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HELLO MARCH!

Well, a very happy Friday to you all!  Can you believe it's March?  The days are just zipping by in a blur.  Your freebie today is a calendar for March!  This calender is great because you can shrink it down and put it in your wallet or blow it up and have a nice little design for the month.  I never did get around to buying one and I did think about designing one for the shop but it became an endeavor from hell, I have a horrible type A personality gone awry and I couldn't get it just right and by the time I thought I was on to something well it was the middle of February (not much calendar sales in February...).  So lucky for you that I was a slacker.  Now I will try to dole out the calendar to you for free each month and maybe next year I can get it together in time...March is available here.

And this has nothing to to with the price of tea in China (don't ask me, my grandmother use to say that all the time..) but I got this email yesterday and I rolled my eyes, because I thought geez, I hate emails with links and forwards and blah, blah, but I knew the lovely lady sending it and I decided to click the link.  I did try to embed the video but couldn't so this is what the email read:

Several years ago this woman found a sick, malnourished lion cub in the jungle. She took the cub home and fed him and brought him up until he was too big to keep anymore. Then she made arrangements with a zoo in Colombia to take the lion. Here's a video of what happened when she went to visit him in the zoo for the first time:  

This was the link (****warning it brought tears to my eyes...)

 

DON'T BE JEALOUS....

This my lovelies is the hand of the extraordinarily talented calligrapher Danae Hernandez.  I found her on Etsy and to be honest I was going to keep her to myself, but I have this recessive PR gene in me and I could not resist shouting her praises from the rooftops, okay the Blahg (close enough).  I am turning this into a rubber stamp and can't wait to start  stamping up a storm--bills will now be a heck of a lot more fun to send! 

What does this have to do with you?  Well, Miss Danae in an act of complete curiosity, uhm, I mean generosity has agreed to do a calligraphy address for one of my lovely readers!!!  AND I in turn will make it into a wood handled stamp for you, so you too can send bills with pleasure!  I know it's almost as good as getting new shoes, right?  So, how is this prize winning going to go down?  Just leave a comment and where your comment falls is your number (following me?)  I will then use this super duper random number picker here and generate the winner.  Yes, of course you can leave more than one comment and I will keep this open until next week and announce the winner next Friday.

If you can't wait and need a calligrapher a.s.a.p., I am sure Miss Danae would be happy to oblige.  You can find her here.

Because I couldn't resist here's another sample of her swoon worthy work...

OFF THE WALL...

Now you know I wouldn't be writing about interior design if it didn't have a d.i.y. bent.  This little lovely was chanced upon when I was looking for a stencil for the inside of my bureau drawers (more about that fiasco at a later date...).  Yes, this is a flip, flappin', jackin' stencil! No teddy bear or inspirational saying in sight!  Of course, this is a little on the wild side for moi, but I can still appreciate it's mod appeal. It was inspired by an 18th century idea modernized (which is how I feel about the ol' Bella Bella co.) add your own photo's for an instant art gallery. This is cool too, in it's Hermes-esque vibe:

and for the more glam amongst us there's this:

All these are available from the Stencil Library in the U.K.  I wish I was patient I would order one in a heart beat, but alas I can not wait for the overseas shipping and need to find me a stencil--STAT!

 

NOW PLAYING....

Okay, do you love?  I DO!!!  Is that wrong to love something I made?  I usually hate everything I make but this I am so pleased as pie with!  I have been wanting to do these and add them to the shop, but how would this fit in? I have mentioned my love of vintage gig posters the kind you'd find from the swell proprietors from Hatch Show Print. I just needed to Bella-ize them, so I am making them so that they can be personalized and make anyone a rockstar. 

'The Layfers" , that'll be my new name (if we don't kill each other before then). The gig posters usually have the date and place the band is playing.  This could offer a ton of possibilities for wedding dates, baby births,  anniversaries, etc.  These could be killer Save The Dates (yes, I actually used the term killer)I have so many ideas, I just may burst.  The reason it took me so long is I needed to find someone to print on good paper, textured like an old poster, nothing shiny and new--and FINALLY....  I can print up to 20" x 30" but I think I will keep it to 12" x 18".  I can't wait to show you the rest of the designs, this one is going in the Fancy's 'office' (it's actually a cubby hole, but he doesn't complain, well, at least not about the cubby hole...)

