Something Beautiful Afoot

by evie s. on March 11th, 2008

I’m really picky when it comes to rugs or floor mats. But I’m fond of these leafy floor mats made of Astroturf and then laser-cut to resemble an explosion of fallen autumnal leaves. This floor-adorning product is designed by Joanna Goszczynski for White Moose and is a perfect blend of beauty and simplicity.

[ Via Design Spotter ]

Remember Carving Your Initials in a Tree?

by evie s. on March 10th, 2008

Now you can revive that forgotten pastime without defiling public property with these wooden postcards from A+R.  Carve a special message in the soft wood for your sweetie and stick it in the mail.

Oh the days when your junior high sweetheart would carve your initials into the school yard tree or classroom desk for all to see…With this wooden postcard you can really declare your sentiments for the postman and every one between here and there to witness. Just carve or scratch your own message with a key or knife. One customer in our Venice store intends on tooling in her message by dusting off her own carving kit from…junior high! Soft and lightweight solid wood, easy to scratch in your design and easy to post.

[ Via I Heart Luxe ]

Artist Highlight: Kristina Collantes

by evie s. on March 7th, 2008

Kristina Collantes’ work is just beautiful to look at. She is a talented young artist currently living in San Diego, California. Some of her illustration work has been used for CD covers, posters, and textiles. Her online store features some of her products: t-shirts, buttons and original drawings.

Thank You to Design Sponge

by evie s. on March 6th, 2008

Thank you to Grace for highlighting my serving tray makeover project today and welcome d*s readers! Please subscribe to the RSS feed to get the latest on new DIY projects, free downloads or crafty tutorials. I try to have at least one project a week posted for all you DIYourselfers out there! It’s also a great way to be inspired. So stay tuned…next week I have a great free download planned that would make a great gift, or you can use yourself.

Thank you for visiting!

Lovely Book Covers

by evie s. on March 5th, 2008

I adore these book covers with perfect spring colors, playful typography and contrasting black artwork. These lovely designs are illustrated by the talented Christopher Neal Silas. You can see more work on his website that features editorial work as well as prints he has for sale.

[ Via typophile ]

Topography as Art

by evie s. on March 4th, 2008

Is anyone else mesmerized by the cool wavy lines of a topographic map? I came across a clever artistic interpretation of this map style in these ceramic tiles from Osuma Design. Arja Rantala and Sami Haikonen are the two young designers behind the Finnish design company. The ceramic tile fittingly entitled Soil, is inspired by the topography of the Toolo bay area of Helsinki city center. Uncut tiles create a continuous pattern, while cut tiles create a broken landscape with emergent structures. Unfortunately it’s only a prototype right now and not available for sale. But it’s great inspiration!

The image on the right is a topographic map of San Francisco from Berkeley. You can download the full image here.

[ Via ffffound ]

Serving Tray Redux: From Bad to Beautiful

by evie s. on March 3rd, 2008

I picked up this ugly un-finished serving tray with a duck motif at an estate sale a couple weekends ago. It only cost me $3, and it wasn’t too difficult to have a vision for its makeover. I decided to use some vintage wallpaper that I purchased a year ago to decoupage the inside of the tray. The paper was being saved for something special so I could maximize my enjoyment of the pretty gold pattern.

Here are the steps:

• First I painted the entire tray (bye bye ducks) in an off-white color.
• Then I measured the inside of the tray using some junk paper as a template. I placed the template over my vintage paper and used it to trace the shape.
• I cut it out and used some sepia toned decoupage and brushed the underside of the paper.
• I placed the paper on the tray being careful to align it properly. (One tip is start with one side and work your way over to the other side, otherwise you might have a lot of air bubbles.)
• Let it dry then apply a top coat to seal the paper.
• I thought it needed something else, so I just stenciled a pattern along the outside handles with a brown acrylic paint.

I really enjoy looking at it in my living room, and it looks great with accessories placed inside. The possibilities were endless when it came to redoing this tray and it could have a million different looks depending on what paper you use, the colors, etc. It made for a great weekend project.

You can see more photos of this fabulous project here and here.