Owner: Charming Sam's Beautiful World URL:http://www.charmingsam.blogspot.com/ Join Date: Fri, 24 Nov 2006 22:18:18 -0600 Rating:0 Site Description: This is Sam and I's forum to talk about jewelry design, art, the internet, cool finds, fashion and support indie designers everywhere.
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The Poem Company - Eureka! 1970-01-01 00:59:59 I found the cutest company AND concept today! I am so totally excited. It is called "The Poem Company". "What is a poem company", you say? Well, it is a company that will write a unique little ditty for you and yours on just about any special occasion (or not) you can think of! How cool is that? Tired of the same 'ol greeting cards? Not a problem any more, just check out Julieta at The Poem Company and have her whip up something truly fantastic for your next "moment to remember." (Can you say Sam's 3rd birthday?)Not to mention her website is very, very cute and from reading the small print it looks like Lissette Design is to thank. Cheers & thanks for stopping by!Amy & Sam Read more:Eureka
A Sleep at the Wheel 1970-01-01 00:59:59 Ever wonder how an artist gets a particular image on to a surface and you think to yourself, "did they paint that or draw that?" Guess what? They might not have done either. Now maybe I'm just the last one to learn of a product called "Lazertran" but essentially it allows anyone to transfer just about any image on to just about any surface. According to the Lazertran website the official name is "Lazertran Waterslide Decal transfer paper."You really like that photo of a bird on the beach? Cut it out, scan it, inkjet print on to Lasertran and affix to plain white inexpensive salad plates? Now you have a beautiful, custom made salad plate. Go on, make six, eight, twelve...put different birds or collages on each plate and if you really want to get crazy you could cover just about any surface in your house by using at least one of the Lasertran image transfer products. How's that for DIY??? (Be sure to check out the Lazertran website because they have multiple products specific for diffe Read more:Sleep
It happened... 1970-01-01 00:59:59 Today Sam turned to me and said, "Mama you're my best friend."
Tot Trends Weekly! 1970-01-01 00:59:59 I am always amazed by the new things I find on the net that I didn't know existed before and my latest find is no exception. Tot TrendsWeekly
. I know, you are thinking this is an advertisement but honestly it isn't. When I was pregnant with Sam I spent hours on the net looking for contemporary and interesting clothes and accessories for her and had a heck of a time. I ended up finding a great designer for baby blankets, bibs and other cute stuff, the company is called LilyPad Baby. Cute fabrics, great service and its all handmade. But beyond Lilypad the pickings were slim...this was before Etsy existed too and eBay was not a great resource at the time.Today I asked Sam to take a look at TotTrends Weekly and find something she liked. Of course it took her less then :05 seconds to zero in on these adorable tutu's and they come in multiple colors so she can coordinate with her Crocs. They are from a company called Ellie Bellie Kids , they also make cute little messenger bags just for
Darn it! 1970-01-01 00:59:59 They always say that no idea is a new idea and today I ran across an artist that is doing something I've been thinking about doing in my head for MONTHS. AHHH! O.k, no exactly the same and no two artists can really do the same thing but darnit'!Oh, well the site is called Curious Bird and the little butterfly Imago Squares are beautiful. I was thinking mine wouldn't be in a frame but instead free floating butterflies that you could hang around a room. Either way these are lovely. Go check the curious bird herself, Leya Williams she has some great things!Amy
Oh, man...another blog! 1970-01-01 00:59:59 Here we go, I found another blog that I really love and its called "Bloesem Blog", "Lovely items. Beautiful bits and pieces. Explore ideas. Find inspiration. Share my love for design."The proprietress is Irene Hoofsand she lives in Toronto but I think she must be Dutch as she has a great European design sensibility. O.k., so maybe she just is really cool and has a great eye for design. Either way, take a look at her site, http://www.bloesem.blogs.com/ she has all kinds of lovely finds and add her blog to your list of places you need to check every morning over coffee!I love these rugs I found on her site from My secret Garden by 'Meesters-vanderPark' from the Netherlands.Cheers!Amy
Swarovski Winter Trends 2007/2008 1970-01-01 00:59:59 Last September as in six months ago Swarovski
