Inspired: Scherenschnitte (papercutting)

I am completely fascinated by beautiful, intricate scherenschnitte, and am so pleased that it's made a comeback in recent years, both in traditional patterns and more modern form. One amazing artist that I adore is Rob Ryan, who has completely captured the vintage charm of this art form, while giving it a bit of a current twist.

I tried my hand at papercutting several years ago - making some lovely framed pieces and sweet ornaments... I loved the process as well as the final outcome, but especially enjoy the design process - working with symmetry, silhouettes and the use positive and negative space, as I also do in so many of my prints.

The papercut above is from Rob Ryan's book, This Is for You (which would make a very sweet Valentine's day gift, by the way...).

Finally Friday: Wear Red

Today is National Wear Red Day, part of the American Heart Association's Go Red for Women Movement - a day to speak up about heart disease, the number 1 killer of women - so grab your favorite red dress or sweater and help raise awareness!

Sneak peek: new artful goodies

.... bookmarks and bookplates!

Here's a peek at just a few of the designs I have in the works, and will be debuting at the Boston Gift Show in March.

Wise Owl

(perfect for the scholar!)

Pirate Ship

(for those who love tales of the sea!)

Cupcake

(for the baker, or birthday girl!)

Things I love: Colored Pencils

Oh, aren't they just glorious? 500 amazing colored pencils to collect, inspire and delight! I could have so very much fun with these, and a big sketchbook!

Inspired: Wood grain

I bookmarked this post several months ago, completely inspired by these amazing prints! Printmaker Bryan Nash Gill had taken an ordinary tree stump and painstakingly relief printed it to create amazing limited edition prints. It really takes me back to some of my earliest printmaking endeavors, inking and printing leaves, apples cut in half, and other beautiful natural elements.

Things I love: Speaking of Chocolate...

Cupcakes. Of course, who doesn't love cupcakes? Chocolate or otherwise. I am completely enchanted by all the little cupcake shops that have popped up in nearly every town over the past few years. It is so wonderful to see something that was once relegated only to kid's birthday parties develop into a treat for everyone, and a true art form as well! And all the cupcake goodies out there make it possible to elevate the cupcake to a new level.

Don't you just adore these cupcake pedestals? I can just imagine one at each place setting for a lovely little dessert after a girls' lunch.

Or how about these amazing paper cupcake wrappers? They certainly make every little cupcake extra special.
Of course, Artful Sentiments has its share of cupcakes as well (including one of the newest - Chocolate + Moose) and in addition to all the cupcake cards, I decided that cupcake magnets are a must! So here they are. Sweet, huh?

Inspired: Chocolate

Inspired by chocolate? Um, yes.

Every year I make chocolates for the holidays, a heavenly sweet little treat, a glorious decadent bite of goodness. I especially love making (and eating) truffles - in the past I've made such delights as chocolate raspberry, white chocolate peppermint, pistacio covered white chocolate cherry...mmmm, all delish. This year I tried a new recipe - chocolate peanut butter truffles, a lovely smooth chocolate peanut butter ganache rolled in chopped peanuts. For all you peanut butter cup lovers out there, these are a must try!

That leads me to my inspiration! As a lover of all things chocolate (although I am indulging only in moderation these days), I've added "Chocolate + Moose" to my collection of hand block printed party animal cards. These whimsical notes feature some of my sweet little creatures, along with cupcakes, party hats and birthday cakes.

I think that Chocolate + Moose will sell like hotcakes (or maybe cupcakes!) in Maine, where they love their moose!