Pencil Tip Carvings!

This is one of the most incredible art forms I have seen. I received this in one of those awesome e-mail forwards that mothers love sending daily :) and unfortunately it did not have any information on who the artist was. After doing some research, I found that the artist's name is Dalton Ghetti. This work is sharp! (pun totally intended) and he does this all without a magnifying glass. Born in Brazil, 49 year old Ghetti says he has been carving since he was a schoolboy - things ranging from stones, large piece of wood, soap, broom hands - until he found this niche.

Screen Printed LOST Poster GIVEAWAY!

As we all mourn the end of the LOST series on TV, a friend of mine, {Steven Hasegawa} paid tribute to both Andy Warhol and JJ Abrams by designing and screen printing 40 limited edition 2-color posters by hand. They are 12"x18" untrimmed, printed on French Paper Smart White, and hand numbered.

Two posters will be given away to those who leave the best comments. Either comment on the poster / about screen printing or share your favorite memory during our time shared with the survivors of Oceanic 815.

Post your comment by May 30th 2010 at 10:00pm PST.

Looking forward to hearing from you :)

Bridal Shower Dessert Table!

I had the pleasure of designing Bridal Shower invitations, design elements throughout the shower, and of course my favorite part...baking for and putting together the Dessert Table :) This was a great experience, a first for me, doing much more than just cupcakes. It was a lot of work...I think I am still recovering and trying to catch up on rest...but it was well worth it. Congrats Kristina! Can't wait for the wedding!

Monkey Mind Design

Love these cute handmade cards I found on {Flickr} by {MonkeyMindDesign}. A nice variety of styles ~ I am particularly drawn to the ones on recycled paper giving them a vintage look, yet contemporary in terms of the subject. "Say What?" and the checklist of what to do with a friend are such clever ideas! The "Life is better with friends" is absolutely precious:) Also, check out the Monkey Mind Design {blog}.

The New Mr. & Mrs. McElveny

A few weeks ago I wrote about the {dessert table} I did for my good friends Natalie & Garret's wedding on the beautiful Central Coast. These GORGEOUS amazing photos were taken by {Jake}, Necia and Steven of {Mike Larson Photography}. Jake and Necia also shot their {engagement pictures} a while back. Natalie and Garret's eye for beautiful design and talent was evident throughout. From the arch at the ceremony that was designed and built by Garret himself, to all the awesome DIY aspects of the reception. Their style and their love came through crystal clear that day :) It was one AWESOME party as usual guys!

Anyone who just got engaged, getting married, or want pictures taken for any other reason...I would highly recommend them...however my recommendation is not really as important as what the photos themselves say about their skill and talent! Yet another beautiful wedding captured guys :)

The Litte Things

I love this kitchen decor found on {The Little Things} blog! LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the splashes of color, yet it still has a very neutral overall look and feel. Just my style :)

Handmade Thank You Cards!

Here is my first project combining print and sewing! I made two versions - one that says "Merci Beaucoup" (Thank you very much) and one that says "Merci Mon Amie" (Thank you my friend ~ female). I am almost ready to open my shop on Etsy...so if you are interested in these...check back soon for updates on that!

Before & After (via D*S)

This Before & After was far too beautiful not to share, for those of you who don't follow {Design*Sponge} and haven't already seen it. It probably helped just a little that they used my favorite color green :)

Moufelt!

So here is another post about {felt}. I really like how clean cut and simple these coasters and trivets are. Also, the necklaces that incorporate the felt are pretty sweet too! Nicely done {Moufelt}. Felt, in my opinion has a very warm and vintage feel to them but the way they have designed and created these is quite contemporary.

Vintage China Cabinet

I was so excited when I came across this absolutely beautiful antique china cabinet on {Etsy} today. It is almost identical to the the china cabinet my grandparents have and similar to my mom's. I always thought, man when you grow up are you supposed to have one of these? I was never a fan of that dark "fancy" wood furniture, but over the past few years I have been really enjoying seeing what can be done to make a piece of furniture look completely different after putting some elbow grease into it. I love this shabby chic, antique, clean, sophisticated and fun look! This piece is hand painted sage green with a coat of brown over it. An antique red color was added on the edges to make the piece more unique.

Miguel's Letterpress Journey Begins...

