to the world. Everything that happened during the Holocaust - everything that sickens people to hear or think about today - happened to the Armenians first. Why then is that no just as sickening to people - not enough for a difference to be made.

So now that I am done with my piece for the day, this wonderful poster was designed and printed by designer Andrio Abero,{33rpm}. It was illustrated for {The New Republic} - calling it "Armenian Coverup" - portraying the shadow of the Ottoman Turk. A graduate from the Art Institute of Seattle, Abero established 33rpm, in 2000. Recognized as a leading designer from the Northwest, Andrio has proudly worked within Seattle's vibrant music scene for almost 10 years. He now lives and works in the creative capitol of Brooklyn, NY.

Smock - Letterpress on Bamboo Paper

Going back to my love of letterpress, here is another great find! {Smock} is based in Syracuse, New York. Their print shop is made up of 20 antique presses, 50 tons of equipment, and 17 employees. They are self-proclaimed faithful lovers of historic craft with letterpress ink in their veins. They are actually the first and only print shop in the United States to offer printing on luxury bamboo paper. They were able to develop this paper with the help of a historic European paper mill, doing so because they wanted a truly sustainable paper that was also beautiful! Why bamboo? Bamboo is said to be a true wonder plant. In addition to not requiring pesticides or fertilizer to grow, bamboo reaches its mature height in 3 to 5 years, whereas most softwood trees take 10-20 years. Bamboo generates up to 35% more oxygen than hardwood trees, and absorbs four times as much carbon as hardwood. Bamboo can detoxify wastewater (due to its high nitrogen consumption) and improves soil quality. Not enough to convince you yet? Bamboo also has natural anti-bacterial and anti-fungal properties too. Convinced? I know I am! More of their work can be seen on their site and purchased on their {Etsy} shop.

Amenity - Modern Organic Living

Nicole Chiala and Kristina de Corpo, longtime friends, started {Amenity} in 2004. They wanted to bring some of the peaceful tranquility of their youth into their urban, adult homes. This worked out perfectly because both of them are graphic designers who are passionate about nature and modern designs. With sustainability in mind, they are constantly working to find out different ways to create products that maintain harmony with the environment. Alpaca, linen, and hemp are among the materials they use. The products range from tableware, linens/bedding, organic baby products, pillows, and more.

Amazing Anemones

Anemones are a great flower to use if you have a spring or early summer event. They are a very versatile flower that comes in lots of colors. They are similar to a poppy and usually have a dark center. Here are a few snapshots of how we have used them recently.

Here are white anemones with full sized dark red roses.

These anemones are a very bright pink.

Anemones are a very beautiful flower full of texture and interest. They are easily made to accent other flowers or to make a statement on their own.

DIY Soap ~ Gifts/Favors

I thought this great idea for party favors or gifts. I found this on {100 Layer Cake}, being used for bridesmaids gifts. Visit the link for instructions on how to make these yourself! Gifts like these are so nice to receive - they are handmade made with love :)

Tomato-Leek Cod

Another family favorite - Cod fish with tomato and leek!

Ingredients
2 1/2 pounds fresh Cod
1/2 cup olive oil
3 cups leek, chopped
1 cup red bell pepper, chopped
6 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
3 cups cherry tomatoes, halved
3/4 cup cilantro, chopped
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon crushed chili pepper flakes
4 tablespoons lime juice
zest of one lime

Directions
Heat the olive oil in a skillet and saute the leeks, red bell pepper, garlic, cherry tomatoes, and cilantro. Add the salt, crushed chili pepper flakes, lime juice, and lime zest. Continue to saute until the vegetables are tender.

Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees.

Spread about 1/4 of the sauteed vegetable mixture in the bottom of a 9"x13" pan. Lay the cod on top of the vegetables an top with the remaining mixture.

Bake for 20-30 minutes, until the fish is flaky.

Tip: This dish can be made with any other light white fish.

