The Princess who had No Kingdom

Confession - I love costumes. Not freaky halloween costumes or sci-fi ones. I have a weakness for 16th century costume finery ala Elizabeth/The Tudors/Pride and Prejudice. I'm talking breeches, petticoats, bows, wigs, ruffled collars, bow skirts, etc... something about the sight of people dressed up in such costumes captivates me. Not that I ever imagine myself wearing one.

Anyway, when I spied this book over at hicuppings, I was instantly in love. Oh, so beautiful! With illustrations this pretty, it really doesn't matter what the story is about!

These illustrations transport me back to an idyllic childhood, a time when all that fantasies needed to come alive were coloring books, Cinderella stories, and playing dress-up.

The Princess Who Had No Kingdom is published by Orchard Books, 2009.

Alice

Alice in Wonderland by Hosanna featuring Red Herring shoes


A friend of mine attended a theme party dressed as Alice from Alice in Wonderland. She managed to put together an amazing outfit at just $40, to rent a blonde wig and buy a pair of opaque tights. She already had a blue dress and frilly white blouse. Amazingly, she made her black flats look like mary janes using bra straps! Recessionista chic indeed..

I was inspired to put together my own Alice themed collage - somehow, it didnt quite turn out as I expected..

cat chalet

Mr. J sent me this link for this Loyal Luxe chalet for cats and I loved it!

100% made in Quebec, this small chalet for cats is entirely made of cardboard and sold flat. It distinguishes itself through its innovative design and its humoristic theme inspired by the Canadian style chalets and their associated symbolism.

Since the love of cardboard boxes by cats is legendary, they quickly adapt to the product and make themselves a confortable home. Beside cats, this chalet is perfect for all kinds of little fluffy critters including domestic rabbits, ferrets, and small dog breeds.

Now, I only hope Shadow isn't too fat to fit into it...

Mona Lisa.. like you've never seen

As a promotion for The Rocks Aroma Coffee Festival, 3,604 cups of coffee were filled with different amounts of milk to create the different shades... to form a huge depiction of the Mona Lisa!

Wow.

My Parents Were Awesome

Ever wondered what your parents looked like when they were young? My Parents Were Awesome is would give you a good idea.

Check out the hippies, dated fashion and huge glasses. I feel so inspired to dig out my parents' old photos... they were pretty awesome too.

Pretty New #4

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On with more blog goodness.. here are 5 more gorgeous, new-to-me blogs you might be interested to check out. Click on the # tag for the links. Have fun!

Mixies

A vintage children's game, mixies comprises flash cards of characters divided into 3 equal horizontal segments. I find the cards cute. This idea could easily be used the context of modern graphics/characters to great success.

key

More keys... it seems they are everywhere on tumblr. I just can't get enough of them.

Part Two and Part One of the series here.

Eye Spy

How can it already be Friday? This week flew past so quickly I hardly had time to catch my breath. The next few weeks are shaping up to be very busy indeed. I'll take my time this weekend and savor life's simple pleasures.

Household items on this catalogue interact with each other in a chain reaction. You have to see this, really!

The most AMAZING treetop homes.

I just want to ride bikes with you. Okay, maybe wear this adorable t-shirt too.

Lego sushi

Whitney from Darling Dexter now makes her new party skirt in cotton - cheaper and with 4 color choices - what are you waiting for?

Recipe for the most delicious peanut butter sandwich cookies - make or die trying

I want, want, want this book!

Tutorial to make pretty paper lanterns.

If the pound werent so strong I would so buy a secret print.

Yes, I think this is the best thing since sliced bread. No, i do not have OCD.

Well, that's all folks! Have a good one!

Lunch Box Project

It's almost lunchtime on Friday afternoon for me and i'm hungry. Skipping breakfast makes my tummy growl, so right now lunch is all I can think about.

A few days ago, I stumbled across the Lunch Box Project site and loved the charming illustrations. As the name suggests, Lisa Orgler draws inspiration fron her food to draw a masterpiece a day on a playing card. It is a year long project and she has managed to produce some very lovely work daily - I'm so impressed!

I contacted Lisa to see if she minded me featuring some of her work. She was sweet enough to agree. Thanks, Lisa for letting me share your fab illustrations, you rock!

suitcase-turned-chair

A chair made from a vintage suitcase - spotten on recreate. Reminds me of this.

