Spokesgirl

I’m so excited to show you this.  Last summer I decided that I wanted to start collaborating with some of my favorite makers to create one of a kind pieces of art or decorative objects and sell on the flea. Often their work is more expensive or one-offs, so this is a way that you get something unique (as they are limited edition) but aren’t quite as expensive as usual. My first maker collaboration is with New Zealand embroidery artist, Jane Denton, whose work I love so much and I am very excited about this limited run piece we created with her!

You may remember her beautiful work from, oh just about any room in my house:

Her X and O are in my bedroom.

The double was in the living room (now in Charlie’s room)

Originally we had the X and O in Elliot’s room but then I stole them for our room:

Forever ago we used them on the Scandinavian mantel for the Target videos:

It was in the Domino spread. Remember when I thought I could pull off cullottes?

 

And we used it in the Matchbook magazine spread when I used to be a covergirl ;)

Here is what I love so much about her work: her pieces work anywhere. They are so simple and graphic and yet full of texture and feel special. I’m always seeking after this combination of simple but not basic, and her work is exactly that. You can mix it with busier things certainly and it helps calm other things down.

So I reached out to her and said, “hey what if I gave you a color palette that I think works in most people’s homes and we create a piece that we both love, to sell to my readers”. She was down and got right to work. We went through a few different pattern options and color ways but I love this “Spot” design because it feels truly universal, graphic and minimal, yet, I think that it can absolutely work in an older home, too. We went for a neutral color palette but with enough contrast to create energy in a room.

So here are the details: It’s called “Spot” (rightfully so) and it is a limited edition collection with 150 total pieces – FRAMED. Once the 150 are gone – they are gone and will not be made again, so grab them while you can. Each piece is individually numbered and signed by Jane (the initials she has hand stitched into each piece is her signature). The price is $225 plus shipping (shipping is $30). Each piece is hand stitched onto fabric in wool with three different colors then mounted onto a 14″x14″ board using a stitch-pin technique. The overall size is 18″ x 18″, which is slightly smaller than most of her other works I have used in the pictures above but big enough to stand on its own in such a beautiful way. It’s navy, gray and white – the most universally loved color palette ever.

We reached out to our friends at Framebridge who worked their magic and framed these in the most beautiful way. Each piece is mounted onto a mat board and float-framed in a simple white gallery frame with acrylic glazing and matting. Coordinating how to get it from New Zealand, to here, to Framebridge, and then finally into your hands has proven to be QUITE the logistical challenge, but we have handled all the details and each piece will come fully assembled and ready for hanging directly from Framebridge.

Here it is in all it’s glory:

I challenged Brady and Ginny (who have slightly different styles than I do to style it in their own spaces – a sort of a Sisterhood of The Traveling Embroidery Art.

Brady put it in his Dining Room, amongst his super dramatic/emotional gallery wall art. (Don’t worry the big reveal of that floor to ceiling curation and his updated kitchen is coming soon. Remember how he swapped out his floors for under $50?!)

Ginny put it a few places in her living room to shoot, but it’s actually going to live in her bedroom (which she is shooting on Monday – so stay tuned for the big reveal of that) We have a lot of good makeover takeover content coming to you very soon.

I seriously LOVE the piece and love how easy it is to work into a room and style. But because I love to explain my process here is why you should you buy it?

1. Because it’s a simple, beautiful, handmade piece of art and while furniture space in a home is always tricky to find, one always has empty walls that need filling.

2. The price is absolutely reasonable. $225 to get something handmade and framed is a GREAT deal if we do say so ourselves.

3. It will be a collectors item as there are only 150 of them in the whole world.

4. It’s a GREAT gift. Sure it’s on the pricier side for a gift, but if you know someone who loves what we do over here, then they will SURELY love this piece and loving having a little piece of EHD/Jane Denton in their home.

