this time of year the days just seem to fly by and this week was a total blur! next week ac and i are heading down to virginia for the holidays but i’ll be posting through next tuesday so please tune in next week for some fantastic end of the year sneak peeks, the last d*s video of 2008 (holiday crafting and cooking!) and some more diy projects to do while you’re home with family. in the meantime, i’m off to my bedroom to start packing and wrapping gifts for next week. also, i have so many holiday diy projects to post i don’t know where to start so i wanted to end this week with a great project from amanda at vintage glam. she used a common found material (wire hangers and plastic bags from the laundromat) and created a beautiful holiday wreath in only a few steps. amanda was kind enough to share her full steps with d*s so just click here (or click “read more” below) for the full project. thanks to amanda for sharing. see you monday!

• must-read post of the week: ikat trend roundup
• new sneak peeks: hello lucky (with interview), dvider, baked bakery- charleston, lynn of satsuma press, jill of studio olivine, brie harrison,
• new diy projects: erin’s holiday placecard/favor, kate’s recycled painting noteboard, hand printed fleece scarves, glitter ornaments, holiday garlands
• new before and afters: megan’s ikea stools, emily’s chair, piper’s chair
• podcasts + videos: mike perry, the arm letterpress studio, design by the book- episode two
• artwork: lisa jones uk prints, hyperakt + moontree obama prints
• 2009 calendars: helen ige, stephanie meurer, hammerpress
• misc: hello handmade holiday banners, hk living furniture and accessories, veekee silk scarf agendas, ninainvorm ceramics
• in the kitchen with: kristine sitko’s balsamic chocolate truffles with cherries recipe

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We couldn’t get enough of great gift and/or entertaining ideas even in the In the Kitchen With column in the lead up to Christmas. Photographer Kristine Sitko has given us the perfect holiday treat, either to pass around on a tray at your next friendly or family gathering. Or, if you go crazy and make too many, package them up with a beautiful bow in a nice piece of porcelain or a vintage cup and saucer, like the fabulous one in the images. The lucky recipient will be your friend forever! Just click here for the Kristine’s Balsamic Chocolate Truffles (with a hint of cherry) recipe or click “read more” below.

This is my last post before taking off for (hopefully) sunny California, my end of year gift to myself! I’ll have my holiday music cued and ready for the loooooong flight. But we’ll be back in 2009 with more fabulous recipes and photography from lots of amazing people. What we have in store for you will knock your socks off! -Kristina

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our special friday sneak peek is home to london-based, textile designer brie harrison who just launched her new website. the shop portion of her site is still to come, but you can find her work featured in the pages mike perry’s new catalog of hand-drawn pattern, over and over. judging from her cards below, i can’t wait to see more from her, but in the meantime, i’m going to continue to lust over all the great patterns and textiles from her travels that she’s woven into her home. you can click here for more, full-sized images. [thanks, brie!] -anne

[Above: This is me on my sofa in our lounge on a bright sunny morning. The sofa is a present from my parents and the cushions are collected by me from various places and some I made from vintage fabrics found in flea markets in NY. Anna Wolf took this photo of me when her and her boyfriend Mike Perry came to visit this summer. ]

The picture on the shelf is by one of my friends -the very amazing illustrator sanna annukka - she gave this to Jim and I as a present a few years ago and I  think it fits in very well with the colours in our lounge. The donkey on the shelf is from a boutique in Paris and the russian dolls James brought back of for me from a trip to Berlin. The basket on the floor is from a market in St Tropez. Our TV is about 13 years old and I had in my bedroom when I was a teenager and I can’t bear to get rid of it as it still works although it looks a bit of an eye sore here but wanted to show you a real representation!

Our bed is from muji- which is brilliant for simple basic items. the floral throw is from portobello market in London and the white embroidered sheet is from a vintage shop in California called jetrag. The cushions are from India and Morocco.

I love this wall when the sun shines on it. The map is of the New York subways and is actually just a piece of wrapping paper but I think its far too nice for that!- James and I have spent a few summers out there working recently and we love it out there so much. The Barbar picture on the left I bought James for christmas- it has little mini elves carrying a sleigh which makes me smile. The triangle pencil drawing is by our friend artist Amy Green.

This turquoise chest I bought for next to nothing from a salvation army store and painted it- same with the chair. The frame leaning against the radiator is a poster from one of my favourite films Amelie. the gold framed picture is of a card by Johnathan Dilnott - I want to splash out and buy one of his screenprints one of these days but for now I just have the greetings card framed.

These shelves in our bedroom don’t have that many practical things on apart from the books. I just needed somewhere to put all the things I love collecting. The two big geisha bobble dolls are vintage from Beacon in NY and the black and white photo is of my mum in the 70s. Charley Harpers birds and words is a new purchase- I have fallen in love with his beautiful illustrations. The black floral fabric covered frame in the centre bottom is designed by my best friend Anja Sheriden, a very talented textile designer…. and more tins!

These are the cards I have designed for art angels. I have just finished 6 more for them that will be out early next year and will also hopefully feature wrapping paper and possibly notebooks. I am planning on making some of the designs into limited edition screen prints to sell on my website very soon!

still looking for a 2009 calendar? hammerpress recently released this beautiful “dirigible” 2009 letterpress calendar (printed on heavy chipboard). you can pick one up right here for $30.

when it comes to shopping, ceramics are the one design category that i can rarely resist (second only to textiles). if i’m out picking up something for a project or as a present for someone else, i always come home with some tiny ceramic piece, whether it’s a tiny salt dish or a vintage teacup. and these pieces by nina of ninainvorm would definitely go home in my bag if i was out shopping. nina sells her beautiful ceramic work on etsy for prices range from $25-$45, just click here to shop and check out her full collection on etsy.

morning eye candy: new cards from frank viva and todd temporale at whigby. click here to check out their new online shop and the new 2008 collection.

levent and romme is a fantastic new brooklyn-based design studio founded by anne romme and fiyel levent. anne and fiyel attended the cooper union school of architecture together and are now embarking upon creating their own studio for architecture and design. there’s always something so exciting about getting to see a young, women-run team on the cusp of doing something really spectacular (like those headboards above). i got to see more of their work in a brochure the other day and it’s really, really beautiful. you can view their first designs on their blog, right here. but stay tuned for more from them soon…

[ps: my new wedding post at martha stewart is up, and glamour.com did a fun interview about makeup with me right here. it was a treat to talk about something other than furniture for a bit]

[headboard by levent and romme]

[screens by levent and romme]

[placemat design by levent and romme]