BELLA OFFICINA

I'm pretty excited to be introducing my new collection to The Bella Bella co it's called 'Officina' which means office in Italian and to me just smacks of pretty office.  Doesn't it sound like a girls name?  "Oh, this is my daughter Officina.."  I will be putting it up on the new site  if I ever finish it.  I knew I was slow, but come on already!  If you haven't signed up, please do as I will be building my mailing list and making sure everyone gets treats, because I love treats!

The Officina collection is starting out with professional printed pre-cut labels (they'll come in tins so they won't get crushed in your drawers!), magnets, custom pencils and notebooks.  It'll eventually have desk blotters, file folders, leather stationery envelopes, paperweights and so much more.  I have been thinking about this project since the 1st grade when I knew my future was in office supplies.  I horded pencils in color coordinated rows, maintained stickers in collections that were never to be used, had stacks of envelopes in every shape and size (even though I didn't have much need for them).  I remember being much older with my first business and straightening everything on my desk to perfection, an assistant walked in and asked me what I was doing "Playing office." was my response.  Even as a full fledged grown-up I still love to 'play' office and I figure other people do too especially if you have a home office, you'll need things out and in the open and as clutter free as possible.  I just wanted options that were beautiful, clean and functional, not too much to ask for right?

Here's some great home office love. I do love Nicole of Making It Lovely's office so uniquely her.

I found this office on her blog as well-- girly modern:

Sigh...

MY NEW UNOFFICIAL 'JOB'...

So today I landed myself another job--non-paying of course (it's the only kind I seem to be qualified for these days) Let me start by prefacing that I go to the library twice a month. What?  A library?  Yes, the library, le bibliotheque, the place that houses all those great books, dvds and what have-you that you can take home for free!!!  I love the library.  I started to get a little down though on my branch, even though it's in the very swankiest part of the City of Angels, their craft section hasn't been updated since '76.  I had enough.  I stomped my way over to the librarian and voiced my complaint.  You know what she said?  (insert the heaven's parting, angels singing and melodic harp play here).

Librarian:  "Well, just get me the list of the books you would like and I will order them for you."

ME:         "How many should I give you?

Librarian: "As many as you like dear."

Wha?  Just like that, ask and you shall receive?  I am now unofficially, officially, the master of craft book picker-outing for the swankiest library in the city!  I can't believe my gosh darn luck.  When do things like this happen to people like myself?  This is what it must feel like to win the lottery!

My mind is swooning with the possibilities.  I took some time to find some great crafty goodness links for my book list submission (I take my job very seriously) maybe you would want to see if your local library would be willing to do the same for you...

• CRAFTOPHILE-Yup, plenty of books and reviews here...
• CRAFTZINE-The Library could subscribe to this little beauty of a mag
• JAPANESE CRAFTING DELICIOUSNESS
  

WHAT'S THE BIG TEAL?

I grew up in an odd household filled with contradictions and old world torture, ahem-values.  I wasn't allowed to wear makeup until the day I moved out of the house.  It didn't stop me from pining for it.  I remember being 13 years old and going  into our pharmacy/cosmetic mecca.  I asked the pharmacist/makeup artist behind the Lancome counter (it was a pretty swank neighborhood).

ME:  "Excuse me Mame, um, if I were to buy some eyeshadow, to uh wear, what would you suggest?"

She looked at my little doe like self, all big brown eyes and all and without missing a beat said:

"Teal."

Thus, began my career as an underage hooker. I jest... Teal eyeshadow on a brown eyed girl isn't exactly inconspicuous and I of course was caught by the mom mafia immediately.  Teal still leaves a tart taste in my mouth,
I haven't had an affinity for teal since that day.

