spotlight on::simple song

Suann Song, author of the blog Simple Song, definitely falls under the category of People I wish I knew, but don't:) I love the fact that she is self taught and makes the simple...simply lovely. Her website is filled with delightful examples of her work and her etsy shop is equally adorable. This is a gal making some seriously pretty stuff...I'm a little sorry I missed out on her letterpress subscription which...if you like letterpress, would have been a pretty cool little investment. Hopefully she does it again. In the meantime I'm off to spend my hard earned pennies on these:

not quite gaga for goop

I have never been a fan of all things Gwynnie. Not because I know her and dislike her, but rather I find her a bit too perfect. Too tall, Too well dressed, Too privileged, Too Famous. What is it in us that makes us despise the qualities in others that we would wish for in ourselves? I am old, well older, and a bit too smart to continue my dislike of Gwyneth for no good reason...so, I have decided to give her a chance and I am starting by checking out her new site GOOP. I know funny name...but I fancy saying it. Feels nice on the lips. It's got a nice pop.

Check it out, perhaps you'll like it, perhaps not, but for me...life is all about giving things a chance. So although I'm not quite over the moon yet...I'm willing to see how things go...I'm certain Gwynnie would be pleased ;)

good things • scrappies

Since the noon hour is almost upon me and I have sorely neglected my tiny piece of web property for far too long, I figured there was no time like the present to seize time by the fetlock and post. I've been working like a demon in a whole hearted attempt to make up for my time spent in Arizona. Although I anticipated working more out there, my internet connection prevented all good intentions. So now I'm back and plugging away.

Despite my own conspicuous lack of posts I have made time to read others. I am happy to announce, in case you weren't already aware that "some girls wander" has returned. I am a fan of Ms. Emily and love her simply stylish and perfectly vintage fashion forays. Speaking of fashion, I am still addicted to the Sartorialist and Design Sponge.

I have decided to make a few changes here at the studio to herald in the coming season. Even though fall in Los Angeles means little more than a slight drop in temperature, I always manage to find autumn in my heart. Trite but true. That being said, my weekly color combo will be going on hiatus in favor of craftier fare. Plus...I was skipping too many weeks and using the same colors over and over again. If you find yourself jonesing for some color...pay a visit to one of my current obsessions...color lovers won't be disappointed.

So, what does craftier fare really mean? The making of stuff. Fun Stuff. Paper based stuff. I think my first project will be creating a travel journal for my trip to Argentina which happens to be 22 days away. I want something large enough to accommodate 4x6 photos , but small enough to tote. We'll see what I come up with. I will also be teaching some workshops locally in the upcoming months...I'll tell you more later as the time approaches.

Now for today's goodness:





You don't have to be into scrapbooking to appreciate this graphic designer's approach to it. I adore this book, partly because I love the smaller scale of the minibook and partly because I love focusing on just the telling of stories and a select group of photos. I plan on referring to this a lot as I create my own travel journal.












so I officially caved in and subscribed to a scrapbooking kit club. I know, weird, especially since I hardly scrapbook. But I am on a wild minibook making streak, therefore, I thought this made good fiscal sense. I love new product but find myself hopelessly out of touch. I don't know what's out there and for me...the kit club was a great way to get a coordinated sampling without breaking the bank. I just got my first one and I couldn't be happier. BTW this is is by
Studio Calico...there are plenty of others but they are my favorite.




This little hand held die cutting machine was a long time coming for me. Keith got me the Cuttlebug last year and while I use it all the time for embossing and cutting random shapes, I didn't like the alphabets available for it. I came across the Quikutz Squeeze a couple of months ago although I think it's been out for quite some time and I loved the simple alphas it came with. I also really liked the fact that the alphas were available in different sizes. So now I own one and have already used it a lot. I got mine on ebay for 20 bucks. Not bad huh? The shapes and alphabet sets can be pricey but I got this one and this one on ebay for under thirty dollars so I'm pretty happy about that.





So there you have it. Just a bit of crafty goodness from me to you. Happy Monday

all systems go

This has been a rough week. Lots of catching up, lots of work to do and the most important...finishing touches on the Bananafish website. Yup, that's right. It's done, we officially have lift off.

This site has been a long time coming. When I first opened the studio for business I knew I needed some sort of web presence, but I just didn't have the time to invest. I spent the next couple of years studying sites I loved and slowly constructing my own from the ground up. I thought about hiring someone, but I was determined to handle the design myself. It was a control thing.

I wasn't prepared for how much my style would grow and change. What I have now is so different from what I created a year ago. I ruthlessly discarded all unnecessary components in favor of pure simplicity. I repeated the mantra..."it is not complete. until there is nothing left for me to remove." I wanted it to be lovely and functional. The feedback so far has been favorable. I am pleased. I know it will continue to evolve. I still have plenty of work to upload. But for now....right now....I'm feeling good.

have a super weekend. i will be working.
to all my buddies on the Gulf Coast...I'm sending up a prayer for you guys.

xo

welcome to the revolution

Although I haven't been hiding in the caves of Afghanistan or moonlighting as a Sherpa on Everest somehow I managed to completely miss out on that technological breakthrough known as IMing. That's instant messaging to all you folks who were like me...yesterday. Today is a new day and I am a novice no longer. Thanks to Keith who hooked me up last night I have entered the new millennium. I know, I know to the facebook crowd this whole post must seem positively provincial but it's true. I'm old yo and these days I feel like my mom probably felt years ago when she was afraid of using her ATM card. It gets harder to keep up no matter how badly you want to. It's odd that while my job requires a significant amount of tech savvy, I have yet to truly broaden my horizons. I haven't given into the iphone and sorry facebook but I'm still holding out. As for twitter...man I tried, but a girl can only come up with so many random but somewhat applicable haiku. I'm sure Mark Zuckerberg doesn't miss me. So in conclusion, the moral of this story is...

•always be willing to learn new things unless they involve ninja stars or wizards•

On another note but equally important...if you are in the neighborhood, stop by the Junction. My cousin has a booth there so if you can show her some love that would be swell. Mention my name and you will get...absolutely nothing. She's lovely though and will be more than happy to sell you something marvelous.

Ciao