If you know a film buff in need of the perfect gift or somebody who wants the coolest dorm walls ever....you need to check out this etsy shop.
Friday, July 30, 2010
movie posters
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Follow the horse
I love this photography project over at the blog Toy Horse Travels. Cassia, the photographer, plans to take a picture of her childhood toy every day for a year. She's only been doing it for 16 days, but so far - I'm such a huge fan.
More horse images here: Horse.
And Cassia's Etsy shop is here: Lola's Room.
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Sunday, July 25, 2010
family and fabric
In the midst of the excitement/stress/self-inflicted anxiety of planning our fall wedding (yes, we're thinking THIS fall) - I am missing my grandmother a whole lot right now. Well into her 80s when she passed away a few years ago - up until the very end she still lived independently in her neat as a pin apartment and had more energy than any of us. Though the anchor and center of my family - my mother's mother was also its engine in how she loved us into our choices and helped us make the hard decisions. She was also darn fun to be around.
A year or so after my grandmother passed away, I learned that my friend Evelyn's mother was a talented maker of quilts and so, thinking it'd make a great Christmas present for my mother, I asked Evelyn if her mother could take my grandmother's collection of housecoats (which we could never part with) and make a quilt out of them. She could and she did, and it was beautiful. Evelyn's mother also made two pillows, as gifts, out of the same materials for myself and my sister. To see all those familiar little patterns of flowers and dots sewn together with such care and craftsmanship was overwhelming for me. My mother loved her quilt too.
And so in thinking of that beautiful quilt and my grandmother and how happy she would be about this wedding - I've asked Evelyn's mother to make just one more pillow. She is going to make the pillow that my sweet four year old nephew will carry up the aisle in his role as ring bearer. It will have my and my husband to be's initials stitched into it, but it will be so much more than ours. With that fabric belonging to my grandmother, in my godson's hands, surrounded by our family - it will so much more than our little ring pillow. I get weepy just thinking about that image. But, to tell you the truth, this is actually the kind of thing that made me want to have a wedding... despite all of these silly tears that come with it. :)
P.S. These images are all by Sherri Lynn Wood who also thought to make quilts "from the clothing of the deceased and the intimate materials of every day life." You need to see more of them so be sure to go to her "Passage Quilts" flickr page.
Thursday, July 22, 2010
Sand and Sidewalk Chalk
It is the season for unique artistic mediums. I don't think much about sand and chalk in terms of creative expression (beyond my own children's drip castles and hopscotch games of course), but this past weekend there was a sand sculpture contest at a nearby beach and reading about that got me considering sand and chalk art.
I was amazed by the sand sculptures I found online- not just the architectural wonder of the beachside palaces, but the people and animals rich with detailed expressions and unbelievable texture.
My search for sidewalk chalk art uncovered some equally impressive artistic feats. These three-dimensional renderings on sidewalks and streets are perfection in shading and perspective. It is difficult enough to draw something that looks as if it could leap off of the page, or something that draws you into the scene, on a piece of paper, never mind accomplishing that on a roadway and in such a large scale. Neat-o stuff....
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
a three for one shoe
Sneakers, espadrilles, and the black and white saddle shoes. Yes, thank you, BSIDED - you've done good.
Monday, July 19, 2010
living favors
The post on Project Wedding about DIY Little Pots of Moss was the best idea for a summer shower (or wedding) favor I had seen in awhile. There are a couple of favor ideas I....favor, actually, and this is definitely one of them.
For my sister's shower I am painting small terra cotta pots in a pewter color and planting whatever tiny flower is available in beds from the nursery inside it. I'll finish it off with a bow and either a flag or tag- have not decided yet. Basically, it is the Project Wedding craft with some slight modifications.
In my hunt for ideas using terra cotta planters I came across quite a few great versions....
I will post photos of the project when it is wrapped up. Keep your fingers crossed the results are as lovely as these examples!
Friday, July 16, 2010
Date? Saved.
vintage Polish stamp via http://stampdesigns.tumblr.com/post/340299879/poland-postage-stamp-kitten-c-1966-designed-by
{lots more postal prettiness to be found on that tumblr too}
The reason is because I've learned to "delegate" as my mother would say, but I am not ashamed to admit that what I'm really doing is pawning things off on my loved ones.
Case and point: the Save the Date cards (which, thank goodness, we've finally sent off). My future Mister* designed the postcard, found an affordable printer, and patiently dealt with me when I gave him useful critiques like - But is it too orange? And then we have my lovely friend Ruby who addressed these beauties with her graceful handwriting and dealt with sending out all of the last minute ones I forgot about.
Anyway, thanks to my wedding team (and eBay for the stamps) I was so happy with our Save the Date cards that I couldn't help but photograph the crap out of them in all their bright and mismatched glory...
The photo shoot was, however, interrupted by my one true love (a certain green-eyed cat) as her jealousy sent the cards scattering before she then decided to take a nap on them. Little did she know that her actions just made the postcards more perfect... after all, who doesn't love to receive mail with little bits of cat hair stuck under vintage postage?
*Sorry to steal your blog's term of endearment for your man, Celia. It's pretty perfect, but I promise to come up with my own soon... unless, of course, you have any suggestions?? Hey now - that's an idea...
Dear readers,
Can I delegate that responsibility of nicknaming my husband-to-be for use in the blog - to you?
I've been referring to him as BF ("the boyfriend") thus far, but that's only going to work for so long (until November - to be exact). Plus, "BF" as a nickname technically doesn't even work anymore since we had to go and got all French and fiancéd....
Anyway, any and all suggestions to nickname my man would be appreciated and carefully considered.
Sincerely,
Vivi
Thursday, July 15, 2010
Thursday, a Joseph Cornell box, and Etsy
Joseph Cornell is one of my favorite artists of all time. Whether it's one his shadowboxes or collages or strange little films - all of his work strike such a cord with me. I think it's a miracle how he could take bits of ephemera and seemingly random found objects and create such beauty in little boxes, within those rough frames. And so on this Thursday I went on a little Etsy hunt in order to one day make my own little box full of Cornell-like objects and images -- lucky for me that so many sellers seem to heart Mr. Cornell as much as I do....
Cornell used all different types of boxes for his assemblages and I think he'd be happy with the variety found on Etsy too:
Birds, birds, birds. To build a Cornell inspired box - you need a few finely feathered friends:
The things Cornell could do with the paper that the rest of us discard or toss makes you want to reclaim those lost ticket stubs and scribbled notes on hotel stationary, doesn't it?:
And to be Cornell-like is to incorporate pictures of children, movie stars, as well as the moon:
And then the things found in junk drawers and in the bottom of your closet that are loveliest and most stirring when reclaimed by a Cornell art box:
And if you're not quite up to creating your own shadow box, consider buying one of these beautiful pieces - each inspired by the man himself:
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