I’m loving the whimsical line-up of Christmas cards by Portland-based paper design studio Quill & Fox. The brainchild of Yas Imamura, the collection uses a traditional forest-green, red and gold colour palette to portray the likes of Sir Rudolph (“Renowned Expert Sleigh Leader”), Christmas carollers and a rather scary Krampus.
The folkloric and nostalgic designs remind me of the illustrations out of a 1950s Christmas children’s book. The cards are printed on cotton paper and are available on their own for US$4 or in sets of 10 for US$19.
If you like their Christmas collection, you must check out their other stationery ranges, including these adorable terrarium postcards, greetings cards and their beautifully illustrated custom wedding invitations. So lovely.
According to Instagram, my week looked like this:
- I went to the beach – again! That makes it two weekends in a row. Must be a record for me.
- I attended my first ever Kids Business Bloggers Brunch – and found some quick and easy Christmas crafts from Spotlight. (Quick and easy being key words for me.) I’m on my way to Spotlight this afternoon!
- I also met the girls from Brown Sugar at the Bloggers Brunch, who gifted me a beautiful coral striped scarf, which went fabulously with my coral Dinosaur Designs bangle and Tom Ford lipstick in Wild Ginger.
- I’m still loving Sydney’s magnificent show of jacarandas this year. Front lawns and footpaths everywhere are awash with jacaranda confetti. And the sight of backlit jacarandas in the warm glow of the late afternoon sun is one of my favourite Sydney sights. It means summer is just around the corner.
- I went to an excellent Blog Photography Workshop to brush up on my DSLR skills. Hosted by the fabulous Little Paper Trees (check out her blog now) and led by lifestyle photographer Emma Scamell, we covered an incredible amount of skills in just one wee day. The workshop was held in the studios of one of my favourite Sydney shops, Little Paper Lane, so it was a day filled with lots of laughs, creativity and neon. It’s a very neon Christmas this year at Little Paper Lane – check out the riot of colour in their window displays!
- If you’re in Sydney and you need some Christmas present inspiration, make the trip to Little Paper Lane in Mona Vale. Or check out their superb online shop. I dare you to resist pulling out your credit card! I shopped up a storm, and stocked up on Washi tapes, ribbons, an awesome extra-large alphabetical stamp set and neon gift cards. So lovely.
- I also met a very cute duckling (it had just hatched in my friend’s home incubator!)
- I found the sweetest-smelling baby pineapples from the organic grocer in Avalon.
- I stopped by The Boatshed in Palm Beach for some ice-cream. They always have the most magnificent displays of fresh fruit and flowers.
- I took out 10 minutes to watch the Melbourne Cup, and decided to make a last-minute bet. Should have stayed at home.
- I took delivery of a very sweet box filled with Chupa-Chups, and the latest candy-inspired collection of lip gloss, nail polish and eye-shadows from L’Oreal Paris.
- I met the guys from Rust-oleum at the Bloggers Brunch and discovered a brand new world of magic paint and spray paints. I’ve got to get a can of their white matte spraypaint which gives your average jam jar a beautiful white ceramic-like finish. Genius.
Phew, what a week. Did I mention that I also launched a brand new craft tutorials website, Crafttuts+? More on that very soon!
Tell me, what did you get up to? You can follow me on Instagram here. I’d love to see your Instagram pics, too!
p.s. I made 2000 ‘likes’ on Facebook! Hooray! Thanks everyone for following me. X
It’s less than 24 hours before the London 2012 Olympic Games begin, and I can’t help but be caught up in the excitement of the count-down. I don’t think I’ve ever spent so much time on the bloody Daily Mail but I’m absolutely thrilled by their incredible images of the torch relay as it winds its way through the old streets of London town. It’s like the Jubilee celebrations all over again – and I’m loving it.
I will be blogging about the best of British design and style over the next few weeks, so I thought I’d kick things off with Lesley Barnes‘ triumphant lion illustration as the perfect celebratory image to mark the Opening Ceremony tonight – and follow it up with her rather handsome wee knight (below).
I’ve been following Lesley’s gloriously vibrant and pattern-rich illustrations for some time now, and I featured the Glasgow-based illustrator/animator’s festive Christmas wrap last year. I’m in love with her dazzling and sophisticated use of pattern and colour, and her illustrative style is a subtle nod to mid-century artists such as Edward Bawden, Alexander Girard and Charley Harper.
