Angela Adams

CARRIE: This is a 12" x 16" fine art print from Angela Adams aptly called, Rainbow. It is available on her website along with many other fun prints (not to mention lust-worthy rugs).

cyan + magenta + yellow

MORGAN: As illustrated in this Beck poster from The Small Stakes, by simply using the printing process colors of cyan, magenta and yellow, the entire color spectrum can be produced.

Chase the rainbow

CARRIE: Paperchase—now there's a company that shares the love of rainbows with us. They often throw the full spectrum on products, to great effect. (Examples above are overnight bag in hexagons design, set of two plastic bookmarks and wavy stripe gift box. Online shopping is available only in the UK, but paperchase products can be found all over the world.

at home with rainbows

MORGAN: OK, who says we have to grow out of our rainbow-color-obsession? I would absolutely love for my home to be this fun! If anyone knows where to find this rainbow wallpaper in the US, please let us know, and the rainbow staircase runner photo is from a book called At Home With Color (2006).

Rainbow connection

CARRIE: When Morgan and I discovered that we'd both had "rainbow collections" growing up it only helped to solidify our friendship that much more. We're obsessed with color, and I'm certain that if we could have added these rainbow skates from Fred Flare to our collections back then, it would have been our dream come true. The beautiful thing is....these skates are available in adult sizes. I'm just saying...

for the love of rainbows

MORGAN: This just made me smile, even on a Monday morning! I know we both have a love of rainbows that can be traced all the way back to our childhood which, for me, at least, includes rainbow leg-warmers, rainbow swimsuits, and even rainbow-themed birthday parties. My parents always tell the story that I could put crayons in rainbow order before I could count to three or spell the ABCs. I would look forward to rainy days if they looked more like this!

{check out this print and many others at the cosas minimas etsy shop}

MORGAN: Not surprisingly, I was also inspired by desserts. I am just obsessed with the lovely flavors and colors of the french macaroons (or "macarons"), so I envisioned staring down at a platter carefully lined with my favorite flavors. With a french-teacher-mother, I'm just hoping I have all of the flavors spelled correctly. Mom, just remember, it's been a while since I've had a lesson :)

CARRIE: Well, I went the dessert route, of course. It was fun to play with the funky colors of the week and take out a pen and ink and incorporate some handwriting. Now, I'm off to eat a cupcake or two...I feel like I just earned it after spending so much time on the computer. :)

Lab Partners

MORGAN: Although these retro illustrations are done by artists in San Francisco, I can't help but feel that they look decidedly French! They are limited edition prints by Lab Partners from a recent exhibition at the Outre Gallery in Melbourne, Australia called "Hunt and Gather" which features a series of works drawn from "a mishmash of experiences at flea markets". Many are still available to purchase!! Don't miss Lab Partners blog and etsy shop.

Sugar rush

CARRIE: Let's just go ahead and let them eat a whole dessert buffet then. Here's one worth digging into... Wayne Thiebaud's Cakes and Pies 1994–1995 is housed right here in K.C. at the Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art. 

"Qu'ils mangent de la brioche!"

MORGAN: French macaroons? Carrie, what are you trying to do to a girl?  Well, nevermind New Year's Resolutions... let's make like Marie Antoinette and "Let them eat cake"! Buy this screen print poster in beautiful Raspberry Tart pink right here.

French macaroons

CARRIE: The combination of the confectionery colors and French undertones of the last two days makes me think of delicate pastries— French macaroons in particular. We in Kansas City are lucky to have a darling shop called Natasha's Mulberry and Mott where the desserts are as lovely as the candy-colored interior. The amazing photos of Natasha's space and creations are care of the talented Becca Spears of Wirken Photography.

j.crew love

MORGAN: Carrie! This is crazy! Just today I was looking at the new J.Crew catalog and I was admiring their beautiful photography and styling. The Dior ad instantly summarized all the things I was loving from J. Crew. The whimsical, yet sophisticated color palette with unmistakably French undertones. I can't imagine the J. Crew photo shoot being done anywhere other than Paris! You must check out the rest of the catalog here. C'est magnifique!

Floating away

CARRIE: I pulled this Dior ad out of a magazine awhile back because I am in love with the colors and giant size of the balloons. Plus, the Parisian backdrop is always inspiring to two francophiles such as ourselves! Amitiés!

MORGAN: I was inspired by the concept of reinventing silhouette portraits and decided to do my own version. I don't think I've used myself as the subject matter of any creation since I was in art school, so, needless to say, I was a bit curious as to what I would find when faced with doing a self-portrait.

CARRIE: I used paper cutting as my silhouette-making method of choice. It was a little like making paper snowflakes, but since we've had more than enough snow in Kansas City (in my opinion), I've opted for umbrellas in hopes that spring comes early!

sun prints

CARRIE: Something that came to mind for me as we focused on silhouettes was the technique of sun-printing.These are two great examples that I found on flickr. I love the contrast between the two images using the same method. The left is so graphic while the right looks organic—both types of looks we've explored throughout this week.

paper cutting magic

MORGAN:  This intricate, paper-cut piece by, Elsita of The Heart of Papercuts combines our theme of silhouettes, paper-cutting and is a bit reminiscent of paper dolls, as well. The girl above is from a collection she calls "Old Soul Girls". I wish I had enough patience and attention to detail to pull off something like this! All of her work is done by hand with just an X-Acto knife and cutting board! Definitely check out her blog to see the rest of her unique, handmade creations.

