Paper Artist Wednesday

Hello again!
I have been a bit overwhelmed by my bookmarks for Paper Artist Wednesdays... While it's such a wonderful thing, I really have a soft spot for papercutting and letterpress. When I say "thing", I mean 90% of the artists I want to feature do this. I believe I needed to break out of the box a little on that- so today the artist is Heidi.


Those who know me, know I'm a sucker for packaging- that goes for presents as well. If you wrapped a roll of toilet paper in pretty paper with a gorgeous bow, I would love it! Heidi creates fresh, vibrant designs for gift wrapping that are so pleasing to they eye, I wouldn't dare tear the present open. As if her designs weren't enough, she also gives 1% of sales to environmental organizations each year. She also has ideas for recycling your unused wrapping paper here. Each collection comes with paper and ribbon as well as note and gift cards.





Happy Wednesday!

Do Not Leave Unattended!

The fantabulous Jude of Randomly Run 4ist Run fame has just launched a spectacular project I am bursting at the seams to share with you. "Do Not Leave Unattended - Random Dispatches from the Blogosphere" is about imparting wisdom, creating laughter, touching hearts, and leaving footprints. Take a look at the background and information of the project here, then get your name on the list to take part.

To kick this baby off with a bang, I'm going to do a little giveaway. (Am I allowed to call it that if I didn't create it?) I have one of the initial 10 notebooks waiting to be sent to you. Only my non-blogging Nana and I have written thus far. All you have to do is comment and on Friday (August 22nd) morning- I'll use random.org to choose the next recipient.



I hope you share in my excitement and take part. I think the lovely Jude is onto something great! The notebook is waiting to brighten someone's mailbox soon...

Rock-afire Explosion

This weekend, I accomplished a lot of things on the to-do list but my computer was pretty much left to its lonesome. I did come across something I just had to share with you yesterday- “The Rock-afire Explosion” is the story of a small-town car salesman, an inventor, and an animatronic rock band, that quickly becomes an eccentric portrait of childhood memories, broken dreams, and the resilience of the human spirit. The documentary is set to be released this fall and I couldn't geek-out more for it. Being a child of the 80's, Billy Bob and the band were a huge part of my early childhood... That is until on my 6th birthday while the band played for me Billy Bob came out to give me a hug. It was then that I found out he was hiding a small zipper on his back- only to reveal A REAL PERSON!!! Yeah, I think I'm still a bit disturbed by it all. No matter how hard they try, Chuck E Cheese can never replace Showbiz!

Hope everyone had a wonderful weekend.

Summer Fling

I didn't get as much printing finished this weekend as I had hoped, but I did add a new card to the shop tonight! Summer Fling was inspired by the nearing end of summer and the hot air balloon race that kicks off fall here in St. Louis. This one is printed on the front only as a little experiment to see how people prefer their wooden cards. In the comming weeks, I will be printing a bunch and wasn't too sure about the backs. Do you have a preference? Printed on the back with the vintage postcard, or blank with an envelope?

Hope you had a splendid weekend. I sure did.

Hookie

Good morning!
I am playing hookie from posting today. I'm going to try to catch up on reading your blogs and getting ready to do some Gocco this weekend. (oh, and the real job is quite busy too) Hope you have a wonderful weekend!

Leggy Fashion

NotCot is such a great site for inspiration. Spotted these beauties there yesterday- I'm a complete sucker for petticoats!







{Photos from Daryl Banks portfolio}

Paper Artist Wednesday

Lovely work today from Jennifer Falack Linssen. She is seriously talented with paper. Check out her portfolio for more delightful work.

Better Together

3 years ago today, Adam and I were married at the Sheldon Concert Hall. I think they say if it rains on your wedding day, it's supposed to bring you good luck. It was just short of a tornado outside, while we were having the time of our lives indoors. It must have brought us luck - the last 3 years have been amazing and I can't wait for more.
Happy Anniversary babe.

"There's no combination of words
I could put on the back of a postcard,
No song that I could sing
But I can try for your heart,
Our dreams, and they are made out of real things,
Like a shoebox of photographs,
With sepiatone loving,
Love is the answer
At least for most of the questions in my heart ,
Like why are we here? And where do we go?
And how come it's so hard?
It's not always easy,
And sometimes life can be deceiving,
I'll tell you one thing, its always better when we're together"
- Jack Johnson

Excuse the squish factor - Paper Artist Wednesday is coming up!

