Welcome to Spotlight on Designers and a GIVEAWAY from Oh Hello Friend!

Good Morning! Hope you're weekend was enjoyable and that you managed to get some relaxing in. :) I'm so excited about this new series, Spotlight On Designers! Thank you to all of you who submitted your beautiful, quality designs. If I had the time and energy I would have featured all of you. Each day for the next week (possibly week and a half) I will be posting the work of 3 - 4 designers. The designs fall into 4 categories: Jewelry, Pottery, Textiles, and Paper Goods I'll leave a link to the designer's shop and/or website and post a brief bio. if it's available. Be sure and leave positive comments for each of these hardworking, talented designers(There's a little incentive below, too!)

Let's start the week with a GIVEAWAY from Oh Hello Friend! Danni has so generously offered a lovely package of goodies for the winner. For every comment you leave below and under the featured designers posts, you will automatically be entered in a giveaway to win these three items. Thanks so much, Danni!

* choice of 1 hair pin
* joy necklace
*choice of pocket mirror(more mirrors will be added soon)

Some other fun news....Kathi Roussel will be offering 20% off any earring purchase from now until Friday and she'll even take custom orders. When you order be sure and mention that you learned about this offer on Simply Hue! Visit her shop to see her beautiful designs and drool over her talent! Thankyou, Kathi! :)

Lovely Designs by Oh Hello Friend

Her Shop ~ Oh Hello Friend Her Blog ~ Oh Hello Friend

"hello, friend. lovely to meet you. i love the rain, design, typography, the color green, white chocolate, vintage, unique & lovely things." danni

Textile Designs by Inklore

Her Shop ~ Inklore Her Website: Inklore Design Her Blog: Inklore Blogspot

"Hi there! My name is Sam and I am the designer behind Inklore and Inklore Kids. I have always loved making things and enjoy sewing, knitting, and gardening. Along the way I discovered a real passion for blockprinting and I love to put my designs on beautiful, practical items for you and for little ones." Sam Hirst

Lovely Designs by Red Hot Pottery

Her Shop: Red Hot Pottery Her Blog: Creative World

"I am a studio potter, painter and bead artist living in Sedona, Arizona. I enjoy exploring my creativity in a myriad of ways and connecting with nature and spirit as my muses. Since I was a child, I have been creating and crafting. I am never bored." Christine Tenenholtz

Colorful Designs by Nifty Swank

Her Shop ~ Nifty Swank

"I'm a graphic designer who has always had a passion for art and finding new ways to be creative. NiftySwank is a place to do this, mixing my love of paper and design. I enjoy using color and pattern and creating a vintage feel in a modern way. They are just little things, but I love creating fun and bright paper goods for people to use!" Clairice

5 Beautiful Things!

Beautiful Images by Clairy Hairy And, yes, I think pink heart cookies are beautiful. ;)

Happy Friday! Did this week go by extra fast for you? For some reason, it did for me. I'm looking forward to a relaxing weekend.....I'm planning on going to the ocean, walking on the beach, and snapping lots of photos! This is a much needed getaway and I can't tell you how much I'm looking forward to it. I hope that your weekend is refreshing and fun. I sure appreciate all of you and your kind comments each week. It feels like we have a little community of friends here and I love it. :)

Beginning on Monday I'll be starting the Spotlight on Designers. There were so many great submissions and I'm excited to introduce the designers to you! There's going to be a great GIVEAWAY which I'll announce on Monday and also a special discount from one of my favorite jewelry shops. See you here on Monday! xo

Original Artwork by Kelsey McCracken

Hi there! I'm heading out for the day but wanted to leave you with these beautiful illustrations. The thing that makes these extra special is that they were painted by one of my closest friend's 20 year old daughter, Kelsey. Kelsey has been drawing and painting and immersing herself in anything creative since I can remember. I'm so proud to feature her artwork here today! We've also asked her to sell her gorgeous still life's in our new gallery Lovely Clusters, so if you are interested in purchasing a print, her gallery page will be up in a few days!

Hope your day is good one. :) I'll back tomorrow with 5 Beautiful Things!

