Friday Five

{Friday Five: A sometimes random, sometimes planned assortment of the five coolest things of the moment.}

1// Hand dyed and hand screen printed bandannas.  So pretty and practical to have.  Use them to hold your hair back, wipe a sweaty brow, blow your nose...AND they're eco friendly.  I'm favoriting these for a future purchase!
2// Damn.  Don't you just love a man in pink?  A certain boyfriend may be getting something like this for an upcoming 31-st birthday.
3// Panther scarf?! You know I love me some cats, especially of the black variety.  I think they're good luck and I'm biased.
4// Can I please get this in my house.  It is so pretty.
5// The Makers is a site devoted to those who Make (painfully obvious, I know).  I love taking a peek into peoples lives, seeing how they do the things they do, what inspires them and just the whole handmade process in general. Very inspiring.

That's it folks!  This weekend I'll be riding my bike, drawing and beading, heading to a few festivals and enjoying the last few days of summer...Have a great fridaysaturdaysunday and see you next week!

Listen Up // Music

Foster the People + volume up loud as hell + lots of bass = UNSTOPPABLE ERICA.



I swear, this is how I get the majority of my work done.  Whether that involves driving to work, doing my internet work thing, getting my creative on, cleaning, cooking, running...even yoga.  I think the beats release those feel good endorphins.  What songs/albums motivate you to get going?  Leave a comment, I want to know -- seriously!

Float On

Overcast, rainy days (and tons of snow and unbearable heat) are a way of life in NE Ohio.  We love our seasons, all of them.  This past weekend, it went from so hot and humid, to overcast, wet and cold.  Fall, so nice to see you.  I did not realize you would be here so ... promptly.  OK, so I'm not going to complain about the Ohio weather (as Ohio is one of the most water-sustainable places in the country) -- but things would sure be a lot more lovely with big, fat clouds like these.

via today and tomorrow.

why do i work?

We'll said.  Get the image for your laptop and get back to doing this shit you love.

Friday 5 (x2)

The weekend creeps in, bit by bit, closer and closer...

The draw of a hot, long, end-of-summer weekend has got me staring out the window and at the clock, whincing at every minute that laboriously passes. It's early afternoon on the Friday before Labor Day weekend and ohmygod, does it feel wrong to still be inside. I've got to get OUT OF HERE! But of course, I can't just yet.  There is money to be made, mouths to be fed, pretty things to be purchased and bosses to be satiated.  So, if I gotta be at my computer, I might as well spend a quick minute on a fun, little post for you all: The five+ coolest etsy things I've seen this week.

Also, this is in an attempt to try not to check my watch/phone/computer clock every 30 seconds for the next few hours.  Enjoy and have a great weekend!

1// Bear friends? Teepee tents?  Camping under the stars?  So magical.
2// How about a lovely rock to go around your lovely neck?
3// Cats are the shit and we all know this.  Even if they are trying to murder us.  Cat haters, stop complaining that cats are weird.  Animals in general, kind of weird.  As are you and I, such is life.
4// I'd love to be totting this white little number after Labor day.
5// Itty, bitty, concrete lego blocks, perfect for the eternal child/nerd.  I want!
6// Dinosaur vs. Robot fight?  I'd pay to see that.  Just saying.  But in the meantime I'll take that comfy tee.
7// Pretty, paper rhinos.  This may also end up in a "decor for the home" post in the near future.
8// Gotta love a good super hero/villain on a bike painting.
9// Loving the braided and hinged leather bracelets from dullDiamond.
10// Where bold graphics and clothing collide.  I dream of wearing such things and getting away with it.

Back to Cool (School)

(Documentation of My First Day)











Yes, it is that lovely time of year: Fall semester.  Summer weather begins to fade, noticed only by a light chill in the air; quite streets and parks from the hours of 7am to 3pm; and the rerouted commute, forced by sluggish, yellow buses and intermittent school zones, lest I desire to spend more time in behind the wheel...

