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30.4.11
sunday seller | tuuni
i won't pretend i don't have a soft spot in my heart lately for designers from helsinki. ever since mervi, from my best friend jules redesigned my blog last month, i've begun to assume everyone from finland is as lovely and as talented as she is! now, stereotypes are never good but i've just come across tuuni on etsy and i don't think i will be proven wrong just yet.
seeing as i am obsessed with envelopes, i always have this idea in the back of my mind that fabric envelopes would be great. the problem is, i can't sew and you can't send that through the mail. well, tuija lommi has found the solution to that - envelopes to hold your envelopes! brilliant! she's full of ideas about how her adorable fabric envelopes can be put to use (storage for love letters, wedding messages, mail, tickets, maps, museum guides etc). i think they would make great clutches as well!
seeing as i am obsessed with envelopes, i always have this idea in the back of my mind that fabric envelopes would be great. the problem is, i can't sew and you can't send that through the mail. well, tuija lommi has found the solution to that - envelopes to hold your envelopes! brilliant! she's full of ideas about how her adorable fabric envelopes can be put to use (storage for love letters, wedding messages, mail, tickets, maps, museum guides etc). i think they would make great clutches as well!
goodbye april | 11
april has been quite the month for me! i didn't get as much time as i wanted to focus on my etsy shop - isavirtue. that probably had something to do with the fact that i was getting married. though the nuptials didn't seem to detract from my focus on this blog. it's like a lovely little second home for me. it's nice to hop online and spend some time chatting with other bloggers and perusing various websites for inspiration. here's the inspiration i brought to the table in april:
one | i got married and shared some of my favourite pictures with you!
two | while i was away locking down the love of my life, i had some amazing bloggers do guest posts. check out what she made by lindsay from scenic glory and a feature on art by lula from lulapalooza!
three | i developed a girl crush on artists helen eady and ludovica gioscia. they fed my desire for whimsical naughtiness and exotic wallpaper.
four | i found some time to add these adorable little journals to my etsy shop!
five | i sponsored some giveaways including this one which is still open until may sixth! enter here.
one | i got married and shared some of my favourite pictures with you!
two | while i was away locking down the love of my life, i had some amazing bloggers do guest posts. check out what she made by lindsay from scenic glory and a feature on art by lula from lulapalooza!
three | i developed a girl crush on artists helen eady and ludovica gioscia. they fed my desire for whimsical naughtiness and exotic wallpaper.
four | i found some time to add these adorable little journals to my etsy shop!
five | i sponsored some giveaways including this one which is still open until may sixth! enter here.
29.4.11
feature art friday
i. love. wallpaper. see here, here, here, and here.
when i stop renting, and we buy a house or condo, i plan to wallpaper the entire place (ok, not actually, but some prime feature walls for sure!). so how was i not rolling around all giddy when i saw the work of italian artist ludovica gioscia?* this artist creates a variety of artwork but i'm in love with these amazing installations in which the wall is coated with layers upon layers of wallpaper and then peeled away in certain places to reveal the beauties underneath. it's so good i could never see another work of art and be happy for the rest of my life.** the last image, as usual, is a different style but i've included it for kicks and squiggles.
* i was! i did!
** that's a bit of a stretch/over exaggeration and would make me very sad should that be the case.
via and via
when i stop renting, and we buy a house or condo, i plan to wallpaper the entire place (ok, not actually, but some prime feature walls for sure!). so how was i not rolling around all giddy when i saw the work of italian artist ludovica gioscia?* this artist creates a variety of artwork but i'm in love with these amazing installations in which the wall is coated with layers upon layers of wallpaper and then peeled away in certain places to reveal the beauties underneath. it's so good i could never see another work of art and be happy for the rest of my life.** the last image, as usual, is a different style but i've included it for kicks and squiggles.
