december giveaway : little bright studio!

Good morning! Since last week's giveaway ended yesterday, I have a new one for you today! This time it's from my dear friend Amy of little bright studio. She is offering Design is Mine readers one of her lovely handmade friendship necklaces!

All you have to do is leave a comment with your name and email no later than Friday (December 9th) at noon. That's it- I wish you luck!

it's in the stars.

I must say, I have some very talented friends. One of my dearest ones here in Portland, the darling Amy Nieto, just created this stunning 2012 calendar. It features a silver silkscreen of the stars of the Northern Hemisphere printed on indigo textured paper. And $5 of each sale goes to The Planetary Society. Go Amy! ($25)

ode to friendship.

One of my dear friends in Portland, Amy Nieto, created this ever-so lovely necklace as an ode to friendship bracelets of our younger years. So sweet and colorful- good job as always, Amy! (See also: photography portfolio & blog)

thought of the day : awesome.

"YOU ARE AWESOME," an engraved pin by one of my best friends and newest sponsors, Amy Nieto of Little Bright Studio. And just so you know, today is her birthday. Go support her work: I promise it'll make her smile. ($6)

a perfect muse.

Really, how lovely is my friend Ashley? At ages sixteen and eighteen, her and I formed a great bond as young personal bloggers, and have been friends and pen-pals since. Now she runs Fancy Fine, a sweet blog that documents her daily life and truly stunning fashion choices in San Francisco. Go visit and I promise, you will be smitten.

ten images of inspiration : for a friend.

Today one of my dearest friends in the world moved from Portland to Minneapolis and I am quite heartbroken about it. So here are some images that remind me of her/our friendship in one way or another. Angie, this one's for you- you're gonna be missed.

Sources (from top to bottom): Vintage Vogue, Fifi Lapin, Ganelina Natasha, Jassy-50, Hello Bettie!, Brian Ferry, Launce Philomene Olivier, Amy Nieto, Mary Robinson, and James Dean Lives.

fabulous shop update : hula seventy.

One of my favorite Portland photographers/bloggers, the ever-so lovely Andrea of Hula Seventy just went and did a major update to her Etsy shoppe, including some of her stunning Polaroid art prints. She always manages to capture pretty moments and corners with her photography that makes me fall in love with every single one of her images.

flickr photo of the day : springtime soiree.

Untitled by abbytrysagain.

I hope you all had a fabulous, sun-filled Memorial Day weekend! The above photograph is a polaroid that my friend Abby took of me and my sister-in-law at the springtime party I threw on Sunday. It was a beautiful day with fresh farmers market food, sweet sun tea, quilts spread out on the grass, bunches of flowers in old bottles all over the place, petal-studded carrot cake and strawberry pie, and wonderful people. I really had an amazing time and it made me feel like this is going to be a truly lovely summer.

happy birthday...

to my very dear friend, the overly talented Abby Powell-Thompson, who turned 27 today. Because it's her birthday and because she's fabulous, everything in her shop today is 27 percent off (just enter "birthday" at checkout.) Go purchase something and wish her a wonderful day!

freebie of the day : springtime card.

Today's freebie: One of my favorite illustrators, the lovely Samantha Hahn, just created a beautiful springtime card, which you can find right here. Such a sweet thing to send to friends this time of year. Thanks Samantha!

interior inspiration : vintage masculine.

My friend Abby recently mentioned wanting to emulate the masculine vintage look of Portland's Ace Hotel in her & her husband's home and asked for some inspiration, so I thought it would be fun to do a post dedicated to that style (a style that my own husband is also rather enamored with.) Dark wood, deep colors, and antique accents. I love it.

Also, if anyone else needs inspiration for a certain kind of look, please let me know. I would love to help!















Sources (from top to bottom): Tim Young Interiors, The Selby, Debi Treloar, David Giles, Beach Studios, Suzy Hoodless, Design*Sponge: Tyler Doran, Shoot Spaces, Remodelista, James Merrell, Inspace Locations, Chris Everard, and Airspace.

poppytalk : guest blogging.

I am so excited to announce that I will be guest blogging on poppytalk this week! Jan is by far one of my favorite bloggers, so I am completely honored to be a part of her site. You can check out my first post on Portland artwork right here, and be sure to follow poppytalk throughout the week (and of course, if you don't follow it already, be sure to add it to your daily reads!)

love is all we need.

I just received an email from the always-inspiring Samantha Hahn unleashing some exciting news: she has put out a book that has come out perfectly on time for Valentine's Day! The book, entitled "Love," contains the work of 25 artists who each contributed their own interpretation of the title subject.

The contributing artists include some of my favorites: Lisa Congdon, Kelly Lynn Jones, Maditi, Holly Becker, and Ez Pudewa, just to name a few. For more information and a sneak peek, check out Samantha's post about it right here.

abby powell.

A quick morning note: One of my favorite Portland talents, the lovely Abby Powell, is closing her shop at the end of the day until the holidays are over. If you are looking for a wonderful gift for someone or just want to have one of her beautiful prints hanging in your home, I highly recommend heading there before it's gone!