Pez

Pez is so weird.

It is also a super popular gift from Nana in this house....a dispenser in the Easter basket, in the Christmas stocking or even just because it is a Tuesday. As a result of this prolific gifting of Pez, we (rather unfortunately) have many dispensers in one of our kitchen cabinets and it got me thinking about how long the company has been around and the sheer volume and variety of Pez heads.
Just because I actually spent the time looking at some of these things- a few links....
-The history of Pez.
-A tour of the Pez factory
-These Pez dispensers of the Prince William and Kate Middleton made me laugh aloud. They would be a perfect, silly gift for those crazed Royal Wedding enthusiasts!
-The new 2011 Halloween design

Images courtesy of espn.com and womansday.com

Move over, Lisa Frank

Sticker set and Bernadine sticker via SarahMcNeil on etsy

When I was in elementary school, collecting stickers was HUGE! Some kids had albums and albums full of all kinds of adhesive artistry, but my collection was rather modest.

The most impressive collectors always had a lot of Lisa Frank stickers. Neon colors, unicorns, hearts and rainbows galore....honestly, I was not a real fan despite the popularity of her collection (I definitely preferred the work of Mrs. Grossman's).

If they were around, I would probably have loved these sorts of stickers. They are more unique and are true illustrations. Makes me want to start up an album again.....

Stickers via myfolklover on etsy

Stickers via sweetpeaink on etsy


Stickers via hidenseek on etsy

"The Nutshell Library" collection

One of my favorite children's book collections is the "Nutshell Library" originally published in the 1960s by Harper & Row. Each set includes 4 nutshell-sized (3.9 x 1.8 inch) picture books that were illustrated by one of 3 masters of children's picture book art: Sendak, Knight, and Kraus.

Maurice Sendak's "Nutshell Library" was published in 1962:

via biblio.com

Hilary Knight's "Christmas Nutshell Library" was published in 1963:

via Page Books

Robert Kraus's "The Bunny's Nutshell Library" came out in 1965:

via Rara* Avis Studios

Sadly, only Sendak's "library" is still in print, but if you see any of these sets or even any of the books individually - buy them up! (especially if you find Knight's collection WITH book jackets on the cheap. It is one of the things that, like Lorelei, I am always desperately seeking). These are all beautiful books and the mini-ness of the format just makes them that much more lovely to behold as well as hold.

from Sendak's "Pierre" (via Little Lamb Books)

from Knight's "A Christmas Stocking Story"

(via Vintage Kids' Books My Kid Loves)

from Kraus's "The Silver Dandelion" (via Vintage Kids' Books My Kid Loves)

Happy St. Paddy's Day!

via my vintage vogue

Here's just a little round-up of some of the shades of a certain lovely color in honor of St. Patrick's Day. Yeah, I know, there isn't a single darn image of green Guinness, but a video on how to make green macaroons (at the bottom) should make up for that one particular absence... :)

via fffound!

by Cozy Memories

by home sweet home

via Eliza&Beth

by Jane Reiseger

by salbug00

via vintageisclassic

The Green Macaron from by.luuvu on Vimeo.

"Little Golden Book" gold

Bookshelf 26 by Jane Mount

Like using the yellow spines of "National Geographic" to add color and flair to the design of a room (or a bookshelf) - wouldn't it be lovely to do a kid version of this with a collection of "Little Golden Books" and a lineup of golden spines? I love this idea, but maybe that's just because I'm greedy to own those picture books.

by nomesthenome

by meetmeatmikes

by Chatdurouge

by chelly-egg

"National Geographic" yellow

by Sally Curcio

As a bookend to Lorelei's post about images from "National Geographic" - here's a round-up of images of the "National Geographic." Mostly of its famous yellow-colored spine and how it can be just the right shot of color in decor or as decor (yes, that is a bookshelf made out of magazines near the bottom of the list!).

Bookcase for National Geographic magazines, 1990 by Mats Theselius

via Patricia Gray

sustainable magazine shelving by Sean Miller

via apartment therapy

20x200

"Myriad" by Yellena James

One day when I'm a wealthy lady of leisure with money to burn (wait, I'm a teacher, right?) I will buy gobs of expensive original art to cover my walls. But until then - I'm going to go the print route and hit 20x200 where one can buy limited editions of art (that's the 200) for crazy affordable prices (that's the $20). And I'm seriously in love with a lot of prints they are selling...

"Praia Piquinia 27/08/09 15h17" by Christian Chaize

"Day 256: Vintage Airline Tags" by Lisa Congdon

"Assignment" by Clare Grill  

"Residential Web" by Amy Casey  

end of end pages?

via The Ward-O-Matic

We recently got a Kindle which is quite awesome (well, as far as I can tell - the man has been hogging it pretty much since the day we got it, but at least it's good to know he can read), but with the Kindle it does seem as if quite a few things are lost with the gain and ease of this technology. One of the major losses for me is end pages. Yes, maybe that's an art form that's been on it's way out for a while, but let's celebrate where we can still find it, shall we? Especially in beautiful vintage children's books...

via Creature Comforts

via OnFoot4now

via Drawger.com

via saltycotton

via Drawger.com

via collecting children's books

via Creature Comforts

via Drawger.com

{And see Drawger.com for a huge round-up of beautiful end pages!}

Inspiration Boards

Image courtesy of weheartit.com

My first job out of college I worked as the librarian at an interior design firm. There were a hundred things I loved about that job and one of them was watching the designers put together their boards. They would gather fabric swatches, paint chips, photographs, and any textural elements that fit their concept to pull together a presentation/inspiration board for the client.

Some of those boards looked like pieces of art when they finished- after all, they were created to show the clients the beauty of the designer's vision.

I know the idea of the inspiration board goes beyond interior designers and can be found in all aspects of the arts. I still think they are pretty amazing little planks of creativity.....

Image courtesy of weheartit.com

Image courtesy of weheartit.com

Image courtesy of google
Image courtesy of google
Image courtesy of google

Image courtesy of weheartit.com

Image courtesy of weheartit.com