Lo's Southwestern Inspired Etsy Favorites

Hi all! Things have been pretty busy around here, which is nice. I have a few wonderful people lined up for Toast Tuesday but haven't gotten their inspiration stories yet and I love Toast Tuesday partly just for that so I really couldn't feature these amazing shops without it. But I decided to share with you some of my favorites from Etsy, which just so happen to be Southwestern inspired. I hope you enjoy!

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10.

Also readers thanks so much for your comments! They really make me happy, even just knowing that you are reading makes me just the happiest lady!

Thanks!

-Lo

What Inspires You?: The Citybird's Nest

Hi All! Today we have the lovely CB of The Citybird's Nest. I'm so lucky to have this talented lady guest blogging here. She creates adorable art that you just want to hang in every room and the cutest jewelry that you could easily adorn yourself with every single day. I cannot wait to buy one of her necklaces that has been in my Etsy favorites for some time! Oh, and she is also a super cool biker chick...not the Harley kind but the road bike of your dreams kind! Here is CB with what inspires her:

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 wearing one of my owldorable necklaces

hi everyone! i'm cb from the citybirds nest and a big thanks to lo for having me here in her sweet corner of the blogsphere! i hope she has a great adventure with her friends while camping, one of summers best and greatest activities!

as an artist so many things inspire me. i find it in the smallest things, in the people that i meet, thrifting, blogs & magazines i read, the city i live in and adventures the mister and i go on.

color is a huge part of my life. the world is not black and white, it is a full spectrum of vivid color and color combination just bursting right in front of us. i love trying out new color combination's and expressing them through my work. life without color is a life not truly explored.

recently the mister and i went bike camping to the redwood forest of california and the bright clover greens, the yellow of the rolling hills and the light blue of the sky were truly outstanding. that color combination mixed with the textures of the smooth creek rocks and the weathered wood stirred in me something that i had been thinking about for some time. it sparked all types of fun creations that i am just waiting to develop. 

one of the greatest thing about being an artist is the constant stream of inspiration that surrounds us on a daily basis.

-- 

cristie
the citybirds nest blog / shop

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What an inspirational post! I liked when talking about color CB said, "life without color is not truly explored". This is so incredibly true. We are really drawn to color on a regular day to day basis and sometimes our moods even respond to color. I hope that all of you check out her amazing shop (and blog of course!) Here are two items from her shop that I am in love with, just thought I would share with you:

Thanks so much for stopping in! I hope you enjoyed this week of inspiration! Talk to you soon about my little adventure! :)

-Lo

What Inspires You? Oh Renee Design

Hi all! I am really loving this week of inspiration...these ladies have been creating some really inspiring inspiration! haha. Renée of ohrenée design blog is oh so sweet to guest blog today about her inspiration! Renée is just about the sweetest most warm hearted person. She loves to promote her blogger friends and brings beautiful images to life through her photography, whether it be via iphone or professional DSLR. I cannot tell you how much I enjoy all the images on her blog and I look forward to seeing these images day to day. Thank you Renée for such an amazing post about what inspires you! 
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Hello hello lovely friends of Lo and Little Somethings! My name is Renée. If you haven't stopped by to say hi before, I blog/ramble over at ohrenée design and I also run my own photography business and online shop! 

Annnnnd I am so so so honored to be guest posting for Miss Lo as she is off on vacation!

  Trying not to be jealous over here, how abouts you? :) 

Lo very sweetly asked if I would talk about what inspires me. 

And my first thought was....oh crap. Ummm. Food? Haha. I love to eat. 

I guess inspiration is one of those silly things that we sometimes aren't even aware of. I carry a little journal around with me to scribble thoughts and drawing ideas when they come to me but it took me a little while to actually figure out what those moments were caused by. What it is exactly that I'm doing when I'm inspired...ya know? 

Inspiration. That's a pretty big word. 

SO. I broke it down to the few things that consistently move me to be creative and think in new directions. It doesn't mean that twenty three gazillion other things don't inspire me on a daily basis, but these things are what do so repeatedly. 

1. Magazines

And by magazines, I don't mean the actual articles (although sometimes they do too). Mostly I mean the photography, print, colors, models, room designs, etc. And what do I do with this inspiration? I hang it on my wall. 

