Jess Brown for Bottega Veneta!

If you've seen Jess's dolls before, you are sure to appreciate the whimsy and detail that go into each one. Jess is an amazing creator, who's dolls have been featured in almost every chic magazine featuring children's wares, and are coveted around the globe. My daughter loves her Jess Brown doll and I can't wait to get a second one for my newest addition (when she gets just a little bit older). Besides making her lovely ladies, Jess, along with my sweet friend Stacy, own one of my all-time favorite shops for women and kids called Maude in Petaluma, Ca. When we were recently in California for a visit, I stopped in to Maude to visit and do a little shopping, and Stacy told me all about Jess's latest project for Bottega Veneta. Life Size Dolls for there Store windows. The dolls started out in Beverly Hills and New York, and will then travel to Paris, Milan, and London.... So exciting! Below are some pictures of these amazing (and soon to be well traveled) ladies created by Jess!

Photos courtesy of jessbrowndesign.com

Handy for the holidays...

These casserole carriers by Vonny are exactly what I would buy for all of the wonderful cooks in my life who I share meals with potluck style through the Holidays. As we are hosting the second annual Potluck-Thanksgiving in our home for some of our friends who have become like family to us, the burden of transporting hot casserole dishes (so as not to have a traffic-jam at the oven right before we sit down to eat) would be all but solved if I had discovered these nifty carriers a few weeks ago. I will definitely be buying one for myself for all the Christmas holiday parties I will be schlepping hot dishes to! They retail for $46.00 at vonny.com

The Perfect Holiday Dazzler...

I love this dress by London based designer Anna Popovich... It is oh-so-perfect for holiday parties!

Find it at her Etsy shop!

PetitPlat Food Art by Stephanie Kilgast

I stumbled across the art of Stephanie Kilgast a couple weeks ago, and keep going back to her blog to see what she's up to. She is a french sculptor, working in the form of miniature foods for dollhouse and jewelry. Her website PetitPlat is full of beautiful imagery, tutorials, information, and a link to her etsy shop. Her work is hyper-realistic, mouth-watering, incredibly detailed and oh-so-tiny! But what I love the most about Stephanie's work is that even though it may not be in one of the traditionally recognized mediums of art, it is most definitely art! I love the fact that etsy and the movement supporting handmade crafts has helped the world to recognize that art comes in many non-traditional forms, and no matter the size or medium, all handmade art is of great value and should be recognized as so! Enjoy the pics, courtesy of Stephanie's Blog...

Yellow Elm Felted-Wool Accessories

It's been so hard for me to find the time to post to the blog lately as I've been (happily) swamped with tons of custom work, busy with lots of family holiday's, and in general exhausted due to the little one I'm due to have in May. That being said, I've been dying to share one of my new favorite makers, Elizabeth Blanton of Yellow Elm, whom I had the pleasure of meeting at the Indie Craft Parade.

Elizabeth crafts beautiful (and incredibly unique) hair accessories, hat adornments, and brooches by hand, through the process of felting wool, which she describes as layering wool, pouring soap and boiling water over it, and scrubbing until the fibers interlock to make felt. She then adds embellishments, decorative stitching, and artful details to each piece by hand, creating little works of wearable art. She also has a wonderful blog, which puts my very-bad-at-blogging-self to shame! Check it out http://yellowelm.com/blog/

Photos courtesy of Yellow Elm

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!

Because I'm obsessed!

With the Mega-Doily by Ladies & Gentelman.

It's been featured by so many magazines and on many great design blogs, but I couldn't help featuring it here. I wish my decorating budget allowed for me to buy a custom made Mega-Doily for my sweet-toddler-girl ClaraBelle's room, which is a bit Boho, a bit Shabby-Chic, and a bit Modern Pop (I'm in the process of doing some wall paper art and finishing touches in it, which I plan to share with you here when all is said and done). Alas, it does not, but I have heard via one of my favorite blogs "Oh Joy"  that this rug (and DIY instructions) will be part of a new book, Crafting a Meaningful Home by Meg Mateo Ilasco, coming out this fall and published by STC Craft. 

I guess I better get moving on all my other in-the-works-but-moving-very-slowly house projects so I can start making my own Mega-Doily rug when the book comes out! Yay!!!