Sublime Yellena

As promised here is my gushing praise for the beautiful work of Yellena James

I found her work so sublime and inspirational that after first discovering her I went out and updated my colour pen collection. I work in black so much that the explosion of colour in Yellena's work was such a revelation and really got my heart beating! Here is a small sample of her drawings. Check out more here

 

Not only are her pen and ink drawings stunning, she has applied her unique style to paintings.

Using acrylic on wood Yellena adds an extra dimension to her organic style and the colours really pop.

See more paintings in her gallery here.

Not suprisingly she is a very in demand artist and you can find many galleries of her work online.

Here is a quick guide to Yellena's work

A glorious Etsy shop - currently with a buy 2 get 1 free offer :-)

Here Gallery, Bristol UK - a current solo exhibition 24th Sept - 24th Oct. 2009
plus you can keep up with her on her blog
...enjoy

A little taster...

I have been in training all day so have missed my blog post for the day.... so here is a little taster of what's to come tomorrow.

I have already alluded to the wonderfullness that is Yellena here and tomorrow I will go into full gush mode.

In the Forest

I very regulary drop by behance for random creative inspiration and today one of the featured galleries is In the Forest Where You Sleep, a collaboration by 2 talented designer/illustrators Marius Bauer and Jared K. Nickerson, who have come together to form System Kings.
Their collaboration has resulted in this beautiful series of wallpapers which you can download and pretty-up your desktop or phone!

I am quite taken by this fox who now adorns my desktop!

The guys have illustrated 5 forest animals and then each has been given a colour treatment to represent 4 different times of day, In The Morning, At Midday, Around Evening and At Night.

Head over here to find your own forest creature and if you want to have one of these illustrations on your real walls at home, the guys are selling A3 prints for 30 euros including international shipping.

Embrace the Elsa's

I first came across the wonderfully talented Elsa Mora and her papercuts quite early in my blog reading life.
She is a favourite with many of my fave bloggers.
Her talents are wide reaching from illustration, collage, jewellery, fashion and ceramics (she is one multi-talented lady!) but it is her cut paperwork that I find truly amazing and inspirational. She shares so much here on her blog The Heart of Papercuts

You will find news on her works and exhibitions as well as tutorials for us all to try out paper cutting.
Here is a taste of the work Elsa creates with a knife and paper.

This piece El Bosque de la Mente, is part of an exhibition she is holding currently in California.

 Here are some more gems..

  {all art + images by Elsa Mora}

No doubt I will share another aspect of this amazing artists work in other posts, but for today it is all about the paperwork!

Check out her gallery of paper sculptures here and embrace this amazing Elsa!

Textual healing

I have quite a fondness for matt white ceramics so was thrilled to find the Element Clay Studio etsy shop.
I absolutely adore this Set of 3 MicroWall Tiles.

These textures are amazing and made all the better by the simplicity of the matt white finish.

I find it hard to pick a favourite - but think that this Magnolia Micro tile might be it!

{Magnolia Micro Tile by Element Clay Studio}

I also think this {Small Scallop Bowl} is devine

 

...and here is the first discovery I made.

This Set of 3 Pears was originally part of my pear shaped post, however I went roaming through the rest of Heather's shop and found it needed a post all to itself!

 I suggest you do the same here and see which is your favourite!

Pear shaped

I've had a very food focused day, so found myself on an etsy journey for all things pear.I love the shape of a pear and judging by the wonderful, crafty finds I made I am not alone.
There are some truly talented and crafty people out there in etsy-land.
Here are my pear picks:

I love these woolly pears! Each technique is so clever.

{Top} 'The Wooly Pears' by plum pudding by jenn 

{Bottom Left} Micro-Mini Pear by Whimsy Wire & Wool 

{Bottom Right} 'Purity Pears' by Snokist Farm Girl 

I love these little wire pears. Knitted using crochet hooks and copper wire, they stand a sweet 8cm tall.

{Provencals Pears by Yoola}

And to finish off a perfect pair of illustrated pears. These vibrant shades of pear green are so delicious!

{'Perfect Pair Notecard' by Just Another Day}

Anyway I hope you enjoyed a fruit inspired etsy time-out with me today.

Vintage elegance

Did you know that publishing juggernaut Conde Nast has opened their amazing image archive up to the public?
Not only can you browse through amazing Vogue, Vanity Fair and House and Garden images from last century, you can purchase these prints.

I would love this Vogue cover from January 1927.
For about $375 AUD I could have this vintage gem in my home... plus some postage I'm sure.

There are so many to choose from as well. I am particularly drawn to the illustrated covers, but some of the fashion photographs are amazing.
Here are a couple of my picks:

Vogue 1963

Vogue 1966

Vogue 1931

Check them all out here: Conde Nast Store

Friday loveliness

I can't explain what it is that this beautiful prints does to me other than ... ahhhh!

It is the work of a british artist Dan Bennett. The dot-work is so delicate and the colours soft yet rich at the same time. The yellow glow makes me feel warm and summery.
The above print 'Aster' and a few other prints are available to purchase in his print shop here.
I also love the Echinacea print with its soft lilac and yellow tones and then the explosion of pink at the top.
I recommend you also peruse through his gallery where the work is more colourful & vibrant like this one called Agapanthus.

