Beautiful art

I could stare at this pink sky forever. There are something about collages that are simply stunning and this canyon from Twin Canyons sure is a beauty. Makes me want to create something with my hands.

found via pop rock blog, image by twin canyon

Beautiful art

I keep moving my giant paper stash from one spot to the other all with hopes of finally doing something with it and after seeing this beautiful bird Haus Vogel from Lydia Kasumi Shirreff and Castro Smith, a colorful art piece for the wall might just be the perfect project. Lydia, a London based illustrator and installation artist sure has a way with shapes, colors and the abstract don't you think?

image via lydia kasumi shirreff 

Making art

Every few months the husband and I get the urge to change up the house and this month it was the living room and studio. We {I} got busy organizing my studio to finally utilize all the space and in turn had tons and tons of scrap paper laying around. While I was deciding on what goes where, the husband decided to raid my stash of paper and a stock illustration book we had laying around and got his collage on. Using a mixture of recycled security envelopes {told ya I save everything with a pattern!} and illustrations from Lizzy Stewart and Robert Hunter, the husband created a few fun pieces for our small frames left over from our wedding. I'm loving the contrast of traditional frames with a very modern piece of art. And he always says he isn't creative! How do you use up your scraps of paper?

photos by our designed life

Hollie Chastain

Happy first of February friends. Throughout the last few weeks I have been creating up a storm and bouncing ideas off everyone I talk to. Over the weekend the husband and I designed a patchwork of sorts blanket that I am now in the process of knitting... after figuring out how fast I am its going to take me at least 2 months! Hopefully I stick to it and actually finish, I don't know about you but I tend to never finish projects I start. And in true to me fashion, I've already got my next project on deck, a collage project for our heirloom seed container.
I love the look that a collage gives, not to mention its a great way to clear out your extra bits of paper, fabric and odds and ends. I came across these prints and cards from Tennessee artist Hollie Chastain and now the ideas are really flowing! I absolutely love how she creates her images mixing papers and pigment, its a very precise way to get in tiny detail. You can find Hollie's portfolio here as well as her Etsy shop here. Now to finish up the projects I've got going so I can start a new collage!

photos via hollie chastain

Colorful collages

I've always love the look of collages, the idea of always creating a one of a kind piece just fascinated me. When I was little I would sit for hours with my Grandma at her kitchen table cutting out dolls and flowers from magazines and carefully pasting them into my own handmade book. I guess I have always been the crafty type. These collages from Indonesian artist Vantiani are not only fun and colorful they are also made with recycled materials, some even from discarded treat wrappers! They just have that whimsical feel don't you think?

photos via vantiani