cheerful times with michelle allen

This is my dear friend Michelle Allen.  She lives in Battleground, Washington, but between our blogs and our trade show schedule we keep in touch like next door neighbors. 

She is one talented chica… having illustrated several gift books and done many original paintings; But her real passion is to put the fun in function by creating items everybody uses including clocks, picture frames, vases, boxes, and more.

These are just a few snapshots of some of her clocks that are available at catching fireflies.  We also sell a number of her designs online.

A portion of her artist statement reads, "I love the imperfect, slightly eccentric, witty quality of the world around me. My hope is that my art will never become so serious that I betray the uniqueness of this life that inspires me. Often if something seems too perfect in my art, I will skew it towards the unrealistic to capture the essence of a whim."

All of her designs are so eccentric and happy… how could time not fly by when you have such a cheeful piece of artwork on your wall?

crocheted cuties by tracie lampe

One of my past weekend activities included visiting a little craft show in Northville.  Being that I am partly responsible for putting together the Berkley Art Bash, I am always scouting out new & cool local talent.

This is where I met Tracie Lampe.  Her sweet handspun creations were so super cute that I nabbed this charming birdie pin cushion for myself.

A lot of her products are created from this fabulous wool that she buys raw then washes, dyes and spins herself… as she likes to say, "From sheep to chic!"

Isn’t her color palette so pretty?  It makes me want to take up crocheting!

Who wouldn’t love these chick-a-dee-dees in their easter basket?  They’d beat a boiled egg any day of the week.

ballet lessons – kitty style

   

Maybe because I took a few years of ballet when I was younger or maybe because these kitty feet look just like my cat’s pretty paws… none the less, when I first saw these magnets on another great blog I couldn’t stop laughing out loud. 

Really, who would have thought the five ballet feet positions modeled by a kitty would be so funny?

Now if only I could teach Tuesday to pirouette and plie’ (she’s already got the jete’ down)

hyacinths – the smell of spring

Every spring I always have to buy at least one potted hyacinth.  I love their vibrant colors and intoxicating smell.  (too bad there’s not a scratch and sniff option on the blog)

Here’s a little trivia I found out about them…  "The word hyacinth comes from the Greek Hyakinthos, a handsome young man who in Greek mythology was loved by the sun god Apollo. One day they were practicing throwing the discus but the jealous god of the West Wind, who was also in love with Hyakinthos, blew the discus back and it fatally wounded him. From his blood grew a flower which the god Apollo named after him.

It was brought to Western Europe in the 16th century and was first cultivated in Austria in the 1500’s. During the 17th and 18th centuries, like the tulip, it was to be found only in the collections of very rich flower collectors. Because of the hyacinth’s pervasive perfume, the bulbs were exorbitantly expensive. The bulbs are now grown in Holland and Great Britain."

I also stumbled upon this wonderful painting by Sarah Wimperis, a talented European artist.  She currently lives in Brittany, France and paints everyday. (what a lucky lady)

She posts all her latest works on her blog, muddy red shoes.

salivating over spring skimmers

Okay, I know the last few shoe entries have featured other tennie skimmers… but there are SO many fabulous ones to choose from I couldn’t resist sharing my picks with you.

The colors, styles, patterns are scrumptious… it’s like shopping at a candy store!

First up, my very favorite juicy cherry rocket dogs.  Yummy!

Marghie by Killah

Athea by Michelle K

Peasant Blouse by Sugar

Hook Up Cat by Sugar

Origami by Roxy

Cali Line by Sketchers

Immerse by Michelle K

Stoked by Sugar

I hope you found some flavors you like and maybe we’ll see you skippin’ into catching fireflies this spring with your stylish skimmers!

bon bon boutique feature

Christy of Bon Bon Boutique likes all our a.i. paper goods.  Here’s what she has to say, "I haven’t had any time lately to get out and shop so today while waiting for ballet to get through I got to go in a local favorite; More than Words.  One supplier in particular that had some cute things was a.i.paper. They have lots of cute frames, memo boards, calendar boards, etc. It is a wholesale company but you can also get some of their items through the website catching fireflies. They also have a blog with lots of fun info."

Thanks for the props Christy!

jill higgins photography feature

Jill Higgins of Jill Higgins Photography likes our retro cherry apron so much… she is offering it as her March give-away prize on her blog.  All you have to do is mention what your favorite food is in the comments box on that blog entry… how simple and fun? 

on a side note: you must check out her website if not only to hear the wonderful rendition of "Just Like Heaven" (originally by The Cure) and of course enjoy the pretty pictures.

Thanks for choosing us Jill!

neko case – fox confesser brings the flood

One of our catching fireflies fans, Anne mentioned that Neko Case is her newest favorite musician.  She classifies her as quirky indie retro country, with no pretentiousness whatsoever. An amazing voice combined with brilliant songwriting/storytelling.

Here is her latest release, Maybe Sparrow (it’s pretty artsy… I like it)

A music review reads, "Instantly recognizable and uniquely commanding, it has been uniformly overlooked by the masses and beloved by those who have caught on. And, believe it or not, it gets even better, whether Neko Case is warbling like a porch-swing neighbor to Loretta Lynn, pontificating from the spiritual pulpit of Etta James, or unleashing the high-octane zeal of a power-pop spitfire. Her uncanny, often eccentric lyrics have always been delivered with an inherent passion behind the impulse, but rarely have they approached the boldness of these dozen–many of which were inspired by generations of tales from her Ukrainian ancestors. As usual, Case’s industry running buddies collaborate to make the sounds behind her, from Calexico to Howe Gelb of Giant Sand to the Band’s renowned Garth Hudson. Still, it all comes back to the voice, that serenading urgency that asks in the title song, "How can people not know what beauty this is?" Yes, there are some to ask, how not?" –Scott Holter

Thanks Anne for sharing this great talent with us!

the easter bully

In the spirit of spring, I couldn’t resist having our bully, Samson model some bunny ears.  The photo turned out so well, I got inspired to Photoshop it and make April Fools Day cards.

I had some thin stained wood boards sitting around the studio that weren’t being used so I glued some handmade paper and his photo to the front.

I also adhered some colorful paper on the back and plan on addressing it like a giant wooden postcard. 

I know Samson will bring BIG smiles to the faces of my friends & family.

Who would think such charm could come from a goofy under bite?

For some other dressed up dogs and silly stories, check out this adorable reproduction of the Four Little Puppies.

chimp + bulldog + sit-ups = giddy giggles

I was indulging in my weekend guilty pleasure (watching The Soup on the E channel) and had to pass on this funny clip.

Even in Japanese, the steadfast personality of the bulldog shines through.