spring break

i'm taking a bit of time off from my blog this week to work on some projects. i should be back near the end of the week if all goes well with an announcement or two and hopefully some freshness! have a fabulous week! (image from one of my design a day works).

new flickr app

a new application (toy) for you flickr lovers called kula 1001. looks awesome! (via willotoons).

photobooth friday

my stash is empty in the photobooth friday department but isn't this the best photobooth ever? down at weirs beach, new hampshire. a little bit far, but looks like a quaint place to visit.

but nonetheless, i know hulaseventy and friends have a few specials still up their sleeves, so take a check here. happy photobooth-ing!

things i love thursdays

things i love thursdays, originally uploaded by poppytalk.

i LOVE anything surf. surf typography, surfboards, surfers, surf magazines, surf memorabilia, surf arcade machines, surf and turf, surf guitars, surf shacks, surf language, surf movies, surf surf surf!

new spring flowers

Spring Flower Coasters!, originally uploaded by sesame letterpress.

from brooklyn's sesame letterpress, some new spring flowers! i love this press! available at buy olympia, greenergrassdesign and sprout home.

check it out

check it out, originally uploaded by poppytalk.

d*sponge is right, this art-o-mat is exciting! a retired cigarette vending machine turned art vending machine. apparantly there's 83 of them across the country (u.s. that is). and one in england. "the mission of the art-o-matic is to encourage art consumption by combining the worlds of art and commerce in an innovative form. they believe that art should be progressive, yet personal and approachable." guess i'll have to go to tacoma!

supercozy

PROPOSTA PARA QUARTO . ROOM DESIGN PROPOSITION., originally uploaded by xt_moveis.

love the colors and illos in this room design proposition by xt moveis. check out the flickr set here.

lost luggage

, originally uploaded by 5anche5.

vancouver diorama artist, nicole sanches has an exhibition coming up at blim gallery, #197 east 17th at main street, vancouver, april 1st - 30th, 2006. a diorama project of a baggage claim area with waiting travellers, a bunch of luggage, and a single unattended bag. she hand painted all of the little people (around 150 are shown) and made most of the luggage. see the flickr set. and her website here.

so cool

this is so cool! thanks sabine!

you are beautiful

you are beautiful, originally uploaded by poppytalk.

i like finding little surprise stickers like this around the city. reminds me of a post from true nature. love that idea.

it seems blogger is having a few issues today, having problems posting images. so i bring you this from my account at flickr.

a few links then:

a look at some ferris wheels around the world. (via enroute magazine). may favorite is the daikanransha ferris wheel in tokyo which attracts onlookers with its coloured light show which changes with the seasons.

and like oh joy says, i'm liking the font from martha stewart's newest magazine, blueprint. it reminds me of cowboy pajamas for some reason. i also like the name.

and a fun blog dedicated to everything cupcakes, called 52 cupcakes

gocco bunnies

remember those cute robot gocco christmas tree decorations i posted in december? well jek has done it again, this time with some hip-hopping bunnies, just in time for easter! you can see her flickr pics here or even better check out her etsy shop and get one of your own!

pb blue + green

passing by but not going into pottery barn the other day, i noticed some interesting pillows through the window, and had to take a closer look on their website. noticed lots of blues and greens or maybe i was just open to those. whatever the case, loved them alone and together.

embroidered pillows, note the small pom-pom details on the corners - so sweet.
egg shaped plates and egg cups
hand-glazed earthenware
duvet set, such a beautiful blue.

design a day week2

design a day week2, originally uploaded by poppytalk.

here's week 2 from my design a day challenge. i started originally working with colors in mind and started out in a green and yellow palette. for some reason i felt stuck in doing some sort of northern influence, or that's all that i could see with those colors. so decided to drop them, and automatically gravitated towards the pink/eggplant hues. still incorporating scanned vintage photos with my own photography and different dingbats or brushes.

sticker maker

a custom sticker making machine! with the small flash application you can make up different characters and print the results out onto blank sticker paper.
this version only has boys and girls with just over 100 different facial expressions. a newer version is in the pipeline with over a million expressions! by taktak.

sunday links

love this toaster!, originally uploaded by poppytalk.

can't resist this pop art toaster from target - (via shellterrific), the new blog on the block (x-budget living people).

free stickers, graffiti font,wallpapers and snowboard/skateboard templates if you want to design a board. all from delarge.co.uk

hydro 74 - design for hire with blog

lynda.com - design online tutorials with videos if you're in the mood to learn


and i'm loving these fabric postcards, and would love them as wallpaper too. from vigo cards. there's so many great colors check them out online.

karin's sustainable carnival outfit

thimble's so fun buttons

blue on concrete

blue on concrete, originally uploaded by wacky doodler.

according to wacky doodler who took this photo, "a certain shade of blue is taking over toronto in a quiet revolution. it's everywhere, in the smallest cracks and upon the most minute surfaces of the city... it makes one appreciate the mundane everyday." how brilliant! LOVE this!

i'm so in love with these queenthing's cards featuring the works by jenny vorwaller.

