The baby's room

I've been gathering ideas about what I want little girl's nursery to be like: cheerful, lighthearted, restful when it needs to be, a little Scandinavian, and a delight to the eyes. Here's my inspiration board. I already have the alphabet print and the pendant lamp (given to me for free) and the Pottery Barn bumper and sheets (thanks, mom!), and we're planning on buying the crib and dresser from Ikea. 

Sources:

fabric swatches: all by Waverly, from left to right: Tonga Pina, Parterre Grass, One Wish Mint Julip, can't remember!, Pinwheel Parade

paint color: TBD aqua!

vintage alphabet print: by lovelysweetwilliam on Etsy

bedding: Pottery Barn Brooke Nursery Bedding

pendant: Ikea Knappa Pendant Lamp

crib: Ikea Ikea Hensvik

dresser: Ikea Hemnes 8-drawer dresser

A while back I finally ordered this West Elm rug I've been eyeing for weeks. 

Several weeks ago at the Junior League yard sale, we bought a cute little tufted armchair and a small ottoman with a top that lifts off for storage. I'm having them recovered and I think I've finally decided on the Waverly Pinwheel Parade fabric! I want to trim it in some kind of piping that has aqua and maybe some green in it. 

The other day I had to order this Woodland Growth Chart. It's removable, so you can take the pieces off and reposition them as often as you want.

I love these knobs from Anthropologie. Would love to get some for the Ikea dresser. But the question is, should they be hand-painted or the color of sea-glass? Maybe I'll mix them all up together! Hobby Lobby can sometimes be another good source for hardware. I think some of the pieces look contrived, but they usually have a few winners. 

And I think these embroidery rings are such a great way to make a lot of impact on the wall without breaking the bank. 

Left: Little P's nursery via Ohdeehoh. Right: Norah's nursery via Design Dazzle

There's a baby, and it's a girl!

Well it's been a while since I've last posted. We found out around 14 weeks ago that I'm having a baby! Now, it was a surprise baby, for sure. But since the initial shock and panic have worn off, I've begun to realize that there will be nothing else more wonderful. What a wealth of blessings she will be to us. I'm so thankful.

And we found out Monday that she's indeed a GIRL! Of course, I've known it all along. The ultrasound just confirmed it! Even Luke finally conceded last week that he believed, deep down, it was a girl. But I still cried when we found out. It was so overwhelmingly true, and she is so absolutely perfect and beautiful, and the whole experience was like getting your ultimate wish come to life!

I'm about 19 weeks right now. Here are a couple of pictures of me at 18 weeks. Starting to feel a little like I have a water balloon in my belly. Almost halfway there!

And here is an ultrasound photo of the wonder child, beautiful thing.

La Femme D'Argent

My mom sent me this video, sent to her by my great-aunt. It's a 35 mm film of San Francisco filmed in 1906, 4 days before the earthquake. It's just incredible seeing the pedestrians and cars and buggies, and some of the same architecture that is there now. I love the history here.

Here is some more descriptive copy:

This film was "lost" for many years. It was supposedly the first 35 mm film ever? It was taken by camera mounted on the front of a cable car.

The number of automobiles is staggering for 1906. Absolutely amazing! The clock tower at the end of Market Street at the Embarcadero wharf is still there.

This film, originally thought to be from 1905 until David Kiehn with the Niles EssanaySilent Film Museum figured out exactly when it was shot.

From New York trade papers announcing the film showing, to the wet streets from recent heavy rainfall & shadows indicating time of year & actual weather and conditions on historical record, even when the cars were registered (he even knows who owned them and when the plates were issued!).

It was filmed only four days before the earthquake and shipped by train to NY for processing.



or see it here on YouTube

Brownstone

I like this new typeface designed by Alejandro Paul, "inspired by historic buildings in Brooklyn, NY." It looks handlettered. Check it out on Veer.

Latest Block Print

This design was inspired by Swedish folk art (what else) and I originally planned the project so that I could donate 5 sets of 8 cards to the Etheredge Adoption Benefit tonight. The packaged sets are the ones up for the auction tonight. I think I'd like to give some of the remaining cards as gifts, or try to sell some on Etsy.

Mr Eaves

I was pretty excited to get the newest Emigre catalog featuring their new font, Mr Eaves, a companion to the trendy Mrs Eaves designed by Zuzana Licko. Here's a little about the latest Mister:

Mr Eaves Sans and Modern

Mr Eaves is the often requested sans-serif companion to Mrs Eaves, one of Emigre's classic typeface designs. Created by Zuzana Licko, this addition to the Emigre Type Library expands the versatility of the original Mrs Eaves with two complimentary families: Mr Eaves Sans and Mr Eaves Modern.

Mr Eaves was based on the proportions of Mrs Eaves, but Licko took some liberty with its design. One of the main concerns was to avoid creating a typeface that looked like it simply had its serifs cut off. And while it matches Mrs Eaves in weight, color, and armature, Mr Eaves stands as its own typeface with many unique characteristics.

Read more here

Letterheady / Letters of Note

Found Letterheady as referenced on the minted blog. It features famous letterheads both old and new. It's awesome! I especially love the pixel flicks design, where the different shapes trade places and reorganize to form the words on the last line. And look how much space many of the designs take up, as if they were braver and more confident than lots of designs nowadays are.

Here are a few favorites/shockers:

Letters of Note is the sister site, and features "correspondence deserving of a wider audience." Many "fascinating letters, postcards, telegrams, faxes and memos. Scans/photos where possible." It's definitely worth checking out. Read more in an interview here.

Wuthering Heights cover redesign: I hate you

If you've noticed the earth moving and it hasn't been the devastating earthquake in Haiti, it is probably Emily Bronte rolling over in her grave.

HarperCollins has redesigned the cover of Wuthering Heights in favor of a new Twilight-inspired design. Wuthering Heights is a favorite book of vampey main characters Bella and Edward. So, a classic has been given the fresh young face of a badly written romance novel. Could it get any worse? you ask. Oh, but it can. If the Harper US version isn't bad enough, check out the Harper UK version with that pseudo-Art Nouveau/Curlicues typeface and cover shot that is inconsistent with the photography on the Twilight series. Oh, and let's not forget to mention that tag line: "Love never dies." Read more here at Media Bistro and here at Guardian.

Is this new cover design a smart move on part of HarperCollins in order to draw more teenagers to a classic, or it is another case of compromising great material in favor of extra sales? You know what I think. What do you think?

Left to right: Twilight cover; HarperUK Wuthering Heights cover; HarperUS Wuthering Heights cover

Give me a Treehouse, or give me Death.

I want to live in a tree house. I once read a feature in a magazine that profiled several different real treehouse houses and rooms. That only fueled the 20-year old fire that grew out of the spark that was Swiss Family Robinson (and to add two more layers of destiny: my long-time crush Tommy Kirk and my ever-increasing desire to become a woodland creature or fairie, or both).






So for starters I want this book, The Treehouse Book, so I can learn how to build my own and live there. This book sounds good, too: New Treehouses of the World.

And I don't want some lame looking Hobby Lobby house on stilts. It has to be a new shape and creation all its own. It needs to either be elvish or be made entirely from salvaged materials, with circular doorways and lots of nooks and crannies for reading, storing, and looking out at the other trees and woodland creatures. Lots of details and opportunities for working by hand. But it can't be pretentious. It must be authentic, and it will be, if it's a true treehouse and not a faker low-level, crafty, perfectionist one.

Check out this lucky fella, the tree house guy.

Cole & Son

Cole & Son has beautiful wallpaper. I've loved this Woods print for years. But the question is, which color scheme is the best?

Advent Conspiracy

thanks to Cathy for showing this to me. It reminds me of the one for The Girl Effect. maybe the same people did both?

Advent Conspiracy from MBCC on Vimeo.

Cool New Artist: Erik Otto

I especially like his installations.

He's got prints and other things available for sale, too, and 2 books (here and here) via Blurb. Maybe they'll go on my Christmas list.

No more Frostone?!

I am so sad!!! I just found out that French Paper discontinued Frostone! Boo hooo!!! There was nothing else like it!

RSMc monogram

I designed this monogram for my mom. It was influenced by the Vienna Secessionists and I wanted it to be more clean and architectural--drew it with my calligraphy pen and then scanned it. We're having it letterpressed onto 2.5" square enclosure cards and onto monarch sized white cards with cloud (pale blue-grey) colored monarch envelopes.

Cool New Artist: Carl Van de Roer

I like this series by Carl Van de Roer. It was featured on 20x200, which is one my my faves.

Here's a bit about the series:
The term "orb" is typically used to describe circular artifacts in photographs—artifacts which have been interpreted by some as spirits. Despite being debunked and explained (most commonly as backscatter from precipitation or dust), there's a surprisingly widespread belief that orb photographs document the supernatural. There are organizations, conferences, hunts, field experts, detectors and websites dedicated to spiritualist orb photography.

This photographic search for something larger than ourselves was the starting point for this project. I photographed people in landscapes that are partly obscured by precipitation. The subjects are seen searching for or interacting with orbs, which are represented as dots covering parts of the scene.

Read more here.