Top right is Diana’s Wise Owl and propped against the wall below is July Butterflies. These particular prints were mounted on wood and ready to hang – absolutely beautiful. I love how Mr. or Ms. Owl seems to be watching over the rest of the artwork and room. :) When you are grouping art, it can be nice to work around a theme. Here, each print has an animal or element of nature in it, from the wise owl to the reindeer, fox on a bicycle, tree home, and butterflies. A theme can make pieces “go” together even if the colors and other elements are different.

Photo Tip: Diana stressed the importance of using a tripod whenever taking photographs indoors. After a quick search on Amazon, I see many options around (or under) $20, so this does not need to be a major purchase. And using a remote switch will prevent any wiggling while pushing the button.

Can I just say, wow? Diana brought along two of her brand-new large format canvas prints from her feather series, and they are perfect statement pieces. If you have ever looked for really large art you love (and that doesn’t cost an absolute fortune) you know it’s not easy. These are fresh, modern, and have lots of texture and detail. After Diana left I realized one of the feather canvases would have looked spectacular hung on the pale aqua wall behind Bixby’s crib. D’oh…maybe next time!

Photo Tip: When shooting indoors, Diana said to always choose one type of light source and block or shut off the others. For instance: only florescent lights, only incandescent bulbs, only daylight. Each type of lighting gives a different color cast to the objects in your room, so mixing lighting types will only make for muddled photos. In these photos we used only daylight; the lamps were all shut off.

I loved the Moth Wings print in my kitchen – it reminded me how nice it can be to prop up small pieces of art in slightly unexpected places. In the top photo is Specimen 162, one of Diana’s signature bird photographs.

Final tip: For those of you who are Etsy shop owners, I highly recommend doing your very best to take a few shots of your products actually in use in a home like we have done above. Of course, clear and direct product shots will serve you well, but I know I prefer to feature shots like these on the blog. So shoot your handmade throw pillows on am English roll-arm sofa, show your crocheted coasters with a mug of warm tea and a tray of biscuits, and put your skull-embroidered dog sweater on a cute pooch lounging on a modern chair.

Well, that just about wraps it up. This was a total experiment for me, I loved playing around with styling and I would love to do more. I realize, though, that it would be quite nice to have more vintage treasures and other props on hand to help with really building up the scene. Hm, good enough excuse to go shopping, I think! ;) I really hope you enjoyed this, and please do go visit Diana on her blog and see her Etsy shop to see all of her work.

{photography by D. S. Brennan Photography, styling by me ;) }

1. London Tower by Melanie Mikecz | 2. Ice Cream Sign by Magalerie | 3. Bird with Pink Boots by Beerlala | 4. Synergy 6 by Tiel Seivl-Keevers | 5. Flowers for Lollie by Lulie Wallace| 6. Custom Pet Portrait by Yasmine Molavi| 7. Magical Ride by Twiggs Photography

I love that London print so much! I could see all of these in a colorful jumble lining an entryway, couldn’t you? Do you have a favorite? What is warming your heart lately? I’d love to hear from you…and happy weekend, friends! xo Laura

(images: linked to sources above)

Laura Di Francesco is an Italian illustrator and graphic designer currently based in Stockholm, Sweden. She has illustrated children’s books and cards, and currently offers her prints for sale through her Etsy shop, Pesce Rosso. I am in love with so many of these prints, they have really stolen my heart! Let’s look at a few more, shall we?

Personally, I wouldn’t keep these limited to a child’s room – any one of these prints would feel right at home in any room of the house. Don’t you agree?

Gah! Such cuteness, I can hardly stand it! I can’t decide which is my favorite – how about you? Go to Laura’s shop,  Pesce Rosso, to see more of her work, and visit her blog for a peek into her process and inspiration. And if you are more in the mood for a bit of online reading with your coffee or tea, check out Small Magazine – I’m sure you will find something to inspire you within it’s pages. xo Laura

(all images: Laura Di Francesco, Pesce Rosso)

First, the art: the prints you see above are from Studio Morran, a new project by artist Camilla Engman. I don’t think I’ll ever tire of woodsy themes in art, it just makes me feel good. : )

Oh, and those prints? They were inspired by Camilla’s sweet little doggins, Morran. That’s Morran above, frolicking in the woods. Thanks to Victoria for sharing!

And p.s., just in case you missed it, I finished my 2011 Gift Guide earlier this week. Have a great weekend, friends! xo Laura

(images & video: linked to sources above)

1. Eeek! So cute, right? It’s really hard to say, but I think this calendar from Anke Weckmann might be my favorite.

2. Love the fashiony illustrations on thie one from Catherine Campbell. So pretty!

3. Leah Duncan’s modern beauty would be perfect near my desk.

4. Blanca Gomez’s calendar couldn’t be more bright + cheerful. Love this one!

5. Bookhou’s linen wall hanging is so lovely!

I’m curious: how many calendars do you typically buy? Are you a one-calendar-in-the-kitchen household, or do you go a little crazy like I do? ;) Okay, I’ll see you back here in a bit with a special birthday wish list of sorts. xo Laura

(images: via my ideabook on Houzz)

I am such a huge fan of photographer Sharon Montrose, if you’ve been reading this blog for some time you’ve probably heard me mention her on more than a few occasions! Sharon takes amazing photographs of animals – most are rescue animals, all have loving, devoted caretakers – and also helps to support animal rescue, wildlife protection, and educational organizations. Pretty wonderful, right?