I also have a giant binder of outfit ideas from various clothing magazines too. But that's a post for another day:) 

2. Anthropologie

I know I know. It's expensive. And I honestly only own a handful of things from there. BUT, every time I walk into that store I'm inspired. The colors, displays, patterning. It's the kind of visual stimulation that really speaks to me. And that goes for their catalogs too. They often end up on the inspiration wall. 

3. Vintage Patterning

Any type of retro vintage patterning really slays me. I swoon like some girls do in a jewelry store. I'm quietly stockpiling my vintage wardrobe as I find more and more fun pieces when thrifting and on Etsy. But I also am a sucker for vintage patterned sheets, pillow cases and tablecloths. They all make me want jump in giddy circles when I find them. 

And then their colors, patterns and florals make their way into my home decor, styling and art. I often find myself most attracted to prints and colors that reflect these vintage looks. Which is why I like to surround myself with these things....make sense?! :) 

Gahhhh. I for real just typed in "vintage fabric" on Pinterest and this is what I got. Oh I want!!! 

4. A Day with my Camera

Sometimes, when I'm feeling a little less than inspired or motivated to be creative....I take a walk with my camera. For some reason, behind that little square viewfinder, I find my inspiration again. Even if I'm only taking photos of cracks in the pavement. And if a walk with my camera isn't in the cards, I peruse some of my favorite creative photography online. I guess I'm a photographer at heart! 

All of this helps to inspire my photography and a few of the items I sell in my shop, Little Sparrow Somethings. I am a bit of an eclectic artist and am still working on making this space what I want it to be. I have a new line of illustrated prints ready for the fall and am compiling a collection of my still life photography for sale as well. It all just takes time. But you can be sure that you'll see bits of these inspirations throughout my work! 

Two important things I learned while writing this post. 

I am visually inspired more often than through any other way. And I like colors. Go figure:) 

Finding your style of creativity isn't always easy, especially with the overwhelming group of amazing artists out here in blogland! But, if you stick with what you are good at and realize what consistently inspires and encourages you to create I really feel like you'll be more true to yourself as an artist. At least in my humble little opinion. :) 

Thanks again Lo for letting me ramble on and on over here!!! You are the sweetest!!

loves, renée

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I just think Renée is great, don't you!? I love Renée's ideas about finding your own style of creativity. I agree in her thinking that it is really important to stick to what you are good at and to enhance upon that with what inspires you. Sounds like a delicious cocktail for creative genius! I would love to share with you lovelies my favorites from Little Sparrow Somethings here:

Thanks so so much for stopping in, I hope that you visit her blog, shop and photography!

-Lo

What Inspires You?: A Lost Feather

Hi amazing bloggers! Today, I have the lovely Sarah from A Lost Feather! If you didn't happen to know, Sarah created my beautiful Etsy banner and business cards for my recently launched Etsy shop. She is such a creative soul and I am so happy she is here to tell us about what inspires her.
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Hello! I'm Sarah from A Lost Feather- a blog about art, travel and adventures. Lo asked me to keep you all company while she's away on an amazing vacation.. I'm so happy to be here!

Lo asked me to write about what inspires me. This is a topic I'm constantly asking myself since I'm an artist and I need to stay inspired. An uninspired artist is like a race car driver without a drivers license! Artist or not, we all need a bit of inspiration in our lives. Here are the places I search for mine..

1. The Great Outdoors. My boyfriend and I took this photo of ourselves in Yosemite National Park. Unfortunately, I can't go there all the time since it's on the other end of the country, but when I do get the chance to travel I try to take in as much beautiful imagery as possible. In places like Yosemite the inspiration is almost palpable.

Majestic scenes like this often inspire me to paint. In this particular case my painting (below) came before the photo..

2. The World Around Me. Having a phone with a camera is a great tool for gathering inspiration. Two of these photos were snapped while I was just out walking my dog, Boo. I'm constantly on the lookout for little pieces of beauty that could potentially go unnoticed. I love how the light is falling onto little Boo and my sister's soft expression.

3. Maps. I could stare at maps all day. I plan imaginary road trips all the time and I love making art that involves a map. When you look at a map everything seems so small and easy to get to. I like thinking of the world that way.. so much to see.. it would be easier if things were nearby. On a little map, they are!

