My Week Through Instagram: Week Six

Has everyone had a nice Saturday so far? Mine was quite lovely: relaxing, reading, designing, playing with my dog...the usual. Well the sixth week in 2012 is behind us now so here is my weekly recap of Instagram pictures.

Sunday: I got to see some gorgeous, billowy, white clouds on my way out of work.

Monday: Packaging for a Valentines Etsy order.

Tuesday: I started a new feature on my blog called Styling Vignettes. This time I cataloged some natural elements from my backyard plus a beautiful feather print from Carolyn Suzuki.

Wednesday: I wasn't feeling super great on Wednesday so I spent extra time in bed resting. I started watching Downton Abbey. I'm all caught up now and must admit I'm pretty hooked. I captured a picture of the talented Maggie Smith. Love her!

Thursday: After a day of clouds and potential rain, the sky cleared up and we had 80 degree SoCal weather. Typical.

Friday: I ran an errand and took Scout with me. She likes sitting in reverse in the back seat of the car. So weird. It looks like I put her in 'car time out.'

Saturday: I worked on some stamping today. I get to share the results on Monday.

So that was my week six. What did yours look like?

Follow me on instagram if you like. My username is laurenelisecrafted. Or see all of my pictures on the computer through Followgram. Happy weekend!

The Best Illustration EVER

Hi friends! Just a quick post today since I'm busy trying to get a couple things done this week. I wanted to share a couple of finds from my Renegade visit in December. I mostly bought paper products this time around, including the two lovelies I'm going to share today from talented local illustrator Nan Lawson. Her style is so quirky and fun and I definitely recommend checking out her Etsy shop stocked full of her unique prints. There are a couple others I have my eye on too...I just don't think I can live without them. But among Nan's large collection of illustrations, I found the absolute best print I have EVER seen. And I bought it. And it makes me so happy.

Now to some of you this may just be a man with a mustache eating bacon and eggs. But to me this man is Ron Swanson, the meat-loving parks department director in the show Parks and Recreation. This show is a favorite of mine (I never miss it) and Ron has to be one of the best comedic characters ever written. His dry sense of humor is quite perfect. Does anyone else watch Parks and Rec? Does anyone else love Ron Swanson as much as me?

I was overjoyed to see that Nan commemorated Ron in such a great way, with his bacon and eggs. She has done other movie and tv show characters also, like Harry Potter characters, Harold & Maude, Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy, and others that you can find in her shop.  

On a different note, I also found this print from Nan which is much more sweet and girly...

She draws all of her people with rosy cheeks which I think is adorable. Even Ron Swanson got rosy cheeks. 

Just a few pictures today friends. Happy Wednesday!

Etsy Treasury: Dala Horse Loves Scandinavian Design

Happy Tuesday friends! Today on the blog I want to share something new...well, something new for me at least, an Etsy Treasury. Etsy Treasuries are curated galleries of Etsy goods compiled by Etsy members. Anyone can make a Treasury (as long as you have an account) and it's a fun way to discover and promote new shops and handmade products. I have really enjoyed putting together my product ideabooks with Houzz the last few months and since making a Treasury list is pretty much the same thing I thought I would give it a try. 

Recently I have been inspired by the dala horse which is a traditional Swedish wooden toy. They are characterized by beautiful bright colors and patterns, usually bright red. I am such a fan of Scandinavian design anyway and I think the dala horse bridges that gap between clean, modern lines and vintage charm...the perfect combination of old and new which I love. So I searched Etsy for some Scandinavian inspiration and put together this mood board full of beautiful colors and clean design details.

The featured Etsy sellers from left to right, top to bottom are:

Polar Project * Ethan Ollie * Robin and Mould * The Cottage Cheese

Madgem Designs * Organa Design * Electric Elephant * Thirtyfive Flowers

Kaftan Sarafan * Seventy Tree * MayaG Handmade * LaNique Home

Leah Duncan * ReStyle Shop * Pistachio Press * Jane Foster Designs

To see this Treasury on Etsy and to get all the details about these products, visit this link.

Each and every one of these shops is full of great handmade and vintage items. It's amazing how much talent is out there and how many creative people are selling their beautiful work on sites like Etsy. People from all over the world. All different kinds of artisans and crafters. I find it truly inspirational, don't you? I can take a quick jaunt around the world and peek my head into all kinds of virtual shops without leaving the comfort of my home. Quite fantastic I think!

Have you made any Treasuries yourself? Share me a link if you have. I'd love to see what you all are finding and being inspired by right now. 

If you haven't made a Treasury, give it a shot! This was my first one and I enjoyed putting it together. Also, it's a perfect subject for a blog post if you're looking for something to share. One of the greatest things about this design blog community is the ability for people to promote and support independent artists, creatives, and bloggers. Let yourself be a part of it!

New to the Shop: Embroidered Heart Moleskine Notebooks

I am slowly (it truly feels ever-so-slowly sometimes) taking pictures and uploading items to my Etsy shop, items that had their debut at the Sew Funky Market in October.  I am really excited to finally get everything in the shop and see how my new work is received.  Getting decent pictures, editing those images, and actually uploading to Etsy (and figuring out wording to describe items) actually takes awhile and so sadly this is still a work in progress.  But progress is being made so...focusing on that positive there.  

