Goodbye, 2008

Sorry there wasn't a Etsy Tuesday post yesterday, I was quite sick and just didnt have the energy to browse etsy. BUT I did receive the perfume oil I bought from FlameWorks today. I got the "Flowerbomb" scent. For $5 this is a GREAT knockoff of that $100 Viktor and Rolf perfume...wow. It'll also last me forever! Purchase their great vegan bath and body products here.

As 2008 comes to a close, I just want to say how wonderful this year has been...I found a great person to share my time with and who I can really be my crazy, grandma self with (probably because hes the male equivalent of me...a grandpa if you will), I realized what a great city Portland is (I'm not sure when I'll go back to Hawaii), I welcomed my mom as she made the move from Hawaii to Portland, and have made great friends at work and in school. This year has flown (literally!) by so quickly, its almost strange to have to welcome a new one. However, with 2009 and the upcoming inauguration, lets hope we can get out of this economic slump sooner than later and bring a more positive attitude to the future of our country and world. Please stay safe tonight, and have a wonderful New Year.

photo courtesy Flickr

Etsy Tuesday: Elly Nelly

This week's great Etsy find is from seller Elly Nelly. This is a mother-daughter team-mom in Australia and daughter in New York. They create amazing decals for walls, which is a great alternative to hanging up pictures and changing the paint color (even better for those who rent or live in dorms!). They use modern images of nature to add a splash of design and color to a room. Their pictures are fantastic and leave me craving some for my kitchen and dining area. Enjoy!

How great does their Cascade decal look up against that blue wall?

Oh man I am LOVING this one...I need something in my kitchen to liven things up.

You can purchase and browse other awesome decals at their etsy shop here.
photos courtesy ellynelly

Friday Faves

This week I found some great drawings, prints and mixed media pieces that are filled with color and a certain subdued quality that I can't quite explain.

Clockwise from top left: Bunny print by Berkley Illustration, Automne 2 drawing by Aliette, You and Me print by Yellena, Fungi drawing by groundwork, Two Teas print by bestywalton, Hymn print by Yellena.

Have a great Friday!

Merry Christmas!

Just wanted to wish everyone out there a lovely Christmas, a Happy Hanukkah and a safe holiday season. Stay warm, itll be a white christmas in Portland tomorrow :).

Etsy Tuesday: Paige Russell

This week's Etsy Tuesday comes from ceramicist Paige Russell. She creates beautifully simple and modern vessels for eating, watering, and small pieces of jewelry. Paige often uses humor in her pieces, like this "Bad Beaver" vase below and the R-Vee holder.

Russell has a sophisticated line of products any design maven would love to have in her home. Great work! You can buy Paige's vessels here and visit her personal website here. Happy Tuesday!

Eco Friendly: Coffee Cups/Cozies

Theres snow almost a foot thick on the ground (!!) and this has just got me thinking about warmth and warm drinks! I could go for a nice hot chocolate right now...yum. So this got me thinking about coffee and paper cups.

I always try to drink all my coffee at work, which means I use ceramic mugs and glasses instead of using a paper or plastic cup each time I go on a break. I've also invested in a great aluminum water bottle from Ethos Water and a really cute coffee tumbler from Starbucks. I was thinking, what else is there out there that will help others in creating good coffee-drinking habits? Well I've found some really cute things to help you save paper and minimize waste during your coffee/tea trips.Of course I have to put this one up. The I Am Not a Paper Cup porcelain mug is a fantastic option for those who would rather like the look of a paper cup, without the paper!


How hilarious are these coffee mugs? Let them all know which side you represent with mugs from Urban Soule.

Ever get tired of cold french press coffee right after you make it? (Me! I do!) Heres a super cute faux bois cozy for your french press from pinkdixie.
Etsy store second chance store uses old sweaters to create great coffee sleeves. They look so comfy and cute! She also makes great sweaters for your thermos. Great idea and itll give personality to any coffee cup. Shop here for these great finds.

Friday Faves

Clockwise from top left: Moss Terrarium by madebymavis, bird locket from trystbykerry, lotus nesting bowls from Whitney Smith, en Cloude lightbox from Munstre.

Happy Friday!

Etsy Tuesday: Tryst by Kerry

Here is my first installment of Etsy Tuesdays! From now on, every tuesday I will be posting up my favorite Etsy finds, a whole assortment of goodies from great artists. This is my attempt to immerse myself in the Etsy world and discover and be inspired.

