papernstitch :: girls can tell

i have been spending some time browsing around some of the amazing shops over at papernstitch this month. i mentioned earlier that i am thrilled to have been accepted into the exhibition for september, and i thought it would be fun to share a few of my fave shops that i've come across over the past week.

girlscantell is chock full of hand silkscreened goodies for the home, simple totes + moleskin notebooks. what i love about this unique shop is that all the prints are of hand drawn vintage-look diagrams of household goods, vehicles, personal items, even anatomy! being trained in architectural drawing, i've always loved a good diagram with lots of leaders and notes. this shop definitely appeals to the draftsperson in me. i think my favourites are the felt coasters, i love how the diagram is broken up over the set of four. very clever.

images via girlscantell

you can learn more about girlscantell on the website and blog, and pick up some awesome goodies on etsy or papernstitch.

etsy imagery :: more stripes?

i had so much fun picking out the monochromatic stripes down below, i just had to share some more for today's etsy imagery. this time, let's inject a little colour into the equation. herewith, some of my new favourite jaunty + bright striped lovelies.

images via shops as listed below, top to bottom

hip pocket in repurposed rainbow plaid shirting :: jenny n design

grand prix bag :: paco and lupe

ferris - natural wool plush bunny toy :: palomino morgan

vintage striped carnival tent pincushion :: blue hair knits

stripey goodness

enjoying some stripey goodness, found during an early morning virtual window shop over on etsy.

all images via shops as listed below, top to bottom

knotty legs - black and grey stripes :: knotty baby wear

pleated pouch :: automatic sweetheart

t i g e r. little striped tray :: birribe

black and grey stripe tuxedo ruffle pillow :: hettle

::

just wanted to give a little thanks to a sweet spot where i'm mentioned this week. my cloth blocks are featured on the lovely baby blog mon petit amour. have a look!

etsy imagery :: a touch of mustard

my etsy imagery this week [ahem, a tad late, sorry!] is brought to you by the colour mustard. equal parts drab + bold, a little bit summery and a little bit fall. perfect colour for the late august sunshine, hanging lower and lower over the horizon. tonight, there is a slight chill in the air. can you feel it?

images via shops as listed below, clockwise from top left

sunny yellow chunky leather journal :: awaken journalling

dijon - the little arctic fox :: sleepy king

colts in goldenrod - teatowel :: skinny laminx

it's all up from here leather pendant :: flight path designs

yellow dress yellow drip - 8x10 print :: kirby

papernstitch!

i am delighted to announce that smidgebox designs is participating in the papernstitch exhibition this month! if you haven't visited papernstitch before, you must head over right away. each month, brittni curates a wonderful assortment of shops to showcase, and i'm just thrilled to be involved. there are some amazing finds, some of which i'll be highlighting over the next couple weeks. i can't wait to do some more exploring, there are some awesome shops i've not seen before. this month, paper n stitch is also launching a brand new, slick site design. more options for exploring + searching for products, and a lovely + modern new look. and if you're looking for another blog to read, definitely pop by the papernstitch blog, chock full of interesting tidbits + pretty things.

rocks on the beach, march 09

i've had a really busy week here, lots of sewing + projects on the go. i feel like i neglected this space over the past couple days, but i promise to be back later this week with some catching up!

paper collage

these awesome prints of paper collages at j. mullin's etsy shop have me feeling inspired. aren't they sweet? i used to collect folders + envelopes + boxes chock full of magazine clippings. words, phrases, pictures, colours. anything that caught my eye. i made several collages back in the day, then lost steam. these are making me want to find those scraps [cause of course i didn't throw them away, even through four moves] and make some fun art. i'm sure it would even occupy o for awhile, we could create together.

images via tiny art by j. mullin

moontree letterpress

i've just come across the beautiful work of moontree letterpress. striking + sharp, absolutely gorgeous. there are so many fantastic examples on the website and blog, i found myself completely absorbed in browsing for a long long time. bonus, the photography is just lovely. some of my favourite items were these sweet moleskin cahiers. love the vintage images of women in sport. you simply must head over for a look. grab a coffee, you may want to stay awhile.

images via moontree letterpress blog

local focus :: laura bucci handmade

this week's local focus is about the lovely laura bucci handmade. i first saw laura's work some time ago, and was instantly smitten by the collections of gorgeous fabrics she uses in conjunction with crisp natural linen. i love the simplicity of laura's goods, they combine smart design with impeccably sewn details. seriously, i've never seen such straight seams + perfectly pressed corners!

i have recently connected with laura via the wonderful worlds of twitter + blogs. we somehow seem to have missed chatting in person at a couple of recent vancouver events [both the handmade nation screening and the vancouver etsy meetup] but i am sure that we will meet one another in due time. she is a very sweet + genuine person, who clearly enjoys making a living doing what she loves.

images via laura bucci handmade on etsy

laura has just recently started saving $1 from each of her online transactions to donate to kiva, an organization for micro-lending to entrepreneurs in poor countries. your money is given as a loan to an entrepreneur in need, and you get to choose where it's going + see the worker you are supporting. i think this is so fantastic, we should all take a page from laura's book.

you can read about laura on her website and blog, and be sure to visit the laura bucci handmade shops at etsy and big cartel [where canadians can pay at par, yippee!]. happy shopping :)

feeling lucky!

this morning i woke up to a fabulous surprise. i won a giveaway over at inkspot workshop!! i'm so excited, i have never won a giveaway, and this one is fantastic. i get to spend $50 at stacy's gorgeous stationery shop [i've talked about inkspot workshop before, i love her work] plus a most decadent sounding body balm + spritzer from sweet petula. i hadn't visited sweet petula's shop before, but i'm so glad i have now, the offerings look just gorgeous. i'm a sucker for yummy smelling + prettily packaged bath goods. anyhow, i'm feeling very lucky today. what a great way to start a monday!

