...to my mom. She would have been 62 today. This is a photo of her not on her 17th birthday {I'm guessing we couldn't locate any other candles that day!}. My mom also loved cupcakes, so I bought this pretty one for her. And I will abandon my wheat-free diet for tonight and devour it on her behalf.
Enjoy a wonderful treat for my mom today...and don't forget to give your mom a hug! Happy weekend...
My sister holding a cupcake on her birthday on the weekend {did you know that Lollicakes make gluten-free cuppies?}. I loved the colours here.
The most vibrant rainbow I have seen in a long time, while driving to IKEA tonight. I couldn't take my eyes off of it...dangerous when driving! But don't worry, I snapped this pic at a stoplight. Too bad the poles and wires are in the way, but it was a real beauty.
Geninne's Art Blog is one of my very favourites. Everything she creates is so inspiring. From her birdie paintings to her handmade stamps to these little radishes she carved with smiley faces. I bought some prints from her last summer and I swear that the envelope they came in looked like art and I haven't been able to throw it away!
When my mom was a teenager, she helped pay for her university tuition by making giant crepe paper flowers and selling them to Montreal stores to be used in their window displays. Artist Zoe Bradley's work is reminiscent of my mom's business venture...just on a bit of a different scale! Using primarily luxury papers, sculptural and origami techniques, her oversized creations have appeared in the fashion shows and windows of bigwigs like Louis Vuitton, Harrod's and Tiffany's. Oh to create large paper flowers for a living!
I'm currently trying to find a dress to wear to my sister's upcoming circus wedding {think vintage circus...no scary tigers or clowns!}. I'm feeling inspired by some of these handmade lovelies by Sarah Seven. Each dress is custom-made with natural fabrics, and Sarah donates 5% of the proceeds to charity. The dresses take about 6 weeks for delivery so I am out of luck {the wedding is 4 weeks away} but I can still drool over these creations!
I've had a font crush on Feel Script {above} for a while now...but after making a recent and pricey font purchase, I will have to hold off for just a while. Isn't it beautiful though? After some digging I was happy to find a similar font for free...At Mahogany Script {below} doesn't have all of Feel's fabulous flourishes, but it's a good substitution while the funds replenish! Have a wonderful weekend...
Style at Home magazine recently featured this Swedish company Bemz that specializes in creating slipcovers for IKEA furniture in wonderful fabrics like Marimekko, and Belgian linen. Such wonderful patterns and colours - what a great way to dress up a ho-hum IKEA couch or chair!
...a Frog Pod thingie from Boon in a draw at the Unionville Festival that P. and I attended on the weekend. I wasn't even sure what it was when they called, but I took a peek at Boon's website and it turns out it is this little bathtime toy scoop in the shape of a frog. I never win anything, so I was pretty excited, even though I'm not quite sure what to do with it quite yet!
However I was really impressed with the design of Boon's website - its clean style and fresh use of green, orange and light gray - right up my alley!
Birthdays are starting to get a little bit scary now! I turned 33 on Saturday and I'm finding it hard to believe that I am well into my thirties. How did this happen? On one hand I feel 23...and in some ways, with a lot of life events that have gone on recently, I feel an older wiser 53! It was lovely weekend though and we had my family over for do-it-yourself pizza on the grill, our new obsession. My perceptive sistas got me some great presents too...some gift certificates to Anthropologie {yum!} and some adorable mini designer chairs that I posted about a while back. Here is a photo of me on my second birthday...so crazy how time flies! But age is just a frame of mind, right?
If you admire Anthropologie's displays {and you know I do!} then be sure to check out this lovely blog. Ruthi Auda is a display coordinator for Anthropologie, and created this wisteria tree using branches and tissue paper. The paper nerd is in love...how exquisite! See Ruthi's blog for more amazing creative inspiration. {via the beautifully re-designed Once Wed}
Imagine my surprise when I was wandering in blogland and I stumbled across one of Amy Atlas' amazing dessert bar displays - with my name on it! Apparently it was a sweet display for a baby naming party, with the colours and patterns inspired by a Pucci print. My name isn't very common, so I was quite excited that a new baby girl will be named Joelle, and that my name was a part of Amy's fabulous creation. I do just wish though...that the dessert table with my name on it...was really for me. :)
I am a sucker for large, vintage botanical prints used in interior design. It could be my biology background; or my background in illustration, as I actually had to paint some botanical prints myself! And it's trickier than it may seem - you have to portray the right balance of scientific accuracy, with simplicity, with something that is visually pleasing. Not an easy feat! I consider botanical illustrations as art and I love displaying them that way.
