{inspired} new art!

Don't you just love happy, sweet surprises? I've been putting off telling you what my husband bought me for Christmas (remember that holiday a couple months ago?!), because I wanted to get it hung first. Yep, it's new art! But, first the back story. You might remember that in December I went to Crafty Wonderland here in Portland. And I bought a whole bunch of amazing hand made gifts and decor. At the end of my wrap up post, I mentioned that I'd seen an adorable type writer print and hemmed and hawed and then left without making it back to the booth. Of course I thought about it later and really wanted it, but couldn't find it online!

Well, my completely fantastic husband called the artist, Jigsaw Graphics, and arranged to go pick one up from her house (a huge perk of buying locally!)!

I was so surprised when I opened *the one that got away!* Isn't it adorable? It came framed with that bright and cheery fabric mat.

While I was hanging, I took a moment to refresh our has-been-empty-since-Christmas mantle. I'm still not quite sure what to do with it. Maybe an afternoon of Shelf Styling 101 is in order again?

I also wanted to share this little card with you all, because it's just the cutest thing I've ever seen. I found this set of 12 cards in a very small stationary shop in Boston a few years ago. They were in the window display and I immediately went and bought a box. I love Florence, and this dress silhouette is just beautiful. When I got home from Boston I was kicking myself for not buying more because I couldn't find them anywhere online and LOVE them. (Do you see a theme in this post?! Or at least an insight into how my brain works! :) But, I really like it framed. And maybe since I have a *forever* version now, I can move on and actually use the note cards for their intended purpose. Which I'm pretty sure was not sitting on my desk collecting dust.

Aren't begonia leaves gorgeous?! So dramatic!

So there's my updated mantle and artwork. Do you love the artwork? Want to check out more amazing letterpress? You can visit their site here. Want to purchase this amazing piece specifically? Shoot an email here.

{Inspired} Spring Color Palettes

I have to admit, a part of me actually enjoys that stores start stocking their spring lines right about now. I know some of you are still buried under snow/ice, and even if you aren't, it isn't exactly spring out there. But I'm tired of winter and spring catalogs are a nice reminder that this much anticipated season will arrive. Someday. :) My spring catalogs have been pouring in the past couple weeks, and I finally had the chance to sit down with them this weekend. 

If you look into my closet right now, you'll find a wardrobe full of single-color garments. I very rarely bust out a pattern or multi-hued look. So, I was a little surprised by how much I like the spring florals this year! I was drawn to the interesting palettes that mixed bright pops of spring color with neutrals. Kinda how we aim to decorate, right? So I paired a few of my favorite pieces with great rooms to give you an idea of how you can pull fun spring palettes into your both look and your home! I think we all need a pop of color this time of year.

Palette #1. Yellow is pretty much my go-to *pop* color, and I really love how it subtly adds a fun touch to this dress.

modcloth

 Domino

Palette #2: These fun, bright colors are really grounded by the deep olive green that serves as a neutral here.

 jcrew

Here

Palette #3: This teal/green color is so fun and fresh! I love it paired with yellow (of course), but I can also see it going great with pinks and reds.

anthro

Here

I'll definitely be branching out this spring. What is YOUR favorite color palette right now?

{create} coffee filter projects

Last week, Ez from Creature Comforts posted a coffee filter tutorial that was just so adorable I couldn't NOT make it. Immediately. Besides, it was perfect for the baby gift I was wrapping for a shower last weekend. And it turned out so cute that I couldn't not share it with you guys.

I started with the simplest of supplies. Coffee filters. Metal brads.

And after a few minutes folding and hole punching I had created this beautiful, full, ruffly flower. It's a perfect present topper! Ez also suggests that they can be stuck to a wall (cute!), or secure two to create a three-d flower to hang from the ceiling. Seriously great party decor friends!

Here's something you might not know about me. I come from a long line of professional gift wrappers. :) Okay, not really, but my mom is an amazing gift wrapper. She really does have it down to a fine art. Growing up around that level of perfection was bound to wear off on me a little. I love collecting paper and coming up with beautiful and interesting ways to wrap gifts. The combo, above, was my first choice for wrapping last weekend. Sadly, it didn't work out. Not enough paper to cover the box.

Orange was choice two. As you can probably imagine, my gift was the brightest of the bunch at the baby shower. Pastels don't really live in this house :).

And the finished product. I love that the flower was pretty much as big as the box. It made a huge wonderful statement. A small piece of paper in the center covered the brad (I'd go even smaller next time). 

You can get the full coffee filter flower tutorial here.

Now I have a huge amount of coffee filters! In a house with no coffee drinkers :). Of course there is always this amazing project. Or this one.

What about you guys? Have you run across any fun creative uses for coffee filters lately? What other everyday items are you crafting with?

Thanks for stopping by today and Happy Friday friends!

edited 2/8/11: I'm linking this project up over at Krafty Kat's Gettin' Krafty With it Link Party!