Zulily Today- Cookin in Veggie Color!

Today my colorful veggie recipe keepers and placemats are for sale on Zulily! Check them out! If you are like me, I print out a lot of recipes from online sites and Orange Circle has come up with a great format to keeping track of all these recipe printouts. It is a vertical format with pages you can put your printouts in and wonderful divider tabs with cooking information like a cooking glossary, substitutions, common recipes, etc. The binder holds up to 70 pages and stands upright on your counter so it's easy to see while you are preparing your meal.

The placemats come in a tear-off pad with 50 sheets of paper placemats. Be inspired to get in your veggies everyday in a colorful and fun way!

On Zulily, go to the Orange Circle Studios Sale and enjoy!

Seize the Day Calendars 2012

Getting ready for the new year?
Perfect time to seize the day in a colorful way... with new 2012 Seize the Day calendars from Sellers Publishing. I am honored to continue the line and am excited for a new year of inspiration and fun!

There is a wall, mini and daily calendar with inspiration and illustration to brighten your day. For 2012 Sellers added two more formats to the line- a planner calendar with a monthly grid that allows you to keep track of individual family member's activities (or you could break it up into different tasks, like a line for exercise, a line for appointments, a line for scheduling in your goals). The other new format is a three year, checkbook sized calendar, perfect to fit in your purse or tote.

Barnes and Noble carries the Seize the Day line in stores and you can order online
Barnes and Noble  http://tinyurl.com/84bgvnb
Amazon http://tinyurl.com/73khusv
Calendars.com http://tinyurl.com/735o6l6

Little Red Tulip is UP!

So excited that Julie's on-demand site is up and running! Little Red Tulip, www.littleredtulip.com

I have two lines up that I love- Suki, a modern take on asian patterns, and Mixed Modern Fruits from my Seedlings collection for kitchen stationery items. I also have double-sided coasters in my "Nature's Inspirations" images I use for my "Seize the Day" calendars with Sellers Publishing.

Suki comes in your choice of three colorways- fresh bright red/orange/chartreuse, warm brown/orange, or lively purple/chartreuse combinations. For office products and desk sets I've designed a couple different tear-off pads, perfect for keeping track of the whole family's commitments for the week or with weekly grid and a notes and to-do section. If you are like me, you make lots of notes and lists during the week and I need a central place to keep my rambling thoughts... Suki currently has 3-ring binders, journals (with interior pages that can be personalized as well), notebooks, clipboards and coasters. Stationery to come...

Mixed Fruits are designed for bright and lively kitchens with binders (I use my binders for keeping recipes and printouts), recipe cards, canvas wall art, coasters, and notebooks. There are other binders for modern kitchen girls like me- a more contemporary take on our favorite- the roosters, as well as modern veggies and kitchen gadgets.

Please check out www.littleredtulip.com for personalized products. More will be added daily!

brand new obsession

I haven't posted lately. The kids went back to school and I dived into being lead room mom, meetings for girl scouts, meet the teacher nights at two different schools, music lessons for kids, and my newest obsession... healthy eating! It is a big culinary shift at our household to VEGANISM. My daughter has been a vegetarian for almost two years and after seeing the CNN show "the Last Heart Attack" about vegan diets and heart disease and President Clinton, I was convinced to give it a try. It started out as a 30 day experiment and the 30 days are up today. The result...I am won over, I am on board, and I am ready for the next 30 days and so on!

This new passion requires some time and scheduling. It takes planning and time to prepare healthy meals, not so processed, closer to the source. More trips to the grocery store. New information. More reading. Arming myself with a new "toolbox" of foods. All our old patterns and foods are basically out the window. But I feel great and am immensely happy with the change.

