Ali Z

illustration crush on catherine campbell

I think the next new print to add to my ever-growing art wall will have to be one by Catherine Campbell. Her pieces are a little haunting and a lot beautiful. I love how delicate they are but yet there is so much detail in her line work. Catherine is from Melbourne, Australia and lucky for us has a shop in etsy called My Folk Lover. 

wish i was wearing { and eating }

This today!

All I have to say is Yum! This is making me hungry for a sprinkles cupcake. For set details visit polyvore.

five books i fell for today

A simple trip to the bookstore to pick up a couple of books for vacation turned into hours spent in the craft, art, design, and photography sections. Oh and the magazines, can't forget those. I was there for a while too. Here are the five books I really wanted to march up to the counter with. PS, I can never seem to get out of a bookstore without picking up some kind of cute notebook or sketchpad for myself. This time I got one by Jill Bliss. It's really cute and the inside is graph paper.

{1} The Party Dress by Alexandra Black

{2} Zakka Sewing: 25 Japanese Projects for the Household by Therese Laskey, Chika Mori, and Yoko Inoue

{3} Bazaar Style: Decorating with Market and Vintage finds by Selina Lake, Joanna Simmons, and Debi Treloar

{4} The Art of the American Snapshot, 1888-1978 by Sarah Greenough, Diane Waggoner, Sara Kennel, and Matthew S. Witkovsky

{5} The Sartorialist by Scott Schuman

handmade burlap and type decor

I came across a great little online shop called mothology. Besides some gorgeous recycled and hand blown blue milk glass tabletop pieces, I found myself drawn to all of their handmade burlap linens. I love the round cushion with french type on it and the simple "post" bag with rope handles. Then I happened to see an entire spread in Country Living magazine featuring some of the same items I was drawn too, plus a whole bunch more. Must be a trend!

The September Issue

If you like magazines and fashion and you're looking for something to do this weekend go see the movie "The September Issue". It's a behind the scenes look at the production of Vogue's September 2007 issue, their largest ever. I think it weighed something like 4 pounds. The movie was fascinating and funny. I was most impressed with Creative Director Grace Coddington, girl sure can produce some amazing photos. I also loved seeing Anna Wintour in action. 

a brilliant idea for your date book

This is a look inside the date book of France Dushane. France is one of the most sought after hair and makeup artists in San Francisco. She has some serious skills with a curling iron and mascara. France makes everyone look their beautiful best. She shared with me a brilliant idea that she's been doing for years. Like myself, France loves her iphone, but prefers to keep all her important notes, appointments, and to-do lists in a pretty paper date book. This is where the brilliant part comes in, she uses the old pages from her book as a place to collage together her favorite images turning them into her very own portable inspiration and mood boards. When the year is up you have recycled something you would have thrown away into a creative and prized possession. Thanks France, I'm so inspired, I'll be doing this with my 2010 calendar for sure. 

{ for a glimpse at France's work take a look at her portfolio at Artist Untied. And special thanks to Chris Andre for photographing her book for me. }

wish i was wearing

this today:

A vintage pair of Ted Lapidus sunglasses, an arm full of bangles, and a killer pair of shoes from H&M. What more can a girl need?

photos i love

These images are by Chris Andre, a San Francisco based photographer who is just as lovely as the photographs he takes. These were taken in his own home. So stylish. I love the vases, I love all the craftsman-style wood, and the light is so pretty. I'm sort of obsessed with the bright green vase in the font... the one with the strap. I have to find out where that came from. 

no room for the blues

What's the best blue for my nails? Im on my way to get a pedi and I've been dying to paint them bright turquoise blue. I love to take a look at all the crazy Opi colors, especially the brights these days. I think the first one is closest to what I was thinking. I love that it's called "No Room for the Blues" Off I go! 

{1} No Room for the Blues

{2} Blue my Mind

{3} Sea? I Told You!

{4} Breathe Life

{5} Teal the Cows Come Home

tons of tutorials

I came across a bunch of DIY jewelry tutorials on Martha Stewart's web site today. I picked out my favorite four. {top left} the wooden bib necklace {top right} easy chain link necklaces, bracelets, and belts {bottom left} the bracelet belt {bottom right} recycled bib necklace. There are thirty more if you don't see one here you're dying to make, which ones are your favorites? 

did you know?

that Weldon Owen Publishing makes some really pretty books? Well they do. More on this later ;-)  The above images are from the Willams-Sonoma books "cooking for friends" and "cooking for baby".

wish i was wearing

this today:

I almost missed "Wish I was wearing Wednesday"! Well here it is and it's an Orla extravaganza. I know you'll love this outfit as much as I do. Seriously, I want that skirt so badly. She made a cute dress in the same leaf pattern too. Here are the details. 

texture and bliss

Recently I had the pleasure of working with Illustrator Olaf Hajek. His use of texture is gorgeous and his color palettes are total bliss. He has an amazing collection of editorial work work but I'm crazy for his personal work too. Can you guess which one is called "Fashionanimals"?

i'm loving wire racks

I've been having heart flutters for all things wire lately. I especially LOVE the idea of hanging a rustic wire postcard rack on my wall and using it to display postcards from all over the world. Even better, so many times I want to buy original art from my favorite illustrators and photographers but like everyone these days I'm trying to save money. Instead I often opt for a sweet post card or a small little print. This would be perfect for a collection just like that, and you can change it whenever you want. Love it. Now I'm on the hunt for one just like in this photo above from Real Living Magazine. I started my search on etsy in the vintage category. I didn't quite find what I was looking for but I did find this mid-century magazine rack from Roberta Grove. My magazines would look great in there. Okay, focus. The search continues. . .

spotted on the newsstand

I hadn't heard of Stampington & Company and Somerset Publishing until just a few months ago. I keep finding myself drawn to their magazines. Most recently I discovered "Green Craft". It's really well done with some very cute projects inside, like the re-use of dryer sheets seen on the spread above. I also love reading profiles of bloggers featured in "Artful Blogging". Each blog is different and creative in it's own way. They've turned me on to some great new daily reads and inspired me to be a better blogger myself.