your input please!

This morning Cathe of Just Something I Made posted about a promo for Overnight Prints...100 free personalized postcards! How on earth could I pass this up? Thanks so much, Cathe!

Lately I've been doing an awful lot of gifting & swapping with internet friends & having a little signature card to slip in the packages would be so nice. Cathe's idea of using two images & then cutting them in half to create 200 cards is just brilliant (& oh so helpful for a person like me who could never decide on just one image to go with). Thus, a 4x6 postcard will become 2 business-sized cards.

Only problem is, the promo ends this weekend & since I am leaving this afternoon...I need to place my order now! So I just whipped a couple cards up & would really, really love your input.

I would especially love your input on the fonts. I can't seem to find one that feels right. Any suggestions?

All of you have such great styles. Any advice would be great!

happy friday

Last weekend I did a lot of hiking around Southern Illinois. Saturday we hiked the Rimrock Trail & Sunday we went to Little Grand Canyon. Both very beautiful spots. All that hiking got me a little homesick for camp, though...so I'll be leaving you for the weekend to see if I can't cure that. ; )

I hope you all have a safe & sunshiney Labor Day!

PS don't click here if you're squeamish about slithery things.

link goodness

have you seen this amazing list of links?
it will entertain (or distract) you for hours.

the scavenger project

I was super intrigued when I saw this over on Design For Mankind earlier today. So intrigued that I just signed up & pre-ordered the book. I suggest you check it out...& maybe even take part. They're accepting 1000 participants.
You'll get to create & be published by the end of it all. Need I say more?

the selby

the more & more i see of the selby (its been all over the place lately!) the more i love it.

i'm not a big fan of pink...

but i absolutely adore this.

via zest & thyme, by lauren

why?

oh, why do cotton dresses cost $150?

carbondale's annual art, craft, & yard sale

This weekend Jason & I went to a giant yard sale...so big, it might as well have been a flea market. It was great fun & we got so many things! The grand total? Ten dollas & some change.
A few of my favorite steals include this beautiful red kettle for $2 & a Polaroid camera for $1. You just can't beat that!

My absolute favorite, however, might have to be the great coffee mug in the photo.

PS you guessed it. I had a lot of fun putting my new camera to use this weekend.

the perks of being a student

my school has given me one of these pretties to use for the entire semester. free of charge. wow, i feel lucky.

grosgrain

Are you aware of the absolutely mind-blowing blog Grosgrain?
Kathleen Dougherty handmakes stunning children's clothing, takes beautiful photos of the clothes modeled on her own children, & then gives the clothes away on her blog.
Mind-blowing, right?
Even if you don't have children you should go marvel at her talent. You won't regret it.

Garden Party Frock Giveaway

Apple Orchard Overalls Giveaway

things are looking up

with a good night's sleep & a breakfast like this, thursday is definitely looking better than wednesday. thanks for all the happy comments & fantastic links...even if they were a day late. : )

they were fun either way!

peach from Braeutigam's Orchard

happy wednesday to me

today has been a particularly discouraging & fairly uninspiring day. i came to work at 8 this morning & have been sitting in front of the computer screen since (with the exception of a 50 minute class somewhere in the middle). the mouse & i have become pretty good friends. i'm fairly certain i couldn't have made it through without my little owlie friend; although, even he hasn't been able to keep my sleepy eyes away.

& now it is raining.

fellow bloggers, would you kindly comment with links or friendly suggestions to help brighten my mood & make this a happier wednesday?

porridge papers

etsy shop porridge papers offers not only adorable & handmade but also plantable stationery. what a remarkable concept! imagine recieving a warm note that doubles as potential flowers. just brilliant.

via creature comforts

fun on my doorstep

Oh boy was I a happy little girl when I got home from work yesterday. It was Christmas on my doorstep! Two CDs & two prints. eee!

She & Him - Zooey Deschanel is a girl after my heart.

Flight of the Conchords - I was a die-hard before the show existed.

& my favorite! two prints from the lovely collection of Lindsay Brackeen. Her etsy shop is stock full of gorgeous prints...I just want to buy them all up!

you are my sunshine

be my guest

PS in case you hadn't noticed, these prints feed my owl & mug addictions.

more book storage fun

Remember the tangram shelves? Well these beauties come from the same master mind, Daniele Lago. Brilliant.

