Anna Atkins and sun prints

via love & reason

As we stay inside because of another heavy, humid, and unbearably hot day - the only things I am drawn to are a dark and cooling blue. I'm not just talking about swimming in blue icees or taking cold baths, but I am also presently addicted to the brisk landscape and cinematography of "Wallander." Set in Sweden, the British series is based on a series of Swedish novels by Henning Mankell and stars Kenneth Branagh. It is also really good.

I am also fully obsessed with sun prints and the work of Anna Atkins. Possibly the first woman to take a photograph, Atkins was a British botanist who published multiple books on algae and ferns that included gorgeous photographs created through the cyanotype (or "blueprinting") process. I cannot get enough of these and am thisclose to trying myself.

 

 

 

  

images via nypl

Painted Lady Butterflies

 

My super thoughtful friend sent the kids an amazing Spring gift. Last month, some Painted Lady Butterflies from Insect Lore arrived on our doorstep. Well, not the butterflies, but the larvae! Over the course of the next few weeks we watched them grow into caterpillars, enter the pupae stage, create chrysalides, and break into the world as beautiful butterflies. 

These photographs show the Painted Lady butterflies spreading their wings and shortly thereafter- they flew off into the yard. My kids were mesmerized and absolutely loved watching this amazing life cycle close up.

 

pretty relief prints

I adore these tree prints by Bryan Nash Gill. I'd love these in my husband's office or one for the baby's room or row over the mantel. So simple. So beautiful.

{images via Bryan Nash Gill

discovered via Black. White. Yellow.)

Bittersweet Wreath

Bittersweet grows in abundance around here and I love the look of it. A ring of bittersweet berries or a full wreath of them on the front door is the ultimate welcome to autumn in these parts.
If bittersweet does not grow where you live, it is readily available at florists this time of year. Of course, the queen of all things crafty has a comprehensive tutorial on how to put together the perfect wreath for your entry. It is like a breath of crisp fall air every time you look at it!

Images courtesy of vmolloy/flickr and marthastewart.com

"On Discovering a Butterfly"

 

"On Discovering a Butterfly"
by Vladimir Nabokov

I found it and I named it, being versed
in taxonomic Latin; thus became
godfather to an insect and its first
describer – and I want no other fame.

Wide open on its pin (though fast asleep),
and safe from creeping relatives and rust,
in the secluded stronghold where we keep
type specimens it will transcend its dust.

Dark pictures, thrones, the stones that pilgrims kiss,
poems that take a thousand years to die
but ape the immortality of this
red label on a little butterfly.

poem:

“A Discovery” (December 1941); 

published as “On Discovering a Butterfly” in The New Yorker (15 May 1943)

via Kathryn Ciano

 

 

butterflies:

"Hand Crochet Alpaca Butterflies" by Oeuf

Lorenzo Duran

Have you seen the intricately craved artworks by the Spanish artist Lorenzo Duran? Under the name Naturayarte, he and his family not only create these lovely little pieces, but use leaves as their medium. Yep, real leaves. I think these pieces are just divine and their frailty and smallness just makes that much more beautiful.

{all images via the artist's website: Naturayarte}

fabric for the nook

via golly bard drawing room

For Sweet Pea's nursery nook we have a rocking chair that used to belong to my husband's grandmother. It's a little scratched and the paint is worn out in places, but we aren't planning to change it. We love that the wear is reflective of its use and her love. We do have to soften it a bit for us to sit in.

So the plan is to pad it with a pillow or two. And even though I not very talented with a needle and thread - I think I can handle this project especially if I'm working with one of Golly Bard's lovely prints. Holly of Golly Bard is one heck of a talented artist (her blog, her etsy shop) and though I'm saving my pennies to buy one of her originals - having one of her fabrics to cover a rocking chair for my little fella is a very nice thing to have...

via golly bard drawing room

find the golly bard fabric at spoonflower

Prints for Sale

The etsy shop Lori411, photography by Lori H., has a great selection of beautiful fine art prints. There happens to be a BOGO sale going on right now, so I suggest you click on over and check out this gorgeous photography.

I am captivated by the water droplet shots.

All of the floral and foliage compositions are impressive though....

This little fella stood out- I immediately imagined it in a little boy's room!

Overall, just a super impressive collection....and who doesn't love a BOGO?!

All images courtesy of Lori411 via etsy

peonies

Peonies via houseobsession.wordpress.com

Weddings are on the brain- between my sister, Mae's sister, and of course, Ms. Vivi, we have been thinking about weddings quite a bit. After cruising the wedding sites and flipping through the beautifully styled magazine spreads about tying the knot, I figured I should do a post all about peonies.  

Peonies are a long time favorite of mine. I think they are perhaps the most girly of flowers, with their puffs of pillowy blossoms they look soft and delicate and fancy- just lovely all around. They are unique and interesting enough to simply stand alone or stand out in an arrangement with other florals. 

Yesterday I saw some peony clusters in the florist section of my grocery store and purchasing them was like bringing home stems of layered happiness. Flowers can do that, change your mood or your day, and peonies do it best. 

Image courtesy of Alluminaire

Image via harmoniouspalette

Image via a bloom in time

Image via Design*Sponge

Image via homeshoppingspy.wordpress.com

Image via madamebonbon

Image via Tippin' The Scales

Buzzzzz

Image courtesy of weheartit.com

I am posting today on behalf of the honey bee. We are all familiar with the little fellas- the incredible work ethic, the nasty stingers, the delicious honey- but I recently came across the Help the Honey Bees website and it made me really think about them.

I guess since I see bees zooming about my mum's herb garden and our lilacs I don't think of them as a threatened population. It seems, however, that honey bees have been dying off at a drastic rate and they are relied on for a lot more than the occasional sweetening of hot tea. The site noted that bees are responsible for the pollination of more than a hundred crops (we are talking about killer multitaskers as well apparently). I suggest checking the site out sometime to read about these fascinating insects, but there is something so simple you can do if you just want to make sure there are always bees buzzing around gardens and orchards...... plant.

The Honey Bee Conservancy has perfect tips for creating a bee-friendly garden. It really can be as simple as choosing native flowers and planning for season-round blooms. That seems to be the least we can do to make those buzzers busy lives a little less stressful!

Bees@Work courtesy of /kallu on flickr

Land Art

"Leaf Star" by Land Art for Kids

And ever by delicate powers
Gathering along the centuries
From race on race the rarest flowers,
My wreath shall nothing miss.

--from "Song of Nature," Ralph Waldo Emerson

The images below are all from one of my favorite Flickr pools: Land Art for Kids

Land Art, according to landartforkids.com, "involves making art and sculptures using natural materials you find in the environment, such as leaves, fir cones, twigs, pebbles, rocks, sand and shells."

"Floating Leaf Boat" by Land Art for Kids

"Circle" from landartforkids.com

"Mosiac Bark Cube" from JRTPickle

"Winter Leaf Spiral" by Land Art for Kids

"Dragonfly" by Land Art for Kids

"Leaf Tree" by Land Art for Kids

"Pebble Fish" by Land Art for Kids

"Grass Flower Doodles" by escher...

For more land art, including land art from the grown-ups, visit the Land Art Flickr Pool.

Happy (belated) Earth Day!