March on Instagram

I thought I'd collect some of my recent Instagram snaps together to round off this week and the month of March (can you believe it's almost April? Where does the time go?!). I'm still pretty new to Instagram and the novelty hasn't worn off yet, but I'm trying not to overdo it. There are some interesting effects you can create with the app, and I've been using it to experiment and capture some of those special weekend moments.

If you'd like to find me, I'm 'notestoafurtherexcuse' (inventive username, huh?). Well, that's it from me for another week. I'm off to enjoy some down-time after a stressful week, and I hope that you are too! Thanks for reading and see you back here next week! x

Hey Look Studio

These wedding invitations from Hey Look Studio are rather lovely. Based in Helsinki, Finland, Hey Look Studio is a custom wedding stationery shop run by Michaela and Lotta, who both have backgrounds in event production and visual planning, photography and graphic design. After working in events for some time, they decided to concentrate on doing what they love most, and formed their Hey Look business in 2011. Hey Look offers full service event design, and their stationery label (an offshoot of the business) is focussed on wedding stationery. All of Michaela and Lotta's designs have been created to be personalised, which means colours, fonts and layouts can be changed to suit a client's taste.

I really love the Bold Florals suite at the top - gorgeous! Aside from their existing designs, Michaela and Lotta can also custom design stationery to client specifications.

If you'd like to see more of Michaela and Lotta's work, check out their online shop. They also have a fabulous blog, which I quickly bookmarked for future reference!

Arminho

I'm loving these old fashioned classroom-style notebooks from Arminho. Arminho is run by a couple who live in a peaceful city near the Atlantic Ocean in Portugal, which sounds pretty idyllic to me. Some of the notebook covers are printed by hand using a letterpress printer, and the pair have just released this awesome set of notebooks inspired by Navajo patterns. Oh, and there are plenty of pretty birds too!

If you'd like to see more from Arminho, check out their Etsy shop and blog.

Dear Colleen

Hello lovely readers. Did you have a nice weekend? I enjoyed some downtime – dinner with friends, a walk around a lake and lunch in the park. It's starting to get cold in Melbourne, but it's still pleasant enough to be outside, so I'm trying to fit in as much outdoor time as possible! But on to today's post ... I'm sure many of you will have seen these fantastic Dear Colleen prints about the place? They're the work of Colleen Pugh, a graphic designer originally from Bristol, UK, but who now resides in lovely Dunedin, New Zealand. Colleen studied graphic design at university and then worked in the industry for a number of years. She began an online shop on the side, but decided to leave her day job and concentrate on her own label full time when the workload became too much.

Colleen's range includes illustrated and typographic prints, tea towels and tote bags, all with bold graphics and clean colours. I especially love Colleen's yellow and grey colour combos. Colleen recently set herself up in a shared studio in Dunedin, from which she can concentrate on expanding her designs further, and I can't wait to see what she has in store (if you'd like a peek into her new studio space, check out this interview on the Fancy! blog).

To see more of Colleen's work, check out her Etsy shop, blog and website (coming soon).

Depeapa

I thought I'd round of the week on a cute note with some lovely work from illustrator Verónica de Arriba. Based in Granada, Spain, Verónica started up her Depeapa label in 2007 as a way to give her illustrations a second life. For Verónica, the idea that there might be people walking around with her work on show is what motivates her to create her line of artwork, tote bags and jewellery.

Verónica's sweet illustrations depict handsome young things with beards and glasses, as well as cute animals wearing clothing (because who doesn't love a panda in a jumper?!), and it's no surprise her work was featured in the most recent issue of Frankie. Verónica also has some great geometric designs, which adorn her range of brooches and necklaces (I'm pretty much convinced that I need to get myself one of her lovely geometric triangle necklaces!).

To see more of Verónica's work, check out her Etsy shop, blog and online catalogue. And on that note I bid you adieu and wish you all a lovely weekend. Oh, and don't forget that there's still time to enter the Debbie Powell for Lagom giveaway!

Mel Stringer's Papercraft

Regular readers of Frankie magazine will no doubt be familiar with Brisbane-based illustrator Mel Stringer. She regularly creates super cute illustrations for the magazine, but did you know that she is also a papercraft queen? Yep, Mel creates a range of adorable printable PDF papercraft templates that you can make yourself at home. I really love the range of papercraft cameras that Mel has created. She was inspired to develop the range after the Lomography group asked Mel to personalise a Diana camera for their Diana tour last year.