issued their trend forecast for Fall/Winter 2007/2008. I'm just now getting to it and wanted to share some of what I thought was interesting.Each season Swarovski comes up with several "trends" for that season and for Fall/Winter the following are the design inspirations.Creature - Glamor incarnateNomad - Harmony with natureDiva - Sharp edged allureAndroid - Back to the futureMuse - Design artistry and romance (photo shown is for the MUSE inspiration)The short of it is as a designer you can pretty much go in any direction because the above encompasses just about everything you can think of. I'm sure some would disagree but if you read the esoteric descriptions from Swarovski you'll see what I mean.As always, this is just one data point when designing new pieces and/or a new line. You won't see a whole new line from Charming Sam for fall but instead an addition of pieces to the current collection. An extension of the hammered pieces and Read more:Trends
Musee des Art Decoratifs 1970-01-01 00:59:59 Recently the Musee des Art Decoratifs reopened after a ten year renovation in Paris. The museum houses some of the worlds most beautiful pieces of contemporary furniture and decorative objects. One item I found while cruising the website (wouldn't I rather be in Paris? YES!) was this beautiful chair by artist Alessandro Mendini. You can visit this work of art chair at the museum website but be sure to spend some time on the site because there is a lot to see. I was also interested to see that they have lots of workshops for children up to adults you can attend during school holidays. Wouldn't that be fun, a week in Paris taking classes at the Musee'?Happy Weekend!Amy
Gotta have me a bowl! 1970-01-01 00:59:59 My mother LOVES bowls. For whatever reason they speak to her in a language only she can understand. The woman has bowls in every shape, color and weight for each year she has been on this planet. So last night I was killing time on Etsy and came across some bowls, really cool bowls that you can show off when your friends come over and/or are pretty enough just to leave out and gather dust.The name of the shop is Circa Ceramics and they are in beautiful if not snowy Chicago! Proprietor, Andy and Proprietress Nancy have some cool little ceramic pendants too but I think the bowls and cups are super cute.Cheers!Amy Read more:Gotta
Secret Leaves Paperworks 1970-01-01 00:59:59 The joy of finding something new, the joy of a hot cup of chai, a fuzzy blanket and a good book. Or in the case of "Secret Leaves Paperworks" the joy of finding beautiful papers, journals note cards and other lovelies. I am so in love with these Ephemera Photo Albums, they are beautiful!!And the old paper scrap journals give me goose bumps!
Sam has her own blog now... 1970-01-01 00:59:59 While Sam will continue to share her favorite things on this blog we made a decision to create a blog just for her. She has so much she wants to share (you know when you are 3 everything is new and exciting!) so you can now find her daily at www.charmingsam.typepad.com. This blog is dedicated to children's art in all its wonderful forms, great children's books and other indie designer finds for kids. We even created a masthead just for her blog and today I finished the 1st pieces of our new line of jewelry for little girls. Yeah! It'll probably be a week or two before these are available in our shop but we'll let everyone know when they are. You'll also love the price points, we've made them very affordable and they will be exclusive to Charming Sam online. The necklaces above will be sold as a set, the shorter has "BABY" and the larger "MOMMY". I decided baby was best because my Sam will always be my baby. :-) There will also be several necklaces with little tiny charms and s
Float me on a river 1970-01-01 00:59:59 I'm clothing deprived. It's true. After having Sam my wardrobe has shrunk in numbers but only gained in size. I don't understand how a 10 pound difference in weight has changed my size from a six to a twelve??? How did that happen?Anyway, today I found this great little company called Float Designs! from artist Jessica Ritter and partner Romona. I haven't quite put all the pieces together but her art is awesome, check out http://www.jessicaritter.com/wall.html and her super cute blog at http://www.bittersweetdesigns.blogspot.com/ . Happy Friday!Amy
Candice Smith Corby - OH WOW! 1970-01-01 00:59:59 Art, art and more art! I think this blog is becoming more and more about art? Anyway, another amazing artist by the name of CandiceSmith
Corby. Please, please visit her online portfolio at the Miller Block Gallery.She does the coolest things with chairs. But if you look at the painting to the left look at the background of flowers she did? So, pretty!
