New Family Member ~ Angus

Today we found out that we have been approved to adopt Angus ~ a 12 week old wheaten scottish terrier puppy! We found this guy on petfinder, an online adoption site. One of my best friends and a scottie lover too, also applied for Angus ~ neither of us knew the other had applied until I got a phone message from my friend asking me to be her reference! Luckily for us, Angus has a sister ~ actually he has two sisters ~ a wheaten (Victoria) and a black scottie(Kathleen), so we are both getting a new puppy! I can't wait ~ we pick them up this Saturday!

{Angus}

{Angus (L) & Victoria (R)}

{Speck}

Speck does not know he is getting a brother yet ~ or maybe he does ~ I think there may be a knowing look in his eyes..... Stay tuned, I will post some more photos later!

I'm open for name suggestions ~ while I do like Angus as a name, I had a scottie named Angus when I was a kid, so I feel like we need a fresh name! Let me know what you think?! So far we have all sorts.... Sprocket, Sputnik, Zero, White Tornado, Honky (not very PC - but funny!), Haggis, Argyle....

Fabulous Find #7 ~ Sample Book

Back in June I did a post about the Multiple Choice ~ From Sample to Product exhibit at the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum. I mentioned that I had some sample books of my own that I would share ~ below is one of them. I got this one on ebay within the last year. The cover is tattered and seems very unassuming compared with the inside display. While the cover is just printed in black on a rather thin inexpensive colored stock, the inside is printed in a metallic gold on a rather richly printed black stock. Each sample is carefully attached in the appropriate area. Since the individual bolting cloth samples are rather plain, I suppose the book designer decided to make sure that the presentation looked exciting.

{cover}

{sample pages}

{elegant title page}

Japanese Craft Book ~ Crochet

{ ISBN#978-4-277-43113-2}

{lovely projects and photo styling}

{crochet trims}

{cute little crocheted sewing kit project}

Above are a few photos from one of my new Japanese craft books on crochet. I bought this a couple months ago in NYC at the Kinokuniya Bookstore - I posted about the bookstore here. Crochet and knitting are crafts I have discovered in the last five years ~ I love doing both ~ I am kind of surprised that I haven't moved on to something else ~ I just keep coming up with new projects to try and new techniques to learn. Plus, I have enough yarn to open a yarn store, so I am always working on ways to use it up so that I can use my guest room for guests again!

Crown Center Antique Show 2008

Another antique show ~ this time at Crown Center in Kansas City! I just can't seem to stay away ~ this is the season for shows ~ if one is in your own backyard, how can one resist?! The antique show at Crown Center has been going on for about 5 years I think ~ it isn't a huge show, but there are a nice variety of antique dealers.

{overall view and a sampling of a booth or two}

{wonderful display of kitchenware planters from Laurie Kessler}

{great vintage bags and beautiful display from Raised in Cotton}

{love the old packaging on these toiletries}

{repurposed assemblage jewelry by Julie Pishny}

Unique display of jewelry, natural and vintage items

{fixture store display, art desk, diploma, biscuit box}

{wonderful large old iron bank}

{ interesting hat and hat box ~ millinery flowers too!}

{scary deranged dogs and Schoenhut (I think) toy giraffe}

Ended up having a great day ~ got quite a few treasures ~ I will share those in a later post. Must rest up for this weekend's antique show ~ Bingham-Waggoner Antique and Craft Fair in Independence, Missouri.

Collage ~ Angelica Paez

Artwork is another thing I find inspirational ~ especially collage. Since I am so drawn to old engravings and illustrations, it isn't surprising that I love the work of Angelica Paez. I've shown a few samples of her work below, but she has much more at her blog called scrapatorium ~ make sure to check it out! Not only is there a large body of Angelica's work, there are many collages from artists all over the world. If you like collage, scrapatorium is a great place to visit.

{wonderful masked women}

{great use of scientific illustration}

{love the birds}{interesting combination}

All above collages by Angelica Paez

I really like the little Society for Cutting Up Paper graphic as well, but was not able to find any further information on it. If anyone knows more or has a link, please let me know.

Happy 4th of July!

{photo via ebay}

Wishing you a wonderful 4th of July!

Lovely Stores ~ Anthropologie

Another of my favorite stores to visit is Anthropologie ~ I'm sure almost everyone has either visited an Anthropologie or is at least familiar with their catalog. What you might not know though, is that each store is designed according to the space it occupies. Usually a vacant building is refurbished according to the Anthropologie aesthetic, utilizing and adding to already existing elements ~ creating a unique shopping experience at each store. So although I can shop at my local Anthropologie anytime, I still think it is worth visiting their stores in other cities because the shopping experience and the displays are always unique. Below are photos from the Anthropologie in Soho this spring.

{wonderful window displays ~ bug themed cut paper patterns}

{more paper cut creations throughout the store}

{chandelier made of folded book pages}

{clever use of screen as a sculptural material}

{great cabinet ~ love the mix of greenery!}

{unique way to display a variety of knobs}

{my favorite ~ gorgeous felt flower bench}