A great resource for all kinds of doo-dads for art projects, collaging, scrapbooking, mixed media...just tons of stuff.

Check out Lazar StudioWERX with work from artist Claudine Hellmuth and owned by Christina Lazar-Schuler and Terry Schuler. Their main sites are: www.lazarstudiowerx.com and www.lazarstudiowerxretail.com/shop/.

Great resource. Worth checking out for sure!

Here's a great blog to give you a serious KICK to start on that project you've been neglecting. Or in my case the 30 projects I've been neglecting.

Check out Vintage Indie for inspiration and some great resources for your artsy crafty soul! Especially Inspireco ... so many wonderful things so little time.

"People living deeply have no fear of death."

-- Anais Nin

Oh, my, my, my! I think I've talked about hand painted fabric before but if not then here is a wonderful artist who has a beautiful interior textile collection but also does hand painted commission fabrics.

Carolyn Quartermaine lives and works from a gorgeous apartment in London and a house in the South of France. If that isn't inspirational then I don't know what is!

I love how the more I research artists I find the many applications they've chosen to create a business around their art. I don't remember anyone telling me when I was in school that you could grow up to be a textile artist?

Thanks to my trusty mom we've found a cool new web tool. I'm not 100% sure of what to do with it yet but I like it.

Take any picture, upload and SHAZAM!!! You get this cool color pallet based on your photograph with all the associated color codes for the web. The photo I uploaded is on the left and then the pallet I got back is shown on the right.

Here is the official description; "Choose or upload a photo and a palette of colors based on the colors in the photo will be generated automatically. Use it to help with art projects, website design, or even with decorating your home."

Ahhhh.........such a nice place to visit. Cherry Coloured is a wonderful blog full of art in its many, many lovely forms. There are wonderful lists of books to read, music to listen to and artists to see. Honestly worth taking the time to check out. I've just spent almost the entire last hour reading, watching and listening to stuff.

Thank you for this wonderful find from singer Siobhan Donaghy. Worth watching and worth checking out more of her songs at http://www.myspace.com/siobhandonaghyparlophone

Pinch me! I found the most amazing jewelry artist today...purely by accident too! Her name is Dana David and she designs fine jewelry. Check out this pair of earrings! Why didn't I think of that?

Be sure to visit her site to see all her work!

I honestly am not sure how to explain this site. It is art, photography, fashion, coffee (?), magazines, animation....etc., etc. Maybe it's a blog????? Oh, wait...from their site is this official description.

"Cool Hunting is a daily update on ideas and products in the intersection of art, design, culture and technology, and features weekly videos that get an inside look at the people who create them. Money can buy you a lot of things, but it can’t buy you coverage on Cool Hunting. All of our content is editorially based using the standard of “stuff we like.” Published since February 2003 as a personal catalog and reference tool, the site today attracts and inspires more than 250,000 regular readers from around the world."

I guess you'll just have to check it out. Warning! -- it can be addictive.

I've been up to something lately...helping Liz at Wickedly Chic launch a new site.

Here is our first press release and if you want to see how COOL it really is AND sign up to win a basket of awesome stuff then visit Marmalade Pink.

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Innovative New Shopping Showcase Takes Style- Savvy Consumers Out of the Mall and Into the Pink

Marmalade Pink, the Web's hottest new destination for unique shopping choices, offers a whole new world for customers seeking extraordinary, out-of-the box products and services .

Grayslake, IL - July 17, 2007 - Stylish shoppers seeking to break free from the confines of traditional large retail stores have a powerful new ally. Recently launched Marmalade Pink (www.marmaladepink.com), an innovative business co-operative formed to bring together talented independent designers and artisans, offers unique products and services not available in mainstream retail establishments. Inspired by fantastic product giveaways, responsive customer service, and the ability to give back to their communities, visitors are flocking to this out-of-the box shopping showcase.
"Consumers are frustrated with the lack of retail diversity out there and want more choices than they can find in the big box stores," said co-founder Liz Nonnemacher. "When the local mall is your only shopping option, you miss out on a fantastic world of artists and designers that offer consistently high value and outstanding customer service."
A visit to Marmalade Pink will introduce customers to an extraordinary range of out-of-the-box retail options, including hot jewelry designs by Charming Sam and eeni-ren designs, colorful paintings by artist Jaime Zollars, and luxury bath products from After the Rayne. Shoppers looking for memorable gift ideas have top- of-the-line choices at Savvy Skirts and trend- spotters will feel right at home with the experts at Wickedly Chic and le Mod Boutique.
In addition to offering links to great shops and sites, Marmalade Pink bumps the excitement factor up a notch with monthly prize giveaways. Each month, visitors to the main site or Marmalade Pink member sites can register to win gift baskets valued at between $150 and $200. Chock full of goodies ranging from elegant jewelry to lush bath products, these prize baskets are a great introduction to the latest trends in the independent marketplace.
Although customers are flocking to the site for the wide range of shopping options, Marmalade Pink serves as more than a portal for consumers. Because it is often hard for smaller businesses to create a national presence, especially when competing with larger retailers, Marmalade Pink offers its member companies the benefit of group advertising and support. Member companies also make a commitment to giving back to the communities that support them. Five percent of sales each quarter are donated to a charity, such as the ALS Association.