4. Love: Matthew + Sarah= Love ... =Necklace (hehe)

My relationships with Matthew, my family and my friends are definitely a wonderful source of inspiration. Their constant support and love is forever pushing me forward in my artistic endeavors.

Of course there's also the internet.. amazing blogs, pinterest, flickr. Ah. I so love this online community. Where do you search for inspiration?



blog. shop. drawings.

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Thank you so much to Sarah for such a beautifully written post on what inspires her. I hope that you will visit her amazing blog and shop. I love that as she spoke of "the great outdoors" inspiration took over and the painting came even before the photo, what a beautiful piece of art. Speaking of inspiration...I bought a print from Sarah even before I began working with her on my Etsy stuff. I loved this print and it spoke to me as inspiration for my Printed Peaks collections:

I also thought I would share with you two items from her shop that I would love to own one day:

Thank you so much for stopping in and visiting with Sarah! 

-Lo

It's All About the Details: An Outfit Post

 scarf-thrifted

sunglasses-UO

tank-thrifted

shorts-UO

shoes-thrifted/etsy

Last night I made this delicious "spaghetti" and meat sauce. I made some changes because instead of using zucchini for the "spaghetti" I used green squash. I also didn't use sausage I just used ground turkey. This is a super healthy and gluten free way to enjoy "pasta"! Honestly, you may be thinking that squash cannot resemble pasta but it really felt like I was eating pasta...which was wonderful since I haven't had pasta in so long! But then the sweet boy and I wrecked our healthy eating by going to a late night movie. We were just so hot we had to get out of the house. We had pizza, sour patch kids, raisinettes, and a large coke! We were seriously partying! We saw Super 8 and I had my fingers close enough to my face just in case and could feel my heart beating so hard and fast...just a little terrifying for me! Check out the work Sarah did for me on my etsy banner and business cards over here! And Lyndall at Royal Milk Tea totally answered my questions about summer reading only for her it's winter reading, here! Love it!

 Thanks for visiting!

Lo

Printed Peaks Official Opening

Printed Peaks has now officially opened! I just finished listing all of the items today! So get your 1 of 15 Printed Peaks necklace asap! Or get a customized necklace! 

Special thanks to all of the wonderful people who have supported me, especially :

-my new readers

-Renee of Oh Renee Design

-CB of City Birds Nest

-Sarah of A Lost Feather (she made the best etsy banner for me..above..and amazing business cards)

-my sweet boy

-Mark Golembeski for being my first buyer

-my best friend Jenna Piper

-my friends

&

-my family

Thanks so much everyone for being so supportive! I greatly appreciate it!

-Lo

*Don't forget to check out my DIY below! :)

         

Sneak Peeks of Printed Peaks

Here is the second type of the Mansfield necklace that I created with a lighter stain and chocolate brown leather accents. 

Here is another Skye necklace with an ombre effect with the stains. I did make another one in a dark stain, which has already been sold. 

This is the second type of the Bromley necklace in this collection. I'm not sure if you can tell but it is done in a darker stain and the wood grain is definitely different from the one pictured above. 

And this is the third type of Bromley necklace, which is stained in the lightest stain.

This is the second type of the Stark necklace, which was featured in a recent outfit post. This may be my favorite of all of them, I absolutely adore the dark stain and chain details.

This is the third type of the stark necklace done in a lighter stain with chain and chocolate brown leather accents. 

The second type of the Equinox necklace is done in a darker stain with tan leather accents.

 This third type of Equinox necklace is done in a light stain with dark chocolate brown leather and chain accents underneath.

 This fourth type of Equinox necklace is done in a light stain and has chain fringe accents.

This fifth type of Equinox necklace is done in a dark stain with a lot of chain fringe accents.

So there you have it the remaining 14 of the 15 for Printed Peaks opening collection! Also, don't forget that I also have a number of unfinished pieces left for future collections but if you want in on this collection I would suggest a custom piece!  

Thanks so much for stopping in and sharing such a wonderful experience with me! It has been a true blast showing you all of these necklaces! Thank you so much for all of your support! You all are the best! I swear I plan to do a giveaway once I get on my feet again (find a job/get the shop running)

Thanks again!

-Lo