I have ISSUUs...

This post has a double dose of super-smarty-pants-ness going on.

First, I am so fascinated by the website Issuu.com. Here, anyone can publish basically whatever they want and anyone can read it (in a very lovely flash format.) The types of publications on this free service run the gamut from catalogs of product, to beautifully designed monthly design mags, to the rantings of crazy people. Its all there. I can't wait to figure out what I will publish...

OK, second, my favorite publication on Issuu is Fellow Magazine by James Saavedra, interior designer with exquisite taste. His Monthly Mag has everything from adorable product recommendations, to style reports, to recipes, to reviews on design books. Brilliant! Check out some images (and James' Bio) from the latest issue below and read the whole thing here. Enjoy!

Aslyn's Musical Genius

OMG! I cannot stop listening to Aslyn (Mitchell). She opened for Bob Schneider at Threadgill's (this was mt first concert living in Austin!) and I ended up loving her more than the main act (sorry Bob.) I even cried during her song "Wally" about her grandparents. Check her out here.

Happy

Today has been so good. I just feel so blessed for so many things in my life. This print, originally blogged by Orange Beautiful (love, love, love this blog!!!) sums it up really well.
Hope you all are having happy days as well...

TODAY I WILL BE HAPPIER THAN A BIRD WITH A FRENCH FRY
by dazeychic at Etsy (available here.)

Posh & Perfect Presents at Poppytalk

(Try to say that 10 times fast!) I always adore Poppytalk Handmade for their unique offerings from such talented designers and artists. They always have the cutest stuff and even inspire new ideas for my own artsy & crafty endeavors. Here is a quote from their site explaining more:

"Poppytalk Handmade is a curated online marketplace to showcase, buy and sell handmade goods of emerging design talent from around the world. Our market provides emerging designers and artists an opportunity to connect with consumers, retail buyers, stylists, personal shoppers and the press. It was launched after we noticed how difficult it was to find good designed work within the sea of online shops. We are a design-oriented husband and wife team dedicated to showcasing and promoting emerging design talent. Our blog, Poppytalk is our voice."

And, since its time to start Christmas shopping (already?!!) here are some of my picks from the current marketplace. Please to enjoy...

GORGEOUS! I want them! (from Clementine Jewelry available here.)

Sweet collage by Cabin + Cub (available here.)

"Bliss" Print from Shira Sela (available here.)
Reminds me of being a carefree little girl-so lovely.

by Irene of isphotography (this and many more gorgeous prints available here.)

So vintage & lovely by Nest Pretty Things (available here.)

This is so adorable! "I like my moustache" by Melanie Favreau (available here.)

Playful and sculptural at the same time. by Finch Metal (available here.)

Printed Camping-themed towels from Leanne Graeff (available here.)

Hope

Happy election day to all! I am so excited to see how things will turn out tonight, and have no qualms about expressing my support for Barack Obama. However, this is not a political blog, and I greatly respect everyone's right to vote the way they feel is best. The most important thing is just to VOTE. I don't understand how some could take such an important right so lightly. We are so blessed to live in a Democracy and to have our voices heard. SO VOTE PEOPLE!! Especially you women. I was reading an article about the fight for women's suffrage and what amazing women like Lucy Burns and Alice Paul did to achieve a right that so many of us take for granted.

Here is an Excerpt from this article by BY JULIE ALBRECHT ROYCE:
(read the entire article here.)

Women must not take right to vote for granted.
"In 1918, women picketed President Woodrow Wilson for what is now our birthright. Wilson had them arrested on the bogus charge of blocking traffic. They were convicted, incarcerated and tortured at the Occoquan Workhouse in Virginia. The first night in prison, Lucy Burns was beaten, and while bleeding and gasping for air was chained to the bars of her cell so that her feet barely touched the ground. In an adjacent cell, Doris Lewis was knocked unconscious when her head was smashed against an iron bed. Her cell mate, believing Lewis was dead, suffered a heart attack. Alice Paul embarked on a hunger strike and was removed to solitary confinement in the prison's psychiatric ward. To avoid the criticism that would surely accompany a starvation death, Paul's jailers snaked a tube down her throat and poured in raw eggs. It required five people to immobilize Lucy Burns so she could be force-fed. When she refused to open her mouth a feeding tube was shoved up her nostril. The actions of Paul and Burns inspired their fellow suffragettes to join the hunger strike. President Wilson solicited a psychiatrist to have Paul declared legally insane and institutionalized -- a quick fix to a thorny problem. Fortunately, the doctor, a man of integrity, told the president of the United States that "courage in women is often mistaken for insanity," and that although Paul was brave and intelligent, she was not crazy. Word of the women's ordeal was smuggled to the press. Continuing demonstrations pressured Wilson, and on June 4, 1919, seeing no other honorable resolution, he urged Congress to append the 19th Amendment to the Constitution to guarantee women the right to vote."

I am so proud of these women and feel grateful for the right they fought so hard to pass on to me.

And, as an artist, I would be remiss not to mention all the amazing work that has come from artists truly moved by this campaign. A few of my Favorite Barack Obama Posters are below.
Enjoy!

By geministudio at Etsy (available here.)

Shepard Fairey's Obama Poster

by David Choe

Poster by Brad Kayal

Another by Shepard Fairey

A collection of Hypercat's Obama Posters