Wednesday, December 23, 2009

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...

images: chewing the cud

...tree is up...


...wreath is hung...

...and the trump card, a lovely surprise from my gal at Aterlier Joya. Thank you Lisa!

Happy Holidays everyone... may you all have a warm and fuzzy season with your families and loved ones.

Friday, December 18, 2009

Kyoto Invitations



Oh, I am absolutely enthralled by these exquisite invitations , printed by Studio on Fire... note the manga style silhouettes and the marriage (no pun intended) of western and far east motifs, traditional versus modern. Well done!

via Beast Pieces

Wednesday, December 16, 2009

Holiday Telegrams

image: chewing the cud

Tis' definitely the season here at the studio, as we are wrapping gifts and licking envelopes like crazy. It's not too late to get your holiday cards, fabric wraps and gifts at our shop before they run out. Go green this year, people!

Friday, December 11, 2009

Pop-up Holiday Shop starts TODAY!!


Hello lovelies! This is the final weekend for our Pop-up Holiday Sale at Relish at Home, in Berkeley. It will now be a 3-DAY sale beginning Friday as we move into our FINAL WEEKEND. Get some shopping done before the weekend crowds arrive.

We will be there with our fabric wraps and gift goodies. Plus we'll have new collections from more amazing local designers AND further reductions on selected merchandise! Remember, there's only 14 days left until Christmas...

Shop unique, shop local, and shop handmade this year all at fantastic prices!

Here's a sampling of designers you'll find at our Holiday Pop Up Shop...

PAPAVER VERT
CHEWING THE CUD
FLOCK HOME
LOTTA JANSDOTTER
JOOM
SUKIE UK
MOLLY M DESIGNS
CATHERINE WEITZMAN
K.AUTUMN
JILL BLISS
JANE TRAN
DOVETAIL
PERCH
SHINZI KATOH
STEWART&BROWN
ROOST
HABLE CONSTRUCTION
AND MUCH MORE!

Rain or shine, see you here on 7th Street!


Holiday Pop-up Shop
Saturday + Sunday December 5-6
Friday, Saturday + Sunday December 11-13
11 A.M. — 5 P.M.

2703 7th Street #112 (at Pardee)
Berkeley, California 94710

See ya soon!
xo
chewing the cud

Wednesday, December 09, 2009

Cuddle up for the winter!

image: chewing the cud

Our cuddle ciders are back, just in time for the cold weather!

Get cozy this winter with these "Cuddle with Cider" sachets.

The sachets are 2.75" x 4" cotton muslin bags filled with mulled spices for cider.

We recommend using 2 tablespoons of mulling spices per liquid gallon of cider, so with this sachet, you can make about 3 gallons. Steep loose for approximately 45 min, then strain and serve. Easy peasy:)

We have limited quantities of these, so get yours before they run out!

Tuesday, December 08, 2009

Holiday DIY: Scented Sugars

Sweets for the sweet: Simple Scented Sugars
Beautifully wrapped scented sugar are so easy to make, and can make wonderful gifts.

Below is the step-by-step for 2 kinds of scented sugar: Mint and Citrus.

List of ingredients

2 jars (I bought these at the Container Store but they are easily found at craft and cookery stores)
granulated sugar
1 orange (or 2 lemons or 4 limes)
A few sprigs of mint leaves

Use a vegetable peeler to remove long strips of zest (the outside peel) from a large orange, 2 medium lemons, or 4 medium limes.

Put the zest in a clean, dry jar and bury it with granulated sugar. Tightly close the lid to the jar.

Wash and thoroughly dry some fresh mint leaves (use your favorite variety of mint - spearmint, peppermint, chocolate mint, etc.)

Put a little granulated sugar in the bottom of the jar, then add a layer of mint leaves, then another layer of sugar.

Keep layering the mint leaves and sugar until the jar is full. Tightly close the lid to the jar.

Next comes the presentation. I chose to use the Give Cheer fabric wrap from my collection

Place the 2 containers side by side.

Turn them outwards so they lay flat on opposite sides.



Take the corner of the wrap closest to you and start rolling.

Tuck the end flap in and place the containers upright so they are next to each other.