The first artist I want to share is a fantastic jewelry maker, Kerry from TrystbyKerry. Her handmade jewelry looks like it came out of a young woman's jewelry box from the 1920s. She uses beautiful stones, gold and silver findings and makes dainty pieces perfect for everyday use or special occasions. I think Anthropologie needs to hire this girl, her stuff is so perfect for them.

I really love the simplicity of her "Saccharine" necklace, its bold enough to wear with a cute party dress or layered with small gold chains. It looks like rock candy!

What a cute surprise inside this locket! Little finds like these make her pieces extra special.

Her eye for color, shape and placement shines in her work.

How great are these earrings? Pretty darn great. I would feel like a Greek goddess wearing these.

Kerry has a huge range of jewelry, her shop is filled with gems (pun intended!). She also blogs here and you can buy all her work at her etsy shop here. Happy Tuesday!

Milk

Last night I watched the new Gus van Sant film, Milk. It was probably on my top ten list of best films ever. It chronicles the life of San Francisco city supervisor, Harvey Milk. Openly gay and a gay rights activist, Milk brings together the famous Castro district together to create a movement that has defined San Francisco as a liberal, open-minded city today. This movie documents the struggles and fights for acceptance of the gay community, pioneered by Milk and his recruits.

First, Sean Penn is amazing. AMAZING. I wasn't watching Sean Penn, I was watching Harvey. He falls into this role with such fluidity and humor, its a joy to watch him light up the screen. Next, the filmmaking itself is poetic, romantic and just...cool. Gus, you really outdid yourself this time.

Harvey Milk

This movie comes at a perfect time during the fight over Proposition 8 in California, which passed, banning the marriage of homosexual couples. In this movie it is Proposition 6, backed by Senator Briggs, which would ban homosexual teachers and firing them from their jobs. Milk overcomes prejudices by getting elected to the city supervisor position and continuing to fight for gay rights. He is surrounded by an energetic and motivated circle of friends who help him realize his goals. James Franco (oh SO CUTE) plays his first boyfriend, and tries to cope with the constant stress of rioting and campaigning. Harvey Milk and the mayor of San Francisco were murdered by Dan White, who was later charged with manslaughter and served 5 years and later committed suicide.

Milk is a true story of personal struggle and fight for civil rights and true equality within the GLBT community. Its a joy to watch, its heartbreaking but most of all inspirational. See it!

photos courtesy google images

Open Shop

I just opened my brand-spanking new Etsy shop! I took all the pictures today, uploaded it, everything. BAM, here I go. The pictures look great everywhere else BUT on etsy, they must have a lower-resolution-not-enough-space for good pictures thing, but whatever, the stuff is really great in real life. I'll see what happens....yikes! Please please please visit it and help a broke girl out!

www.lauradeponte.etsy.com

A great little print I did! NOW FOR SALE!

Great holiday and thank-you cards!

pass it on to your friends! i'll make you a custom wood/linoleum print!

Snow Day!

The weather forecast was RIGHT, it is snowing in downtown Portland today, and boy is it ever! I walked to work with only a few small snowflakes falling, and as soon as I got inside, it started. The wind sent us flurries of snow all over the place, it was like being inside a snowglobe! As soon as I got home I got outside and took some pictures. I've never seen so much snow in downtown before! I was whining and complaining about the impending snow but now I take it back, it is quite lovely.

Here are some pics:

Yay my first snowball! My fingers were numb...


Looking out my fire escape



South Park Blocks in PSU

Oh, Hello Friend-Winter Giveway Contest

Attention all bloggers and lovers of all things handmade! Oh, Hello friend is having an amazing giveway. Four winners will receive a package filled with goodies from great Etsy shops. This is such a cool idea, i'd DIE with delight if I won any of it. Go check it out, enter, and good luck!

For all you Portlanders out there, stay dry and hope for snow!

Holiday Card Round-up (cont.)

First up we've got the mecca for all our paper and stationery needs: Paper Source! I'm so in love with this place, I can't get over it. They are helping me realize my card-making abilities and keep me occupied this holiday season.



They've got great retro styles and classic cards for all your friends and family. Paper Source is also a great resource to find blank envelopes, cards, ribbon, stamps, ink...they have it all. Find your nearest Paper Source store, or shop online here.



This next bunch of cards come from an adorable print shop, Egg Press, located in Portland, Oregon (hey, is it a coincedence that lots of these letterpress shops are based out of Portland? I love it!). They use off-set and letterpress printing to create their whimsical items.




