LET'S PARTY! MY FAVORITE PARTY SUPPLY SHOPS

This week one of my favorite bloggers—Jordan from Oh Happy Day—announced some big news. Not only did she release a gorgeous new blog design, but she also debuted her brand new dangerously fabulous party supply shop. I mean, you know me, this stuff is like crack! Pretty candles, balloons, confetti, banners, containers, favors, you name it, Jordan has got it. And now my craft closet is yearning to snatch it up! Seriously, do yourself a favor and check out the goodness here. The styling of every single item is perfectly playful, including the happy striped awning masthead. I love it all and you will too.Seeing Jordan's party planning skills on display in her new shop made me think about all the other online party goods shops I have bookmarked over the years. Just in case you are a fool for festivities like I am, click through the link to find a round up of my favorite sites to seek out for silly, celebratory supplies.

RANDOM THINGS THAT MAKE ME HAPPY, VOLUME ONE

As Rebecca Black says, it's Friday! Friday! Gotta get down on Friday!So I am going down by sharing all the random fun things I have picked up recently but haven't gotten around to posting. I think this will be a new column (posted very randomly, as is only appropriate, ha ha) that I hope will make you as happy as it makes me. Without further ado . . . ONE > Recently during Paris Fashion Week famous supermodels Zoolander (Ben Stiller) and Hansel (Owen Wilson) walked the runways and took some epic selfies promoting their eagerly awaited sequel to Zoolander, out in 2016.TWO > I am majorly in love these page flags that turn the edge of your book into a monster showdown in the sky. (Bonus! They also have regular city skylines, forests, deserts and many other scenes).THREE > The cards and prints in the Etsy shop Hooray Today are cute and colorful in equal measure—my kind of store!FOUR > Every slim chic woman of a certain in the city seems have a cool tote for their yoga mat. This adjustable suspender tote by Mimot strikes just the right balance between functionality and fun. Love it!  FIVE > Maps. Rainbow colors. Clean typography. Killer graphic design. English Muffin Shop is definitely worth bookmarking. (Plus, that name! How can you resist?)SIX >  Since its inception several years ago I have been a major fan of Kate Spade's spunky sidekick endeavor 'Saturday'. Popping into their online shop recently I fell into major love with this bright, brushy print.
I would love to hear what random things make you happy in the comments. I hope you have a wonderful weekend!

FORMA

Stumped as to what to give the ladies in your life this holiday season? I think I may have found a fabulous solution for you. I just stumbled across the Etsy store 'FORMA' which sells gorgeous, unique geometric jewelry pieces that are as chic as they are timeless. Personally, I am majorly in love with the gold fan necklace and the gold minimalistic bangles. Which would you pick?

Check it all out for yourself here.

AND THE WINNER IS . . . .

I am happy to tell you that the randomly selected winner of the $50 giveaway to my new Etsy shop 'The Wright Hand' is Mr. Kyle Alpaugh! Congrats, Kyle! And thank you to all those who entered!

If you are still interested in picking something pretty up at my shop, you can use the discount code 'GRANDOPENING' to get 30% off everything in the store from now until May 31st! Let's get our calligraphy on, shall we?

Kyle, I will be sending you an email with info about collecting your winnings on Monday; everyone else I will see you back here then! Have a fabulous weekend!

UPDATE: Kyle will drop me an email at theobsessiveimagist@gmail.com to claim your prize? Thank you!

BIG NEWS! NEW ETSY SHOP AND MAJOR GIVEAWAY!

Guys, guys! Big news! I have been keeping this little side project under wraps for a while now and am delighted to finally be able to share it with you. Are you ready?

I am opening another Etsy store! Long time readers may remember my old stationery store on Etsy and I have decided to revamp my love all of things paper with a new shop focused on my handwritten typography. Namely, the shop—entitled 'The Wright Hand'—is based on my obsessive interest in hand addressing envelopes with all sorts of pretty styles and fonts. Have a wedding, party, or holiday coming up and need to send out invites or a mailing? I am your gal! Prices start at just $2.00 an envelope and I will do as many or as few as you like. Do me a favor and check out the goodness and get all the details about making a purchase here.

