Meet Amy Chin

I love a perfectly curated room just as much as the next person but what I love most about Amy's prop styling is her ability to create spaces that look lived in. Her creations are approachable and comfortable and attainable while still being exciting and inspirational. Not an easy thing to do I can imagine, but she certainly makes it look so. Her palettes are stunning and the items she showcases are quite lovely. Of course when you have clients like Real Simple, West End and Anthropologie (to name a few) how could you not produce beautiful photographs? Certainly the brands give a strong base, but it's her knack for setting the picture that is truly admirable.


Amy is based in New York. View more of her work and learn a little about her by visiting her site.

Halloween Party

I told you there might be another Halloween inspired post headed your way. Here it is! If you're having a party this weekend or simply love to look at party ideas to store away for later this is for you. These images came from Good Housekeeping, Country Living and Martha Stewart and there are tons and tons more ideas from each of them: recipes, crafts, costumes, anything you can imagine. And the two invitations are from the incredibly talented Rifle Paper Company and Hello Lucky.

Spooky Prints

It's almost time for Halloween and although it's barely celebrated here in Australia, I couldn't resist a little post (or two) to get in the spooky spirit. Today's focus is on some goose-bump worthy art.
I've never actually seen the show Dexter, but I appreciate it's artistic approach and understand that a lot of people really love it. Including Ty Mattson, a California based designer (who's done lots of good things, check out his site). He created these prints, one for each season. They're fun to look at without any background but if you're a fan of Dexter I bet you'd be crazy for them!

I really love the color combination. Buy the posters here.
Now onto a fabulous mother-daughter Etsy seller, tag team tompkins. They do lovely victorian-inspired calligraphy and papercut prints. Some of which are quite spooky. In that Edward Gorey sort of way.


Get these (and some less spooky prints) at their Etsy shop.
To end, here's a few totally creepy but lovely prints from Sarah Harvey. Her illustrations are soft and warm but with floating balloon heads and monsters and slightly creepy little girls. They're wonderful! Visit her on Etsy.

Nina's Pretty Dishes

Nina Invorm combines two of my favorite things—sweet, vintage dishes with lovely hand-drawn elements. Her addition of birds or bunting or hearts to the already delightful ceramics result in a charming piece of art I'd love to showcase. Luckily you can purchase her art at her Etsy shop.


Ugh. So stinkin cute it makes me scrunch up my face.
While I was looking at some of her other work on her Flickr page I happened across some photographs of her darling house. The interior matches her creations so perfectly.



I love the random dresses and high heels and the fact that she has her own artwork splashed throughout the space. Did you see the nursery? What a fun place to be a child!
Visit Nina's website, her Etsy and her Flickr there's tons more to see!

Little Ladies

I love paper dolls—always have and probably always will. I love the easy outfit changes and those funny tabs and the fact that they were cheap enough that I could afford an entire wardrobe! I also have always been a fan of the Colorform playset. Those were generally more focused on environments than clothing options but the fun to be had was glorious. When I ran across these wall decals from Mae I was in love. They're paper dolls that are actually vinyl decals for your wall! They are adorable and would be so fun in a little girls room or a not-quite-so-little girls room. I was thinking they'd be so great in my office! Can't think of a creative solution to a problem? No worry! Just dress up these cuties until you've figured it out. Or until it's quittin time...


These childhood memories got me thinking about little girl's spaces and I just knew the ol' internet would have some lovely rooms to inspire or admire. I was certainly not disappointed!



So great right? And there are plenty of ideas in these rooms to inspire adults. I would go crazy for that Funny Girl poster or that cluster of paper flowers/lanterns. Oh the dreaming and pretending you could do in rooms like these!
Sources: Just Say Mo // Design*Sponge // Simply Grove // Oh Dee Doh // Fresh Home // Decor Pad // Sugar and Spice

Product Redesign

You know I'm a sucker for good package design (I'll buy anything if the bottle's pretty enough) so thedieline.com is one of my favorite places to spend an afternoon. People are just so darn clever and talented. Anyway, the site has a feature called "before and after" that I really enjoy. It's all about repackaging and occasionally entirely re-branding an existing design. Some are, well, not so great. But others make me want to rush out and put them in my Target shopping cart. See for yourself.




You're a smart cookie, but just in case you're having an off-day (it's ok, we all do) the "b" is before and the "a" is after. There are heaps more to peruse at thedieline so go visit.
Do you have any weekend before meets after projects planned for the weekend? Well, I hope they're enjoyable!

A Little Bit of Autumn

I love fall. I miss fall, but at least it's been a little cool here lately so I've been able to close my eyes on occasion and think about hot cider and scarves and the orchard. Soon enough it'll be steamy and hot and thoughts of cool autumn breezes will seem so far away. In the mean time, I thought I'd embrace it and put together a mood board to inspire you and remind me.