Moleskin Notebooks 1970-01-01 00:59:59 The perfect notebook for taking on your travels along with a stick of Uhu Glue. I'd also say you should take a pair of scissors but if you are flying you might loose them. I think the Japanese notebook is the coolest with the fold out pages, great for making collages on the road. Paste in tickets, flyers and other little bits of paper you find. Or in the case of this artist just a really beautiful painting to remember his travels. You can find this great artist (Stefano Faravelli) and others And if you feel like killing some time then the premiere resource for all things mole skin is at http://www.squidoo.com/moleskines/Happy travels! Read more:Notebooks
Sam's February Picks 1970-01-01 00:59:59 Our monthly tradition is back with Sam's favorite finds from February
.3) We love the art and poetry of this great kid friendly book. Makes Sam laugh and laugh at the snail poem. Even if you don't have kids but like kooky art and fun poetry then this book is for you. A great table top book and conversation starter.2) Sam picked her own blog as a favorite this month. (Yeah, I know...shameless self promotion.) As most of you know she will be three years old in a month and has lots of opinions so she asked to start her own blog (Charming Sam's Beautiful World for children) and that's what we did. You can read more about Sam and her blog at http://charmingsam.typepad.com/my_weblog/2007/02/coming_soon.html and of course we got this great masthead that has the little girl with the pinwheel. We even have a new line of little girl jewelry that incorporates the pinwheel in a couple of the designs! Sam's been very busy this month.1) A brand new seller on Etsy. Autumn Russell. WOW! Check out
Out & About in NYC... 2007-03-03 06:34:00 Just got back from NYC! Had a great time, not nearly enough time to see everything. I need to spend like six months just exploring the city, museums and cool little shops. I did get to stop in Tinsel Trading and was lucky enough to meet the proprietress, who is very nice indeed! (A must to read the story of the company ) Actually, it was so much fun and far exceeded my expectations. Everyone was very nice and the store is just oh, so chic! If you visit the home page now you will see all the wonderful little bunnies they have on display but honestly the photo just does NOT do them justice. So, cute and I think they were paper mache and they were spread all over the store with beautiful little birds in cages.The ribbon, fabrics, buttons and OH MY GOD the jewelry findings, stamplings, castings and beads were all put in these lovely little wooden drawers and organized so thoughtfully. The store is more then just about the products they carry both new and vintage (ask them about the basemen
A blog a week 2007-03-05 14:30:00 Maybe I just need to start showcasing a blog a week. I swear everytime I turn around I've found another great blog. Remember I was the one who thought "blogs were dumb" and thought my Mother was crazy for starting one? I've been sucked in by another blog and I just spent the last hour reading tons of posts and really have to say I love just about everything and the blog is brand spanking new. My only question is "who, who, who is the voice behind the blog?"
Painting for social change 2007-03-07 09:53:00 I have a thing about painting flowers and will spend my entire life trying to achieve the perfect petal. This is why I am drawn to this beautiful piece from Ashely Cecil. While many artists contribute to socially conscious endeavors there aren't very many who do it on a daily basis with every ounce of their being and every stroke of the brush. Meet Ashely Cecil, self titled "painting journalist". First just let me say she does amazing work but secondly she contributes to social causes with the sale of every painting. (Why didn't I think of that???) The painting shown here supports the Center for Women and Families.From Ashely's website, "I’m addressing philanthropic issues utilizing painting as my medium of communication. Much like a photojournalist, I travel to locations/events of cultural interest and capture them, only with my brush. My talent is as an artist, my passion is advocating for social change
; this is how the two work together."Visit her site, buy an original, support Read more:Painting
Jane Hollinger Jewelry 2007-03-06 13:51:00 I came across some really beautiful jewelry while going through the latest Lucky Magazine. Jane Hollinger does beautiful metal work, simple elegant designs and a cute website too. I especially like these earrings and considering the work that went into them the price is a steal. Check out her website, she even has some online exclusives you can't find in stores! Read more:Jewelry
Cricket Press 2007-03-08 09:35:00 Coasters? Yeah, the kind you put under that dripping cold glass to save your fine wood table, etc., etc. Some of us use coasters, some of us don't. Either way you have to agree these are pretty cute and only a sample of the great things you can get at CricketPress
. You can also find cards, t-shirts and oh, so cute tea party invitations. Stop in and see Brian & Sara, buy some stuff and enjoy the art!
