{FAB FREEBIE!} VINTAGE INSPIRED HOLIDAY TAGS!

i don't know about you, but last minute holiday helpers are always welcome. when it comes to gift giving with style, it's always nice to have some goodies on hand. pretty ribbon, punchy paper and adorable tags can really up the ante on that gift for your special someone.

speaking of adorable tags...'tis the season to give. just download these sweet little vintage-inspired numbers and get busy:

Miss Pickles Press Festive Holiday Tags

happy holidays, y'all! see you in 2011!

MY LOVE AFFAIR WITH VINTAGE PACKAGING.

dear friends, yes, it's true. i've been on a posting hiatus lately (what? you weren't on the edge of your seat?) because i truly only believe in posting when i feel compelled to share something absolutely great. well...that and handsome hubs and i packed up our house in august and LORD KNOWS how much moving s-t-i-n-k-s in every imaginable way. to high heavens! (oh hello, bic pen sans top, random paper clip and chewing gum wrapper under the sofa. pleased to see you again dusty nickel and three pennies under the dresser. ugh. i digress.)

it's my sincere hope that you'll be just as charmed as i am by what i'm sharing today. i was recently at a massive flea market in hillsville, virginia (oh, the people watching, but that's another post) and i had the good fortune to come across a tent filled to the brim with turn-of-the-century tobacco packaging. as a designer, i live for this sort of stuff. just look at the illustrative detail and the beautiful typography. i could go on for days about the type. and the colors! good gracious. some people might just see old junky tin boxes, but i see serious beauty and love little treasures that are reflective of a time when even a cheap box of tobacco was beautifully designed and substantially packaged.

they just don't make 'em like they used to, do they?

SWEET DREAMS ARE MADE OF THIS...

....who am i to dis-agreeeeee?

{ahh, classic song, yes?}

i am a sucker for a beautiful bed. plush, too many pillows, down comforter, the works. but i can't stand a fussy bed that's too frilly. no crazy comforters or duvets for me. in fact, for the last 10 years or so i have pretty much insisted on a classic white down comforter with a simple white duvet cover. anything with a pattern just looks so busy to my eyes, especially when i get my pattern and color fix with (way too many) throw pillows or an extra blanket at the foot of the bed. i also love having the flexibility of changing out pillows for a completely different look. and dangit, a white duvet always looks fresh.

but.

good people, i stumbled upon this duvet from dwell studios and i literally gasped. it's gorgeous, no? enough white to keep me happy and that orangey-red-leafy-slightly-exotic-indian-inspired textile print. gaahhhhh. i really do love it. but would i tire of it? i dunno. but it's definitely tempting me out of my strictly all-white duvet policy. i mean, look at it.

as if that little dwell beauty wasn't enough, i was browsing on west elm looking for something else and found these heavenly duvets. i think the mighty buddha of bedding is trying to tell me something. gorgeous patterned duvets everywhere! on occasion, west elm can run a little too modern/geometric for my tastes, but i think these are really lovely well-designed options. despite my adoration for the dwell duvet above, i also like the idea of a neutral gray patterned duvet, and bringing in pops of color with pillows. that little orange octagon number is pretty snazzy, too. but ultimately i think that's too much small pattern for me.

what do you think? do you prefer a patterned bed cover or do you keep it clean and roll with classic white?

SUMMERTIME, AND THE LIVIN'S EASY...

hold on to yer hankies! can you all believe that fall clothes are already showing up in stores? i know, i know, i shouldn't really be all that surprised, after all, that's how fashion merchandising works. kind of like when the christmas lights hit the shelves before you've even passed out the halloween candy. but it's so hellishly hot down south these days that the thought of slipping into anything wooly sends me straight to a swimming pool. lawd have mercy.

while i can get on board with some cute summer clothes, for the most part, when the temps rise, i am most comfy in havaianas flops (the best), a layered tank and a cute skirt. and a killer handbag of course (its all about accessories for me). but more than clothes, ('cause truth be told i am a fall clothes gal) the things i love most about summer are the things that are effortless and easy. soon enough, we'll all be hunkered down with the colder weather and the picnics will have to wait until spring. hope you enjoy a small sampling of some of my favorite summer treats!