About Marmalade Pink: Marmalade Pink offers consumers a shopping portal that allows them to think outside the mall. Founded in 2007 by successful small business owners Amy Steinberg and Liz Nonnemacher, Marmalade Pink (http://www.marmaladepink.com/) serves as an online resource for shoppers who seek unique, high-quality products and services from fashion advice to the latest jewelry designs. For more information about Marmalade Pink or to join the team of successful entrepreneurs, please visit www.marmaladepink.com.

I'm looking for a design company to rebuild my Charming Sam site. While cruising some of these sites I fell upon this great shopping site called Summer Salt Design. Not only is the site really cute and clean from a design perspective but the products are great too. Lots of choices for gift giving to others or yourself. These little barrettes caught my eye right away. Enameled, vintagy but modern. Cute!

Today it's all about artist Laura Normandin. I love her art work and I especially love her site. The Ten Plagues of Egypt is beautiful and haunting. There are just too many wonderful things on her site.

This wonderful book to the left is called "Book of Common Sparrows" and is a handbound book of only 10.

Grab a cup of tea, take a seat and get comfortable. You will be inspired, I promise.

I love this blog! I love this artist! Anahata Katkin uses wonderful imagery in her work and she has everything from journal pages to tshirts . Be sure to visit her store and her concepts page is especially interesting.

Oh and the most wonderful of all is PaPaYa. Anahata has teamed up with her mother to create even more wonderful art work. This card and envelope is so beautiful I can hardly stand it!

Enjoy Anahata's work and her mother's. It's well worth the time to explore her various sites.

There are too many wonderful artists to post about at Julie Baker Fine Art in Nevada City, CA. So, I'm only going to focus on Waddy Armstrong right now and then sometime in the future come back to this wonderful contemporary art gallery.

Waddy Armstrongs work is so feminine and beautiful the only word I can think of is breathtaking. There were also too many pieces to pick from that were simply wonderful but I finally settled on the one to the left. This beautiful piece of art work is cut out photo collage on paper on plexiglass. How amazing is that! It is so hard to tell what a piece really looks like on the web but I love the work this artist is doing.

Be sure to check out the other great artists at Julie Baker Fine Art.

I know little birds really became popular about two years ago in jewelry and art work. I'm just now kind of getting in the groove though. I found Hadley Hutton who has beautiful originals and prints for sale AND she uses encaustic wax in her art work. Not an easy thing to do...encaustic is much harder then it appears.

Hadley's website is very cool and she has all types of beautiful birds for sale and other stuff too.

I also think the name "Hadley Hutton" sounds cool. I wonder if its her real name???

Enjoy!

Todays post is extra special. Andrea at Dreams & Jewelry recently lost her husband. We wish her and her family the very best.

Visit her blog, the wonderful "Anything Indie", it is one of our favorites! And, her jewelry is gorgeous so stop by her store and buy something for that someone special in your life.

A quick post today. A book I found from yesterdays post that I think is really interesting and worth checking out at your local book store. "Alphabetica: An A-Z Creativity Guide for Collage and Book Artists"

I always find this to be an interesting blog and I was "almost" inspired to do a thousand of something. Unfortunately I can't think of a thousand things I'd like to do that are similar. Anyway, Art Junk Girl is working on one inch squares through out 2007 and is trying to complete one thousand. She'll probably accomplish this task to - just check out this part of her blog - here.

She does cute collages and her other art projects and blog are inspirational. Oh, and she has a great list of books to check out ...and other blogs!

A new blog favorite is "sfgirlbybay-bohemian modern style from a san francisco girl". It is a great design blog and has lots of hip finds for all types of spaces. She also has a HUGE list of other blogs of note in the San Francisco area plus tons of Flea Markets from around the world.

Stop by and visit, spend some time and brush up on all the great style from the Bay area.

An interesting blog, The Sartorialist. The photos are exceedingly interesting on this blog and really worth looking at and noticing the details

Notice all the shoes....lots and lots of greecian flats on the ladies. These are real people who wear designer clothing. I'm guessing many of them are in the fashion industry....but Anne Piaggi is in one of the photos with a man in red socks. She is quite flashy I must say.

A fun blog, enjoy!

(c) 2007 Style.com

Here is an interesting artist, Lisa Solomon. Over the last few years Polaroid pictures have made a come back but in the art scene. There are now artists who specialize in taking pictures with Polaroid cameras and Lisa is one of those artists. Her polaroids look very interesting but I am most intrigued by her little girl dress sculptures.

For years my mom hung a dress of mine on the wall from when I was about two and Lisa's dresses remind me of that. Lisa has dipped hers in beeswax though, which is very cool. Check out Lisa's full site for sculpture, fabric drawings and other lovely pieces of art.

Yikes! It's almost been a week since I posted. I didn't mean to take that much time off but well...that's just what happens. But I am back with more wonderful art and artists.

Starting the week off with Jen Garrido who has recently added her work to the new Anthropologie site across the top of the frame. Her artwork is interesting, contemporary and beautiful all rolled in to one. I especially like the painting I've shown here called "Grey Ant" which can be viewed in her Recent Paintings. Visit her site and enjoy!