of paper and things

i've always wanted to design and make my own clothes ~ been working on several sewing projects lately, trying to improve my skills. i'm so inpired by these pieces by bellebas ... the detailing is just beautiful.

new handmade items at herriott grace beautiful hand-turned (tiny) wooden salt bowls and spoons by nikole herriott and her dad, lance.

seriously loving the wave of recycled gold chain - meets - beautiful handmade, detailed jewelry. in this case, satin ribbon and loose, long ends. love it! lovely jewelry by puur anders . {via emmas designblogg }

handmade wooden bowls, plates & utensils by gary allson . crafted from locally sourced sustainable timber.

beautiful handmade jewelry (and styling!) by emma cassi . every item in emma's collection has been stitched, beaded and embroidered by hand with vintage sequins, japanese glass beads, semi-precious stones, crystals, swarovski, and gemstones, all of the highest quality. {via the style files }

i have this recurring dream of a carnival. the premise is that i'm wandering through the grounds of an abandoned carnival/amusement park, a la bradbury's something wicked this way comes . the scene is dark and ominous. despite this, i always crave a trip to an amusement park following the dream - perhaps to reconcile the dream images with the colorful real-life experiences i've had with theme parks and fairs? for whatever reason, i'm thinking a roller coaster may be in my near future! i found these carnival-inspired items on etsy today: ferris wheel by dandytree vintage ticket glass pendant by geelizzie carousel by elle moss i dreamt of swings by daryl banks

at this moment i am listening to poi dog pondering, and specifically postcard from a dream . and i'm thinking (though the song really gives no mention of postcards at all, it does make me happy and puts me in a springy-newness-do-something-different-kinda-mood) how nice it would be to send/receive a handwritten note. and so i've decided i'll start with my friends out of state - surprise them not with an email or a message via some community messaging tool, but rather with a handwritten note. so, i realized i needed some beautiful new cards, and would you believe i found some on etsy ? i know - imagine that! i adore charmfoundry - one of my absolute favorites! here are images of the waxy postcard sampler :

i really really really want these new pieces by abigail percy . happy monday! anemone leaf hoop earrings hollyhock silhouette necklace

roof geography by lililemieux i'm watching an episode of american experience on pbs about the life and writings of walt whitman, and am reminded of why it is he's considered one of the best poets of all time. he really was an iconoclast and a rebel, and his descriptions of nature and the human form are just incredible. here are some items on etsy i've stumbled across with lines from leaves of grass in mind: leaves of grass by yellow fish vintage twirl by ameliorate ab imo pectore necklace by melanie favreau

for real! this sunday, april 20, is "national go fly a kite day." really. i like kites, so i may celebrate accordingly. if kites aren't your thing, you have many other options for sanctioned fun this weekend. saturday, for example, is "humorous day" - i'm not certain if the day itself is expected to be funny or its participants. either way, you're free to laugh on saturday for no reason at all! and on sunday, if you aren't so inspired to fly a kite, you could make a quilt, "get to know your customer," be a cuckoo, or celebrate "look alike day." good times! i found these items inspired by kite-flying on etsy today: kite and tree gocco card by two guitars longs to be free papercut shadowbox art by fog and thistle the boy and the kite photographic print by dandytree

three potato four ! one of my favorite online shops has a very cool campaign going right now. for every milk bottle carafe sold, they will donate $1 to action against hunger , "an acclaimed international network committed to saving the lives of malnourished children and their families while ensuring access to safe water and sustainable solutions to hunger". the bottles are beautiful, and come in 32 or 8 ounces. and here are a few more of my favorite things from the shop: river series bone china plates by snowden flood 1,2,3 set of mini tag books by ErinZam "dope" antique alphabet blocks

i used to write plays for the holidays and recruit all the neighborhood kids to participate. we'd stage them either in my parents' back yard or inside the house, depending on the scene. i was pretty good at it. i was better at designing the programs for those productions, and i did them all by hand - no copies, one for each family, which generally numbered maybe 10. for each production, i would create a unique font that somehow in my mind was relevant to that play. granted, they were mostly christmas plays, and so the fonts would generally include some ridiculous holly embellishments or such. but i loved doing it. and i loved cutting the construction paper by hand and sewing the pages together. while perusing etsy this morning, i found these wonderful examples of the art of typography. and not one with holly leaves or berries! colors by the type junkie vintage cash register tag pendants by gemmafactrix how's life by the obsessive imagist