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Canary Cakes

Love this bike. Buy the print here. All inspiration.

Bike from ETSY. Buy a print here. Who wouldn't love to own a purple bike. I know I would!

Here are some pictures I used to draw a little inspiration. Of course I trust ETSY to find all of these wonderful pieces. The bird posted above you can find here.

I also like this font, and green of the cupcake underneath.



Here is some work I have done for one of my classes. (Design) I can not pick which design I like better. I have plenty more, but not really good enough to post.
The whole idea behind the bike, is that the cakes would be delivered on a canary bike. If only they had a place like this in Tuscaloosa. The Cake shop is to be set in San Diego, right next to the beach. So the design had to be something really bright and sunny.

Seashore Favorites

I found a new favorite blog. sfgirlbybay
She is a San Fransisco based blogger, hopeful photographer, design junkie and bonafide flea market queen. Victoria smith is her name and she is an editor/writer of sfgirlbybay, one of the West Coast’s leading interior design blogs, featuring new product reviews, shopping tips, including art, photography and design resources. This blog is great. I only just stumbled upon it today.

I can only aspire to have my blog as organized and enticing as hers! It will get there i promise, slowly but surely.

But for now I would love to share a few of my favorite finds from hers.





These are wood and wool stools. Made by Ingred from recycled wood, and amazing crochet skills. You can also check out Ingrid's blog here.These are wonderful, insanely practical, and she also makes blankets, hangers, and pillows.


And here, a stylish way to store your drinks and glasses. A DIY project it is actually super easy. I just might try it sometime soon.
ReadyMade

Olivetti Manual Type 32

Yes i still have it. The thrifty charm. I visited Birmingham this past weekend and of course insisted that we make a quick stop at America's Thrift Store. I quickly browsed through all of the shoes, accessories, and nick nacks and this is what I happened to stumble over.




Here are a few of the advertisements I found from back in the day. I think they are absolutley wonderful. The Olivetti 32 design was made to be very lightweight (7lbs) for journalists or traveling writers. It was designed by by Marcello Nizzoli for Olivetti in 1963 as the successor of the popular Olivetti Lettera 22.

above: designed by ettore sottsass for the olivetti valentine – 1969 ( note various artists commissioned to the valentine, branding 101 ) via ninonbooks



above: designed by Egidio Bonfante for the Olivetti Valentine – 1970 via ninonbooks




Cormac McCarthy used an Olivetti Lettera 32 to write nearly all of his fiction, screenplays, and correspondence over a fifty year period from 1960 to 2009. In 2009 the typewriter was auctioned, and sold sold to an unidentified American collector for $254,500, more than 10 times its high estimate of $20,000. McCarthy paid $20 for a replacement typewriter of the same model, but in newer condition.

Here are some of my most recent posts. Check out MY ETSY. And you can buy these wonderful vintage items. For a super cheap price!





Some photos from my Birthday.
Kinsey and Brock acting unusual as normal. Obviously they were talking very intently.



Her is my wonderful BIRD cake! Deupree (the baker/artist) called Gavin to ask what type of birthday cake she should make. Gavin told her that my favorite colors this week were canary yellow ( i will explain later), and turquoise. So she created this wonderful birdy cake. Complete with eggs on top. The chocolate dipped leaves were my favorite. I think they had bits of MnM's in them.


My gifts from Kinsey (the bird jar), and Anna (beautiful flowers) Complete with home-made momma bread which Gavin prepared just for me! He made about 6 loafs and there is only slices of one remaining. Kinsey helped decorate the table with all of my collection of tin cans.


And here is the food! Gavin opened my craft table to seat all of the guests. Best food dish was prepared by Madeline and Rami. They made shrimp and grits. Everyone devoured it.
Special Thanks to Rach for snapping photos the entire time. I will post some of hers later, and Momma A (Gavin's mom) for shipping a KING cake last minute. Everone devoured that as well.

My birth...yay

I could not help but put up this picture. This is what my amazing camera and light box can do. Doesn't he look precious! You can purchase him here if you would like.


Capturing our excitement of playing in the snow in Birmingham. I guess you cant really see any of the snow but I promise it was everywhere!

Our bikes in the Tuscaloosa snow!
Its my BIRTH....YAY. (as lily would call it.)