LOVE LOVE LOVE the cheerleaders incorporated into it. so fun!

you can see more of her works for sale here in her etsy shop.

series 7 design challenge

i happened upon this auction, a series of arne jacobsen chairs, designed by 13 different designers in collaboration with fritz hansen. how fun would it be to own one of these. in cooperation with the danish AIDS foundation the manufacturer of the chair, fritz hansen, contacted a number of world class design brands with a challenge: "how would the seven chair look today if you were given a free hand to design it"? the result is at an auction online at bruun-rasmussen. (via d*sponge). here's a few of my faves:

shamrocks

shamrocks, originally uploaded by poppytalk.

oh i took this photo last summer and have been waiting for this day! not that i'm irish or anything; well maybe my viking ancestors were over there at one time or another, but nonetheless, top o' the morning! and here's everything irish!

street smart

one of my "a design a day" entries, pulling in some street hockey guys from early 40's into a modern day scene. one of them being my father (front far right w/hat). actually looking at that hat, and seeing all the hats out there right now, these aren't far apart. i'm really drawn towards muted browns, greys and greens combined with fluorescent orange right now. however i can't seem to find the correct rgb color for the screen. does anyone know how i would obtain that or is it possible. (you can click on the image for a bigger version).

sketch-it

a sketch for a buck. so fun! just request your sketch and sketch-it guy will do it for a dollar!


(via the gothamist).

things i love thursdays

i almost forgot it's things i love thursdays. i LOVE typography!

you know i joined a new flickr group called typography and lettering which makes my heart leap out. it's one of those things i've overlooked i guess and it really is worth a look if you are at all into letters and numbers in a big way.

i also found another called folk typography all hand-painted letters and numbers.

and get a load of good paper goods on flickr full of handmade cards, tags, stationary, anything to do with writing. love these by evanichole also a whole bunch of lovely lettering going on at letterpress pool. (insert alphabet song here).

check out the other i love thursday participants here and here.

things happening

for years i've always wanted to attend the south by southwest conference which is on this week. seeing up and coming bands in a city of music has always been a magnet for me. and with the interactive added to it, so fun! and this year one of my canadian heroes, neil young as a keynote speaker would've been amazing to see. but back in reality-ville i go; getting the most i can online.

the 9th annual web award winners have been announced. so happy for the aiga design archive who was the winner in the art category.

the 2006 bloggies were given out as well. and i'm sure like last year, there will be a few that will become a daily visit for me.

one thing i found interesting while reading the sxsw blog, was an organization called refresh which is a community of designers and developers working to refresh the creative, technical and professional culture of new media endeavors in their areas. promoting design, technology, usability and standards. need one in vancouver!

also on a side note, fun to see some canadian designs at the toronto fashion week being held this week.

oh to be a jet setter!

green and yellow

green and yellow, originally uploaded by poppytalk.

it's spring break here and alas some clear skies and warmth on our backs.

seemed like it was a green and yellow day today and took these for inspiration on our outing. it's funny these two colors i have never gravitated towards. they are so hard to do well i think. challenges.

no segway here; just some links if your in the mood for inspiration.

gomod.com
modern digital canvas
nifty thrift pool at flickr

d.i.y. website

heard through the grapevine via thimble that that d.i.y. (design it yourself) book i posted about back in december now has a website. with everything from resources to a few downloads and how-to's. loving the resources.

design a day - week one

design a day 4, originally uploaded by poppytalk.

completed week one in my design a day challenge for myself. it's been hard yet looking back not so bad. this last one is a picture of an aunt of mine (pregnant) in the 30's. i think i will post each monday like lisa and see how i do. if i'm really at a loss for posts i may post the odd one mid week; hey i really am not good at any rules; so best to just not talk about any of this. you can see day three here and all of them together here. thanks for everyone's support and feedback it is so welcome!

staring

just felt like staring at rosanna's dishes today. love her paris line and still crazy about the chandeliers.

luke ramsey

i like the idea "to care for the present and a desire to paint with kindness" and that is how dork magazine describes wet coast artist, luke ramsey's approach. he had collaborated earlier this year with liz rywelski on an installation at space 1026 - philly art gallery. you can read the whole interview at dork mag an online magazine about art, habitat and people.
check out luke's website mebeme and more of his work here.

call for submissions

call for submissions at uppercase for their summer show: theme: robots
send them links to your work, or email a sample jpg to info @ uppercasegallery.ca with robot in the subject line. also check out orange girl exhibit at there.

