nothing to do

This post is a bit pointless, but I've really got nothing to do.
The other day, me and Katrina went and had lunch at Luna, easily the most adorable place ever created. Its tucked in on a little neighborhood street where you would never think to look unless you knew where to go. If you live in Toronto, please please please go to Luna. Its just on Dovercourt a few blocks up from Queen.

I love the old Pepsi ads still stuck at the tops of the windows. Somehow utterly charming.

A new pair of Gianfranco Ferré sunglasses. They're almost too much.

I loved Katrina's tree necklace! It's so cute and tiny!



Anyways. Promise to post something more interesting next time.

cute things from design sponge!

Since I seem to be doing nothing of interest, I will post things of interest that other people are doing!
Design Sponge is probably my favourite online resource of adorable, handmade, creative home decor and diy blog out there. I pretty much just sit around checking their site about 50 times a day. Those tiny letters from World's Smallest Postal Service kinda just make me want to turn into one of those awesome insects from James and the Giant Peach and send my insect buddies love letters.
Sooooo, in the vain of loving Design Sponge and all their amazingness, here are some especially cute things.

Beatrice Holloway

Shanna Murray

Molly Hatch

DS diy

Mel Robson

Ilot Ilov

sketchbook

Good morning!
I thought I'd share a few pages from my sketchbook today and a few little projects I'm working on.

Essentially, I need to go to Central Saint Martins or else I will probably die of sadness, boredom, and claustrophobia.
Therefore, the goal is to MAKE MONEY. How exactly am I supposed to do that? Someone please educate me if you are a successful money-making illustrator. I can't seem to figure it out.
I'd be more than happy to send you or your friends a little one-of-a-kind illustration in exchange for something of monetary value! Or do you have rich friends who like careful line drawings, watercolour and marker compositions, or smudged pastel ladies? If so, please let me know.

Here are some pre-lim sketches for this designer portrait series I'm doing of Canadian pieces.

Evan Biddell

Erin Kleinberg

Ado Les Cents

Pink Tartan


See ya later alligators

auburn and ivory

I don't know what that title means other than I happen to be listening to that Beach House song right now...
Anywho. Here are some things I love!

a pink Hermès watch. a most treasured gift.

dolls my grandmother brought me from Russia.

an antique glass candle holder; a stunning handmade piece by my bff Nicole.

a little Chloé, a butterfly, a handcarved box from Egypt.


Anyways!
Feeling bored of Toronto
Working on a designer portrait series thing... fashion illustrations of Canadian designer pieces.
We'll see how that works out!

Also: please visit this darling little blog, Little Miss Fhenny

distressed lace diy

hello my friends!
I thought I'd share an awesome little technique with you that is just beautiful if you find the right fabrics!
It involves sewing together several layers of fabric (2-7 layers), and then shearing the layers to create a sort of distressed effect. It works great with a solid fabric over a patterned one, so that when you cut the top layer, you reveal the colours underneath. You can even get fancy and stitch in shapes such as circles for a rose effect.

Anyways, here's my version. I used an Italian blue gray suiting wool over a creamy embroidered lace. I also used a white piece of silk organza under the lace (which you can barely see in the photos) to stabilize it for sewing.
This technique would definitely look awesome with denim, or any woven fabric that gets nice and fluffly and ragged when you cut it.

Sew through all your layers in lines going on the bias, or diagonally across your fabric piece. The lines can be anywhere from a 1/4" to 1" apart. You can also sew wavy lines, or in simple shapes.
I did straight lines 1/2" apart.

Cut through the top layer only, between each line of stitching. Rub the cut edges to make them fray, or throw it in the dryer with a brush to really make the edges fluff up.

Sew your pieces together and make sure to press the seams open.

I cut out some of the flowers in the lace and stitched them on top to bring out the colour of the lace underneath. Just make tiny stitches all around the flower to keep it in place.

Voila! Happy sewing!

hey alice!

just a few things that for some reason make me think of Alice in Wonderland...

1. Danny Roberts
2. Zoo magazine
3. Liberty (Vogue Milan?)
4. Vogue Nippon
5. Dolce & Gabbana
6. Paperself
7. Amazingness
8. Colenimo


Have a whimsical day!

self-portrait

a bit self-centered at the moment.

1. inspiration 2. technical design 3. the final product 4. me by the lovely Nicole

goodnight!

dear friend,

I must say it is a wonderful feeling to see yourself surrounded by talented people.
I am constantly astonished by the incredible creativity, insight, and all around amazingness of my super duper friends!
Here's a little tribute to my lovely girl, Katrina. What I love about her is that she's so soft-spoken and unpretentious and really truly nice, and she just floors me whenever she pumps out brilliant work like this!
Aside from being an awesome photographer, she does these whimsical little collages (which I still don't understand why I don't own one already...).
Anyways, she's been carrying around a crappy old camera from the nineties that looks about the size of a brick, and snappin' some new pics so I'm curious to see what she makes of that.
Here are just a few of her photos that I adore.

Here are a couple of me that she snapped a while ago.I'm wearing a delicate little embroidered cotton bracelet she made me for Christmas! It says Paris is Burning.