lofty goals

I was feeling sorry for myself the other day.  

I was looking at my friends photos taken at Surtex and the National Stationary show and feeling very sorry for myself that I wasn't there, participating. Oh poor forlorn me. Nobody likes me, my art.

And just generally feeling like my art career is super slow going and lifeless.

So I said to myself,  "Self, this is it. You are setting a goal. You are going to Surtex next year."

And then I immediately got scared because I'd set such a lofty goal. And my go to thought is always, I can't do it, I'm not good enough.

But, you know, what the hell.  What do I have to lose? 

So now I've plastered my goal up on the world wide web for all to see, which is more than setting it in stone, because people will know if I fall short. How embarrassing.

But I think very helpful nonetheless. For instance, the fear of embarrassment will motivate me and also, if you happen to be an agent or a creative director of a company who likes my art, you might just call me up and say, let's make this happen. That would be nice.

Anyway, here's to goals and living stagnant free.

tangerine tango

1. Delicious, 2. orange and aqua, 3. pixie tangerine and fennel pots de creme, 4. Dana Knit Fingerless Gloves - Pure Cashmere, 5. Bird pouch closeup, 6. a tank full of gold 

Do you follow color trends? 

I do.

I eagerly await the announcement from Pantone to see what the color of the year will be.  Experts in all fields of design report on what the hot colors are for the coming year and Pantone makes the official announcement.

This year it is Tangerine Tango. A delightful reddish orange. 

Which makes me happy. Because, you know, it's a happy color. And I think the world could use a little more happiness these days.

And free stuff. More free stuff would be nice.

Here's a free wallpaper for you to download if Tangerine Tango makes you happy like it does me.

Download this free wallpaper here.

I had to get a little Bellflower dot in there. It's one of my favorite color combos.

Tangerine Tango Pantone color 17-1463
Bellflower Pantone color 18-3628

pink

Pantone colors for Spring 2011

I'm not gunna lie. I think I have an eye for good design.  It's the consolation prize God gave me after he realized I had no talent whatsoever in the performing arts department or the math department or any other department for that matter.  He dug out the wand for design and dinged me on the head and said, "Go forth and beautify the World my child."  I'm pretty sure that's how it went.  

Pantone will announce the official color of 2011 later today. I guess they have all kinds of smarty pants analysts working around the clock to figure out what the hot designers are using.  Turns out it's "Honeysuckle" pink. That's #e76589 for all you fellow designers and hot pink for all you non-designer types. 

I personally endorse this decision. We could all use a little more honeysuckle in our life.

Now let us look at the Christmas cards I will be sending out this year. The very cards I ordered just days before Pantone leaked their color choice.

ruby press

Exactly.

Sometimes I tickle myself pink with my design prowess.

Now we'll see if I can get my smug self to actually get said cards in the mail in a timely manner.  God didn't ding me with the organization wand.

dreaming

Sometimes I really get sick of myself. Or my brand. I guess I should say I get sick of my aesthetic.

I want to be sophisticated. I want to be chic.  At the very least, I want to be interesting.

Today I'm sick of Secondsister. I'm sick of my girl with the birdcage  and I'm sick of my koi fish that I've loved for so long.  His name is Cisco by the way.  Bet you didn't know he had a name.

Anyway, today I want to be someone else.  I want to sell chocolate or vintage items instead of jewelry and doodles. I want to have an office with a fancy little holder for my cards so when people meet me they know exactly who I am and what I do. I want those cards to have scrolls and flourishes.

Tomorrow I will be happy to be Secondsister. But today- today I dream.

P.S.  I also want this hat from Anthropologie.

P.P.S. Dear Brothers Record,
Please do not pee in your pants. I will not require an entire site redo. I won't be rebranding anytime soon. But a girl can dream right? However, don't get too comfy either.

hello, my name is moselle

There something I haven't told you yet.

It's been a quasi secret for the last few months.

It's nearly killed me to keep my mouth shut. You know how excitable I am over all my creative ventures.

Introducing Moselle.

She's a little website design company that we just launched this past weekend at the Casual Blogger Conference. And speaking of that, if you missed it this year, I'm so very sorry for your loss. Hopefully you will make it next year. My condolences.

What's that you ask? Who's the "we" that did this launching? Lemme tell ya.

We are a pastiche*. We are a group of artists and designers and geeky computer geniuses that came together with a big idea.

We want to beautify the world of web design. We want to put individual personality into web sites and blogs. We want to hear about you and what you are all about. And then we want to create you, in website form.

Oh, and we want really good snacks at our company meetings.

