Paintings by Creative Thursday A.K.A. Marisa Haedike

© marisa haedike/creative thursdayI really like the painting style of Marisa Haedike over at her blog Creative Thursday. I so enjoyed reading her biography describing how she'd set aside time on Thursdays for Creative pursuits which has blossomed into a full-time career as an artist. She also sells prints of original works in her etsy shop.

Dimensional paper illustrator Helen Musselwhite

© helen musselwhite© helen musselwhite

These paper illustrations by artist Helen Musselwhite are amazing. Each creation is hand cut, folded and scored to build the layers of the scenes of the natural world which is Helen's inspiration. Well I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm inpsired by Helen.

DIY Maple Leaf Roses

image via haha.nuThis tutorial is from 2006, but I think it's wonderful. I ran across it on the haha.nu lifestyle blogzine, but it appears to have originated from this site. Estonia perhaps? I can't read cyrillic languages. I only have a teeny tiny smattering of Spanish, Hungarian and French. Just enough to cause native speakers to laugh hysterically. Anyway, what a gorgeous reuse of existing natural plant life into mimicking other plant life. 

Beautiful leather bag for bikes

flux productions

Via Design Sponge. If you have an old-school bike with a straight bar frame, this leather bicycle bag is a beauty. Flux Productions in Brooklyn is the creator and the handy snap strap keeps the bag from swinging while you're in motion. The size is 10x9x1.5 and they have some very cool leather cuff bracelets as well.

Trend: mustache macho

A trend that's been gaining steam recently is the resurgence of the mustache. They are everywhere these days and it brings back fond memories of the late seventies and The Village People ... oops, getting a little off track here. Back to the 'stache—here are few handmade gems that might tickle your nose:

1. Mustache Love Necklace by Isette

2. Mustache rocks glasses by Modern Madness

3. Mustache pacifier by Zieak

4. Mustache on a Stick disguise by Maro Designs

ReadyMade Rake DIY jewelry organizer

I've been needing to organize my necklaces for quite some time and ran across this great article in the February/March 2011 issue of ReadyMade magazine on how to turn an old rake into a DIY jewelry organizer. What a great way to upcycle a broken garden tool.

Chandelier handmade heaven

Chandeliers have been a hot theme for quite some time now—especially as graphic silhouettes used as decorative device. Here are a few handmade examples that I find fetching:

1. Hand-dyed chandelier tags from 5 Dollar French Market

2. Chandelier folded thank you notes from Inspot Workshop

3. Chandelier vinyl wall sticker decal from Urban Walls