This semester, I consider myself one of the lucky ones: A freaking STUDENT!  Not just one class this Fall, but 3 full art courses are mine for the next few months.  Oh, the learning!  This afternoon, I got started with one, printmaking.  Lino prints, etching, screen printing --fist pump-- are on the docket for the course.  My classmates and I got a lovely tour of the printmaking and woodworking studios, to use as we wish, as well as lengthy, but entertaining anecdotes on the dangers of the materials we'll be using and an almost full reenactment of how to use an eye wash and what may happen if you distractedly attempt to cut something with a guillotine-style paper cutter.  And, somehow, along the way, I ended up as the secretary of print club.  Total nerd, I am, I am.

Home now, with a bowl of cereal for dinner and avoidance of homework at all costs (ie. blogging).  College, I have missed you.

Friday Five

{Friday Five: A sometimes random, sometimes planned assortment of the five most inspiring things of the moment.}

1// Avocado smoothie.  Sounds sort of weird and delicious at the same time.  And that beautiful, frothy green color is tempting me so.

2// Another DIY to add to the list!  Chandelier made with a wire basket, ribbon and wax paper, by Brenna.  The man and I need something like this to class up our dining room...
3//  Illustrator Spencer Nugent always gets me inspired to practice my drawing and drafting with these awesome little, daily sketches.  Get your draw on at IDSketching.com for drawing tutorials, Photoshop videos, materials guides and so much cool rendering you'll want to barf.
4// Fabulous set of rings (and ring design inspiration).  Makes me want to get my nails did and load up my hands with precious metals.
5// I could definitely live here, no problem.  Drool-worthy colors and architecture by Portuguese designer/architect Pedro Gadanho.  More pictures here.

Happy Friday!

DIY Table/Desk

Desk and table by Kate. 

Work in progress by Silvia.

In the mood to make some more table space in your kitchen/dining room/bedroom/studio? Well, look no further, as the blogging deities have bestowed upon us the perfect inspiration to get the job done on the cheap...money-wise and time-wise.  Like what you see, people? (Honestly, how can you not..) Take a look at the how-to and more images of Kate's first and second version and the final, pretty and perfect results of Silvia's cute coffee table.

The company that fabricates these awesome hairpin legs is in MY neck of the woods, give or take a couple of hours.  So, as I feel it is my duty to support local businesses, it only seems right that I get working on this ASAP and order them legs!  I'm thinking something along the lines of an L-shape, for more surface area.  Details to come...

Logo Fun

If you've been reading, as I know millions of you have, you may have noticed the layout and design of this blog changes weekly.  Here's a tiny slice of that that creative, indecisive madness looks like.  Trying to come up with a compelling color scheme, logo, look and over-arching feel for a brand is HARD.

"Big triangles or little triangles?  Mini ones?  How about enormous?  Ok, I love the gigantic ones.  Oh, those won't fit with that font I've painstakingly picked out?  Ok...what about mini triangles?  I could get down with those.  Mini's it is!!  Although, you can't really see any of the detail in those and I want a lot of color.  So those might be out, unless I switch up the font and maybe do a square business card instead of the standard rectangle...." and on and on and on it goes.

My brain might be fried by the end of this session, but I will have a logo dammit!  Is this always how the creative process works?

Nails Did // Geometric+Color

The ladies over at Honesty...WTF are killin' it with the DIYs. I cannot WAIT find a solid, uninterrupted hour this weekend to do this.

Listen Up // Music

And so, here documents my ongoing obsession with Vampire Weekend.

Adrift

How serene and tranquil is this?  I want to hop on that swan boat with my cutie, a glass of wine (whiskey for him), some snacks, a game of scrabble and drift the afternoon away.

You Are So 2D

I saw these pictures and nonchalantly thought:  Ooh, what a cool loft, I could totally live there.  I failed to notice the fact that there are no "real" chairs, tables, sofas, lights...or animals, for that matter.  Cheers to being that distracted by some color.

Now I just want some of those prints to put all over my house. Installation by Hey.

via freshleyblended.

Studio Space Inspiration

I absolutely LOVE working in my studio.  As soon as I step into my own little creation station, all bets are off, and Erica's rules reign.  The weirdness and creativity lets loose and sometimes I have trouble reeling it back in.  Right now I am in the process of organizing the enourmous boxes of beads, fabric, paper, paintbrushes, pencils, glue, glitter, rulers, string and such that I've accumulated over the years.  It's always helpful and inspirational to see how and where others get their creative on.  Here's a shot of the studio of jewelry designer dou, IWAS+WILLBE, a featured seller on the Etsy blog this week.  Major wall envy...

