{ no fuss flowers, part deux }

image: MarthaStewart.com

It's been a busy, busy day today, but I wanted to make sure I shared with everyone the beautiful photos I received from a couple of lovely readers who decided to partake in my little no fuss flowers project. I hope you find their creations as clever and inspiring as I do. Oh...and I decided to give it a try myself and have included a couple of those photos as well...enjoy.

Cindy of Quaint Handmade always has something wonderfully creative to offer and her flower arrangements don't disappoint. I love how simple yet distinctive each one is. 

I love her tea tin and filled with fresh herbs

Cindy borrowed this statue from her father-in-law and combined some of his raspberries with her pansies. Isn't it sweet?

Lovely bottles. See more photos in Cindy's flickr stream

Reader Tissy took a different approach and shared special corners of her garden that incorporate vintage and found objects–love it!

 

An antique baby crib now cradling wild strawberry-so cute!

impatiens planted in a darling vintage bucket

And here, dear readers, are my little creations...

I filled my beloved enamelware matches holder from the Paris flea market with snips from my garden.

Pieces from my mini milk glass collection dressed up with some of our hydrangeas.

I had so much fun brainstorming for this project and hope we have inspired a few of you to find some hidden treasures that perhaps you can repurpose to show off some sweet Spring blooms. Be sure to check out this article which elaborates on unusual flower-ready vessels. (Thanks again for sharing this article with me Cindy!) 

Have a fabulous weekend everyone and thank you for your generous and thoughtful comments this week. Your visits and notes fill me with joy.

{ Tag...I'm it! }

image via flickr fave bclee

I was tagged by the oh-so-inspiring Benita...I hope you have fun learning a bit about me:

What time did you get up today? Oops...I hit the "off" button instead of the "snooze" button, slept until 7:30.

Diamonds or pearls? My antique diamond wedding ring–a cherished family heirloom.

Latest movie in a movie theater? Juno-loved it!

Favorite TV series? Lost, The Office, and The Hills–(my guilty pleasure-*blush*)

What did you have for breakfast? A bowl of Special K red berries cereal (I'm addicted to it).

What's your middle name? Marie

Favorite food? I'm not a big foodie, but I do love tacos, butternut squash ravioli and Japanese food.

Which food don't you like? Anything with odd, squishy textures.

What's your favourite CD at the moment? I"m currently loving a mix of old and new music via Pandora and itunes.

What car do you drive? A Jetta. I love VWs...except for my first car, I have always owned one.

Favorite sandwich? PBJ

Which human traits can't you stand? Dishonesty, pettiness.

What are your favorite clothes? Spring and Summer clothes...casual dresses and skirts.

If you could travel anywhere, where would you go? Back to Positano, Italy or Paris, France. I'd also love to experience Australia.

Favorite clothing brand? Gap. J. Crew (when I want to splurge)

Where would you like to retire? Ideally: Split my time between an apt. in San Francisco and a cottage on the beach. 

Favorite time of day? After my morning cup of coffee.

Where were you born? In the San Francisco Bay Area.

Which is your favorite sport to watch? My daughter's soccer games and swim meets.

Coke or Pepsi? Ice-cold Coke. 

Soccer or hockey? Soccer to play, hockey to watch.

Are you a morning person or a night owl? Definitely a night owl.

Pedicure or manicure? Pedi.

Any exciting news to share? Today my husband and I celebrated our 15th wedding anniversary. (I was a child bride of course) :). Wow...it seems just yesterday that we had our dream wedding at historical Mission San Jose (pictured above).

What did you want to become as a child? A nurse, until I developed a phobia of needles.

Best childhood memory? Bringing home my new baby brother from the hospital, visits to my grandparents' home in San Francisco, family road trips to Disneyland (and my favorite ride: It's a Small World).

Ever been to Africa? Not yet.

Ever rolled anybody in toilet paper? Hmmm, No. Although I did tag a few houses in my high school days.

Have you ever been in a car accident? Yes, but thankfully, it was very minor.

Favorite day of the week? Saturday morning.

Favorite flower? Tulips and Peonies. I also love the climbing roses in my garden.

Favorite - Hot dog or Chinese food? Chinese food.

Do you own a bike? Yes...my husband and daughter surprised me with a pink cruiser for my birthday. I love it!

Who was you latest e-mail from? A mom of one of my daughter's classmates...we're working together on a big end of school year project.

Where would you like to shop more if you could afford to? The Paris flea market.

Bed time? Usually not before midnight.

Latest person to share dinner with? Japanese food tonight with little one and hubby.

