Monday, May 19, 2008
Sunday, May 18, 2008
Pretty Things Spotlight: * ElisabethSpace *
Enter the give-a-way at the end of this feature!
With inspiration taken from the most incidental places and things, jewelry by ElisabethSpace is free-spirited and beautiful in its balance and contradiction.
"I do love to keep each piece tantalizing with a smattering of color or an air of organic timelessness..."
Gentle yet whimsical shapes noted with colour capture a Bohemian attitude. With nuanced differences, each piece captures clarity, drama, individuality and a casual yet elegant style appropriate for a picnic in the park or a night out on the town.
Spotlight: ElisabethSpace
★ Tell us a bit about yourself… 
★ What inspires you? My inspirations are always changing. Generally, silly whims and happy accidents set the course for a number of my designs. Frequently, I find myself drawn to a particular color for ridiculously long time, more often than not, some lush shade of blue or green. While I sometimes wish I was the type of artist that could plan out a design with sketches and finite notions, I usually like to plop down at my table when I'm feeling creative and simply play with the jumble of color and metal surrounding me. It's all rather willy-nilly, but that seems to be how I create my favorite pieces.
★ Apart from creating things, what do you do
for fun? In addition to the tried and true responses such as vacationing, reading, and cooking, I also enjoy soy lattes or double italianos, quality time on my charming, beeaauuutiful covered porch, snacking by the computer, tooling around on my bicicleta, and making my wee nephew giggle. Free-flowing conversation with quality people makes my day. Discovering new music (The Republic Tigers, The Avett Brothers, Fleet Foxes...) makes the world a better place.
★ What has been your most memorable moment selling your art?
A lovely woman in Australia found me online and wanted me to construct a necklace with beads that came from a necklace that had been her grandmother's. Her kind words about my art and her trust in my ability to work with her beloved beads struck me as something special.
★ Any advice for fellow artists...
Always remember to nurture the child within you. Don't worry about
"shoulds" Buy the basics for your art or craft at the best possible prices, but be willing to splurge on something special or out of the ordinary. Never force things. Get inspired by all the other innovative ideas to be found on Etsy.com and Flickr.com. Try to stay organized; creating out of cluttered chaos hampers flow.★ Fun question: If you could travel anywhere, where would it be and why?
While I would love to be able to see a number of places all over this
beautiful, eclectic world, if I was to travel somewhere right now I would go to Eureka, California to visit my dear friend whom I miss a great deal.★ Anything else you'd like to add about yourself or your work...
Outside of a couple summer metal smithing classes, I'm self-taught in my craft. I strongly believe that continuing to create my jewelry is a ways for my imagination to grow and stay fresh. Whatever direction it takes me is one I am happy to explore.
Shop: http://ElisabethSpace.etsy.com
Enter this week's give-a-way!
Elisabeth is giving away one of her prettiest pretties...The beautiful Lou Lou necklace in vintage brass!
The surface of this piece has been given a light brushing, enough for added character, but not so much as to ruin the fine detailing. The chain is a delicate brass peanut chain with a high quality gold filled trigger clasp.
How to enter:
Peek into the ElisabethSpace shoppe and peruse her fine lovelies. Then, comment here on your most favourite piece.
Most Important Details: If your favourite piece is not part of your comment and/or some sort of viable contact information is not included, your entry will be disqualified. Winner has 3 days to contact me with their address. Give-a-way is shipped out via the artist. The winner's name will be drawn from a hat...the good ole' fashioned way to do things. One entry per person. All entries must be received by noon Sunday, May 25th, 2008, PST. This contest is open to everyone.
Saturday, May 17, 2008
Go Get Your Own...
Have you created your Entourage yet?
I have...hee hee
You can go onto Gwen Stefani's page for HP and make your own Harajuku-inspired paper dolls, greeting cards, birth announcements, baby shower invites {must be 'cuz she's pregnant again}, cd labels and more!
It's great fun...especially the paper dolls! Of course, I named my cuties as well. :)
Friday, May 16, 2008
America's Next Top Model...Blonde Bombshell
After a marathon watch of America's Next Top Model 2008 last weekend when I wasn't feeling well, I saw every episode except the last for this past cycle....and desperately tried very hard to not have the ending spoiled by yesterday's media. I succeeded until last night at 11.59pm when I checked my email only to find the winner announced in the subject headline of someone's email.
Grrr...Well, I guess I can talk about it now too.
