Paintings by Clare Elsaesser

As soon as I get a place that I'd actually like to settle down in for awhile, I will definitely be purchasing a 16x20 print from Clare Elsaesser. This artist has been featured on Etsy in 2010 and again for a home tour in 2012. She and her artist husband work from a home studio in their California beach house. What I especially love about her work is how calm and serene the scenes are. By making her subjects faceless, they become easy for anyone to relate to, especially my introvert self.
Her color palettes are soft and dreamy with pale blues, mossy greens and soft peachy tones. These are a few of my favorites from her etsy shop.

1 Desert

2 Happiness

3 Summer Girl

4 Swirl

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I also love that she regularly posts to instagram and you can really follow her artistic process. You can follow her here. Here's a snippet of her work: 

Art

I love this 8x10 print

 Floral Anatomy: Heart by tinyartshop on etsy.

Cute Retro Etsy Finds

Retro Tv Stand by bRainbowshop

Where's Alice by corelladesign

Retro Vegas "Flamingo Hotel" Neon Sign Polaroid Square Print by retrosquareprints

Hometown Hearts Art

I am currently in love with these little prints which come either 5x5 or 8x8.  You never know when inspiration might hit you - the photographer had a stroke of inspiration while standing in the check-out line of Walmart with a box of candy hearts in hand when she spotted an atlas. The idea came to her and this series called 'Hometown Hearts' was born.

These are just a few of many combinations capow has in her Etsy shop. All 5x5s are $15 and 8x8s are $30. She also is taking custom orders if your city isn't listed!

I wish she had a boxed card set... I think they'd make great stationery! Perhaps I am biased to greeting cards though.

Spring lovelies / Etsy finds

I cannot even begin to explain to you how ecstatic I am that spring is here. It was 61 degrees today in beautiful Portland, Oregon and the sun even peaked its' head out of the clouds for a few minutes. Unfortunately, it isn't quite time to bust out the summer dresses that longingly beckon to me from the back of my closet. But it's almost here, maybe April. I did, however, forage through my winter purchases and imagine all of the lovely outfits I will be able to compile by mixing the new items with last spring/summer season's clothes when the time is right...

I'm also pretty sure that I'm going to start getting into making earrings. I was going through my jewelry collection and found a bracelet I bought at Anthropologie a few seasons ago of which I love the beads but not how heavy or noisy it is when I move. My plan is to deconstruct it and make some earrings. I stumbled on a shop on etsy by a woman who used to make jewelry for bloomingdales and the smithsonian... she has a really cool collection of vintage beads for sale from her years of jewelry making. I'll be sure to post up pictures of the progress when I start!

Until then, feast your eyes on some spring ideas from etsy in anticipation of the sun and warm weather!

8x10 Antler drawing and flower photograph 4217 by kariherer

$30

Chamomile Tea - Fabric/Labradorite/Sterling-Earrings by kangas

$24

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Handmade flowers halo-headband by mignonnehandmade

 

$75

The gum drop necklace. bold. bright. clusture. statement. by NewFashionedWhispers

$68

Flowers Linen Pillow Cover - 12x20 by sukanart

$55.95

Jackalope the Fearsome Critter Men's T-shirt

I saw this and loved it. I love the color combination with the gold shirt and the brown ink. It has a nice vintage feel. Plus it's such a good deal! $16 + $4 shipping. Check it out on happyfamily.

Portland Throw Pillow

I stumbled upon this vintage Portland map pillowcase on etsy. The seller apparently has the designs printed on the fabric which makes them pretty unique. But of all places, the seller is in Australia?! They are a bit on the pricey side at $57.25 plus $7 shipping but I do love vintage maps...and that's my part of Portland! There are also really cool designs of Antarctica, London, Chicago among other various places. This one is my favorite though! You can check out all of My Bearded Pigeon's designs here.

If I had a little girl...

If I was ever to decorate a bedroom for a little girl, I would love to hang these pretty little French-inspired prints on the wall. So cute! By evajuliet on etsy; $45 for 5 prints

Love this tee.

Another etsy find. I love screen printed shirts that actually look like the designer actually had some kind of artistic epiphany. I love that it's a simplified cartographic map. It looks fantastic. It's a relaxed style but with thought and character.

Cartographic T-Shirt - $20

I like this seller's shop because the shirts are American Apparel t-shirts which are great quality with exceptional comfort. For $20 they are ridiculously affordable and competitive with mainstream stores.

Check out nonfiction tee's on etsy. And there's a sale right now. Can't beat that.

It's only January 2nd but....

love is in the air! Perhaps I am just biased because Valentine's day is my favorite holiday irregardless of whether I'm spending it with any special someone or not. I am, shamelessly a girly girl and love all the pink and hearts....as long as it isn't TOO cheesey. I've uploaded some new valentine's in my etsy shop!

Some of my favorites:

Also,  I curated a list of beautiful Valentine's day inspired items in an etsy treasury. Check it out if you feel so inclined... :)

http://www.etsy.com/treasury/4d204140b4f16d9197b4974e/lovelet-me-count-the-ways

You can never have enough pillows...

I am guilty of being that girl that has a huge pile of pillows on the bed. Luckily, I have a queen size bed and I sleep alone (excluding Mariska, who usually takes up my foot space anyway) so it's pretty easy to share half my bed with pillows. Seriously, when I see an amazing throw pillow cover (currently sporting West Elm, and Urban Outfitters throw pillow covers) I usually have to give in when they match my decor and style.


I am currently coveting some gorgeous handmade pillow cases from the Home Centric based out of India.

The designer is a fashion and textile designer schooled at the leading fashion institute in India. I was already in love with handmade textiles from India...somehow they have mastered the art of heavily saturated colors, sequins, tiny mirrors and shiny thread. I think I'm going to need a window bench and possibly three or four sofas for my pillow collection to spill onto once I obtain all of my heart's desires... Haha. If only.

September First Thursday

If you're looking for a vintage sounding musical duo (not to mention adorable couple), be sure to check out Boy and Bean. I can't wait to see more of them, personally. My sister and I stumbled upon them playing outside on NW 13th Ave.... Hopefully soon they'll post up some music on their website. Lara and I plan on keeping them in mind for a future wedding at some point, and stalking as many free shows as we can in the meantime. Somehow depression era love songs just make me super happy.

While meandering through the outdoor booths set up for First Thursday, I found a cool local crafter who makes amazing necklaces... be sure to check out Seaworthy's etsy shop. I love that crocheted things are back in style... I know some people really find it to be rather granny but when I see jewelery like this, I find it too delicate and pretty to resist.

Another vendor set up in the Pearl was Brenda Dunn. I had been to one of her art gallery openings a couple years ago and was pleasantly surprised to see her work again. I love the bright colors in vintage pinup art so I love her bright colors and pretty illustrations. Visit Pinup Brenda on etsy.