Creature Comforts Holiday Gift Guide: 2013 Calendars

Tip: click on the image for an enlarged view

Calendars are the ideal gift giving solution for those people on your list who are "difficult" to shop for. While it may not take you more and a few minutes to pick one out and purchase it, the amazing array of unique calendars available these days assures that your gift won't look thoughtless (just keep the kittens-dangling-from-a-tree-limb variety for another occasion). Simple as can be, yes!  Boring, no! Score!

You can find all of this week's guides right here. A full new week of guides will be launching on Monday. See you then! xo Ez

1. Leah Duncan 2013 Floral Wall Calendar ($22) | 2. 2013 Rifle Paper Co. Cities Calendar ($28) | 3. Avril Loreti 2013 Calendar Towel ($25) | 4. 2013 Geometric Calendar ($16)

Tip: click on the image for an enlarged view

5. Aqua Retro 2013 Kitchen Tea Towel Calendar ($22) | 6. Mint 2013 Letterpress Calendar ($10) | 7. 2013 Teardrop Letterpress Calendar with Gold Foil ($10) | 8. 2013 Pale Green Wall Calendar ($27) | 9. Simplesong 2013 Kraft Calendar ($16)| 10. Hammerpress The Good Fight 2013 Letterpress Calendar ($30) / note: the image says 2012 but the calendar listing is for a 2013 calendar

Tip: click on the image for an enlarged view

11. The Moon 2013 Wall Calendar ($36) | 12. 2013 Local / Seasonal Recipe Wall Calendar ($25) | 13. Sugar Paper Kraft / White Foil Printed Calendar ($52) |14. Russell + Hazel 2013 Tissue Calendar ($40) | 15. 2013 Stendig Calendar ($40) | 16. Bookhou Linen 2013 Wall Calendar ($20) | 17. The Made Shop 2013 Linear Calendar ($25)

Tip: click on the image for an enlarged view

18. Marimekko Wall Calendar ($45) | 19. Snug 2013 Wall Calendar ($20) | 20. Succulet Paper Cut 2013 Wall Calendar ($40) | 21. Maple Veneer 2013 Wall Calendar ($25 each) | 22. | 23. Darling Clementine 2013 Harvest Calendar ($20) | 24. 365 Fonts / Page-A-Day 2013 Calendar ($25)

Tip: click on the image for an enlarged view

25. 2013 Zoo Calendar ($27) | 26. Avian Friends Calendar ($13) | 27. Taro Gomi 2013 Daily Doodle Calendar ($13) | 28. Owls 2013 Wall Calendar ($20) | 29. 2013 The Calendar of Awesome / Celebrate something awesome every day ($12) | 30. Strawberryluna 2013 Sun Lion Wall Calendar ($15) | 31. 2013 Accordian, 4-Seasons Calendar ($32)

Heather Ross Prints

Several weeks ago I ordered a copy of the new Heather Ross Prints book. I eagerly awaited its arrival and no sooner had it hit my doorstep than it was unwrapped from its box and voraciously flipped through. The book features an extensive number of awesome DIY projects using Heather Ross' patterns in applications from wallpaper, and sewn crafts, to printables (yes there is a disc included with all the patterns and printables she uses). It's truly worth its weight in gold!. But what truly sold me was the portion of the book where Heather shares her design process, and gives a thorough Photoshop tutorial for those who are interested in learning. I literally could not wait to try!

Here's what I made. I first decided on a magic show theme, and after sketching up some ideas I followed each step in the book carefully (from raw sketching to Photoshop editing) until finally by the end of the day I had created my very own print!

I sent it off to Spoonflower to be printed onto fabric, and then just last week it arrived! Of course I had to make another print to go along with it since the first one was so fun!

I enjoyed the print making process so much and I hope I have a lot more time to work on learning the craft in the coming months.

Note: There were horrible lighting conditions when I took this photo. The actual fabric is much more vibrant and true to the original design colors.

If you'd like to see more of what you'll find inside Heather Ross' book, you can find a post about it on her blog.

Inspired By: Mag Rouge: The Harvest Issue

Even if you're not planning a wedding there is so much inspiration to be found within the pages of online magazine, Mag Rouge. The color palettes and floral arrangements in particular are absolutely stunning. Take a peek for yourself right here (yes, it's free). You can also find more beautiful color palettes and inspiration boards on their blog Magnolia Rouge. xo Ez

A Peek Inside Sweet Paul Magazine - Summer 2012

Friends, the free Summer 2012 issue of Sweet Paul Magazine just went up online earlier this morning...lucky lucky us! I can't think of a better way to head off into a Summery weekend than this. Let's grab a cup of something refreshing and dive right, shall we. xo Ez

Photo Friday: Archives of Aqua

Inspired by my friend Nichole's gorgeous new book Paris in Color (for which she strolled the streets of Paris hunting down and photographing scenes infused with one predominate color—she covers ten gorgeous hues inside the book's pages), I decided to take a little saunter of my own through the image archives on my computer. The sheer volume of images is overwhelming, but as Nichole mentioned in her book, narrowing your focus down to just one color allows images to rise to the surface that might otherwise be overlooked.

So I ended up selecting my favorite color, aqua (no big shocker there) and had so much fun rediscovering old images that I'd long since forgotten about. I think it's a great exercise, and one that I highly encourage you to take as well. Don't you want to join in the fun?! What color will you start with?

All images by Ez Pudewa (that's me)