** that's a bit of a stretch/over exaggeration and would make me very sad should that be the case.
via and via
28.4.11
wedding photography
our wedding photography company, boston avenue (great blog, check it out) did such an incredible job at our wedding, as well as in the editing process. they were accommodating, friendly and funny! as much as i loved hanging out with j and taking mushy photos, i think my favourite part of the process was when we stopped for a cinnabon* in union station. see below for some preview pictures!
i am going to take a page out of scenic glory's book and break our wedding down into parts**. every wedenesday for the next month and a bit, i am going to write about the following parts of our wedding, and add in a sprinkling of unseen photographs. this will serve as a kind of journal for j and i, and may interest you as well - especially if you enjoy awesome photography!
wedding part one | the day before *posted!
wedding part five | the reception
* actually, our photographers paid for that and i think i still owe them! how can i repay them for that delicious little bite of heaven?
** i've also done a post on the subject over at bright wishes, just in case you didn't catch it. there's some different pictures there as well!
found
i love this site - impossible art ideas. i have a couple impossible art ideas of my own (though they are impossible more for financial reasons or their level of appropriateness for the public) but many of these ideas are quite literally impossible - and i wish there was more! it's incredible to see the creativity of peeople though! here are some of my favourites:
27.4.11
i love letterpress
i've really been pondering the ideas of creating mini journals lately. something small and simple like a mini moleskin. it's a tricky thought though because i don't plan to bind the books myself - that's not my bag*. but i don't quite feel comfortable say, buying a moleskin, embossing an image on the front and then re-selling in (i suspect there are some serious legality issues there as well). i guess it will just be about finding the right source. i'm considering scout books, but they have a fifty minimum order (does there happen to be fifty readers who would like to buy an isavirtue journal?).
for now, i will just ogle these adorable letter press pocket books by bison books on etsy! i love how the designer has chosen to place a darker blue on a blue back ground and a darker orange on an orange background. you get the picture! i've added some recipe cards by the same company for good measure because they are incredibly beautiful!
for now, i will just ogle these adorable letter press pocket books by bison books on etsy! i love how the designer has chosen to place a darker blue on a blue back ground and a darker orange on an orange background. you get the picture! i've added some recipe cards by the same company for good measure because they are incredibly beautiful!
regrets on bright wishes
i've done a guest post over at bright wishes today. brooke, the author of bright wishes is planning a wedding and it inspired me to create a list of items i would and wouldn't change about my recent wedding. there's no "next time" for me when it comes to get married so hopefully my advice will be useful to someone else!
26.4.11
decor vs. art
j and i used our wedding gift cards at home outfitters yesterday. as i redesigned our living room this evening with a new tv, carpet, ottoman and table piece, i had a good laugh to myself. let me tell you why.
although i went through a serious red decor phase a couple years ago, i'm very much into black, white and grey when it comes to decorating. even our bedspread, which j swears is green, looks grey to me so i let it slide. i find it offensive to my eyes to be sitting on a blue couch, or next to an orange pillow, or put my feet up on an oak coffee table.
although i went through a serious red decor phase a couple years ago, i'm very much into black, white and grey when it comes to decorating. even our bedspread, which j swears is green, looks grey to me so i let it slide. i find it offensive to my eyes to be sitting on a blue couch, or next to an orange pillow, or put my feet up on an oak coffee table.
but art. it's like an entirely different entity. it's as if i care so deeply for it that my eyes are willing to view it in a totally different way. i love so many different types of art, including different media and different colours. it makes almost no sense to me that my living room is black, white, grey, sleek, modern, clean and crisp...and yet my favourite painting, "miss carefree #3" is colourful, collaged, scrambled and totally out of place.
or is it perfect?*
bonnie lewis. miss carefree #3. 58x58. oil on canvas. 2000.
