Best of wallpaper

First up Collette by Sandberg. This horse wallpaper is from the UK. I first found this on Pinterest, and I'm really hooked on it. Horses played a huge part in my childhood. Not only were the Nicolai sisters proud owners of a POA named Junior (and Sully, Domingo, and Abba), but we also played with our Breyer horses when we didn't want to play with our real horses. Geez, when I put it like that, we sounded real spoiled--we weren't, we just kind of grew up on a mini farm with farm-raised parents. To this day, I still get giddy when I see new Breyer horses...it's kind of embarrassing, and I can't control it!
I'm trying to figure out how to use this in either my laundry area (the Brits call it the scullery!) or my bedroom. This paper is a wee bit pricey at $95/roll. The print comes in black, brown, burgundy, and blue. Blue is my favorite, obvi...

Those Who Make

Rise and Shine Letterpress - Made By Hands from MotivePicture on Vimeo.

I discovered the Those Who Make Vimeo channel via That Kind of Woman (which is also where I found my all time favorite cat house video creator/future husband, Billy Browne). I have to admit, there's something about watching people create things that makes me feel utterly serene. And lately, serenity has been in short supply around here. So, if you'd like to see talented craftspeople create amazing handmade goods, please consider visiting Those Who Make. It's a veritable web-window into these artisans' workshops. 

Home & Away: Back to the Future, the house.

On occasion my Ben loves to surprise me by sweeping me off to fun places on the scooter. Well, on this occasion we headed to Pasadena: our final destination was the Gamble House (built in 1908 by Charles and Henry Greene, for David and Mary Gamble, of the Proctor and Gamble Co.). Most famous for being an ingenious architectural delight, this national historic landmark was featured in the Back to the Future movies as the home of Dr. Emmett Brown...

little friends

One of Those Days

Totally dig these prints by Portland, OR artist, Ashley Goldberg. I love the grumpy, serious, petulant, skeptical,
sad expressions. Makes total sense because those are my main expressions. And I love her etsy profile!
Here's a quote, so you can love her, too. 

I strongly believe in what you're happiest doing at five is what you will be happiest doing your entire life.
Growing up, I endlessly drew and embroidered onto washcloths that my grandma gave me little creatures
and animals that I desperately wanted to live in the woods of my backyard.

Oh, Ashley, how I wish you had been a part of our sister cadre! We could have played pioneers in the woods together.
Take a stroll through her prints...

darling deerface

Little Bear Giclee Print

I'd like you to meet Devon Smith, the artist behind the darling Deerface. (Psst...I added the darling because she is!) This is a brief sampling of her illustrative work. Pretty pretty, right? I love how all the girls look either really petulant or really suspicious. And isn't petulant an excellent word? Petulant. Pet-u-lant. Sorry. This is how I amuse myself.

Double or Nothing watercolor & ink

paint-by-number love

nightstand

OK, I realize that paint-by-numbers now carry some hipster stigma, but I still love them. I have several paint-by-numbers on display in my apartment, and even though they contribute heftily to my kitschy, cluttered, Victorian-era spinster aunt vibe, I refuse to remove them from their places of honor. All that being said, these paint-by-numbers have been perfectly integrated into a clean and modern design. No spinster aunts here, just quirky and bright conversation pieces. 

Who is the architect of these fine paint-by-number transformations? Janet Lee, author of Living in a Nutshell. Her new book is dedicated entirely to occupying, decorating, and thriving in small spaces. Don't mind if I do, Ms. Lee. 

sconce

porcelain pretties

Take a gander at these stunners by Yumi of and O Design. Yumi, a Japanese ceramicist working from Melbourne, makes brooches, necklaces, earrings, and dear little porcelain dishes. I wish it were autumn right now, because I'd love to pin one of these beauts to my jacket, wouldn't you?

ceramic hot air balloon brooches

hello speech bubbles porcelain brooches

wonderful wallpaper

Most of my memories of wallpaper are taken up with the unicorn wallpaper from my sisters' childhood bedroom and the awful fruit basket wallpaper currently grossing up the walls of my mom's kitchen. And that, my dears, is definitely going to go the way of the dodo this summer. The fruit baskets will experience a major extinction event. So long, maroon and hunter green! But this magical woodlands toile wallpaper from Sian Zeng is quite the opposite.

brown and pink

blue, green, and grey

khaki and blue

And for the wallpaper grand finale....MAGNETIC WALLPAPER!
It even comes with a charming group of magnets to get you started. Who wouldn't want this little fella on their wall? 

You Lit up my life.

 My lovely friend Dawn loves her lamps and she does it so well.

Allow me to introduce LIT, run by a custom lamp maven.