ANYA KOP, 19
Born in Russia and now residing in Hawai'i, Anya went from sultry brunette to blonde nymph during the competition.
WHITNEY THOMPSON, 20
A plus-sized { that's a size 10 in the modeling world } student from Atlantic Beach, FL who went from brunette to Anna Nicole-blonde during her ANTM makeover.
FATIMA SIAD, 22 { and my pick even if her walk and attitude needed an adjustment...}
Originally from Somalia and a survivor of female genital mutilation at age 7, this Iman look-a-like now resides in Boston, MA.
And,...the Winner is:
Whitney!
Even though she was never on top in the competition, her work was always steady and beautiful ...and her runway walk almost perfect.
On top of that, she's the first full-figured model to win the competition, which is a far cry from the toothpicks who have been banned from the runways recently.
Could this win possibly usher in a new era of blonde full-figured bombshells like we saw in the late 80's? We can only wait and see...
"People always say you have to be stick-skinny, emaciated and unhealthy and I've kind of stood up for [being full-figured] my whole life,...'I am a plus-size model and I am beautiful.'"
As the winner of "Top Model," Whitney, will have a fashion spread in Seventeen and an Elite modeling contract.
Thursday, May 15, 2008
Mid-Spring Things...
Something for everyone...
Here, a variety of sweet new things for a Mid-Spring Shopping Fling...with colours inspired by cheerful earth and grass tones, luscious cantaloupe, sun, sand and sea.
Above, Top Row, Left to Right:
- Sea Bisquit Photograph by TheaCPhotography
- Dolce & Gabbana Handpainted Dress
- Givenchy Sandals - Spring/Summer 2008
- Lotus Bowls by Whitney Smith
- Peaches & Cream Earrings by BeadsByEvelyn
- Thai Lemongrass Mineral Bath Soak by Dirty Pretty Things
Above, Top Row, Left to Right:- Jacket, Shorts & Belt: Balenciaga by Nicolas Ghesquiere
- Lulu Shoulder Bag by Ericka Basile
- 83Z Letterpress Angled by TheTypeJunkie
- Mandarin Orange Bath Salts by Dirty Pretty Things
- Giorgio Armani Prive Gown worn by Cate Blanchett
- Marcia No. 10 by Hasenpfeffer
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
Pretty Things Fashion: Sex and the City Premiere
Yesterday I happened to notice that everyone was making such a fuss over what Sarah Jessica Parker wore to Monday night's London premiere for the upcoming Sex and the City movie. Parker, who arrived at the premiere in a sweet Alexander McQueen confection, complete with the most amazing avant-garde Philip Treacy hat, looked absolutely fabulous!
Some said that SJP {channeling Carrie Bradshaw} is the only one who could possibly pull off such an outfit. Au contraire! ...I think there are many people who could have pulled off such a look {and quite often do}, such as Dita Von Teese, Gwen Stefani, Elizabeth McGrath, ...moi {hee hee}... And, I'd even like to clean Amy Winehouse up a bit and have her try this one...just put that exquisite hat right on top of that big ole' mess of hair!
Just in case you are not familiar with the work of Philip Treacy...he's a milliner who's work is clearly part of the fashion world, but his extravagant head sculptures also cross the boundary into visual art. Treacy has designed hats for many haute couture houses such as McQueen, Chanel, Givenchy, Helmut Lang, Versace, Mugler, Anna Molinari, etc... Here's a smidge sampling of his beautiful creations {Watch out...there's some boob showing in these pix}:
...And, here's a close up of the stunning hat he made to go with the Alexander McQueen dress that SJP wore. This towering sculpture is complete with green roses, butterflies and the very same peacock feathers featured on her dress, thanks to Mr. McQueen sending them to Treacy just so the hat would match exactly.... How sweet!
The new Sex and the City movie is being touted as the cinematic fashion event of this summer — a rumoured 81 costume changes for SJP alone! We can't wait!
....Are all you fashionistas ready for it's release on May 28th?
Saturday, May 10, 2008
Pretty Things Spotlight: * Micawber *
Update: The winner of the print of her/his choice by Micawber is PETRA... CONGRATULATIONS!
There's something about Micawber...Crystal, the artist behind Micawber, is obviously very talented...but, it's that very balanced blend of sweet, sassy innocence and an almost sensual devilishness in each of her illustrations that tells you exactly who she herself is.