Mmmm lilacs. I don't think I've ever sniffed anything so lovely! I was at my dad's this weekend and his lilac trees had just bloomed. I snipped a few branches and now our house is filled with an amazing scent. They don't last long so you have to enjoy them while you can! I may just sneak up there again this week to get more of my fix.
Inspired by this blog, P. and I tried making pizza on the barbeque tonight...and it was INCREDIBLE! I'm not sure what the difference is, but pizza - which is usually pretty yummy - was raised up to a whole new level! Find the instructions here {and homemade tomato sauce definitely sets it over the edge}. Enjoy!
How cool are these letterpress moving announcements? And from a Toronto company! The scored postcard can be cut and folded into a little moving truck. Now that's genius! {via Oh So Beautiful Paper via FPO}
I just loved this little bluegrass song 'Pretty Flowers' written by Steve Martin {the comedian!} that was performed on the American Idol finale last night {yay Kris although I would have been happy either way}. So cute and sweet and charming. It would work perfectly as a wedding song for a rustic, garden wedding...or for a quirky circus wedding, like my sister's, perhaps?!
{note: the American Idol version of this performance was taken off of YouTube so instead I've posted another version from Steve Martin's album...I think I like the American Idol version better but this is cute too!}
Cupcakes are one of my favourite things ever! And they would taste even better in these pretty little liners from Cupcake Social. {found via Style Me Pretty}
...to my mom. She would have been 62 today. This is a photo of her not on her 17th birthday {I'm guessing we couldn't locate any other candles that day!}. My mom also loved cupcakes, so I bought this pretty one for her. And I will abandon my wheat-free diet for tonight and devour it on her behalf.
My sister holding a cupcake on her birthday on the weekend {did you know that Lollicakes make gluten-free cuppies?}. I loved the colours here.
The most vibrant rainbow I have seen in a long time, while driving to IKEA tonight. I couldn't take my eyes off of it...dangerous when driving! But don't worry, I snapped this pic at a stoplight. Too bad the poles and wires are in the way, but it was a real beauty.
Geninne's Art Blog is one of my very favourites. Everything she creates is so inspiring. From her birdie paintings to her handmade stamps to these little radishes she carved with smiley faces. I bought some prints from her last summer and I swear that the envelope they came in looked like art and I haven't been able to throw it away!
I've had a font crush on Feel Script {above} for a while now...but after making a recent and pricey font purchase, I will have to hold off for just a while. Isn't it beautiful though? After some digging I was happy to find a similar font for free...At Mahogany Script {below} doesn't have all of Feel's fabulous flourishes, but it's a good substitution while the funds replenish! Have a wonderful weekend...
Birthdays are starting to get a little bit scary now! I turned 33 on Saturday and I'm finding it hard to believe that I am well into my thirties. How did this happen? On one hand I feel 23...and in some ways, with a lot of life events that have gone on recently, I feel an older wiser 53! It was lovely weekend though and we had my family over for do-it-yourself pizza on the grill, our new obsession. My perceptive sistas got me some great presents too...some gift certificates to Anthropologie {yum!} and some adorable mini designer chairs that I posted about a while back. Here is a photo of me on my second birthday...so crazy how time flies! But age is just a frame of mind, right?
If you admire Anthropologie's displays {and you know I do!} then be sure to check out this lovely blog. Ruthi Auda is a display coordinator for Anthropologie, and created this wisteria tree using branches and tissue paper. The paper nerd is in love...how exquisite! See Ruthi's blog for more amazing creative inspiration. {via the beautifully re-designed Once Wed}
I am a sucker for large, vintage botanical prints used in interior design. It could be my biology background; or my background in illustration, as I actually had to paint some botanical prints myself! And it's trickier than it may seem - you have to portray the right balance of scientific accuracy, with simplicity, with something that is visually pleasing. Not an easy feat! I consider botanical illustrations as art and I love displaying them that way.
Mmmm lilacs. I don't think I've ever sniffed anything so lovely! I was at my dad's this weekend and his lilac trees had just bloomed. I snipped a few branches and now our house is filled with an amazing scent. They don't last long so you have to enjoy them while you can! I may just sneak up there again this week to get more of my fix.
Inspired by this blog, P. and I tried making pizza on the barbeque tonight...and it was INCREDIBLE! I'm not sure what the difference is, but pizza - which is usually pretty yummy - was raised up to a whole new level! Find the instructions here {and homemade tomato sauce definitely sets it over the edge}. Enjoy!
How cool are these letterpress moving announcements? And from a Toronto company! The scored postcard can be cut and folded into a little moving truck. Now that's genius!
