Mother's Day is fast approaching!

The perfect Mother's Day card is all pink and letterpressed and gold (from smockpaper.com). Add a bouquet of pink roses and you have the perfect gift.

A great DIY for the wall involves nothing more than branches and thin masking tape....how thrilled would you be to wake up to this on May the 12th?

An original piece of art (lisahochstein.com) or a framed print would also be a fab gift.

Cooking your mother dinner and serving it on these gorgeous plates from Anthropologie would be much appreciated.

Mother's Day usually evokes images of teacups and aprons....how about this cheeky teacup made by Yvonne Ellen (www.etsy.com/shop/yvonneellen) and a bottle of Grey Goose?

I personally want a leather morroccan pouf for the living room and thought I'd throw it into the mix :)

Also in my fantasy is a gorgeous new wool rug!

If I am stuck for a gift to give, I turn to soap.  Soap, soap, glorious, soap.  Everyone needs it.  It smells good.  Enough said.

And just as a reminder to myself to stop at two, this card would also be appropriate!

Happy Mother's Day to all you fabulous, amazing mothers!

An artist I have always loved is Jennifer Murphy (www.jmurphybears.com).  She makes handmade bears and animals that look well loved and perfectly worn.  She also makes little pom pom animals and cake toppers for weddings.  Adorable!   

If you are looking for some design eye candy check out the portfolio of photographer Seth Smoot (http://www.patbates.com/seth_smoot/).  There are several different books you can browse through on the website and I think book #2 is my fave.  Such gorgeous photos!  

(The images are much clearer if you go to the actual site).

www.minted.com is a website that offers personalized printed stationery....invitations, announcements and photo cards.  Minted also has prints available in many different sizes.  It would be easy to curate a collection for a gallery wall by choosing five or so in various sizes.  Some of my favourites are below....

I recently discovered the most amazing paper artist, Denise Sharp, and just had to share.  There are tons of inspiring projects and images on her website http://www.studiodsharp.com/.  In her shop you will find letterpress treats and handmade goodies galore.

This large paper flower would definitely make a statement for a wedding or special event!

 This ombre chocolate box for valentine's day is so lovely.  I imagine collecting paint chips in my favourite shades of blue and reproducing this on a box of my own...

 Postage stamp garlands!!  Brilliant idea.

Also the smaller stamp garland adds the perfect amount of colour to a birthday (or bon voyage?) cake.  I have a small postage stamp collection and would love to try and reproduce this!

There are also extremely special boxes in the shape of the Leaning Tower of Pisa and the Eiffel Tower.  How cool would it be to hide a plane ticket to Italy in here for a loved one? 

Studio D Sharp is such a great source for keepsakes and decorations for very special occasions.  Bellisima!

So, another source for cheap and lovely art is paper!  Sheets of wrapping paper come in so many amazing patterns and textures.  Most of the sheets are 20"X 30" and fit into a standard sized frame (the Ribba frames from IKEA are my favourite).  

One company, Cavallini, makes wrapping paper that look like old maps and are perfect for framing.   For only around five bucks you have a fabulous piece of art!

Cavallini also makes wrapping paper in other designs that are suitable for framing.  We have the fruits and vegetable poster in our kitchen.  How sweet would the alphabet design be for a nursery?

An Italian company, Rossi, makes divine handmade marbled paper and each one is totally unique.  I have an aqua blue and gold one framed in our dining room.  The picture below doesn't do it justice....trust me, it's gorgeous!  

Rossi also makes a paper that looks like old fashioned calligraphy that would look really cool framed in an office.

Waste Not Paper makes funky wrapping paper and this nautical themed one would look great in a bedroom or bathroom.

Chiyogami papers (from The Japanese Paper Place) are beautiful and detailed and look lovely in a series.  I have three framed in our hallway.

Most of these papers are also available to purchase at my place of employment, The Papery  (669 Fort Street in Victoria, BC).

Have you heard of www.freevintageposters.com?  It is a great source for free artwork.  You could take an image from the website to a printer and have a high quality poster made in virtually any size!  There are ten different categories to browse through and many images to choose from under each heading. 

I liked these two botanical posters for the colours and their simple, graphic quality:

I thought these two would be sweet in a little girl's room:

This one would be perfect in a kitchen or dining room:

And the two travel posters might be fun in an office or den:

In my next post I will discuss another source for cheap, cool art!