Tiernan Design

Little Towheads

I have posted plenty of times before how I absolutely love Etsy.  Most of my gifts now come from happily searching Etsy.com.  My last experience is exactly why I shop Etsy.  Not only do you find realy cute, one-of-a-kind, non-mass produced works of love, but you actually can communicate with the artist yourself.   

I orderd the above very boyish tshirt for my grandchild (yes you read that right).  I am part of great blended family.  I was able to customize it with his name and was so excited to send it to him for his 2nd birthday.  Well, days, weeks, months went by and we never heard a "thank you".  So a long story short, the shirt never got there.  Not the fault of Little Towheads, but my gut told me it had to do with the Post Office - not the most stellar run "company".  Little Towheads made me another one at no charge, in one night and shipped it via UPS.  All of this in less than 24 hours.  These artists love what they do and want to keep doing it so they really know what customer service is about.   It is raining today, really raining.  I would love to snuggle up and browse Etsy today and get a jump on Christmas, but I am at work right now.......shhhhhhhh.  

P.S.  Free shipping for the month of October from Little Towheads. 

LEGO'S for Grown Ups

I am working on turning my little boys, little bedroom into a little home office.  I would love to have one of these models in our office.  I think these would be great for all kinds of kids big and some-what small - okay no where near small.  Frankie would have the pieces in Daisy's cage, in the crayon box, next to the "cheezy crackers" in the pantry and our Empire State building would have to be modified to maybe look like a cell phone tower.  Not quite the same impact.  Check out the LEGO Kits here.  Great Christmas gifts  - something interesting for a change. 

I Love Etsy

 

I love Etsy.com.  If you want something unique and not pay an arm and a leg, this is your place.  You can artwork, photography, ceramics, textiles and beautiful jewelry like these from Luxedeluxe.  I bought the sparrow necklace above for my sister for Christmas and I almost bought a necklace for myself, but I restrained myself.  What makes Etsy even cooler, is that the artists are from around the world.  I was pleasantly surprised when the sparrow necklace arrived and the return address was from Scotland.  Browse Etsy, I am sure you are going to find something you like.  I know I am too late to post this for those looking for interesting Christmas gifts, but like I said earlier, I was a day late on everything this holiday season.  Maybe a birthday or anniversary....oooooh Valentines Day is coming soon too!

 

Summer is taking a toll on my posts.  Lots of fun things like a new bunny, running, picnicking, working my A$$ off at work and my first Girls Weekend with my little girl Stella and my College girlfriends.  Anyway, I have an opportunity to work on a friend's house, so that has forced me to flip through my stack of magazines and spotted this sweet lampshade.  Most of what is highlighted in the magazines are way out my price range and I can safely say out of most of my family and friend's price range.  That is why I got excited about this shade......$15!  I can't find a generic shade at Old Time Pottery for that price.  Leave it to Ikea to bring us this little beauty.  Alfhild Fagel Shade measures 9"H x 9" Dia.  In a kid's room....obviously, but I think it could go in any room.  I would love it in my dining room or breakfast room.

Longing for Spring Flowers

Yep, schools across town are closed and we have a layer of ice on everything and snow is coming to add it's icing to the frozen cake.  I am really, really, really needing some warm sun on my face.  I was at lunch yesterday, sitting in a very warm sunny spot by a window, and closed my eyes for a split second and thought of Spring.   Spring is what I thought of when I saw these tiles in Domino magazine from the Three Potato Four Shop.  These tiles are $30 each and would be great little pieces (4" x 4") of art on your wall or little plaques to put on your children's doors.  The blue belles could be on your sons door and the big red poppy could be on your daughters door.  I had artwork on my kids doors in our old house, but haven't quite got them up on their doors in our new house.  My son had a framed vintage painted image of a cowboy taking a bath while a cat drank from the toilet....love it.....and my daughter had a framed image from a Ya Ya Sisterhood calendar I had on while ago.  It was a retro feeling photograph of the back of a little girl in overalls, no shirt.......very 1930's...... looking at a circus elephant with a quote saying something like "Siddalee, it is called life, you just climb on the beast and ride it". 