forgotten places

i always forget about habitat and was nicely reminded today by imedagoze. with that it reminded me of other spots i used to visit and had bookmarked long ago, that i hadn't been to in a while, but are a nice place to visit.

creem magazine covers - buried nuggets of cover designs of this music zine.
scene from my life - a different photo a day from a different photographer each week
airstream trailers - links galore about airstreams (i want one in the backyard i don't have).
tiki links - purveryors of polynesian pop culture

photo taken by me last week in a place that seems forgotten.

fred flare at home

i just can't get down and serious this week it seems in the home decor department and fred flare is about all i can manage. seems to keep it fresh and new is hard out there in blogland and i don't want to reblog a reblog. anyway, so fred flare has come to the resuce and i did find some steal deals!


how 'bout a cuckoo clock that chirps one of 12 songs or can chime on the hour. songs include für elise, oh susanna, home sweet home & more. chromed pvc. and only $14 u.s. folks!

and get a load of these daisy grass mats! oh they are so in need over here. well we have the green grass, but NOT THE DAISIES! daisies, daisies, send the daisies! (sounding a little water-logged am i?)



is this not the best apron? come on you crafty girls you have to start making these! the teacups are the pockets! i like the cut of it too. seems like it would stay up better. $24 u.s. (if anyone does make one of these or something as cute - let me know and i'll post it !)

things i love thursdays

i love old photos! and especially ones like this. with silly nilly hats and wondering why everyone is wearing one.

check out the other i love thursday participants here and here.

let the sunshine!

i'm thinking if maybe i order these babies from my friend, fred flare the sun might change it's mind and start to shine. come on sun! we miss you!

day2

day2, originally uploaded by poppytalk.

day two in "a design a day". yikes! day two seems so far from day 250. will i be able to do it? i think it's day 3 but really, day 2 in my world. a picture i scanned in of my aunt and her friend on a make-shift see saw they made on the beach. i like how they look so carefree and even unaware of the effects of smoking back then.

martin o'neill

found this link to martin o'neill via tim marrs the other day, and fell in love with his collage work. love the use of letters and numbers. beautiful.

pining to gocco

nice gocco series by sean turbridy using three colors. and this close-up by e50e.

there seems to be some really great gocco-ing going on lately and i'm amazed at the great quality. after seeing natalie's in real life (so amazing), i am excited to get started again. oh so much i want to do - where to find the time.

port2port

oh i'm so lucky! two mail days in row. (usually it's just bills). but see, a beautiful letterpresed card from port2port press! how thoughtful. thanks mav! they are really lovely!

a design a day

mon6, originally uploaded by poppytalk.

my first day attempting to do a design a day with the encouragement of lisa's! at first the idea seemed daunting, but with her encouragement and perspective, perhaps it will not be and will make my objectives more obtainable. thanks lisa for this! here we go! (if you go to my flickr you will see some of the images used here; this tree; this wall and this vespa).

nebo peklo

so thrilled! today i received my swap from natalie! even more beautiful in real life! such a beautiful print; i can hardly wait to frame it. and she snuck some mini prints in too (much to my surprise!) thank you so much natalie - (my package for you is being collected to send soon)! you have to see her shop here (really really beautiful!)

stencil 1

slide show from the nytimes showing this mylar stencil from stencil1.com for your walls, lampshades, or wherever you wish. $10.50 each. also available go-go dancers and muscle cars. (via apartment therapy).

paula sanz caballero

illustrator in thread, paula sanz caballero has made two new occasion cards for roger laborde. with roger la borde’s specially developed scanning and enhancement you won’t believe they're not fabric. i was actually rubbing my finger along the embroidery to see if i could feel the thread they are that real looking.

trivet trivet

take it from typhoon to come up with these work surface pot stands.

sunday links

mars, originally uploaded by poppytalk.

having recently posted about tim marrs i decided to do a study with some layering techniques using photographs i took as well as scanning in from my vintage collection. i just got a scanner today and i am so psyched!

a few links:
www.rebel-heart.net - over 60 beautiful photoshop brushes to download for free.
ephotozine - digital camera reviews and photography techniques
alto's voice - alvar aalto project
haverchuk - a lovely food blog

tim marrs

another designer i swoon over is tim marrs out of the u.k. he's interviewed in the jan/feb 2006 digital creative arts mag and his portfolio is such an inspiration. he says he basically only uses photoshop, no filters, no dodgy-ness. he just plays with the opacity and brings in textured elements. building hundreds of layers. he also uses a digital camera and a scanner to import textures he's created in a sketchbook or the odd bit of screen-printing.

kare.de

found this kare link out of germany through ask anke's blog which has some beautiful pieces to show. you can also download their catalogue in pdf format which helps you go through their vast list of products faster.
along with some gorgeous chandeliers, their romantic line is really grabbing my attention, with it's baroque accents and jewel-like colors.



go to kare.de to see more.