Now I am debating how I marry my love of design and my love of good healthy food. When I design for the kitchen with colorful veggies and juicy fruits I feel inspired and energetic. It speaks to my passions and makes me want to stay the course. I LOVE nicely designed things in my kitchen, from an eclectic cup from Anthropology to vintage mixing bowls to new, modern colorful knives and high tech coffee makers. The kitchen is about senses... visual, colors, textures, smells, tastes, sounds... It is about coming together in celebration, in community, with nourishment and health, comfort, joy, family...

Design + health + food + senses + enjoyment. I feel a new group of designs and creative inspiration is around the corner, marinating and percolating, cooking up in my mind... a great big emotional yum!

72-Hour Sale on One Kings Lane- My Certified International Dishes!

I'm very excited to have my Certified International dishes for sale on One Kings Lane! They write, "We love a tabletop that's festive, fun, and full of flavor even before the food gets there." So do I!

For the next 72 hours the appetizer and wine collections are featured sale items, but things often sell out early. One Kings Lane is a great destination of top-brand and designer furniture, decor, art, gifts and vintage items at up to 70% off - please check it out!

www.onekingslane.com

This is what summer looks like

My son is a gardener. He doesn't like to eat tomatoes but he sure likes to grow them. That's fine with me as I love to eat them. Simple slices with a little salt. I just can't get over how much flavor is in vegetables you grow at home- it's amazing! So sweet and juicy.
Bountiful! Yum!

Freshen Up Color

It all happened because I decided to dust the upper shelves. It's one of the drawbacks of open shelving in the kitchen- dust and gunk builds up. (Oh, the maintenance involved with some design decisions...)
I was taking the dishes down, thinking how I'd like to use these more if they weren't so high, so hard to reach. If I rearranged things and put the dishes in another cupboard, what would I put there? As I thought of my options, I felt none of them would look right with the spicy orange we'd painted on the wall a couple of years ago. I was ready for something fresher, something lighter, more summery...

And as quick as that, off to the hardware store and a day of painting. Behr Blue Cypress. I love changing the color on an accent wall and how it transforms the mood of the room immediately. I like the light and happy feeling I get when I walk in the room and am thinking of painting this color in my studio too. I feel like I'm at the beach and things seem calm and peaceful. I'm loving the change!

After moving the dishes to a more accessible place, I still haven't used them yet!

Simple Pleasures

My wonderful neighbor brought over some cut lily blossoms. They have brightened up the foyer and every time I walk by them I feel cheered up and optimistic. Amazing how something as simple as some fresh flowers livens up the space and brings a sense of calm and beauty to the house. I believe they are Stargazer Lilies. Whatever they are, they are spectacular.

Summer Pears bag and wallet

Just in time for summer, wonderful Crazylady (a.k.a. my mother Ruth, and the nickname is one of love and fun, not a statement of her mental condition- which happens to be great!) sewed up these projects with my modern pear fabrics! Thank you Mom! I love that on the shoulder bag she made the pear the pocket design and used it for the lining as well. I think this is the perfect size to carry my money and phone when we go to the farmer's market. Both of these look light and summery and are great when I don't want to be lugging around heavy bags and wallets- generally lightening up for warm weather.

Both of these projects are from the book Free-Style Handmade.
The wallet is their Zigzag Pocket Wallet and the purse is loosely based on the Pocket-Sized Shoulder Bag. The book has lots of cute bags, skirts and projects that are easy to understand and modify to your specifics.
Have fun!

Refreshing Modern Pears

My juicy modern pears and seedling coordinates are in at Hancock Fabrics. I loved working in a summery light palette just like a cool, crisp pear, ready to bite into on a hot summer day.

http://www.hancockfabrics.com/index.htm

3171444 Allover Pears
3171477 Thread Stitches on Yellow
3171469 Blue and Green Dots
3171451 Yellow Flowers

Mid-Year Resolution

Today health is on my mind.

Recently we've had bad news. Over the last couple of weeks, a variety of tragic things and news to ones we love deeply. It's the stuff that makes you stop and re-evaluate how you are living and what is important to you. I understand I am fortunate to be looking through the window and not the one receiving the news. What a crime it would be if I did not do something to respect and appreciate my life and health more in the knowledge of what can happen, what can change...

