Hiving Out: October 2009

Friday, October 30, 2009

Got a costume?

"There is nothing that gives more assurance than a mask." ~ Colette

Since I'm invited to a "Mad Men" themed Halloween party - it looks like I've found myself a costume. I may, however, need to work the huge purple circles under my eyes into the look. A zombied Peggy Olson perhaps?

Well if you need help getting in the Halloween mood, check out the rest of snailbooty's startlingly beautiful and strange photography here. But don't blame me if his images sneak into your dreams...

Have a great holiday!

Thursday, October 29, 2009

Thursday, an art studio, and Etsy

"Messy Palette" courtesy of ItalianGirlinGeorgia

I have this hope that my kids will be into art- whether it be drawing, painting, working with clay- just something where we could all sit together and work on our projects. Of course my three-year-old's "giraffe" and his "moon" look exactly alike since he slaps wobbly circles on the paper with some obligatory lines and wants to move on....and my daughter is at the age where a container of crayons is nothing more than tapas, so fingers crossed that this love of creating is something that will come down the road.

If I had an art studio even a bit like what I imagine here , I bet I would have a family of art lovers in no time!

Some supplies- personalized oilcloth aprons, cat crayons, pastels, and some wooden peg people waiting to happen.

Oilcloth apron courtesy of chalkydoodles

Kitty Egg Molded Crayons courtesy of kittybblove

Oil Pastel set of 24 courtesy of grafix

DIY Little Peeps courtesy of katylua

I had not thought of this before, but in addition to the jars of buttons, pencils, pipe cleaners, and paintbrushes- these kits would be absolutely fantastic.

Paint your own Bee courtesy of HeatherBryson

le petit bateau kit (paper boat garland) courtesy of old yarns

Nesting Doll Kit courtesy of themercshop

Japanese Binding Kit courtesy of erinzam

BYO Tinysaur Stegosaurus Deluxe Kit courtesy of kfarrell

Embroidery Kit #4 courtesy of pimpstitch

So many printables out there, but these paper dolls were just the most charming (and you can print and color them them over and over for an army dressable folks).

Print your own Paper Dolls (PDF) courtesy of annemeade

If you ever had to take the show on the road then you could do it in style, but it would also be a great way to organize creative chaos.

le petite artiste Art Set courtesy of pinklemonadeboutique

To create the best space for all of this art- an over sized chalk board on the wall to capture moments of genius and hang some delicate, colorful garland...

Extra large vintage chalkboard courtesy of bluebellbazaar

Sweet Garland- Ruby Dream courtesy of 3GIRLSandagoat
The art on the walls is as important as what goes on in this studio- so these seemed just right.

"Fly Away" courtesy of sarahjanestudios

Imagination letterpress print courtesy of LouellaPress

"Freedom" courtesy of sarahjanestudios

Finally, a snuggly artiste companion- complete with wool beret!

Olivia-artist doll with wool felt beret courtesy of kinkak

Someday I would LOVE to call this studio our own, but for now we'll just keep drawing those giraffe moons....

Wednesday, October 28, 2009

One gorgeous giveaway

How absolutely divine is this Grey Garden Lace Necklace from White Owl that the ever so generous Love. Obsess. Inspire. is giving away this week? Lexi's blog is one of my favorites because she has such a great eye for beautiful and unique art and design, but this find is turning me into one greedy girl. So, of course, there is no doubt I am sharing news of this giveaway with you in order to introduce you to one cool blog and one beautiful shop (what can I say? I am really generous myself), but if you win this - it's mine.

The giveaway is open until Friday, November 6 so get yourself over there!

Below are some other lovely pieces from White Owl (I love how these were photographed too):

"Can I bring the lovebirds, Mitch? They haven't harmed anyone."

via detective club

via slate.com

This year's Halloween is a bit of a bust for me. I've been too distracted by work to come up with anything to wear. Last year I went as Tippi Hedren in Hitchcock's "The Birds" which was so much fun because all I had to do was wear a thrifted green wool suit and buy a couple of black birds on markdown at the local crafts store. I even got to work a pimple into a bird bite (of course one can't buy Hedren's movie star quality, but messy pulled back hair and black mascara likely to run? Check and check). Anyway, so here are some inspiring images of girl and/or swarm of birds for last year's look because I've got nothing but the tired grad. student look for this year...

The only Barbie I'd ever buy via Boing Boing

image via We Heart It

"Vanity Fair" picture of Jodie Foster (via Chaos Theory)

ceiling design by Geremia Designs (via apartment therapy)

photo by Alex Prager (via BOOOOOOOOM!)

"rage in eden" by ~fernando (via inspiring creativity)

via SEBASTIAN

via These are a few of my favorite things

via ffffound!

via inspiring creativity...

Monday, October 26, 2009

Cake Toppers

Image courtesy of fraserleonard

I was a "buttercream roses on the cake" bride- the blossoms were beautifully done in an ivory cluster on the top. I still love the look of my wedding cake when I see it in pictures, but after seeing some of these unique cake toppers I can see why people go for something different, something that is showier than buttercream and equally lovely.

Image courtesy of superweddings.com

Image courtesy of orangebeautiful.com

Image courtesy of dlshdesign

Image courtesy of cottonbirddesigns via etsy

After searching around a bit, I found that cake topper statements can be made at all sorts of events and I think I'll retire the roses for the next party and go for the snazzy version of loveliness. These baby shower and children's birthday cake decorations are examples of just some of the great stuff out there.

Image courtesy of formomsandkids.com

Pirate cupcake topper courtesy of CupcakeSocial via etsy

Celebration Candle Kid courtesy of thesmallobject via etsy

Image courtesy of mykobocek via etsy

Image courtesy of lollipopworkshop via etsy

Friday, October 23, 2009

my weekend plans

image via bear

"There must be quite a few things that a hot bath won't cure, but I don't know many of them." --Sylvia Plath, "The Bell Jar"

Thursday, October 22, 2009

Thursday, a mad scientist's lab, and Etsy (girl edition)

"vintage biology wall chart - frog" via luckylittledot

So I wanted to design a mad scientist's lab, but wanted it to be cute and fun because I imagined it belonging to a super smart and cool middle school girl (I was thinking specifically of Janie, the science-lovin' bff of Harriet, yes, of "Harriet the Spy"). So this room is a bit madcap with its mix of sciences (an English teacher put it together, after all), but the room also has plenty of girlishness (hello pink in the amazing vintage biology wall chart up at the top of this post).

And, I know, I went a little nuts with this week's room. But I was so nerdy excited about the idea of it and I found so many neat things on Etsy that I could not pass up. It definitely is one of the favorite rooms that I've done for our Thursday Etsy posts.

Anyway, does anyone else think that one heck of a cute monster could be made in this room?

And if a monster if to be made, a scientist will need 2 key tools - a vintage microscope and a pair of Victorian scissors that would make Mary Shelley proud:

"Small Metal Microscope" via Hindsvik

"Victorian Scissors Necklace" by mamaslittlebabies

The basics for an evil genius:

Safety first! "Lab Assistant goggles" by doubleastiching

"Vintage 1960s Chem Lab Chemistry Set" via AustinModern

"Vintage glass jars" via bluebellbazaar

"Vintage Pyrex Labware Colorful Chemistry Bottle Set" via 26olivestreet

"Vintage E. H. Sargent Red Litmus Paper Glass Vials" via MachoMachismo

I don't know much about biology (or robotics or chemistry), but the following things seem to make a lovely starter kit for making a buddy for Frankenstein's monster: