button coptic

i love buttons.  so much so that i refuse to claim that i collect buttons, because whenever i give myself permission to collect something, well, let's just say i always end up with a larger inventory than most retail stores (just ask my paper and fabric collections).  i especially love the vintage variety of button,  and one of my favorite things to do is paw around in my wide mouth button jar...i just love that happy clinking sound that they make!  

i've managed to add buttons to some of my other books, and since i've discovered the coptic binding, i decided to merge the two...and here's the result. i'm really happy with the combination of the tweed looking bookcloth and the vintage buttons.  and since i've used four buttons from my button jar, doesn't that give me permission to add some new ones to it?!  :)

perfect day

rain, rain, feel free to stay.  well, for a little while, anyway.  if there's one thing that inspires me, it's a day like today...overcast, a constant steady rain, and a nice chill in the air.  it always puts me in "nesting mode".  what a perfect day to whip up a batch of laura's double chocolate thumbprint cookies, or spoil my dutch boy by making kate's orange and chocolate cheesecakes for dessert. and while that's in the oven, i think a little nesting is in order in my studio (actually, its such a mess, it's starting to look more like "the land of no return").  oh yeah, a little nesting, a little baking,  a little regrouping.  it really is a perfect day.

inspiration monday

in the northeast part of france lives a man who owns a vineyard.  when the grapes are ready, he makes wine, bottles it, and packs it up in boxes for sale at a local shop.  and today, it's the actual boxes of wine, more than the wine itself, that has me inspired.  i'm sure that your artistically trained eye has already noticed the grid pattern made by the way these boxes have been stacked.  and while that's not really such a big deal, if you think about it, there's layout possibilities here (of course, i'll always be a sucker for symmetry any day!).  i was also drawn to the neutral colors of the boxes, with a pop of orange in the tablecloth, finished with the black from the lettering.  and yes, the lettering!   how could the lettering artist in me possibly ignore how expressively these labels have been written!

so, i'm thinking that if a stack of wine boxes arranged by an unknown wine vendor in france can inspire me, then inspiration is surely everywhere!  look around and see what you can find today!  this photo was taken during a trip to france several years ago. click on image for a larger view

etsy front page!

well, right about now i'm feeling like a giddy school girl because i'm so excited to share the fun news that my vine batik journal was featured on the front page of etsy!!  woo hoo!!  thanks so much to shellieartist for including my journal in this wonderful treasury!  

have a great weekend!

book of me

this is one of the books that i was planning on making the other day, until my plans were changed {the details are in yesterday's post...and just as a side note, my little trip to michael's for "one item" turned out to be costlier than i had intended.  i always get into so much trouble in there! }.  i've had such good response to my "book of life" that i thought i'd continue on with the theme.  i have a few more ideas in mind...