It's a shame, though, that all I can think about right now is the roll of film that wal-mart ruined from our peach-picking trip this past weekend. I was so excited to see those photos...I could almost cry.

via double takes

the play station of my childhood

This shirt makes me so happy.

via swissmiss

pola pins

why, oh why must they be sold out?!

via swissmiss

summer re-cap preview

I've been meaning to post a bit about my time at camp, but this first week back at work has been crazy. So until I can get myself caught up, here is a silly something to give you a taste of what my summer was like.

Every Wednesday night, each unit of campers goes on an over-night. Everyone cooks their meal (foil burgers, comprised of a meat patty & veggies) on the hot coals of a burned-down fire. This particular over-night was the very last of the summer.

My unit, Goupil (named after Rene Goupil, one of the eight North American martyrs), stayed at Durbin's Barn where we built a decently large fire...The impressive part is that we lit said fire without any matches, lighters, flint & steel, or any artificial fire starter of any kind. I happened to find one single hot coal, about the size of a quarter, left over from a group that had stayed there the night before...I nursed this coal & brought it back to life. The above photo shows the results.

As you may have noticed, I was rather proud of that fire.

Oh, & yes I was blonde for a week.
& now I'm red.

visual pleasure

the colors. the books. the shoes.

the purses. the lighting. the tights.

is there anything about this photo i don't love?

via classic bride

cheryl taylor

I saw some prints from Cheryl Taylor

about a week ago on Paper Schmaper

& I just keep going back to them.

I can't seem to get enough.

1986

Mike & Bet

I'm jumping on the band wagon, too. It's just too fun to resist. Just flickr the year you were born (or any year for that matter) & pick your favorite photo(s).

PS this one is slightly terrifying.
PPS the game led me to this set & this group, both of which are fascinating.

via many places, but I saw it first on red aprons & lunchboxes

Brillante

This morning Rachel of Cornflower Blue Studio, one of my very favorite daily reads, gave me the Brillante Weblog award. I feel so very flattered & undeserving...having been away for most of the summer, I feel like a giant slacker in multiple areas of my life. It is very nice to know that I still have blog friends out there - thanks for sticking around guys!

The rules of the award:
1. The winner can put the logo on his/her blog.
2. Link to the person you received your award from.
3. Nominate at least 7 other blogs for an award.
4. Put links to those blogs on yours.
5. Leave a message on the blogs for the people you've nominated.

I feel obliged to pass on the award, but it's just so hard to choose a small handful out of the dozens that I love. But here we go (in no particular order):
Ultra-Condensed Movie Reviews - ultra-clever idea & freaking hilarious to top it off.
Paper Schmaper - Krissy always finds the most incredible paper art. I don't know how she keeps it up.
Fabulously Broke in the City - brilliant girl. seriously, I wish I had her convictions. & check out her link love posts. amazing.
Double Takes - I can't wait to see all of the wonderous double takes Lauren encountered while on her journies.
Cusp of Normal - despite my love of reading, I must admit that I tend to skim over many blog posts that don't catch my with some pretty graphic or photo...Amanda is hilarious, though. "Try it. You'll like it."
Quaint Handmade - I just love the s/he conversations & the (generally adorable) approach to blogging.
Please Sir - where would I be without Diana's vintage finds to keep my visual hunger at bay?

Hello Sunshine

This coat was made for me. Seriously. I have been searching for one just like it. The exact color & the exact collar. The only difference is I hadn't pictured that cute little bow...an addition I love. Oh October, why are you so far away?

Check out J.Crew's fall preview here.

via oh happy day

tangram bookshelves

Did you ever play with Tangrams in grade school? I certainly did.These bookshelves by Daniele Lago are Tangram-inspired
& can be arranged (& rearranged!)
in whatever style your little heart desires.
Perfect for my indecisive ways.

via double takes

garden of the dead

This kind of cracks me up ...& Zombie-Obsessed-Jason would love it. (He's currently reading World War Z...I'll let you know what he says about it). Although, now that I think about it...perhaps it's best he doesn't ever see it. The $90 Zombie of Montclaire Moors Sculpture is just not something our yard needs at the moment.

via the curious life

love this image

I would love to be camping with these girls right now.
Not wearing a skirt.

via design mom

mmm, gummi bears

The Anatomy of a Gummi Bear
from Moist Production

via old glutton

eek!

gasp!

As much as I love Google Reader...that horrid little "1000+" staring me in the face this morning made me want to cry. I've literally missed thousands of posts while I've been away, & I was sooo tempted to just click the "mark all as read" button & move on. But I just couldn't do it.
So although I've still got 894 more posts to skim, I'm very happy I decided to keep them...
who knows what kind of fun stuff awaits me!