Inspiration: origami paper crafts ...

I spent a good portion of yesterday evening folding colourful paper into origami hearts. I know it's a little late for Valentine's day, but I thought it would make for cute garland if I strung them, or perhaps incorporate them into wedding favours or decorations ... a little premature, but if I can get it done early I might as well!

{image courtesy of Paper Source}

Paper Source's How-to: recycled origami hearts offers some great ideas. Click here for their tutorial.

Some of my next origami projects ... These are all how-to videos, if you want to give them a try ...

Cherry Blossom Ku-Kusudama
Kusudama Flor
Flores de revista
Cherry Blossom Plate
Origami pouch {part 1} Origami pouch {part 2}

If you care to read the article I wrote for UPPERCASE magazine, Issue 8, you can find it here.

Inspiration: Hearts! St. Valentine's Day is quickly approaching and soon an abundance of hearts everywhere- taking shape in paper cut-outs, sweets, valentines, people wearing their hearts on their sleeves!!! Mostly, I admire Valentine's Day for its cuteness to the point of tackiness! Explore the meaning and history of this day here "a landscape of story and a world of delight in the love and affection human beings have for each other."

Here is some sweet and crafty inspiration for your Valentine's Day ...

Display your love at home ... ranunculus and narcissus blooms floating in a heart-shaped ceramic {Floral by Studio Choo}

{Heart Wreath by Design-Aholic}

Woven heart valentines are perfect for storing secret love letters, candy, and little tokens of your affection.
{Image courtesy of CRAFT NIGHT}

{Vintage Valentines from Carmen and Ginger}


{paper heart valentine garland by Amy Butler}


{I Heart You - Origami Hearts Bouquet by My Bohemian Summer}


{Valentine's Day Treats from Big Sis Lil Sis}

Inspiration: origami and bright flowers ... I made these origami cubes and set up some still-lifes with flowers ... The flowers are matsomoto mums, button mums and zinnias ... I think these would make great centrepieces too ... Here are some of my favourite shots from today ... [dyi:origami cube tutorial - via:origami mommy]









Some great blogs to check out ... BORNAY Tartelette POSTCARDS & pretties poppytalk little pheasant Golly Bard's Drawing Room small stump + studio choo

A quick little post for today ...

Here is a cute company Minimii. I especially like their dollhouse Arne Jocobsens Own House, 1929 (pictured below)

"Kids can play for hours with a dollhouse. With miniature furniture, the house can be redecorated again and again, differently each time. With dolls, countless stories play themselves out, scenarios that remind us of what happens in a real home. The idea with Minimii is just that, to create dollhouses and furniture that look like a real home which both kids and adults can play with."

Here are some great blogs ... Apartment Therapy Re-Nest + April and May

I love the work of Shana Faust, she is a Toronto photo-stylist who has worked for Martha Stewart Weddings magazine. She is now based in Brooklyn. I love her props/crafts styling ... Here is a sample of her work ...

Katrin May is an internationally recognized professional origami artist. First introduced to origami in France in 1989, she and her partner developed this art in a heretofore unseen way. Now residents of Toronto. Here is their website ORILAND and some of their work is shown below.

The Canadian-made ecodesigns of posch inspire me!

They have designed cute handbags using upcycled fabrics and material. I especially love the bird motif on each bag, which no doubt reflects their ecofriendly designs!

Lately, I noticed their reusable wrapping 'paper' biota, which is simply a piece of square cloth that has been printed with terrific patterns and screens of wildlife. Inspired by biodiversity and endangered species, they have printed four different designs, each featuring a Canadian endangered animal. They were inspired by the Japanese Furoshiki wrapping technique. In recent years, this technique has seen a renewed interest as environmentalism has come into the forefront. Here are some simple Furoshiki folding techniques.

“It is extremly useful, to be able to wrap almost anything, regardless of size or shape with a little creativity in folding. When you are done, unlike traditional bags, you can fold it up with a small footprint.”

Furoshiki has the potential to replace grocery/shopping bags, back packs, hand bags/purses, and lunch bags. It reminds me of other Japanese wrapping and folding techniques, such as the folding of origami and the wrapping and folding of kimonos.

Just a little side note...candid photographs make me smile. One group I like to check in on every now and then is the hardcore street photography pool.