And of course the photographs are stunning. Stunning! Seeing these beautiful creatures so up close and completely at ease, against a clean white backdrop is breathtaking. I’ve been coveting her prints for ages, and I love that she offers them in a wide range of sizes to suit every taste (and budget).

I am so pleased she decided to offer a book as well. I would adore being able to flip through all of her work while curled up in my favorite armchair. Wouldn’t you? Plus, giving a copy of this as a gift would make a nice introduction to her work for someone who wasn’t familiar, don’t you think? Of course her prints make wonderful gifts as well. I love her recent close ups of baby animals, the series is called Little Darlings. That fox kills me!

Scurry over to The Animal Print Shop (I know, I know – I couldn’t help it) to grab a copy of Sharon’s new book and browse through all of her amazing photographs. Do you have a favorite? xo Laura

(all images: Sharon Montrose for The Animal Print Shop)

Guess what? This is the Etsy shop of lovely Jessica, whose stylish home on the road I wrote about earlier this week. Jessica works out of her home designing + printing creative art prints, many of them featuring inspiring words and quotes, woodland creatures and other motifs from nature. This one she created especially to hang in her motorhome:

So sweet, right? And I would love to hang this one near my workspace where I can see it daily:

There are so many that I love though, it really would be hard to choose!

Wouldn’t that owl print (top left) be adorable in a child’s bedroom? I love hanging affirming messages in children’s spaces. :)

Above you will see a recent packaging presentation Jessica developed to send to her Etsy shop customers. This is what I love about purchasing art from Etsy – it is such a personal experience, and the work is always sent in such a nice little bundle with a few surprise treats, so it feels like a gift arriving in the mail!

Do you have a favorite from the prints above? I’d love to hear! xo Laura

(all images: Volume 25)

I have downloaded several prints in the past (the one shown above by Irena Sophia is one of my favorites), but it had been a while since I checked in with the project…and there are so many new art prints to love! I was immediately drawn in by this print by Jo Cheung, an artist that was new-to-me:

That is one of the things I love about this project; it introduces me to tons of great artists creating fresh, exciting work that I may not have come across otherwise. Which brings me to the other item on my blogging agenda today: the issue of copyright and the decision to share or not share your work freely. This is a big issue and one I am not going to delve into too deeply right now (though I would love to hear your own thoughts on this), except to say that my personal feeling is it is good to be generous with your work. I think it tends to come back to you in a very positive way when you make your work accessible.

Shown above, clockwise from top left: Laura Amiss, Jaclyn Evalds, Hadley Hutton, and Anna Wadham.

I know that for many artists these days, exposure on blogs is a great (free!) way to attract attention and gain new customers. Likewise, I love featuring the work of independent and fledgling artists on this blog, in fact it is one of the things I most enjoy posting about! Sadly, at times I come across work I LOVE that would be a great fit for the blog, but the artist has chosen to refrain from sharing their work, whether by covering it with huge watermarks, or stating on their site that they do not want their images shared in any way. I always respect this choice, and I completely understand the need to protect your creative work – which can be so hard today, with copycats and others whose motives are questionable – but at the same time I have to say I think that guarding your work too closely has its own consequences, namely missed opportunities for exposure and ultimately, missed sales.

The flip side of this, of course, is the responsibility of the rest of us (whether on blogs, Facebook, Flickr, or other sharing sites) to credit images and artistic works properly, and to respect the wishes of those who do NOT want their work shared. What are your thoughts on this issue? If you are an artist, do you find it “worth it” to share your work freely? Have you found rewards to your business from doing so? Or have you had any negative experience – with copycats or others who stole your ideas?

And while we’re talking, why don’t you click over to Feed Your Soul and pick out a free print – there are tons to choose from! :)

(all images courtesy Indie Fixx, see above for individual illustrator credits)

I would like to propose that if you can spare a bit of time today, you set it aside to work on something creative. You could write in a journal, doodle, paint, pick up that knitting project that’s been on hold far too long, bake something, style a space in your home, take your camera with you on a walk and begin snapping photos…whatever gets your creative juices flowing. Not sure where to start? How about making a mood board?

For my time today (while Bixby is taking his nap) that is what I will be working on, inspired by the mood board workshop I attended over the weekend. A mood board is a great way to notice themes in what inspires you, and to visually define your style, so this could be a great project to kick off a series of “Creative Thursdays”! I have tons of inspiration images in folders tucked away, and I am really looking forward to sifting through them this afternoon when I have some quiet time to myself.

I will report back next week with a few photos of my mood board, as well as to share my notes from Holly Becker’s mood board presentation…and if you create something today I would love to hear about that, too! To see more of Marisa, check out her Etsy shop, website, and blog. Happy Creative Thursday, friends!! xo Laura

(images: Marisa Haedike of Creative Thursday)

Clockwise from top right:

• Crochet covered sea stone by Margaret Oomen
• Hand knit Mermaid sleeping bag from The Miniature Knit Shop
• Essie nail polish
• Print from Positive Posters via Pinterest
• Handmade salt water taffy from Vanilla & Lace, via Creature Comforts
• Photo from this tumblr via Pinterest
• Watercolor Sky print by Honeytree

Have a great weekend! xoxo Laura