roses are red, dahlias are bleu...

Back to school doesn't usually equate to red roses- but this lovely surprise eagerly begged for a glamour shot. I quickly sketched out a dozen to be sent through the mail on the front of a bleu dahlia note card. Enjoy your weekend!

thanks for the memories

It's been awhile since I've been to Seattle to visit my very best friend, but the memories remain. While updating my website {soon to be published} I ran across this thank you, it's what I call a limited edition, where I hand draw little icons of the best of our visit, obviously here it was the conversation, cocktails, fabulous gourmet home cooked meals and heading out to explore the city. Hope to have an option like this available to order at my website soon!

tiffany bleu

Another beautiful wedding this summer. What I delight to reconnect with a friend who happens to have a daughter who is getting married {even though neither one of us has aged a day*wink-wink*}. It was elegant and contemporary and just flat out gorgeous. Hopefully she received lots of "blue boxes" when opening her gifts...

a lush pad is a happy pad

Daily Candy truly delivered something sweet this morning, visit Lush Pad, an edited version of eBay or C-list, featuring all things that midcentury obsessives wake up for. The categories are a little light in inventory right now, but there's lots of info to keep you company until the goods roll in.

If your pulse quickens at the site of Barcelona chairs, Eames tables and Danish modern credenzas, visit Melanie Carlson's new love child, waiting to meet you now.... get over your
"end of summer blues"- visit Lush Pad today!

I feel a little sick because this sofa looks like one my friend and I thrifted when we were too young and uneducated to know better, we painted it black- it was the 80's!
*the crowd cringes and shudders at the thought*...

ode to summer

School starts tomorrow, and with it brings thoughts of the end of summer. I present my favorite wedding invitation ever- a total ode to summer, this gorgeous celebration was on June 21st, the first official day of {just about} everyone's favorite season. The best part of my wedding invitation ritual is boxing them up in a fabulous fabric covered carrier, and hand tying a bouquet for the bride.

koo koo 4 coco

A little Chanel makes you a lot happy. Lifetime presents the rags to riches story of Coco Chanel. Shirley Maclaine plays the legend in her later years and the previews have been hypnotizing. My daughter and I will be firmly planted in front of our TV while wearing my favorite Chanel accessories watching history come to life. The icing on the cake? Chanel's Karl Lagerfeld has given his blessing to the miniseries; the famed design house is even working closely with the production to get things right.
The two part miniseries begins Sept 13- *fingers crossed hoping it delivers*

glitter for two

It's a party for two! I had the opportunity to design a childrens party invitation this summer for these darlings who turned 1. So fun- with great custom details all the invitees were thrilled to see. Of course I had to say yes to the glitter! Which resulted in me delivering the invites to my clients who were probably thinking, "at her age, she should wear less glitter!" I am updating my website to include more party invites (complete with glitter) I did this summer, should be done soon!

sea goddess

Today is hot, really hot. Not as hot as this babe-
Makes you wish your swimsuit was designed from a man's point of view...???

This ad is from a great vintage magazine I found at the antique shop.
Take some time out to enjoy the beautiful weather, it will be gone soon!

sweet as it seems?

Designed for the Crocodile Cafe in Seattle by Modern Dog. Not saccharin sweet, just pure goodness that is so natural. Maybe not what it seems to be...

I quote fromModern Dog: 20 Years of Poster Art
"On the surface, Rosie's music is sweet and girly. When you read her lyrics, you realize she has an edge -
just like this fat, innocent bird who happens to be
standing on the edge...of a sawed off branch."
-Mike Strassburger & Robynne Raye

genius, pure and simple.

trust your swing

Starting a new project- be it for a client or your own craft urges can almost be too much if you don't have "rails". Take this swatch book for instance, where do you start choosing a color? Most people think creatives do better when you let them have free reign- well maybe some do, but I like to have some sort of parameter, that way my thoughts can go flipping nuts inside a set of cans and cant's- and I end up with something my client can understand and use appropriately. This is one of the reasons I love re-design and re-purposing,
you can see where something has been.

I'm not a golfer, but have this "swing" sign in my office- usually your instincts are right on- don't over think, trust your swing!

Here's a fun website that will give you a spark when starting a new project...
visit color blender

queen of buttons

I can almost see this big pink button on a Jackie O style yellow wool coat, just one button at the top. My daughter started sewing again this summer and brought out a tin of buttons and sewing notions she inherited from her Great Gramma who passed away this spring. The sequins were in an old spice jar with a Tiffany blue lid, perfect contrast with the bright copper vintage goodies inside. The entire color story is so Marie Antoinette {2006 /Coppola} which, if you haven't seen needs to be rotated into your list of movies to watch. So take the challenge, look around your house this weekend, sometimes the things that spark inspiration are right under your nose...

pixie magic

So thrifting I went- No pottery in this town worth purchasing, plus the big question of where will it go? -I set my sights on something smaller and started to notice a recurring Pixie theme, I now have a new collection of strange little ...well "elf" like little dudes. Kind of a hint to start thinking about the Holidays! I really like the expressions on their faces- and pointed hands and feet. Not sure what the lady bug like creature is, almost a wee bit creepy though.

little things that spark

Most days I come across something that "makes" my day-{usually while putting my work on hold and perusing the web or a great magazine or an e-mail forward from a friend}. Mostly it's little things that inspire bigger things later.

As a designer { maybe more of a re-purposer, because I still haven't reinvented the wheel}, I have a box of inspiration- things that maybe, just maybe, will make sense or spark something when the time is right. This blog is just that- An online box of happiness, madness, color and whatever. Check back often - and comments are welcome.

Is anyone out there still thrifting? I was speaking to my friend and client Chick Meek (fabulous handbags and great website) in Minneapolis the other day and we were chatting about thrifting and collecting. We both started collecting vintage pottery- mostly McCoy and Bauer because of the influence and good taste of our mutual friend David Marks. I told her I hadn't been out for a "pottery score" for quite some time, because my house is going to burst with the four color stories I have going on. Don't know what do with it but I still am in love with the glossy color, hefty weight in hand, and shape-

I posted a pic of some of my favorite Bauer- two gigantic McCoys and some LuRay madness. I'm thrifting tomorrow so I'll let you know what I "score" during my morning venture in the best of Billings Montana's thrift spots.