A Green Lifestyle

In honor of Earth Day, which really should be everyday, I thought I would post some of my favorite re-usable and recycled products that help us do our part to save the environment. It is up to us to get ourselves out of this mess we have created around our planet. When there are patches of plastic the size of Texas in our oceans, when dead fish are cut open only to find lighters and trash in their stomachs, when birds are being wrapped up in plastic and dying - it is all a rude awakening - or at least it SHOULD be for us all.

From top to bottom:

(1) I love this idea of having re-usable storage bags for fruits, veggies and herbs. Cloth bags like these keep produce fresh for much longer than plastic grocery bags and are obviously better for the environment. These were made by {WonderThunder} - a great idea and a beautiful design!

(2) Re-usable/washable sandwich and snack bags - I don't know why I never though of this before! Such fun colors and designs, who wouldn't want one!? The Lunch Skins set is by {3 Green Moms} - they carry other great products and fantastic prices! They also carry the wonderful cornstarch spoons called Popcorn Ware, which is actually the kind of utensils at the take-out section of Whole Foods (man, I wish we had one in San Luis Obispo).

(3) {Bamboo re-usable utensils}! Perfect for children's lunchboxes or taking lunch to work :) I have to get myself a set of these!

(4) Re-usable {hot drink cozies} - take it along with you to your favorite coffee shop instead of using and throwing away their cardboard ones each time. They come in many great designs and colors too!

(5) {Bottle cap thumb tacks} make an easy, but fun craft project and a great way to re-use your favorite bottle caps!

(6) These great re-usable stainless steel food containers are a great way to reduce waste. They are available at {Go Green in Stages}.

(7) Last, but not least, this is a great DIY project for all ages! These fun night lights by {Mariposa Avenue} are made out of recycled soup cans! With a coat of paint and a drill, look at what you can create!

Earth Day - The Big Picture

These are just a few of the pictures from {Boston.com - The Big Picture} for Earth Day 2009.
From top to bottom:
(1) View of the Earth featuring North and South America taken by the NASA probe, Messenger.

(2) A huge iceberg breaks off the Knox Coast in the Australian Antarctic Territory.

(3) A bird flying past dumped plastic bottles and other garbage on the bank of the river Sava in Belgrade, Serbia.

(4) Dead carp are seen in the "Las Tres Pasualas" lagoon in Concepcion city, south of Santiago, Chile. Environmentalists say that dumping of sewage in the lagoon led to the waters being polluted and causing high rates of fish mortality.

(5) A plant stands in front of waste paper piles being shipped ot China for recycling - at a collection site in Hong Kong.

(6) Green glass bottles are piled high over an area estimated to be the size of a soccer field - near a recycling plant in Yeruham, Israel.

(7) Solar panels stand in a field of flowers at Acciona SA's solar power station in Amarelja, Portugal. The 48-megawatt facility has a production capacity of 93 million kilowatt-hours a year - the world's biggest photovoltaic electricity plant.

Keep Calm and Carry On

{Keep Calm and Carry On} is what I am going to try and do more of from now on. This is a reproduction of the original Keep Calm and Carry On poster produced by the Ministry of Information 1939. It has been silk-screened by hand by {sfgirlbybay}.

Brussels in Bloom

Each year a truly spectacular sight is created in the Grand-Palace, Brussels. More than 3 million flowers are used to create these 300 meter flower carpets. The patterns are based on medieval carpet designs.

Wedding Traditions

I have always been fascinated with the merging of two totally different family and cultural traditions. I found this perfect example on {100 Layer Cake} for the wedding of Ameet, who is originally from Bombay and Lainie, who is from Missouri. In order to honor both traditions, they had two ceremonies - double the fun in my opinion!

Billet Business Card Holder

We all know how the cards in our wallets can pile up - business cards, credit cards, membership cards, gift cards, etc. I loved this alternative card holder by {Billet} that can help get a bit more organized with all these cards in our daily lives :) They are made with sturdy material, so they can be thrown in a purse or put in a pocket without worrying about damaging it or its contents

Rustic Yet Refined

I think this is a super cleaver and inexpensive way to keep all your earrings organized, protected, and easily accessible. Once covered in earrings, this can very well stand out as a piece of art on a wall or simply by leaning it up on a dresser or table. Earrings will hang on the strong but flexible mesh insert that is held between two solid handcrafted barnwood frames. What I love most about it is the rustic yet refined quality. Aside from the earring frames, they also have other wooden objects such as some really beautiful candle holders. All of this work is created and handcrafted {Paradise Hill Designs}.

