summer months have a special sweetness and lightness in colors - a natural glow indoor and outdoor - around here in the bay area it's overheating. these images make me feel a bit cooler. below are a couple images of fabric cards i worked on for a good friend and a relative. each has a separate sturdy card, simple but delicate embroidery stitching and an embroidery floss bowtie on thicker muslin with a wire for hanging. i would like to make a series of one of a kind fabric cards for the shop. it would feel special and unique to receive a hand embroidered one of a kind card - a lingering sentiment that doesn't wilt and hopefully doesn't land in a box somewhere.

have an especially sweet and light week.

sources:

1. emily wolfenden watercolor via poetryandstones spotted on pin by lizzyjanssen 2. home of tomas colaco via tomcolahome 3. paper cut outs via britishmuseum spotted on pin by mirella bruno 4. villa lante garden via wikipedia 5 and 6. a couple of fabric cards - similar cards to be in the shop someday soon, photos by me.

heading out for another summer road trip! wishing you an adventurous weekend.

source: photo by cary taken at the boonville hotel

sources:

1. issey miyake resort 2013 via style spotted on pin by mila ateva  2. photo by jotka26 mostly away via archdaily spotted on pin by kanako yamaguchi 3. loewe ss 2015 via styleindicator 4. ribbon chapel by hiroshi nakamura and nap via designmilk  5. antonio marras ss 2013 via fashionising 6. gravity's loom by ball nogues at indianapolis museum of art via ballnogues

We are off to the woods for a long weekend of camping under a canopy of trees and stars.

Wishing you and yours a happy weekend.

image source: The Picket Fence Blog

after gathering bits and pieces of made and collected treasures, cary (good friend and author of the ins and outs post) and i styled the tables on our back deck to set the mood to embrace a tactile summer celebrating with close friends. it turned out to be a very nice evening - tasty, tactiley inviting, fun conversations and witty banter - a good time all the way around. for those interested parties in the bay area wondering who to consult with to compose or put together a setting for an event or photo shoot celebrating a certain mix, a thoughtful jumble of tactiley inviting textures, colors, and layers send me a message to a certain mix. we'll be happy to go from there and see how we can help. it's an informal collaboration - simply offering ideas or arranging the entire visual feast to set the desired mood.

have a summery week filled with visual delights.

sources:

1. a handmade banner above a collection of ceramic goodies, found treasures, a footed serving bowl from pottery barn's napoli line and a hand formed waxed linen basket. 2. a close up shot. 3. on top of an old redwood table made by my husband, a tranquil although dark shot of this tactile summer setting. images 4,5, and 6: the other side of the deck - a round table with a circle of goodies including a few treasured hardie cobbs ceramic vessels, another one of a kind waxed linen basket and lavender filled arrowhead inspired sachets - handmade objects also made by greg and i to be found at kuwatani. all photos by me, karen.

as i mentioned last week, we installed a small courtyard to replace our lawn. although most of the planting will take a season or more to fill in, we have one large, lovely potted olive tree that adds a little mature elegance to an otherwise very young garden. wishing you a lovely weekend.

images, clockwise from top left:

1/ via House to Home  2/ via Remodelista 3/ via Made in Persbo - Carina Olander Photography

4/ via Design & Wonen 5/ via Remodelista 6/ via Anna Truelsen: My Lovely Things

sources:

1. derek lam ensemble ss 2015 via styleindicator 2. photo by eve wilson of robin boyd designed home via plastolux spotted on pin by victor raul garcia 3. gosia baczynska ss 2014 fashion via wetheurban spotted on pin by kaixi 4. garden photo by ayako sakata via google 5. photo by nina westervelt of  hermes ss 2015 via tmagazine spotted on pin by megan nelson thompson 6. ron arad architects designed design museum holon via archdaily spotted on pin by pier angeli sa cellini

we said goodbye to our lawn this week - raccoons, moles, our sweet dog, and now the drought made it impossible to keep.  in its place we now have a small bluestone courtyard in an ashlar pattern and are anxiously awaiting lovely elfin thyme to fill in all the spaces between the stones, ah patience. happy weekend.

images, clockwise from top left:

1/ via  Laure Joliet Photography 2/ via Cote de Texas 3/ via Katherine Field & Associates

4/ via Gardenista 5/ via Melanie King 6/ via Robbins Archiitecture