Lesley is incredibly prolific and has worked with the likes of Puffin Classics, Poketo and the V&A – you can see more work from her portfolio here. Most recently, she portrayed a kaleidoscope of colour in her illustrations of the Autumn Winter 2012 collections of various British fashion designers (attention all fashion magazine art directors!).
Her signature paper-cut graphic style is perhaps most beautifully realised in the animated video she made for (another British great) Belle and Sebastian. Lesley’s playful and folky characters come to life in the video for ‘I didn’t see it coming’ and imbue Sarah Martin’s sweetly-sung vocals with a sense of childlike naivety, while a darker threat – and heartbreak – nudges at the edges.
I Didn’t See It Coming (Richard X mix) from Belle & Sebastian on Vimeo.
It’s this shadow of darkness in Lesley’s work that intrigues me, and I reckon the book world is crying out for a new Grimm’s Fairy Tales filled with Lesley’s mythical and colour-saturated illustrations. ‘Twould be a design classic! And I’m hoping that someone will hand this lady an animated title sequence for a feature film – I’m thinking something along the lines of Catch Me If You Can.
You can purchase Lesley Barnes’ delightful cards, bookmarks and limited edition prints from her Etsy shop. Get her adorable bookmarks for Belle and Sebastian from their website. You can also find her work at Soma Gallery and Many Hands.
Click here for the best Union Jack souvenirs.
Click here for the 25 best London Olympic Games souvenirs.
Click here for the best non-tat Jubilee souvenirs.
Etsy shop: Able and Game.
Who: Anna Blandford (illustrator) and Gareth Meney (techy stuff) from Melbourne, Australia.
What: Offbeat and quirky hand-drawn cards, stationery and tea-towels. A welcome antidote to Hallmark humour.
Best buys: ‘I don’t have a lazy eye’ tea towel; ‘I’d go to zone 2 for you’ greeting card; and ‘You’re all sorts of lovely’ greeting card.
How much: from US$4 for a card.
Read more: Able and Game’s website and blog.
It’s a Week of Aussie Etsy on Wee Birdy, in celebration of Etsy Success Sydney on Saturday. Click here for more Australian Etsy goodness.
For this week’s birdy pick I’ve returned to one of my favourite Sydney-based online shops, Upon a Fold, which showcases an immaculate collection of paper creations from around the world. Stationery nerds will get their geek on over the exquisite range of cards, envelopes and notebooks sourced from Japan and Korea, while design aficionados will appreciate the line-up of architectural paper objects and creations.
I made a bee-line for the beautiful bird-themed cards and envelopes, which are miniature works of art in themselves and can be enjoyed for a long time after they’re opened. This colourful little fellow, top (AU$6.95), has die-cut feet so that he stand up alone, or he could be hung as a colourful mobile. And the beautifully-illustrated birds by Japanese designer Ayame Kikuchi, above, would make charming (and relatively inexpensive) decorations perched on a shelf or windowsill.
From top to bottom:
Bird card, AU$6.95
Birds card – Java sparrow (2 pack), AU$24.95;
Tori Pochi – Jiro envelope set of 3, AU$9;
Dove card, AU$9.95; and
Tobidustry tree sparrow pop-up card, AU$9.90, all from Upon a Fold.
I’m back with more wee tokens of love for February 14 – or any time of the year, really…
Top row, from left to right:
Karin Akesson ‘Love is all you need’ print, £20 from A Little Bit of Art.
Blanca Gomez ‘Enamorado’ temporary tattoo, US$5, from Tattly.
I Heart U hankie in red by Mr PS, £5 from Mr PS.
Second row, from left to right:
Prints Charming tights in Queen of Hearts, US$25 from Yes Natalie’s Etsy shop.
‘You’re all sorts of lovely’ tea towel, US$20 from Able and Game’s Etsy shop.
The Heart tenor ukulele, made to order, US$520, from Celentano Woodworks’ Etsy shop.
Third row, from left to right:
Mini Heartlette Crown, US$40, by Giant Dwarf’s Etsy shop.
Letterpress ‘love u’ die cut card, US$4, by Blackbird Letterpress.
Set of 20 ‘You’re All Sorts of Lovely’ notecards, US$22, from Able and Game’s Etsy shop.
Fourth row, from left to right:
Love brooch by Gemma Jones, US$29, from Paintergirl’s Etsy shop.
Valentine’s Day pack of 10 postcards, US$10, from Rifle Paper Co.
Limited edition ‘Love you the longest of time’ print, AU$45, from Bespoke Press.
← Older posts |
Post to Facebook 
Stumble this 
Add to del.icio.us 
Email this 