Tiny Whales

This great Etsy shop, {Tiny Whales}, is all about merging the gap between infant and children's clothing. This is being done by creating fun, imaginative, and modern designs that are loved by all ages. I am not surprised that the most common question they receive is from adults wanting the same thing in their size! They are breaking the mode of having girls only wearing certain colors and designs and the same for boys. The goal is to have babies looking hip and stylish through their choice of colors, bold prints and modern graphics. The motto is that rules were meant to be broken and therefor they are changing the way children should be dressed.

Classic Black and White at the MAC

This wedding was last fall at the MAC and used black and white in a classic and beautiful way.

Black was used as an accent, seen in the chair covers, favors, menu cards, and the glassware for the centerpieces. All the flowers at the reception were whites and ivories.

Half of the tables had these tall vases with a ball of white lilies, roses, tulips, and filler.

To contrast. the other half had these black bubble bowls filled with tulips, hydrangea, ranunculus, filler, etc.

These rented candelabras accented both ends of the head table and were decorated with all white, trailing flower pieces.

The end product of the classic black and white in this room was gorgeous and just what the bride and groom envisioned!

Be Still - Textile Creations

Check out these handmade creations on {Be Still}, the Etsy shop of a graphic designer from Australia. She started out buying fabrics, with no direct purpose or plan, simply because they were beautiful. Eventually she decided what she would do with them and now creates pillow cases, cushion covers, and sweet linen napkins. I was drawn to the simplicity and rather calming patterns and colors (that may just be me) - but perhaps that's where the name "Be Still" came from?

Paper Tangerines

{Paper Tangerines}! First of all - super cute name to give these fun decoration pieces by Jennifer Boston :) They are great ideas for all year round. Jennifer explains how there does not have to be an occasion or a holiday to hang up some fun decorations and I couldn't agree more! These would be so fun in childern's rooms, hung in groups or separates for parties or just for no reason at all, put them in a bowl or glass jar, make a garland, and many more great ideas! She ships them plat in a package with enough to make 11 paper tangerines and includes photos and instructions for assembling them. Other ways she recommends using these are by hanging them with invisible thread from the ceiling, on the side of a bookshelf, or even from hanging houseplant. So creative! They are about 2.5" in diameter, so really not that big at all.

HAMMERPRESS Wedding Invitations

I came accross these gorgeous wedding invitations on {100 Layer Cake} and loved them! They are designed by {HAMMERPRESS}. What started out as simply a love of letterpress and making CD and LP packaging for his buddies with his motorless platen press, turned into a business today with several presses (with motors) and a full team who work on projects such as beautiful and unusual wedding initiations, custom artwork for national restaurant chains, CD packaging, corporate identity work, posters and art prints. On top of all this, they are growing their line of letterpress stationary products.

MMM...Banana-Walnut Bread!

Here is another family favorite - my mom's delicious recipe for banana-walnut bread.

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup walnuts, chopped (plus some to top)
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cup ripe bananas, mashed
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
2 1/2 tablespoons milk
1 egg

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease a 9"x5" loaf pan.

In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, chopped walnuts, baking soda, salt, and mix well.

In a separate bowl, combine mashed bananas, butter, egg, milk, and mix well.

Add the banana mixture tot he dry ingredients and mix well. Pour the batter into the greased loaf pan. Sprinkle chopped walnuts on the surface of the batter and bake for 45 minutes or until the tester is inserted into the loaf and comes out clean.

Transfer loaf to a rack and cool. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Enjoy!

Tip: This recipe can also make 12 large muffins that are baked for 25 minutes or until the tester is inserted into the muffin and comes out clean.