So a new day comes and the resolve to get healthier, lose the weight, exercise more.
To live with balance. To appreciate the moment more. To tell your friends and family just how much they mean to you. The sky seems bluer to me. The birds chirp more sweetly. I feel like my senses are more alive and wanting to soak up every beautiful sensation, every still and silent breath-taking moment.

Health... health in mind, body and spirit. I am on a mission to improve mine. Are you with me?

Look Down

When I'm not busy looking up at the amazing art ceilings at the Bellagio, I'm looking down at the pretty floors. I know most people go to Vegas for gambling and good times but my good times involve looking at  little pieces of tile and stone made into swirls, bugs, flowers, patterns and all kinds of lovely decoration. I must not be the only one as other people stop to ohhh and ahhhh at the grand rooms too. But I must be some kind of oddball that I'd rather take pictures of the floor vs us standing in front of the dancing fountains. I even wanted to take pictures in the hotel spa because I loved the furniture and decorating and wanted to remember the ideas for when we redo our bathroom. There was an elegant and calming shimmer of the iridescent tiles there. However, I didn't think the other spa patrons would appreciate me lurking with my iphone to take a picture. I do know when to respect privacy. So I'll stick to floors and my memory.

Look Up!

I recently was in Las Vegas for my sister's birthday. It was a lovely surprise organized by my brother-in-law and he graciously brought us there to celebrate with them. We stayed at the Bellagio and had a wonderful time! Vegas has so much busy energy everywhere so it is nice to take a moment and enjoy the quieter moments of beauty.  The hotel was full of inspiration and interesting eye candy when you simply looked up! Ceilings adorned with the colorful, translucent and expressive Chihuly blown glass in the lobby as well as the garden atrium with balloons of all shapes and sizes. Walking to lunch, I enjoyed the dome with beautiful flower paper umbrellas. Colorful, inspiring...

Licensing Show Coming Up!

Next week (Tues-Thurs) is the International Licensing Expo at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center in Las Vegas. My agent, Julie Newman, will be showing my lines in booth 2174. I attended the show the last two years and there is great stuff to see. Since I was just in Las Vegas last weekend, I've had my fill of blinking lights and chiming slot machines, and am staying home to get some work done.

Speaking of work...I have more to do to prepare for the show and will write more next week!

Happy weekend!

Inspirations - ICFF International Contemporary Furniture Fair

A couple things from the International Contemporary Furniture Fair that I loved...

in the Deutch Design area, the concept microbus Volkswagen Bulli. The front and rear seats are benches (when was the last time I saw a new vehicle with a bench front seat?) and there is an integrated ipad holder near the steering wheel so you can control the vehicle's entertainment system.  Sigh...just one more sign the Universe is giving me that I must have that ipad! But what blows me away is the Bulli is an electric microbus that is expected to go a 186 mile range!  Oh, and I love the white/red two tone body.

Where is the waiting list to sign up?

 And of course, lovely eye candy at the Johathan Adler booth. This is the visual aesthetic I was raised on so I love the retro inspired hip designs and his pops of wow color! I especially love the lamps and bright blue laquered desk.

Inspiration - Paper Runway Dresses

More New York inspirations...there was a great display of paper dresses created to showcase creative ideas and papers, hosted by the National Stationery Show and Kate's Paperie. I loved the full length black dress complete with paper mache dog a and paper chain leash. Details on the dress that really impressed me- the cut lace texture of the bodice and skirt with stripes from white typography on black background- just gorgeous!

I want a coat like this! Also thought the skirt back details on the middle dress were wonderful with elaborate folds and a single pink flower, and the fresh and fun color combos of this right outfit won me over.

For the girly side of you, ready for a summer garden party... I expect the butterflies to take flight in a beautiful flutter of color and light...