SPACE:

The final frontier. You knew that was coming, right? Well, I bet Monika did at least. She could probably feel me typing those words through the invisible sister tether the three of us have. (Monika's activates when I engage in nerd activities, Catherine's when I think about knitting and making cookies.) Monika is probably pausing right now, thinking: Something's up. I wonder if Christine is watching Battlestar Galactica... Oh I will be, sister, soon enough.

Not the point though--the point is: SPACE. It has everything, right? Science, mystery, danger, energy, darkness and light, and the essential components of all life (let's just call it stardust). Oh, and a dash of romance. Wait, you say, romance? Ugh, yes. Any time you have that combination (science, mystery, danger, energy, darkness and light...stardust), you're going to have romance in there. I don't care whether it's space or sewers. OK, maybe not sewers. But then again, maybe sewers.

The secondary point is that I'm way covetous of any space-related item. Is it stellar? Is it cosmic? Love it and love it even more. I'm a super nerd that way. Here are a few of my current outer-space needs/wants/desires/obsessions:

1. This meteor silk scarf by Anabela and Geoff of Fieldguided

2. This Crab Nebula quilt by Jimmy McBride of Intergalactic Transport

3. This full moon stamp by Stephanie of Extase

4. This astrological necklace by Julie of Julie Nolan Jewelry

5. This star projector from Infmetry

Le sigh. To all of it. 

Of course, I can't justify spending $112 on a scarf right now, or dropping $13,000 on the most amazing quilt ever. Which is definitely not to say, on the off chance that one of the artisans of these lovely items happen to stumble across this post, that I don't think those items are worth their price tag. I do think Jimmy McBride's quilt is worth that much, and if I had tens of thousands of dollars to play around with, I would sure as hell buy that badass quilt. Know that. So, what is the point? I'm not entirely sure I have one, but I would like to note that I'm inspired by all these items. I think it's time to make something! 

SPACE: an infinite source of inspiration. 

green with envy

Have you ever found yourself thinking that green is totally where it's at? I've had that very thought many a time, and it's not just because green is currently my favorite color. I think it has a little something to do with green's serenity, sharpness, and power to cheer. Wouldn't you agree? Here are some favorite greenies from my pinterest dreamland. From kelly to minty. 

fox ghost illustration by Naomi Wilkinson

Tiles by Claesson Koivisto Rune via The Style Files

paper house mobile by Creator B

edge painted business cards by Blush

pretty pretty python via imgfave

Always end with a snake, yeah? I feel like there's no going wrong with a slitherer. 

tossed and found

Green bottles and containers 

Oil, Alcohol and Drugs

I ran across these intriguing photos on The Etsy Blog yesterday. They're the work of Barry Rosenthal, a photographer out of New York, who creates collage photographs of found items. From his website: The Found in Nature series is created using plastic objects, garbage, plastic waste and detritus found on beaches polluting our water and land. 

You probably know by now, I'm always game for plucking interesting items from around the high tide mark, and if it helps clean the beaches...well then, that's a terrific bonus. Way to tidy up, Mr. Rosenthal! 

Disposable Lighters, Beach Haven, NY. 

Tampax, Brooklyn, NY.

Combs, Beach Haven, NJ.

There's something about these photographs that makes me feel very quiet. Does that make sense? I just think about all the things we've created and discarded and how they've had a life beyond their intended purpose. The unexpected life of objects beyond us. It's like getting a glimpse at a secret world. And really, everything that comes out of the ocean is mysterious, yeah?


View more of Rosenthal's mesmerizing work on his website: Photobotanicus. 

coin purse

pink suede coin purse with orange Vs

pink suede coin purse with small blue triangles

Lovely, yeah?

By Blackbird and the Owl on etsy. Blackbird and the Owl is the brainchild of German illustrator Peggy Wolf. You can find her illustrations, collages, and prints here. And I'm sure she wouldn't mind if you poked around her blog here.

Brief Musical Interlude: Josh Ritter

Love Is Making Its Way Back Home by Josh Ritter. Another find via Katie's look and listen pinboard. 

I think I might find the video more interesting than the song. That's sort of terrible of me to say, isn't it?

Also, I don't like the faceless singing. Creeps me out.

Brief Musical Interlude: Walk off the Earth

I discovered Walk off the Earth during my routine pinterest business. Whenever someone pins or likes or follows anything from my pinterest account, I always go and check out their pinboards. It's only polite. That's how I came upon Katie's look and listen board, and that's how I found WOTE. (Yes, I do like abbreviating things.) Of course, I found myself charmed--as I so often am--by their sweet sound and inventive videos. Here's a little sampling below.

Nice, yeah? Maybe you're charmed, too. We all are! Goody for us! 

