I bought this handy punch this week and made some cards asap.

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What for Mom and Abbey to do post dinner? Online window shopping of course. We came across these sweeeeet “Twins” Camper shoes ($159 at Nordstrom.com). We know I’m a little obsessed with silhouettes from this post and this one.

Every time I look at this garden I feel calm and cool.  This is the “Italian” Garden at Longwood Gardens in Kennett Square, PA — visitor beware: I have to say that some of the rest of Longwood Garden felt a lot like Disneyland.   More pictures of the Winterthur Gardens and Longwood Gardens here.  Also, a huge HUGE thank you to Colleen from Fresh Vintage for tons of great restaurant recommendations and a great thrift store.  We had such a nice trip thanks to her insider suggestions.

I designed a couple of new cards and they finally came from the printer. I’m particularly in love with this sweet Zebra.

I’m loving this DIY cork lamp from Kate over at Design*Sponge and Joanna’s new feature of Home Inspiration posts.

Back in November I gave Tim a painting for his birthday, but it wasn’t until recently that we finally got around to having it properly framed and hung in our bedroom! I love it. It soothes me and made me realize not only how important art in a bedroom can be and also how having a piece that we absolutely love makes our nest a bit more like a home.

The painting, by the way, is by Michael Abrams, an artist from upstate New York whose work we have admired for a while. He paints ethereal aerial views of the Hudson River Valley that are simply breathtaking. From his artist statement:

Although nature forms the basis for my paintings, they are a personalized vision in which I am revisiting landscape painting within the context of contemporary art. These idealized landscapes set the stage and give the perception of something otherworldly. They exist almost entirely in the mental space of nostalgic recall. The viewer is introduced to the picture plane as if they are hovering slightly above the ground, adding to the detachment of reality. There is a dissipation of substance into atmosphere, emphasizing misty ambiance over earthly terrain. Only a hint of human presence exists, with a suggestion of roadways and distant fields.

Don’t you like this coffee table by woodworker Caleb Woodard?  Organic, handmade, slightly midcentury modern. If you live in D.C. and you’re thinking about new furniture, give him and his lovely fiancee a call.  More handmade furniture here.

I’ve always been obsessed with two simple ingredients: paper and glue. As a kid I endlessly had glue in my hair! I can’t remember a time when I wasn’t fiddling with paper and making a card, a notebook or a collage. Today I’m beyond pleased to introduce Abigail Paper, a collection of vintage-inspired paper goods (cards, post-its, vintage wallpaper envelopes).

Take a look and let me know what you think!

I ran around the MOMA Color Exhibit last week with this lovely lady and one of my favorite bits was this installation of colored electrical tape by Jim Lambie on the ground floor. I’ve always secretly hoarded colored electrical tape (and I made my mother ask the dry cleaner for the colored tags they used to code clothes too). Yes, I have a thing for color. So, I really liked to see art from electrical tape. I think this would be beautiful in a small entry way, or mud room.

See a review of entire exhibit here by Phil Patton on the AIGA website.

I spent the day in central park — delicious, green, brimming with happy humans. I’m hoping to have the macbook back tomorrow and resume your regularly scheduled broadcasting (designcasting). Hope you are having lovely weekends of green, sun and happiness.

Photo via Infinite Jef’s flickr stream.

Quick pre-class update: I’m just back from the Brunschwig & Fils sample sale. We’ve been talking about recovering our armchair for two years and just decided to hit the sample sale for some fabric. We scored two beautiful fabrics — a lovely green and a yellow with tiny red dots. Prices ranged form $10-$50 a yard, which is pretty good for the quality we’re talking about! They also had a selection of wallpaper ($10-50 a roll) and some fun borders ($5 a roll) and fabric samples ($2 for around a yard).

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 lovely image from counterclockwise’s flickr stream

The cause of the light posting around here: my macbook bit the dust.  It’s going to the mac doctor first thing tomorrow morning (thank you steve jobs for apple care).  

I realized that somehow I hadn’t posted Year of Flowers: 5.  All bouquets here.

Some early morning vase-scape inspiration for you, from the wonderful women over at Desire to Inspire.

I’m still under the weather (boring! so many fun-er things I’d rather be doing besides being under the weather!). This sweet embroidered underwater “specimen” seems calming and reminds me of sun, sand, and having a tan. Available at the always fun Curiosity Shoppe. I originally came across this via Etsy seller Jpolka’s Wunderkammer Shop and then this great blog.