Hello! How was your holiday?
Photo via MTBakkjen.
I'd be willing to take a snowball to the face for a little snow this weekend. How about you?Have a good weekend!
xo,
Lindsay
I know this look isn't for everyone, but I quite like it. For Christmas I asked my dad to roll me a vine wreath and send me some antlers. I'm not sure what I'll do with them just yet, but I'm sure I'll come up with something. Growing up in an area that was as rural as it gets, the antlers remind me of combing the woods, finding shed antlers, the perfect hiking stick, and even an arrowhead or two. Gosh I miss those days.
Where have I been? How come I've never heard about Joy the Baker? I was knee deep in a tasty treat search over at Flickr, when I discovered her blog. I've been drooling over her cookie section while dinner is in the oven. I can't wait to try some of her recipes!
Fresh shops are opening up everyday over at Etsy! Am I sounding like an Etsy cheerleader yet? I hope so, because I'm a huge fan. These finds are from shops with less than 15 sales. It can take a while to be "discovered" amongst the hundreds of thousands of items over there, so encourage these sellers, and heart their shop if you like what you see. If you have a up and coming etsy shop feel free to post your link in the comment section :)
I whipped up these simple gift tags to go along with our packages this year. I printed them on white cardstock and used a 1.5 inch paper punch to add the decorative cut edge. You could cut them out as is, print them on sticker paper, string them up as garland, etc. Be creative! You can download them here. Personal use only please.
How was your weekend? Mine was very productive. Gingerbread house, done. A wee bit sloppy, but still, done. Presents wrapped. Snow boots, bought. New down coat + new favorite jeans, found. A Charlie Brown Christmas, watched. Orders, shipped. Prints, listed. Whew. Glad it's Monday. Also...Hope your week is off to a swell start!
The weekend is almost here! What do you have planned? We're shopping for new winter boots and mittens. The snow is coming, slowly but surely. I think we also have a date with hot cocoa and Charlie Brown's Christmas. Hope you all have wonderfully cozy weekend :)
Another quickie craft. Keeps the kids busy. Little paper deer. I used sturdy watercolor paper, but I imagine you could use something else. Perhaps cardstock, cereal box, or a holiday greeting card. Anyway, it consists of four cut-out shapes. Two upside down "u" shapes for the legs, a body, and antlers. Cut notches into body and legs so they go together. Then notch the head so the antlers can slip in. If you don't have kids nearby nagging you to hurry up and finish drawing the pieces, maybe you can be extra nice and give your deer some ears and a tail. :) We just scribbled some coloring pencil on ours and called it done. Good luck. 
I was flipping through my inspiration files last night looking for photos of art collections. I like to randomly hang mine in groups, nothing too precise. It takes too much effort on my part, and this way I can rotate pieces in and out, without throwing the whole look off. I really liked this particular dining room. (2nd photo) I love the bright happy rug, the pendant light, the expansive floating storage, and of course the art display. Then I moved onto my office files, and found another photo I was really drawn to. It looked so familiar. Then I realized, it's the same room! Just styled different. Ha! Stick with what you like I say.
Every year we make a few new ornaments for the tree. This year the girls and I made paper globes. All you need is strips of paper, all cut to the same length, a hole punch, and metal brads. Punch a hole in each end of the strip of paper. Layer paper over the brad, close, then repeat on the other end. Add a string, something decorative, (we used beads or buttons) and your done. My kids managed this all by theirselves, with the exception of tying the string. So it's perfect for little ones. 
Playing around with the idea of scanning my drawings, then adding pattern through digital collage. The patterns come from photos I took in my backyard and around the house. This experiment furthers my love/hate relationship with Photoshop.Photo Copyright Lindsay Brackeen.
Pretty things from the crafters of Michigan.
Limited Edition Print by Timsebright.
Suzette by SimpliJessi.
Wood Heart Pin at TheLuckyButton.
Moving Forward Scarf by Fray.
Plus this for the naughty folks!
Use the shop local tool over at Etsy to find the artists near you.
Scheming up goodies to send with orders, writing letters to Santa, drinking lots of coffee. How's your day? 
Look at this gorgeous piece by my kindergartener! She had the option to participate in an art exhibition through her school district. The theme of the artwork needs to be "beauty is...". She decided that sunsets are beautiful and made one from paper collage. She really has a way with a gluestick, no? She says she really hopes no one thinks I did it. She wants full credit for this one. So cute :)