What does this have to do with my upcoming nuptials?  Well, My soon to be mother-in-law is planning a soiree, NOT a wedding--a party (me and the fancy have been adamant about NO wedding).  It's a very kind and generous gesture, but I soon found out that we would have no say in our wedding party.  She came in from out of town and I showed her some invites in my fave Tiffany Blue. She said she wanted to match the invites to her dress (of course, isn't that how we all do it?) a bluish-green.  Great I am thinking, aqua, Robin's egg blue but NO-- out of no where she points to a color that made me recoil.  "There, like this, teal!".  OY!  I can't go through with a teal wedding, I might as well wear white pumps and tease my bangs.  I'll keep you updated on the debacle which is my life...

***On an even worse side note my first love married a girl (that was bad enough, didn't he know the law about staying single forever after I dated him whether I wanted him or not?  Sheesh!)  Anyway, he married a girl named (drum rll)--Teal!!!!

THE BIG TO-DO...

It's Friday already?  My how time flies when you are aging rapidly...Well, in my quest for becoming the organized doyenne that is my destiny I have included my tried and true to-do list for you.  I print mine out on nice paper because I 3-hole punch it and put it one of these babies:

Another reason I print on nice paper is I have a large space on my to-do list for doodling (nice paper=better doodles).  I think it's important and if I have the space than I won't doodle on my list of very important things that have to be done, making my list null and void and a waste of fine time.   I think you will find my list very different from any on the market that's why I am giving it to you today for the rock bottom price of--FREE!  Now, start your organized life, Rome wasn't built in a day....

{BIG TO-DO LIST...}

BLAST FROM THE PAST....

    As some of you smarties may have gathered, My 'Fancy' is actually my fiancee, but I think fiancee sounds too fancy so I just call it like I see it--'fancy'... I am getting married this August and you may be wondering why someone with my gifted D.I.Y skills is not frothing at the mouth at such a silver platter of an opportunity.  Well I am broke, real broke AND uh, I am scared, real scared.  Not that this isn't the absolute perfect person for moi.  I don't think I could ever find anyone as boring as myself, it would be impossible, we are perfect for each other.  I was thinking about the end of my life as I know it while going to pick up dinner for my Fancy, behind me was a very popular and snobby girl from my highschool.  I don't remember much of highschool, or rather I have withdrawn it from my memory banks and I prefer it that way, but when I saw her I had that inner smug satisfaction that comes when you see someone you couldn't stand and they have graciously gained oh, 50-60 lbs.  She didn't recognize me (of course not , I am as invisible now as I was back then).  My mind did flitter back to my highschool crush Greg K, whom I haven't thought about since 'Nam.  It was a fleeting thought and nothing else. 
    Back at the atelier as I was doing my usual fruitless Google searches I came upon a blog that had this very stylish video and catchy tune and BOWL ME OVER WITH A FEATHER, there was Mr. K.!  I give you the Bird and the Bee, enjoy...

WINDOW SEAT ENVY...

I've had serious window seat envy since I saw my first 'Baby Alive' commercial at four.  It seemed after that all doll commercials took place in a window seat nook.  I unfortunately am nook-less, but on the bright side I do have windows!  I was  trolling the internet for something else (as usual my searches are fruitless for what I originally  intended them to be for) but I came across and old fave blog called Ikea Hacker that had a recent submission on making an Ikea tv bench into a window seat. My mind started swirling with the possibilities.  I figured that I would wait to start this glorious project when I get my grubby hands on this upcoming book on delicious pillow love by Shannon Okey

It's supposed to have 25 full size patterns (yes even a bench seat pattern).  I would pre-order it as I am insane, but I have a limited budget these days and I already have the new Lotta Jansdotter book on pre-order (she's another one of my obsessions).  This darn bench got me thinking of another book I own called Handmade Modern by Todd Oldham (LOVE)

there are a couple projects in here that could help in doing Ikea conversions or even starting from scratch.  I really, really
love this book and I am surprised it wasn't even more of a hit since it's fairly simple to complete your own furniture projects and what Craftista worth her (or his) salt wouldn't want that?