and the joker got away!

{batman smells card}

It's pretty late to tell you about this funny card from Port Home Press, but I've had it desktop for at least and month and giggle every time I catch a glimpse. If that's not a good reason to share the love, I just don't know what is.

{image via port home press}

printmaker dujour: leah duncan

"growing horns" print

"hills" limited edition print

"harry had a bad feeling" print

"darling i'm leaving" stitched print

Leah Duncan's calendar has been making the rounds on many of my favorite blogs - and it's really no wonder, as it's just plain gorgeous. Thought I would take a moment to highlight some of Leah's unique prints - her etsy shop is brimming with perfect gifts for the holidays.

{images via leah duncan}

creative crush: daily calligrapher

There's something about the art of calligraphy that's captured my attention from a young age. My grandmother dabbled in it and I remember the joy of watching her address envelopes followed with her signature Fleur-de-Lis wax seal. Currently, I've begun a pen pal correspondence with the lovely and talented Grace Edmands. Her work is exquisite and every time I see her handwriting in my mailbox, I can't help but grin.

The magic of Twitter recently lead me to Daily Calligraphy. Lila shares a range of quotes that she's written in different styles. The quotes are a great mix of hilarious, inspiring, plain silly and of course a few classics thrown in for good measure. She's recently started selling her work in the Daily Calligraphy Etsy shop at very reasonable prices. I had to order two myself, including one of my favorite Martin Luther King quotes above.
_______________________________________________

In giveaway news, I've been a rather bad blogger and am announcing the Paper Bullet winner a bit later than anticipated.

Congratulations to Piddix, who quite favored the "Kiss Me Over and Over" watercolor. Many thanks to Lisa for sponsoring the giveaway.

{all images via daily calligraphy}

paper bullet giveaway

{'for the mister' watercolor on repurposed wood}

{'milk moustache' mini painting}

{'our love is home no.3' original painting}

The ultra talented Lisa Romero, of Paper Bullet, is giving a C&C reader the opportunity to choose one item from her lovely Etsy shop! I love the Paper Bullet shop and am particularly fond of the fact that Lisa repurposes so many items that then become her canvas for greatness.

______________________________
To enter to win:

|| Please peruse Paper Bullet's Etsy shop and tell me which item you'd like to win.

|| Anonymous comments will be disqualified.

|| Giveaway is open until midnight on Thursday, April 22, 2010 .
Winner will be chosen by random.org and announced the following day.

|| One comment per person, unless... Hey, want an extra chance to win?
Blog and/or tweet about the giveaway and post an additional comment(s) with the link.

{images via paperbullet}

love for lilly & coco

{all cards by lilly & coco}

I had the pleasure of meeting with a fellow Portland paperista last week. Lilly, of Lilly & Coco, and I have been twitter friends for awhile and she had sent me one her wonderful vintage-themed Christmas cards over the holidays. Through what I refer to as "the magic of twitter" we made a date to meet in person. Lilly's line is truly delightful! I love the look and presence of her cards. I also discovered that she was one of the pioneers of bringing back the "Keep Calm and Carry On" postcard reproductions into the hands of etsy shoppers. I highly recommend reading the brief interview with Lilly's mom, who is a survivor of the WWII bombing in London, which is where the propaganda posters originated from.

{images via crow and canary}

the 80's stylings of dude and chick

{letterpress cards by dude and chick}

I've been meaning to blog about Dude and Chick for several months. I spotted their line at Ecru and couldn't help but snatch up a few of these bad boys. I was chatting with one of the owners of Issues, last night and we came to the subject of this totally tubular line, therefore it was meant to be today's post! If the eighties theme isn't your bag, they have tons of other designs - take a look-see right here.

{all images via dude and chick}

v-day pick: no. 5

{up up creative's 'crazy love card two'}

{up up creative's 'crazy love card six'}

{up up creative's 'crazy love card eight'}

I'm a big fan of Up Up Creative's designs. I purchased one of their modern printable recipe cards last month and it was a such a hit! There's a series of eight in this vein and they're all nothing short of awesome. These cards passed my personal "laugh out loud" test. You know you want read the rest, check them out here.

