bird trends come and go, but i’ll always have a soft spot for birds that cheer me up in expected ways. on top, this gorgeous bird drawing from london artist michael k chapman is totally calling my name. and with a reasonable pricetag like $20, i might need to heed that call (though i’m fantasizing about having a giant version of this in my living room. something really large scale like 4×4 feet. though that might be a whole lotta bird…)

and these adorable charley harper-esque bird iphone wallpapers (via miss amy ruppel) are too cute for words. they might make me consider switching out the photo i currently have from our first married-couple brunch in charleston. mmm…maybe not. but when i’m ready one day, i’ll have these guys downloaded and ready to go. if you’re ready to use them, click here to download the full set.

last but not least, i can’t get enough of this incredible dwr window created by artist alex merto. i’ve walked past it twice now and each time i linger a little longer. if you’re in the nyc area be sure to stroll by the soho dwr to check it out. click here for more info on alex’s work.

good morning! i wanted to kick off today with a beautiful new series of serigraphs from house industries. here are the details from andy at house industries:

All of the 27 new serigraphs are hand-pulled, air-dried and numbered by longtime House Industries collaborator David Dodde. Slow air-drying is an essential step in Dodde’s process and allows the use of richly-pigmented inks to reach the unique deep flatness that is characteristic of high quality prints.

House Industries drew from its extensive library of typographical and illustrative treasures, including several letters from the Photo-Lettering collection. House also teamed up with designers Marilyn and John Neuhart to create a poster of their original logo as well as two of Marilyn’s doll illustrations.

i love the hand print and the letters- i’m dying to get that red “B” to go with my new red headboard. until then, i’m going to keep drooling over the new series right here (prices range from $18-$35 each). thanks, andy!

over at the d*s guest blog, cerentha has a great post on tapestry and tapestry-inspired works (including the charley harper piece above). click here to check out her post!

good morning! i’ve got a serious case of the mondays today so i’m going to try to pull myself out of this rainy day funk with some lovely new artwork from brooklyn-based artist wayne pate. wayne’s new paris print is now available for $35 right here and considering that d*s editor anne is now living the sweet (graduate school) life in paris i couldn’t think of a better way to start the day.

i also wanted to take a moment to welcome caroline rogers of looks good to me to the d*s guest blog! i’m a big fan of caroline’s blog and have always loved the way she integrates original watercolor illustrations into each post, so i’m thrilled to have her voice- and watercolors- on the d*s guest blog today. caroline will be writing about the intersection between fashion and home design worlds these two worlds- click here to check out her first post on handkerchief art.

[today leilani labong will be posting two special guest posts on caitlin williams and james freeman. stay tuned for their home tour next!]

first comes love, then comes cake. for a food-centric town like san francisco, last october’s low-key city hall nuptials between confectionarian caitlin williams (a former co-owner of the famed miette patisserie) and james freeman (CEO of the cult coffee brand, blue bottle) seemed more serendipitous than most unions. caitlin, who retired from miette on the day of her wedding, is now creating art-inspired sweets for the blue bottle coffee bar at sfmoma’s new rooftop sculpture garden. (dare we say the cakes are upstaging the garden’s actual works of art? just a humble observation made by a sweet tooth…) enjoy every bite. i did. [image above: vanessa gates]—leilani labong

[images above, photo credit: charles villyard]

for her picture-perfect wayne thiebaud cakes, caitlin gained insight into the american artist’s mind by spending a day with his original paintings in sfmoma’s archive—a dream scenario for the art enthusiast. Seen here: a chocolate layer cake with new orleans-style coffee ganache and vanilla buttercream, as well as a white cake layered with lemon curd and iced in a luscious raspberry buttercream. which would you choose?

CLICK HERE for the rest of the post (including more delicious images!) after the jump!

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whew! it has been a long week so i’m heading out a tiny bit early to work on a side project for d*s (news on that soon!). so i thought it would be nice to start and end the day with beautiful paper projects. these images are from the upcoming exhibition, slash: paper under the knife, at the museum of arts and design. starting in october, the MAD will feature the work of about 50 contemporary artists from 16 countries, including sculpture and large-scale installations. and the best part? during the first week of the exhibition, visitors will also be able to watch several of the artists working on-site to install their piece. so cool- click here for more information. until monday, i hope you all have a wonderful weekend! below is a summary of this week’s highlights…[images by artist andreas kocks]

• living in: mamma mia!
• under $100: bedside decor roundup
• biz ladies 09: writing a book (part 2), microenterprise development organizations
• new city guide: beijing, china
• we like it wild: garden roses
• small measures with ashley: homemade, dollar-saving all purpose home spray
• new sneak peeks: lynda gardner, mara zepeda, isabel asha penzlien, jeana sohn, enjoy cupcakes, kirsten fribert
• new diy projects: postcard banner, recycled wine bottle torch, block-printed duvet, paint can projects
• new before & afters: victorian sf bathroom, renee’s door turned table, suitcase + ottoman + pinboard how-to, bamboo screen headboard + garden bench + lamp
• new recipes: in the kitchen with karin eriksson’s raspberry meringue ice cream cake and jeana’s strawberry cream creampuffs
• new d*s guest blogger: posts from artist jeana sohn
• misc.: hamster wheel light decals, modified eames chairs, painted rattan ‘tini tables, book covers by alice stevenson, picnic inspired tray tables, caitlin keegan mountain print, artwork from deanne cheuk, valerie hammond interview, amazing paper art book

not too long ago, i was visiting the museum of modern art with my dad while he was in town on a business trip. as we wondered around checking out current exhibitions we stumbled upon a paper exhibition, and i was immediately tempted to check it out. a few minutes later, i found myself increasingly disappointed at the curation of the show, and found myself longing for some of the incredible paper art i’ve seen online over the years. perhaps it was a generational thing, or just a longing for something a little edgier, but when i first checked out the book paper: tear, fold, rip, crease, cut from black dog publishing, i said “THIS is what that show should have been like”.

paper: tear, fold, rip, crease, cut features incredible paper art from the fields of art, fashion and design. there’s a huge range of work shown, using techniques like origami, paper cutting, modular folding, ripping, and all sorts of methods in between. there are 50 fantastic artists represented in the book, as well as information on the history of paper, from it’s beginning as a material to its roll in contemporary art and design.

in the case of this post, i think the images can say more than i ever could, do i’ll let them do the talking (be sure to check out the full set of 10 images after the jump). in the meantime, you can check out the book right here and pick up a copy on amazon right here. [thanks, jessica!]

CLICK HERE to check out 5 more images from the book, after the jump!

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good morning! it’s a tgif kind of day for me so i’m happy to kick off the end of this week with a wonderful interview on the d*s guest blog. guest blogger and artist jeana sohn is interviewing artist valerie hammond and sharing some gorgeous examples of her work. valerie is a phenomenal artist so it is a must, must read. click here to read the interview on the guest blog!