Sweet and Sixteen.

Sweet and sixteen, Vanessa. Oh can I say anything else? Stunning work!

A big thank you to Amanda for helping me keep this baby up to date last week while I was away and busy with a conference. I don't think I have officially shared my joyous news the other week with you all, but I have landed the job of my dreams! I am an employed Graphic Designer now for Life Church (which is my home!), so I get to do what I love, with who I love and share the love!

So I am living in total bliss :)

Pilo Sale.

Hey guys, it's Amanda from Here Comes the Sun again, back with one more post!

Just a wee note to say I am in love with everything in the Pilo Sale shop on etsy. They make beautiful household items from notebooks to cushions, garlands and ornaments all with natural fabrics such as cotton, hemp and rocks. I also love the soft colour palate they use with creams, whites and soft browns. Beautiful!

Thanks for having me here Ilana!

Amanda Thomas
Here Comes the Sun

Things Organised Neatly

Hello everyone it's Amanda from Here Comes the Sun today. I'm just popping in to post a few things this week and something I wanted to share on here is one of my favourite tumblr's Things Organised Neatly, a blog devoted entirely to pretty pictures of carefully arranged groups of objects- from household items to collections, stationery and food. I don't know what it is about seeing things arranged at right angles that is so pleasing to my eye but it has definitely captivated me!

Another great blog of this kind is the Collection a Day project by Lisa Congdon which you should also check out if you haven't already :)

Hope you're having a great day! Thanks for having me here

Amanda Thomas
Here Comes the Sun

I Heart The Arctic.

Such sweetness, Jacqueline Bos is such a talented craft-maker (like in this post where I featured some of her little crafts) and illustrator and I am completely in love with this little zine she created which I found via Home Collection. I have finally started doodling more in my notebook and incorporated some of that in a recent newsletter design which I might share next week :) When I see artists like these, it just inspires me to draw more!

Shocked.

Absolutely shocked to my core about the tragic earthquake that hit Christchurch this afternoon. It just seems so surreal when something like this hits so close to home and in such a small country like New Zealand, everyone is related to someone that knows someone that has been affected by this. It broke my heart, and yet gave me so much hope to see people being pulled out alive from buildings that collapsed, to turn around and go back in to find others that might still be in there. How amazing it is to see community becoming family and working together to help people.

It seems weird to think that less than a year ago, I was walking along those streets, exploring the beautiful city and finding little hidden festive roads. My thoughts and prayers are with all those affected. x

The Sketchbook Project.

Heard of The Sketchbook Project yet? I love the concept behind this project and cannot wait to see photos of the exhibition when it launches in March. Basically, you could sign up to the project and be sent the same Moleskin notebook as every other artist. All you are required to do is use the notebook in any way or form, keeping it's same dimensions, and send it back to be exhibited in The Sketchbook Project which will be traveling all across the States. This is an example of Mette Hornung Rankin's sketchbook which I absolutely adored.

The month of festivities

This morning I woke to find these lovely pictures of one amazing weekend that's just been. Amanda from Here Comes the Sun and I went to a Laua theme birthday this weekend and absolutely loved the photobooth...the husbands not so much, but still, managed to get some photos out of them! This is definitely the month of festivities as we attended a birthday, hosted one of our own and celebrated another friend's too! So let it continue with more events these coming weeks!

For the love of film.

Film junkie: Buradori.
This guy has a film camera collection that I am so jealous about.

Are you good at using a range of cameras often, or do you prefer to stick with one? I have gotten into the habit of using one camera for a while, and then once I get the hang of it and really know how to use it in different lights and settings, I tend to switch to another camera and start the learning process again.

Can be quite an expensive hobby if I keep wanting to buy different cameras, but so exciting to see what each camera can do!

Young talent.

Anyone remember this post I did last year? Well it is where I first discovered the work of Ann He, and I must say I love checking back on photographers who captured me a while ago, to find their latest work. Ann He is a young talent, at the ripe age of 16, she is already well acquainted with a camera and has an incredible eye for that perfect shot. These are just a few of her latest shots which I immediately fell in love with.

Make sure to see more of her work here on flickr, and her personal website.

In love with love.

Yay so happy Valentine's Day everyone! I cannot believe it came by so fast this time round, this year just needs to stop and chill out. Looking forward to a lovely dinner out with my Valentine, as it's another excuse to: one, go out for dinner; secondly, get dressed up and three, spend some good quality time with my love. What's everyone's plans today?

These are just a few pretty little things that I just found too sweet not to share for Valentine's Day :)

1. Giant Candelebra by Uncommon.
2. Doily Coaster by Uncommon.
3. In love with love by Virginia Kraljevic.
4. The Ladybird dress by Modcloth.
5. Valentine Paper Cut-out by Kind of Matter via Oh So Beautiful Paper.

Have a wonderful day and love, love, love!

Happy Weekend!

Well I am happy to say it is weekend again, and looking forward to a very busy, but extremely fun weekend! It's the husband's twenty sixth birthday tomorrow, so tonight I shall be baking up a storm for him. And tomorrow we will be away all day, so thought I would just stop by for a quick hello and to share a photo of our darling. Biggest babe in the world.

Happy weekend everyone!

x

Life in the Alphabet.

(Eibatova Karina via Home Collection)

Now these are incredible, Eibatova Karina collaborated with Das Monk to create these stunning tote bags from her illustrations. This is how she describes the project:

The idea of the project is to represent a letter in a natural form and appearance.
Like something alive has turned into a letter and stood still.

I love the organic shapes she creates with every day objects and think it's such a clever collaboration.

x

Whimsy Whimsical

How darling! I am in love with this gorgeous, sweet shop Whimsy Whimsical, filled with incredibly cute animal illustrations on stickers, tags and cards. Naturally I couldn't resist admiring the adorable bunny illustrations, but I must say the foxes are a very close favourite :)

Alexandra Sophie

Seventeen and talented, here is Alexandra Sophie. This is getting me more inspired to go set up scenes, use props, create an atmosphere and take snapshots capturing them. I think the biggest thing which I find difficult to find is good locations and hope that the weather is semi okay (which is very unpredictable here at the moment). Until then, I shall just admire these stunning ones :)

Keep Calm and Love On.

(Tile pendant jewelry)

One more week to go! In the spirit of Valentine's Day coming up, I thought I would share these gorgeous remakes of the Keep Calm and Carry On posters which are just perfect for the occassion. I am so bad when it comes to gift ideas, so not only do I still have Neil's birthday coming up Saturday, there's also Valentine's Day gifts I am struggling with! Anyone in the same boat?