Etsy Envy

When I saw these folks get married in a treehouse in Seattle, it reminded me of my childhood dream to have a treehouse in my own backyard. I never got to have that dream come true, mostly because we never grew a tree sturdy enough.

But how I dreamt of having a tree house in the outspread branches of a huge tree! It would have a drop-down ladder and a sign tacked to the trunk to keep strangers away. We would furnish the bare wooden planks with blankets and pillows to stay cosy. There would be a shelf to store bottles of lemonade and a large wooden box to hide all our treasure. I even imagined having cubby hole to pass secret messages to club members and a picnic basket to be lowered when we needed supplies.

I still havent outgrown my fascination with treehouses. Here are some Etsy items I found which remind me of it:

I like this print because it's funny.

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I like the way this treehouse looks like it's falling down. Also the birds on a wire and the swing.

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Technically, this isn't a tree house. But it's so whimsical and cheerful, I couldn't resist!

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These look more like birdhouses, but they're cute too so i'm going to put them here.

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Love the strings of fairy lights and the tiny breakfast nook with a parasol.

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Minimal treehouse but still very pretty. The stars are a nice touch.

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This is the exact treehouse I imagined having..

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objects

sighn

pen pencil stencil

Some pretty little objects that caught my eye. The pirate is in honor of international 'talk-like-a--pirate' day which falls on today, 19th November.

Ruche

ruche by Hosanna featuring Pink Studio shoes

Items in this set:
Shopruche.com dress, $33
Shopruche.com sweater, $33
Shopruche.com coat, $60
Shopruche.com clothing, $27
Pink Studio shoes, $37

I love everything from Ruche, it's so comfy and pretty.

Pretty New #3

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It's about time for another edition of Pretty New! My feed reader is just bursting with new and wonderful reads -i'm talking hundreds- so I can't wait to share..

Here are five new-to-me blogs which are original, creative, inspiring, and worth a visit. Topics vary. Click on the # tag for the links. Go ahead, check them out!

Dorie Millerson

via please sir

You can hardly believe that these installations are created from needlepoint lace.

Toronto-based artist Dorie Millerson explores topics like family, fragility and home in this interesting body of art. Distance/connection vis-a-vis relationships, perceived stability of a built environment, and the concept of home are fragile sinews held together by a thread and just as easily pulled apart.

dolls

Call me timid, I am a lifelong avoider of horror movies. The only horror movies I ever watched when I was growing up freaked me out too much to ever continue. Even now, I don't watch horror because the images will be stuck in my head for weeks. Since horror movies often utilize everyday objects as symbols of fear, i'm pretty much doomed.

What images from horror movies make you scared? No thanks to the Chucky series, I think dolls displayed are eerie. These photos are pretty - but still eerie.

Sophie Blackall

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collections: match books

Mr. J's mum collects old matchbooks. She has accumulated a huge container full of the tiny wonders over the years. I doubt the matches still work, but the pretty vintage designs are eye candy and reason enough to keep them despite the lack of practical usage. Maybe some day we'll take them out to be photographed - it could be fun.

I found this set of matchbooks on flickr that is equally impressive.

maple pecan ice cream

Ever so often, I have a craving for ice-cream. It's the perfect remedy to cope with our tropical weather in Malaysia. Sadly, (imported)gelato is exorbitantly priced - a single scoop without toppings can cost over RM10. Sigh. With that in mind, more people should learn to make their own ice cream! I found this great recipe for maple pecan ice cream and perhaps I should give it a go.

frazier and wing

Frazier and Wing sells the most beautiful garlands and mobiles. And I do mean the most beautiful.

All we ever wanted was the key to everything

More pretty photos of keys spotted on tumblr. Part one of this series here.

Illustrations

Although my father is an art teacher, I can't draw as well as I wished I could. I grew up surrounded by fancy art materials at home but not knowing how to use them. These days, I keep a sketchbook to scribble and doodle. I oogle over pretty illustrations which I come across - color and quirkiness catches my eye. Here are some cheerful illustrations I saw this week:

Jessica Gonacha

George Mitchell

Andy Smith


Apak Studio

Rachel Bone

real good chair

At first glance, you would not believe that this chair is made of paper. Yup, this is origami like you've never seen before.

The Real Good Chair project tracks these chairs' journeys. Check out their site for the progress .

minifrenchie

Adorable illustrations on minifrenchie . Wouldn't it be nice to have one of you and your partner custom-made to hang in your home?