Aside from box cameras, Mel also has also designed some super sweet garlands, party decorations, gift tags, greeting cards and paper dolls. Being able to purchase and print at home makes for an affordable alternative to ready-made products, plus you can get get your hands dirty being crafty and playing with scissors and glue.

Mel's papercraft products are available to purchase via her Etsy shop. And if you'd like to see more of her work, check out Mel's blog. Mel is also represented by the Jacky Winter Group.

ISAK's Harvest Print

ISAK is one of my all-time favourite homeware design labels, and their spring 2012 collection is, unsurprisingly, looking very lovely indeed. Part of the collection includes this new Harvest design, which was launched at London's Top Drawer late last year and was inspired by founder Sandra Isaksson's allotment and the organic homegrown veggies it produces. In true ISAK style, it's very Scandinavian and completely gorgeous!

One thing that Sandra does very well is apply her lovely surface patterns to different products, and the Harvest print can be found on wallpaper, cups, tea towels and stationery.

To see more from the ISAK collection, check out the website, ISAK blog, Sandra's blog and the 2012 catalogue.

[Closed] Debbie Powell for Lagom Giveaway!

You might remember my post the other week about the fabulous new collection of greeting cards that British illustrator Debbie Powell created for Lagom. Well, the super kind folk at Lagom have sent me a pack of Debbie Powell cards to give away to a lucky reader! Each card in the collection has been printed in England using sustainable printing methods on carbon balanced paper, features gold ink elements and comes complete with a gold envelope.

The winner will receive one of each of the eight cards in the collection (shown here). To be in the running to win, simply leave a comment on this post (remember to leave an email address if you don't have a Blogger account). The giveaway is open to all readers, international included, and a winner will be chosen at random on Monday 26 March at 7pm (AEDT). Good luck!

Harry Draws Pictures

I love, love, love these illustrations from British illustrator Harriet Seed of Harry Draws Pictures. Harriett lives and works in Brighton, UK, and when she's not drawing she can be found by the seaside, rummaging through flea markets and charity shops, and drinking lots of coffee. Harriet has a great style—it's sort of retro Americana with a bit of Mexican style thrown in (think pin-up girls, tattoos, skulls and crossbones ...). And I'm obviously not the only one who loves Harriet's style—her client list includes Threadless, The Church of London creative agency, Eat Me magazine and The Brooklyn Skillshare, among others. She has also had work exhibited at The Rag Factory in London, Boxbird Gallery in Brighton, Freakshow Brighton and The Pure Gallery in Whitley Bay.

I particularly love Harriet's repeat pattern work, which you can see here. Don't you think these patterns would look great transferred to fabric? Harriett has some cushions available in her Etsy shop made from digitally printed fabric, but I'd love to make a dress or skirt adorned with these motifs. I think Harriett's work would also look great as screen prints.

If you'd like to see more, check out Harriett's website and Etsy shop.

Crafternoon on the CWC Blog

My second post for the Creative Women's Circle is up today, and this time 'round I visited brand new Melbourne cafe Crafternoon. Run by Tegan Cumerford, Crafternoon is a cute cafe located in North Carlton where patrons can craft while sipping on lattes and snacking on cafe fare. Fun! Below is a little preview, but if you'd like to find out more you can check out the full post on the CWC blog.

New Designs from Love Mae

Australian company Love Mae recently released two new designs, adding to their ever-evolving line of popular wall decals. Pretty Horses and Start Your Engines are, like all of the Love Mae stickers, made from adhesive fabric. This means they are removable and reusable, and are also non-toxic and can be applied to almost any surface (and won't damage your walls).

Aside from wall stickers, the Love Mae collection also includes wrapping paper, melamine dinnerware and pantry labels, with a new organic bedding range also available for pre-order. And it's all so cute! It's great to see the three ladies behind Love Mae — Bec, Peta and Emily — growing their business and achieving success. I can't wait to see what else the ladies have in store.

To see more, check out the Love Mae website and online shop. The girls also have a great blog, Studio of Mae, which often has lovely freebies (I've been downloading their desktop calendars each month to pretty up my work computer) and previews of their work.