looking at this ...

:: image via At Home with Kim Vallee ::

... makes me want to build me a charcoal wood cabinetry of sorts just so i can display the key something something(s) at home. maybe against the dining wall.

it also makes me dream yet another dream.

say, opening a restaurant or cafe specialising in soup + cookies, maybe?

yes, true. not entirely the best kind of culinary match there, but soup + cookies, i do like very much indeed. the potato + leek kind. or clam chowder. or carrot + coriander. or plum tomato + basil. and yes too, i do like thick soup.

party-schmarty!

it's a month away now. the planning + preparation have begun. still a lot to do, but am not complaining. planning a themed party is always such fun. to me, at least.

here, some random photos picked from various sources, just to show the festive spirit that is me (or should be me) these coming weeks.

hypnotic hue

how's this for hypnotic genius? and a hue-full one too at that. just clever, i say.

artist Jen Stark turns paper and cardstock into brilliant art pieces through her apparently simple cutting process. this, i'd like to know how. but let's not get ahead of meself ... i won't be attempting any paper sculptures. i'll simply admire from afar the genius that is her work.

all images via PaperChick

weaving between cultures ...

in design work, i admire the successful fusion of the old meets new, east meets west approach. whilst many gravitate to the rigid and precision that are modern design pieces, there seems to be a large following too for those reviving our 'traditional' pieces, designs filed under (i'd imagine)conservation and/or heritage.

ikat is one such art form.

Ikat, or Ikkat, is a style of weaving that uses a resist dyeing process similar to tie-dye on either the warp

or weft before the threads are woven to create a pattern or design.

Ikat means "to tie" or "to bind" in the Malay language.

:: taken from Wikipedia ::

seen today are many product designs originating from the ikat process. what is even better, to me, is that the Westerners seem to be loving this art form so much that they're producing ikat-designed home and fashion items and commercialising them. true, there's the desire to keep things within yourselves (culturally), but when it comes to art, i think a fusion between the East and West is always a good thing. just give due credit to origins of design. ;-)

:: Pottery Barn cushions, image via Apartment Therapy ::

:: Anthropologie cushions, image via Design Sponge ::

:: chair by Oregon-based designer Jen West, image by Design Sponge ::

:: image via Patricia Gray ::

:: image via Design-59 ::

bowled over ...

these pretty patterns on these adorably moulded bowls. moulded bowls ... has a cute ring to it, don't you think? :-)

:: bowls beautifully made by Aida Dirse, image via OhJoy! ::

.... but back to these bowls, grouped together, i think they make quite a display on a special lil corner in your home. love them!

if i could only dream for a moment ...

... i'd LOVE to buy me some Chris Kenny art.

:: Map Circle (16 Typhoons) ::

:: Red Map ::

:: Compass 2008 ::

how clever are these? extra credit should be given not just for the brilliant concept of the artwork, but so too for the meticulous effort and precision that are the pieces (of art). pure genius, i say!

.............................................

i'd love to have the Compass 2008 up in Big Z's room. it, to me, sums up the whole travel theme. the icing on the cake though is how it's a take on polka-dots, which i not-so-secretly-anymore kinda have a fetish for. ;-)

if in the luckiest of luck, i ever get to own the Map Circle (16 Typhoons) piece, i'd most definitely have it in the playroom-cum-family room. aptyly titled 'typhoon', i think little is left to one's imagination. playroom equals daily typhoons! and the colours; how happy are they? love love love!

the Red Map piece is brilliant for Baby Z's room, for obvious reasons. and again, this one too shouts happiness to me.

:: all images from EnglandGallery.com ::

tickled beauty envied ...

haha ... for lack of a better title (for thiss entry)!



onto the paintings then ...


this one's called "stripteased". sounds naughty, yes? lol. it's a play of words really. amidst the otherwise calm and plain background that is the stone colour, a strip has been teased with a different colour in each of the canvas panel. the pink one's "stripteased: tickled pink", the black "stripteased: black beauty" and the green is "stripteased: green with envy".



inspired by the everyday me, if you like, this next series is aptly titled "moodswings".

the first is "moodswings: tickled pink" to reflect my chirpiest and most playful self.





then there's "moodswings: black beauty", when i'm my most reserved and supposedly sophisicated.

and the last is "moodswings: green with envy", when i'm mostly inspired by pretty, crafty art pieces; both in objects and in one's inner (and outer) beauty.