Lost Found Art

Don't objects always look better in well chosen groups? I love the look of these vintage collectibles by Lost Found Art.

bright branches

via design is mine

bright branches, originally uploaded by jorutter.

Tree branches are my favorite motif. I love them as decoration or art. I spotted these lovely outdoor tree portraits here and just had to share. For some reason, they remind me of scarecrows.

Eye Spy #8

My dear readers, this week i've ventured out of my comfort zone by commenting on other people's blogs after being a lurker for years. It is fun to connect with other bloggers! Also, I get a huge kick of seeing people whose blogs I read, comment on my own blog. In other ways, i'm also trying to get more real and personal in this space. Please see my pledge and explanation. Hope it helps!

Okay, on with your weekend links:

My inner Meredith Grey is delighted by this dress made from recycled hospital scrubs!

This art wall online is officially the shop of the week.

Librarians, please avert your eyes.

Cake made using with 2.5kg of M & Ms!

I want to make this in nice fabric as christmas gifts.

A hilarious parody of etsy called regretsy!

It doesnt get much better than these map + globe inspired save the dates.

Thanksgiving turkey reimagined.

Good things come in lovely packages.

I hope your weekend is as lovely as can be!

history, 'confession', and a pledge!

This blog started in 2008 as a private blog where I collected web finds which inspired me. The point was to collect all my visual inspiration in one location. There was no intention, direction, or focus to develop it further. Since I had no readers, I blogged anonymously and did not link every single photo as it was difficult to track down the many random sources. I figured there was no harm, as I never claimed any of the photos as my own. I kept writing and collecting even though noone was reading - I suppose it was a way to fulfil a fantasy.

For a long while, this blog was my secret internet hideaway. Only two people knew about it. I kept reading more blogs, exploring more links, and eventually ended up with hundreds of links in my feed reader and a serious obsession with design. The more I read, the more I discovered... you know what they say about inspiration -it grows when shared. Word was passed around, and I too longed to show people the wonderful web-finds I had seen - that's when I had to make the choice to remain anonymous or not.

After a full year, I finally decided to come clean with my identity and go public! Putting yourself out there under public scrutiny is a tough choice, especially given my current profession confidentiality is obviously significant. Now, I'm ready to be transparent. Just so you know, advance-posting in Blogger and auto-feed in Networked Blogs allows me to post and reach my readers every day. I'm so glad for every one of you and I appreciate your visits + comments.

I have also started (for the first time) to comment on other people's blogs in an effort to reach out to the larger design community. My days as a lurker are over. It's a great big world out there, and I would like to be a part of it! I don't know yet where this is taking me, but i'm enjoying the process and constantly inspired by all the amazing people I read.

So this is me saying i'm sorry if i've ever posted any of your images or linked you without your knowledge. There is no intention to steal or pass off, I give every credit due to the original creators as I respect the heart and soul you have poured into your work. I respect intellectual property rights and the Creative Commons. I pledge to follow the terms of blog with integrity from here on.

That's all.

Inspired by... multi-colored checks.

As partial as I am to checks, i've always stuck with gingham, houndstooth or occasionally tartan.

These pretty multi-colored checks are inspiring me to experiment with offbeat and color-crazy checks.

Pretty bicycle basket spotted on All Things Lovely .

via Aesthetic Outburst - these blinds have an almost stained-glass quality

Lovely skirt that can be dressed up or down to suit any occasion or season. via The Out Net

pop up calender

A calender like you never seen before.

Oh Hello Marriage!

Although I don't know her in person, I am a huge fan of Danni of oh hello friend. Her blog is beautiful, she has a great her eye for details and sells the prettiest handmade things in her etsy shop. I've been reading her blog since last year and it's a personal favorite of mine.

Of course, I was completely thrilled and excited when she shared her proposal story on her blog. It seems strange for me to be so touched by a stranger's story, but this one is too adorable for words. You must go read the story in her own words on her site.

Here are some photos by Laurel McConnel, the photographer her fiancee hired to capture the proposal.

Congratulations, Danni and Nicholas!

The Small Object

So, so cute things found on The Small Object . Especially love the clothespeg men - see my post below on clothespegs.

Collections: clothes Pegs

via design boom

"One would have expected the pegs to disappear,with the appearance of the drying machines, but theyhave survived the technological change. On the contrary, the number of different clothes pegs seemsonly to be growing

A daily, mundane, banal object, which we all seemto posses, though we rarely look at. the ‘silent servants" - an object so basic yet so useful,that has the quality of serving many functions in addition to it's original one. "

coffee + hopscotch

This morning I woke up with two thoughts in my head: coffee, and hopscotch. For some reason it made me reflect on the disparity between an adult's priorities and a child's wants.

