I hope everyone had a great Christmas. Mine was pretty hectic {3 houses on Christmas Eve and 6 on Christmas}, but we got to spend time with all of our families. I'm looking forward to spending the next few days getting organized and recuperating from all of the craziness of the last few weeks.


In addition to a fantastic dishwasher {can't wait to have it installed}, I got some great handmade gifts this year!

Wishing for the New Year

I just put together quite possibly my last treasury of 2007. I'm hoping to buy at least a few of these things in the new year {or maybe my husband will buy one or two for my birthday, hint, hint}. Check out these great shops while you're finishing all of your Christmas shopping.

Definite Obsession!

This coral-colored bouquet ring is from Zakka.


And this lovely chartreuse cocktail ring is from Starry Configurations. I have been wishing for this for a while now.

I'm not sure if it's the rings I love or the awesome set-ups!

A tiny secret

Ok, so I feel like I have a slight ring obsession right now. I think this little leaf ring by Amanda Conley is lovely. It's like wearing a secret...Others may not notice how cute it is because of it's size, but you'll know the whole time you're wearing it!

I love, love, love this ring from Hester Zagt Sieraden {found via Bloesem}! I tried to find more information on her, but alas, I only speak English. Hester has more rings like this on her website, and many other beautiful pieces. I can't decide what my favorite color is for this design...maybe I would pick white...

Reminder

Vote for Abbey's house as best decorated! This is the last day.

Wall Paper = Love

I was in Nook yesterday doing some holiday shopping when I found the book Wall Paper by Lachlan Blackley...instant love! Needless to say I now have another early Christmas present from myself. I frequently use wallpaper and patterns in my work and I think this book will be a great source of inspiration. There are interviews with 50 designers and beautiful images of their work. "The new wallpaper is blurring the line between art and interior decoration".

Now that I have a good wireless connection at home I can work in front of the tv, which isn't necessarily a good thing. I get sucked into watching pointless shows like Deal or No Deal and I feel like I'm going to puke the whole time! I always hope that the player "wins" and the suspense kills me. Good thing I usually only see the last 10 minutes. Ok...back to grading!

I can't seem to help myself from buying fabric from Lara Cameron, owner of Kirin & Co. Lara's hand screen printed designs are so beautiful and impeccable! The photos just don't do the designs and printing justice. My only problem is that I'm afraid to cut into the fabric, although the vision of awesome throw pillows in my bedroom might just be the kick I need!

New prints available

Shop update: I'm out of calendars, but Tara has a few more. I can't believe how well they sold. Thank you to everyone who purchased one (or two)! I do have some prints from the calendar for sale. These make great holiday gifts and are super easy to frame.

Productive!

In addition to feeling a little overwhelmed, I've been quite productive lately. I even had a chance to finish my ornaments for the Holiday Ornament Swap. Here's a sneak peek of my ornament (four-sided letterpress) and some tree decorating from this weekend.

Gala

This was a busy weekend. The Holiday Gala at my studio was Friday and Saturday. I sold a good amount and purchased a good amount {some gifts and some for myself}. I bought a beautiful "sketch" by Colleen Buzzard, whose work is pictured above.

Saturday night I went to Buffalo to see Andrew Hershey's amazing exhibition at Big Orbit Gallery. I went to grad school with Andrew and it was great to see him and his new work. I am still impressed with how well his work fit in the gallery. Usually Big Orbit has sculptural or installation-based pieces, but Andrew's work made the space a bit more quiet and better for contemplation.

On Sunday Jake and I picked out our Christmas tree! This is the third year of our tradition of brunch and tree-buying with friends Sara and Ben {and Marni this year}. Snow had covered all of the trees and we had a snow-ball fight in the midst of the trees. And rounding out my weekend was a night of editioning for my book exchange between my class and Abbey's class. It turned out quite nice and I'll post pictures of the book ad the tree soon.