Had to share some Dadu

Loving the plucky style of Dadu Shin. 

Enjoy your Weekend...

In the Spirit of the Weekend of Valentine's Day, todays posts features some of my favorite 

Meant for a Moment prints and cards about love { xox }

It is no secret I have an abundance of them in my catalog. 

Please enjoy your weekend. The weather in MD is supposed to be beautiful. 

Dave and I will be hiking and than cooking a dinner together (which translates to; me cooking and Dave singing to what ever song is on and stirring whatever pot is on the stove) I think it will be nice....xox

Be still my heart...

Isn't this shelving unit amazing? I totally adore an interesting space to display all of

my special books and artwork and this shelf is too cool. I think I will keep it in my archives and pull it out one day when Dave is feeling up for a project. Wouldn't it be nice painted in two light shades?

via

Custom Meant for a Moment Valentines

This year we had some fun with Valentines at Meant for a Moment.

We made Valentines with a vintage flare and signed them from Lily Mae, a two year old little red headed girl who will be sending them to all her favorite Aunts, Sue-do Aunts and Grandmas this year.

How cute! {xox} 

Looking for some office flare?

Embroidery paper... cutest idea ever? Probably.

I got stuck on Better Living Through Design this morning they had so many incredible ideas. 

Look at those training wheels for your pencil. As an artist that uses a ruler a lot I am in love. Happy Valentine's Day to me. It even tracks your "milage". Oh be still my heart.

I love the old fashioned air mail look. My grandmother gave me some of her air mail stationary a long time ago and now I wish I hadn't wasted it on scribbles and wasted thoughts. But this twine from whisker graphics is really cute don't you think? Its got a cute spin on the Air Mail idea going for it.

If your desk needs some tidying like mine does, Check out these leaf ties by, lufdesign.

You can turn your wires into vines... Pretty fancy right?

Kissing, its cool.

In the spirit of Valentines Day, here are some facts abouy kissing. Because lets face it, kissing is cool. 

I shortened the list but for more, visit my source Random Facts and find out more. You will be a stunner on your next date for sure... 

I think my favorite is #15, my dentist will be so pleased...! {xox}

1. A woman in China partially lost her hearing after her boyfriend reportedly ruptured her eardrum with a passionate kiss. Apparently, the kiss reduced the pressure in the mouth, pulled the eardrum out, and caused the breakdown of the ear.^k
2. The science of kissing is called philematology.^c
3. The insulting slang “kiss my ass” dates back at least to 1705.^e
4. Lips are 100 times more sensitive than the tips of the fingers. Not even genitals have as much sensitivity as lips.^c

Most people tip their head to the right when they kiss

5. Approximately two-thirds of people tip their head to the right when they kiss. Some scholars speculate this preference starts in the womb.^b
6. On July 5-6, 2005 a couple in London locked lips for 31 hours, 30 minutes, and 30 seconds, making it the longest kiss ever recorded.^f
7. The most important muscle in kissing is the orbicularis oris, also known as the kissing muscle, which allows the lips to “pucker.”^b
8. French kissing involves all 34 muscles in the face. A pucker kiss involves only two.^b
9. The term “French kiss” came into the English language around 1923 as a slur on the French culture which was thought to be overly concerned with sex. In France, it’s called a tongue kiss or soul kiss because if done right, it feels as if two souls are merging. In fact, several ancient cultures thought that mouth-to-mouth kissing mingled two lovers’ souls.ⁱ
10. The Four Vedic Sanskrit texts (1500 B.C.) contain the the first mention of a kiss in writing.^c
11. The Romans created three categories of kissing: (1) Osculum, a kiss on the cheek, (2) Basium, a kiss on the lips, and (3) Savolium, a deep kiss.^h
12. Passionate kissing burns 6.4 calories a minute. A Hershey’s kiss contains 26 calories, which takes five minutes of walking–or about four minutes of kissing–to burn off.^c
13. Mechanically speaking, kissing is almost identical to suckling. Some scholars speculate that the way a person kisses may reflect whether he or she was breast fed or bottle fed.^c
14. Scientists believe that kissing may be a way of exchanging body salts or sebum that form relationships with parents and lovers, just as it does some birds. During mating, some birds chew food, then kiss-feed it to a prospective mate. If a bird’s sebaceous glands are removed so there is no sebum, its mate flies off.^j
15. Kissing is good for teeth. The anticipation of a kiss increases the flow of saliva to the mouth, giving the teeth a plaque-dispersing bath.^c

Red Red Red!

