Modish

Sponsor Spotlight: Wolfie & the Sneak

Visit Wolfie & the Sneak for inspiring art to color your walls!  Get free recipe cards with your order plus $5 off any order over $25- just mention something terrific about Modish in the notes to seller box! :)

Eco-Friendly Find: BananaSaurus Rex

BananaSaurus Rex is a vintage fabric lovers dream come true, as everything, and I mean everything in the shop is made from vintage, recycled and reused materials: vintage tablecloths become carryall bags, vintage hankies are turned into yummy lavender sachets, ugly old vintage ties become pretty flower brooches! 

The creations are simple, feminine and endlessly functional, from wine sachets to grocery totes, and all are created with the Earth in mind.  BananaSaurus Rex is creative recycling at its best!

Picture Perfect: Claire La Faye

{"Picture Perfect" is a new thing I'm trying out to show off product photos that I think are styled really well, that embody the essence of the item they're selling, that go beyond typical product photography.  Also, it's nice to get away from words every once in awhile- future posts will not be captioned like this.  Whaddya think?  Does it work?}

Dress your ears for less

When fellow blogger Sharla from Rare Bird Finds emailed me about her jewelry collection, I fell instantly in love with her oh so cute and oh so affordable wood filigree earrings!

Not only are they colorful and stylish, they're only $10 per pair!  At that price, you can buy one in every color that you like!  Plus, they're made from wood and are super lightweight, so you don't have to worry about the dreaded earlobe sag that usually comes along with earrings this size.  Check out the full range of colors and lots more jewelry at Sharma Designs!

Sponsor Spotlight: The Studio

Visit The Studio for a rotating collection of indie designer goods.  Use code "modish" at checkout for 20% off anything online!  Offer is good only until 7/25!

Imogene Sale!

The oh sooooo droolworthy jewelry over at Imogene is on sale this week!  Use code "bananas" at checkout and get 25% off your order.  Wheee!

Handmade Couture

I discovered this shop on Design is Mine while catching up on my feed reader yesterday, and I just had to share it here...a little etsy fashion label hailing from Barcelona, Cocotte Couture! 

My heart swoons over that stunning African cotton print dress and that gorgeous black blouse at the bottom needs to belong to a Portland girl, whether it's me or Summer :)  Feminine and chic, without being frilly, Cocotte Couture designs are both fresh and timeless.  This is handmade clothing at its best- I'm so impressed!

Sponsor Spotlight: Moop

Visit Moop's brand new website for handmade bags that are functional and stylish!

Blast from the past: ZN Creative Arts

ZN Creative Arts was one of the very first sites I wrote about a couple years ago when I first started this blog...ah, memories.  Grace, the creator of the gorgeous custom enamel jewelry found there, wrote me about her recent revamp of the site and she has added a lot of new items since I last saw it, so I think it's high time we re-visit, hmmm?

They're vibrant and colorful, modern and nature inspired... plus, all of these beautiful enamel works come in a load of color options so you can pick out which one is just right for you- a custom creation!  I'm glad to see you're still in the thick of creating things, Grace!  Check out all she has to offer on the re-designed ZN Creative Arts!

I think I'll have to do more "blasts from the past" and see what some of my first post subjects are up to these days, hmm?

Monday Morning News Brief

Happy Monday to you all!  Let's get started with some newsy stuff, there's lots going on around blogland right now! :)

Petals & Pedals by Renee: Getaway in your own backyard

With car-free weekends, we generally stay within the 3 mile radius my pudgy bicycling muscles can stand.  In car culture, that radius translates to very little movement, limited shopping, and more thoughtful outings. It also translates into lots of time enjoying the lay of the land, which is much nicer than holing up inside and cleaning all weekend.  Trust me.

With the great outdoors on the brain, I've been following Pink loves Brown's Nicole as she adorns her new place.  Her patio is nothing short of inspirational.  It's equally well furnished for a dinner party or just soaking up the fresh air. She has an uncanny ability for bargains.  Not all of us are so lucky. While drooling over her new patio, I've spent a little time thinking about ways to make my own yard more cozy. . .naturally with the time I'll have this weekend, a few D.I.Y. projects are not out of the question.

Though it would take some serious muscle to split a log yourself, a split log slab makes for a gorgeous Nakashima style bench. This version is a coffee table by hazelnut_spread via Casa Sugar, though I think it would suitably hold a couple people. The vintage style, sanded, beveled legs are available in the lumber section of big box hardware stores for a couple bucks each, or you can get hairpin legs for an even more polished look. She spent about $250 on hers, but with enough dedication and innovation you can find a slab locally from a sawyer for much less. In fact, we recently bought rough-hewn oak, found on Craigslist, for $2 a board foot.  A not so expensive wood and metal outdoor table is available through West Elm, but you wouldn't be able to brag about that one being one of a kind, now would you?

Domino Magazine recently featured outdoor rooms, one of which included an extremely enticing a futon. Can you imagine an outdoor nap in such luxury?  I think this pallet platform bed (found via Apartment Therapy, but I know I've seen it somewhere else.  Anyone remember this so I can credit the maker appropriately?) is a suitable, extremely affordable version.  Wooden pallets are generally free for the taking, this version looks like they used 2 to make it twin bed sized.  You can sand them if you want a prettier product, then paint it up thick with white glossy paint, and get some heavy duty casters for a little extra height. Even if you don't have a thick cushion, just gather a bunch of sheets and fold them in a thick stack on top. 

I love love love the hammocks at Lama Designs, as featured in Jena's post yesterday, and they would definitely be worth the nearly $100 price tag (still a bargain compared to lifestyle store options like Pottery Barn), but the description of it being a child's size makes me wary of it's ability to hold me and my honey. BUT! If I make one, it will be just the right size.  Thankfully etsy's Storque has the details on how to make that magic happen!

Lighting is a great way to transform a space, and lanterns are the perfect way to delineate boundaries while adding a little extra mood.  Restoration Hardware offers these gorgeous shiny options, but I like the hanging jelly jar votives via Martha, of course she would probably have the time to make individual citronella votives for each jar.

Renee Garner has a passion to make things grow, although her brownish thumb wants her to believe otherwise.  When mud pies aren't on the menu, you can find her doodling the days away at Wolfie and the Sneak.

Handmade Nation Art Auction

If you're in the LA area, you need to head over to Poketo tomorrow for the Handmade Nation, Silent Art Auction!  Handmade Nation is an indie documentary about the rise of the craft/diy movement, by Faythe Levin (you can see a trailer for it in a previous post.) 

It's currently in post production and Faythe needs some financial assistance in order to finish it up and make it as great as we know it can be!  So, this Saturday from 6-10pm, head over to Poketo to participate in the auction where you can bid on wonderful works by 30 talented artists (included Modish guest blogger Renee, of Wolfie & the Sneak!) and help fund this awesome project.  There will be art, drinks, clips from the movie, mingling and fun!  I wish I could go!

Snoozefest

I feel soooo sleepy today...it's been a long week.  I'm sure I'm not the only one with the Friday drags, so here's some artwork to celebrate what I, or perhaps we, would rather be doing today instead of work: sleeping.

1 :: Never Alone print by Shira Sela
2 :: Frail Sleep original painting by Caitlin Shearer
3 :: Asleep original painting by Lily Moon

Sponsor Spotlight: The Ardent Sparrow

Visit The Ardent Sparrow for vintage inspired handmade jewelry and accessories!  Write "modish" in the notes to seller at checkout and you'll receive free shipping!