Melissa Loves

Melissa loves: Sarah McNeil

Hello sweet friends! 

                 Happy Wednesday! I am so happy to have the lovely Sarah McNeil here with us today. I have long admired Sarah's work but,  recently saw this piece and was captivated. I was so curious to learn more about "Bernadine" and Sarah sweetly complied. :) 

"Bernadine" was originally drawn for the Once Upon art exhibition in Sydney last month. All the artists in the show got given a fairy tale to illustrate, so "Bernadine" and my other print "The Piper" are both (loosely) based on the story of the Pied Piper.

As with most of my work, I hope that the viewer feels happy and maybe a little introspective when they look at "Bernadine". The story of The Pied Piper is actually rather sinister so I kind of want to show that too but without being really full on or disheartening about it."

 

~ lovely tree silhouettes here (shop) 

~ sweet lantern here ( shop) 

~ beautiful top here ( shop) 

~ one sweet pin here ( shop) 

~ awesome antler here ( shop) 

~ beautiful vase set here (shop) 

Well, this piece definitely makes me happy and not at all disheartened. But, the slight undercurrent of something amiss, keeps me on my toes! Thank you so much for taking part in this series Sarah. I loved having you hear and am so happy to learn more about "Bernadine".  I am going to take the rest of the week off for New Years my friends, but, I will see you back here on the 4th. Then we can ring in 2010 together! Until then...be well and Happy, happy New Year! :) 

xo

Melis

ps I am also over at the lovely Suzanne's today, won't you come visit me? A cheap & chic outfit inspired by lovely Sarah's print up there. Just for you and Suzanne :) 

 

Cheap & Chic: Inspired by vintage on etsy & a new year!

Hello dear ones! 

                Are you looking forward to the new year? Do you have special plans or hopes for the new year? Or, like me, are you just going with the flow? :) I was perusing one of my favorite vintage shops on etsy the other day and found so many fabulous things, I knew I could put together a new year's cheap & chic outfit just from Dear Golden alone! ( well, almost..:) 

~ gorgeous scarf here  $25.00

~ beautiful jacket here $57.00

~ lovely earrings here $40.00

~ clutch here $46.00

~ sweet skirt here $88.00

~ awesome boots here (oh, bummer...these have sold so, here are a substitute pair. $59.99 in gunmetal Sorry!) 

Total~ $315.99

I sure hope you like it and I hope you have a wonderful tuesday! I will see you back here tomorrow with a new "Melissa loves" with Sarah McNeil. Until then....be well! 

xo

Melis

 

Monday: inspired by Rebecca Thuss

Hello my sweets!

I hope everyone had a wonderful couple of days, whether you were celebrating or not. Over the teeny break I saw this beautiful image from Stylist Rebecca Thuss, thanks to an introduction from Holly.

 

Sometimes, I feel simplicity is best and all that is needed.....I don't always subscribe to that notion but, I try to insert it in my life here and there. ;) I love the beauty found in the object itself but, how that simple beauty is allowed to shine just by leaving it alone, made me love it even more. So, I thought I would find some other simply beautiful things to go with it. 

  

 

~ beautiful map here

~ old school coat here

~ gorgeous ring here

~ the sweetest tiny house here ( it comes with a tiny airplant inside that grows through the tiny doors and windows...) Love.

~ one beautiful card holder here

~ a simply beautiful and simple bag here *sigh* 

I hope you like my picks today friends and I will see you back here tomorrow with a new Cheap & chic! Until then.....be well. 

xo

Melis

Melissa loves: Cornelia O'donovan

Hello my sweet friends! 

                               Happy wednesday to you! It is always so much fun perusing flickr and etsy and being introduced to new favorites by current favorites. Don't you think? Recently I was introduced to lovely Cornelia Odonovan while looking at the  wonderful Le Train Fantome's flickrstream.  I fell in love with this piece of Cornelia's. Don't you love it too? 

 

 

~ little hare tote here (shop) 

~ blouseIamcompletelyinlovewith here (shop- and thank you Liane for the intro) 

~ gorgeous necklace here (shop) 

~ sweet little blue bird here ( shop- thank you AGAIN Liane! :) 

~ enamel & gold here ( shop) 

~ one little tree to make a wish on here ( shop) 

~ Cornelia's shop, blog & flickr 

Friends, I am wishing a Merry & Bright holiday for all of you that are celebrating this week's end. I am still like a kid at heart when it comes to Christmas.....I will see you all back here on the 28th. Until then....be well! 

xo

Melis

ps as a little Christmas present to you all, please watch this short film that my hubby shared with me.... A thousand words . It is so,so wonderful.....

 

Cheap & Chic: Inspired by a photograph

Hello my sweet friends! 

                          Happy Tuesday! As the holidays quickly approach here in the states, I was looking for something holiday  to inspire me for today's outfit. . And I found it in lovely Holly's flickr stream. Isn't this the sweetest photo? I love the silver and blue together( I just can't help it, I have silver and sparkle and all things holiday on the brain) :) 

 

 

~ beautiful earrings here $28.00

~ lovely dress here $99.95 

~ one sweet sweater here $ 42.99

~ festive bracelets here $21.00 

~ gorgeous heels here $44.99 

~ shimmering clutch here $60.00

Total~$296.93 

I hope you like my outfit today and hope you have a wonderful tuesday, friends! I will see you back here tomorrow for a new "Melissa loves", now on wednesdays! (It will be my last post for the holidays) Until then....be well. 

xo

Melis 
 

Monday: inspired by Art & Ghosts

Hello my sweets! 