Favorite color? Cheery yellow.

How many tattoos? 0

Thanks so much Benita...that was a fun one!

{ thursday things worth a look: paintings by Cori Dantini }

"Under the Leaves of Heaven"

Sometimes I get so excited when I discover a new {to me} artist that I can hardly wait to share their work with you all. Such is the case with artist Cori Dantini, an amazing artistic talent based in Pullman, Washington. 

Cori's art appeals to me on so many levels–I love the subtle messaging found in each piece and the way in which she combines vintage book elements and painting with her incredible illustrative talents. Cori uses her own custom arsenal of tools to create her one-of-a-kind treasures, including: walnut ink, Japanese pen nibs, golden acrylic paints, watercolor, wax, her sewing machine, and various photoshop textures. I think you'll agree, the result is quite extraordinary.

"she would ALWAYS have her tools"

{my personal favorite as am I usually the one sporting the tools in our household}

For those of you who have embarked on art as a full-time career and anyone who dreams of doing so, I encourage you to check out this interview with Cori on Pikaland–it's a great read and includes a fascinating timeline of sorts that paved the way to Cori's success as an artist {including the inspiration behind her trademark style of  incorporating vintage book pages into her art}. 

To see more of Cori's pieces, visit her etsy shop where she sells affordable prints of her original paintings.

{ inspired interiors: stylist eva lindh }

I thought I'd start today by sharing some visual treats I recently discovered* in the portfolio of Eva Lindh, a stylist based in Stockholm. You might recognize her captivating design work from the pages of Swedish interior design magazines,  Skona Hem and Lantliv.

Many of these images will be making their way to the inspiration board for my {fantasy} summer home.

These showcase but a few of her room creations. To view more lovelies from Ms. Lindh's gorgeous portfolio of work, visit her web site. It's loaded with design inspiration and I think you'll find there's a little something for everyone over there.

*Found via Nabe Fabric

{all images via Eva Lindh}

{ reclaim | repurpose | refresh: etsy shop kinchimama }

Create your own summer of love with these flashback finds from etsy shop Kinchimama, designed using vibrant, vintage fabrics from the 70s. Mirjam, a fashion designer based in the Netherlands, just recently opened Kinchimama– her fashion collection for women–after customers of her wildly popular kids line of clothing and accessories, Kinchi, repeatedly requested items that they, too, could wear.

May I have one of each, please?

Stay tuned as Mirjam continues to expand and add to her fabulously funky women's shop. You can visit her *adorable* kid's shop here and stay up to date with new designs and offerings, via her flickr stream.

P.S. I have received some photos for this fun little activity--thanks so much. If you would like to join in, there is still time to participate.  You can either email your photos to me or send me a link. I will be posting the photos at the end of the week and would love to include you all.

Welcome back...hope your weekends were restful and rejuvenating.

{ weekend getaway guide }

I present...your site seeing guide for .05 .23 .08:

.01   Um. Could these be any cuter? I think not.

.02   I love her new project and can't wait to follow it.

.03   I'm so thrilled that she and she have each started a blog.

.04   These are almost as good as being there.* I vow to return someday.

I'll leave you all with some snippets from my garden, in which I plan to wile away the hours this weekend. {Thanks for the inspiration Benita}. 

Don't forget to send me your photos---have a safe and restful weekend.

*found via La Boudoir

{ garden inspired: no fuss flowers }

look for a lovely thing and you will find it   

                                                                         ~ sara teasdale

image: Better Homes & Garden

I just read and was inspired by a brief article in this month's Country Living magazine in which they suggest, Dressing Up Your Collections with Flowers. I just love this concept of repurposing unexpected containers to create distinctive arrangements. You might remember this previous post which touched on the concept as well.

image: Country Living 

And then, I stumbled upon this UK based florist via the always inspiring {frolic!} and I had to share. I haven't been able to stop myself from going back to the Scarlet & Violet web site again and again. I just adore the styling of the photos and the simple, clever arrangements.

three center images: Scarlet & Violet

Your mission–on this long weekend ahead–is to use these photos as inspiration and then scour flea markets, tag sales, and your own cupboards for overlooked treasures to hold your lovely Spring cuttings. I plan to do the same.

 

image via: snippet & ink

I would be most appreciative if you would take a snapshot(s) of your creation and email it to me so I can add it to a photo gallery I plan to post next week showing off your creativity {with links to all of your fabulous blogs and shops of course}. email: shoptalkbuzz at gmail dot com.