Friday Five

{Friday Five: A sometimes random, sometimes planned assortment of the five most inspiring things of the moment.  I hope I can stick with just picking five...here we go:}

1// Haha yes.  Is it a horse?  Is it a bike?  NAAY, it is a horse-bike.  And  galloping through the city streets on this noble steed would be hilarious.  Horsey, by Eungi Kim, is part of the Seoul Cycle Design Competition.
Via the infinite pattern.

2// WHAT?  It's possible to have one of these IN YOUR LIVING ROOM?  ...Do you ever find yourself scheming on ways to make ridiculous amounts of money so you can do extravagant things like putting a swimming pool in your house?  I do.  Thankfully, that is short lived.  I mean if I had to look at this thing and swim it in and invite friends over and have sweet parties and have my amazing house featured in magazines, I'd probably get bored with it soon...

...So let's just put a little, old pool in the backyard, where they're supposed to be, k?

3// Triangles, repetition and a perfect color combination.  This is the best card you'll never ever give.  By Jewiseha.

4//  This striking light fixture is a DIY made with paper scraps.  *Add to to-do list NOW.*  Via Design Sponge.

 5//  Cornmeal, blueberry muffins.  DELICIOUS (the photos too.)  Go here, get the recipie, make them muffins and mail me one NOW.

28 is the new 28 (belated bday post to myself...)

I wrote this on my birthday and never posted it.  Talk about adult-onset ADD.  Anyhoo, I don't see the harm in throwing it up here now, do you?

May 30, 2011:

Happy birthday to me and Memorial Day to you kids out there!  I hope the weather was phenom wherever you were, as it certainly was here.

My day was perfect: A (first) 30-mile bike ride, bbq, volleyball and pool time, Harry Potter movie/nap, dinner and bday brownies made by the boy.  SO fun.  Isn't weird how you "care" less and less about your own birthday as you get older?  I am normally one of those "It's my birthday WEEK/MONTH/YEAR" type of people (only child for sure), but this time all i wanted to do was relax, be outside, laugh and eat good food with friends.  Simple pleasures.

Along the lines of getting older, wiser and a tiny bit more mature,  I've also begun to set short and long-term goals and an action plan to help me reach my best life and best self.  It will be interesting to look back at this date a year from now and see what got done.

One year goals (age, 29)
1/ I create new product consistently for onthelookout, blog at least every other day and am selling jewelry and accessories at 3 local shops and do my first craft show for the spring season.
2/ I bike 150+ miles for MS on August 14th, 2011. (dunzo! and it was AWESOME.)
3/ I run my 2nd 10k in under 50 minutes on October 9th, 2011.
4/ I save $2,000 for a snowboarding trip to Big Sky, MT this winter and buy myself a GNU Snowboard...dream big, right?

Inspire me!  I want to hear some of your goals too!

The Daily Draw // June 8

My other job is pretty sweet too.  Basically, I get to be super creative all day (with only a few rules), amongst a witty crew.  Our storage space is massive and stocked full of blank canvases/cardboard boxes housing our wares.  There is never a shortage of Sharpie markers (gush).  And so, when I gets a little antsy from sitting at my desk, I take to the warehouse and do a little doodling.  Sometimes it is found and I perk up to gales of laughter hours later, sometimes it goes unnoticed, my little secret.

Mike Gonzalez

Sort of Absolutely obsessing over the most recent collections by Mike Gonzalez.  The head ware, the jewelry, the make up...phenom.  I couldn't pick just a few favorites.  To be honest, I didn't even try.  Sometimes that's ok right?  I'll put my filter back on later.  In the meantime, enjoy.

BTW, this is the same Mike of MIKE&CHRIS.  I OWN A FEW M&C hoodies that I was infatuated with in a previous life...2 years ago.It's nice to know that great obsessions never really die. *Pulls "old" M&C hoodies out of storage and puts them promptly onto body.*

via fly girls.