mini obsession: vintage wrapping paper

Leave it to me to fall head over heels with something so trivial and unnecessary (yet oh so lovely). I have lately been obsessing over vintage wrapping paper. Some of these style are so precious and nostalgic that they may outshine the gifts themselves. Here are a few that I have found while browsing on Ebay:

little bit of diy:nickname ornaments

Our tree is finally up and I was so excited to go through our decorations and trimmings. Last year I came up with the idea of making personalized christmas ornaments using all of the pet names my bf and I have called each other in the past years. It seems like we have gone through quite a few nicknames. It was actually a fun project to do together. I wrote all of his names and he wrote all of mine, I even think his handwriting looks better.

details of "tickle" (me) and "doodle bug" (ben); "goonies" (me)

And here is a shot of my most favoritest ornament so far. Vintage mystified cat with yarn ball scored on Ebay.

birds and gossip

It's FRIDAY! I don't feel like being here right now. I want to get the weekend started.

She Be All Like... And I Was All Like..., David J. Weissberg, Silkscreen, Ed. of 20, 15 x 21"via foundation gallery

("bird chat" I don't remember who makes this;I know I'm a horrible blogger.)

wall worthy?

I scored this free limited edition Shep Fairey screen print at his supertouch art basel party last week. Let me just tell you, people were getting pretty nasty once the tote bags that carried cds and large print tubes ran out. I actually had someone try to snatch one off my shoulder! Anyways, so I love getting free things more than anyone-and I especially love finding special and limited pieces. I was planning on getting this framed for our home office but my bf absolutely hates it. He thinks it's really tacky and that I only like it because it was free.
Thoughts?
Is this print worth displaying or just storing away for nostalgia sake?

I love: Koibito

My office space is pretty uninspiring. Along with some major organizing, my desk needs this little companion to bring in the new year with me.

Koibito by Yoskay Yamamoto; Vinyl, 7 inches tall, edition of 500

koi•bi•to [koi-bee-toh]: a loved one. sweetheart

koi [koi]: a carp

bito [bee-toh]: a person

"Once upon a time I had a goldfish named Tuna. But he passed away because of my laziness and mistreatment....So I painted him for his memory.......But at same time Koibito symbolizes the sense of alienation that I felt growing up in Cali...It''s kind of like the phrase " fish out of water"...."
Available through Munky King

Great find: Corey Arnold photography

Thanks to Feature Shoot-a great photography resource, I just came across the work of Corey Arnold. Corey is an Alaskan crab fisherman and he's working on a few documentary projects that focus on fishing. His action shots are splendid but I really love the simple animal photos:

great cause: paperlove

A4 lantern by Naoto Fukasawa
Via Luminaire paperlove
"Wads of paper- it's taken for granted that paper will be there in the office and around us. I felt that this was the epitome of an ICON for paper. "

PAPERLOVE was an auction of one-of-a-kind pieces of art with the main medium as paper from world-renowned designers, architects and artists. The pieces were auctioned on Saturday during ABMB for cancer research. Most items are still on display at Luminaire.

Holiday gift guide for under $15

I've seen some really great gift guides making the blog rounds lately so I thought I'd play along. Here is a selection of affordably awesome goodies:

narrative animals, west elm, $12.99

Nest and Speckled Eggs, Tiny McSmall, $12

cross stitch bicycle badge, MaMagasin, $12

Depressingly Awesome Letterpress poster, KIOSK $10

For Crying Out Loud! Hankie, Sprout home, $11.75

Customizable Mini Dunny Ornament, Kid Robot $12.95
Sex&Drugs&Rock&Roll. tshirt, crucial brutal, $15

Billy Childish Print, 5x7, doubleparlour $3
handmade white plaster letters, RianRay,($12-18)
20 stickers reproduced from antique luggage labels, The Curiosity Shoppe, $8.95

Not a creature was stirring, not even a...

As I've been doing some online xmas shopping little mice keep popping up everywhere. I love it.

Saville Ornaments; "mantiques", Jonathan Adler

Vitra Miniature - Eames LCM Chair; DWR

Rat Love Silhouette, Note Card, luckybunnyworldwide
Rat 3-D figure by Japanese designer Yuki Matsuoka of D-Torso; A+R
I absolutely flipped out when I came across etsy seller The House Of Mouse. I would cherish any one of these beautifully crafted mice:
Vincent Van Gogh Mouse

Axel the Executioner Mouse
Frida Kahlo Mouse

Beatles Sgt. Pepper mice

*please note: I am not a pet mouse person, I just like them aesthetically! The idea of owning a live one kinda grosses me out!

ABMB wind down

So it's a wrap for this years Basel and I am exhausted. There's no way to catch every show but I did manage to see a lot. Here are just a few pieces that I saw that I wish I'd taken home with me.

"treading water"; Deborah Van Hauten, oil on linen"intermate"; Tom Sachs, photo etching

"hermetic bird 1"; Patrick Haines, bronze and found object

"constellation"; Dave Muller

Oh Christmas tree....sticker

Holly Crap! I just came across these limited addition artist Xmas Tree decals through WOW and I'm in love. We have been so caught up with Art Basel that we have yet to begin decorating or get a tree. I might forgo one this year and go "green" with a reusable 6" sticker in my teenie apartment instead.

Marilyn Minter, Christmas Tree Vinyl Sticker 2008

Fred Tomaselli Tree, 2008 self-adhesive Christmas tree wall sticker 72 h. x 17 w. inches limited edition

No more watering a dead tree, no more fire hazard, no more vacuuming up pine needles well into April. It�s a truly 'green' Christmas tree: reduce, reuse, recycle this vinyl sticker year after year. Save the trees, save water, save your back from schlepping it all the way home. No religion, no broken ornaments. It�s a Christmas tree for the moderately wealthy and super lazy.

Minter will collaborate with Wallpaper LAB and WOW (Works on Whatever) to create a six-foot die-cut vinyl wall-sticker that addresses the powerful and ubiquitous symbol of the season: The Christmas Tree. Minter styled a small tree with her own eclectic collection of shiny ornaments, lighting and photographing it in a way that merges crisp detail with gauzy soft-focus radiance.

inspiration: my dad

Circa '66

Foodscapes: Carl Warner

These beautiful fantasy like "foodscapes by Carl Warner are really amusing me right now.

"Salami Trees"

"Cabbage sea"

"fishscape" features rocks made of oyster shells and crab claws, marrows and asparagus, and a shining, silvery, slippery sea of fish

"Fruit Balloons"

Carl Warner cites as his influences the photographer Ansel Adams and films such as The Wizard of Oz and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. The scenes are photographed in layers from foreground to background, as the process is very time-consuming and the food quickly wilts under the lights. The images can take up to two or three days to build and photograph and then a couple of days retouching and fine-tuning them to blend together all the elements.' Via Telegraph

Carl's work reminds me of a few pieces by one of my favorite artists, NYC based painter Will Cotton.

CHURRO CABIN, 2001, oil on linen, 75 x 100 inches

Amazing book: 55 surprise by visionaire

I'm dying to check out the new artist and designer inspired pop-up book by Visionaire at this years ABMB. It looks beautifully executed.

Cai Guo Qiang

Mario Testino

Andreas Gursky

Visionaire 55 SURPRISE
in collaboration with Krug

The new issue of Visionaire pushes the limits of paper with an issue devoted to pop-ups. Visionaire, the limited-edition art and fashion publication, collaborates with the House of Krug, creators of Prestige Cuvée champagnes, on a new issue themed SURPRISE. The books will be produced in a limited edition of 4,000 copies and start at $250. Via Dezeen