Happy February

Wishing you a Happy February with colors of red and pink. What do you think about Punxsutawney Phil, will he see his shadow tomorrow? Has anyone been to the actual ceremony in Pennsylvania, I think it would be a riot. Read about it here.

1: Two Tone Satin Sash
2: Lacoste Watch
3: Spade Bon Shopper
4: XO I love you card
5: Je T'aime Sweatshirt
6: Heart Cake Tutorial via Oh Joy's Pin
7: Quince & Rose Candle

Design Story : Designer Stuff For Less!

I've talked about it before here but in case you missed it, I am over the moon excited about Design Story. It has got to be one of the best sites for really cool designer stuff for less I've ever come across! It really is that good.

Today I just ordered some lovely Rifle Valentines and last week I ordered up these Cubitec bookshelves that have been on my wish list ever since I saw them in the sneak peek home of Swiss Miss over at Design Sponge that you can also find at DWR. So, since this was really fresh on my mind, I thought I would let you know about it again! It rocks.

Sign up here and get a $10 credit.* What is your favorite online discount site? This is definitely one of mine.


*B*E also gets the same credit, but I am more excited about sharing this super cool site with you than that!

Egg Press at Target

Egg Press let me know about their fantastic venture in joining forces with Blue Sky to bring an exclusive line to Target, yahoo! The line includes a great selection of calendars and planners with their signature Egg Press designs. I've seen some samples up close and there are some really lovely options in their collection. If you are looking for a stylish and affordable calendar option, check them out at your local Target.

Paper Monkey Press

I'm a big fan of simple, clean design. And Rori at Paper Monkey Press is genius at making it work. Her wedding announcement is particularly striking, with so much white space. I love it. Here's peek at a few of her recent designs:



wedding announcement



love the colors on this dinner party invitation



the green border is fab



polka dots!

(photos courtesy of paper monkey press)

Post by guest blogger: Jane Potrykus from Simple + Pretty

Raven & Lamb

Fun stuff from the Australian shop Raven & Lamb.

Paper Earrings

The creativity and uniqueness behind these paper earrings by Esther in her signature colorful layered style from Essimar are so cool. Check out her etsy shop and website to see more.

anthro mail

Hopefully you aren't too sick of my adoration for Anthropologie yet? Because I got two pretty pieces of mail from them this week {in the midst of my bills and flyers} and I just had to share. Each piece is simple, but well designed and cuter than can be. I'm scratching my head at how they were able to pull off these seemingly handmade pieces for a mass mailing though. They are just too clever!

papery flowers

When my mom was a teenager, she helped pay for her university tuition by making giant crepe paper flowers and selling them to Montreal stores to be used in their window displays. Artist Zoe Bradley's work is reminiscent of my mom's business venture...just on a bit of a different scale! Using primarily luxury papers, sculptural and origami techniques, her oversized creations have appeared in the fashion shows and windows of bigwigs like Louis Vuitton, Harrod's and Tiffany's. Oh to create large paper flowers for a living!

paper forest

Well it's no secret that I'm smitten with nature motifs and silhouettes...just take a look at my logo! So I fell in love with these delicate Wooden Pop-Up Boxes filled with small, hand-cut paper forests by paper artist Lizzie Thomas. So whimsical and pretty! {as seen in Lucky magazine; photos from Design*Sponge}

PomLove

I just cannot get enough of Martha Stewart's paper 'puffs' {otherwise known as poms but I like to call them puffs}. They are such an easy way to decorate an event or even a wedding. In fact we used some to decorate the cocktail tent for a wedding this past fall and it is amazing how something so simple as tissue paper can create such a textured and festive effect! If you are feeling crafty, you can make your own with Martha's instructions here. Or if you are feeling a bit lazy {like me right about now...Friday afternoon} then check out these beautiful ready-made kits in from the Etsy store Pom Love...look at those colours! {found via Oh Joy}.

paper nerd: in love with origami cranes

I've mentioned previously that I am a 'paper nerd'. I'm not sure though, if I really drove home the extent of my nerdiness. I just love paper - any sort of paper - and could literally stare at swatches, colours, textures, and patterns for hours. I constantly ogle the loveliness on Paper Source and basically any paper store I can find. And I have oodles of paper hanging in my office that I don't actually know what to do with! They are just hanging there looking pretty and making me happy.

Anyway, I've had a strange fascination with paper origami cranes lately, and I wondered what cool decorative things could be made with these beautiful folded creations.
This glorious paper crane mobile was spotted in a home on The Selby.

How about using them as place cards holders? {top via Julie Mikos, bottom via Project Wedding}

And check out this gorgeous use of paper cranes at Yuli and Keith's wedding {via Robert Sukrachand}.

According to an ancient Japanese legend, anyone who folds 1000 paper cranes will be granted a wish...better start folding! Have a great weekend Bloomers...

show and tell

inBloom recently created some papery details for my friend and beautiful bride Jessica, who just got hitched this past Sunday! She had an art deco theme for her wedding, with little birdie touches thrown in (she got married at the old Eglinton Grand theatre in Toronto, and used bird cages of all sizes as her centrepieces). The very elegant 'Paris Retro' invitation was customized in deep red and black, and little birdies were added in to symbolize the bride and groom. As mentioned before, and probably again, I do love a birdie! A matching program was created too...voila! A set of wedding stationery as lovely as the bride herself.