Lately people have been personally contacting me about doing custom illustrations for a web based business or blog. After I get over the shock that someone out there actually wants to do something cool with my doodles, I do the macaraina in my living room which in turn causes the Boy to say, "You're weird Mom."

If you are one of these very kindhearted, if not somewhat crazy, people who want me to illustrate for you, please know that if you hire Moselle to beautify your place on the web you will have me at your beck and call, sketching away. You want a scottie dog- done. A fat lady with a pie- done. A naked mud flap girl? Um, just who do you think I am anyway? I do have standards, contrary to popular belief. For shame.

I created a new flickr group called, of course, "Pastiche". I want it to be a place of reference for inspiration and collaboration. A spring board for ideas. Please click on over and upload photos of your personal style. I personally want to see who you are.

Okay here's the deal. We want to help you, yeah you, reading this. If you dream of a blog or website that represents you and your personality we want to hear from you. Like, we really want to hear from you.


Contact us. You won't be disappointed.

* Pastiche: noun 1. a literary, artistic, or musical composition made up of bits from various sources; potpourri 2. a jumbled mixture; hodgepodge 3. the coolest freakin' word in the English language

today i'm inspired

the issue at hand

The whole thing started out in the garage. I had a desk out there with my hammers and torches and beads and a few friendly dead bugs, which I didn't care for much.

But the time had come for my own space. I commandeered the boys play room. What boy needs their own play room anyway? He's got a big closet.

We went to IKEA and invested in some furniture for my new room. (I like to say "invested" because it sounds so financially responsible.)

And then I outgrew that desk space so we added more. And it was at this point that I decided that the time had come for a full fledged studio. A art/craft room that would inspire me. But the issue at hand was paint color.

I started thinking about all my choices.

I thumbed through a ton of design books.

I listened to the experts and I convinced myself I wanted a subdued color like pistachio.


But the problem is that pistachio doesn't make my heart sing. No not at all. It makes me feel like reading and using big words and watching Nova on a Tuesday night. No, pistachio wouldn't do.

So it was back to the drawing board. And the more I sat in my studio and pontificated (big word because I had pistachio paint chips laying around), the more I pontificated what color would most inspire me, I realized that most of the art already up on the walls had robin's egg blue in it.

And then I had a duh moment and the decision was made. Robin's egg blue is what makes me happy.


When Jenny called to ask what I was up to I said, "Painting, and you're not going to guess the color! Pale aqua blue!"

And she said, "Well I could have told you that. It's your color."

I always thought eggplant was my color, but now I'm going to have to rethink my whole life.

All the above photos are by Lolas Room. Isn't she amazing?

I can't wait to share pics of the finished room. I hope it looks as good as it does in my mind.




1. Angora Bolero Jacket, 2. Pastel Roses II, 3. Untitled, 4. Turquoise, 5. pale blue dot 2, 6. collecting color, 7. Pretty Wrapping Paper, 8. some kind of magic, 9. the perfect fence, 10. a not so glamorous collection of aqua things, 11. Butterfly, 12. Using Texture 01, 13. channelling, 14. TEXTURE-T-150B, 15. Hotel Chatham Paris, 16. ATC Feather Mail (2)

etsy love

Wall Decal

Kimono Robe

Butterfly Celebration

Jewelry Stand

Chickadee Tee

pink is bliss

photos by Janne Peters

That's all.

floating

"Do you believe in fairies?....
Originally uploaded by i.anton

Well, I'm still floating around up in the clouds. It seems the vacation I have been gifted from my usually worrisome mind will be an extended one. The laundry pile has formed a personality all it's own and it creeps and growls at me with rick rack teeth as I pass by, but I am unaffected.

I have recently acquired a small stash of vintage wall paper and I have every intention of channeling my dreaming state to create something wonderful today. Ben is out on the ocean fishing for a scaly foe that will fight the good fight, and Tommy B. is playing with bugs in the sunshine. Laundry be damned. Today is an art day.

trashy

Only wonderful things could come out of a studio like this. And they do.

A few months ago I ran across Heather Baily's site. I instantly feel in love with Trash Ties and I ordered a set of small and large. They are really great for a girl like me who, most days, has exactly 23 seconds to do something with my hair. I'm a big proponent of the bun. Buns are the saving grace of working women. Back and up is the only way to go when you are welding a jewelry torch or wrestling small children during church. Thing is, I'm not really the slick, manicured bun type of gal. I'm more of the messy, funky type so Trash Ties are perfect for me.

Yeah, I like to trash it up every now and then.

Go to Heather's site and check out the other great stuff she is doing. Then come back and leave a comment to be in the drawing for Trash Ties. A winner will be randomly chosen on Monday.

birthday season

According to Hallmark, August is the month with the most birthdays. I guess they'd be the people who would know that type of thing.