5. Here is the link to BUY NOW – no explanation needed on this one!

In my mind I was going to launch 10 of these maker collabs before the holidays to be for gifts, but I bit off a bit more than I could chew this year so we will be launching more next year. But to celebrate the start of this new collaboration series we’re giving away 1 piece of art. Yep, you heard right, we are giving away one of these signed pieces. So, here’s what you have to do to enter:

1. Pick out your favorite picture from this post

2. Regram that photo on your Instagram

3. Tag me (@em_henderson) and @janedenton_art in the copy and tell us where you’d put your piece

4. Use the hashtag #ehdcollab so we can find all the entries and randomly select a winner. GOOD LUCK!

We will close the giveaway next Friday so be sure to get your entry in by midnight (PST) next Thursday and we will select a winner and announce it on Friday. Meanwhile while you all enter that giveaway, let us know what would you like from future maker collaborations? Pottery? Furniture? Photography? Textiles? And is there anyone you would love for me to reach out to or any artists that we need to know about and work with? I have all my go-to’s (artists, ceramicists, etc) that I plan on working with but I’d love any ideas you guys have.

Last but not least, happy Friday folks, it’s been the longest week for all of us Americans, but we survived. Somehow. Now, head on over and check the piece out HERE.

The post Maker Series Collaboration: Jane Denton appeared first on Emily Henderson.

Inspired by the botanical specimens she finds while walking through parks and gardens on her frequent travels, tattoo artist Pis Saro creates elegant plant portraits on the legs, arms, and spines of her international clients. Designed directly from nature, Saro’s works are nearly indistinguishable from the plants she sketches, often holding each side-by-side in the beautifully composed images she shares frequently on Instagram.

This year Saro’s tattoo work has taken her to Turkey, Lebanon, Germany, Holland, the Czech Republic, and Switzerland. You can see more of her travels, inspirations, and sketches on her Instagram and Facebook. (via My Modern Met)

Okuda San Miguel (previously here and here) recently visited the Italian town of Arcugnano with his assistant Antonyo Marest to paint five different murals on the walls of the town’s kindergarten. The five murals contain birds, bears, and a winged lion—each radiating a spectrum of colors that seem to animate the mystical creatures. San Miguel was watched closely by an audience of the kindergarten’s students as he completed the murals, each work inspired by positivity, love, freedom, and nature. You can see this and other works on the artist’s Instagram.

Editor’s Note: This is a guest post from Rachel Macy Stafford of Hands Free Mama.

There are certain times of year when unrealistic pressures and unnecessary comparisons creep into my mind. This is one of those times. I just came off what I like to call a Live Better/Love More Summer.

With two surgeries, I had to let go of a lot. I let my children do more for themselves. I didn’t concern myself with what other people were doing and embraced what felt right for my family. I let go of the need for my home, my physique, and my life to look a certain way. I stopped trying to control the outcome and simply let things unfold. For several joyful weeks, I was able to push away the superficial and hold the significant right in my hands.

But I feel a change in the air.

As I walked home from the morning bus stop the other day, my mind raced with work deadlines, school supply lists, and practice schedules. To add to my discomfort, I noticed a few porches adorned with potted orange mums and festive autumn décor. Suddenly the triumph I felt for peeling the wet stack of advertisements off my driveway drastically diminished.

As fall approaches, back-to-school busyness ramps up, activities and duties increase, and value is placed on what is urgent, rather than on what’s important. Getting distracted from what truly matters is an easy thing to do in this high-resolution, high-standard, high-pressured, picture-perfect world we live in.

With each new season, we are bombarded with images and messages that imply our home, children, and lives would be so much better if we buy into what they’re selling. We are led to believe that foliage trimmed doors, succulent pumpkin recipes, designer boots paired with skinny jeans, and award-winning tailgate parties are the ingredients of a happy life.

But that is not truth.

When I feel myself succumbing to societal pressure and ideals, I think back to the red leaf. One year ago, something caught my eye as I walked past my bedroom window. It was a vibrant red leaf gently drifting down from a tree of green. Despite the duties and deadlines hanging over my head, I walked outside and picked up that red leaf. I thought about pinning it to my shirt as a reminder, but I didn’t need to. That red leaf got its point across. That red leaf was much more than an ordinary leaf; it was a day in my life. And quantities were limited.