To celebrate the launch of this fabulously fun new venture, I am doing a big giveaway! You could win $50 of envelope addressing services (enough to do 25 envelopes!) simply by following these easy as pie steps:

one | head over to The Wright Hand shop and pick out your favorite style of envelope

two | leave a comment here with your choice

bonus | for a bonus entry (your name will be entered in the drawing twice) tweet about the giveaway with the hashtag #thewrighthand and mention my account @katiejosephson 

bonus x 2 | for a second bonus entry (your name will be entered in the drawing three times) head over to facebook and like 'The Wright Hand' post on the obsessive imagist fan page


That's it! One winner will be choosen at random next Friday, May 16! Good luck!

EITHER OR WISH LIST: I CAN'T DECIDE!

Hi friends! How was your weekend? I spent it with my parents doing some serious clean up/home improvement projects at my grandmother's house and I have to say, I am wiped! 

So, since I will almost certainly be total couch potato while I let my aching muscles heal today, I thought it only fitting to shin two variations which I am having major trouble deciding between. Care to help me choose? Here are the either/or pairings in my online shopping cart right now . . . which should I pick?

from top to bottom . . . . 

nixon small kensington in gold ($175) or 

nixon kensington leather in natural/silver ($125)*

make it happen gold foil notepad by laracaseyshop ($20) or 

jumbo writing pad by poppin ($8)

kate spade saturday sneakers by pf flyers ($65) or 

converse chuck taylor all stars fancy ox ($55)

black trim correa sandals by toms ($59) or 

yosi samra cambelle flat sandals ($130)

dots iphone case by priscilla peress ($35) or 

emily rickard color study no. 7 iphone case ($35)

So hard to choose! I may just have to buy them all . . . kidding!

*Do any of you married ladies have trouble finding a watch that works with your wedding and engagement ring? Either I find the watch too casual in comparison to my ring's setting or the watch-ring combo just looks overwhelmingly shiny. I look the way watches look, though, and miss wearing one so I am hoping one of these works out!

ETSY LOVE: FLOTI NECKLACES

I kind of in love with the necklaces featured in the Etsy shop called Floti. These beauties are created from handmade and hand-painted clay beads and strike me as the perfect pop of color to brighten up your spring wardrobe. Officially wishlisted!

Head over to the shop here to buy something bright and pretty.

p.s. Like what you see? Try this post, this one, this one, and that one for more drool-worthy jewelry inspiration.

"CHART ART" BY WEAVERSOFSOUTHSEA

I have long been a fan of what I colloquially call "chart art"—a poster or print laid out in a simple geometric grid featuring bold, graphic illustrations (see here, here, here, here or here as proof). So, needless to say, I instantly fell in love with the works on offer at the Etsy shop WeaversofSouthSea. It doesn't hurt that their designs on based on some of my favorite things like dogs (exhibit a) and Eames designs (exhibit b). Plus they have several gorgeous illustrations of city landscapes, including beautiful renditions of my own New York City at night and during the day. The icing on the cake? All of the prints are priced insanely reasonably at $19. Good design + great prices = a win win!

Check out all the graphic goodies on sale at WeaversofSouthSea here.

THE COLORFUL WORLD OF EMILY RICKARD

The lovely Melanie of You Are My Fave wrote an amazing post today about buying abstract art and the impressive artists she has been eyeing recently. Among the talented ladies in that list, I spotted the work of Emily Rickard and boom! A light bulb went off! 

I stumbled across Emily's work some time ago and bookmarked it to either buy, share, or ogle in the future. Somehow her gorgeous pieces fell to the bottom of my 'to do pile' however and never made it on here to share with you . . . at least until today! The works above are from her Etsy shop and, as giclee prints, are insanely well priced at $32 each. Awesome, right? 

Check out all the goodness at her shop here and her blog here.

Have a beautiful, colorful weekend!