First, coffee. I should preface this by mentioning that my body reacts to coffee differently than most people. It makes my heart beat fast like i've just run a thousand miles. Upon swallowing the first mouthful, my brain immediately shifts into focus like a camera lens zooming into an object, everything seems a hundred times clearer. I could swear my pupils actually dilate at the the smell of strong coffee. A mere half cup taken in the morning can keep me up late into the night, no amount of sheep-counting or warm milk can lead me back to slumber. In short - coffee works like a drug on me - like a direct shot of adrenaline.

Yet I drink coffee in the morning to wake myself up.

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Whereas, in the distant past, hopscotch was what would get the adrenaline pumping and cause that dizzying 'high'. Isn't that the story of life? As a child, you did what you want because you could. As an adult, you do what you don't want, because you have to.

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skylines by stephen wiltshire

via A Cup of Jo

Skyline prints are fascinating and i've been wanting to get one to add to my collection of wall art. Of course, I was astounded to come across this little story:

Following a twenty-minute helicopter ride over Manhattan, autistic artist Stephen Wiltshire sketched the entire skyline from memory. These incredible photos document the process - he appears to have executed the entire process effortlessly. I wonder how long it took him? Every building was correct and drawn to scale! I am amazed at the precision and details in his drawings.

The artist has also previously drawn panoramic memory sketchings of London, Rome, Jerusalem, Frankfurt, Madrid, Dubai, Tokyo and Hong Kong. Can I invite him to Kuala Lumpur to draw the iconic Petronas Twin Towers?

Collections : Hotel Tags

To travel around the world is a dream I have not enough money to achieve. Yet. Perhaps someday I will be able to travel to my heart's content and collect photographs, memories and souvenirs to tell the story long after I return. What would you collect as a souvenir from your travels?


Michael Leibowitz's grandfather who been in the foreign service, collected and filled a whole wall of his study with a lifetime's worth of hotel door hangers from all his travels throughout the world. When he passed on, Michael lovingly photo-catalogued the entire collection. I took special note of the tag from Hotel Merlin, Kuala Lumpur - it still stands today in my downtown.

Inspired by... sunbursts

An everyday masterpiece created by God for our viewing pleasure, the sun bursts its beautiful rays across the sky. Sadly this inspiring display often goes unnoticed. Either we're stuck indoors, too busy to look outside, or the weather does not permit.

Bring some sunshine indoors with a sunburst mirror. If only to remind us of the inimitable beauty in nature which we so vainly try to reflect.

Thick ornate frames or heavy gilded metal look more stately and grandiose. Thinner spikes seem to be favored by more modern designs.

If you can't afford to buy a sunburst, don't fret. Have a look at this tutorial by Michelle of Three Men and a Lady whom i've blogged about before here .

matchstick men

matchstick men!

meat

Reading what Sweet Paul posted about meat made me hungry for some stew! Although you'll hardly find me eating meat (I love my veggies), I can't imagine doing away with meat completely. Meat makes everything taste richer. There's something comforting about a nice pot of stew on a rainy day.

Do you eat meat? What's your favorite meat dish?

suitcase cat bed

you’ll appreciate Vintage Renaissance’s adorable cat beds made from refurbished suitcases.

Not just child's play

Creative ways to utilize Lego:

1. As a namecard

2. Material for brick and mortar construction
3. Recreate iconic photographs as shown below by Balakov

So cute!

nea

Adorn your walls with Nea stitched wall art. I'll take a bicycle, balloons, a typewriter, and a key please.

Inspired by... board games

A collection of round game boards lined in a row make an eye-pleasing wall feature in Douglas Copeland's house.

Chuckle over these scrabble board coasters .

OhDeeDoh espouses decorating a children's room with vintage board games.


Yes, you can have your Monopoly cake and eat it all.

You could almost call me a geek on this count alone - I was raised to appreciate board games. When we were kids, my brother and I used to create our own board games - hand-illustrated, laminated, and with complex rules involving dice and calculation.

