RedRedOrange Etsy is back!

I am pleased to announce that the RedRedOrange Etsy site is back on line, just in time for the holidays! In addition to all new personal stationery and holiday cards, I am also debuting a 2011 calendar that I hope you will enjoy. Hop on over and take a look!

Photoshop Actions From the Pioneer Woman Save the Day

Last weekend I got to see my niece and nephew again, and boy are they growing! My entire family (minus my husband who had lives to save) went to Colorado and being the doting Auntie that I am, of course I took a million pictures of them. The difficulty of this task is enormous. They can walk now so you have to be ready to put down the camera to save them from falling off cliffs, drowning in rivers, chasing dogs, eating mulch and other perils at a moments notice. Did I mention there are two of them? Oy vey! They also don't really enjoy facing the sun. Luckily they sat still for a few moments every once in a while, so even though they weren't facing the light like I wanted them to (probably not a good idea to burn their retinas in these formative years) I was able to capture some in-focus shots of them. This my friends is a very big deal. I am not so good with my camera, but with the help of the Pioneer Woman's Photoshop Actions, I was able to touch up some of them and am really happy with the results! ** Just a disclaimer, these kids are constantly smiling, the fact that I have no pictures of them with smiles is not representative of their demeanor **

Straight out of the camera (his handsome face is hiding in the shadows)

Boost + Lighten (just on his face) + All about the Eyes = Much Better!

Straight out of the camera (this isn't doing her rosy cheeks or her blue eyes justice)

Boost x 2 +All About The Eyes + Lighten = Oh so pretty!

Birthday Card + Color Collective Palettes

The Happy, Happy Birthday Challenge is now open for voting over at Minted. I only submitted one design to this competition, but I love it and that is all that matters. When choosing my color palette, I looked to The Color Collective website for inspiration. If you havent discovered Lauren's amazing blog, be sure to check it out. Here is the design that I submitted, along with the image that inspired the colors. Feel free to go on over and vote for your favorite designs!

Banner Year Birthday (above) inspired by this color palette (below)

Friday Photo - I caught a fish!

Fresh Blue Fin in Nantucket

For Father's day my brother and I took my dad out fishing off the coast of Nantucket. I know, between Savannah and Nantucket I am pretty much living a summer straight out of novel. I had never caught a fish bigger than my hand, and was really excited to real in a big one. My brother ended up catching a gigantic 36" Striped Bass which was of course the biggest fish I have ever seen. The thing about my brother is that he manages to win at everything. Seriously. Card Games, fantasy football, catching the biggest fish... everything. But it all evens out because we brought these puppies back to our rental house and he made us some delicious ceviche, so it does pay to have a brother that wins. Look how shiny that eye is!

Papillionaire Bicycles

My grandmother has the most fantastic red bicycle, it is a Schwinn Breeze and once upon a time had a super comfortable lambswool seat cover. Every summer that I visit her, I like to take the Breeze out for a spin along Lake Michigan even though it is in a serious need of new tires and the seat cover has gone missing after years of zooming around.

These vintage style bicycles from Papillonaire remind me so much of the Breeze, and with a relatively low price tag (not sure if they ship outside of Australia yet) the Sommer model would be perfect for the streets of Philadelphia. Check out the Papillonaire website where you can customize your own bike with special touches like leather handle grips and a wicker basket!

Botanical Posters

I love these hanging canvas posters from Evolution, the unexpected black backgrounds are incredibly chic and make the colors pop off the page.

clockwise from top left: Cherry, Dog Rose,  Cowslip Primrose,  Pea

According to their website, these Scientific German Educational Charts were originally illustrated in the middle of the 20th century, and continue to be reproduced by the same printer. I think these would look great in a white and grey kitchen like this:

originally from Domino, found on Flickr

The Great Minnesota Get Together

Allan Peters found via Twig and Thistle

I spent the first 18 years of my life in Minnesota, and while there are many things I miss about growing up there, it is the State Fair that I miss the most. Our house was within walking distance to the fair grounds which meant that for the last two weeks of summer my nights consisted of corn on the cob, strawberry milk shakes, rides on the big green and yellow slide and hanging out with friends in the midway.  I saw my first concert of my life there (Peter Paul and Mary), stuck my hand into the side of a cow to feel its stomachs, watched Princess Kay of the Milky Way get her likeness carved into a block of butter, and got the living daylights scared out of me in the haunted house. I haven't been to the fair since I went away to college, but I saw this poster and couldn't help but miss the cheese curds, giant hogs, tractor pulls, pickles on a stick and nightly fireworks displays of my youth. I really am still a midwest girl at heart!