Friday Finds - Inspiration is Everywhere - Mast Brothers Chocolate!

The Mast Brothers from The Scout on Vimeo.

You will just love these Brooklyn chocolatiers - the Mast Brothers - I'm even digging those beards!

DIY Upcycled Flea Market Finds - Door Handles

This week's tutorial had to be put on the back burner since I am still finishing up my tradeshow display that needs to ship out in about 48 hours ... ugh!

Hopefully, I will be back on track next week, in the meantime here is a great way I have gotten to use one of last month's flea market purchases.

These are two vintage letterpress pieces (I had a major coup earlier in the summer with a ton of these) reused as armoire door handles.

Almost anything can be a drawer pull or door handle and even just mixing and matching pieces like the 2 samples shown below on the right can make a big difference. If I'm using real drawer pulls I like to just change 1 pull to add some interest and whimsy and save a few bucks since the nice ones (like those from Anthropologie) can be pricey.

Kids vintage blocks and rubber stamps would work great, too! And there is always some amazing inspiration on Etsy:


1. Still Memory's amazing photograph Exit
2. Monkeyshine's brushed nickel draw pull with vintage crab
3. 1950's hardware store cabinet at FrenchbyDesign
4. Letterpress fist from TurnersCollectibles
5. Pink painted mahogany chest by Rubyrhino1

Take 10 Tuesday - the lazy girl summer version where we get to 8 this week

1. Annie Leonard's The Story of Cosmetics - a must see!

2. On Perfect Timing - when things aren't happening fast enough at Tiny Buddha

3. Time Management Tips for Shop Owners at the Ecoetsy team blog by Greenearthgoodies

4. The Awareness of Pain and the Pain of Awareness at BlissCick

5. 3 Reasons You're Not Charging What You're Worth at the Launch Coach

6. Cowboy Up! break away from the other artists at the Art Biz Blog

7. Too Smart for Your Business at Awake at the Wheel by Alexis Neely

8. Getting Unstuck - solving the perfect problem by Seth



*courage poster by lillebarntoo*

Friday Finds- Inspiration is Everywhere!

Designer Armin Fischer set out to create a mix of hotel and hostel and the result is Superbude (Supershack) a budget-hostel in Hamburg with funny design elements like coat-hangers made of plungers.

You know the guests will never forget this!

How can we add some playful elements to our own work that will make us unforgettable?

Are we taking ourselves too seriously?

Melbourne indie artist Kimbra has created this beautiful video clip.

It got me thinking about all the amazing illustrators I know and how incredible their work could look when collaborated with photogs or with unusual surfaces.

How can we create something amazing with our own work by adding another medium or unique product surface?




This bicycle helmet by french designer Kévin Goupil is based on an old french army helmet. Entirely made of cork, it's green, lightweight and definitely looks cool!

What new materials can we use to give our work a whole new life?

How can an iconic image be updated with a modern material?


The girl scouts have been rebranded with an updated shade of green, bangs and a nose job!

And since I am on a mission to bring back bangs I just love this!

Even an iconic image like the scouts can use a little updating (did those lips get a little plumping, too - ugh!?)

Can our own logos use a little boost this summer?

Have a wonderful weekend everyone and keep your inspiration notebooks handy!

Vintage Rolling Pin Towel Rack DIY Upcycled Tutorial

I have been wanting to add a towel bar or two to my kitchen butcher block counter (which was originally a potting shed cabinet) for a long time.

I recently picked up a couple vintage rolling pins at a flea market and knew they would be just perfect!

I had some hardware left over from this bottle project last Christmas, but you can easily pick some up in the electrical or plumbing department of your local hardware store.

Plus it spins when you pull the towel - how cool is that!

you will need:

a rolling pin
2 galvanized split ring hangers (bring rolling pin to store for sizing)
2 3/8" galvanized ceiling flange (plumbing or electrical department),
3/8 threaded pipe cut to size (store will cut),
(4) #12X1" screws
measuring tape, screwdriver and drill

1. measure for placement
2. measure twice!
3. mark and drill screw holes
4. screw in ceiling flange and then add threaded pipe
5. add split ring hanger with rolling pin



Now head over to Etsy and get yourself an amazing handtowel:

1. the heated advice by theheated
2. pistol bar towel from branchhandmade
3. mr. darcy proposal hand towels by brookish
4. kitchen bits tea towel by wonderthunder
5. organic summer pennant tea towel by katherinejlee
6. essential herbs kitchen towels by nestahome
7. mussel organic linen tea towel by madderroot

see lots of other great upcycle projects HERE

Take 10 Tuesday - the lazy-girl summer version where we get to 7 this week

1. What Lady Gaga can teach you about spreading your influence at Think Traffic

2. 5 Creative Ways to Reach into your Online Community

3. Cocktail Lines and True Presence - the power of not relying on your past - another great Danielle LaPorte interview

4. How to Overcome Limiting Beliefs at Illuminated Mind

5. It's Just Business, It's Always Personal at CraftMBA

6. A Creative Time Out by Stephey Baker for Scoutie Girl.

7. Do You Know People Who Can Help Your Business Grow? - August 3rd class at CraftyPod about making connections

Crafting the Intention for Your Business - a brief bit about why you may need to figure this thing out

"An intention synchronistically organizes its own fulfillment."
— Deepak Chopra

When I created Olive Bites I never really sat down and took the time to think about my intention for this venture and how this intention (desire without attachment to the outcome) would guide my business decisions.

This is different than goal setting- it's not about earning X amount in X amount of time, numbers and percentages - it's more about your big picture thinking.

The WHY of your business - the inspiration for all of this in the first place.

I knew I wanted to create original work, work with certain materials and show that eco can be beautiful because mostly people do not connect the two things. And because this is my intention - I do these things.

But I didn't give alot of thought about how (and why) I intended for this business to grow and most importantly how I intended for this creative adventure called Olive Bites to fit into my life.

And because I set no big-picture intentions for these things, these are exactly the things that have grown in unintended directions.

As I move into wholesale I had started to question my own intentions with this growth -

- it's not like I have to grow in this particular direction (selling to stores) and hubby is not a big fan of anything that sounds like more work for me -

I did not want the growth to be out of fear and I knew that part of my push to do this now is the culture of copying the internet has fostered.

(more on this some other time, I never have the stomach to talk much about this, it is enough to say that it is totally heart breaking and expensive to have to deal with)

I know I cannot grow out of fear.

I need this growth to be from love; love of my creations, love of the process, love of the sharing with other people (this cannot be done on my own - something I always tend to want to do), love of the change this growth will be creating in my life (and other people's).

So I am taking the time to set some big old intentions for all of this and then releasing my attachment to the outcome (and I am determined to let my day to day decisions be guided by these intentions).

Setting your intention helps you make the right decisions ... for you.

If it is your intention to have your own business so that you can set your own hours, have time with your children, etc then you will make different decisions than someone whose intention for their business is to pay the rent or someone whose intention is to be the number one creator of thingamajigs in the universe.

There is no right way or wrong way, but I am thinking this 24/7 life would be a little bit easier for us if we let our big picture intentions guide our day to day decisions.

Note that often when we set our intentions things will happen to 'test' them.

When you set your intention to not work weekends, you will likely be offered up an opportunity that will require exactly this. It is like the universe is checking in with you to see if this is what you really want.

And when this happens, remember this is not something that is happening to you, it is something that is happening for you.

If you are living an expansive life you always get to decide, there are no wrong decisions here, just decisions that are better ... for you.

(amazing growth illustration - maidenhair fern #3 by gollybard above)