pretty in pink bracelet...

I love to get things from Etsy. Everyone always packages things so well. It always feels like a present arriving. Granted it is to me from me but getting a package like this makes it even more special when...

you open it and this is what you get! I mentioned Blue Moss before. I love their jewelry and it inspired me to make jewelry again, but well, I haven't. So I treated myself to this. Check them out... in fact I see that there is another one almost like this one...

blog crush... fantasy floral designs

Oh my how I love these. You much check out this fabulous blog Fantasy Floral Designs. For the right bride this would be a show stopper. Check out the all white/pearl/rhinestone ones too. Spectacular.

And this inspired me to buy a gold leaf broach for $1 at a tag sale in hopes of someday amassing enough of these to do something. My guess is that won't ever happen. I'll just check back in at Amanda's site from time to time for some stunning eye candy.

i heart this blog...

I am enjoying this relatively new blog... 3 creative girlfriends Carrie, Megan and Morgan from Kansas City have a passion for design and a love of color and they blog about it.

I am particularly charmed by their use of type and color two things that I obsess about. Check them out.

I SO heart this blog...

I am completely enamored with this blog and etsy store called Missed Connections. I love the lettering and illustrations and the whole idea of it.

Messages in bottles, smoke signals, letters written in the sand; the modern equivalents are the funny, sad, beautiful, hopeful, hopeless, poetic posts on Missed Connections websites. Every day hundreds of strangers reach out to other strangers on the strength of a glance, a smile or a blue hat. Their messages have the lifespan of a butterfly. I'm trying to pin a few of them down.

Sophie Blackall lives in Brooklyn, New York. She reads the personals on Craigslist and then illustrates them.

I HEART this blog...

am enamored with this New York Times blog And the Pursuit of Happiness by Maira Kalman. It is a illustrated column about American democracy. I pretty much like everything about it... the illustrations... the type... the content... the black background... everything. Enjoy.

What blogs are you enjoying these days? Share your favorite plz.

I HEART this blog...

ust started following San Francisco artist Lisa Congdon's blog. She is featuring a collection a day for 2010. I love everything about this blog... her collections... how she presents them... the look of her site... I am charmed by this blog because I like lots of the same items and would like to collect these things. But at this point in my life I am trying not to have more but have less. (We spent 7 hours in the basement Saturday getting rid of probably 12 boxes of stuff.) Be sure and take a look at her house and studio. Equally fascinating. Enjoy.

(Thanks Kitty for sharing this.)

Why I Blog...

or someone who has over 500 posts under her belt I am still trying to figure out why I blog. And I know you know that I started when we went to Paris so my Dad and John's Aunt could follow along... when I got home and I was convinced by girlfriends to continue. This is not my process. And I am all about the process probably in part because I think things to death. And always before I start something. My process is to think about something until I can see it in my head and then do it. So I have felt my blog lacked branding. A big bad thing for me as a designer. I always start with the branding and the demographic.

But I finally figured out that my blog makes me better creatively. It makes me more interesting. 5 times a week I have to think of something to tell you. It has caused me to live in the moment. My blog is creative homework. It helps quiet the clutter in my head. I know my photography skills have improved and it gives me a place to put my photos. For right now I guess that is good enough. That said now I can sleep better at night, in fact maybe I should go take a nap now.

And thanks for all of you who read me. It's nice to know you are out there.

If there are posts you especially like or something you'd like to see more of plz drop me a line.

Top 50 blogs...

ou don't want to miss this great list by the London Times... it's their pick of the 50 of the world's best design blogs. Make a cup of tea or a Tom and Jerry, get a blanket and settle in for some good surfing.

When I spend time looking at some of my fav design blogs I find I feel as satisfied as if I had a good day of shopping.

Happy New Year!