Check out the Pretty.Simple.Things website:

Thursday, April 29, 2010

Off the grid living...

I came across these amazing photographs by Keliy Anderson-Staley today on Apartment Therapy, originally from Ahorn Magazine. Anderson-Staley grew up off-the-grid, without electricity, plumbing, or phones, in the woods of Maine. She started this project of documenting life "off the grid" before she moved away from the community. She returned to finish the project, and the pictures are not only beautiful, but her musing on life as it was, and is, off the grid is lovely.
Both my parents (separately) live off the grid, but with solar power, well-water, septic, and they both as of the last few months have cell phone service reaching them. My dad has a log cabin, my mom a submerged adobe, they both live within 1 hour of a large town or city. Although they do have creature comforts like electricity and water, there is still a huge decompression that happens when you travel down a long, very bumpy, 4-wheel drive necessary, unmaintained road, to reach there green-homes, and there is something satisfying about watching your consumption out of necessity rather than choice. You have to monitor usage and waste of all kinds to live this way. I find it so refreshing to unplug, and focus on simple pleasures and pastimes, the beautiful, quiet landscape surrounding, and all that sky!







Tuesday, April 27, 2010

New Work on Etsy!

I have been overwhelmed lately with all the projects I've been working on, and have intended on getting more of the new work I've done up on the blog and the Etsy shop, but haven't had the time. In part this is because I have undertaken remodeling our upstairs (a finished attic that we have been using as a guest bedroom and bathroom) to turn into my studio. I have outgrown the sunroom I have been using as my studio, and decided to redo the upstairs with a rustic-glam look, where I can get away and focus on creating. The project is taking much more time than I had imagined, as we are putting in new flooring, new wall colors (and let me tell you - painting bead-board is not a quick process), new lighting, and new furniture. Will post the before and after when it's all done, but in the mean-time, head over to the Etsy shop to see some of the new notebooks and cards I have been working on...
Also, if you want to win one of the "Always Something To Do Notebooks" head over to the amazing site Just One Week to enter the awesome give-away that Erin has going on for the next 10 days!












Thursday, April 22, 2010

A good week for Pretty.Simple.Things...


It's been a busy week for me here, I was busy working on several new designs (that I will be adding to the shop tomorrow), finishing up some projects for different events, and getting lots of love from some talented bloggers, Etsians, and online magazine creators. I am very excited about the projects that have come up because of the Pretty.Simple.Things features that popped up on the web this week.

First of all, I was contacted by Priscila Barros about featuring Pretty.Simple.Things in an upcoming issue of her online magazine. Priscila (a very busy mommy herself) is the owner of the amazing online shop called Little Miss Heirlooms, and the blogger behind littlemissheirlooms.blogspot.com, the gorgeous blog attached to the store (think Odeedoh with a more vintage vibe),
who is also the creator of Babiekins (an awesome online magazine for trendsetting kids).
Below are some images from the current issue of the magazine, it's full of beautiful art, fun photography, interviews with artists and designers, fashion for kids, and to-die-for toys and home decor. I'm so excited about the exclusive work I will be doing for an upcoming
issue, I'll post the link and images of the magazine when all is said and done, but I will tell you that I'm ridiculously excited about it, and have been incredibly inspired by what we are working
on!




As if that weren't enough to make my week, my "Always Something To Do Notebook" was then featured on a wonderful, witty, site that I am so excited to have discovered as a result of the notebook being featured yesterday in her "If I Only Had" post. I had never come across a site or blog like Just one Week, it's a beautiful journal-esque site by a woman named Erin who's heartfelt writing about changing her day to day habits is full of humor, and hit's home in so many ways. Aside from perfectly examining the human psyche in her posts, Erin also has amazing taste, and features awesome products, blogs, and art, on the site. I'm excited to be part of her upcoming Giveaways, and will also post a link to that so you can enter to win as well.

Below is an excerpt from Erin's welcome message for the site, but the page that really sucked me in was her introduction page, I mean for me she hit the nail on the head.
I have a long, long list of habits I want to create and projects I want to complete (or start!). I feel guilty way too often about items stranded for years on my to-do list and about habits that never seem to stick. I am done feeling guilty. I need Just One Week.

And last, but not least, two of my items were featured in treasuries on Etsy today!
The black sewing machine notebook was included in this treasury
and my piggy card was included in this treasury!

It's been a great week, and it's week's like this which make it all worth it.





Tuesday, April 20, 2010

Obsessed with La Petite Magazine

I love finding new magazines and websites from which to draw
inspiration (and dream about one day one contributing to).
I came home from my off-the-grid vacation (no computer for 2 weeks!)
to discover a new online magazine for (super-styling) kids.
It's full of beautiful photography, amazing clothing,
awesome DIY projects, lovely decor ideas,
and many of the contributors are from my favorite blogs, and websites.
Click below to take a look at La Petite!

Friday, April 2, 2010

Leaving you with flowers...

I'm closing up shop for a couple weeks to take a little vacation... It won't be all play, but it is still almost 2 weeks of unadulterated time with my family and friends! I am leaving you with some images of Eloise Corr Danch's paper creations, which seem fitting right now for this beautiful time of year, and the festivities of this Easter weekend. Her botanical paper creations and nature scenes are a huge source of inspiration to me, I just can't get enough of them! 
Check out her website for more images of her amazing work, http://eloisecorrdanch.com/