ENGINEER PRINT INSPIRATION

I got an email announcement from Photojojo recently (my favorite) announcing they are now offering limited edition engineer prints taken by professional artists. How gorgeous is this shot from Austin Rhee? (And only $35!) What are engineer prints you ask? Basically they are big, inexpensive prints created at copy centers with a streaky black and white effect. And they are all the rage right now!I started thinking about all the cool things people have done with engineer prints . . . 

 

You can get a custom print done at your local print shop or, of course, at Photojojo.

You can make a super cute faux newspaper print for a kid's room or birthday party.

You can blow up a vintage  illustration of a dinosaur and make your own frame for it.

You could make a serene landscape into a minimalist headboard.

You can use adorable photos of your children as larger than life decoration in your living room or nursery.

Tired of this lingering winter weather? How about a tropical wall mural?

Or, a personal favorite, how about some specialty wrapping paper?

The possibilities are endless! What would you do with an engineer print? 

FEELING CRAFTY . . .

If you have been reading this blog for a while you know that I love books. In fact, at this moment as I look around the room I realize that there are hundreds of books within arms reach. Nerd alert!Anywho, while I have to read art history books for my dissertation every day, I get a hankering to read craft and decorating books whenever possible. I get a little jittery unless a do something creative or crafty every couple of days and craft/design/DIY books help stave off that craving until I actually have time in my schedule to make something. That said, I have a constant wishlist of these books saved up in my Amazon cart tantalizing me with fun, inspirational ideas. In case you have similar craft cravings, here are a bunch of the books I have had my eye on . . . one | made by hand, $18.94 | Lena Corwin is a master and this book looks incredible!two | paper to petal: 75 whimsical paper flowers to craft by hand, $15.80 | I have a soft spot for fresh flowers (a rare thing that's actually cheaper in NYC!), but this book might cure me of that habit.three | find & keep, $18.15 | Colorful collections become cool projects? Sign me up!four | playful: fun projects to make with + for kids, $16.73 | Sometimes kids craft books have the best projects! Simple, fun, and graphic, this book has gotten rave reviews and I am dying to sneak a peak.five | martha stewart's encyclopedia of sewing and fabric crafts, $24.92 | I bought a sewing machine this summer and am all about fabric projects these days. Martha's book is basically a bible leading me to a sewing promise land.six | a field guild to fabric design, $18.10 | Speaking of sewing, it is surprisingly hard to find fabric that meets my crazy colorful pattern-plenty standards. Tips in here could spark a serious fabric design habit.seven | decorate with flowers, $17.34 | I am excited to learn all the new ways to use flowers to liven up our tiny apartment. As if I need another excuse to hit the flower stand at the local bodega!eight | design bloggers at home, $21.37 | I draw most of my inspiration from fellow bloggers, so to steal a glimpse into their picture perfect homes is too tasty to miss.nine | surprise-inside cakes, $18.75 | Technically not a craft or design book, but how irresistibly cute do these cakes look? Yay for creative baking projects!ten | pretty packages: 45 creative gift-wrapping projects, $15.57 | I am obsessed with dressing up gifts in fancy packaging and the tips packed into this book look like they would definitely help me step up my game even further.eleven | project kid: 100 ingenious crafts for family fun, $15.86 | More family fun; the cover alone is out of this world. (Get it?! Spaceship? Insert pitying chuckle here.)twelve | bright bazaar: embracing color for make-you-smile style, $20.56 | This is the only book of the group that I actually already own, but boy is it awesome. If you aren't afraid of festooning your home in bright color (or if you are but want a change), don't miss this!
That's is. Anything I missed? I am always happy to add to my wishlist . . . Hope you have a lovely weekend! See you next week!

HAPPY WEEKEND!

What are you up to this weekend? I am pretty much on lockdown here. It's supposed to rain in New York and I working on a two-week take home test for school—the last assignment I have to complete before I can officially call myself PhD ABD (all but dissertation).

Whatever you have planned, here are some fun links to tide you over until you can get them started.


Aren't the dominos above beautiful? They could make me pick up the game again!

I need to get myself a new coffee table/desk. Thinking this, this and this tutorial could be good.

How pretty are these dish towels? They would look perfect framed and hung on a kitchen wall!

Always looking for ways to keep track of my to do lists. This idea could be good.

I can't decide if these are totally cute or a little lame. I bet they are comfy though!

The perfect father's day present?

Totally making this tonight. Yum!

My college art museum is doing amazing things. I wish I still went to school there!

This is pretty funny. :)

A super fun DIY with spectacularly beautiful results.

How to conquer that email mountain.

I just started doing this yesterday. It's a doozy!

Simple, effective tips for better photos.

Just bought this top (not the bottoms!) and I am in love.

So excited to see this glowing review of a stupendous show. Bravo, Carter and Nick!


Have a lovely weekend! I will see you back here next week.

ALL WRAPPED UP: CHRISTMAS REDS

Since school and work have been kicking my butt recently, I am going to introduce a short and sweet post series centered around the one thing that has gotten my creative juices flowing of late: holiday wrapping! Buying and wrapping presents for other people is one of my favorite holiday pastimes and I have amassed quite an archive of ideas and sources that I want to share with you.