Tie a knot to form handles for your packaging.

Voila! Give Cheer this season!

All images: chewing the cud
This tutorial is also featured on the fabulous wedding blog Style Me Pretty . Thanks Abby!!

Friday, December 04, 2009

New Save-the-Date cards

I'm a little late in sharing these pieces that I had designed a while back...

The groom's last name is Sharkey, hence the fish + hook icon.


Erica and Abe's wedding will be in San Miguel de Allende. They wanted a vibrant, playful palette that would reflect the mood of the occasion. Also Erica owns an accessories company and loves southwestern patterns so we took inspiration from that to create a layered look with the geometric shapes you would see in her work.


This is a fun one.... the whole idea of 2 is better and 1, coupled with Breana's love of puzzles inspired these puzzle cards.
Breana is a sommelier and Scott is a chef so we thought it apt to use food pairings as icons.

These are also up at the 100 layer cake blog. Thanks for the love, ladies!

Thursday, December 03, 2009

Citizen Scholar





image source here

What a lovely way to remind ourselves to be more eco-conscious... from Citizen Scholar. Illustrations by Joanna Neborsky.

via Black Eiffel

Wednesday, December 02, 2009

Pop-up Holiday Shop THIS weekend!




One of my favourite retailers, Relish at Home, in Berkeley, is re-opening its doors for 2 weekends only to sell beautiful stationery, jewelry and home accessories. We will be there with our fabric wraps and gift goodies. Just in time for the holidays!

Stop by to say hi and check out all the beautiful and unique wares from local designers including:

Papaver Vert
Chewing the Cud
Flock Home

and many more!

Holiday Pop-up Shop
Saturday + Sunday December 5-6
Saturday + Sunday December 12-13
11 A.M. — 5 P.M.

2703 7th Street #112 (at Pardee)
Berkeley, California 94710

See ya soon!
xo
chewing the cud

Tuesday, November 24, 2009

Fabric Wraps Giveaway at Style Me Pretty

image source: chewing the cud

Hi lovelies, I am back from our trip, happy, exhausted and terribly jetlagged. While I catch up on some sleep and turkey (wait, wouldn't that put me right back to sleep...), check out our biggest giveaway yet at Style Me Pretty! 10 wraps to a lucky winner!

Good luck ya'll and Happy Turkey Day!! It's time to give cheer. give joy. give thanks.

Pictured: our newest designs Give Cheer and Give Joy. The full collection available here.

Wednesday, November 04, 2009

blog break...

image source: chewing the cud

...as we traipse the streets of Taipei...

Friday, October 30, 2009

Tate Otama: Stand-up Ladles


image source here

beautiful and space-saving ladles by Japanese designer Mikiya Kobayashi.
The bottom of these ladles are flat, but the inside remain rounded.

via Japanese Design

Wednesday, October 28, 2009

Theo Piggy Banks


image source here

These porcelain piggy banks made me laugh...
Available in several sizes and colors at mint.

Tuesday, October 27, 2009

2 years ago...

image source here

Two years ago on this day, I married my best friend and love of my life.
Happy anniversary my love...

Monday, October 26, 2009

Easy Decorating Details

etch an illustration on your window pane...

dust off that vinyl collection and create a showpiece...

Let the clusters tell a story...

Vintage bottles of different sizes never fail to create a pretty display...

all image source here

Friday, October 23, 2009

Interview with Coinop

image source: chewing the cud

The folks over at Pinball Publishing interviewed me for their blog. Thanks guys!
Read more about it on Coinop...

Wednesday, October 21, 2009

Peter Callesen




image source here

Amazing work from paper artist Peter Callesen. So ethereal and fragile...

Tuesday, October 20, 2009

brooklyn5and10



image source here

make 'em or mail 'em! clever duo-functional postcards: cut and assemble the illustrations into miniature models of famous city icons, or just mail them from the city of lights.

by brooklyn5and 10

Friday, October 16, 2009

Camp Stationery



image source here

How adorable is this set of stationery for your little camper?
By ph design via Sweet Paul

Wednesday, October 14, 2009

New Math


image source here

These equations from Craig Damrauer of new math made me laugh.