Yesterday, I made an Etsy treasury. Even after all these years (I think it’s been three?) I am still so inspired by all the good on Etsy. I really like this treasury. It’s such a happy band of pretty, cheerful things that I just had to share it here too:

Is spring showing up for you yet, or are you covered in snow? Chicago can’t make up its mind. One day it’s feels like a balmy early spring day and the next we’re out throwing snowballs.

my pretty ranunculus and purple flowers are fading fast

It’s a random mix of songs that I’ve been playing quite a lot lately, quite a femal vocalist driven, sometimes lo-fi kind of a thing. Some of the picks my be kind of obvious, but they are songs that get stuck in my head and that’s why there on this playlist.

Earlier this week, I saw the photo on the left pop up on a Pinterest board that I follow. I’ve been drawn to neutrals for as long as I can remember, but something about the color and composition of this photo made me happy. I started hunting for other bright things.

1) Chair Photo  2)  Pretty Rings via Catbird  3) Red Tights &
4) Tea Time Dress by Shabby Apple

If plane tickets aren’t in your budget this month don’t worry because Little Brown Pen has your perfect Paris fix. There are a few options in their Valentines section, but my favorites are the sets postcards in pink and yellow:

Details: size 4×6 and fit into any standard 4×6 frame, quantity – 4, and paper: heavy, elegant matte

You can snag a set for your self in the Little Brown Pen Etsy shop and see more beautiful photos of Paris on Nicole’s blog.

I decided that since it’s February it’s okay to put up my Valentine banner from Something’s Hiding in Here.

The letters are made from recycled letterpress papers and it came in the cutest packaging.

I think this pretty table setting was meant for Christmas, but wouldn’t it be nice for a Valentine’s party with friends?

Lara Lewis is having a ginormous clearance sale and I spy lots of pretty pink:

I love these Doctor Who prints by Nan Larson!

I can’t finish off a February first post with sharing some pretty flowers with you!

I’m also making up the pattern as I go along which has meant pulling the mittens apart and starting over a few times. But I like working that way. I am excited to share my first almost finished selbu mitten!

Snowflakes on the top,

a simple boarder on both sides,

and a repeating pattern on the palm.

I’m using the softest wool and I can’t wait to wear them soon!

Here are some things that I’ve been doing between the busy times:

Reading Kinfolk Vol. Two,

Applying lots of hand cream (it’s so dry and cold these days!),

Loving my new bangs,

Enjoying an impulsive flower purchase,

and looking forwarded to a sushi and movie date with Joel this afternoon.
What did your week look like?

More info about the project from Jeska:
Matchbox Challenge – To decorate, alter or fill a different matchbox for every day of February.

The Gist – Each tiny artwork will be listed in the Lobster & Swan Etsy shop and sold to raise funds for Oxfam.

Jeska hopes that other crafty folks will join her and she’s made a schedule to inspire everyone with themes loose enough that they can be interpreted any way you choose! You can find out more about the project over on Lobster & Swan. Looks like lots of fun!

*All photos by Jeska. See more of her beautiful photography over here.

You can visit their Etsy shop, website, and blog, too.

Your work is beautiful! How did you begin letterpressing?
We took a letterpressing workshop down in Irvine. We were addicted (I think we both dreamed about printing that night) and decided to buy our very own press! We took some more classes but are largely self-taught. We’ve definitely learned through doing.

What is your favorite part of the creative process?
Our favorite part of the creative process is seeing our designs come to life – that final stage where we ink up the press and start printing! It’s such a satisfying feeling seeing it pressed on to paper.

What was your inspiration for your Valentine cards?
My dad always draws an arrow through his hearts when he writes me a note. It’s the sweetest depiction of his love. I’ve been incorporating arrows in a number of our cards for a while. One of the prints we made is also of a heart with the phrase “You Quiet My Wild Heart” inside of it – Sarah designed it and thought it was a common phrase, but we’ve come to realize she just made it up. It was inspired by Valentines but really could apply year round as a nice gift.

What’s your favorite dessert?
Oatmeal chocolate chip cookies hands down. Ok, that’s a lie. Oatmeal chocolate chip cookie dough. The salt, the sugar, the oats – nothing beats it.

Sarah’s got a vicious sweet tooth… she’ll pretty much eat anything in the dessert department. But for her, nothing beats a scoop of well-made vanilla bean ice cream.

I used Paula’s recipe because when it comes to comfort food, her recipes have never ever let me down.

I didn’t get many in progress shots for this recipe because it’s a very hands on kind of thing to make. I love the feeling of making dough from scratch. And there’s almost a little magic in the rolling out and spreading of butter and cinnamon and sugar goodness and then rolling the whole thing up.

Sorry for the darkness of these photos. We’ve had mostly cloudy days forever.

I should probably warn you that these smell amazing and you’ll be tempted to eat half a dozen by yourself! They work very well to be made the night before and then just pop them in the oven in the morning.

They also keep pretty well. (I’ve been eating them for breakfast all week!)

*By the way, we have hot water again. Thank goodness!!