Inspiration - vintage interiors(from the Café archives)

Fabulously mysterious interiors styled with vintage furniture, accessories and props - all from here.

Inspiration - vintage mosaic tile

I have many places that I go for inspiration and they may not directly lead to new Cartolina designs - but they always open my mind to new colour combinations and patterns. One of the places I love to check out is this London tile restoration company. You should take a look at their work - you may be inspired too!

Found - Viva Zapata

If I was going to The Renegade Craft Fair in Chicago, September 11th + 12th, I would head right over to Viva Zapata and pick myself up one of these fab bags. You really must check out their website. There's so much cool stuff including the intro which features images of the cool, vintage, South American pop culture that inspires their brand. I love this company, they have nailed their brand - their site is a brilliant example of a consistent product supporting a solid brand with a great story to back them up - you must go!

Artists - Anna Emilia

Have you seen these beautiful paintings by Anna Emilia? They are quite charming. Make me feel like picking up a paint brush and creating something pretty - which I guess is what art is all about, inspiring you to see things differently and creatively.

Inspiration - the bold and the brave!

These are too cute. This gal has such a great eye for scale - she's not scared in the least to use oversized elements in her work - I really appreciate that! It's good to do the unexpected. Good design combined with a brave attitude will catch my eye every time. She also has some fab, flowery belts that you will LOVE!

Fab bags from Mojo Spa Style.

Inspiration - recycled saris

Fabulous recycled vintage sari quilts. These are amazing. And, instead of shiny silks, like most recycled saris, these are cotton - how fab! From here.

Inspiration - framed book covers

Did you see this great post by Esta Sketch at Apartment Therapy yesterday on framing your fave vintage books - really nice!

Inspiration - shipping container offices

I thought you might find this interesting. The store that I bought my new furniture at - Treehouse in Kelowna BC - has recently moved into a huge new warehouse space and I absolutely love what they have done with their office space. They have taken steel shipping containers and piled them up inside the warehouse to make the coolest offices - they have painted them red inside with really cool industrial lighting. It's a great idea and they have pulled it off brilliantly . . . .

Inspiration - craft book

Where do you find creative inspiration? This is exactly the kind of thing that I snap right up when I'm trolling through thrift stores and markets. This simple cover has so much to offer - check out all the pattern and design ideas in the crochet . . .

From here.

Inspiration

I've started filing away inspiration for my new brighter and more colourful decorating plan - thanks for all your help this week. So many of you wrote and told me about your armoire makeovers it was great. I will have a big red armoire(in the making), 2 green cupboards, a blue table, a red bench and a green bench - I think that's a pretty good start - here are some more ideas from my file . . .

All pictures from here.

Inspiration - guest post at sfgirlbybay

Yesterday Dana from Yellowtrace put together a really great guest post for Victoria at sfgirlbybay. I think you will love it - here are some highlights . . can you guess what the theme is? . .

Window shopping

Oh, I just got so excited about a white house with wood accents and bright coloured accessories. All of these pretty things are from Graham and Green - a pink sofa, hey why not? Anythings better than all the earth tones we have right now!