I still love the occasional board game, scattegories is so much fun at smaller parties! Mr. J and I still keep score at how many times we beat each other in Scrabble (so far, he's only beaten me thrice in six years, although i'm sure he'll dispute the figure). My favorite board game is Settlers of Catan. What's yours?

pocket wall

Blending form and function, this pocket wall by maja ganszyniec creates little pockets in wallpaper to hold all those odds and ends you leave lying around.

Eye Spy #7

Boy, have I got some weekend link love lined up for you this week! This weekend will be a busy one, there's another event to plan and attend. Hopefully I can sneak some time to clean up my studio which i've been putting off for weeks... Have a good weekend!

Not to be missed -Bruce Lee in paperdoll form!

Say hello to the Truffle Girls - everyday one posts a photo and the other writes a beautiful short passage about it.

A tutorial to make a kimono wrap.

The easier way to catalogue your books. Bibliophiles take note.

Call me a francophile, French style is inimitable

This whoopie pie giveaway is making me hungry for some desserts

Indispensable five rules for life... so you say.

Find everything you need fora Most Curious party here.

Conkers, anyone?

Finally, im not much of a Halloween person, but this costume made me smile!

That's, all folks!

fly it high in the sky let the whole world know

I've posted about kites before and also here.

There's something cheerful and uplifting about it that I just can't resist. It reminds me of many childhood memories flying kites with my family. My father used to make his own kites, including rice-paper-covered and bamboo-boned wau , the delicate traditional kite that symbolizes Malaysia. Once a year, we would make the hour-long journey to attend the Pasir Gudang International Kite Festival , held on a hill beside a lake in Johor, where hundreds of kites of every shape and color dotted the sky as far as the eye could see.

Naturally, I was intrigued by this amazing photoshoot of a proposal involving a diamond ring tied to a flying kite string. More on the simply bloom website.

How to make a Do-Si-Do book

http://www.etsy.com/storque/how-to/how-tuesday-make-a-do-si-do-book-4019/

fly me to the moon

Little boys love paper planes. Somewhere along the years a boy will realize that his dream of becoming a pilot is not feasible, but he will never outgrow his love for paper planes. Ah, boys will be boys.

Mr. J loves a good paper plane and is forever on the quest to make the perfect paper plane. I recall certain incidents where experiments were made from various balconies, windows and other elevated places. He's funny that way!

Here's my little contribution on his search for (paper) aviation perfection!

stellar baby

Diffraction Fibre

soule

Zoe Chen

Jill Simonsen

Send me a plane from wherever you are, love!

Tim Walker

If there was a contest for bizzare-yet-inspiring photography, Tim Walker would win hands down. Seriously. Pastel colored cats, a lady poping-up of a book, a model hanging on a rack, dresses as lights - who else thinks of these things? His portfolio is Edward Scissorshands meets Alice in Wonderland, the colorful, fanciful styling has a twist that's literally out of this world.

Inspired by... keys

Happy Wednesday!

The week has been crazily busy, I haven't had time to create proper blog posts for weeks - had to resort to plain old reblogging. Thank goodness for blogger's advance post option, or else I wouldn't be able to post daily!

Anyway, excuses aside, i'm here with a short series. Lately i've rekindled my fascination with keys as a motif - reflecting a childhood habit i've never really shaken off - collecting keys.

They may be useless but I never throw away old keys. Perhaps it's the promise of hidden treasure which they teasingly hold in their mysterious ridges that makes me hestitate. Or I simply love the gleam of its shiny orifice in the sun as I allow my my fingers to close over the grooves and trace its shapes.

My favorites are the old brass skeleton keys with pretty details. I can even imagine it being refashioned into jewellery. Generic die-cut 'modern' keys are simply too dull to hold a candle - they just don't make them like they used to.

{photos from tumblr}

Max

As if I could love his work even more... Max Wanger who happens to be my favorite events photographer has just opened up a shop of prints and t-shirts. Be still my thumping heart.

Currently in stock are limited edition tees - a new design every month based on one of his photographs. (obviously, you recognize this iconic balloon tee as taken from Joanna's engagement photos)

Argh!!! The balloon-obsessed Max-maniac in me says I HAVE TO buy that tee shirt!

Happy little nest

http://www.happylittlenest.com/

hangers

Clever customizable clothes hangers by LilaFrances .

yellow polka dot party

What a sweet yellow polka dot party .

clock of art

Awesome idea for a clock .

tea light lanterns

Tutorial to make these pretty, pretty tea light lanterns.

Beani

Cute beanipet pillows made by a Malaysian designer.