I am impressed by taking this paper to a more organic, leatherish state. The stitching detail was great!

SURTEX 2011

I returned last week from the Surtex Show at the Jacob Javits Center in New York City. My agent had a booth there and I went for meetings with current and potential clients. I exhibited for three years on my own at Surtex before joining with my agent and I still have quite a few memories of the thrill, nervousness, anxiousness and stress of doing a show. It requires a lot of new work, creating displays and banners, marketing, getting your display materials TO the show, set up, and many many days and weeks of designing and analyzing what you are presenting, and then three high-adrenaline days of hoping it's all good and people love your work. When the show is busy, you feel like you are flying and love meeting manufacturers...when it has it's slow moments you wonder why, why, why did you come and do this and question the very crazy career path you've chosen.  Such a roller coaster ride. It's a very different experience for me when my agent has a booth and I come to the show but I am not singularly responsible for the booth and manning it. I do miss having a booth that is all mine and a bigger showing of my lines and styles. But for the first time at Surtex I actually arrived without being sleep-deprived for the week prior and a result, enjoying the time more.  After meetings I wanted to attend, I was able to see the National Stationery Show and the International Contemporary Furniture Fair, both of which are happening at the Javits Center at the same time and are lovely and inspirational! 

Here, with the charming Phyllis Dobbs, at the Jewel Branding booth. Phyllis and I roomed together in Manhattan and walked the show together. It's great to see the show with another artist and see what they notice first and like.  It's the first time we've roomed together and with hotel rooms the size of tiny postage stamps, that is a lot of close together time. It was fun and I think she actually survived my snoring...

Phyllis and myself

The Opening Night Party for Surtex was at Battery Park and a good chance to relax, eat, drink, be merry and connect with new and old friends. We did notice the Stationery Show people got the indoors area and the artists were sent to the covered tent outside... hmmmmm....oh well, more scenic views of the park for us! I about died when I saw a rat run across the sidewalk that was the size of a small cat. Oh, New York. That rat's home is probably larger than my hotel room.

I loved getting to know Corinna Buchholz of Piddix and Erin Sarpa and Ilene Guy of Simon and Kabuki more over cocktails. And Amy Medhurst, the Licensing Manager Goddess for Mary Engelbreit always makes me laugh so hard I want to pee my pants!

Corinna, Robin, Phyllis, Erin and Ilene

Robin and Amy

New York Moody Rain

Ah, New York. What a fascinating city. The three days I was there for Surtex, (and I'll write more about that after doing some needed follow-up) it was damp, cloudy, rainy and grey. Fog and clouds covering the tops of buildings, everything dark and shiny with the wet reflections of the moody sky. It didn't matter so much as I was indoors all day in the Javits Convention Center, but it did remind me of living in Chicago  and the midwest with damp spring weeks and thunderstorms. I felt cold and wet a lot.

The view from our hotel was the spectacular view I usually have when in New York. Other windows. It is interesting to see the buildings come to life, workers arrive, lights and computer screens glowing... makes me wonder what life would have been like if I had moved here after college. I considered Boston, New York and Chicago and at that time, Chicago won. I love my life and where it has taken me but it is still interesting to be reminded of the other possibilities of where I might have gone.

Monday night Phyllis and I took the subway to SoHo and Little Italy. It was quite empty, probably because of the weather. I had a great dish of pasta (Paglia-something-something-Mamma) and fantastic time walking the neighborhood streets.

New York, you are beautiful in your dark, mysterious, moody ways. But I was ready to leave you and the damp rain. So back to LA I flew last night. Hopeful to be back in warmth and sun. As I walked up to my car in the long-term parking I could see I left the car window down (yikes! I am lucky I still have a car!!) and while I was gone, it had rained. Inside seat and carpet wet and soaked. So I guess I'll be living with my damp, rainy grey New York state of mind awhile longer.