Isabelle Sicart

I've been trying to concoct something of this nature for awhile. I was ready to give up and use real branches - see my floraly twiggy earthy post below, but if Isabelle can do this in porcelain then I'm determined to keep trying. Patience, grasshopper. (A good place to get lamp supplies is Mohn Electric Co. in uptown. They're quite nice and will help you find all the little pieces you need for your project.) Isabelle also apparently has a thing for taxidermy (see below). I love me some good taxidermy that avoids the whole killing the animal part.

Moroccan Patterns & Stencils

I love Moroccan patterns and found some stencils on the Royal Design Studio site. What will I stencil first?

Read more about Melanie's painting trip to Marrakech on her blog, Designamour. I'm so jealous. Here are some photos of the stencils on panels that are applied to a staircase. Makes for a fun trip up the stairs, eh?

A beautiful mural by Melanie in Morocco.

And some beautiful lamps/lanterns that light up the room with their beautiful patterns. I'm going to try my hardest to make this happen in clay (maybe not so intricate) so I can light up my dining room Morrocan style. 

Made It: Wrapped Rock Necklace

I've been wanting to try this wire wrapped rock technique for awhile. I took a class at Bead Hive last night. The class was a racket in my opinion. They fail to mention that you should bring a rock, that it should be irregular shaped (although I'm awesome enough to pull off a regular shaped one without problem), that you should bring wire and that they don't really sell any appropriate rocks for this class there. Then they rip on you for bringing a Bead Monkey bag into their store. WELL, sell some good rocks folks and I'll skip the Monkey. Ok, that was clearly a rant. But I learned what I went there to learn and was in and out in a half hour with a snappy new necklace. Yee ha! Check out my bling...

Art Crank

Right now my friend Charles Youel is probably delirious from various bike poster extravaganza preparations. He started Art Crank three years ago. It's an amazing event! Each year, different artists design posters having to do with the lustiness towards our fabled bikes. Here's a sneak peak at some thumbnails of posters this year. I'm loving the simplicity and rainbowy-ness below. If you'd like to swing by, the show opens this saturday night at 7pm at One on One Bikes + Coffee + Stuff at 117 Washington Ave. N. in Minneapolis. It's sure to be packed so come early if you're wanting to purchase and enjoy some libations and cupcakes.

Joanne Grobe, velvetpeel.com

Katherine Lamm

Kelly Munson, kellymunson.com

Aesthetic Apparatus, aestheticapparatus.com

Want to Make: Belt

I want to make a belt out of this lovely chain. Do we think it's too dominatrix? Too Paris Hilton? Or way hip? Necklace, anybody? Please comment.

Floraly Earthy Twiggy Supplies

Ok, so the name Save on Crafts doesn't do this place justice. Do yourself a favor and go right to the Lavender, Naturals, Branches link. Oh, good fun! I was looking for some branches like the ones below and found this awesome site. They have great earthy items on the cheap! Some of the things below remind me of the scanner art that Katherine Lamm created. I think I'm going to get some of those green fan looking stems to decorate my barren dining room... And most def will create some pottery inspired by the fans. I'm always inspired by earthly items!

GE's Smart Grid

GE's Smart Grid microsite discusses and illustrates so nicely the logic behind updating the power grid. It shows how alternative energy and smart meters work together to reduce co2 emissions, and use power in smarter ways, thus creating the Smart Grid. I'm quite excited because I've started investing in (and using) wind power and other green energy funds with my green financial advisor, Mark Cheeley at Ameriprise.

Guinness Cupcakes

For St. Patty's day I made some Chocolate Guinness Cupcakes. Wow! I will never make regular chocolate cupcakes out of a box again. These are the most amazing cupcakes even if you don't like beer. Try them. Guinness is good for you!

Ornamental Rhubarb

I noticed some Ornamental Rhubarb in Vancouver last fall and loved the huge leaves and fragrant tropical red flowers towering above. This variety below is good for zones 3-6, grows quickly to 6' tall and 6' wide in sunny areas or partly shady areas. 

Great Gunnera is similar to the Ornamental Rhubarb. The leaves can grow to 5 feet across! The plant can reach up to 9' tall and 12' wide, grows quickly and likes full sun and lots of moisture!

Sheela the Cupcake Lady

If you'd like to indulge in the best cupcakes ever, Sheela of Miel y Leche is your gal. She dreams up the best and most interesting cupcake flavors and admits to not sleeping much as a result of her over-active cupcake imagination. I love the Tres Leches with Honey Buttercream. Some other flavors I'm amazed at are Chocolate Salted Caramel, Lemon with Orange Chili curd, Citrus Bomb, Blackberry Lime, Snowball, Banana's Foster, Chocolate Rose, Mexican Hot Chocolate, Chocolate Whiskey and Vanilla with Lime Curd and Basil Buttercream. Oh dear, that's an amazing line-up! She bakes different flavors each week and you can get them at The Triple Rock Social Club on Thursday, The Golden Fig on Friday and Mitrebox on Saturday. Check out her blog for the flavors and locations of the week.