redstar ink

i've always really like the rustic simplicity of kraft paper or card, so it's not surprising that i'm drawn to these simple + smart notebooks by redstar ink. i think the twenty twelve planner might have to come home with me, it's clever layout and clean design appeal to the organizer in me.

images via redstar ink on etsy

make sure to check out all the great chevrons and other graphic patterns on cards, notebooks and gift tags. i love the modern + bold design.

pencil it in

cute engraved pencils have been popping up all over the place. i was picking some out for my little guy for his birthday, and while browsing around i came across some pretty sweet options. would it be a bit obsessive to get a set of eames pencils to use while i sit in my eames chairs? ya, i thought so too.



images via shops as listed below, top to bottom.

gold engraved wood 'me & you' pencils :: knot & bow

i heart pencils :: one fine dae

know it all pencil set :: paper pastries

mid century designers no.2 pencil set :: one up designs

i like to draw pencil pack :: the small object

:: ps - sorry, i just couldn't resist that post title. i'm a nerd, what can i say? ::

school boy's desk

one of my son's friends has an old school desk in his room. i can't stop thinking about it, and would just love to have one for my son's room, it would be awesome. i remember having one in our classes back in elementary school. i wasn't the tidiest or most organized kid, and used to cram as much stuff as i possibly could into that little space. it makes me wonder what treasures o would keep in his desk.

home school is cool. vintage turquoise aqua elementary school storage desk and chair :: rhapsody attic

it would be pretty fun to get a few vintage-y goodies to round out the look, as well as some supplies to stock his desk. one of the things i'm most looking forward to when o starts kindergarten in the fall is buying school supplies. who wouldn't want to learn cursive writing with little blue 'oh happy day!' pencils? i. cannot. wait.

images via shops as listed below, top to bottom.

educational map - double-sided chalkboard map :: three potato four

disenchanted drawing book :: present & correct

royal quiet de luxe typewriter with case :: hammermann [thanks for the tip, molly!]

oh happy day pencil [6 pack] :: earmark

lookie here...

yesterday i took a rare day away from this space [unintentionally, just super busy around here!] but then found myself a few little pockets of time that i filled with reading more blogs than i have in a while. and there was just so much goodness out there, i thought i'd share a few links today to some of the things that caught my attention. enjoy!

popbar, a gorgeous popsicle spot in nyc, blogged at simplesong

papier mache, an online mag that is rather stunningly beautiful, blogged at bloesem kids {psst...papier mache has a blog, too}

this amazing tutorial for making your own fabric tape, blogged at creature comforts via maya*made

all of the fabulous nss wrap-up posts around blog land, in particular these pictorial round ups { day 1 :: day 2 :: day 3 :: day 4 } by eva of sycamore street press, blogged at poppytalk. i was especially taken by these lovely shops, from top, hammerpress, kamal, and pearl & marmalade.

cataloguing 10 :: festive paper garland

such a lovely, simple + festive christmas paper garland, perfect for the holidays. if you're like me and don't have the time to make your own this year, stop by wren handmade and pick one up, i think you'll be glad you did.

image via wren handmade

cataloguing 04 :: micro calendars

loving the tiny format calendars popping up for 2010. here are some of my faves.

images via shops as listed below, top to bottom

2010 teeny tiny calendar w/ easel :: kitty rogers

2010 flower stem mini calendar :: the stationery boutique

2010 calendar - mini english series [printable] :: ali design

mini - 2010 calendar - chairs :: story by mia

modernemotive :: gorgeous paper goods

one of my most favourite things on the planet is paper. and i mean, i'm obsessed. i love the feel, the texture, the myriad of styles + colours + designs. i'm totally enamoured with office goodies, note pads, calendars, jotters, journals, books. you name it. but most of all i love stationery. there's nothing quite like well-designed, beautifully executed, and lovingly printed stationery. i love to collect cards and notes, and i must say, i often have a hard time parting with them. over the next while, i'm going to highlight paper goodies from some of my favourite shops, just a few times a week, to help me catalogue my obsession ;) i hope you'll join me!

on that note, i'd like to introduce you to modernemotive. designer + owner adele miller brings a sophisticated yet playful touch to her line of contemporary paper goods. i have been lucky enough to get to know adele over the past several months over on twitter. she was one of my first 'friends' in that crazy place, and i am so glad to have stumbled upon such a sweet, funny, caring, and talented gal.

it's easy to see that adele has a long history in graphic design. her patterns and layouts are some of the best i've seen in a long time. i love the use of subtle greys paired with punches of colours like tangerine, aqua, carnelian, and chartreuse.