You can visit Walk off the Earth's website here and their youtube channel here.

bunches of brooches

bunny brooches

Harriet Damave is the artist behind these adorable bunnies and horses and goats and kitties. I feel like
I wouldn't be exaggerating if I were to say I loved them. After all, don't you love them? Let's just agree that we all do. 

horse brooch

siamese cat brooch

goats brooches

Harriet hails from Amsterdam, The Netherlands, and she creates and paints each exquisite piece and fires them all
in her kiln. Uhh yeah, she has a kiln. And I bet she never used her kiln to make an alien head in her after-school ceramics class, located in the basement of Collins Elementary. (Many years later, I tried to smash that alien head
in the driveway but was thwarted by Mother. Said head is probably still in the garage, along with all my other
teenage weirdness. Don't tell anyone.) Back to Harriet. I'm impressed with anything involving several skill-specific steps, and to me, sculpting, painting, and firing clay in the tradition of Delft Porcelain all while creating sweetly
expressive animals loveliness definitely falls into the This Impresses the Hell Out of Christine category.
Really, who could fail to be impressed by Harriet's work? Only a crafting Scrooge. 

Here's Harriet hard at work in her studio. 

Please visit Harriet in her...

Delft Porcelain esty shop

or her ceramics shop...

House of Harriet

delivering the goods

As I'm mulling over the wrapping options for Monika's birthday presents--late, yes, but better late than never--I've been scouring all the lovely packaging pins from pinterest. Oh, pinterest! How do I love thee? Let me count the pins!
I mean: packages...

candy pouches via ISLY

carrot treat boxes, via Craft

circus tent gift boxes via Folksy

origami house boxes via How About Orange?

geometric favor boxes, via Ruffled

favor boxes via Oh! Crafts

fringed pyramid box via Martha Stewart Weddings

Wouldn't you go mad for a gift stowed inside one of these packages? I would. Now, if only the gifts themselves were tinier. And if only I were ready to part with them. In all actuality, Monika will not receive any birthday presents until I visit her in May. That's the way it goes with us Nicolai girls and gifts. You rolls the dice; you takes your chances.

But onto more pressing matters. Which package is your favorite? I'm partial to the fringed pyramid boxes myself, but then I can't tear my eyes away from anything shiny. And they're all soooo make-able (except for the circus tent, which is purchasable, or would be except for the fact that it's sold out). Follow the links for instructions, my dears!

Look at this mug. These mugs, I mean. Plural.

I can't quite remember when I first heard about Kin Ship Press, but I must say that I'm all for the series of mugs they've recently produced. I almost wish that I drank coffee, just so I could have an excuse to add a couple to my kitchen cupboard. Also, the lady and gent behind KSP list among their likes & dislikes: napping hard and making a ruckus. I like them more by the minute.

Add a Nip and Sip ceramic mug

Time to Get Things Done ceramic mug

His & Hers...Ax and Spade ceramic mugs

The only thing is that I would waaaaaay rather have the cool ax mug than the less cool spade mug.
Agree? Course you do. Wouldn't it be nice if you could pick? 

Good Night Moon pillowcases

Their pillowcases are also pretty sweet, see above. But I have a confession to make. I don't like new pillowcases. 

I like old pillowcases, like from Mom's linen closet...like the pillowcase that came with our Sesame Street sheets, which I effing hope Mom did not give away because I told her not to, and my bed in the apartment is a twin bed, and I could be using those sheets right now and would if I had them in my possession. Know that, Mother, know that. 

And I like old pillowcases from thrift stores. Not gross, nubby, childhood nosebleeded pillowcases. Cleanish ones that have Transformers or cowboys or Indiana Jones or vintage prints of kitschy embroidery on them. Don't worry, I conduct a thorough examination before purchase and am quite diligent about their washing routine before I lay down my head. 

I do not want a 12 year old boy's skin cells from 1978 all up in my sleep business. 

So, Kin Ship Press.

on etsy

on their blog

and somewhere in Louisville, KY.

lovely linnea

I discovered these calendars at Atticus, which is a local shop for local people. And when I say discovered, I mean that I stumbled upon them in December 2010. You see, the Linnea Design calendar has been around since 1987, and they're based in Seattle, so it's not like I trekked into the heart of darkness to find them. Still, I'm utterly charmed by Johanna Riley's artwork, and I've started a yearly tradition of indulging in a little desktop calendar of delight. 

Here are a few charmers from last year's edition:

And here are several from this year's edition:

I especially love all the colorful pencils. 

The tradition is currently in its second year. You can call it a tradition after two years, right? What a silly question. That's like asking yourself if 10:30 in the morning to too early to eat a bowl of delicious pea soup.
(Of course, the answer is: there's no such thing as too early.)

Lucky for me, you, and everyone else, the calendars are still available online through Linnea. Find them here.