So without further delay, here are my top three choices for a bold and bright christmas package:

Merry Christmas Paper Topper, $10

Moroccan Christmas Wrapping Paper, $20 for 5 Sheets

Craft Paper Gift Tags, $4.50 for 10

HALLOWEEN WRAP UP

    
    

Are you into Halloween? A couple years ago I lived with a friend who was obsessed with Halloween—she would start crafting her costume and decorating our place weeks in advance. I loved her enthusiasm but could never manage to get my act together myself.

So here's a quick little roundup of some fun Halloween projects you could pull off in an evening.

top to bottom, left to right:

Free Halloween Printable Wrapping Paper

Trash Bag Spiderweb Decorations

"Bat Mobile" by Martha Stewart

Stitched Halloween Decorations

Funny Face Pumpkin Carving Tips

Toothy Skull Cupcake Tutorial

What will you be for Halloween this year? Do you go all out decorating or are you more of the stay at home with the lights off type of person?

WELCOME TO THE WEEKEND

Whoa, where did this week go? I have a theory that short weeks at work are actually the craziest; at least for me, I have less time to cram in more work than usual to make up for my hedonistic laziness over the long weekend. Pair that with a very busy exhibition schedule here at the Whitney Museum and I am wiped!

Do you have anything fun planned this weekend? My in-laws are coming to visit and, given the beautiful weather forecast, I am hoping to take them here and here (maybe with a stop here for a cookie in between). Hope you are going to be taking advantage of the crisp fall air wherever you are!

For those of you who are stuck inside for the next couple days, or just want some procrastination inspiration at work today, here are some fun things to keep you busy:

I don't care that this place is in Minnesota, I want to go there now.

This is hilarious (and kinda disappointing) at the same time.

I need to stockpile this and this in black or red. (Won't they look great together?)

This looks super useful, and I think I would make it my mission to top the Today Show (there version is boring!).

I have been a die-hard reader my whole life and I did not know half of these things.

I need to learn all of these (and these). Now. And I need to try to use them without giggling.

I got in on this (so smart!) and wish I had gotten in on this (cool!).

If only Nemo's Dad had had access to this . . .

Okay, maybe Facebook isn't all evil . . .

Have you seen my friend Lily's blog? It's beautiful! And so is her artwork!

This woman is incredible. We would all be lucky to have even half of her poise, grace and downright awesomeness.

And now for something completely different (only in New York!)


Have a great weekend, all! See you on Monday!


Photo taken by me, last month, at the Eastern Market in D.C. Check out more of my Instagram photos here.

NSS 2012: THE WHOLE PACKAGE

This post is part of an ongoing series of wrap ups from this year's National Stationery Show. Please forgive any discoloration or graininess of the photos (the lighting in the Javits Center stinks!) and check out all the other NSS posts here.




    
    

    


One thing that struck me this year was high quality set-up of some of the booths. These guys really know how to go all out! The lovely ladies at the Belle & Union booth and I bonded over a passion for collecting all things vintage; their fabulous product displays really showed how good they are at it! Check out that tiny toy wagon and speckled lunch tray--awesome. This sweet & fresh decor style really captured the essence of their designs: friendly and colorful with a dash of southern charm. I am particularly enamored with the 'doodles' and 'lists' notebooks. Check out more of their goodies here.













Equally refreshing and impressive (in terms of booth design) was East of India's 'General Store' booth. Sticking to a paired down color palette of red, white, light blue and craft paper brown, the booth looked like super designy, captivating version of a local country store. It was full of wonderfully packaged products (check out those clips and tacks) and the perfect components for wonderful packaging (lettered tags, stamps and grosgrain ribbon), resulting in a strong personal urge to take every. single. thing. home. And did I mention the paper chain kits? No? Well they were awesome too. Check out more loveliness here.












Last year the Chewing the Cud booth last year was a favorite and this year it lived up to its good reputation. Packing a major punch of bright, bold patterns, the booth was filled with shelves upon shelves of reusable wrapping cloths, drawstring bags and (new for this year, I believe) an amazing array of circular 'bucket' organizers to corral your clutter in style. I am especially fond of the idea of using the small size for miscellaneous office supplies (perhaps some East of India clips!) as a pretty addition to an otherwise boring work cubicle. Also lovely? Those little zippered clutch purses; I'll take the polka dot version, please! See more of Chewing the Cud's products here.

ORLA KIELY: COLLABORATIONS GALORE!

How was your weekend, all? I extended mine a bit to cover all the craziness that is wedding planning at this point—choosing table linens and florists and deserts, etc. But it was productive!


Anyway, over the weekend my dear friend Courtney alerted me to some big news: my favorite lady Orla Kiely is doing a collaboration with Uniqlo and the clothing line comes out today! Check it out here; there are some cute pieces!








And this weekend I also hit up my favorite paper store—PaperSource—only to discover that they too have started to carry Orla Kiely goodies, namely four different designs of wrapping paper. My favorite is definitely the large petal print (top left); what's yours?


Get an eyeful of all of Orla Kiely's products here.