Belated Thanksgiving Wishes

I am thankful for everyone who has been so supportive of my little venture here. The shop, the blog, and all the activity that goes into both. And there is a special Thankful Corner of My Heart that appreciates everyone who has ever been a customer of mine. I find it so amazing that folks have paid to own something I created or curated. I wish you all a belated round of holiday bliss that will take you through Turkey leftovers and into the giftgiving bonanza that is December. Cool Post-Thanksgiving Thing of the Day: Wishbones from somethingshidinghere. (A shop I had noticed some time ago, but came across again this morning in their Featured Seller interview.) Has anyone else seen something Post-Thanksgiving that just needs to be shared?

I Give You Orange

The other day I found some amazing bright shiny orange boots. They look like the standard Doc Marten boots I loved so much 15 years ago, except they are ORANGE and they were only $12 at WalMart. Some (you know who you are) may think this a frivolous purchase, but I've needed something in the way of rainboots for taking the dogs out in the rain, my ancient Doc Martens are no longer impervious to water, and I challenge you to find a pair of boots that bring such joy at such a low cost. I'm typically not one to gravitate towards orange, but something about their unapologetic brightness (and perhaps the fall weather) made my heart sing. And so, today, I Give You Orange. I'm not saying you should redecorate in an orange theme, I'm just saying that sometimes, an unexpected dose of real color can do a world of good.

Above is Little Orange, an original oil painting from TheNightjar.

This vintage orange thermos would be great for a brisk picnic, or tailgating, or even just getting your coffee to work still warm. Find it at tigerluxe.

recycledwares offers us this tea set complete with teapot, cups and saucers. Host some friends for tea, or give them new life as storage - I can see keeping crafty supplies in the cups and saucers. And nothing is better for sorting beads than little containers.

Lounge in orange with this linoleum cut chair from RainyPrints. Vintage furniture without the bulk.

A little orange birdie led me to this sweet print from hadleyhutton. Makes me want to start a seed collection.

Somehow the color orange inspires chairs. Find this original painting at foodpainter. Don't you want to sit back and watch some sitcom reruns in this chair?

Can't commit to a lot of orange, but could do a stripe or two? FaithandFranny offer us this vintage sugar and creamer set.

Weigh your produce (oranges!) on this vintage kitchen scale, also from FaithandFranny. I use a similar scale to weigh clay in my studio.

Vintage. Orange. Snack. Pagoda. Everyeskimo. Love. There is no more to say.

bellalulu has this fantastic orange egg crate. I would roll up towels in it... or store newspapers and magazines to be read... or display firewood...

Float some orange into your decor with this octopus print from amberalexander. I never found an octopus so handsome.

I apologize for the long radio silence leading up to and over the Thanksgiving holiday. Now that I'm back in the swing of things, I hope to be able to add some new items to my shop. Look for birch bark ornaments, coffee bean mugs, and more Audubon Society postcards. (I've edited this post to include pictures of the boots, by request.)

Dominos

My life is in a holding pattern now, as I wait to see which dominos fall... So I am amusing myself collecting dominos on Etsy. (thelostrooms vintage black and white dominos.) Colorful vintage dominos from violet64.

Giant wooden dominos from TheRelicTrail.

Ivory vintage dominos from rustycharm.

LibertyAspen's black and white vintage dominos.

White with black dominos from jolisovintage.

Black and white vintage dominos from INeedThat.

Dominoes with box from ImSoVintage.

HannahBellaMemories' dominos with wooden box.

Black dominos, colored dots. At GreatMusings.

Vintage wooden domino set from gleancreativereuse.

Black dominos from forestofice.

Vintage cork dominos found at eyeformodern.

Wood dominos with red dots from blacksheepyarns.

The results may be sweet (Domino sugar tablet printers block, at damosel) or sour, or in between. Who's up for a game while I wait?

Tortoise and Hare

I am a jackrabbit trapped in a turtle shell. (whiteapple's prick up your ears.)

Talkative Tortoise woodblock print by serendipityartist.

Jackrabbit tile by PrairieMileTile.

johnwgolden's Teetering Tortoise print.

Jackrabbit print by berkleyillustration. Peace offering watercolor by debhillart. Jackrabbit swirl design cards by ALineofHerOwn.

SevenSeasVintage's golden tortoise. Hare by SilkenTentPrints. Clockwork turtle by tinyminds.

Slow and steady wins the race, right? (The hare and the tortoise vintage print illustration from MySpecialTreasures.)

Joyful Noise with Turquoise

Five times a year the Pantone Color Institute releases its color forecast for the coming season/year. I recently saw that turquoise is expected to be hot for the coming spring and summer (along with tomato puree and celery... Bloody Mary?). It struck me that I had been noticing turquoise items on Etsy lately, and indeed had favorited several with the intent of writing a post about the color. I'm so cutting edge. So let's talk feathering your nest with turquoise! (My Nest Is Best photo from studiojb.) I fell in love with this cupboard from oldcrowfarm. It's useful, it's wood, it's turquoise. It was the first thing I noticed and favorited, thinking I would look for other items of a similar hue. When I saw these Edgewood tobacco tins from saltydoghome, I knew I was onto something. Can't you see these stacked on a shelf, organizing all your bits of miscellaneousness? Monkeysalwayslook has this turquoise ceramic bowl with hens and chicks. I love how the turquoise of the bowl really brings out the dusky blue in the succulent, where a green pot would make it more green. I would be thrilled to use these turquoise pots in my kitchen or as matching storage containers in my studio - or maybe plant succulents in them like MonkeysAlwaysLook... WillowCreekSparrow has them.

UmberDove invites us to get cozy with their pillow cover. The perfect way to update your decor with the trend without a big commitment.

This little owl scale would be a charming turquoise addition to any room. Find it at spacejam.

Sigmosaics offers this mosaic bowl. I absolutely love the glaze on the inside, and how the mosaic tiles on the outside capture both the dark and light depths of the color.

shoshonasnow shows us how just a little bit of turquoise goes a long way. Isn't it interesting how we usually would think of turquoise as a bright, energetic color, but the contrast with the black and white in this porcelain vase makes the blue a calming color.

What would you prepare with these nesting bowls from KarinLorenc? My wisk is twitching to get started on something delicious.

Can you believe how superbly cool johnnyvintage's 50s radio is? Color trends, like everything else I suppose, come and go, and come back.

Jadeitekate has these fantastic canisters with turquoise lids. Again, great for kitchen use, but certainly not limited to storing your tea, sugar and coffee.

Give your black and white photos an extra POP with this turquoise frame found at 2DogsWoodWorking. The frame is as cool as the name of the shop! For more color inspiration, check out Pantone's spring 2010 report. And if I get inspired, you may see some tomato puree posts from me in the future...