Cut 'n Paste

It's a weekend link party!

These were my September flowers from Rick. I supper-imposed the quote onto the old crock in Photoshop. However, I don't know the source for it. If you do, please let me know so that I can credit the source.

Hi friends, it's been a while since I've shared a round up of links on here, so I thought that it was time to get another list up to help you waste time inspire you over the weekend :

• One of my favorite things about the approach of fall, is that it heralds the beginning of soup-making weather! I tried this Lasagna Soup recipe last fall and it was delicious. I ended up making it several times. If you leave the pasta out, you can freeze the left overs. Then, when you reheat it, simply cook up some pasta and throw it in right before serving.
• Although this online decorating magazine is in French, the fantastic images need no translation. If you love a combination of industrial, country, antique and linen, prepare to spend hours absorbing the inspiration on their website. Here is a link to one of my favorite features published recently on their site.
• Over the past few months, as I have been studying newborn photography, I have enjoyed perusing the features and photos from the Inspire me Baby website.
• I borrowed the book Shabby Chic Interiors by Rachel Ashwell from the library last week (for the fourth time since it was released no less) and have been drooling once again over the images in it. Rachel has long been a decorating icon for myself and millions of other shabby-chic lovers, and this book is as beautiful as the others she has authored.
• I love travel photography and have been enjoying the images and writing on this travel blog. Don't know if I could convince Rick to sell everything and begin a life being professional house sitters/travellers, but the authors of this blog sure do make it sound cool, don't they?

That's a wrap for today. I hope you have a lovely weekend.

Inspiration on the Web {No. 15}

 

Happy Monday Friends! Here's a pink bouquet from Provence for you (from our trip there last year), with wishes for Sunny Days this week.

I hope that you each had a great weekend. Rick and I were kept busy with extended family activities, which remind us how thankful we are to have many of our family living close by. (Tammy, we miss you!!)

As I am working hard here on some upcoming projects, I will leave you today with a few of my most recent favorite things:

1) The jewelry of Christine Wallace. I just purchased my first piece from her a few weeks ago, and it is divine. Check out this sweet baby. I wore it yesterday, and couldn't help but check it out every time I passed a mirror, LOL!:
 
2.) This recipe for New York Style Crumb Cake is one of the best cakes that I have made in the past few years! The crumble didn't turn out perfectly for us the first time. But, we will definitely try it again, as the cake itself was a HUGE winner in this household.

 
 
3.) I just discovered Tamara at From the Treetop Photography, and oh my stars! Talk about talent - this girls got it! If only she was local to me - I would book a session in a New York minute! If you haven't visited her blog, and you love good photography, Go. Now. This second. You will LOVE it! Here is one of my favorites from her blog:
 
That's all for me today. I hope you have a great day friends.

Inspiration on the Web {No. 14}

 
 
(Photo source: Cecile Boston & family home from Design Files)

Oh be still my heart, I am in LOVE with this kitchen...the vintage clock and stools take my breath away! The funny thing is that lately I have been overwhelmingly drawn to white kitchens, yet this one with its weathered wood is also a 10 out of 10 in my book. Go figure!

In my on-going quest to help you waste time on the internet (hahaha), here are some places to go and links to see which I've been diggin':

• Jennifer Rizzo - I have linked to the most amazing whole home before & after posts I've seen. She has done an amazing job on her house and it is so inspiring...By the way, that makeover to a white kitchen? Totally in love with! (see, I told you I've been digging white kitchen's lately). You MUST go ahead and follow some of the links that others have posted at the end of Jennifer's blog entry, as there is some seriously great inspiration there!
• Before & After - This site shows awesome before and after projects with links back to the originator of the project. Some great inspiration here!
• Can't wait for the premier edition of Souvenir, a new seasonal gazette featuring two of the most creative girls I know, Pam Garrison & Amy Hanna, amongst others. Sign up soon to recieve the first issue which they will send around the beginning of March!
• If you love to travel, like I do, check out the National Geographic Intelligent travel blog. There are always great photos and interesting places to visit on it.

Inspiration on the web {No. 13}

 (Photo credit: Jeanne D'arc magazine)

Here are a few of the things which have caught my eye lately in blog land:

• These adorable ornaments made by the uber creative Paula. (By the way, the blog she authors with Deb is one of my absolute favorites. If you haven't stopped by, what are you waiting for? Be prepared to drool, those girls are seriously creative!)
• We have just purchased a new range, and after not having a usable oven for 3 years, I think I have found the first thing I will bake. These Chocolate Peppermint Cupcakes look very festive and really, how can you go wrong when pairing Chocolate with mint? ☺
• This free holiday subway art is so cool. I have downloaded it and plan to print it this weekend.
• There is a Christmas giveaway on the Melissa Frances blog here. Good Luck!
• Make a free super fun Christmas video from Santa for a loved one (adult or child) from this company. It my hubby and I rollin' on the floor one night as we made a few for friends.

Enjoy your day friends, and don't forget to enter the giveaway below - it's open until Friday!

