Valentines books

I'm not really into romance novels but in my collection I do have a few vintage ones that are worth sharing during this lovey-dovey season. Admittedly, I did buy these solely for the covers. I'm not a massive Jane Austin fan (I find her female characters weak and boring - all they do is sit around drawing rooms gossiping about neighbours). I read "Studio Nurse" last week and it was pretty lame; there wasn't even any closure to an already lackluster plot. Books like this are always fascinating though, merely as an insight into the mid-century woman. Regardless of the fact that a woman wrote this book, a lot of it was clearly in favour of a male-dominated world. Oh, and the "coloured" maid depiction was especially cringe-worthy.
I haven't read Young Tracy and don't know if I'll be able to stomach a Harlequin Romance.
The book of poems was purchased just for the aesthetics. I love fiction, non-fiction, short stories, dramas, scripts... yet poetry (especially romantic poetry) is something I've never been able to get too into (other than a few of Edgar Allan Poe's classics). This book was definitely worth purchasing though. The ink and watercolour illustrations within are beautiful, along with the gold lettering and intricate design of the cover -- as soon as I saw this, i had to get it. I got it from an etsy shop called CinfulOldies. This shop is a treasure trove of nifty vintage items and the lady who runs it is a lovely person to deal with. 


I digress.


Check out the love-fest books.

Studio Nurse, Virginia Roberts, 1962

Young Tracy, Rosalind Brett, 1964

Persuasion, Jane Austen, 1964

Yep, I love Signet Classics' line drawing and bio of the author

How Do I Love Thee? Beautiful Love Poems of Yesterday and Today, Selected by Linda Rhodes, Illustrated by David Johnson, 1969

cover detail

Gorgeous and girly

Inside cover on both sides looks like this

This book has several splendid illustrations in one of my favourite styles - ink with watercolour detailing

Sketch Away

I came across a great artist this week who has really inspired me to start sketching more. 

Suhita Shirodkar's blog and and etsy shop called "Sketch Away" feature vibrant moments of life from her travels portrayed in ink and watercolour. 

I love the frenetic energy that she captures so well with quick line strokes and messy paint splashes. She doesn't colour within the lines, serving as a reminder that, much like playing hooky or jay walking, breaking the rules can be so exciting.

I have to admit that a blank page intimidates me. A feeling of slight apprehension comes over me when I open up a fresh page in my sketch book. A plain piece of paper provides so many possibilities, but also great potential to really screw it up. There is a sense of freedom and fun in Suhita's art, and I want to start letting loose and enjoy sketching. It's obvious from her lively pieces that Suhita sure does.

(click on pictures to go to the etsy shop link)

Sora Designs

I want to share some love for one of my favourite Etsy shops, Sora Designs. This shop, based in San Francisco, sells really neat and unique jewellery of which I've started amassing a bit of a collection. 

I love how long they all are and each one is a great statement piece to add some character to an outfit.

This deer locket was the first piece I got. I wear it a lot so it's started to tarnish a bit, as most metals do, but I actually like how it looks with age. It's turning a bit of a bronzy-rose gold colour which I love.





I keep a cute mini note Stuart snuck in there when I first got it. 

You can buy the deer locket here.




Stuart got this one for me as a Christmas gift last year and it was an excellent present, I must say. Mint green vintage beads + owl = !!!!!!

You can buy the owl necklace here. 




And this wishbone necklace I was lucky enough to win! Who actually ever wins givaways?! I think this is the first thing I ever won and I am very pleased. I wore it to the Christmas party I hosted last weekend with a plain black dress and it got a lot of attention - everyone loved it. 



You can buy the wishbone necklace here.




The customer service at Sora Design is wonderful. The pieces are delivered quickly, in nice packaging and if you like her Facebook page she's always doing lovely things like promo-code discounts (and the give away!). There is a huge variety of jewellery and I highly recommend checking this shop out.


Here are some other items I have my eye on to add to my collection... (click on picture to go to shop page).

Great, right?!

I have opened an online shop

Not that anyone reads this anyway, but i have decided to put my art up for sale on an Etsy shop.
http://www.etsy.com/shop/DinosDiedOfBoredom

Here are a few to wet your whistle.












More at http://www.etsy.com/shop/DinosDiedOfBoredom

An Etsy Find

PersephonePlus has fantastic jewelry up on Etsy. I'd love to learn how she makes it, so I can give it a go.
Her style is great - it's art nouveau meets romanticism with some pop culture splash. I love the subject matter of the portraits. Each one seems to tell a story.