HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Last year we were in Mexico for Halloween and the year before that I was working so much I didn't participate so it was this year, the third year that V and I have been together, that I finally got a glimpse at how much he truly loves this celebration. We threw a Halloween/house warming party and V spent days researching different DIY ideas for our apartment. He had been gathering his costume since April (possibly my first clue to how important October 31st is to him) but I had been resisting the upcoming night so the day before our party I left V to cut out 100 paper bats and made a trip to the dollar store to assemble my costume. I went as 'night' which was not as effective as I would have hoped (mental note: pretending like Halloween isn't going to happen does not equal the worlds best costume) but it did, after leveraging a mask I bought in New Orleans, cost me approx. $5.

V did an AMAZING job with the house - we had giant spiders, hanging bats, a dead body, bloody walls, a vodka infused watermelon 'brain' with 'zombie lips' (apple slices, peanut butter and white chocolate chips) and many a vomiting pumpkin. All in all - a good night.

Hope your Halloween was as memorable.

THRIFTING

V hit up a few thrift stores yesterday and came home with some great goodies. The boots are for sale in the YARD SALE shop, the books are to use in a display for Scout & Catalogue at an upcoming gift show and the old Panasonic radio is to satiate my love for talk radio.

PAWLING PRINT STUDIO

A few days ago I stumbled into the sweet, simple prints of the Pawling Print Studio. Run by two sisters with a background in Architecture and Graphic Design these geometric pieces (the line also includes tea towels, cushions and baby clothes) are intensely covetable.

STUDIO OUT TAKES

I had to take some pictures of my studio for an show application so I did a bit of a tidy and decided to share some of the out-takes.

THE HEART OF GUADALAJARA

I was updating some images on A Notable Pause and stumbled into these interior shots of the main church in Mexico's second largest city - Guadalajara. Mexican churches have AMAZING, over the top (some might even say gaudy) interiors with gold gilding everywhere, life sized vignettes of gruesome trials that sent disciples on to sainthood and plenty of dramatic columns. At first I wasn't as moved by them as some of the European cathedrals I have visited but after a few visits, these extreme tributes to Catholicism wore off on me and now I drag V into every open church we walk by...
(So excited to see Scout & Catalogue on the sweet and lovely blog Fieldguided)

CLEAN TYPE/SOFT PALETTE

There is always a place in my heart for soft palettes, clean type and clear grids.(via fieldguided, scout holiday, jjjjound and dear colleen)

HELL YEAH!

Worth the read.

It's time to do your own thing.

(via The Cool Hunter)

S&C HANGTAGS

I spent some time on the weekend dying cotton string. I was hoping to create more separation in the different colours I used (red, deep eggplant and grey) but instead it came out in a soft fade between the 3 hues which I actually really like. Happy accident, I guess.

I used the string for some new hangtags for Scout & Catalogue which I made from white card stock, my newly dyed string and a tiny hand burned stud.

VALERIA PICERNO

Love the photography of Valeria Picerno - I wish I lived in a world of such soft tones and absurd moments. So much more on her flickr.

LUNES LOVES ETSY

Triangles, antique chain, bone, and gold dipped crystals are all reasons why this weeks Lunes Loves Etsy shop, Laura Lombardi Jewelry, is one of my favourites. Based out of Chicago this jewelry store's ethereal imagery pulls me in and the quality of the pieces keeps me clicking.

THE DREAM BIG PROJECT

I'm pleased to introduce my new set of blank notebooks - The Dream Big Project. This was a bit of an unorthodox item to create since obviously it is not a tote or a scarf but seeing that my 'real' job was in graphic design it felt like a natural stretch for me.

The idea was simple - being a small business owner I go through the huge highs and lows that come with being your own boss/goal setter/time manager/PR person/sweat shop labourer/shipper and receiver/etc. and I was spending a lot of time writing on various scraps of paper to stay motivated and focused. I wanted to create a little notebook to capture ALL of what I was going through but when I sat down to design it I realized that there was really 3 things I ALWAYS do in order to stay on my game:

01. DREAM IT

02. PLAN IT

03. SAY THANK YOU FOR EVERYTHING I ALREADY HAVE NO MATTER HOW SMALL

And so I decided to create a series of 3 little notebooks to remind us to do those steps every time we want to make something happen in our lives. I called it 'The Dream Big Project' to remind myself that we really can have anything we desire as long as we are focused and brave and choose to take on life...and then I drew some cute illustrations to make me feel happy!

Made from mixed paper and card stock and bound with rivets they come in a pack of 3 (all 3 steps) and are available in the shop.