The Wonderful World of Woven Wall Art

I have been WAY into wall decor this month. While I've been going nuts with frames and prints and DIY typographical art, I realized I was completely overlooking a whole other world of fabulous finds - Tapestries and woven wall art!!! Yowza, these things are beautiful and more often than not more affordable than their painted, printed, and/or pressed counterparts. 

For example: Wild Columbine has some very unique and gorgeous designs which are often embellished with beads and brass. Shop owner Kelly Christine draws inspiration from natural surroundings, her botanical studies, traditional folk crafts, and "many cross-country travels."

Likewise, January Jackson has a small but beautiful and modestly priced collection of some dainty and exotic wall hangings.It was her pieces that first exposed me to this wonderful woven world :3

Finally, Under the Oak Tree offers a more colorful, somewhat less austere collection of pieces. While a little more pricey than some of her counterparts, the numbers definitely reflect the quality and originality of each piece. Working from Libson, Portugal, shop owner and artist Andreia is committed to being kind to the environment and using only natural fibers. 

The best part of these shops? All women owned, small businesses following their crafty dreams. Go nuts!

President's Day Sale

I'm running a presidential sale in my Etsy Shop to celebrate the long weekend :)

Hurrah!

Wall-spiration

This week: I am presently OBSESSED with wall art and wall art arrangements. All one needs is to briefly glance at the ball of wadded up framing receipts in my car to know I'm not kidding.I've spent the better part of the week gathering art cards and frames and putting them together, unraveling packaging (and even breaking some glass,) all over my living room floor.Small injuries aside, I'm loving the eclectic look of mismatched pieces and closely placed odds and ends to make an interesting and engaging wall. 

The problem most of us have with going with this look is that you needs a heck of a lot art (and frames,) lying around. If you haven't already, make sure you check out my post about buying of DIYing artwork for your walls.

Another great tip I've come upon is buying art postcard sets - I recently snagged The 20th Century Artbox and am loving the results. I picked up a slew of different sized frames from Michael's, (which seems to always be having eternal 50% off frames, for some weird reason,)and have been going nuts. 

I'll leave you with more wallspiration for your daily dose of covetous feelings:

Dry and Decorative

Flowers. They look fantastic in your house, by the induce a small tightening in your chest as you have endure watching them wilt each day. It's said that while living plants are excellent feng shui, dead and dying ones have the opposite effect. If you're like me, your great and brining the living flowers in and lazy about tossing the wilting and sometimes even dead ones out. 

The solution? Dried florals - you spend a little extra time picking the arrangements that work best with your decor, install them, and leave them be. My mother is law is great at this, and her bathroom and office area are cheered up substantially with her choice of warm colored arrangement tacked on the wall or spilling out of a large vase. Fortunately, for those of us that either don't have the time to do the picking and drying or don't have the best selections growing at our doorsteps, there's Flores del Sol. 

This little Etsy shop is so darn chic is literally gives me a stomach ache. How much can a gal spend on flowers, anyway? Looking at her beautiful arrangements has me trying convincing myself that there's no spending limit :3 There's a very workable price range of $15.00 up to $100.00, with a great selection of sizes, colors, and arrangements. 

The shop is run and managed by the dizzyingly talented mother of 3, Christina Rose Moreno. Stop by when you decide your favorite 

space needs a little extra color! ;)

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Five Valentine Gift Ideas for Him

Lets face it, when it comes to gift giving, "for him" is significantly more difficult than "for her." The problem compounds exponentially on Valentine's day when the traditional gifts are predominantly feminine, cheesy, and sentimental fare. Don't get me wrong, I'd be doing the male of the species a great disservice if I didn't acknowledge his soft spot - But we can all admit that the usual: chocolate, flowers, and jewelry, won't fly as well for him as or her. 

In light of the struggles we all face when gifting our significant others, (but don't forget the moms, dads, friends, family, and cat that we love on Valentine's as well!) I've put together a quick list of guy gifts to see you through the storm. 