Their style is a mix between old-school and modern design. I'm quite taken with their line of products, which you can buy online here and find in many stores around Portland and the rest of the U.S.




Below is the super talented Lynn Russell of Satsuma Press. Her design aesthetic is clean, minimal and Japanese-inspired. Originally based out of Portland (another one! amazing!), she now lives in Corvallis, Oregon (why'd you leave?) She also collaborates and sells her items on etsy, and her products can be found here.





Until next time...look out for my holiday wish-list!

Brilliant Idea

Lately I've been trying to figure out how to make more money. Was it necessary to try and get a second job, while going to school full-time? I don't think so, seeing as I barely get through the week without wanting to take a nap every day with working at 4 am and coming back from school when its dark. So heres my new plan...why don't I sell some cards and prints to get some extra money? I have most of the supplies, I really enjoy doing it...so why not? BRILLIANT IDEA.

I just opened my Etsy shop, so I will try to get this whole "business" thing up and running ASAP (probably after finals). Holy moly, I can't even explain how excited I am. Today I browsed Paper Source and picked up flat note cards, stamps and ink for my holiday cards and tags. They came out SO cute, I thought "hey, I could sell these!" I mean, I'm pretty sure I can, right? I would also sell my woodcuts, and also some of my photographs. OH MAN, I think I'm on to something. Now all I have to figure out is standard shipping/packing materials for stuff like this. Does anyone have advice? How do I sell stuff easily on Etsy? I need money!


EDITED: heres the front page of my shop! I just did the banner, I love it! www.lauradeponte.etsy.com

Holiday Card Round-Up

image from flickr.com

I am SO SO SO excited for this post because, 1. I LOVE cards of all kinds. Birthday cards, Thank You cards, any type of card. 2. I love letterpress, and anything involving printing, pressing, and paper. 3. I love searching through etsy and finding these great artists who make awesome cards. 4. I love the holidays! Its a time for festivity, fall, winter, shopping and christmas music! I decided to do a round-up of my favorite holiday cards for the 2008 season.

Most of the artists I found were on Etsy but also have their own websites, and thank you to them all for being awesome and (hopefully) allowing me to post their products up on my little blog. Here we go!



My first card round-up comes from a GREAT shop on etsy, littlebrownpen. They create images in pdf files that people can buy (for extremely cheap to be reused over and over!) and use to create their own cards and calendars for the holidays. This is an incredible option for people who are short on cash this year (I know I am). Just print, cut and give to friends and family.



Fun, cute images abound. They even offer printable calenders for your desk or for a friend. Brilliant idea, I want them all!


Next up we have the super talented Tara Hogan from Ink+Wit. Shes been around the blogosphere many times, inspiring little bloggers like me to try out letterpressing! Her letterpress cards are simple and sweet, and many of them are holiday appropriate. Tara Hogan also helps out with Tenth and Grant, a collective of artists based out of Portland, Oregon.


Look at her, working out the gray and yellow combo! These thank you cards are perfect for post-holiday thank-yous.



Tara also puts out limited edition letterpress calendars and prints. They often sell out fast so if you have a chance to grab one, DO IT! They may never be seen again. You can shop at Ink+Wit here.




Yup, loving Ink+Wit all around. I think if I try my hand at letterpress I'd want my stuff to look like hers, clean and simple, short and sweet. Great work, Tara!





The gals at Dutch Door Press have me hooked on their folk-art letterpress goods. Their patterns and Dutch-style images recall a cuckoo clock we had when I was a kid. Everytime I see their work around shops I get all giddy and warm inside.



See? Warm and giddy, like you just found some old gem in the attic, except its in the form of a card! You can buy Dutch Door Press goods here and at their etsy shop here.




I found the lovely Jen at PaperWren while randomly searching Etsy for holiday cards. Her cute, vintage Gocco printed cards caught my eye. I'm definitely loving the boughs below. Jen has been kind enough to give me some help and advice for starting my own etsy endeavours, thanks Jen!



Nothing says "keep warm" like her cards. She uses a variety of vintage images and great colors to make some awesome cards. My faves are the lace and chrysanthemums! You can find Jen at Paper Wren's etsy shop here.

Alright, I believe thats about all the fun I can take in one sitting. Maybe I'll get around to a Christmas wish-list soon...and pictures of my cards soon!