Memories of Childhood by Mandy Lynne

Mandy Lynne's Website Her Etsy Shop

I'm in complete awe of photographer, Mandy Lynne's, talent. Her images take me back to carefree days and stir up sweet memories. Remember the last days of Summer, preparing for and maybe even dreading the onset of school, running through and plunging into piles of crunchy leaves? These lovely images are a great reminder of simpler days. And, if you want a real treat visit Mandy's website for a dreamy slide show with mesmerising music in the background.

Here's what Mandy said when I asked her what inspired her:

"My desire right now is to express myself artistically through COLOR
collections."

COLOR always fascinates me.. the surprising way in which the SHADES
compliment each other, the MOOD they create, the way COLOR defines
different decades..

I've had a long love affair with vintage... and to combine this style with
a modern set of FRESH COLORS, gives it new life."

Mandy, thank you for the honor of featuring your work......perfection. :)

A Peek at Tomorrow's Guest Photographer

Good morning (or afternoon, depending on where you live)! I just wanted to give you a little teaser about the guest photographer I'll be featuring tomorrow. She has quickly become one of my absolute favorites! Her photography is touching and nostalgic and celebrates the simple pleasures in life. Think you know who she is? I'm not telling.....you'll have to stop by tomorrow morning and find out for yourself. ;)

Gentle Illustration by Sarah McNeil

Her Shop, Her Photostream

Flickr. is such an amazing site with talented artists, designers, and photographers galore! Yesterday while posting photos on Flickr. I came across the beautiful work of Australian artist, Sarah McNeil. I love the soft, gentle quality of her illustrations. The MUTED PASTELS and NEUTRALS she uses create a feminine and dreamy quality. Artists like Sarah, inspire me to continue to hone my skills as an artist and to develope my own style. Do you have an artist, designer, or photographer who inspires you?

Introducing Lovely Clusters Online Gallery

Good morning! I hope you had a great weekend and feel energized for the week ahead. I actually tried my hand at photography (see images below) and think I've picked me up a new hobby. ;) lol. I have so much to learn, but it was fun getting my feet wet.

I'm excited this morning to let you know about a new online gallery premiering today called Lovely Clusters! The thing that makes this gallery a little bit different from the rest is that the owner, Rachel Follett, and her assistant (me!) will be looking for artists with a dreamy, feminine aesthetic to their designs. To learn more about our services and affordable prices, take a look HERE. And, if you have any work you would like to submit please send me an e-mail at vicki@lovelyclusters.com or contact Rachel herself at rachel@lovelyclusters.com with a link to your shop or website. Thanks!

FOUND ~ A New Hobby

Images by Me :)

I don't know about you, but between being a Mom and working, I let some of my interests fall to the wayside. Growing up I sketched and painted almost daily but put my paintbrushes and sketch pad away and barely touched them for years. On and off I've taught kids' art classes, and then of course I've planned and "tested" creative projects for my students. But on the whole, I really haven't pursued a creative hobby in a long time. It makes me a little sad to think about it, and it's a struggle to get started again, but I've been making an effort to do ONE creative thing a day, even if it's small.

Yesterday I took out my art supplies and discovered that "hey, I can still draw"! But when I began painting, it didn't come so easily and I left the table feeling a little discouraged. O.k., time for Plan B. ;) A few years ago my husband bought me an inexpensive camera for a college photography class. I ended up not taking the class and haven't done much with the camera since. I've always loved beauty and nature and posting all these amazing photos from talented photographers on Simply Hue has inspired me to pursue photography. So, yesterday I picked up my neglected camera and took the above shots. I'm actually semi-happy with them. lol. They're not perfect, but for a complete novice, they'll do.

What can you do today to bring richness and creativity back into your life? My hat's off to those of you who have managed to stay in touch with your creative side while raising young children and/or holding a 9-5 job! Maybe you can let the rest of us know how you do it. xo

5 Colorful Things!

Lovely Images by Anniebee

When I first started blogging a few months ago I had a feature every Friday called "5 Beautiful Things". I've decided to start it up again by posting beautiful and/or colorful images every Friday. We live in an amazing world and at times that's easy to forget with the myriad of stresses that come at us each day. This weekend let's make it a point to look for the BEAUTY and COLOR that is literally everywhere! Thanks so much for stopping by this week. :)