cedarstreetboutique: handmade quilts

double wedding ring handmade patchwork quilt

who doesn't love the feel of a handmade quilt? it's the perfect summerweight cover. plus they carry so much of the character of the person who made them -- a quilt is something you save and pass on, something crafted to last, the antithesis of disposable fashion.

while this is a very traditional quilt, the bright colors caught my eye... and then i fell in love with the shop description. the quilts are hand-sewn by mrs. freda in tennessee, who has been quilting for seven decades (!) and is about to celebrate her 85th birthday (!!), and she has an online store. the cuteness factor just about killed me.

just think! it's like having a spare grandma, or at least a crafty one -- mine would no more have quilted than thrown out a perfectly good manhattan. (bless her, my forebears never aspired to be goddesses at the domestic arts.) not sure if mrs. freda takes on custom requests, but you never know until you ask. i heart mrs. freda and her sweet quilts. more at cedarstreetboutique.etsy.com

stina & friends original art for sale online

anna from gallery hanahou emailed to let us know that stina persson's pieces from their current exhibit, "immacolata and her friends" are now for sale online at their shop. there are 40 original pieces featuring women in ink, watercolor and paper collage. the show at the gallery in ny is on until july 6/07. thanks anna!

gallery hanahou
gallery hanahou shop

les femmes dish set

a fun set to share with your gal pals, this les femmes dish set by rosanna are made of refined porcelain and available online through delight.com.

clippings for the scrapbook

i've started a scrapbook category here, a place to put all my favorite clippings into. favorite pages out of magazines, books, etc., for inspiration and reference. i hope to do this on an ongoing basis and make it a regular feature. but then i really don't do well with rules.

these ones here are from april's issue of blueprint magazine of photographer, tosca radigonda's home in austin texas.

Reader Question

A reader wrote in with a question on eco-wallpapers. She's thinking of adding a small wallpapered feature wall in her house and wonders if I knew of any eco-wallpapers available in Canada. She's 6 months pregnant and wants to avoid the toxic glue. She saw that Treehugger has a recipe for homemade wallpaper glue, but she can’t decide if that’s too much work (plus figuring out what to glue on the wall) so she'd prefer something that’s all in one. Any ideas?

canadian h & h - favorite pages (may)

a few of my favorite pages from this past may's canadian house and home magazine:



this den of a green designed home designed and owned by two canadian architects, janna levitt and dean goodman, outfitted with a vintage mies van der rohe chair and a wall of family portraits.



i don't think i could ever maintain a kitchen this slick, but i love the simple design aesthetics, by architect john hix. (his house on a lush puerto rican island).

music posters at etsy

looking for more affordable art? pass the art section and go directly to the music category in etsy and click on poster.

alkaline trio, modesto, $15




enon, modesto, $15



dinosaur jr, modesto, $15

tree cup

earthenware by dulcie not darcie out of rochester. a recent grad of the rochester institute of technology, she draws right into the clay with a coloured glaze painted on top.

dulcie not darcie etsy shop

handmaid

love this mixed media piece by jules of handmaid out of israel. made with found papers, ink and tea on cigar box lid. found it on her flickr. it's not up on her etsy shop yet, but hopefully we'll see it there soon.

handmaid etsy shop

stina's opening at hanahou

stina was nice enough to send some photo's of the opening of her show in ny at gallery hanahou. you can see all of them as a slideshow on my poppy here. and check out cleo's blog for a few more.

MADE presents Kristiina Lahde

By altering and cutting, Canadian artist, Kristiina Lahde takes everyday commerce to utopian architecture.

Once designed to conceal their contents, Kristiina Lahde assembles and re-works ordinary bank envelopes and repositions them as the architectural building blocks for a new installation at MADE Design opening May 31/07 in Toronto, Canada. The envelopes have been torn open and stapled together in intricate individual units within a complex pattern that makes a sphere, reminiscent of the famous building created by Buckminster Fuller for Expo '67 in Montreal.

Kristiina's work is a reaction to her immediate experiences mostly relating to how and where she lives and works. She uses everyday things that are usually considered mundane, such as advertising fliers, post-it notes, used envelopes, computer paper and packing foam.

