I love this project 'Hearts on Vivian' ... members of the community were invited to loop and tie yarn, creating these bright and colourful hearts on a rather drab chain link fence ...

{Hearts on Vivian - photographs courtesy of Outdoor Knit}

I also love this window display of miniature houses aglow for the little winter market...

{photograph courtesy of little winter market}

I am really excited that winter is drawing to an end, and we are getting the first glimpses of spring, time to get the spade out and plan the new garden ... my most favourite thing about springtime! Here is some gardening inspiration ...

Quirky garden blogs - gardening in heels and terri planty. Shown below are just a few of the unique ideas featured on their blogs ...

{San Francisco's Alamo Square Shoe Garden - photograph via Glue and Glitter}

{Flora Grubb Gardens}

{Set of three vintage garden markers by emerald + ella}

Inspiration: miniatures from the flea market ... Today, I found this miniature cast iron stove. I was told by the man I bought it from that those who bought a full size stove, could buy or were given one of these.

Also, I found these miniature bottled ships that I want to incorporate into some new portraits, a sort of nautical theme maybe?


I love Cursive Design. Designer Sarah Fox, who lives and works in Chicago, designs jewelry and home accessories that focus on intricate details and natural forms. Her inspiration derives from the juxtaposition of unusual materials and the unique moments in nature. I especially like her jewelry - how she combines beads, chain and crochet into one. You can see some of her creations below ...




Happy Autumn!!! Some of my autumn inspired art ...

Inspiration: some pretty things ... like precious adornments, paper petals, pinwheels for parties ... and some DIY:projects ...

Shown below is the Souvenir Delft Blue B-Set (2003) by Jongeriuslab - A miniature of the Delft Blue B-Set, intended to be used as a neck­lace, a light-hearted comment on the cliché Delft Blue souvenir industry.

Fabric and bead necklaces from Anthropologie ...


I adore EmersonMade. for their paper flowers as adornment for hair, shoes and clutches, as corsages and even as table decor ... shown below are some of their paper products ...

FYI : How to set for a formal dinner (from: BUTLERSGUILD)


DIY Project: Paper Pom Pom by Rachel of Smile and Wave ... (click on link for tutorial)


And another DYI project ... dozi: paper flower tutorial (click on link for tutorial)

DIY Project: Pinwheels by Style Me Pretty (click on link for tutorial)


More paper rosettes/pinwheels and tablescape design from: Design*Sponge: spirograph wedding

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.

What a whirlwind trip to Toronto!!! It went by so quickly, I guess vacations always do ... I visited lots of little galleries in Toronto, but I really enjoyed the exhibits at the Royal Ontario Museum ... Here are some of my favourite things I spotted at the ROM ...

Miniature room including silverware

Wallpaper from different eras

Displays of vegetation

Stairwell displays leaving the Museum

Art Nouveau flower vase

Nelson Mandela Doll

And what a way to end a vacation - the day before we flew home to Calgary, I received an email from The Daily Undertaker wanting to interview me and feature my artwork (series: Vanitas and Vanitas 2) ... I'll post the link to the article on my blog once it's posted ...

I have a slight obsession with anything miniature...I really went nuts photographing/scanning myself with miniature items a few years ago for my Alice in Wonderland/vanitas series...so when I stumbled on this, I flipped!

Miniatures by Annina
slideshow of her work



Diffa Dining by Design Benefit - some pretty amazing tablescapes, if only dining always afforded these kinds of experiences!

Phoenix Commotion in Huntsville, Texas has an amazing business - building low-cost homes out of reclaimed material.

The Phoenix Commotion is a local building initiative created to prove that constructing homes with recycled and salvaged materials has viable place in the building industry. This process uses only apprentice labor and teaches marketable skills to anyone with a work ethic who is willing to swing a hammer. By keeping labor costs low and using donated or found materials, the homes created are truly affordable. No two are alike due to the myriad of materials used, so there is an artistic element that makes Phoenix Commotion homes truly unique. We target single parents, artists, and families with low incomes. We require the homeowner to be involved with the planning and construction of their own home. The result is a person who is empowered, not only by the use of knowledge and building skills, but by the opportunity to become part of a community as a vested participant.

phoenix commotion blog



Wish I had known about this place when I lived a little closer! ALL CITIZENS in Bruno Saskatchewan...is exciting! Perhaps the smallest music venue in Canada, and a great supporter of the ARTS!


BIKO - fun jewellery, like the kaleidoscope necklace pictured below.


a fun fashion designer....then all kinds of artists and illustrators....

EVE GRAVEL BRUNA ZANARDO JODY MORLOCK JESSICA HISCHE DEEMA BAYRAKDAR ALEX CHIU DOO NANNY

and, a couple canadian photographers....

KRISTY-ANNE SWART CAREY SHAW

Finally, colette paperie - hand printed paper gifts, every single item is handmade. Her blog Colette Paperie: handmade favorites is pretty fun too! I like how she colour coordinates her blog posts!