I hope you all have a spectacular three day weekend {in the U.S.}. What are your plans?

{ thursday things worth a look: your photos...vintage style }

Miss Tristan at The Bella Bella Co. inspires me time and time again and I absolutely adore her latest creation.  It seems that Tristan has discovered a way to take your oh-so-ordinary photos back in time and turn them into vintage inspired works of art. 

Take a look at the {before} example...lovely photo, but somewhat ho-hum wouldn't you say?

Now...take a look at the {after} photo:

A little time machine magic and ordinary becomes extraordinary, no?

I've already imagined so many possibilities and think these little 'vintage' masterpieces would make fabulous gifts when commemorating a special milestone or sharing a cherished memory. Each one-of-a-kind piece is printed on your choice of Arches textured watercolor paper {my preference} or Kodak Endura glossy paper and comes with it's own official Certificate of Authenticity which is as lovely as the artwork itself. 

Start digging through that old box of photos and then pay a visit to Bella Bella Co.'s lovely etsy shop for the full scoop. {Be sure to take a moment and browse their inspired line of paper goods while you're there}.

{ wednesday wish list: anything from SusyJack* }

Over the last couple of months I have followed the progress of Susan Connor's contemporary line of  paper goods, SusyJack*, through her awe inspiring blog, heysusy*. It is so thrilling to see it all come together with the debut of her new Spring collection at the National Stationery Show, which is wrapping up today in New York. I just love the clean, fresh look of her well edited designs. 

After seeing these photos of the SusyJack* show booth, I wanted to completely gut my home office and adorn it from head to toe with her goods. The cheerful aesthetic and pop of color against the white is irresistible. { Sorry little office, but I think you're in for a major Spring cleaning }. 

I know some of you readers out there already follow this talented artist and designer through her heysusy* blog { this week's featured blog }. I encourage the rest of my readers to do the same. Susy is generous with both her design knowledge and business advice–offering everything from gorgeous inspiration {with plenty of eye candy} to tips on starting, enhancing, or promoting your own small business. I love that Susy often shares her own personal experiences as an entrepreneur–truly priceless information if you've ever thought of doing something on your own. 

To browse more of the SusyJack* line, visit the etsy shop or Susy's new online boutique. Oh...and to learn even more about Susy, read this great interview found via Etsy's Storque feature.

{ All images via SusyJack and heysusy }

{ coffee break }

Hi everyone...I'm sorry to say I'm bogged down with a big work project today. However, I couldn't resist taking a much needed break to stop by and  say, "hi". If I don't make it back today, I will most certainly be back tomorrow with a fresh and fabulous post. Thanks so much for your patience.

{ somehow sipping coffee from a fanciful teacup almost makes me forget I'm working }

image by yours truly

{ monday morning blues: paintings by cathy nichols }

I love, love, love the splashes of blue and images of Spring and Summer found in these bright, cheerful paintings by artist Cathy Nichols.

I just discovered Cathy's lovely etsy shop this morning via Etsy's 'hand-picked' gallery. You can follow Cathy's work and learn about the inspiration behind each of her paintings by paying a visit to her blog. If you happen to stop by today, be sure to send some birthday wishes...today is Cathy's birthday.

Welcome back friends...hope you're having a marvelous Monday!

{all images found via Paintings by Cathy Nichols}

{ shoptalk: mcmaster & storm }

I have been dying to visit this shop, located in Greenville, Ohio, ever since reading about it recently in Country Living Magazine. And now, thanks to this wonderful little technology called the internet, shop keepers Kara Garber and Darcy Deaton are bringing their irresistible, petite department store, McMaster & Storm to all of us.

 

Their website, which just recently launched, is loaded with new and vintage finds– from the practical {petite toast tongs} to the fanciful creations of D. Sharp {a personal favorite of mine}. Have a look-see at some highlights below and then pop over there for some site seeing of your own.

Oh...and don't miss their fun blog which is frequently updated with new finds and additions to the shop.

What a week! Thanks again for joining me here and 

for all of your amazing comments.

Wishing you all a wonderful weekend!

{first two images found via Country Living Magazine}

{ thursday things worth a look: Elum stationery }

My love affair with letterpress is no secret. Truth be told, I have to restrain myself from showing you every letterpress card I stumble upon, because frankly, I love them all. But, it would be irresponsible of me not to share this truly exquisite letterpress stationery from Elum with you all. *wink*

stationery sets and journals

Elum's collection also includes stunning custom designs. To view the entire line, visit their oh-so-inspiring site.

{found via Paper Schmaper}