1. adorable huffy deluxe beach cruiser, walmart.com
2. sonic cherry limeade (is there anything better on a hot day?)
3. oilcloth flags, available from modern june. love her stuff!
4. lightweight ombre scarf, perfect for easy summer nights
5. caprese salad. i could eat this every day. really.

UMM. I'M STILL HERE. NO REALLY.

{hanging head in shame}

that's right folks. the last post was from february. FEBRUARY! how is it even possible that so much time has passed? did i slip into a wormhole somewhere in the dark depths of the universe and end up on the other side in may? what can i say. high wedding season. it's been nuts, and there are so many hours in the day.

many fun lil' features on the way, but for now, just a little designer yumminess to share. while it's no secret that paper is a teensy addiction for me, i kinda sorta have a thing (you know, a thing) for journals. notebooks. folders. anything organizey and designy. i had been eyeing a cute little number from elum i saw at sam flax the last few times i've been in the store. (i have this theory that if you continue to think about an object of affection long after you've left the store, it should be yours. right?) it's just a small little luxury – not something i particularly needed per se – but i love the cloth exterior, the funky pattern, and the little colored elastic band that wraps around to save your place and ohhhh that little pocket in the back to hold small treasures. and the paper inside is actually really nice, thick paper. (life's too short for cheap paper.) there are a good number of other designs (mine is the bold floral pictured below), so there's sure to be one that catches your eye.

LONDON CALLING.

no, really! we were delighted to receive a call a few months ago from an across-the-pond bride interested in custom invitations for a may 2010 wedding. not the conventional types, lauren and gareth wanted paper goods with serious punch and cheeky style. part rock-n-roll, part show poster, part vintage flair and all around awesomeness.

we printed the invitation suite on heavy chipboard stock (one of my absolute favorite papers) with a palette of rich pink, deep aqua blue and metallic silver for just a bit of rock star flash. also included was a secondary card with accommodations and other helpful wedding weekend information. both cards were bound together with soft bright aqua yarn, complete with a "wish list" registry tag (something we don't customarily do in the states for traditional etiquette reasons...but hey, when in rome...).

we were so thrilled with the results and thought you might enjoy seeing them, too. big thanks to the happy couple for letting us flex our creative muscles!

have a great weekend, everyone!

DESIGNER SHOUT OUT: JESSICA HISCHE

hello friends. so, you know when you come across something that you just absolutely love and immediately want to spread the word? that spirit is what has prompted today's post. i also love spreading the designer goodness by featuring some seriously talented folks from time to time.

although i'm not sure how i didn't know about this crazy talented lady before now, i have to say i was completely bloooown away when i saw the fabulous jessica hische's work. it goes without saying that i'm a pretty hardcore type freak (most designers are) but jessica's hand done type is some of the most beautiful i have seen in i-don't-know-when. shoot. i especially love her sense of whimsy and elegant, perfectly weighted swirls that run through so many of her creations. alas, she's no one-trick-pony; her style ranges from soft n'sweet to deco/modern clean, but it's all just gorgeous. peruse below, won't you?

 

 

 

 

although most of her type has been created for special projects and ad campaigns (hello, tiffany & co.), sweet jehovah!, she does sell a few typefaces online, like the fabulously retro "buttermilk" available via veer. she's also in midst of a really nifty daily project called "daily drop cap", where she's designing a different illustrative letter of the alphabet every day. every letter has a completely different look and feel, and i believe she plans to do three alphabets in total. the coolest part is you are allowed to use these beauties as you wish in your own creative whatnots, provided it's not for commercial use. (but you wouldn't do that anyway, now would you?)

from the looks of things, the talented ms. hirsche also does illustration and other design work, which are all perfectly lovely, but it's the type that takes my breath away. hope you enjoy browsing through it as much as i do!

{all images courtesy of jessica hische, via www.jessicahische.com}