Whether it be a frantic Monday or a soul-draining Wednesday, I want to see each day as a leaf drifting down, down, down. It might not be a vibrant red leaf that takes my breath away, but it’s a leaf that will never be on my tree of life again. I want to make it count by investing in what matters and not letting my moments of joy and connection get lost in the excess.

I’ve decided that this fall will not be about gathering more stuff. I am not going to add additional stress to my life or fill counters and closets with more unneeded items. Instead, I am going to gather happiness—happiness to sustain me this winter … happiness to sustain me when I encounter life’s difficult trials … happiness to sustain me in my ripe old age.

Along my Hands Free journey, I’ve discovered eight ways to let happiness into the sacred spaces of my day and life. I will be practicing as many as I can this season, and I’d love for you to join me.

8 Ways to Gather Happiness:

1. Use the phrase, “I’ll wait for you,” or “We have time.” Such offerings only cost a few minutes but have the potential to bring instant peace to any situation.

2. Accept one invitation that will make someone else happier.

Yes, you can throw a penny in the fountain.
Yes, we can read one more book.
Yes, we should have a date night! Let’s get the calendar. 

Then notice the joy YES brings; that joy is yours for the taking.

3. Decline one request that will result in greater happiness.

No, that doesn’t work for me right now.
I wish I could, but I can’t.
It’s no for today, but please ask me another time. 

Feel the relief NO brings. Commend yourself for guarding your time and energy.

4. Be a Silver-Lining Spotter. 

In the midst of a challenging moment, find the bright side:

Well, at least we didn’t miss the whole thing.
Well, it could be raining too.
Well, at least we had a few minutes to talk while we waited for the doctor. 

Added bonus: This positive practice teaches your loved ones to be Silver-Lining Spotters too.

5. Believe in the power of one. If you’re feeling overwhelmed by the tasks or duties ahead of you, remind yourself that you do not have to do them all at once. Just start with one. Get into the habit of asking: What matters most right now?

6. Use meaningful measurements of success. Resist the urge to let society define success by achievements, awards, monetary value, or public recognition. Consider attributes like courage, effort, honesty, patience, determination, risk-taking, and compassion when evaluating yourself or your loved ones. Make a point to acknowledge your beginning point and frequently celebrate your progress.

7. Provide breathing room. Remind yourself that you and your loved ones need time to pause each day. Don’t let guilt or pressure fool you into thinking do-nothing moments are a waste of time. Say to yourself: “This is my breathing room. This is fuel for my soul. This pause will help me be more creative … more productive … more joyful … more present.”

8. Fulfill true needs rather than superficial needs. In the flurry and frenzy of our busy lives, our most critical needs often get buried beneath extraneous needs and immediate needs. But the needs that keep our spirits alive, strengthen bonds, and build promising futures are the needs that must not be forgotten. He needs love. She needs love. You need love. And we have the power to fulfill that need.

This fall will be far from perfect. I’m sure I’ll lose my way a time or three. But I can’t help but believe placing value on what matters now will reflect in my children’s lives later—particularly in the way they connect, create, and cultivate family traditions.

Part of me hopes that one crisp fall night, my daughters will call their children to the back porch where a big fat pumpkin will sit waiting to be carved. As everyone ponders what expression the pumpkin should have, my older daughter will say, “I think the pumpkin should be happy. Mom always said fall was about gathering as much happiness as you can.” Perhaps my younger daughter will then refer to the fall of 2015. We didn’t grow brilliant orange mums that season, but we grew our hearts by collecting red leaves and warm hugs.

Let us gather as much happiness as we can to sustain us in the days and years ahead. (tweet that)

***

Rachel Macy Stafford is the NYT bestselling author of HANDS FREE MAMA and founder of www.handsfreemama.com.