With a BFA from Nova Scotia College of Art and Design, Kristiina's work as a conservator for the Royal Ontario Museum informs much of her working progress.

Made Design's website

jessica burko + reclaimed to you

jessica burko, a photographer from boston makes these lovely mixed media pieces using her own photography and collage. using found photos, papers, cardboard, books, test prints, inkstamps and thread reclaimed to you treasures other peoples trash, and turns it into one-of-a-kind handheld and wall hanging art. jessica holds a bfa from rhode island school of design and an mfa from rochester institute of technology.






jessica burko's website
reclaimed to you etsy shop

e-glue

e-glue is a new online shop (and slick design i might add) that specializes in wall decals for kids from france. they've taken the usual children's motifs and added an edge and cool factor to the ever popular adhesive wall designs.

choose from theme featured kits like "la bonne pêche" - (undersea creatures and treasure chests); "à l'abordage" - (pirates) or "chicky jazz band" - (a farm themed set); as well as individual "stiks" as they call them from all sizes and colours.

fun stuff!

e-glue

ouno design

ouno design, a vancouver recycling-minded company takes vintage fabrics and transforms them into modern influenced home accessories like this handcrafted pillow and room dividers. ouno design is partners, lindsay brown and sarah gee, two designers who combine principles of high design with an environmental ethic. they were recently featured in the may issue ("go green") of canadian house and home magazine.



ouno design website
ouno etsy shop

twiggy lamp

i keep thinking about this twiggy lamp from moth design at toronto's industrial storm ever since i saw it in may's issue of canadian house and home. such a cute thing.

new ink & wit

tara sent an email today announcing the launch of her new website, ink & wit, gifts, greeting cards and art. nice and clean design.

i highlighted tara's work in my affordable art guidelast month. beautiful illustrations.

sale at precious pups

danielle maveal is having a $5 off sale off anything over $20 in her etsy shop, precious pups. these are adorable necklaces!

danielle maveal's precious pups etsy shop

new art from computer arts

computer arts always has a fresh batch of new artists each month that i love checking out. and in their latest gallery i'm loving the works of two artists. (click on images to enlarge).



"ode to a river" by jim gkikas, koropi, greece.



sahatarch pittarong from london, uk is a freelance illustrator/graphic designer and student.

summer-ize your home

wish magazine has a fun online article on 10 steps to summer-ize your home. i really love the yellow going on in this room. now i want to get to it!

wish magazine

how to make a pinhole camera

a great project on how to make a pinhole camera from make magazine blog:



click here if the screen here doesn't work.

fashion targets breast cancer stunt

On May 25th, 2007 – statues in Toronto (University & Queen) were spotted wearing Fashion Target Breast Cancer t-shirts. The shirts are a great way to show support for breast cancer research and awareness. They can be purchased at Roots and other retail stores across Canada. To find a store, go to www.fashiontargets.ca. Thanks Teresa and Mia for the pics!

soapylove

custom embossed soap bars

i confess i've been stalking soapylove's etsy shop trying to figure out which delight to feature, and then she listed these today and made it easy for me: voila!

sets of these gorgeous handmade soaps are available customized in your preferred color (blush and bash, anyone?) and fragrance -- good for sweet wedding or bridal party favors that can be actually *used and enjoyed*. kind of like the neon-colored foam beer coozies printed with "changes in latitude, changes in attitude" from my mom's wedding. but waaaay soapier. right! more at soapylove.etsy.com

les petites emplettes

love all these french pieces from les petites emplettes. feather bed set, passport book covers, picnic utensils and cushions.

all via favorite choses.

stumps

love ashley g's new stumps print that she just put in her etsy shop. print of an original illustration done in ink then digitally colored. print measures 6 1/2" x 11". printed on archival velvet fine art stock using archival pigment ink. $20

ashley g's etsy shop

flower pendants

flower pendant lamps from sentou.fr. three finishes: tulipier, walnut or ebony.