part of modernemotive holidays 09 collection

what really draws me in to adele's work are the patterns. i think the wonder of a pattern is that it looks effortless, flawless, a perfect repeat. the fact is, repeats are one of the trickier graphic aspects to pull off properly, and adele achieves this with perfection.

a collection of thank you cards

another of my favourite design elements at modernemotive is adele's 'scribble' graphic. i love the look of the perfect hatching pattern within the letters or image. it reminds me of my endless doodling in highschool, just like this card. love it!

apple of my eye valentine greeting card

while it's exceedingly hard to choose, i think my favourite modernemotive card is the last one pictured above, the apple of my eye. that has long been one of my fave songs, and i just think it's a fantastic way to let someone know you care.

please check out the modernemotive etsy shop. it's a one-stop stationery shop chock full of notes, announcements, greetings, holiday cards, calling cards. i promise you'll love it. and if you're looking for a nice read, stop on by adele's blog and say hello, tell her i sent you :)

spooky papercuts

i'm loving papercuts these days. there are so many examples of fantastic papercut artistry out there, but today i thought i'd share some that convey a bit of an eerie vibe for the season. not sure why i find the butterfly spooky, but it may have something to do with this movie. moth, butterfly...you know. someday i'll get around to trying my hand at this intricate + delicate artform, but for now, i will ogle others' talents, and maybe buy a few.

images via shops as listed below, top to bottom.

bird mask papercut print :: elsita

original papercut illustration :: mr yen

swallowtail butterfly, original papercutting :: vegaslammy

papercuts - crows on tree :: mr macau

the prettiest tape

look what the mailman brought me yesterday. it makes me happy, i can't wait to use it for some pretty packaging! speaking of pretty packaging, check out the adorable gingham glassine bags that were sent along as a bonus. cute, no? i don't know if i'll have the heart to use them, i just want to keep them for myself!

pretty japanese washi tape, from lovepetitzakkajapan on etsy

eco letterpress + affordable invites

just a little interlude from our local fashion week here. had to share an awesome deal on wedding invites for all you brides-to-be out there! more fashion to come tomorrow :)

a couple weeks ago, i received a lovely email from the folks at ajalon invitations, introducing me to their letterpress wedding invitation special.

i am a huge fan of letterpress, and i know full well how expensive a set of invites can run for your wedding. there are alot of stock design offerings from ajalon, and at 398 dollars for one hundred invitations + rsvp cards, this is a much more affordable way of getting your letterpress wedding invites. the special runs till september 30, perfect timing for your winter or spring wedding. i know that not everyone is a designer, and for those people not looking for custom and not going diy with their design, this is an excellent option. one especially great feature of ajalon's invitations is that they're printed on 100% cotton paper [tree-free!] and use soy-based inks. always nice to be friendly to the earth, especially when you're sending out such a pile of invites, no?

images via ajalon invitations

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!

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

paper goodies :: under the sea

this week's paper goodies are brought to you from under the sea. if these fishy critters were to pop their heads up just now, they'd see me sitting nearby, feet in the sand...

all images via shops as listed below, top to bottom.

letterpress notecards - koi :: smock paper

set of 6 crab notecards - gocco printed :: moonlight bindery

geo stingray - letterpress :: pearl & marmalade

flock of flying fish card :: dandy lion press

paper goodies :: gocco lovin'

i heart gocco. today's paper goodies are a selection of gocco-printed lovelies. there are about a zillion to choose from on etsy, so i imagine i'll be making gocco-goodies posts several more times before i'm through with my faves. for now, enjoy these few i've shared today...

all images via shops as listed below, top to bottom

we are all made of stars unframed gocco print :: jess gonacha

gocco print a5 [from the north] :: the dandelion project

set of 3 mini tag books :: erin zam

owl gocco print 4 chipboard coasters :: kerry beary

paper goodies :: classics for kids

inspired by looking at paper goodies for my last post, i thought i'd highlight a few of my faves for kids, too. such awesome options for your little one, i think you're never too young to have your own set of personalized stationery.

images via shops as listed below, top to bottom

plaid and wagon personalized notecard set :: inkspot workshop

personalized onesie note card - set of twelve :: perideau designs

trike stationery :: modern classics kids

paper goodies :: modern monograms

i'm loving these personalized paper pretties. modern + subtle + oh-so-nice.

items via shops as listed below, top to bottom

monogram calling cards :: le papier studio

modern initials - set of 8 flat note cards :: modernemotive

blind impression custom initials notecard set :: simplesong design