WIN THIS BANNER FROM

STORIA HOME

It's birthday season around here. The entire side of my husband's family has their birthdays within two months of each other. Ben and I are the lone rangers in December and April. So there is a fair amount of celebrating going on. And gift buying.

It's not that I don't enjoy finding gifts for people. Everyone knows I don't need much of an excuse to hit the shops. It's just that it can be a little overwhelming. Granted, some people are easier than others. For example, you could buy my brother-in-law a garden hedger or a six pack of fancy beer and he'd be as happy as a clam. But some people, they pose a bit of a challenge. I'm not naming names here (mother-in-law), or pointing fingers (father-in-law), but if those individuals would be willing to create a list of items for me to choose from (hint), it would probably help get rid of the pinching sensation I feel at the base of my neck whenever I set out to find just the right thing to give them.

Who is the Birthday Queen? Jerusalem Greer!

I have a new friend on Etsy that makes having a birthday funner than ever. Jeruselum (isn't that a great name?) of Storia Home makes and sells her fabulous party decorations. She has a darling blog and a inspirational website. She has just the thing for your next party.

Here is her personal Manifesto:

"Make Do and Mend!" Taken from a poster from the WW II era this phrase sums up everything for me. Learning to "Make Do" can be the very thing that spurs on great creativity and it can also be a way to save the planet, one vintage find at a time!

AND you lucky people have a chance to win the birthday banner in the first photo. Simply leave a comment on this post and I will use my little random number picker to select a winner on Monday!

I want to wish my good friend Becky a happy birthday today! You look fabulous darrrrrllling!

a couture cubical

A team of researchers explored the link between flowers and life satisfaction in a 10-month study of participants' behavioral and emotional responses to receiving flowers. The results show that flowers are a natural and healthful moderator of moods.

"What's most exciting about this study is that it challenges established scientific beliefs about how people can manage their day-to-day moods in a healthy and natural way," said Jeannette Haviland-Jones, Ph.D., Professor of Psychology at Rutgers and lead researcher on the study.

I have been told, by a few choice and dear people, that I can be a teensy bit moody. Bless their soles. I don't know if any of the tens of people that read this blog noticed, but last week, I was a little down. This morning when I arrived at my work space (a.k.a. the kitchen) the first thing I noticed was the flowers I had bought myself yesterday. This is a little present I give myself every week. A $10 bouquet from the market. I didn't buy any flowers last week. I think that seeing the flowers helped boost my spirits and set the tone for the rest of the day.

Here I am, at my work space (the tidy one) in my uniform. Photography credits must go to one five year old boy who, after many tries didn't get me actually looking at the camera, but who, nevertheless gave a valiant effort. I am happy to claim the kitchen island as my personal work space, if only I could get people to take a number when they want something.

I'd just like to put in a little plug for beautifying you life. If you can't buy flowers, grow them. If you can't grow them, steal the neighbors. I think it is vital to surround yourself with things that inspire you. If you're not a flower girl, get some fruit or art, or gosh, I don't know, a great cupcake or a fabulous pair of shoes, and put them on your desk. I would go so far as to tack up damask wall paper in my cubical. Do whatever you can get away with, your moods will thank me.

martha stewart has ruined reality

Principal's Ring

When I was little, I loved to play school. I, of course, was always the teacher, while my little sister assumed the part of my pupil. Bossy people tend to like to be the teacher. That's just the way things are.

Sometimes I still wish I was the teacher. In Chicago, or some other weatherly place. Then I could wear clothes like these.

And I could take an apple to school in one of these.

I have been under the impression for some years now that the world of pretend is owned and run by children. However, I have been pleasantly surprised to find that, at 34, my imagination is as active as ever. Sometimes it causes problems. Like when I conjure up grandiose plans for parties, projects, vacations and the like. Martha Stewart has ruined reality. But every now and then it really comes in handy. Like when I'm feeling down and out, or just generally unattractive. There are a handful of stores that I go to that make me feel better. I don't even buy anything.

Sometimes I sit on the sofas at Z Gallery and pretend it is my living room. I love to walk slowly around Armstrong Gardens and listen to the classical music. It makes me feel cultured. And sometimes, just sometimes, when I'm having a skinny day, I go to Anthropologie and try on outfits that are way out of my price range and spritz on perfume that is not my personality at all.

And if I really need a pick-me-up, I tip toe into my son's room when he is sleeping and touch his soft cheeks, which are the only baby thing to be found on his skinny little boy body, and pretend that he is one again and we have all our happy days ahead of us.