Picnics

The weather is warming up, the cherry blossoms are blooming and the sun is coming out. Sounds like picnic season is right around the corner! The picnic photographs by Hiroyo Kaneko really give spring fever. If I was surrounded by cherry blossoms I would have a hard time resisting the urge to dance and roll around in their falling petals. Yep, their beauty would make me become a crazy lady.

Prepare your perfect picnic with a French picnic set, a vintage inspired basket or a modern picnic bag!

Guerilla Love Kit

Become a sneaky cupid and spread a little love with the guerilla love kit by Cori Kindred. For your undercover love operation this kit comes complete with:

- 6 pieces of chalk for impromptu artwork or messages of encouragement.
- 10 love fortunes typed on a vintage typewriter to hide where they’ll be found by someone who needs to hear them like in a payphone change dispenser, bike basket or tip jar.
- 6 gorgeous heart stickers.
- 3 “you are loved” cards to stick in a library book, drop in someone’s bag or leave in a mailbox.
- 1 heart punch for surprise hearts in uncommon places like on a leaf during a morning walk.

All these goodies also come wrapped in a handmade pouch. So clever...isn't this kit adorable?!

Purchase this kit and more inspiring items at Cori Kindred's online shop!

Orchids

Seagrove, North Carolina is a small town known for its rich pottery traditions and many amazing, local potteries. But, on a recent trip I discovered another wonderful Seagrove site - the Seagrove Orchids. The greenhouse was filled with rows and rows of beautiful and colorful orchids. Of course, I immediately spazzed out with my camera!

My good ol' film camera did a great job of capturing the true colors of these amazing flowers. Besides a little cropping I kept the original photos...no fancy Photoshop coloring or black and white conversions. I love post-processing and coloring techniques, but my creative subconscious kept saying, "Let the subjects speak - leave it alone!" So I did...and I'm very glad.

While flipping through the photos I could literally smell fresh flowers. Crazy how photographs can play tricks on your senses. Here's to a bright week ahead and to remember to smell the flowers along the way.

Green with Envy

You really can't get enough of John Granen's photographs...which is why I had to do another post about them. I'm not a gardener or a landscaper, but I LOVE plants. Hopefully one day I will learn more about plants for future awesome house with garden. For now I only know how to take care of one type of plant (I don't even know what it's called...I just know they don't die easily) so all my plants are the same! Therefore, these gardens make me green with envy.

Since it will be raining all weekend I can at least live vicariously through these images. Do you love plants too? If so, why not get a little dirty this weekend?

But, before you get dirt under your nails...don't forget to enter the UPrinting Giveaway....I'll be drawing names tonight! Happy weekend!

Inspiring Interiors

Ahh Friday...isn't it wonderful? It's rainy and gloomy here, which makes me want to take a nap and post pretty pictures of lofty beds (along with other interior perks). I'm in complete awe of the interiors photographed by John Granen. His portfolio is filled with a wide range of inspiring interiors and noteworthy details. You are sure to find something you love and maybe even drool a little. Check out here!

A Kid's Life

Talented Nicole from A Little Sussy posted these photographs by Ulla Nyeman and I can't get them out of my head. Part surreal, part cute, part candid and all around wonderful. Nyeman's portfolio is filled with inspiring photographs of children and babies. They also remind me of the images by Julie Blackmon...maybe because they both photograph kids so well.

And how about the last photo? That sweet girl is so in the moment...wearing her princess crown, eating her cake....isn't it wonderful?

Thirsty

This morning I really enjoyed reading the Building a Home & Finding Yourself post on Design*Sponge by Marichelle of Heart Handmade. I believe her honest post will resonate with many struggling to find their style and create a home. Plus, her list of favorite items are great to explore like these glasses from YAVAglass. The glasses are made from recycled soda bottles and polished to provide a smooth finished rim. Aren't they fun?! They also make me thirsty...

Bangle Up

Don't you love these adorable bangles by Lenora Dame?! Created from vintage prints and fabrics these bangles are perfect accessories for your spring wardrobe. The first one is my favorite and the pattern is very similar to how I would like my future blog header to look...the red plaid gets me every time.

Check out more amazing designs and collections on her website.

Vintage Dresses

I love these flirty, vintage dresses available on Apocalypse Vintage, a high-class/trash fashion institution based in Portland, OR. These dresses have a classic appeal while still making a colorful statement. Find these and many more vintage apparel pieces on Apocalypse Vintage's Etsy shop, eBay store and website. They also have a ton of men's fashions!

Inspiring Interiors

Seems like my interior tastes change every week between glossy, modern spaces to natural, rustic interiors. There are just too many inspiring interiors out there! Luckily, photographer Erik Johnson provides a mix of both styles in the top two photos, and ideas on filling your home with pretty, earthy details.

Maybe soon I can reign in my styles and even tell you about floor plans because I'm taking an interior design class! It's nothing big...just a night class at the local community college. But, I think it will be fun to explore my interior design side. The class starts tonight...ehh I'm excited!

{photos by Erik Johnson}

Vanilla Bug

Amy over at tummy-ache sent me a lovely e-mail with a link to her newly released jewelry line on vanilla bug. Each piece is made of clay and cut and indented entirely by hand. The hot air balloon brooch is adorable and the doily brooch would be a great detail for a blouse.

Amy also has another project going at the moment called Bakers Dozen, a small online shop featuring work by 13 wonderful artists from around the world. Each artist was asked to create an object in a limited edition of 13 (hence bakers dozen..) to sell exclusively through the shop. The project is ongoing, so Amy is always looking for participants for future rounds. Contact Amy on the Bakers Dozen website.

Vintage Find

This weekend was full of vintage office supply finds like this metal rubber stamp holder. Besides storing stamps I think this piece could serve many purposes like holding jewelry, small tubes of notions or spices, candles and even photographs. For 2 bucks, you can't beat the distressed and industrial appeal!

What did you find this weekend?

UPrinting Giveaway!

As a thank you for your amazing and creative ideas for the postcard project, UPrinting and Please Sir are teaming up to bring you a great giveaway. UPrinting is a popular online printing company which enables you to get almost any design printed in any format. Now they want you to try out their goods!

The prize is 500 free standard size business cards for one reader and 500 free standard size postcards for another reader! You can choose from any of their stocks for these items.

Enter by leaving a comment at the end of this post describing what you would use the free business cards and/or postcards for. Please be sure to provide a means for me to contact you (e-mail, blog site).

The deadline for this contest is Friday, March 27th at midnight (US Eastern time). I will contact the winners via e-mail. Good luck and have a wonderful weekend!

*Note: Winners in the United States and Canada qualify for free shipping. Shipping fees will apply to winners outside these areas.