                   Did you have a good weekend? I sure hope so.... we spent some wonderful time with friends and my dear dad ( in law) came into town for Christmas! My girls are so excited! :) Over the weekend I saw this wonderful piece by lovely Louise of Art & Ghosts. I am constantly surprised and delighted by Louise's work. It inspired me this weekend and I wanted to share it here with you all. 

 

~ sweet handmade flats here (shop) 

~ porcelain bear here 

~ gorgeous bag here (shop) 

~ checkered bag here (shop) 

~ pretty rug here (shop) 

~ town scene blocks here (shop) 

~ Louise's shop , flickr & blog

Lou, thank you so much for sharing your beautiful work with us.....what a wonderful way to start the week! Don't you think? I will see you back here tomorrow my friends for a new Cheap & Chic. Until then..... be well. 

xo

Melis

ps this week( due to Christmas) I will be posting through wednesday and then am going to take a week off for the holidays. 

pss Also, I am changing up my format a little ( thanks for the great suggestion Marichelle) and putting my normal friday feature ( "Melissa loves") on wednesdays instead. Now, fridays will be a weekly round up of sorts. Sorry wednesdays have been so here and there lately.....this should fix that! :) 
 

Melissa loves: Irena Sophia

Hi my friends, 

                       I am so happy to have Irena Sophia here with us today. I have long been a fan of Irena's but, I have Holly to thank for bringing my attention to this beautiful piece. I love it so much, from her tiny rosy cheeks, to the snowflakes, to the sweet sleeping bear. But, you know what? Hearing the inspiration behind this piece makes it even more beautiful. 

"I simply wanted to do a drawing of [a] polar bear. At that time I was watching [a] documentary on TV about their shrinking habitat. I decided that my polar bear will definitely need some help. So, I put him behind [this] magical girl who represents [the] Aurora Borealis. She has [a] very quiet and peaceful demeanor, and she puts her hand serenely on [the] bears head in protection. I tried to keep the drawing minimal and to bring an atmosphere out.

 I love that drawing, it has that winter quietness contained when everything is covered with snow and you can listen to silence undisturbed. You watch snowflakes falling and feel that [the] whole world is [a] beautiful place like it [is] supposed to be. I hope everybody can sense that in this drawing."

 

*One of my lovely readers(thank you!)  kindly brought to my attention that with the etsy shops, if the item sells, the link to the item no longer exists so, now I will put in the link to the shop as well as the link to the item. 

~ gorgeous and romantic wallpaper right here 

~ sweet little pinecones here (shop) 

~ lovely feather mobile here ( shop) 

~ SNOW! :) here 

~ gorgeous mittens here (shop) 

~ one stunning coat here ( shop) 

Irena, thank you so much for taking part in this series. It is an honor to have you and I love hearing about the inspiration behind this beautiful piece. Have a wonderful weekend my friends! I will see you back here on monday, with a new "Inspired by" post. Until then....be well. 

xo

Melis
 

 

The little things: feeling sparkle

Hello my friends, 

                             I am sure it is the time of the year and the holidays being here....but, I am feeling lots and lots of sparkle :) The truth is....I am always feeling sparkle but, especially at this time of year. Growing up we would always take a tour around our neighborhood and see all of the lights on everyone's houses....and I would spend many a quiet moment sitting beneath or near our Christmas tree marveling at the lights and the sparkly ornaments. *sigh* I still love those things...how about you?

 

~ gorgeous photo by the lovely Shanon, here 

~ pretty rings here ( I love how dainty they are....they would be so great stacked together) 

~ super cool light here 

~ beautiful comb here ( and the model's hair is so pretty) 

~ such a great hoodie here ( oh, it sparkles all right! You just have to look closer.....closer....:) 

~ one sweet cup here 

What is a little thing you are treasuring today? I would really love to know..... Have a wonderful thursday my friends and I will see you back here tomorrow with a new "Melissa loves" with Irena Sophia! Until then....be well. 

xo

Melis

 

Wow...

Hi my friends! 

                      Back in business and popping in to say: 

 

Kehinde Wiley paints larger than life portraits. I had the pleasure of seeing one when I was in Florida and seeing it in person is magnificent. I love how unexpected his work is and I can't possibly do it justice. I instead direct you to Kehinde's website, here. I will be back in just a bit with today's "The little things". 

xo

Melis
 

So sorry.....

Hello my friends! 

                    I am having trouble with my photoshop today, so I am afraid I won't be able to put up my post for today. I will hopefully be back in action tomorrow and in the mean time I will leave you with some images from this beautiful new jewelry line I saw via my twitter contact imogeneandannie .

 

 

Aren't they gorgeous? And they are right here....
Have a wonderful wednesday my friends and hopefully I will be back tomorrow with a new "the little things". Until then.....be well! 

xo

Melis