i just wanted to extend a few quick thank you’s. i certainly didn’t want to let the end of victoria’s guest blog go unnoticed but milan crept up on me. she did such a fantastic blog and was such a hit with everyone- thank you so much to victoria for her fantastic work. you can keep on reading her design finds right here at sfgirlbybay. i also wanted to thank the lovely ladies who made the sf and toronto city guides- i’m going to have to post them on monday instead of today sadly because i’ve had some work pop up at the last minute that requires my attention most of today. i’ll be uploading the guides this weekend though so they’ll both be here in full form on monday. thanks again and i’ll see you next week… [cards above by pell mell press, $3.50]

i’m constantly in awe of the talent that came out of one single family: sisters lisa congdon and stephanie of little birds are having what promises to be an amazing show at doe sf on may 4. “lovely, dark and deep” will feature soft sculptures and woodland creatures from stephanie and paintings and collages from lisa. i’m tempted to fly out just for this show- it looks fantastic. click here for more information and more photos from the show. [thanks, lisa!]

the best i could ever manage with an etch-a-sketch was a simple house shape or maybe a lop sided cloud. but artist jonathan liu has taken etch-a-sketch art to a whole new level with his custom pieces. this raven design was done for amy ruppel but you can view more of jonathan’s etch-a-sketch work right here. should inspire some weekend sketching…[thanks, amy!]

jenny at three sheets sent over some of her latest work last week- i’m loving the marigold yellow she uses (ah, the color of the season) and the new tulip and trees print. you can buy the new prints in pillow or artwork form right here. be sure to browse the specialty section, too- there’s some cute stuff in there. [thanks jenny!]

this week’s last sneak peek belongs to quilting queen, denyse schmidt. it was such a treat to catch a glimpse into her beautiful home along the long island shore- i hope you’ll enjoy it as much as i did. as always, you can click here for extra, full-sized photos of denyse’s home. thanks again to denyse for sharing her home with us.

[ps: that’s it for me today, i’ll be back tomorrow with 2 new city guides: san francisco and toronto]

“I have a tiny little house, built in 1915 that I just adore. Its layout is elemental but logical, and I love the simplicity of it. The house gets great light all day, and I can ride my bike along the shore of Long Island Sound. I have a lovely front porch that gets morning sun. I couldn’t afford to do a lot when I moved in – it was mostly about removing things (carpet, paneling, handicap ramp, etc.) and then painting and cleaning.”

“My “stuff” is a combination of things I find at the flea market or junk stores (most needing repair or missing parts), relics from my folks house, or treasured objects friends have designed or made. The church sign is from the flea market, and the saying on it was sent to me from one of the folks I work with in India on my birthday
last year – just when I needed to hear it! The “love and romance” sign (see flickr page for this photo) came with the house. The pear and dogwood branches are from my little yard.”

“The wallpaper in the bedroom was behind a badly built cupboard, and I left it there. The silkscreen of me was done by my sister when I was about 16 or 17.”

i go through notebooks like there’s no tomorrow. i never managed to finish them but my standard MO is to obsess over one and fill it with all sorts of to-do lists and then somehow manage to lose the notebook on my way to or from work. so, if you’re ever on the F train and find a pretty notebook filled with things like “invite brooklyn design ladies over for tea party” or “buy more wellness wet food for the cats” it’s probably mine. i’m thinking of switching over to this plaid number soon- plaid seems to be creeping up everywhere right now so i might be working up a mini-trend soon. until then, you can pick up these cute portuguese serrote mini notebooks (6″ tall) right here for $8.

i just wanted to extend a congratulations to the lovely karen at clothes-pin on the debut of her new stationery line, hammocks and high tea, inspired by her south american upbringing. click here for more info on karen’s new line.