sentou's website

sarahlynnedesigns

reversible aluminum necklace: heart with wings and vegas slot machine

i was searching for something particularly vegas to feature, as the location for my sister's impending, and stumbled across *this* stunning thing. according to sarahlynnedesigns the heart design was inspired by a classic tattoo -- the pendant is hand-sculpted in a method similar to cloisonne enameling and takes three days to glaze (!). it reverses to slot-machine lucky sevens. jackpot!

her other reversible designs are gorgeous as well -- more at sarahlynnedesigns.etsy.com

greenwillow

set of six lined jewelry pouches, embroidered initials inside


traveling shoe bag and jewelry pouch set

for the more traditional, these are gorgeous and *practical* gifts -- greenwillow informs me she has made matching jewelry pouch sets for a bridal party, each custom-embroidered with the initial of the bridesmaid -- ooh la la! i love the red fabric, harlot that i am. (just kidding, mom.) more loveliness at greenwillow.etsy.com

piperewan

powder blue and golden orchid garter

ay, sexi! the only garter i've ever seen that i'd actually consider wearing. in fact, i might even wear it again after i pried it from the hands of the greedy fool who chased it down at the reception. mine!

also handily qualifies as new *and* blue, if you're into that sort of thing. now that i think about it -- it's orangey-bluish -- maybe, just maybe, my sister won't notice if i swap it for the university of florida "gator" garter she has insisted upon? ;)

more at piperewan.etsy.com

muchachak

custom clutch

muchacha k makes a-*dor*-able bags. she makes them custom for weddings and she can make multiples for the whole party. not to mention the cute little jewelry travel roll (also in one- and three-pocket styles) for the destinationally wedded and honeymooners. if you don't see the multiples listed in her store, just send her a note! more at muchachak.etsy.com

going straight to hell: the weekly DBA

my bridal-shopping friends, what i am about to say isn't very nice. it puts me in mind of the old phrase -- 'if you can't say something nice, come sit next to me' --

but i have spent a good deal of time sifting through a lot of *stuff*. you have too: invitations. cards. save the date possibilities. favors. gifts. dresses. jewelry. bridesmaid crap. who knew there was so much *stuff* involved? and every now and then you come across something that just makes you think: what were they thinking?

in honor of this, and in spite of my deep and abiding admiration for etsyers and my desire to make friends and have world peace, i respectfully debut my new occasional feature entitled "the weekly DBA" -- the weekly David's Bridal Award, in honor of a place that truly made me want to light myself or someone nearby on fire.*

(the title would've been "**WTF???**" but hey, my mom reads this blog. would i use that mouth to talk to my mom? not when she's just heard what hors d'ouvres cost from hotel catering.) ($3.50-4.75 **per piece**, ahem!)

in these interludes we pause for a moment to contemplate some of the more creative entries in the bridal horserace. please know this is a friendly sort of poking fun and not a snarky "i must destroy your happiness and ridicule your personal style/masterpiece/etc." my style ain't the same as everyone's and i firmly believe in to each their own. these DBAs are just my two american cents.

without further disclaimer, the inaugural "weekly DBA":


1980's gunne sax bride/ bridesmaid dress simplicity pattern

admittedly, this one's a softball. a no-brainer. i say: cool! sew your own wedding dress. no problem. still -- correct me if i'm wrong, some forms of retro are indeed fabulous fun -- but jessica mcclintock for gunne sax was what we wore to my 6th grade dance. and it looked bad on us even when it was in style. gunne sax, i dub thee the weekly DBA.

* it's not the people who work at david's, they are lovely. it is the FLUORESCENT MIRRORED HELL. would it be so hard to have natural lighting so we don't all look like sallow heifers? just a thought.

littleputbooks

fifty hand-folded accordion books in custom colors


hand-bound photo album, custom colors and papers

lovely, lovely handmade albums and books! littleput advertises the accordion books as wedding favors, and they'd also be wicked little invites for a small offbeat wedding or lovely keepsakes. also *great* pendant jewelry packaged in gorgeous little tins -- more at littleputbooks.etsy.com

handmade journals

love these handmade journals by marguerite k via favorite choses. so inspirational.

decorative eskimos

we don't have these ice creams here in canada (eskimos?), but i couldn't resist these decorative ones by caroline sebilleau via bodie and fou blog.