How About Some More Color

My favorite book of all time is The Rainbow Goblins by Ul De Rico. The photos below immediately made me think of the goblins and the amazing artwork in the book. If you haven't read it, it's well worth checking out. I love the mystique of a rainbow!












This post made me laugh hysterically yesterday.

{photos found via Cool Pictures}

Words & Colors

Miss Bee had an interesting post over the weekend on synesthesia. I'd never heard of it being called something, but I've heard of people having it. Basically, it's when two senses involuntarily come together. So when Lil Bee hears a number or letter, she sees a color. I was so intrigued after reading her post, I did some research on it. Wikipedia has a good article if you'd like to learn more. I have to say, I'm a bit jealous of her sixth sense...

Cymbolism is a fun site that was posted to NotCot over the weekend as well. It asks you what color you see when you think of a certain word. After you click the color you think of, it tells you what other people think as well. The site was created as a tool for designers to communicate feeling and mood. See if what you see lines up with what others see!

Weekend

This weekend was full of fun. It included time with friends, family, hubby, and the puppy. Today included brunch at the boathouse with a fantastic bloody mary followed by paddle boating around the lake. We then spent the remainder of our day in the country with family. I needed the fresh air.

Hope you had an amazing weekend too.

Thanks to Ashley for the "making my happy" tag. My weekend made me happy. What's making you happy?

Friday Eye Candy

Happy 08.08.08! Today's post is almost as quirky as last week's, but very apropos. (not even sure if it falls under the eye candy category, but it appeals to my eyes, so that's what I'll call it) I'm pretty excited for the opening ceremonies to the Beijing Summer Olympics and hope to catch some of it.

The Hong Kong LEGO users group created a LEGO model of some of the buildings built by the Chinese for the 2008 Olympic Games that took over 100 hours to build. I'd say it was worth it, what do you think? (Click on the images to view more detailed)






Complete with little protesters!

Hope you have a wonderful weekend.

{Found via Damn Cool Pics}

Making Me Happy

Don't you just love these prints from Cheryl Taylor?






You can purchase a few on boxbird.

Paper Artist Wednesday

If you haven't heard of today's artist, it is my pleasure to introduce you. Denise Sharp of Studio d.Sharp takes paper to the luxury level. She handcrafts her paper goodies using artisan papers, quality fabrics and the finest ribbons and trims. As an added bonus, most of these you can find in her shop available for purchase!



Bon Anniversaire Tiara


Eiffel Tower Candy Container


Leaning Pisa Candy Container


Paramount Cake Final
Wish I knew about that when I was married!

Although these were part of a limited edition and aren't available for purchase, they are well worth the view:


Arc de Triomphe Candy Container


Colosseum Candy Container


As if those amazing goodies weren't enough, she also has an Etsy shop full of letterpress goodies such as these buckles.



Oh, and if your heart went pitter-patter like mine did when reading the description of the materials she uses, "artisan papers, quality fabrics and the finest ribbons and trims" you'll be floored when you see photos of my dream studio (I mean her studio):





To learn more about d.Sharp, Denise keeps a blog here.

Happy Wednesday! You'll be happy to know that my weather whining is over. It stormed last night and brought in some cooler air so all is right in my side of the world. Thanks for sending the "cool vibes" my way.

{Photos of Denise's paper sculptures are from NessPace Photography and used with permission of Studio d.Sharp. Photos of the studio were graciously provided by Denise.}

It's Africa Hot

Please excuse my whining...

I can't even think straight, it's just that hot! It's already August and I've only been swimming once this summer. The refreshing water is calling my name! I'm think a pool/beach vacation is highly needed. Maybe I should get a room in a hotel just for the pool swimming tonight. (that's a thought... although I'm so pale - I might scare the other swimmers away!) When I was a kid, I loved summers and spent a majority of the 3 months off in my swimsuit. Oh, how I miss those days!

The heat index yesterday was 110 and today they are calling for more of the same! Whatever you do, stay cool, and I promise I will write the Paper Artist for tomorrow in the coolness that is our basement!



{Super awesome summer photos via.}