Design*Sponge » miscellaneous

the (inspiring) world of playing cards

grace — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 14:00:18 +0000

if you want to know how i spent, oh, 4 solid hours of my life last night, let me introduce you to the wealth of inspiration that is the world of playing cards. playing cards, grace? really? yes, really. i don’t know how i ended up on this site, but i had to physically pull myself away from it after i’d covered every inch of my desktop with images i wanted to save and work with at some point.

i’ve always had a major soft spot for anything queen of hearts related (wait until you see amy’s “alice in wonderland” themed living in post today!), so i’ve always found myself collecting images here and there that remind of me hearts, spades and anything antique and regal-looking. so when i first loaded world of playing cards i think i felt my heart actually skip a beat. it was like i’d stumbled into a world of complete and total inspiration- there wasn’t a single image that failed to elicit an “ooh!”, and i ended up calling a friend and forcing her to put down her work so she could check it out.

simon wintle’s collection of images and information on the history of playing cards is astonishing. you can search and examine cards from all different countries, or search based on subject matter or specific designer. i learned so much more than i could have even hoped for, so if you’ve got some time (a few hours, maybe?) to spare, i highly suggest checking out the world of playing cards site. the tiny artwork on each card is beautiful, and it’s really amazing to see how the design of cards has changed over the years. click here to check out the site and get inspired…

*all images via the world of playing cards*

CLICK HERE for more beautiful playing card images after the jump!

(more…)

new design*sponge twitter feed

grace — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 13:52:07 +0000

hi guys! sorry for the interruption, but i just have a quick programming note. someone had been squatting on my name at twitter for a long time and i finally won the right to get my name back from them. so the official design*sponge twitter feed has changed.

the new twitter feed is: http://www.twitter.com/designsponge

if you’re already following d*s on twitter (thanks!) you shouldn’t see any changes, but if you visit for the first time, follow via a bookmark or type it in manually, the old feed won’t come up (it used to have an underscore between the words “design” and “sponge”). so just delete the underscore from the name and you’ll see everything’s running normally. ok, back to regular posting!

*i’m working on changing the link on the homepage (up on the right hand corner) right away. all fixed!

feed the birds

grace — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 13:00:23 +0000

good morning! we’ve got a packed day full of biz ladies, city guide, history and movie-style content coming up, so i wanted to start the day off nice and slow with a sweet post from our guest blogger, sweet paul. paul is sharing his easy steps for creating a pinecone bird feeder your winter bird friends will love. click here for the steps and full post!

ps: thanks to the ny times for including me in their “shopping with” column! click here to go sales shopping with me around nyc!

all in a row…

grace — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 13:00:29 +0000

the d*s guest blog is gearing up for a new writer next week, so in the meantime, i thought it would be nice to use my 8am spots to share images that have been inspiring me lately. i’ve been dealing with some not-so-fun health issues lately (migraines, head fuzziness, blech) so i’ve been trying to focus on simple, pretty images to focus myself and start the day off on the right foot. today’s image is this beautiful grouping of scissors i found on amanda’s tumblr page. it makes me want to clean out my tv junk drawer and get all my odds and ends in order…which i think i’ll do right now. here’s to morning cleans that start the day off on a nice, organized note!

hello, january!

grace — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 13:03:17 +0000

good morning! i still cannot believe that it’s actually january, so i feel a bit rusty jumping back on the computer. so as i dip my toes back into the water i wanted to kick things off with two of my favorite things from the holiday season. first, my gorgeous new pendleton throw (which i definitely need on a day like today) and a beautiful bracelet (made from vintage, new and deadstock heart charms and lockets found in nyc) from auto that i’m coveting.

i’ll be back in a few with some new products, house tours and of course- our first d*s desktop wallpaper of 2010!

*my internet seems to be going in and out so if i disappear for a bit it’s only to jumpstart the connection again, sorry!

current obsession: vintage embroidered maps

grace — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 15:00:17 +0000

right before the snow started to fall this weekend, i found myself staring at a beautiful embroidered map inside of sol moscot’s, waiting for aaron to get an eye exam and pick up his new frames. as i was staring i remembered another gorgeous embroidered map i saw during our trip to brimfield and felt like kicking myself for not getting it. [image above via violet folklore]

these days, i seem to be gravitating towards antique embroidered maps in a way that’s almost subconscious. i almost always troll ebay for vintage maps (i love old maritime maps) and found myself randomly adding the word “embroidered” to my search without even thinking about it. i don’t know what it is about these maps, but they’re such sweet, and quirky, ways to illustrate specific geography regions, or an entire country. [image above via george glazer]

i tend to be drawn to maps that use imagery to represent the agriculture or landmarks of one region (like the california map above), but you can find all sorts of maps online at ebay, 1st dibs, and even etsy sometimes. if anyone’s got another great source for vintage embroidered maps i’d love to know! (i’d really love to find one for the mid-atlantic or south)[image above via jon worth]

kitchen solutions on the d*s guest blog

grace — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 13:00:52 +0000

today nicole is seriously speaking my language when it comes to organization. this morning she’s tackling kitchens, covering topics ranging from small kitchen solutions to storage, quick fixes, and making use of your walls. if you’ve got a small kitchen like mine, or just want to make better use of your existing space, click here to check out her post!

winter cleaning

grace — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 13:00:42 +0000

i love a good spring cleaning as much as the next girl, but sometimes it’s nice to freshen up before the weather starts to warm. so i’m thrilled to have nicole from well worn at the d*s guest blog this week rounding up some beautiful organization ideas for each room of the house. today nicole is tackling bathrooms and hallways, with fun design-centric tips for keepings things neat and tidy. click here to check out her posts for today!

homemade holiday ideas

grace — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 13:00:33 +0000

it’s been such a pleasure to have blair from wisecraft over at the d*s guest blog this week. today she’s leaving us with some wonderful ideas for homemade decorations- my favorite part of the holiday season. as much as gift guides are a part of the holidays, i’m always most excited to get those out of the way and start focusing on things that you can make with your own two hands. click here to check out blair’s favorite ideas on the d*s guest blog.

big day + young artists’ resources

grace — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 13:00:16 +0000

today erin is wrapping up her young artists coverage with a great list of resources for up and coming talent. it’s been so great to catch a glimpse at the next wave of great artists and i can’t wait to see what they do next. thanks so much to erin for bringing them to our attention.

also, we’ve got a FULL day of great posts coming up so stick around until 2pm because it’s going to be great! in addition to a new d*s desktop calendar from jen corace (2pm!), we’ve got ac’s annual gift guide for guys (1pm), a new wedding inspired decor post from once wed (12pm), a new drink recipe from ryan and alissa (11am), a yummy panna cotta recipe (10am) and a great new small measures column from ashley (up next at 9am). so stick around, it’s going to be a great end of the week!

[image above, dancing mountain flickr group]