Angela Hamilton

conscious living

8 Valentine’s Day cards to say how you really feel

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I am a greeting card addict. I’ve been collecting them since high school. It’s one of my many quirks. Like it or not, Valentine’s Day is coming–and as someone who used to work in a greeting card STORE (dream job, right? for a 16 year old!), I can already feel the love! It only took me about five minutes to round up these cute/hilarious/cheeky Valentine’s Day cards, because I’d secretly been book marking them all month. I haven’t allowed myself to actually buy any of them this year because of my overload of holiday cards that I just had to have (and not send!) in December. Here are 8 cards that say it all for you:

 CarolineMcgahDesign (also featured in my last Etsy wishlist)

Do you give Valentine’s Day cards each year?

Artist Holly Farrell

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Holly Farrell is a painter based in Toronto whose work features everyday objects in an extremely realistic yet charming way. She has a focus on the vintage that’s very apparent, and I love how subjects like shoes or chairs are brought to life with the vivid colors and soft texture. When I saw her painting of a seafoam green armchair on Pinterest – which looks just like a photograph – I knew her study of these found objects were perfect pieces to share here on the blog. What do I like most about
Holly’s work? It’s hard to decide, but think of the types of wonderful rooms in homes these paintings could be found in? A collection of women’s shoes for a dainty powder room, images of the chairs or books in a library? Some of my favorite pieces from her are the mugs and chairs, though she has done representations of vintage dolls and Barbies. It puts me in the mood to go to an antique shop.
I read on Holly’s press page that she is a self-taught painter, who actually hasn’t been painting all her life – amazing! Her work is featured in various galleries and they’re available for purchase (some of the features here are sold out). Thank you, Holly, for letting me feature your work!

Secondhand styled: vintage crochet crop top

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November in Los Angeles means cool mornings and warm afternoons. Over the weekend, with a high of 82 degrees, I thought back to these photos I took last month and never got around to posting. I bought this basic white crochet-style crop top at a thrift store months ago, but because of the mid-length, it doesn’t get out much. But, I finally found the perfect way to style it – with a light, high-waist maxi skirt and basic accessories.

The top is thick enough for the cool mornings, and while summer’s long gone, I still can’t get over the cute faded pattern of this skirt… a boutique score for around $14.

How would you style this top for wear in your city’s winter weather? I know this definitely wouldn’t work in my hometown in Washington – it’s freezing there right now.
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Nature inspired handmade gifts

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I’m SO excited that the holidays are finally here! I know at at this time of the month they always seem so far away still, but then they creep up on you and suddenly it’s New Years Day. I shared some of my favorite handmade gifts for the holidays last year, and this year I wanted to share more recent finds.
Most of my favorite art, accessory, and decor products are nature inspired so this doesn’t follow too closely a theme besides being whimsical and artful, and hopefully perfect handmade gift ideas! Check out my finds…
 Berry Headband by Ellsewhere Bride, $237
 Natural Solid Perfume by IlluminatedPerfume, $35
 Rabbit Plywood Print by WhatWeDoDK, $76
 Cluster Gold Ring by IslesJewelry, $34
 Hemp Infinity Scarf by windwardwearables $44
Ceramic Elephant Figurine by Claylicious, $32
Will you be putting handmade on your gift shopping list this year? I’ll have a new gift guide every week through December, so stay tuned.

Etsy artist Upper Tiny

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Summer may be over but my love of bright colors and all things cute is definitely not. That’s why when I found this shop, Upper Tiny, on Etsy, I knew I had to share it here.
Artist Jenn makes all sorts of paper products, little gifts, and art prints out of her charming drawings and paintings.  One of my favorite things about Etsy are that there are so many artists who use it to make their work accessible. I love all the different products available in Upper Tiny from stickers to cards.

I love cute cards like this, and the cactus + heart is so adorable!

Customized stickers – perfect for books… a little practical and a little abstract at once.


Here I love the pyramid and geometric theme present in her work, but I think my favorite part of her shop are the color combinations. They’re cheery and bright, and yet very unique and interesting.

Of course, one of the best parts of seeing anyone’s work is getting a glimpse of their workspace:

(I really need a peg board now).

Read more about Jenn here, and if you like her work, be sure to check out her other websites below. There are more fun photos of her studio on her tumblr, too!

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Jordan de Ruiter clothing

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When I first started this blog I wanted the theme of finding to appear not necessarily in my travel posts or featured artists; I wanted found to describe the state of objects as I transformed them from thrift store finds to crafts, art pieces, or home decor items. Somehow, I haven’t transformed too many items in the past few months, and instead I’ve found new artists to look at, blogs to read, products to buy, and places to go. It seems that for now at least, these will be my main topics, while I search for those DIYs that got me thinking of my finds in the first place.

The other day I came across the Etsy shop, Jordan de Ruiter. I’ll admit, I kind of have a thing for handmade clothing shops exhibiting lots of playful florals, big hearts, and repeating patterns. Oh, and tulle… lots of tulle. You might not find me walking around in a fluffy tulle skirt any time soon, but when I saw Jordan’s shop, I felt one step closer to living that pretty dream…
The first thing I noticed in Jordan’s shop (besides the bold florals above!) are the different photoshoots her pieces have been on. I love romantic styling, and it’s always lovely to see a different artist’s take on handmade pieces – such as the scene depicted in the photo above, by Megan Bruekelman.

In the shoot above (Michelle Mez photography), model Cara Bisio Davidian wears the Jayne bustier with a bold print.

But I also really love the fun behind-the-scenes type images Jordan features in her shop.
Jordan de Ruiter is based in Toronto and features skirts, dresses, tops, and now, accessories. These are just a few of my favorite pieces… check out her websites below for more:

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