SO far, I have had the most wonderful birthday. I am so lucky to be surrounded by so many friends and family. I have talked to so many wonderful people today. And they have all brightened my day in a very unique and special way. Most of all I am thankful for my boyfriend Gavin. He has been absolutely superb to say the least. He has always supported my art and craft addiction, and for my birthday present I received a new camera (which we share) a brand new portable crafting table, back drops for photo shoots, and oodles and oodles of support with everything I do.

You may wonder why I'm posting on my Birthday. Well, I am sitting at Barnes and Noble waiting while my friends prepare dinner, clean and get everything ready for my little gathering tonight. Im so very excited!

Gotta LOve those Turnips.

This past weekend Gavin and I took a trip to Birmingham for Valentines Day. Both of us have been sick for the past few weeks, but we were determined to get out of Tucaloosa. My mom had been begging us to come up and check out her new garden.

She found this vacant block of land, which someone has been tilling and gardening in for probably the past 30 years. The land is about 10 minutes from her home in Roebuck, Birmingham. As it turns out the man who has been planting in the garden for ages, just recently passed away. My mom took this opportunity to take ownership of the abandoned garden, putting up signs everywhere to make sure the land would not be blazed over by any surrounding neighbors.

Gavin and I both really enjoy gardening. Although we have not had much space at all to expand our interests we have a few gardening pots behin our house. Most all of them are Gavin's I admit. But it is just not the same as planting in the ground.

Growing up I can remember every summer, spring, and fall picking the different varieties of squash,lettuce,beans, and onions straight from my mothers garden. I used to think of my mother as very strange, for we were the only family on the street that had an entire flower and produce garden that consumed our from and back yard. I now know she was truly unique, and I practice several of her quirky habits today. She has just recently bought a batch of hens, so every visit to Birmingham includes a trip to the coup in the back of her yard to pick the fresh brown eggs.

Here are a few pictures from the new found garden. And here is a list of items we will be planting soon!

Yellow as it Comes

This simple little illustration was drawn with ink and markers. It's a reminder that you can never know where you're going to meet a new friend! Illustration by Kecky.

These few little images, mostly thanks to ETSY, I absolutely adore. I have been gathering inspirational images to spark some creativity in one of my classes.
Here are a few of my favorite prints I found on ETSY. They are all very inspiring.



This is an original owl screen print by Lisa Stubbs. You can find them for sale here.
She creates several simple colorful prints of animals and sewn items.


This lovely art is designed by Dekanimal here.



E is for Elephant can be found on ETSY. Strawberryluna, the artists makes plenty of different types of printed and cards.

The Robot that Exists

My semi-completed ART 332 Project.

There are no guidelines or restrictions in this class. It is great. I began working on this creation a couple of weeks ago. He is still incomplete. He has no heart, no lungs.

What an incredible piece of destruction to take on. The dis-assembly of the typewriter was one of my absolute favorite parts. There are so many intricate details and screws which barely keep the entire piece together. It took two pairs of hands and plenty of tools to take him apart. But finally, with the help of my crafty boyfriend. We suceeded. Here are a few pictures of the destruction.

First Professional Hair Cut in Years.

To be honest, I am a true believer in DIY. Naturally the crafter in me believes that do it your self hair color is exactly like do it your self painting. very wrong. For years I have attempted to die, cut, style, and primp my hair to my exact liking. It was not until recently that I died my hair black. very bad idea. It is quite near impossible now, to dye it any other color.

This is where I remembered the 1/2 price cut and color at TERALANE.
It was wonderful. Jen, my hair stylist, and new personal stylist assured me this too could be fixed.

Seventy five dollars later I was on the road to recovery!

Needless to day I loved the feeling of a new cut and color, fresh from the stylist. It is true, it really cannot be re-created at home.

Adorable Melbourne Home

I was recently visiting on of many of my favorite design sites. TheDesignFiles is a fabulous source for inspiration, creativity, and of course the famous DIY projects. I believe that Australia is always one step ahead of the states in their creative abilities. Whether it is fashion, graffiti artists, or architecturally pleasing homes, Australia has it all.

These are images from Daylesford home of Lark's Allison Jones - most shots here taken by her pal Rohan Anderson

I absolutely love the knitted cupcakes, and the hot pads displayed on the walls.

Visit her blog here. And her website here.

Enjoy