So many sources! Mikkel Vang // Scrapstudio // Elizabeth Anne Designs // Dandelion and Grey // Mary Ruffle // Bunny Victorious // Studio Choo Flowers // LL Bean Signature // Black Eiffel // You are my Fave // Mi Vida Bonita

The Flatish World of Ann Toebbe

These paintings remind me of the drawings of interiors I used to have to create in Art School. We'd take the flat floor plan and draw each piece (furniture, doors, walls) up at an angle. I'm probably not explaining that properly (and mine never even came close to being this awesome). But they did bring back memories of plastic triangles and graphite pencils. Luckily for you I'm not sharing my work with you, I'm sharing Ann Toebbe's.

Ann is a Chicago-based artist that now teaches in the city (as well as creates these interesting residential gems). I love that it's not idealized—so many of us have that dining room table covered in food and junk mail! Check out more of her work on her site or stop by 20 x 200 to purchase some. (Aside: 20 x 200 is a really, really great place to start or add to your art collection! The art is moderately priced, not mass-produced and helps support emerging artists.)

Mismatchy-Matchy

I love a well put-together mismatch. Whether it's just a hodge-podge of pillows or three different couches, if it works, it works. I think the success of it is dependent on having an underlying similarity: luxurious fabrics; same time period/genre; color cohesiveness. Ultimately I'm of the school that says if you like it and you're confident in it, it's hard to argue against.



Sources: design*sponge // apartment therapy // marie claire maison // lonny magazine // the selby //simply grove

The White House

Did you know that the White House has set up a Flickr photo gallery chronicling Obama's time in office? Well they have. And it's really, really great. Not only do we get to see the President working but we get to see some sweet family time and some interaction with fellow Americans. There are over 2500 photographs and I'm not going to pretend that I made it all the way through, but I've pulled some of my favorites.



You really need to flip through this photostream. Not only are the pictures great, but the one or two lines under each providing context for the photograph are really interesting.
Looking through the pictures made me adore the man even more than before. But it also made me adore Michelle's wardrobe. I knew she was fabulous, but I'd not been paying enough attention. Unlike Mary Tomer who has started a blog dedicated to the fashion icon. Visit Mrs. O to see tons of pics and find out where the lovely first lady gets her clothes. Some that I love:

Oh Amelie!

There's a sweet french movie called "Amelie" that you + I really love (or at least I do and you will). It's subtitled but a delight to watch and listen to and the soundtrack is gorgeous. As is the cinematography (how could it be anything but with Paris as it's backdrop?). Design*Sponge does a fun feature called "living in..." where they take screen captures of different films and then feature different housewares and fashion items that represent the film. They recently did one for "Amelie" you should definitely have a look.
Obviously the movie has inspired quite a few talented artists and in the June 2010 issue of Nonpareil magazine, a handful of creatives got together to create a party based on the movie. It turned out really nicely.



See a fun little video of the party here.
I've been waiting for the perfect post to incorporate these lovely designs from Emerson and I think they have that certain je ne sais quoi that goes quite well with this French party. They're really fantastic and Emerson herself (the blonde is her) is really quite funny. Go visit her.


Darling aren't they? I love the stripes with that big red flower! Perfect outfit for croissants wouldn't you say? Oui!

Delicious Delights

What's more lovely than cakes and bakery counters and gumballs? Paintings of such goodies of course. Wayne Thiebauld painted some really beautiful desserts in the 60s. He reminds me of Edward Hopper in his technique and in the overall feel. The paintings, although quite charming, have a sense of loneliness and want in them. But they are delightful aren't they?

If you thought those were sweet (pun intended obviously), you're going to love these dessert drawings from Mr. Andy Warhol. I've loved them for awhile and am glad to finally share them with you!

I love his quote on that glorious yellow cake "Food is my great Extravagance". Somehow I doubt that to be true, but it shows you how much he really loved the things he drew.
Who wants cake?
Sources: Artchive // IN // World Gallery

Pretty Little Four Eyes

I'm not a super fan of American Idol but I remember seeing Ms. Brooke White a few seasons ago and I thought she was adorable. And when I ran across her project with Ms. Summer Bellessa called "The Girls with Glasses Show" I was reminded just how stinkin' cute she is. These two lovely ladies have put together a little talk show of sorts where they interview musicians or artists and make the occasional silly video. See for yourself here.
My favorite thing about the show is their fashion. Summer is also the editor of a magazine called "Eliza" so she obviously has a great sense of style. I love the retro feel of their wardrobe—they often where actual vintage pieces which is so fun to see.


Cute right? Head down to your local Salvos and get some pink dresses for yourself. I plan to!
Or if you have a little more cash and want something brand spankin new, check out these great pieces from L'Wren Scott. They have that same vintagey feel.

Rustic Party Decor

Even though technically I'm in Spring and not Fall, my head is still back in Illinois with the changing of the leaves and the hot apple cider. My parents had a bonfire a couple of weekends ago and although I'm sure it was lovely, I'm also sure it didn't look anything like this. But if you were Martha Stewart (or someone paid to make it look like you were Martha) you may create something like this to drink your spiced drinks and listen to blue-grass.




Doesn't it just make you feel so autumnal? Nothing like it. And actually there are some really cheap and easy ideas above. So call some friends, put on a pot of chili and make some bunting. I'll be with you in spirit!
Images from: Bloomerism // Country Living // Modern Prairie Girl // Green Wedding Shoes // Counting Your Blessings