{images from Dan Bennett}

What a lovely way to finish off a week and head into a weekend full of inspiration to create beautiful images!

Magazine magic

Once again Holly at Decor8 has introduced me to a wonderful experience - Antler Magazine.
Not only is it a fab free online bi-monthly magazine full of amazing creative work... this issue features an incredible artist I came across myself a few months ago - Yelena. (but I will write about her later)

The current issue of Antler magazine is the first of new format, as well as the first that is available for free.
I will definitely be adding this to my daily reading list!
How dreamy is this front cover?

Pop over here and have a read of the magazine yourself - especially look out for the stunning illustrations by Yelena!

Creativity Takes Courage

I've taken another visual stroll through some of my bookmarked etsy stores and have some across these little buttons in Leah Duncan's shop.

This 'Courage & Jenny Button Badge Set' is so sweet and I love the saying "Creativity Takes Courage".

I am quite familiar with the concept. For the past few weeks I have been telling myself I will design a header for this blog and just 'pretty' it up in general. I always find it hard to design for myself, but I just need to suck it up, get brave and dive in!

For more inspiration check out Leah's etsy shop for badges & lovely prints.

Here is a sample of what you will find ...

{all images from Leah Duncan}

Colour fave

I came across this image yesterday and I just love this colour combination.
There is such a coolness about the steel blue and the creamy yellows.

I actually have a feature wall in my house that is this type of bluey-greeney-grey.
It's a Nippon Paint colour but the name escapes me... I will have to look it up!

Not only do I love the colours in this image, the styling and photography is beautiful. It's so moody and rich.
It is the work of a very talented british stylist Lucyina Moodie.
She is a freelance stylist with a beautiful online portfolio of gorgeous images.

Here are a few more of Lucyina's images in this same beautiful colour pallette.

{ All images from Lucyina Moodie }

Designer love

About 12 months ago I came across this wonderful poster. It was beautiful and ornate and also gave me a new mantra to non-visual people I work with about the design process.

I have been known to just point at my screen displaying this poster when the design process has been questioned. Cheeky but fun :-)
Late last week it was to great pleasure to not only discovere the identity of the designer , but also their wonderful online decorative wall sticker store.

Ladies and gentlemen let me introduce you to Fabien Barral.
Not only is he an incredibly talented designer with the most beautiful personal style, he and his wife have an amazing online shop -  Harmonie Intérieure
Here you will find beautiful products and as a bonus the images of them are a treat too!

I encourage everyone to jump over to the website and enjoy these and more beautiful images.

A colourful week

I thought it would be interesting to look back at the week in colour as celebrated on this blog.

This week my 'colour mood' was really influenced by the weather.... but all in all it was a colourful week

Bejewelled Beauties

I am a sucker for a good bit of bling so these necklaces are up high on my wishlist!
I discovered DelorisPetunia's etsy shop a while ago and every now and then find myself dreaming of owning and wearing one of her statement necklaces.

I have a blue satin top that any of these beauties would look amazing with,

& here are a few other samples of her beautiful work:

{ All images from DolorisPetunia.etsy.com }

Dress Ups in Red

My little time-out adventure today got me day-dreaming of dresses.
I have a wedding as well as my mum's birthday lunch coming up, and though our budget won't stretch to a new outfit, I can still dream right?
I came across an Aussie dress haven called Madaboochoo.
They have literally thousands of dress from beautiful designers like Leona Edmiston, Seduce and tonnes more...
I like the idea of a vibrant colour like red or coral (a particular fave of mine)
Here are just a few of my finds....

Dresses from left: Red Silk Dress By Dusk | Copper & Blue Shot Strapless Dress by Dusk | 
Red Satin Dress with Silk Overlay by Dusk | Coral Dress with Ruffled Hem by Grace & Hart | 
All pics from Madaboochoo
I'm still indecided which is my pick from this bunch let alone all the others I've flicked through!
Then of course there are shoes, bags, jewellery....

Tine K Home

I love a good scandinavian homewares discovery, so I'm thrilled today to come across Tine K Home. Tine Kjeldsen has created a wonderful collection  which she calls " an adventurous mix of Asian, French, Scandinavian and Moroccan colors, shapes and surfaces". It all comes together effortlessly and has me dreaming once again of gorgeous morrocan lamps and patterns.
Here is a sample of some of her beautiful products. The styling of the photos is amazing too.

I would love to come across somewhere to buy the cutwork screens locally

 How striking is this shot of purple from the flowers against the black and white.

{images from Tine K Home}

Check out the amazing Tine K Home catalogue too!

Sunshine

After a wet Monday it was so nice to wake up to blue skies and sunshine today. Admitedly it has now clouded over, but not before my mind wandered to fields of sunflowers.
These were my absolute favourite flowers in my teens. I love that the flowers grow the size of you head and then stay alive for so long.
Inspired by sunflowers I have again turned to etsy for some cute finds... enjoy!

Images from top:
'garden party sunflower necklace' by wickedpen on Etsy
'Blooming Harvest, A Leather Sunflower Brooch' by peaseblossomstudio on Etsy
'Recycled Madison' by UnderCurrentPaper on Etsy