Rachel’s just released book, HANDS FREE LIFE, is an inspiring guide to living an intentional life. Through truthful story-telling and life-giving Habit Builders, Rachel shows us how to live with more love, more presence, and more grace. HANDS FREE LIFE goes on sale today. For more inspiration, join the Hands Free Revolution on Facebook.

Postcards for Ants is an ongoing painting project by Cape Town artist Lorraine Loots who has been creating a miniature painting every single day since January 1, 2013. The artist works with paint brushes, pencils, and bare eyes to render superbly detailed paintings scarcely larger than a small coin. After the first year, Loots relaunched the project in a second phase inspired by Cape Town’s designation as World Design Capital 2014. On her website you can “reserve” a future painting (it’s all booked up for this year), and she’s also printed five limited edition postcards for each day. You can watch her work and hear a bit more about her inspiration in the video below by Gareth Pon, and she also regularly updates on Facebook. Hopefully we’ll see a 2015 project? (via Lustik)

Destroy your competition for $5. How covert Fiverr services are taking out small businesses | Reach Digital

“Don’t marry a man unless you would be proud to have a son exactly like him.”

- Unknown  (via cexjay)

I love suburban houses. I love Hawaii. I loooove these paintings by Honolulu based artist Brenda Cablayan. This is just such a beautiful, simple, non-touristy view of island life. Sigh… now I want to live in a little white house on a Hawaiian hill ♥

Segmentation, a distinguishing feature of the annelids is clearly visible here. Photo by Alexander Semenov.

Nudibranchs, together with a huge variety of other marine molluscs, are commonly known as sea slugs (Coryphella polaris). Photo by Alexander Semenov.

Many tube-dwelling polychaetes have elaborate, colourful tentacles for filter feeding and gas exchange. The funnel-shaped structure (operculum) seals the tube when the animal retreats inside (unidentified serpulid). Photo by Alexander Semenov.

The compound eyes of a cynipid wasp (unidentified species). Some insects have simple eyes in addition to compound eyes, three of which can be seen on the top of this wasp’s head. Photo by Tomas Rak.

The spherical test and impressive spines of a sea urchin. Coelopleurus floridanus. The mobile spines offer protection from predators. Since this species lives in relatively deep water, the purpose of the bright pigments in the skin and underlying skeleton is unknown. Photo by Arthur Anker.

A jellyfish (Bougainvillia superciliris) with a hitchhiking amphipod (Hyperia galba). Photo by Alexander Semenov.

In the cnidarians, what looks like a single individual is often a colony of polyps with specialized functions. In this floating colony (Porpita sp.) there are polyps for providing buoyancy, feeding (tentacles), digestion and reproduction. Photo by Arthur Anker.

The colors and patterns of the sea slugs warn predators of their toxicity. This nudibranch is Chromodoris annulata. Photo by Arthur Anker.

A sea angel, Clione limacine. In this image the grasping tentacles and chitinous hooks are retracted. Photo by Alexander Semenov.

We’ve all grown up learning about familiar animals like fish, tigers, elephants and bears, but this new book from Ross Piper takes the opposite approach: exploring the diversity in size, shape and color of the world’s most obscure and rarely seen organisms. With photography from Alexander Semenov, Arthur Anker, and other animal specialists and researchers, the 320-page Animal Earth promises to open your eyes to a variey of truly bizarre species from deepest oceans and the most adverse climates. The book is set to be published mid-November from Thames & Hudson.

Do you like white wine? At 34, I’m totally the old lady who likes Sauvignon Blanc so much that she puts ice cubes in it instead of waiting for it to chill in the fridge. So this new research from Iowa State University was not surprising: When people poured white wine into a clear glass, they tended to pour nine percent more wine than people who poured red wine into a clear glass. When the glass was especially wide, white wine drinkers poured twelve percent more wine.

Bottom line: We white wine drinkers do not mess around.
What's your go-to drink?

P.S. How to keep lipstick off your glass, and Toby craving beer.

(Via Jezebel. Top photo from 30 Rock. Bottom comics from someecards.)