{images via up up creative}

paper schmaper's gocco goodness

{gocco 'balloon girl' card}

{gocco 'carnival' card}

{gocco 'glee' card}

I have a total card crush on Paper Schmaper! I love the element of whimsy in their cards and the photo styling absolutely receives extra credit. Paper Schmaper also pens a lovely, paper-centric blog. I always find something to drool over when visiting.

{images via paper schmaper}

the mister's obligatory birthday post

I'd been procrastinating this post, as I didn't have a clue which card line I should feature in honor of mister b's birthday today. With very little searching, I managed to come up with the awesome Australian line Able & Game. These cards are both hysterical and charming and so perfectly perfect for my Birthday boy.

Although, I did get b a tangible card, from the master's at Hammerpress, if you're curious. I've also developed a bizarre habit of flashing cards at the mister whether at a store, on my computer screen or from my well-stocked sample cache for work and saying "huh, huh I would totally send this to you."

And for the record, 'Even though we've been together for ages (8 of your birthdays) I still have a massive crush on you.' So true...

{all images via Able & Game's Etsy}

creative crush: wool & water by amy earles

{'nurse, i need you' paperdoll set}

{'little maple' paperdoll set}

{'cordial creatures' paperdoll set}

Aren't these lovelies just beckoning to live in a shadowbox? I love the idea of paperdolls as art! Wool & Water features an astounding collection of dolls and prints in their etsy shop. I also greatly enjoyed reading Amy's history of designing paperdolls over the years, found here.

{images via wool & water}
{found via portland loves: local}

{shop} portland: tilde

{bud vases by mudpuppy, print by jessica gonacha}

{jewelry by cursive design}

{art by michele maule}

{belts by obi design}

{prints by jessica gonacha}

Tilde is a gorgeous shop located in the Sellwood neighborhood of Portland. The owner hand-picks small design companies and independent artist's goods for the shop. I must say, her curatorial skills are rather amazing - I find it near to impossible to enter this shop without exiting with a new beloved purchase in hand. Most recently, these swoon-worthy earrings from Cursive Design in grey.

Truly a must stop shop for the perfect gift for a friend, or yourself!

ceramic sensation: whitney smith

{dogwood flower lidded vessel}

{bird cupcake stand}

{eight nesting lotus bowls}

It was an enormous challenge to narrow down my favorites from Whitney Smith's pottery designs. If you are in the market for a cake or cupcake stand, she has some of the best I've seen. Check out her Etsy shop here, you may have to make one these pieces a belated mother's day gift.

{via GreetQ Blog}

i heart vena cava

{plaster cast anatomical heart by something's hiding in here}

{notecard by farouche}

{hand screenprinted tee by peanutbutterandyelly}

My love of anatomical hearts as art objects began with one of the first gifts my mister ever bestowed upon me. An intricate, artisan-made lapel pin that I wore on my jacket. Sadly, my tiny heart was lost on vacation, a few summers back and I still lament it's absence.

It would have been some consolation if I'd managed to snag one of the plaster hearts that something's hiding in here produced in limited edition this Valentine's Day. Seriously, everything they design makes my heart skip a beat. The brains behind mustache on a stick is number one in my book.

{shop} los angeles: yolk

{tray by Marimekko | cutting board by ISAK}

{birds of a feather mobile by Ige Design}

{hand-painted 'bloks' by Rebekah Potter}

{van bank by Dutch designers Pakhuis Oost}

Yolk, located in the Silverlake neighborhood of Los Angeles, is not to be missed for those who fancy themselves a fan of Scandinavian Design. There's definitely something for everyone in this well-appointed shop. Luckily, for all of us not residing in Southern California, Yolk is in the midst of building up their online offerings. Hooray for e-commerce!

emerald with envy

{vintage assemblage necklace via etsy}

{the vega, by nixon watches}

{gocco printed notecard via etsy}


{airborne jr. by holly aiken bags}

I must begin with a confession, although all manifestations of green make me swoon, I'm not a big fan of St. Patrick's day. Not much of a pub-goer and secretly, I've always had a strange fear that a stranger may pinch me for not dressing accordingly. Having seen the musical Wicked, over the weekend, simply pushed me over the edge. Green is good, St Patty's day or any old day.