more cute baby animals

i think i'm starting to see a pattern here.... i try, but i just can't resist little baby animals. but really, who can? whatever, i'm just going to embrace it and go ahead and create a tag just for little cuties.

these come from the etsy shop of sharon montrose..... i'm going to have to try hard to resist buying every single print.

note: this is quite possibly the only time i'll ever think a squirrel is cute.

i found her here.

more from the scribbler....

well, well, well..... look what we have here!

look at whose work was featured on the designworklife blog.....

yay, holly!! - not too bad for the first year out of school....

women for women

well isn't this sweet?... kate spade is partnering with a group called women for women international to create handmade snuggly-goods this holiday season. you can get mittens, scarves, and even dog sweaters (holly, i think daisy might need one??) - and each piece is hand-knit by women in the war-torn communities of bosnia and herzegovina.

according to the women for women website....

Women for Women International will provide the training in knitting for the women, with creative direction from kate spade new york.

Knitting, a traditional skill in the region that has passed through generations of women, is now a source of income for these enterprising women. This partnership has helped Bosnian graduates transform their traditional handcrafts into high-fashion winter accessories. Rabija Mujalo, a participant of the training program and current employee of kate spade new york, says "I earned nearly as much money knitting at home in my spare time as my son who works full time in a factory." 

you can see the whole collection here, and learn more about the partnership here.

rustic modern

okay, first of all... it has been quite a while since we last posted.... one of us (the holly half) has been on a nice family vacation, while the other (the leeanne half - me!) has just been feeling a little uninspired.

but hopefully you will forgive us.

i will try to make it up to you by posting this, the cutest ipod dock i've ever seen. i made a stop in anthropologie tonight on my walk home from work (the christmas decorations pulled me in) and i saw this and completely fell in love... so cute, and unexpectedly rustic....

gloversville, usa

this article in the nytimes was really inspiring. it's about a man who moved from the city to gloversville, ny - home to factories which supplied 90% of america's gloves, up until the mid-20th century. Even though most of the glove shops have closed, daniel storto moved in and opened up his shop in order to continue the town's tradition of fine handmade gloves... it's really inspiring how he is so focused on perfecting his skills in one particular craft, and it makes me want to do the same - to really work with my hands and create something other than computer-generated drawings... to do one thing and do it really well.

fantastic mr. fox

yesterday i went to go see where the wild things are, and one of the previews got me really excited...

wes anderson has directed a stop-motion animation film based on a roald dahl book called fantastic mr. fox. the voice lineup is great - george clooney, meryl streep, jason schwartzman, etc. - and it looks like it will be a great movie visually as well. it comes out november 13, and i'm excited to see it!



p.s. - where the wild things are was great - such an imaginative movie! - i definitely recommend seeing it... and the little boy who plays max is the cutest!

monsieur boudin

this is monsieur boudin, he was created by lab partners, i love their illustration work

outdoor typography

by Ramon Lenherr & Florian Brunner

found via oh joy

ode to anthro...

i have had this on my desktop for a while...i think it is such a cute outfit, i had to include

ode to anthropologie

oh, anthro - you have my heart forever.

it's pretty much a given that at any point in time i will be in love with one or more object from anthropologie. i don't know if it's because now it's fall (my fave) or if they've perhaps recently started designing things specifically with me in mind.... but there are SO many things right now that i am loving....

like these accessories:

phlox flats

ring & peal cloche (i only wish i could pull off a hat like this....)

belsay bangle

spider chrysanthemum scarf

and these home goods:

cameo lace chair
(sidenote: i am in LOVE with this upholstery, and have had a sample of it - Maharam Intricate in Coffee - pinned up in my cube at work for at least a year now, so i was excited to see it here!)

ikat rug

estuary lampshade

castilla lampshade

and these dishes:

scenic dessert plates

paint by number dessert plate

bateau platter

ah..... i will always love anthro for its never-ending inspiration!

lambs ear & scabiosa

i am obsessed with this arrangement of lambs ear & scabiosa from jayson home & garden (...which i just found in lonny magazine - how have i not known about this shop until now??)

i absolutely love the color combo and the play on textures. but sadly, if i had this sitting in my apartment right now there would probably be no lambs ear left because i would have ruined it by constantly rubbing it.... it is so soft! so it's probably better that i just admire this on the screen for now.....

Lonny Magazine

today is the launch of Lonny, a new online magazine created by a former Domino employee and owner of rubie green, michelle adams

After four months of meetings, photo shoots, styling, web programming and endless amounts of editing, we couldn't be more proud to finally share Lonny with you! When Pat and I came up with this idea last June (admittedly while at Chilis...my favorite!), we weren't sure if we could realistically pull it off since we literally didn't have a penny to spend on its execution. But the next day when I started calling my old domino buddies and spreading the word, Pat and I were absolutely floored by our response. Within a matter of weeks we had managed to get everything from the film to the writing donated by people who believed in what we were trying to achieve. (We even borrowed my parent's car so we'd have one for our photo shoots!) So while we definitely realize there's room for improvement ("get the look" pages would be great, "similar-to" sources, etc) our team is filled with pride and excitement as we share our premiere issue with you. We want to sincerely thank the blogging community for helping us spread the word to make this possible.

When you visit the mag, be sure to first allow the issue to load, and then take a moment to familiarize yourself with the toolbar options. The fullscreen mode is the easiest for viewing, and you'll find that you can zoom in pretty darn close to take a peek into our pages! Please let us know your thoughts, as we're looking forward to growing with you. ;) editors@lonnymag.com

wishful thinking.....

if anyone ever wants to get me the best gift in the world, you can simply sign me up for this:

Autumn Color Workshop
with Nicolette Owen (of Nicolette Camille) and Sarah Ryhanen (ofSaipua)

Focusing on flowers and plants of the season, this class will explore alternative ways of interpreting the autumnal palette of the North East. In a small group we will discuss methods and techniques for arranging flowers for the table. Surrounded by opulent seasonal materials, students will have the opportunity to create their own autumnal masterpiece to take home.

