Watercolour animals

Sweet colours, flowers and forest animals will steal my heart most the time. As goes for these illustrations by Katie Vernon. Her work has been featured in several magazines and all of the drawings are light hearted and have a cheerful, romantic feel. To order the hedgehog cards or any illustrations please click here to go to her shop. She also has a botanical print collection which would look lovely on the kitchen wall and is still spot on trend.

Is there anybody out there?

It might be these lights immediately drew my attention because I'm working on an article about retro products and I find them very Space Age. Fact is I'm quite taken by the lamps of Seattle-based Studio Graypants. The designs are named after the moons around the planet Jupiter (Jupiter series) and a lovely detail is they are made out of cardboard. The three designers state the series were created out of their love and fascination with the largest planet. I suspect that these three young designers quite often watched Star wars movies and wouldn’t be surprised at all if they were also a fan of the TV-series Big Bang Theory.

Butterfly shaped romance

Such a fabulous idea, carving into paper to not only create a butterfly, but to add memory to the display. UK-based artist Emma creates new memories out of vintage maps and classic books like Pride & Prejudice. I especially like her 'where we met' collection, for which she cuts out the location where you’ve met your lover in the butterfly shape and accompanies it with the poem, 'To a Stranger' by Walt Whitman. First lines: Passing stranger! you do not know how longingly I look upon you... Such a lovely gift. All of her creations are cut and sewn by hand and come in shadowboxes. Also nice: where you grew up and where you’ve traveled.

Paper cuties

Aren’t they the cutest things, these sweet little paper buggers? I think they make the perfect gift for kids or a friend with a playful nature. They are by brand Mibo and all you need to get started on the collection is some scissors, a ruler and some glue. The forest friends portrayed above are my favorite bunch, but there are plenty of sets to choose from, like The Carrot Crew and Jet Set Pets.

Mulberry love

Yes please, I will add these two gorgeous Mulberry items to my ever expanding wish list. The Daria continental, leather wallet and the Daria bag are just what I expect from this British luxury brand; stylish, traditional and elegant in that typical British way. Meaning: Not over the top, but unmistakably there with charm and flare.

Art with the elements

I've had my eye on the work of landscape artist Jim Denevan for a while now. He makes gorgeous temporary paintings on the sand and ice using jeeps and drift wood among other things as his 'paint brush'. Recently he's been working on enormous drawings on dry or frozen lakes. The drawings totals several miles in diameter and supposedly are the largest artworks ever created. I absolutely love it.

The woods

I spend the whole week in this house in the woods and had an absolutely fabulous time. Waking up at the time the sun comes up, doing morning yoga, hearing birds sing and eating fresh vegetables from the garden and writing of course, 'cause that's my profession. Feeling a bit sad to go back to the city and when I went on a bike ride with a friend we've "bought" many old farms in our head. Wouldn't that be nice to live in we asked ourselves...? Hope you'll have a great weekend!

Baby blanket

While writing this I have an actual view of the forest right in front of me which is fab. There's no birches nearby though, but they are printed onto these lovely baby blankets, a lovely addition to any baby room. It's hand screen printed on organic cotton. Also available in green, red and blue. To order or view more of the goods by Sewn Natural from Canada click here.

Embroidered scarf's

Vivid colours, wild flowers, sparrows and Ivy. Dutch textile designer Hellen van Berkel is obviously inspired by nature. In the past she worked for several fashion brands before she developed her first line of silk scarfs in 2005. Nowadays she comes up with a new collection several times a year and her prints can be found namely on pillows, poufs and scarf's. They always have one in thing in common; the luxurious feel and the combination of embroidery and print techniques.

Hazy beauty

In this case I even like the city scape images more than the ones of the trees and dreamlike nature landscapes. These photographs are by Marc Yankus who is among other things fascinated by capturing the city’s rare tranquil moments. His work reminds me of painters like Monet who was an impressionist and Renoir who became a part of the pointillist movement. I love the fading of the colours and the haziness of the images. Yankus mixes different techniques like paper maché, traditional and digital photography.
photographs©Mark Yankus