Join Miguel, the proud new owner of a Chandler & Price 12×18 Old Style Press, as he takes off on his letterpress journey. After hauling this beauty 5.5 hours down to San Luis Obispo, spending time refinishing the wheel and adding new wood trays, he is ready to get started! I cannot wait to see the beautiful creations he produces - both from his exceptional design skill and well, of course there is nothing more wonderful than the art of letterpress done right. Check out his {blog} and follow along as he reveals his works of art!

Also, here is a great video of a guy creating some custom coasters.

Letterpress Coasters from Quarter Productions on Vimeo.

Cake Lace Coasters

I went to {Paper Sky} today to pick up some paper supplies for a project I'm working on and came across these awesome {Cake Lace Coasters}! If you are in San Luis Obispo and like these...go check 'em out :)

Stop Motion Wedding Invite

Be sure to watch this video all the way through.

23-year-olds, Corey McKenna and Rachel Stark, wanted their wedding invitations to be more than just card stock and letterpress - they decided to produce a {stop-motion animation} instead. Four months and 5,500 photos later, this video that there guests would never forget, the 4-minute video was completed. It stars a suit and a party dress as they prepare for a wedding, with Vampire Weekend's song M79 as the soundtrack. The information (date, location, time, etc.)is spelled out using refrigerator magnets. McKenna filmed the route to the wedding from the dash of his car - a clever approach to a "GPS street view." The film was made by patiently photographing each frame in the movie, then uploading the photos as a slideshow in iMovie. He then shortened the length of the picture down to a tenth of a second.

BirdDog Press

This was a really exciting find for me and I'm sure you will agree. I selected my favorite designs by {BirdDog Press} from their {Flickr} photostream. I particularly like the ones that incorporated more than just the printed designs, the ones with fabric, eyelet and sewn embellishments. My favorite invitation was all put together in a beautiful package. They asked the guests to decorate the piece of fabric provided by a certain date and send it back to the couple. The response card had a dotted circle where the guest would place the response stickers that were included ~ accepting or declining the invitation.

Delphine Press 2010 Letterpress Calendar!

I am so happy to finally have my 2010 {Delphine Press} letterpress calendar! (not to be confused with {Dauphine Press}) Stay tuned and I will share each month's beautifully printed design :)

By Our Hands We Live

I LOVE this photo. Such an awesomely accurate statement. Rachel Boston used her blog, {CutPasteRepeat} to collect pictures of people's hands after a day of work - doing what they love.

In her words:
By Our Hands We Live
So, recently, I've noticed how disgusting my hands are becoming. But in a good way! I'm getting cuts and scabs and calluses and burns and I'm loving every minute of it. It made me want to see other artists' hands! Thus, {"By Our Hands We Live"} was born.

This is a {2modern} find.

~ Holiday Cards ~

Here is a selection of some of my favorite holiday cards from all that I have come across lately. As you know, I am obsessed with letterpress...so most of these are letterpress designs, of course! They are from {Oblation Papers}, {Elum Designs}, {Bespoke Letterpress Boutique} and a few others. If you are in the San Luis Obispo area...be sure to check out {Paper Sky} ~ Jessica carries a lot of these cards featured above in her store. I have been telling myself for the past few years that I will start early and design my own Christmas cards, but some how each year flies by and by the time I realize, it is usually to late. I might still try and shoot for at least designing an e-card! Stay tuned...

Before & After Chair

This before and after chair project was a recent favorite of mine from {Design*Sponge}. Absolutely beautiful work! I love the contemporary colors and stripes with a traditional floral design with the hint of wood grain coming through. I think I just got inspired to do something like this to my dinner table and chairs...

Swiss Underground Moutain House

I think this is one of the most interesting works of architecture I have seen. I have never seen a modern home built essentially underground with a hillside entrance like this. The unusual house plan was the collaboration between the Netherlands architects at {SeARCH} and {Christian Muller Architects}. It is located in the Swiss village of Vlas, among many other mountain houses. One of my favorite parts is the stunning Alpine view through the wide, oval shaped hillside opening and the many windows which provide a flood of natural light into the house. Also, there is a nearby barn which has an alternate entrance into the home though an underground pathway.

Fabric Yo-Yo Mobil :)

Here is another one of my sewing projects! I decided to made a nursery mobile out of fabric yo-yos. I am not a huge fan of the mobiles with hanging plastic toys, so I wanted to come up with a shabby chic elegant option. These will soon be for sale on my {Etsy.com} shop - check back soon :)