The eyes in her "more grown up" illustrations pull you in, ...trapping you in a mysterious fantasy land of delicate thin-necked characters. Her women are strong and yet vulnerable... urging you to notice them as they hide in shadow.
Yet there is a sweet childlike side to Crystal too..., this playful side perhaps more evident now with the birth of her young daughter Avie, whom she describes as "one incredibly awesome little girl". Complete with pretty pink dresses, bubbles and ribbons, you can find Crystal's sweet, innocent side in her shop of children's illustrations called Little Beanz.
Whichever side you prefer, there is undoubtedly no end to Crystal's talent...
" I've always fancied anything even remotely cutesy....in fact, I should have a head full of cavities due to the amount of which I adore "sweetness."
★ Tell us about You…
My name is Crystal Wall, soon to be Crystal Lancaster as I am getting
married in 3 weeks! I live in a growing suburb area in Southern New Brunswick, Canada, called Quispamsis(say that 5 times fast!) with my soul mate, Paul, and our 16 month old daughter, Avie. I am a classically trained animator who has worked as an animator/character designer in the animation industry for the last 6 years. I recently decided to take the plunge and try working from home selling my art prints, participating in art shows and doing freelance animation contracts so that I can be with my daughter. It can be a bit intense and scary at times, but overall, it has been a super rewarding experience.★ Where does the name Micawber come from?
The name Micawber comes from a character, Wilkins Micawber, from Charles Dickens' novel, David Copperfield. His name has become synonymous with someone who lives in hopeful expectation, which is th
e way I try to live my life, so I thought it was quite fitting! :)★ What inspires you?
I tend to get inspiration from a lot of different things. I absolutely adore studying other artists works, their choice of composition, the way they apply the medium, their colour choices, I find it all really captivating. Sometimes, I am inspired simply by colour, a fantastic colour can really get my brain swirling with ideas! I'm loving on turquoise a lot lately. Also, I tend to get a lot of ideas in those moments in bed, just before I drift off to sleep, the hard part is remembering them all in the morning!
★ Apart from creating things, what do you do for fun?
I
love music, so, I love seeing live shows. My fiance is very into music as well, so it's something we've been able to share. Heck, even our daughter has been to 5 concerts already while she was in the womb! What? It counts! :) I have been trying my hand at sewing a bit lately, it's definitely something that I would like to pursue more in the future, I just need to invest in a decent sewing machine. I enjoy photography, my fiance is quite into photography as well and we recently invested in a Canon Rebel xti....sweeeeet! I also enjoy sitting out on the deck on a hot, sunny day with a nice cold beer and friends.★ What has been your most memorable moment selling your art?
I don't think I could narrow it down to just one moment, I've had a lot of rewarding moments overall regarding my work. The first time I ever saw some of my animation work air on television was pretty exciting. Custom pieces always bring a certain level of accomplishment and satisfaction, also, simply having someone tell you that they are a fan of your work is pretty exhilarating as well!
★ Any advice for fellow artists...
Always be willing to change, adapt, and expand your work. Too much of the same thing can become very boring. Try new techniques, mediums and styles. Have fun with it!
★ Tell us more...
This is honestly the first time in many years that I have had the time to truly concentrate on my own artwork again. Working in the animation industry is quite rewarding, but it leaves little time for your own artistic ventures. Since I decided to work from home at the end of last year, I have been blessed with the time to really work hard on my own visions again, and I am absolutely loving it. I will be growing and evolving with my work and techniques as much as I possibly can over the coming years, so be sure to keep a close eye on me! Also, I'd like to thank you Raven for featuring me on your awesome blog, you rock!
Shop: http://micawber.etsy.com
Shop: http://littlebeanz.etsy.com
Blog: http://www.themicawber.com
Enter this week's give-a-way!
Lucky you...This week's give-a-way is a a super sweet treat as the winner gets to pick the print of her/his choice by Micawber!How to enter:
Peek into Micawber's shoppe and comment here on your most favourite print...the one you'd absolutely DIE to have, telling us just why you love it so!
Most Important Details: If your favourite print is not part of your comment and/or some sort of viable contact information is not included, your entry will be disqualified. Winner has 3 days to contact me with their address. Give-a-way is shipped out via the artist. The winner's name will be drawn from a hat...the good ole' fashioned way to do things. One entry per person. All entries must be received by midnight of Saturday, May 17th, 2008, PST. This contest is open to everyone.