Class is limited to 10 students.
Clippers will be provided and are a gift to take with you.
Of course, class will finish with a champagne and tea party.

and even better - if anyone wants to get two BFFs the best joint-gift in the world, you could sign both holly and me up for the class, and provide a plane ticket for holly to come up here. just think of the bonding that could take place over arranging flowers.... we will be sure to take pictures of our own autumnal masterpieces and send them to you...

just putting it out there...

pumpkin palette

I was looking around martha stewart crafts today, trying to find something fun to make for halloween. i saw this beautiful image here while browsing around... again, proving that i'm a sucker for anything arranged in color order.

and in case you've ever wanted to know anything at all about pumpkins, you can read the little article and call yourself a pumpkin expert!

more everyday beauty

i am especially loving these images from everyday beauty... images of a house they stumbled upon on an everyday country drive...

it's a little rundown, but if i were to be so lucky to move in i don't think i would change all that much... it's so beautiful in its current state. this blog has been on a roll lately - love it!

graphkin

these are really fun

beauty everyday - the dahlia farm

i am loving these images from last week's post on beauty everyday. i just adore this doorway, and i'm thinking that i also need to make friends with someone who has a dahlia farm... doesn't everyone?

one more time

okay, this is the last one, i promise... but along the lines of precious baby animals, i just saw this commercial and couldn't resist posting it. ok thanks for indulging me.

the condo

so finally here are some pics of the condo...some it is still a bit disheveled but i wanted to go ahead and post a few pics for you to see LA

cadillac and phoenix

while sitting at home sick this morning i saw this commercial on tv for cadillac...pretty sweet

too... much... goodness....

whoa. there is just too much goodness to take it all in in these photographs! - oh, to be surrounded by beauty like this all the time...

note: i would probably give my right arm to have the craft room setup like this last one...

found via apartment therapy via you are my fave.

watercolor birds

i would like to be able to use watercolor like this....

these cute little birds are by Christine Lindstrom, and i found them on fey handmade.

it's funny, i think watercolor is probably my favorite medium to look at, but i get so frustrated when i try to actually work with it.... hmm, maybe that will be my next class to take....

black cab sessions

this is a pretty great website... some of my favorite artists perform a song in the back of a cab while driving through london... it's kind of like a mixture between cash cab & austin city limits!...

and this one is for you, holly...

heartbreakingly cute

okay, so this doesn't really have anything to do with design.... but i just think this commercial is so precious.... it melts my heart - i mean, who doesn't like to look at cute baby animals?

boiled p-nuts

this post is making me miss the south like whoa this morning.....

stitched thank-yous

my friend maggie asked me to make her a set of thank-yous for all of the wedding festivities she's having these days. it only took me forever & a day to get them done, but i finally finished them last night! - here they are.... inspired by a lot of the hollywood regency patterns i've been loving lately...

haha..... i got tired of looking at pictures on my hardwood floors so i tried to create a backdrop a la school day pictures.... awesome, right? it's like glamour shots for cards....

(in case you read this before i see you this afternoon, maggie... sorry to ruin the surprise! - consider this a sneak peek...)

(oh and rhonda, in case you're reading this too.... i haven't forgotten about your set! - they're in progress and will be coming next... this one just had a set time limit...)

kate spade ta da!

i had forgotten i took these pictures ages ago until i was uploading more photos from my camera this morning.... but better late than never, right?

just thought this storefront at kate spade was pretty fabulous. i love how they sometimes carry their window design out onto the sidewalk.... always a good treat for us unfriendly/grumpy new yorkers who walk around looking down all the time...

on that note, i fell in love with this ring i saw on oh joy! the other day and was just looking for a good excuse to post about it.... seeing as how it's from kate spade's holiday collection, i guess now's as good a time as ever!... it reminds me of you, holly!

Sanna Paananen

this is some nice illustration work from sanna paananen

click here to see more

i love her application of color

wedgwood beauties

i am a little obsessed with this image from a posting all about wedgwood on design*sponge today.... line anything up in color-order and i'll love you forever!

read this to your kids for bedtime and they will for sure be graphic designers...

from Uppercase

Alphabeasties is a new book illustrated and designed by Sharon Werner and Sarah Forss of Werner Design Werks. The initial concept for the illustrations began as “The Wonderful World of Typology”, an animal kingdom made of letters that was used for a promotion for the Type Directors Club’s annual competition poster. Sharon explains what happened next:

“The TDC mailed about 25,000 posters and within a day or two, to our surprise, we received two calls from different publishers saying this would make a great children's book. Would we be interested in writing a children's book based on these animals?

Our first response was "we're not authors" and certainly not children's book authors, we're graphic designers. But as we thought it through, we warmed up to the idea. So we decided to give it a try. We did some initial layouts that in hindsight we realize were too clean, spare and far too sophisticated for a children's book and just not very engaging. The publisher pushed us to make them more fun and playful. We went back with a few revised sample spreads and they said "great! ...now do rest of the alphabet."

The entire book from beginning to end took just under 4 months to get to press. We are currently working on a set of flashcards and an activity book to accompany the book.”

The first printing of the book is already out of stock, but a second printing is in the works. I’ve ordered some for the shop and I look forward to seeing the publication in person. The foldout sections look fun and I love the end papers!