one more thing. i've finished my shop update, head on over to check it out!

etsy imagery :: pebble grey

we spent the afternoon yesterday at a local park, where the kids spent a good deal of time playing on the pebbly beach, throwing rocks in the water and playing with the smooth + rounded pebbles. for my etsy imagery this week, i thought i'd share some pebble greys. the felt pebbles have been one of my favourite items for a long long time.

all images via shops as listed below, top to bottom

felt pebbles :: kneek

pebbles tea towel - natural/cream :: elisabeth bentz

pebbles linen hand printed throw pillow :: dwell in style

medium frame pouch - pebbles on gray :: oktak

shop update on monday

just a note to let you know, i'll be updating my shop on monday with the goodies you saw here. i was a little delayed by some gloomy weather, preventing me from taking photos. all ready to go now, so head on over monday morning for some hallowe'en treats!

teddy in elephant o bucket

sneak peek

hoping to get these listed tomorrow. depends on the weather, hope it behaves for a photo shoot!

office goodies :: just a few things

i like these colourful office goodies. i'm very partial to a crisp white workspace with bold hits of colour, and these would be perfect for my 'corner'. i use that term literally, as my sewing space is a simple fold-up table in the corner of our kitchen. someday i dream of loftier quarters, but my space works for me, for now. and for now, i'd be happy to have these lovelies at my table.

images via shops as listed below, clockwise from top left.

water stripes 2pak japanese masking tape :: happy tape

address file in walnut :: lovely design

day of the week clip set :: susyjack*

rainbow pencil calendar :: present & correct

hallowe'en on the brain

i nkow, you may think it's a tad early, but hallowe'en is a big deal around here. each year, two of my best friends throw a huge party. everyone goes all out on their costumes + the decor is to die for [ahem, pun intended]. i'll share some pics of hallowe'en horrors passed, maybe a little closer to the date.

anyhow, i am pretty excited to be seeing some spooky halloween goodies on etsy already. i've been working on a little something for my shop [sneak peek to follow], but for now, how cute is this mummy pin? manny the mummy + some of his friends are available over at lizziboo's etsy shop.

go have a look for yourself!

image via lizziboo

feeling scattered

i love this image by william forsythe, found browsing around flickr.

Scattered_Crowd (22) photograph by william forsythe

etsy imagery :: storm on the horizon

as we drove home late yesterday afternoon, we passed through brilliant sunshine, sweeping down the road towards some dark + foreboding clouds in the distance. i love a good storm, so here are a few etsy picks to help conjure up a stormy monday evening.

all images via shops as listed below, top to bottom

uriel - fine art photograph print :: ara133 photography

stormy day necklace :: pole star jewelry

perfect storm bliss :: knit mommy

energy - original fine art photograph :: jared ks

for the birds

a little something cool for the birds in your world. loving the modern vibe of curves + chartreuse + glass, paired with a touch of rustic retro trailer charm.

images via shops as listed below

olive egg bird house :: j schatz

camp trailer bird house :: ralfg08

minimalist bird feeder :: a mae terrarium garden designs

charm / hanging bird feeder - key lime :: joe papendick

petal pretty

ethereal beauty. i've loved this necklace for a long while, and thought it was time to share it here. if you've never seen myra kim's lovely shop, twigs & honey, you simply must check it out. swoon.

images via myra kim

local focus :: paper-ya

we took a saturday morning trip over to granville island this past weekend, which was great. i used to get there two or three times a week, but since we moved 'across the bridge' to north van last summer, it's become a rarity. if you lived in vancouver, you'd understand that people [myself included] make a pretty big deal of driving across those bridges. it's really not so far distance-wise, but there's just something about the bridge and its unpredictable traffic that makes it feel really far. anyhow, rambling aside, it was great to be back over at my old haunt. the highlight for me was visiting one of my most favourite shops, paper-ya.

as i wandered around ogling all the goodies, i made mental notes to remember a few of the lovelies i saw. i probably could have spent hundreds, but managed to limit myself to a few supplies i needed for biz notes, as well as these, which i've had my eye on for some time.

below are a few things i've loved for some time, and part of the reason i flock to paper-ya over + over. they always have just what i want to find, plus a few extra goodies i didn't even know i needed.

items via links as listed below, clockwise from top left

rhodia notepads :: rhodia

bloom everyday card:: smock paper

listography books :: listography

crop lunch box :: shinzi katoh

abc flash cards by julie morstad :: buy olympia

laptop bag - bunny and lace :: track and field designs

etsy imagery :: it's campy

i wrote this post while sitting on my front porch, dreaming about our camping adventure. [which starts today!!] so it was only natural to veer towards all things campy for this week's etsy imagery. have a look at these fun finds. and if anybody's wondering, i'm definitely in need of a new summer journal ;)

all images via shops as listed below

volkswagon camper letterpress journal :: old school stationers

camping badge set :: kate sutton

camp bag tags :: modern classics kids

mr campy children's wooden blocks :: sun beem designs

going camping

we're heading off again tomorrow for six days of fun + outdoors. we haven't been camping yet this summer, so i'm really looking forward to it. i know we'll make some great family memories + come back feeling full on life. and how about this awesome tent? love it.

image via jp greenwood

do you remember this post? well, i wish i could say i was packing a few cute + flirty frocks for this camping trip. truth is i'll be living in bathing suits, shorts, and tees. but hey, a girl can dream, right?

i will be back next monday, and i hope to be a little more on the ball with my posting than i was last week. i found it pretty hard to get in to the swing of things, especially since i knew i was headed off again so soon. anyhow, i have managed to set up a few more posts to pop up while i'm gone, so please don't stay away too long! have a great week...