Not-so-paper dolls

CARRIE: This is a vintage hankie that I found on flickr that incorporates our trend of silhouettes with a little bit of an organic edge due to the material it is printed on. I now have a new obsession with Carl Tait! After finding this piece, I searched for more of his work, and I couldn't find much information, but I can't believe I had never seen it before! The color and layouts of his work are incredible.

the darling room

MORGAN: One of the necklaces that Carrie found yesterday instantly reminded me of the logo for a local hair salon called The Darling Room. It's reminiscent of a Victorian style silhouette portrait, traditionally done using the paper-cutting technique. Yet, this innovative interpretation forms the silhouette by carefully combining various flora that give it a delicate, human quality.

{ logo design by Hammerpress Letterpress & Design Studio }

Untamed Menagerie

CARRIE: Even though silhouetted looks have been popping up everywhere for a long time now, there are still uses of the technique that feel brand new— like these necklaces by the mother/daughter team at Untamed Menagerie. They create their jewelry from pieces of acrylic. The detail is amazing and the subject matter is so whimsical!

Carter Kustera

MORGAN: I just stumbled upon these great silhouette portraits by artist Carter Kustera via Jonathan Adler. Carter's portraits are drawn in pencil, then painted in gouache, and finally he adds a tag line of your choice. Even the family pet doesn't have to be left behind. I just love these because they are such a casual and contemporary way to look at portraits! I want to order one for each family member, including the two cats, of course.

{ PS-Carter also does digital cellphone ID portraits! Check them out here. }

CARRIE: I actually started out by trying to sew yarn through paper to make the shapes above. I soon realized that I would be "sewing" for a month or so if I continued down that route and decided to simulated stitching on the computer instead. I wanted to pull together the knitted theme we had going on along with the art of needlepoint. It was fun to do be a seamstress for a few hours even if it was mostly digitally! Looks like Morgan and I went in two totally different directions with this weeks inspiration which is so fun to see!

MORGAN: Although this week's posts were quite inspirational to me, for some reason, I was drawing a complete blank when it came to our "original pieces" project for the weekend...yikes! So, as I scanned back through our inspiration, I noticed there were a lot of cool lettering techniques and a plethora of fibers as a medium. So, I dug through my craft/sewing/art drawers and what I came up with was ribbon. Et...Voila! Lettering + Ribbon = the ribbon numbers seen above! They were actually pretty fun to create and as a graphic designer who works with computerized fonts on a daily basis, it's refreshing to look at letterforms in a new way. I can't wait to see what Carrie comes up with!

N is for Nea & Needlepoint

MORGAN: These great needlepoint letters seemed like a perfect summary to this week's inspiration. They seem to bring us full circle as they embrace the vintage, use wonderful typography and use fibers as a medium! I found these on a wonderful etsy shop called Nea: adorn yourself, adorn your walls. As I know many of us dream about, Janick of Nea, was having such success on etsy.com selling her handmade items that she has been able to take this hobby and turn it into her fulltime job! Click here to read her inspirational story!

Wearable typography

CARRIE: These scarves from Little Factory might not be the best for helping you keep warm, but who really cares when they are this amazing? I might have to add one to my winter wardrobe...

brrr...

MORGAN: With a cold front on it's way in town, I thought these knit letters and their sentiment were perfectly fitting for today!

{ found on flickr via uppercase journal blog }

Knit-tagging

CARRIE: In keeping with the theme of old being new again in crafts, I've posted a few photos of knit-tagging. I think this is the coolest idea. They call themselves "a tag crew of knitters, bombing the inner city with vibrant, stitched works of art." This is definitely not your grandma's knitting. Or, I guess if she's really funky, maybe it is.

"granny gone wild"

MORGAN: Carrie's vintage needlepoint purse was just a reminder to me that what was once old is always new again! These Jonathan Adler pillows are vintage in styling and medium, yet at the same time, look so new. They are a fresh take on needlpoint, or as Jonathan Adler says "Granny gone Wild!"

In stitches

CARRIE: This is a vintage needlepoint purse I bought at a store called Curious Sofa about a block from my house. I love the color palette and the big stitches. I have it hanging in my bathroom because I love to see it every day when I'm getting ready. Morgan and I are both big fans of accessories so this seemed appropriate.

CARRIE: I decided to focus my surface patterns around spokes and wheels since they were central images in our inspiration. I liked the washy feel of Alicia Bock's photos and the paper cut technique of the Rex Ray image so I tried to incorporate both!



MORGAN: I got stuck in carnival-world and couldn't leave! Here are a few surface patterns that I came up with in a quick exercise to use the previous posts as inspiration. I seem to always have to bring food into the equation, so even though it was mostly about the interesting shape and punchy colors of the ferris wheel that inspired me, I can't picture a carnival without cotton candy!

ferris wheel nostalgia

MORGAN: Speaking of "momentum and forward motion", I had to share with you what both the Rex Ray painting below and now Carrie's bike spokes are reminding me of... a ferris wheel! Don't these two photos by Alicia Bock just make you want to go to a carnival? Carrie and I both have a true love of modern rollercoasters, but there's nothing more nostalgic than a good ol' ferris wheel ride!