FABULOUS FIFTIES ROUNDUP

I have never gotten into Mad Men, but I can appreciate the chicness and modernity that permeated design and fashion during the 1950s. This round up aims to fall somewhere between Jackie O and Charles and Ray Eames with items inspired by a super stylish dinner party, complete with a gorgeous ride to get you there and the perfect party frock.

one | flensted three movement mobile, $69.50

two | kate spade billie heels, $345

three | vintage polka dot dress from millstreetvintage, sold!

four | jeepers peepers cat eye glasses from asos, $14.82

five | porsche speedster type 354A, $300,000+ (good luck finding one!)

six | vera vintage polka dot scarf from alessandrasvintage, sold!

seven | kate spade carroll park adelaide clutch, $298

eight | carlo hauner credenza from r & company, price upon request


Now I'm off to lay a patch with a hip cat. Later, Daddy-O!

LAST MINUTE VALENTINE CARDS

Are you a bit of a Valentine's Day procrastinator? Never fear! I have rounded up a couple of inspirational ideas that you can print, create or craft in a flash. Plus you will get bonus points for avoiding the Hallmark aisle!

Insanely adorable free printable valentine postcards by You Are My Fave

Awesomely geometric heart card (with free template) from the fabulous Mini Eco

Bold typographic free printable valentines from Ann-Marie Loves

Calligraphed cuteness from the Etsy shop JustaBirdPrintables ($5 download, print yourself)

Pretty patterned mini card free printables from A Pair of Pears


What are your plans for Valentine's Day? I have a couple tricks up my sleeve to surprise the hubby, but on the whole we are keeping it low key. I hope you have a weekend full of love and happiness; I will see you back here next week!

SCIENCE!

The other day I read about the amazing Science Cheerleaders and knew I had to share their story with you. Made up of professional cheerleaders who are pursuing careers in science—in the fields of biology, neurology, engineering, math and more—these lovely ladies are out to encourage young women (particularly young cheerleaders!) to get excited about science. Awesome, right? Learn more about their fun, important work here.

And speaking of science . . .

. . . you may be wondering what these pretty little pouches have to do with the field? Well a percentage of all the proceeds from the Etsy store 'Little Bright Studio', which makes these sweet zippered bags, goes to support teachers in low-income schools teach students science. Love it! Check them all out here.





And then last week I saw this old episode of Ellen on tv with a hilarious segment with Steve Spangler. His motto is 'Make Science Fun' and with this demonstration I think he achieved that goal! He kind of reminds me about this show (and this one!) that I was obsessed with as a kid . . .

Check out more of his great work here.





Last but not least, I wanted to share this inspirational commercial for the new toy company GoldieBlox. Like a combination of Lincoln Logs and Legos, these building-based toys are designed to get kids excited about engineering. In the case of GoldieBlox, though, the toys are specifically created to put girls in the science mindset and let them know they can be anything they want to be. Pretty important message, no?

Thanks for listening to this break for science. Back to our regularly scheduled programming of art, culture and design tomorrow. :)

JEN LOVES KEV

I am totally digging these hand-painted necklaces from the Etsy shop Jen Loves Kev. There are the perfect combination of pattern and color, chic and eclectic. I can picture wearing them with a black cocktail dress or a simple white t-shirt. Both would look awesome.Check out more of the goodies here.
(thanks to the super cool blog Ampersand Design Studio for the tip) 

COLORFUL CANISTERS

I agree with swiss-miss, this print is fabulous! It reminds me of this and this. Clearly I have a certain aesthetic I like, but there is something about a colorful grid of objects that always looks clean and cool.

Bonus, the print is only $11.95 at the Etsy store PigeonEditions. Check out the whole store here.

QUILL & FOX

I love stationery. And I love Etsy. So I am always excited to discover cool, new paper products on my favorite craft site and, of course, share them with you!

I present to you the gorgeous goods on offer at Quill & Fox. They sort of remind me of this, no? I am particularly enamored with the colorful postcard collections; how great is the Loch Ness Monster design?

Check out more loveliness here.