Today I wanted to highlight a few recently added items to my shop, my Embroidered Heart Moleskine Notebooks.  They were a big hit with people at the fair and I think they are about the cutest thing ever.  They combine two of my most favorite things: little notebooks and embroidery!

I have talked about my notebook love-obsession before and the truth is that I can never have too many notebooks.  I use them constantly and am always on the look-out for new blank ones to jot my ideas into.  If you're like this or know someone like this, these notebooks would make the perfect little gift or stocking stuffer for the holidays.  I have made a few of these for myself and am already filling them up with my inspirations.  And they are Moleskine cahier notebooks so of course they have great design and quality.  They are pocket-sized so perfect for throwing in your bag and taking with you on the go.  

I have seven fun, retro colors in my shop currently {yellow, brown, grey, teal, magenta, seafoam, and white} but I can take custom orders and embroider any color you like.  Each notebook is $6.  If you mention you're a blog reader at checkout I will waive shipping costs, even for orders with multiple or custom notebooks.  I love my blog readers!

A little bit about how I make each of these notebooks: I pre-punch the holes in the shape of the desired design (I create a template beforehand for easy punching).  I then cross stitch the design into the paper, just like you would cross stitch on fabric.  Embroidery is such a beautiful art and I really enjoy doing it and making it feel contemporary.  I especially like it when unexpected materials are used in replace of fabric, like the paper I used here.  

So how do you like my embroidered heart notebooks?  Are you a fan of embroidery in nontraditional materials like me?  Be sure to visit my shop to see all of my new creations as I post them.  And remember, blog readers get shipping waived this holiday season so shop away if you like.  Thanks for stopping by today friends!  Happy Tuesday!    

Sew Funky Marketplace

On Saturday I had the pleasure of attending a local craft fair...yep, that's right, a local fair!  I am such a big fan of Renegade LA (which is coming up next weekend!) and all the artists that I see there but I am all about local too.  The Sew Funky Marketplace was held at the Marriott in downtown Riverside and I am so glad I got to attend before I had to slip off to work.  It was so nice to meet people in my area who love Etsy, handmade, and vintage as much as I do.  I met some fabulous new friends and purchased some cute handmade and vintage goodies.  For all you local (SoCal, Inland Empire) readers out there, I'm sorry I didn't post about this fair sooner, as in before it actually happened.  Please forgive me, I don't know what I was thinking.  Sew Funky should be back in the fall so I promise to let everyone know before that event and maybe some of my readers could join me for a day of craft fairing.

I snapped a few pictures at the event but I'm afraid they didn't turn out too well.  Because the event was held inside, the lighting in the pictures is very bad, super yellow.  And these few pictures represent just some of the cute displays and booths that were there.  Check out the Sew Funky blog for updated pictures from the fair. 

It wouldn't be a craft fair without some cute bunting!

The sweet sign for Rachel's Vintage Moments.  I enjoyed meeting and chatting with Rachel who has some awesome finds.  One of her specialties is vintage purses and she had so many great ones on display.  A couple definitely caught my eye.  

More of Rachel's booth on the left, you can see a few of her clutches in the drawer there.  She shared her space with Jenn of Love, Jennevy who crafts cute, whimsical jewelry.  Their display was a favorite of mine.  The jewelry and vintage items paired perfectly together.  It was such a pleasure meeting both of these lovely ladies.  

On the right is the leatherwork of Justin Deines (or here on Etsy), a super talented leather craftsman.  He had set up shop and was doing personalized orders right there on the spot.  More of his work in a minute...    

So are you interested in what I got?  I could not leave without purchasing a few goodies from the talented Janee of Yellow Bird, Yellow Beard.  Her stuff was so adorable and I loved talking with her (her super sweet husband was their too, helping to spread the word about his talented wife!).  

Yep, I got a stuffed whale!  As I told Janee, a stuffed whale isn't necessarily something I need but those polka dots were too cute to pass up.  And the cards were made from rubber stamps she carved herself.  Very ocean-themed now that I look at it.  Be sure to check out Janee's shop because she has a lot of great stuff in there...I wanted to buy more but I was on a budget so I had to refrain.  She has a blog too which I will be perusing more in depth later today.  

Janee also had some vintage prints so I snagged this one, a transit guide of New York City.  I think I'll just hang it as a print in my room.  I'm getting in the New York spirit in preparation for my trip there in a few weeks...oh wait, have I mentioned that yet?  Yep, I'll be visiting NYC soon but more on that another day.  

I bought an old book notebook from the Hello Bird and Ultra Lounge booth.  I was excited to meet both of these ladies.  They each have a space at a local antique mall (the Redlands Galleria) and I have bought items from them before.  They always find great retro stuff.  These notebooks were something new and I couldn't walk away from this one.  I love the colors on the cover.  I have a thing for little notebooks, basically I can never get enough.  

The striped flower pin was from Agape Live Love (I can never turn down stripes!) and the heart earrings were a creation from Jennevy.

And finally, what I got from Justin Deines.  He was selling these key necklaces and you could choose which old key you wanted.  But I customized mine even more and got this leather feather too.  He was so nice to accommodate and he made the necklace up for me right there.  I also loved his simple packaging and he included a feather key chain as an extra bonus!  

So I think I did pretty well at the fair.  Definitely check out some of these artist's sites.  Everyone was so nice and talented and I was so glad to meet some local creatives.  I look forward to the fair in the fall and just maybe I will be a part of it too.  Happy Monday!