1) Racy Greeting Cards

They're funny, loving, and they go easy on the cheese. One of these cute cards from For the Love of Words or BE Paperie are perfect for slipping in your "dinner on me" certificate :) 

2)A hold-all-your-necessities device:

This is what I'm going for. With the refusal to carry a bag of any kind that often comes with being a man, my husband's paraphernalia is constantly strewn about on the counter and misplaced at crucial moments. I can't tell you how many times we've gone out together to eat or grocery shop only to find that he's forgotten his wallet. Not to mention the key hunt, which is a daily event at our house. This one comes from Jigsaw Furnishings :)

3) A Personalized Chopping Block

It's hefty, it's functional, and you can add love notes, names, important dates, or special locations for that Valentines'y touch. The above are both in my Etsy shop, Wood Be Mine, but there are scads of shapes, sizes, and designs to be found online.  

4) Leather Gadget Covers 

Yet another functional and stylish way to help him organize his life a bit :) There are tons of options on Etsy, and buying something unbranded and hand-made gives it the special personal touch. The above we found at Divina Denuevo and Retro Folks

5) A monogrammed man-stuff bag!

Also known as a toiletry kit, trouse de toilette, or that ratty old thing that desperately needs replacing that's haunting my bathroom counter. It's sturdy, it's stylish, and you can have your hunny's initials stamped on it :) This one comes from Felix Street Studio.

Happy lovin'! ;) 

Taming the Trouser

The hardest parts of growing up: Finding your own heath insurance, filing your taxes, and, undoubtedly, ditching your skinny jeans for a pair of pants. It's a double edged sword - naturally, we want to be chic and fashion-forward,(Audrey and Coco would never be caught in jeans,) but find yourself in the wrong pair of trousers and you have "old lady" or "bank employee" written all over you. 

Mu husband has long lamented my resistance to embrace the trouser. My skinny jeans are naturally my go-to for any and all occasion, yet, they don't always hold their own when paired with a nice coat, leather gloves, or my latest and greatest going out blouse. It was time to step up to the plate and learn to wear a real pair or pants. -A considerably more difficult task than one might think! Having grown accustomed to the slim, skin tight fit of my jeans, just about everything I tried in stores seemed bulky or unflattering. I decided to attack this problem head on this week, and this is what I've dredged up. (And victoriously added to me closet.)

1) The Oasis Mono Jacquard Structured Trouser: $66.33 from ASOS

Love how these keep a lean and structured fit with the high rise waist and cropped ankle. 

2) The New Look Crop Slim Leg Trouser: $28.42 from ASOS

Because everyone knows you aren't really an adult until you have at least one pair of khakis. 

3) The Pleated Woven Skinny Pant: $19.90 from Forever21.

We may be adults, but we don't have to give up on this brand yet, right? These were my initiation pants - similar enough to my skinny jeans that I wasn't shy of hanging out with them on our first date together. -And what a price!

4) The Pleated Stretch-Fit Trouser: $19.90 from Forever21

In the meantime, my skinny jeans and I will just hang out when the husband isn't home :)

A tres bientot!

3 Affordable Wall Art Solutions

When furnishing a new apartment or upgrading your current, all of us are burdened with the silent knowledge that without the right wall decor, all of our efforts to build the ideal abode will either be hit or miss. It's true. Try to take a short cut and use posters, your apartment will be turned into a college dorm. Thrift store it for already framed and abandoned art, could lead to an eclectic chic, but more than likely, you'll have a highway motel room on your hands. 

-But art is oh so expensive! And unless you're lucky enough to inherit some pieces from your collector uncle, most "high art" and gallery pieces will burn a hole in your pocket. So where to find chic, substantial art that won't send you to the soup kitchen? They may not be Pollocks, but these pieces / venues may be able to help you out. 

1)Etsy:

Good for everything. Seriously. When I first began selling on Etsy, I was amazed by how quickly I became converted to the Etsy market place as my one-stop-shop for just about everything. Planters, wedding bands, wall art, bedding, you name it. -And for good reason! There are some terrific artists working on Etsy selling their prints and originals for more than manageable prices. -Not to mention the collection of vintage art and artifacts that can be found in the many shops. 

Notably: Little Print Press, and United Thread. I had about 20 items from these two shops on my wedding registry. Little Print Press features handmade, original, and abstract pieces of art that, as an Art Theory MA, I can tell you - are fit for the art-walks in the most swanky corners of your town. Likewise, United Thread offers beautiful prints as well as original illustrations for prices that won't break the bank. 

