June Parrish Studio Tour

Ink Vanilla is the perpetual artistic blog of June Parrish Cookson. Inside you will find an artist overloaded with creative energy. She weaves a magical story through words, art and photos that will keep you captivated at her every muse. Her studio is full of inspiration, the artist in you will metamorphis when you enter into this haven for the artistic mind. June resides in the Pacific Northwest and has worn many hats as a Cartoonist, Graphic Designer, Muralist, Decorative Painter, Freelance Illustrator for Publishing Companies and Commercial and Fine Artist. Visit her Ink Vanilla blog for a more intimate look at this incredible fine artist.

Dreamy Art, Charming Walls

Dreaming of imaginative artwork to make your walls charming? Charmingwall.com is a New York gallery specializing in a curated selection of open-edition prints. Their fascinating website introduces you to the artists they represent. From Daria Tessler to Wendy Crabb, from traditional fine arts to comic book culture with a common gift for creating richly imaginative designs. These artists are dreamers and have created their personal lifestyle by making a living at their true passion. Click away for more info on this unusual site and blog.

Mr. French is Fab and Fun!

Jerry French of the French Paper Company is at it again! This time he is offering a blow-up Jerry French doll with all orders over $100.00! Act fast time is running out!
You'll be smitten with Mr. French's Mod-Tone paper collection, the boss ensemble of "Pop-Ink" gifts to die for and the fragrant dope soap sets, made of all-natural essential oils. Check out this dyno-mite site loaded with funky, fun and fab paper creations and a multitude of clever and fun gifts for all occassions.

Art Circus!

Step right up to a funtastical new book by the talented Lisa Kettell. Featuring playful illustrations, vintage imagery and use of a myriad of other mixed-media materials ranging from glitter and wire to crinolin and coloring agents. It will bring the reader, the daydreamer, the explorer, and the artist to a place they have never been. Where they can unleash their artistic dreams and explore hidden worlds through cutting-edge techniques, creative projects, and beautiful images. Art Circus! includes easy tutorials on basic digital altering effects for new and vintage images, step by step instruction for projects, a gallery of inspirational ideas from other artists, plus clip art and vintage images for readers to use in their own projects. Join this creative circus with digital and paper alteration, creating from found and household objects (jars and boxes). Pre-order this delightful and amusing book today at Amazon.com!

Beautiful Winner...

Our Beautfiul Day giveaway winner is Scrappy Jessi... We are so happy to be sending you our Beautiful Day giveaway ring. May you always remember that each and every day is a gift. Cherish the minutes the moments and the monuments along the way. Thank you to everyone who entered and shared why their day was so beautiful, your heartfelt comments, dreams and encouragement make our lives beautiful! Suzy & Polly

A Beautiful Day Giveaway!

Why is your day beautiful? Leave us a comment on why your day is beautiful-and you will be entered to win a playful Marc Jacobs Daisy Ring. A mod gold flower ring twists to reveal the solid perfume inside, tucked into a beautiful gold zipper pouch... Daisy is a sparkling floral fragrance and a must win for this Spring season! Wishing you all a beautiful day today and always! We will pick the winner on May 1, 2008, in honor of May Day celebrations! Good luck!

The Tale of an Artist

Born among the briars & brambles in backwoods of Medford, Oregon, Evan Benjamin Harris grew up with little knowledge of the bourgeois big city fine arts. So, he dove into the recesses of his own dreamy imagination and embraced the fables and folklore that fascinated him. With little to do but draw, he did exactly that. Now older, things haven’t changed much. The stories he created as a child are still present in his paintings.
Broken boards, oil and acrylic paints, charcoal pastels, plastic resign, and melted waxes are among the mediums Evan uses. Then they are beaten, brushed, sanded, polished, and hung.
Most would cringe at the idea of scratching or sanding something they spent hours upon hours painting, but that’s Evan’s favorite part- creating the appearance that this wasn’t made in the 21st century, maybe in the 20th. So, behind every scratch and claw mark, there is a story to tell.

Catalina Estrada Fantasy

Born and raised in Colombia, and living in Barcelona since 1999, Catalina brings all the colors and power of Latin-American folklore and refines it with a subtle touch of European sophistication. Her ability for creating fascinating illusive worlds, full of colors, nature, enchanting characters, and dreams bursts in all of her works: art, graphic design and illustration. Presented as a fresh and new design talent by Communication Arts and Computer Arts magazines, her work has also been featured by Die Gestalten Verlag, Swindle, DPI, Paper and Graphic Magazine.
Some of her clients include: Paul Smith, Coca-Cola, Nike, Honda, Custo-Barcelona, Salomon, Chronicle Books, Motorola and many others. She has found her purpose and is living her dream daily. Check out her on-line portfolio and to see her upcoming events.

Girly Chic Boutique

This fairytale boutique is a dream come true for two inseparable friends and business partners, Kate and Nicole. Their vision for a chic and magical store filled with unique clothing, decorative items and baby goods, came true in the Fall of 2004. They have been decorating, antiquing and smiling ever since! Take a peek at their on-line photostream, breeze by their website or visit them in real life on Westfield Blvd, Indianapolis.

An American Dreamer

Young, talented, humble, innocent, honest and endearing. These are a just few words to describe David Archuleta who was born in Miami, Florida on December 28th 1990. In February of 1997, David and his family moved to Salt Lake City, Utah where he lives with his parents, his brother, 3 sisters and 2 cats. He comes from a musical family where his mother sings both Spanish and English pop music, and his dad is a jazz trumpet player. David dreams of winning American Idol and having a fruitful career in the music industry. His favorite colors are purple and yellow and he loves pizza and lettuce. We can just "Imagine" all the people who will be your fans on that "Long and Winding Road" to "Heaven". Until then we are "Waiting on the World to Change" until it is "Just Another Day in Paradise" for you!

A DREAMY Italian Vacation

Greg and I have returned from our amazing trip to Italy. Ten days of pure bliss! Thanks to my sweet sister Suzy watching my children, I had ten completely stress free days........no worries!

Our trip began and ended in Rome with a stay in Florence in between. Our first hotel in Rome was atop the Spanish Steps which is a beautiful way to begin and end each day. We walked nearly ten miles each day from one sight to another and many stops on side streets along the way. What a feeling to walk the cobblestone streets and take in the sounds of Rome, scooters whizzing by and beeping horns from teeny cars. We found a neat little cheese and meat shop near the Spanish Steps and at the end of each day, on our way back to our hotel we stopped in to pick up yummy cheese, meat, olives, sun dried tomatoes, crispy bread and delicious regional wines. We enjoyed these tasty treats back in the hotel room, sipping the wine and chatting about our adventures of the day.

After a few days in Rome we hopped aboard a train and headed for Florence. Our hotel was down the street from the Duomo and near a church. How lovely to wake up to the ringing of bells and the busy hustle on the street below. We celebrated Greg's birthday while in Florence and had the most memorable day. We took a 2 mile walk to a church in the hills and it was spectacular! We passed groves of Olive trees and rows of Cypress trees. It was quiet and we took our time, stopping to take in the views and snap some photos. We ate lunch at a sweet little restaurant off the beaten path and what a delight when all of the patrons began to sing Happy Birthday to Greg!

We headed back to Rome for the final days of our vacation. Another great hotel in a different spot which was great as there was so many new sights to see!

Photos from our trip can be viewed at my Flickr be sure to check back as I'm uploading new photos daily!