I am in love with these photos by Andy Bettles 

So much so that I am tempted to purchase a red hat and giant poppy and re-stage them for my own profile shoot... What is it about giant red things that make such a great statement...

man, I love it...

I've got the Fever

I could picnic for hours in this combo... feeling a little spring fever... thought I would fight the urge to fly south with a little touch of yellow by ssense

Dashing around today...

Its been a busy day here. I have been finishing up projects and working fastidiously on my novel synopsis that just seems impossible to write. 

It is possible I may have written the most complicated book ever. 

But it does feel good to wrap some work up around here. Here is a taste of some illustrations I have been working on for Market Early America, a company who caters to Museums and assists with their marketing and book keeping. We have been making final tweaks today and I think they are looking quite  dapper! This evening I am heading to a meeting about a second jewelry line, crossing my fingers that I have created some winning pieces. 

{xox}

New work...

I thought I would pop in with some recent work.

Here is an illustration I did as a gift for fellow blogger Cup of Jo 

She always seems so real and at the same time so larger than life so I sent her a little sentiment to add some sauce to her day... and thank her for being down right 'awesome'

Lets go get it...

amen.

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Eyewear Ads

Check out these adorable eyeglass ads...

I love the color in these and the illustrations are so spunky.

It makes me want to go get my glasses out and change it up for the day, what do you think?

Be my Valentine?

I have been researching vintage Valentine's for a current project that I am working on and I found these super silly ones that I just had to share. 

I think my favorite one may be the Shackled Cupid. 

A big part of me wishes we could all rewind and go back to elementary school for Valentine's day so we can exchange all of those Valentines... Remember what a big deal that was. 

Can you imagine doing that as adults, and finding a group that was enthusiastic... Oh man, you would receive some of the most beautiful handmade Valentines! 

And maybe you would get lucky and a bottle of wine would find its way tucked into your collection. 

Valentines Via

Have a great Weekend!

Whats going on this weekend in your neck of the woods?

Dave and I have a busy weekend. And after this week's white out I am looking forward to 

getting out and about. I am busy dancing around the house preparing for Dave's parents to arrive. 

We are serving Brunch today and on the Menu are Lemon Ricotta Pancakes (Yum), a fresh citrus salad and hot coffee (of corse):

Lemon Ricotta Pancakes

This recipe is adapted from the Alberta Egg Producers.

4 eggs, separated

1 tub (250 grams) or 1 cup (250 ml) ricotta cheese

3 tbsp (50 ml) sugar

½cup (125 ml) all-purpose flour

zest of one lemon

2 tbsp (25 ml) butter

2 cups (500 ml) strawberries, diced

sugar to taste

In a large mixing bowl, whisk egg yolks, ricotta cheese, sugar, flour and lemon zest.

In another bowl, whip egg whites with a mixer until glossy peaks form. Stir about one-quarter of the whites into the ricotta mixture, then fold in the remaining whites gently.

Melt butter in pan over medium heat, drop batter on using small ladle or large spoon. I used a ¼-cup (50-ml) measure.) Flatten slightly, then let cook for about two minutes per side until lightly browned. Top with macerated strawberries. (I know...yum) via

Than its off to DC to mill around at a museum or two and grab some dinner and than we see STOMP. 

Its in DC this weekend and we are so excited!

I hope your weekend is full of adventure, or relaxation, whatever you require...

Until Monday {xox}

A love story session...

I stumbled across Baltimore photographer Leo Djiwatampu this morning and I fell in love with this Story Sequence that Allison and Evan used for their engagement photos. First may I say, I love that red dress, {like I love it so much I could take it home and where to sleep in, so much}. Secondly, what a creative idea! I haven't considered a story sequence created for this occasion before and now I am mixing up all sorts of ideas in my head. Man, don't you love that red dress? My heart is all 'aflutter' for it.