Bed linens 2007-03-09 17:48:00 For the last 5 or so years I've been on the search for nice, soft bed linens that have cool prints with out looking weird. In the beginning I thought I'd find an indie designer who had a line of reasonably priced sheets for the bed....that was 5 years ago and until today I was still searching in vain. Then while reading Decor8 and then surfing to a site she recommended then another site recommended I stumbled on this designer who does throw pillows but also designs these wonderful pillowcases. Now at least I feel like I can buy plain white sheets for the bed but have these gorgeous cases for my head. Great patterns, interesting and fun colors, perfect for my room and Sam's. Oh, and not to forget the artist behind these... her name is Lena Corwin . Kudos!Happy Weekend!Amy & Sam
Blog of the Week 2007-03-12 09:09:00 Number 2 in my new blog of the week - Just Simply Charming. I found this cool art project blog while researching something on Charming Sam. I often get easily distracted on the Internet. Anyway, I love some of the charms these artists made and all of them have left instructions on how to make them. The charms could be used for jewelry (of course), scrapbooking, collaging or a vast assortment of other things. The possibilities are endless. I've only shown a couple of the charms but there are 25 artists with instructions. Happy Day!
I love flowers in art 2007-03-14 07:10:00 I love flowers in art, in a vase and in the ground. Mostly in paintings whether abstract or trompe d'oeil and I found a designer who takes flowers in their simplest form and adds them to all kinds of wonderful products. Handbags and furtniture in particular. Lovely, lovely, lovely. Started in 2000 by Susannah Hunter’s her line of floral handbags and furnishings are to die for!
Paper Dress 2007-03-14 09:59:00 Oh, my GOD! This dress is made from paper! Extrodinarily beautiful and fashionable in a red carpet sort of way. Maybe too floral for the red carpet but honestly I wouldn't care. Can you sit in it? Is it wearable or just art? Honestly I don't care, it is beautiful.Artist Annette Meyer. Turns out paper dresses were quite popular in the 1960's. After stumbling on this dress I did a little search and found this lesson plan from Dick Blick to make your own paper dress. Now that is a fun project!
Trendsetter 2007-03-16 09:41:00 Finally one place to find all your fashion color trends. Each season there are several companies that issues the next seasons color trends for fashion and generally there are subtle differences in each companies take on upcoming trends. Finally there is one site that puts all the reports in one place called "Fashion Trendsetter
". You can look at the Pantone, Premiere, Paul Pessler, CBI and several other trend reports. All great resources for designing new lines or if you are just curious to see what is coming. And if you can believe it the 2008 colors are even available!
Photography is Art 2007-03-15 09:08:00 Usually photography doesn't speak to me the way a painting can. However, today while getting lost on the Internet I ran across this amazing photographer/artist and am knocked out by how wonderful and ethereal her photography is. Her name is Irene Suchocki, please take 10 minutes to visit her website and look at her amazing work. It truly is wonderful.
This weeks blog.. 2007-03-19 12:22:00 Happy Monday! This week we found this great little blog that puts vintage hat (head) fashion images all in one place. des chapeaux is worth adding to your fashion resources bookmarks with photos and reprints of all things fashionable for the head. Most of it is in French however there are tons and tons of images from Marie Claire's in the 1940's and all sorts of interesting finds. Fun viewing and if you read French I'm sure quite interesting!
Rugs? 2007-03-21 09:52:00 I've always thought of rugs for the home as being those fancy Persian looking things or something you buy at Target to cover a small square patch of linoleum in front of the kitchen sink. Then I found "Dash & Albert Rug Company". If you ever imagined a beautiful textile covering your floor that didn't look like a remanant at the local carpet emporium then it's time to check out Dash & Albert. I've only picked two here that are my favorites but they have braided designs, hooked, hand loomed and many others. Happy home, happy heart!
Earring Wires 2007-03-20 09:59:00 Earring wires comes in all shapes, sizes and finishes with some artists even making their own ear wires. Either way there are some basic shapes you probably already know of but it never hurts to brush up again for the next time you decide to buy some lovelies for your ears.French Hook Lever Back Studs Clips - "Clip on Earrings" These became popular in the late 1920's and then fell out of favor in the late 1960's.Chandelier - This typically does not relate to the part of the earring that is actually threaded through your ear and instead is a descriptive term for the type of drop suspended from the earring.Got more time and want to read the history of earrings then check out http://www.answers.com/topic/earring. Read more:Earring
, Wires
Thanks Joy! 2007-03-23 09:59:00 I've said it before and I'm going to say it again, "Joy at www.ohjoy.blogspot.com has the most INCREDIBLE taste" and yesterday she found a jewelry designer that is out of this world. Check out Marianne Anderson (designer - jeweller - goldsmith) and the truly amazing fine jewlery work she does. Earrings are inspiring, necklaces are unique and interesting and she even has some rockin' cuff links for the guys. Happy Friday and enjoy a cup of tea with Marianne while you surf her site. Read more:Thanks
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