Happy 2012

Happy new year friends, hope you all had a nice and relaxing weekend while ringing in a brand new year. Though we planned to go out, the husband and I ended up falling asleep on the couch and woke up just in time to watch the ball drop and then go to bed. Though we made up for it the following night by going on an 'adventure' and walked around the city...5 miles to be exact! The rest of the days were spent with the dog in the park and digging in dirt at our garden, and if you follow me on twitter you may have heard of our peculiar thefts too. Woke up to 1 hubcap missing on the car new years day and when we went to the garden discovered entire plants had vanished. Completely gone! A little digging proved a giant gopher hole under our veggie bed, seems a little critter had the munchies for some red cabbage, stole 3 entire plants!
And with the weekend spent in nature, I thought I would continue it along with these amazing photographs from Qi Wei, a brilliant artist out of Singapore. I've always had a love for nature photography, there are always details you miss in real life, but have never tried deconstructing my focal point. Don't you just love these? You can find his entire exploded flower collection here and can purchase prints here as well as read a great interview with the artist and his artistic process. I just love his philosophies behind photography and how it has a beginning and end and I too agree, a photo isn't a true photo till its printed out.

photos via qi wei

United Thread paintings & illustrations

I have been so into muted tones lately I might have a bit of a problem. There is just something about the greyed out hues that are so soothing, it just calms the brain. And when I came across these beautiful nature inspired prints from United Thread, my eye balls did a little happy dance. Artist Michelle Morin has such a detailed eye, I simply love the textures and patterns she creates in her imaginary worlds. Might need to pick up a few of these lovelies, they would make for a lovely natural collection in any room. You can also see a little behind the scenes to Michelle's creative process here.

photos via united thread

Mother nature at its finest

Do you ever just sit and ponder?  I love to sit and watch the world go by me, there are so many fascinating things to take in, from people to adorable pups, flowers and fantastically colored animals, there is always something wonderful to take in, like this amazingly detailed image from one seriously patient photographer.  Taken in Costa Rica, this hummingbird has such fine details you would think it was fake.  I love all the purples, greens and blues in the feather details... and I've always thought when all else fails, follow mother nature.  You can find lovely color combinations in every natural aspect of life, where do you gather your color inspiration from?

photo via no1chrism

Reminds me of this dramatic bedroom.  Using deep purples, blues and pale yellow the room feels luxurious and glamours yet still natural.  

photo source unknown, if you know the link, please share!

Picnic anyone?

Everyone loves a good picnic, and the brilliant minds over at Boxsal have come up with a super clever and environmentally friendly way to get your grub on.  With 3 different designs to choose from, the Urban picnic, Today's date, and Office escape, each box includes everything you could possibly need.  All made from compost-able materials, not only are you one with mother nature while you munch, you're not going to hurt her afterwards either.  A total win win.  While the plates, bowls and utensils are more on the 'one time use' side, the actual box can be used over and over.  I've been practically begging the husband to go on more picnics, and these would sure be better to carry around then our slew of free tote bags!  And do check out Boxsal's blog for fun picnic tips, recipes and ideas.

via twig and thistle photos via boxsal