Print of the Day > Village

Super cute Limited Edition screenprint in neon pink and red by Village

Papier fleur // millalove

I always have one eye open in the hunt for paper flower inspiration and these from millalove are up there as some of the most gorgeous ones i've seen (the photography alone is beautiful enough!). Love the colour combination and they make those cupcakes look so damn tasty!!

Stina Persson // Cut paper illustrations

Stunning and exotic illustrations by Swedish artist Stina Persson - using cut paper/tissue and paint.

Bookbinding joy!

I've just signed up for a bookbinding course and am super excited... all sorts of ideas have been knocking around in my brain for ages so am hoping I will soon be able to carry them from my there into the real live world! If I can make something even half as lovely as these i'll be a very happy bookworm indeed!

{etsy products from left to right: Teal Bingo Game sketchbook, Screenprinted fabric sketchbook, Japanese binding kit and tutorial, Cassette sketchbook/notebook, Recycled pages journal, 3 mini tag books}

Papercut type // Made by Julene

Saw Julene's beautiful pieces on a post over on Design Sponge* and was so drawn to their intricate but loud typography. Aren't they amazing designs... even aside from the fact they are all beautifully handcut in paper?! Julene can make custom ones... and is about to start selling laser cut versions of her most popular few designs at her etsy store. Watch this space!

***UPDATE- You can now purchase lasercut works for US$80 through her new website

Print of the Day > Sam Chivers

Screenprint titled 'Death by Pinball'
Sam Chivers exhibition, MicroMacro, opens tonight at Boxbird Gallery, Brighton... walked past last night and the painted type out the front is worthy enough of a visit!

Maps on the mind

Ever since I received the lovely postal treat of map envelopes from my mum last week I seem to be seeing grids everywhere I go...

These lovely envelopes are available to buy via 'Bombu' on etsy

The Urban Gridded Notebook from walking-things.com is made up of city plans which creates beautiful lines and angles to follow with your pen.

Village Fete // V&A museum

On Saturday I went to the annual Victoria and Albert museum Village Fete (a contemporary take on the traditional English fete)... it was a day of imaginative minds, creative smirks and silly games for both kiddies and biguns alike.
The Johnson and Banks team always do a stationary based stall and this year they produced 'designer notebooks'. Made from 2 years worth of salvaged colour runouts from their studio, wire bound and personalised with your choice of chuckle-worthy slogan stamp...
{a few of the other slogans: 'my recession moleskine', 'old ideas new notebook', 'i went to the fete and all i got was this lousy notebook' and 'may contain nuts'}The Happily Ever After stall was a place to confess your social failings, ease your conscience and receive a badge your mum would be proud to wear in return.
The save banners eat protests concept at the aalex.info stall produced many a giggle. Each person filled in the blanks {using hi-tech cardboard letterpress letters and rollers} for either 'Save _' or 'Eat _'... resulting in beautiful looking but ridiculous protest banners.
In the tradition of consequences flipbooks, you could create your own surrealist self in lifesized form by mixing and matching head, body, legs and feet {mermaids, strongmen, jesters, Russian dolls and white rabbits} and get a postcard to send to woo that special someone! Presented by the folk at Cupboard Under the Stairs
There were so many good ideas... inspired me to put some silliness into practice... praps I will start one in our street?!

Bird Boxes // Mary Emma Hawthorne

Beautiful bird boxes by Texan artist Mary Emma Hawthorne

Print of the Day > Kotama Bouabane

Part of the Melting series via 20x200

Part 2: Sketchbooks... in books

Following on from my sketchbooks post I thought i'd compile a few tasty books on the subject...
My favourite of all is the 1000 Journals project. For those that don't know, 1000 blank books were posted out and passed along between friends and strangers until full and then sent back to base camp... this resulted in many books of varied wierd and wonderful photos, stories, illustrations and even stitched pieces making it back and a book compiled with pages from these. If you haven't seen the final book already it's definately worth a read - so much in it!
Sketchbooks: The hidden art of Designers, Illustrators and Creatives - contains interviews and lots of lovely illustration.

Sketchbook
Conceptual Drawings from the world's most influencial designers - more information based but really interesting words and thought processes.

Print of the Day > Bitter Sugar

I smell a typewriter theme!! 3 colour letterpress print by BitterSugar

Part 1: Sketchbooks... on the internet

I'm always fascinated by what comes before the finely polished works of illustrators, artists and designers. I love trawling through images of sketchbooks and artists workspaces.. seeing where the inspiration bubbles from...

Julia Rothman's wonderfully inspiring blog, Book by its cover, showcases a whole heap of different (and often far too talent laden!) sketchbooks. The latest images by Ana Botezatu are particuarly beautiful... from the belly of an accordian fold moleskine book...

here's a sneak peek of some other scrummy ones too:

Deanna Staffo

Liza Corbett

Camilla Engman

Iker Ayestaran

{all images from Book by its cover}

Print of the Day > Hudson Dusker

This is actually a screenprinted hankercheif... isn't it lovely?!

Kimono Stationery // Ceci New York

I have always been hugely inspired by anything Japanese - especially the beautiful Kimono fabric designs. So I was smitten with these notecards by Ceci when I saw them on Style me Pretty

Mobile love // Frazier & Wing

These mobiles by Frazier and Wing are like colourful parties on string... love the pompom and paper combinations especially so.

Book works

Art is ace and books are brilliant so when the two collide it's a special moment... I'm a sucker for the beautification of old books into artworks... here are two from the Summer Reading exhibition that has just begun at the Jen Bekman gallery in NY.
A History of Flight by Lizzie Buckmaster Dove

Coast to Coast by Michael Mandiberg