I also included another image from the Three Potato Four Shop.  I love the tote, but I love the composition and feeling of the photograph better.  There is a little saying on the tote...."time flies when you are having fun".  Great.

 

Coloring Books for Adults

 

Okay, I have to run and pick up Frankie, so I am going to be short with my writing......your welcome.  I found this fun little website called rockscissorpaper.com.  They have all sorts of fun thing, but sense Interiors is my thing I thought I would post a coloring book you can use for your decorating inspiration.  $10.50.  If you visit the website, check out their about page.  I am sure most of you have similiar pictures of youself with your siblings.  I know I do!

Zippy Ginger

What a fun little Modern Gingerbread House!  I can't remember if I ever put together a gingerbread house when I was little.  Being the last of four girls I have a feeling the Christmas Cheer (patience) had left my mom way before I was of the age where I could actually comprehend how to put a house together.  This is what makes this option great for those moms.  This already comes assembled!  It can even come personalized with your family's name.  You can take a peak at other views on Red Envelope and get all the details.  There are a lot of zippy, retro, classic modern Christmas decorations out there now, so what a great gift for friends/family that tend to lean toward the less traditional Christmas.  There is one stipulation, you have to eat it within 30 days.  This wouldn't be hard in my house, as I have a feeling some little hands would be fast at work trying to get the iced door off for a sample taste.

Tord Boontje - How Cool is He?

I came across these vase covers while looking through a design magazine.  Surprise, Tord Boontje did them.  Instead of throwing out those boring vases that come with fresh flower arrangements, slap on one of these metal covers instead.  You can find these "Thinking of You" vase covers on a variety of websites, but take a look at unicaHOME.  They have a lot of his work on their web site.  You can get these covers for $42.

By the way, the best way I can tell you how to pronounce his name is Bone-tjay...with a soft "t".  This is my best interpretation of his name by hearing him say his name in an interview.  Anyway, if you are anything like me, you may recognize his work from the many hours you spend at Target.  I included some typical Boontje Target items to refresh your memory.  I am not sure if the plate was available at Target, but something very similar to it was. 

On another note, I have taken way too long to find a chandelier for our dining room.  A while ago I saw the following "Blossom Chandelier" in a magazine and said to myself, "this is it".  I thought I found my chandelier.  I did a little more research and found out Tord Boontje designed it for Swarovski.  So I requested pricing and BAM my dream was over.  Man, was it expensive!  I could have bought a car for the price of the light fixture.  I still think it is very cool and can't wait to see what else comes out if Boontje's fairytale mind.

Silhouette Art

While I was looking for artwork for a Pediatrics Unit I am designing for a hospital client, I came across these cool little pieces by an artist named Sharyn Sowell.  If you take a gander through Artaissance.com you can find 100's of images that you can get in a variety of sizes offered on canvas or paper.  If you are fan of the vintage, simple silhouettes of children's profiles, these should be in your wheel house.  You can get the 50" x 7" bright red "Holiday Parade" for $143 on paper or go as long as 72" x 9" on canvas for $214.  I don't think that is too bad for a six foot wrapped canvas.  I think it would be a great piece of artwork you bring out for the Christmas Season.  What a nice feature piece.  Sometimes I force myself to by new things rather than revel in the $.50 scores I find at the thrift stores.  Speaking of thrifts store scores, I will have to post a desk and a buffet (I turned into a credenza) I got at my church's annual garage sale for $15 each.   Score!

Someday

Someday I will treat myself and get one of Janet Woodcock's photographs.  I saw her work a few years ago at the Clayton Art Fair.  She was back again this year and I hope she will continue to be invited to the fair because I am going to get one of my own one day.  I fell in love with so many of them that when I do get one, I will spend too much time choosing one.   She also photographs landscapes and industrial design type items, but her Barn Yard images have a special place in my heart.  How could they not, look at those faces!