Happy Friday! Here’s a few images of work I did for the two most recent Proximity Magazine issues. #005, the Photography Issue, just dropped and it’s amaaaazing. Check that table of contents, I’m pretty pleased with how it came out. You can read more on issue #005 and download a preview right here.

Sarah Neuberger of A Small Object wrote a letter to her niece and then had it screened onto fabric at Spoonflower, which she then made into this adorable quilt. I originally heard about Spoonflower a couple weeks ago at a community designer/artist brainstorm hosted by (gorgeous shop) Post 27, but I was reminded of it today at Oh Happy Day. This is such an excellent resource, both for designing and sourcing custom patterns. Reasonably priced too!

I just discovered the delightfully named, Magic Jelly blog & Etsy store. Lovely vintage feeling collages, moleskines, gocco prints, coasters, and buttons.

Until now I’ve been quietly, slowly building and maintaining this site. But today, it’s all ready and official! So in the spirit of this most splendid event, I’m offering desktop wallpaper for your downloading pleasure. Also, see? Over there in the sidebar there’s a Freebies section which I’ll be updating monthly with other wallpapers, dings, doodads and other pretty little whatnots. So, welcome everyone; I hope you’re here to stay. I wish had confetti & champagne for everyone, but logistically that’s a bit tricky isn’t it? Hoorays & many thanks will have to do instead!

1600×1024 | 1440×900 | 1280×800 | 1024×768 | iPhone

So this month’s wallpaper is inspired by a set of handmade vintage napkins sewn by my Grandma, circa 1970 or 80 I think. They were given to me over the holidays by my Aunt who has a vast collection of vintage goodies. The rest of the typography is all hand-done, influenced by the homies of the hand-drawn type. Enjoy!

Here’s some of my favorite finds from this weekend’s Renegade Craft Fair.

I’m really excited to be reminded of Bucktown’s (Chicago’s?) one and only sewing & fabric boutique, The Needle Shop. Offering cotton prints & upholstery fabrics from some of my favorite fabric designers so now I can actually pop in and peruse textiles in person. It makes such a difference when comparing pattern scale & tactility than trying to buy online. Not to mention the craft & sewing classes they offer, so I will eventually stop collecting the fabric & actually DO something with it.

As an aspiring painter of glass/porcelain I was drawn to 2 other artists who work with glass & ceramic. Sabrina Dechert of Fox & Clover creates really pretty modern glassware & jewelery. She uses enamel based paints which are then fired. The glassware paired with the organic & earthy illustrations makes for an interesting juxtaposition.

Also there’s Meredith Host. Her process is particularly unique. She salvages used hotel & restaurant dishes and then applies a transfer illustration which is then fired off in the kiln, leaving behind an indelible image. Witty, unconventional imagery is what makes her work memorable indeed.

I adore Paperwhites for the holidays, the smell is gorgeous & so springy for winter. So I obviously like this charming, simple, and cheap gift idea from Maya*Made. Great for hostess gifts!

You’ll need these:
stones or soil
paper white bulb
tin can or glass jar from your recycling bin
rectangle of fabric the same size as your container
jute twine or ribbon
gift tag

So you can do this:

And then this:

And then finally get this:

Full directions here.