Other honorable mentions include: Original contemporary art by BorianaMihailovska, and Original Oil Paintings by Erinspencer

2) Society 6

If you haven't already heard of it, you've been ignore a lot of the hips art collectives online for some time. While you will have to wade through a massive amount of overly hipster and occasionally cliche' designs, Society 6 is a great way to support up-and-coming illustrators as they sell framed prints (and tote bags and t-shirts and iphone cases,) of their original artwork. If you take the time to wade around, you'll more than certainly find at least one or two pieces that reflects your inner you. 

3) DIY Typographic Wall Art: 

One of my new found, favorite things: fonts. It's no wonder my computer runs at the speed of a winded kayaker upstream on a molasses river. I've downloaded thousands. Not only because I use them for work, but because I love to make invites and stationary with them, tack my own creations onto the wall, and horde them in general. :) Shopping for fonts is titillating, often free, and can regularly lead to 10 when you were on the hunt for one. The possibilities are endless. Open photoshop and slap your favorite phrase over some of your favorite images, take your thumb drive to Kinko's, and voila, custom artwork that's mod, chic, and no one else's but yours. This article from apartment therapy has some great tips as well as locations to pick up some cool fonts. -And of course, if your not totally tantalized by DIY, Etsy is like a breeding ground of typographical art :)

Have fun! ;)

Handmade Lingerie: It's what you're missing

Lets just move through the sounds of this phrase together, shall we? Handmade lingerie. Something about it is just so romantic that, if you're like me, your Valentine's Day wish list will pretty much be finished by the end of this paragraph. I just love the idea of your most intimate clothing items being made with care attention by an individual, rather than cookie cut en mass in the American Eagle factory.

In my search for the perfect undergarments I've come upon two shops, both Etsanistas, who put the intimacy back in intimates. 

1) Engretta Garzetta

This beautiful shop features soft, lacy and romantic panties, bras, and sets. Each piece is handmade by Liga, working from her home based studio is Latvia. The name of her shop, "Egretta Garzetta," is the Latin name for a bird that in Latvian is called the Silk Heron (Little Egret in English). Her prices range from $20.00 for a single item to $80.00 for a set. 

2) Nahina Shop

Nahina Shop is slightly more racy than the Egretta, but maintains the soft romance and high-hip vintage styles that I love. Nikki, the talented seamstress behind it all, runs her Etsy shop from her home studio in Brighton, England. Her prices run from $18.00 to $70.00 and offers sets as well as individual panties, bralettes, and slips. 

Have fun! ;)

Chunky Knit Throws

One of the few instances in life when "chunky" is actually a good thing. A very, very good thing, I might add. 

 

Can you even handle the thought of cozying under one of these with a cup of chai and a good book without your fingers twitching towards your wallet? My desire for one of these blankets has been the bane of my existence all holiday season. There's something just so luxurious, inviting, and best of all, aesthetic about these oh so cozy blankets. If you ask me, they're the perfect accent to your favorite living room chair, piled over a sofa, or draped invitingly over the foot of your bed. (Actually, the chunky knit blanket is the finishing touch on my ongoing quest to recreate this bedroom from West Elm:

So where does one find the wide knit blanket? You can join the DIY trend or you can shell out, (which this blog just loves to encourage you to do,) ;) at these spots:

DIY

1. This kit, available from Loopy Mango for $242, includes everything you need (needles, yarn, pattern) to make a big ol' blanket. The Loopy Mango folks also sell giant yarn, giant needles, and finished blankets in their Etsy shop.
2. This is a pattern, available from Ravelry for $4.99, for something called a 'giganto-blanket'. Pretty exciting stuff. The author explains that the pattern is 'more of a tutorial': it also includes information on where to find appropriately sized yarn, as well as how to knit with 1 1/2" PVC pipe (!).

BUY

1. A great price and a lovely shop on Etsy: 32 x 48 pure merino wool (3rd image): $185.00
2. 42 x 60 "super plush" from Lily and Peabody (2nd image): $250.00
3:Full/queen giant knitted blanket, $600 from Woolshack on Etsy. More sizes here.

Enjoy the rest of winter! ;)