miniature fad

+ I was first introduced to Vincent Laforet’s work a few years ago. He’s an amazing photographer with a great, unique eye, often working from a helicopter. For some photographs, he also shoots with a tilt-shift lens that makes everything look miniature, like a toy world. Vincent Laforet

I’ve noticed that I see this everywhere now, in commercials and I think there’s even an option on the iPhone to shoot like that. New trend I suppose! This was a short film I saw posted on Gothamist that uses the tilt-shift technique and portrays “a day in the life of New York City” by VFX artist Sam O’Hare...pretty amazing. Reminds me of the little town intro in Mister Roger’s Neighborhood though that was actually miniatures! (link to short below the stills)

The Sandpit

I wonder why we’re all so fascinated by seeing our world as toys....

stamp crazy

+ A good friend of mine bought me this cool, old wooden stamp set. I’ve been wanting to use them, but hadn’t decided exactly what to do with them. So instead of mulling it over in my head, I just pulled out some paper and started stamping. Why not? I had fun making patterns and experimenting with each of the shapes / numbers / symbols. I filled up a whole page.

 

 

It makes me miss letterpress and all things old. It would make a nice, funky wrapping paper! Or even to stamp your own stationery or postcards.  

a simple card

+ I’m not a big Valentine’s day person at all. But, it does seem a little heartless to do nothing at all for the person you love. So, instead of going out and celebrating the corporate-sponsored holiday, I try to make something by hand. A simple card will do!

While thinking of what to make this year, I saw the card I made last year for G sitting on the shelf...

I decided to do it in a similar vein, kind of like a series. I used the same paper, which is this cool tie-dyed paper that I think I bought at Kate’s Paperie awhile back. You can really use anything though...wrapping paper, wallpaper scraps, newspaper...and then cut out some shapes or designs. I then used glue stick to put it on a heavier card stock. Conveniently, the shapes I cut out work nicely inside.

  

  

Simple, but made with love and craftiness.

+ Dear friend and contributor “S” just shared this with me (and she WILL contribute soon!), and it’s too cool not to share with you! I love sites that are more interactive and you just get to play. This one from Wrangler is just amazing. I have no idea how they got this to work...genius!
Wrangler Blue Bell Spring/Summer 2010

It kind of reminded me of this great Ikea site they had up a few years ago (2005), which also really lets you explore the space.
Dream Kitchens

They also have a newer one from 2008 which is a lot of fun and moves with whatever music you switch it to.
Come Into the Closet

Another amazing one, kind of an interactive music video.
Labuat

And HBO’s Imagine website is a crazy cube space that plays short clips and invites you to “unlock” levels of the site.
HBO Imagine

vellum & string

+ As I passed by some retails store windows this past week, I noticed how paper has made a big comeback. Check out Anthropologie, Kate’s Paperie (in NYC), and Juicy Couture this month to see pretty paper designs. I particularly thought the Juicy pants made out of paper hearts was fun!

Speaking of which, I tend to hoard and keep scraps of paper, fabric, string...you never know when it might come in handy. And what random things can be made! I had these strips of vellum (basically thick tracing paper) lying around from something I trimmed previously, and I thought I would get crafty and make some paper flowers. All you need is some paper/vellum and colorful string which I knotted and wrapped around the petals. You can also go crazy with cutting notches and punching holes as well. This would be super cute attached to a gift or card or even strung together in a garland of sorts. I heart paper!