*as goldilocks said about the best porridge, it's juuuust right. and i love it (more than porridge obviously).
jewelry chooseday
sometimes i like to go all the way back to the beginning of my favourites on etsy. i like to see if my tastes of changes and if unique items i loved have been sold and therefore lost. on my most recent visit to the my cave era of favourites, i came across (again!) these cuffs from the shag bag. now, aside from the fact that this is pretty much the coolest shop name in the world, this artist creates some pretty incredible jewelry. she makes earrings and necklaces as well, but my favourite are these beautiful cuff bracelets below:
24.4.11
mail art monday
i was so excited to come across the "dear friend project" on pocket wonders blog a couple of weeks ago. creator jen matched those of us who signed up and a week later i had a new pen pal! her name is sherece and she lives in utah. it's kind of neat writing to a total stranger. in an odd way, i feel free to say absolutely anything! below are images of my letter and envelope that i will be mailing to sherece after the easter holiday:
23.4.11
sunday seller | orchid and reptile
it is my belief that on etsy, sales are 10% awesome products and 90% awesome presentation. lucky kirsten from orchid and reptile because she has it all! great jewelry + cool vibe + perfect name + artsy photographs = incredible sunday seller!
kirsten's jewelry is special and her styling and presentation is out of this world. i love the use of the old mannequin, the painterly drop cloths, the canvas and little bits of twine. it feels artsy and slightly futuristic. some of my favourite pieces are below!
new horizons | lis bailly
photography is a tough medium for me to understand, but certainly a subject i'm desperate to learn more about. luckily though, i have no problems appreciating it. on thursday i stopped into a great little gallery here in victoria called "luz" and came across the work of lis baily. i meant to include this post yesterday but i figured it could just keep until next friday. then i walked by the gallery again this morning and thought "nope, that's too great to wait."
it's really the type of thing you have to see in person so i'm including a link to a video in the gallery here. i'm enthralled with the way the images look from afar: like fields and sky blurring as you drive quickly past. upon closer inspection however, they appear to be sets of horizontal coloured stripes, with just hints of hills and trees along the horizon line. please watch the video after looking at these images as it just doesn't do them justice!
i love it even more after reading lis' own words (from the video): "the simple line of the horizon that celebrates the transition between earth, air, water and the fire of sunrise and sunset."
it's really the type of thing you have to see in person so i'm including a link to a video in the gallery here. i'm enthralled with the way the images look from afar: like fields and sky blurring as you drive quickly past. upon closer inspection however, they appear to be sets of horizontal coloured stripes, with just hints of hills and trees along the horizon line. please watch the video after looking at these images as it just doesn't do them justice!
i love it even more after reading lis' own words (from the video): "the simple line of the horizon that celebrates the transition between earth, air, water and the fire of sunrise and sunset."
22.4.11
feature art friday
i've been perusing online art marketplaces recently, trying to find an appropriate venue to sell serigraphs of an artist i work for. i came across artspace and was excited by the collection of what appears to be some major names from the cannon of twentieth century art history, mixed in with newer artists.
i was ticked to discover the work of nick cave. now, i'll admit i've never fully understood performance art. it's unusual and often out of my depth of comprehension. but nick cave's sound suits are works of art that create a performance of sound. the suits, "suggestive of african ceremonial costumes" are made from a variety of materials including beads, bottle caps and hair. the images below are just that, photographs, but i can imagine the movement and sounds that are occurring. and the colours - to die for.
i was ticked to discover the work of nick cave. now, i'll admit i've never fully understood performance art. it's unusual and often out of my depth of comprehension. but nick cave's sound suits are works of art that create a performance of sound. the suits, "suggestive of african ceremonial costumes" are made from a variety of materials including beads, bottle caps and hair. the images below are just that, photographs, but i can imagine the movement and sounds that are occurring. and the colours - to die for.
21.4.11
found
j and i just arrived home and i'm so happy i wish i could make love to my apartment. i'm a real nester and home-body. i love to change it up but that feeling you get when you come home after being away for awhile is just delicious! that being said, when i do travel i like to make my accommodations feel nice and homey. i don't set out framed photographs or anything but i bring my pillow, put all of my clothes away and create separate little bins for hair pins, make-up, toiletries etc. so in that sense i think something like luxe home swap would be right up my alley! except for the minor fact that i think...possibly...definitely...my home does not qualify as luxe. oh, and the whole trust thing.
but a girl can dream of these places can't she?
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