sunday morning musings

loving this sunday morning
I'm stealing a little quiet time and browsing etsy while working on an etsy treasury.
grab a cup of coffee and spend a few minutes with me...I'd like to share a few favorites.

their uniqueness, beauty, use of colors and especially the personal notes attached to them..are just pulling at me today

trampoline

original collage created from too pretty to throw away polaroid cast offs. they are studies in color, texture and nuance...peeks into everyday life.


enhabiten
My new line of cushions is named after a street on the Left Bank in Paris. I used some combination of vintage string embroidery, vintage velvet and vintage woodblock printing on tea-stained hemp with a kapok filling



selflesh
Original / One-of-a-Kind - Embroidered Map Collage
by Shannon Rankin


greenchairpress
This print combines my interest in maps and words.
The quote is from Robert Motherwell:
"If you can't find your inspiration by walking around the block one time, go around two blocks — but never three."


blissfulimages
Signed Fine Art Photographic Print
Title: tiny moon
story: This photo was taken at one of my favorite places in Portland. A local farm that holds a series of concerts throughout the summer. Some of our finest families memories have been made there

I would like to thank these wonderfully creative people for adding a touch of beauty to my day.

I hope you found some new favorites along with me this morning....have a few you want to share? I'm still finishing my coffee...so share away with me..

sue

To Portland or Bust

I will have to interrupt my postings on Cape Cod for a few posts.
Today we leave for a trip to Portland Oregon.
Portland is quite the experience!
Wikipedia states "Portland is a city located near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in Oregon. With a population of 568,380 it is Oregon's most populous city, and the third most populous city in the Pacific Northwest.The city and region are noted for strong land-use planning and investment in public transit. "
It is attracting and capturing the hearts of our youth and families. A visit there gives a glimpse of the why. Portland is one beautiful city with an exciting blend of historic and modern architecture (I will have to do another post devoted to the architecture, it is wonderful). Vistas of Mt. Hood and the Willamette River, stately Douglas Fir trees, beautiful flowers and roses. It is a study in contrasts. Combined with great art, farmers markets, waterfront festivals and a diverse population, you have one very exciting city.

Some highlights, I experienced on a previous visit.
Some of the best small local dining establishments, I have ever had. The neighborhoods are more like small towns. You can walk (and most do, a wonderful site to see neighbors outside and greeting each other) to a cup of coffee, a grocery or one of the many quaint shops. Yet you are only a 10 minute drive to the city proper.
Did you think I would just mention the shops in passing ? No, no, no, that will be a post in itself. The shopping was just as exciting as the city.
Back soon, have a wonderful Tuesday.
Sue

Some parts taken from a previous post.

The Art of Display

Dear readers have not had much of a chance to be out and about the past few days. Trying to finish up some projects before heading out to Portland Oregon next week. Expecting to have some great posts from there as there are also some wonderful shops in Portland.
Instead I thought I would share a post from another blog which I follow and you may have missed. This blog is written by Benita at Chez Larsson, found here .
I found it handy since I'm still settling into a new home and hope to start decorating soon.
Enjoy the post and happy arranging...Sue
ps..you might find some new items to display here at my new listings

The Art of Display

Having received some questions on how to display items on shelves I will give you some tricks of my trade. These are some very basic tricks that I teach the staff in the shops I work for.

Of course there are more advanced display techniques and there are more advanced variations on the ones I'm teaching you but I won't get into that today. Also, it's not necessarily so that all beautifully styled shelves that you see in photos and in magazines have been styled using these techniques, some people just have an eye for it :) But once you know of these tricks you will probably start noticing that they are being used. Check out the chain store window displays next time you're out and about. You'll probably see a few examples.

Trick #1 TRIANGLES

Items which are grouped in a triangular shape draw the eye to the group as a whole instead of each individual item. The triangular shape is pleasing to the eye and without realising it your eye "reads" the display, starting at the top point, going to the bottom right and on to the bottom left and then back to the top.

Trick #2 GROUPING

For a triangle to be effective you need to group your items properly. Pick out the tallest item you want to display or add one if you were not planning on having one. This tall item will be the top point of your triangle. Add your mid sized items in front of your tall one. Place the outer ones to the side but still overlapping the tall one. Then place the smallest ones in front and to the side of them.

Grouping means exactly what it says, the items are or are almost touching each other (at least looking at them from the front) and yes, you may not see the every inch of the one at the back, but you will have a pretty grouping of items.

Trick #3 EMPTY SPACE

Don't be afraid of empty space when displaying. You may not have empty space in your bookcase but you should strive for some where you're not storing, but displaying.

Empty space basically means that you leave a bit of space around your group of items until there is another group. It helps the eye focus on your groups.

Trick #4 REPETITION

Repeating similar items is also a great attention grabber. If you have a collection of similar items you can simply line them up 3, 5 or 7 at a time. Uneven numbers are more pleasing to the eye as the eye tends to group things in two's which will "break apart" your display. Again think about the grouping trick, although this is not a triangle you still need to keep your repeated items close together, if not touching or overlapping. Also remember the empty space. Leave a little bit of space in between groups.

When displaying I often use the triangle technique for a larger group and incorporate some small repeated items at the in bottom left or right of my triangle.

Trick #5

Keep it simple. Don't try to display all your nick-knacks at once. Store some and bring them out to switch your displays around.

Good luck!

Thank you Benita..hope to try some of the tips soon.