Inspiration on the Web {No. 12}

 
(Source: Rachel Ashwell Shabby Chic) 

I continue to be amazed at how many good quality, inspirational blogs there are out there in the cyber world. These are a few of the home decor ones which have been making me drool lately:

 

• Dreamy Whites
• Beach Cottage
• Home, Shabby Home

Inspiration on the Web {No. 11}

 
(Supply List: Patterened Paper - K&Co, 7gypsies, Vintage ledger paper, Cardstock - Bazzill, Rub-on - Melissa Frances, Stamp -  Pure Innocence Happy Mail, Other - Buttons, sewing machine and thread, tag, seam binding. Copic details: Skin - E000, E21, E13, RV10  Hair - E51, E53, E57, E37  Dress - YR00, YR02, YR04  Shoes - E31  Mailbox - W00, W1,W3  Bird - BG0000, BG02  Grass - G000, G07)   

A sweet card to start the week! And speaking of "wanting you to know", here are a few recent links that I have been enjoying:

• Sarah Martina: Sarah makes seriously beautiful cards and photographs them so nicely. 
• Centsational Girl: This blog focuses on DIY home improvement projects.
• Nest Egg: This is the blog of a Nashville interior designer who looks surprisingly like Cameron Diaz in her profile pic. My favorite posts are the ones where she shows peeks of the projects she has designed for clients, which are really creative and inspiring.
• Things that Inspire: A beautiful collection of home decor images. I love the way each post is set around a theme, such as stone entryways, or kitchen sinks.  

All for today. Please share links to the blogs you've been enjoying lately as I love finding new sights to visit.

Inspiration on the Web {No. 10}

 
 (Photo taken in Rome, Italy in May 2007)

"When you follow your bliss...doors will open where you would not have thought there would be doors." - Joseph Campbell

As we wrap up another week I am feeling thankful for friends, family and a job that keeps challenging me creatively.

Here are some of my favorite links from around the blog world this week:

• 365 Days of Slow Cooking - I am not ashamed to admit that I love my crock pot! I found this blog by chance a few weeks ago, and have already made the Orange Chicken recipe from the site. It ended up being a tad too orange-ish for us. But it was yummy enough that I'd make it again after tweaking the recipe a tad.
• Florabella Collection - This blog, while mainly a site to promote the awesome photo textures the author sells, features some amazing photography. Many of the images will be especially appealing to those of you who love the shabby-chic or romantic cottage look.
• Rachelle Anne Miller - Rachelle's illustrations spark something deep inside me. An appreciation I think for the small, whimsical, childlike spirit that often gets beat down in real life.  She has a fabulous collection of stamps through Stampavie, and it sounds like she will soon be opening a store selling digital elements as well!
• The Lettered Cottage - I'm sure this site is not new to many of you. It is the home of a super handy, DIY husband-wife team who share their own projects in addition to highlighting noteworthy projects by others. Some serious good stuff on there!

I hope that you each have a wonderful weekend. We're gearing up to spend time with family as it is Thanksgiving weekend here in Canada. Peace & Joy!

A layout & Inspiration on the Web {No. 9}

 

(Supply list: Cardstock: Prism and Stampin' Up!, Patterned paper: October Afternoon and Rose Moka, Stamp: Making Memories, Die-Cut: Stampin' Up!, Rub-ons: Creative Immaginations, Clip: Fancy Pants, Tag: Avery, Fonts: AL Uncle Charles and CBX Heber, Other: sewing machine, thread and a green pencil crayon)

This layout is one I enjoyed putting together a few months ago after finding the photos at my parent's house. I scrapbooked many of our dating memories back when I first started the hobby, so it was a pleasure to find these pics and to scrapbook them in the style I scrapbook today.  Layout is published in the Canadian Scrapbooker Basics Special Issue Vol. 4, which has just been released.

For your weekend reading enjoyment, here are a few links which I have enjoyed this week:

• Makeover of the week goes to Suzy who worked magic with a little paint and a lot of hard work.
• Here is the Etsy store of a multitalented gal. Everything from purses to jewelery to blackboards...great stuff!
• In the "good for a laugh" web site catagory, check this site out.
• Finally, I'd invite you to check out my sidebar links as there have been some new ones listed over the past week.

Have a lovely weekend! 

Inspiration on the Web {No. 8}

I thought I'd take a few moments to share a few of my recent finds with you today. Hope you enjoy!

I discovered Tokyo Milk products while in Sitka, Alaska and have since read that they have been featured in several magazines. Their product packaging is darling and their scents are very interesting. I would have been happy purchasing several of them, but I satisfied myself with purchasing the just one. Called "Let them Eat Cake", the parfume I chose contains of notes of: Sugar Cane, Coconut Milk, Vanilla Orchid, and White Musk. I really like a nice sweet vanilla-ish purfume, so have enjoyed adding this scent to my fragerence arsenal.

The second thing I wanted to share with you is the blog of an amazing scrapbooker from France. Stephanie Dagan creates fabulous, sophisticated and interesting layouts. While the text of her blog is in French, you can use Babel Fish to translate her blog page...or simply visit her to view and be inspired by her awesome layouts. Here is a sample of the kind of layouts she makes....fab, eh?
   
(layout and photo credit: Stephanie Dagan)

A few months ago I signed up to begin receiving a a newsletter from a new site called Goop. The site is the brainchild of the actress Gwyneth Paltrow. At first I signed up to the newsletter just to see what her site would be like, but very shortly as I began receiving her newsletter in my inbox, I found I was throughly enjoying each one. I would definately encourage you to visit the site and check out her offerings. 

My final favorite to share with you is a fruit juice my mom introduced me to recently. True Blue blueberry juices are so, so yummy.  A single 16oz bottle of the juice contains as much juice as a ½ cup of blueberries and a 64 oz bottle contains the juice of about 1 lb of blueberries. The juice is bursting with flavor and powerful antioxidants. True Blue also makes several combination juices. My favorite juice from their line is the Wild Blueberry and Blackberry one. It's super sweet and oh-so-yummy.  

I hope you've enjoyed reading a bit about a few of my recent favorites. Have a lovely day.

Inspiration on the Web {No.7}

 
(photo from the Shabby Chic ® website)

Did you know that the queen of all things Shabby, mother of the Shabby Chic ® brand, Rachel Ashwell has a blog????

Oh happy day! Check it out here and enjoy some great eye candy photos and a little peek inside a creative mind.