beautiful use (pt ii)

i wanted to share with you the three gifts that shashi gave me for our beautiful use swap, now that my camera is working. she sent a little ridged glass vase, a bronzed lotus flower votive, and a set of vintage ceramic salt and pepper shakers. I particularly love the mustardy colors and cork stoppers of the s&p set!

thanks again, shashi, and thanks also to kelly from hoping for happy accidents for hosting. i'd love to do something similar with silk felt soil... it was a little miracle to me that out of nowhere, i got a beautiful, gorgeously wrapped set of gifts from someone who had formerly been a perfect stranger. i guess it's the pen-pal experience of the 21st century.

spring fever: stencil project

whew!!!

i've been really industrious at home, organizing and sorting like mad-- my version of spring cleaning. happily, i'm about ready to start one of the projects that i'm really excited about: stenciling a coffee table. I've never done this before, so it should be fun! Here are the components of the project that I've decided upon so far:

* white high gloss oil paint as background, black paint for image/letters.

* stencil will be hand-made by me, and extra large, by way of a projector.

* stenciled image will probably come from an antique book of mine from childhood, but could be something like this...



though i think i'm going to try for something a wee bit more simple. this ceramic jar from speller milner is inspiring me right now so much...:




i will update you-- should be done next weekend!

some of the stencil resources i've been using:
*how to make huge stencils using a projector
*AT's good question on stenciling
*craftster's comprehensive list of stenciling resources & info

(has anyone ever done a stencil project using a handmade stencil? would love to hear about it....)

stunning & affordable: furniture by London firm, Unto This Last

I'm blown away by the design of Unto This Last, a UK company based in London, that I just discovered via The Style Files. Their computer-generated pieces come in a range of different neutrals, and can be altered to your specifications (color, size; & free standing or wall-mounted for the shelving units) because nearly every piece is made to order.

The best part is that none of it costs much more than a piece of Crate & Barrel furniture, which is unusual for such unique pieces.... and exciting especially if you live in the UK, considering that the firm currently does not ship abroad! If you're planning on taking a trip to London any time soon, I highly recommend a trip to this shop, as much of the furniture can come flat-packed and would be easy to carry back with you. Or wait until the exchange rate gets better (right now it's around $1.9, alas).

...I'm thinking that this honeycomb shelving might just be worth a trip to London, exchange rate be damned.

bringing early spring inside: forced branches

forced quince branches, indoors, abloom.... (from apkoski's flickr stream)

for a great how-to, see here.

*

yet... even before they bloom, forced branches are glorious, gorgeous displays on their own, as bare branches.









images, from top: camilla engman's polaroid snap; ktsadowski's flickr'd willow branches; Lee Friedlander's photographs are almost as good as the real thing...; and a soft, spare branch from sherrieg's flickr stream.



(BDDW via AT.)

by airmail...

how much do i covet this 1949 post office desk from kentucky... even disregarding the possibilities of storage, i kind of dig the pattern its grid of boxes make. it would be quite a statement for a large entryway!

in a smaller scale, here are some little accents of the post office. who doesn't love getting *real* mail?
- kate spade's crisp airmail calling cards, from crane (thanks courtney!)


- self-adhesive airmail stationary by pardon my hindi...


- and these beautiful 1927 stamps are on ebay currently..

I'm thinking that these, or something similar, might be a great image to "rasterbate"...? (thanks to the new blueprint blog, bluelines, for this fun (and free) idea).

(ps: sale at garnet hill....)

* a cute lamp in chocolate...for ~$50, down from ~$170.

* a crewel rug in small sizes...

* a cashmere throw in a beautiful forest color for half off.

feeling like spring... : eva maisch

i'm really feeling the subversive spring vibe in the lovely porcelain work by german artist eva maisch...


and another (early sixties-inspired pink geometric) necklace here.

tie-ing the knot

over the weekend my main man and i went to the berkshires, and unexpectedly he popped the question!

i said yEs!!...

to celebrate, yesterday i bought him a couple of bowties from J.Press (graciously modeled here for you by the implacable Nefertiti). He doesn't wear bowties yet and neither of us knows how to tie them but i have some instructions and...

i hope we'll learn together.






.

sorry for the break in posting! it's been busy... but now i'm back!

beautiful use

i just wanted to send a shoutout to my beautiful use partner, Shashi...! her presents were so lovely and delicate and wrapped with so much care. Thanks so much, Shashi!! (will be posting photos on the beautiful use flickr pool in the next couple of days....)

xx p


guinea hen, by heidi caillard, found via shashi's blog, occupied while lit.

c. f. a. voysey wallpaper and textile illustrations

am loving the early 20th c. arts & crafts designer c. f. a. voysey.

these are two preparatory illustrations for potential designs (carpet, and wallpaper) that he sketched. I wonder if current wallpaper designers sell sketches of their designs-- I think those images would be lovely pieces of artwork, in between finished wallpaper and actual illustration.


(image via de gournay).

happy friday!