colour collective.

Have you discovered Colour Collective yet? If not, you should traipse on over there immediately and admire Lauren Willhite's eye for colour. The concept is simple, she makes it seem simple anyway, taking colours from an inspiration piece and creating a beautiful pallette. They are a great starting point for any sort of creative project - a small design project or styling a whole room. A lot of her inspiration is from various designers, artists, and photographers. What a neat way to look at pieces of art. Below are a few of my favourites from her site.

Abby Powell

Andreas Sjodin

Jose Villa

What a great practice, to look at images and work to extrapolate a beautiful colour pallette. Looks like it might be a fun thing to do. I'd like to try it, what do you think?

Update: Oops, maybe you have heard of Colour Collective - apparently Lauren is over at Design*Sponge this week as the guest blogger. I guess I'm just behind in the times.

hitting the wall.

What to do with an empty wall?

Hang a collection of similar pieces of art

Hang a collection of different pieces of art (on the cheap)

Hang any collection:

Joe Pirela at Blue Ant Studio

Ann Wood

Andy Beers

Paint a mural (and here's how)

Not sure how to hang your collection on your wall? Then check out the nifty design*sponge video below of Amy Merrick sharing how she hung her plate wall.

Amy's plate wall

a stitch in time... is sublime.

Good morning! I hope that you had a really nice weekend. Caleb and I had a super weekend and I will hopefully share some of it with you over the course of this week - lots of pictures included. But this morning, I want to start the week off by sharing with you some great embroidery patterns that my friend Meg (of City Love) showed me over the weekend when we were discussing our newfound interest in all things embroidery. The site is Sublime Stitching and it showcases kits and patterns that can be purchased to embroider, but I think it is also great to get inspired by. The patterns featured on this site are not just your grandmother's patterns, they're new and interesting and full of creativity.

scooter babe transfer

Also, if you're not sure how to embroider and are looking to learn, jump on over to the Stitch School blog by Janet McCaffrey. Although I haven't started embroidering anything yet, her simple tutorials on all the different types of stitches look easy enough to use and encourage me to start this different (and vintage?) art form.

sharon montrose.

Are you ready for an overload of all things adorable? This post will definitely satiate your cute quota for possibly the next month or few. Sharon Montrose is a photographer based out of Los Angeles who photographs babies, kids, and animals. I think her best known work is of baby animals like the ones below. You can see her blog here, her website here, and her etsy shop here for even more cuteness.

Here are some of my favourites of hers (click on the label below the picture to see them at her store).

baby deer

baby porcupine

basset hound puppy

(Dear Caleb: I have a super weak spot for basset hounds.)

baby racoon

reindeer

I think I could go on forever, if you think you can too then go check out her etsy store, it is full of amazing photographs of all things wild (even a baby giraffe).

Want to know how she got started? Check out the video below.

spring into pink.

Today I'm feeling relatively uninspired - the creative juices are just not flowing. But, I know I'm in the mood for pink. Here is a little pink inspiration for you - it is very cheerful.

I found all of these beauties on etsy right here: 1. light pink czech beads 2. orange blossoms 3. red beads 4. sanctuary 5. pink bow 6. best friends

emma van leest.

Move aside paper snowflakes and chain paper dolls, today I want to share with you the gorgeous work of Melbourne-based artist Emma van Leest. Emma uses paper to create absolutely gorgeous scenes and cityscapes.

This week I'm going to focus on paper creations, come back soon to check out more beauty from paper.

children and planes.

Today is one of the first days where it really feels like springtime. The sun is out, the wind is cool but not cold, and there are people everywhere with big smiles on their faces. Literally, people everywhere. When I was driving home from Micah House this afternoon in downtown Hamilton there were at least a thousand people milling about Jackson Square and the park across from it. I couldn't believe my eyes.

And so in honour of the lovely weather, I want to share with you the picture above titled "Deaf Children Dancing to the Sound of Planes" by artist and printmaker Sanya Glisic in Chigaco. I found it on her Etsy shop Horse Drawn Carriage. I really like this print because of its whimsy, colour choices, and the silly name. It might just be the influential weather, but this print just makes me smile! Also, be sure to check out Sanya's other works at her Etsy shop, they are just as creative and inspiring - if not more so.