Writing pad

I would love to write a love letter or will on this writing pad. (via Debi van Zyl via ffffound!)

Claerwen James

I have to admit that I am not a fan of portraits as I find them too literal and direct. But I couldn't help gasping at the beauty of these artwork by Claerwen James when I saw them at Layer's of Meaning. Claerwen has a doctorate in Cell Biology from the University of London. While Science was her first love, she enrolled at the Slade School of Fine Arts after realising that painting was the centre of her life.

The colours, mystery and beauty of the expressions captured by these still portraits are beyond words. More of her work can be seen here.

Collective Housing in Tokyo

This is a collective housing project by Sou-Fujimoto which should be completed by now. It is located in the centre of Tokyo on a 143 sq m plot of land. Made of wood, it is designed so that you experience the house like it is a mountain. How fun!

Bibs by Ethic Garden

Adorable bibs by Ethic Garden. I love how the bibs are superimposed with the beautiful sky as the background.

Aliette

Gorgeous prints by Aliette, a graphic designer from Paris. You can purchase her work from her etsy shop here!

Children's illustrations by Tutti

Gorgeous illustrations by Tutti, a graphic designer and illustrator from Tel-Aviv (Israel). The style of her drawings reminds me of illustrations from vintage children story books from the Ladybird series. Do check out more of her work at her etsy shop here.

pencil calendar

The pencil calendar consists of 12 color-coded pencils to indicate the seasonal temperature and the days of the year printed along the whole length of the pencil, allowing each day to be sharpened off. Designed by, and available for sale at, Mytton Williams design

Things I miss

I miss ballet...very much.

(photos by Tim Evan Cook)

Gee beauty

I love the simplicity of this packaging from a beauty salon in Toronto called Gee. (via)

Textile jewelry

Gorgeous textile jewelry by talented Argentian artist Maria Sol Marsico. Do check out more amazing work from her flickr page.

My Best Friend's Wedding (part II)

I had blogged about helping to do the wedding invites for my best friend Elaine's wedding here. These are some pictures from the wedding to share. (above) Elaine and her then fiance (Chee) dashing around Singapore to run errands the day before the wedding.

(above) These were some corsages I made from lace and ribbons for the wedding party. As you can see, the colour theme of the wedding was black and cream which we carried through all the decor.

(above) Reception table which I helped decorate. The birdcage with message written on tags was an idea I came up with just the day before when the bride realised she didn't have a wedding book for her guest to write their well wishes on. Representing a new home for the newly weds, the birdcage also doubled up as a centre-piece on the reception table. Each guest could write their messages on as many tags as they liked to attach onto the cage which was painted a goth black.

(above) Wedding programs. The wedding program was 16 pages long and we compiled everything into a mini booklet held together by a black grosgrain ribbon and handmade paper embossed with the couple's initials on the front cover.

(above) wedding confetti

(Above) Wedding favours. And for wedding favours, we had jars filled to the brim with candy that guests could dig their hands into. Sadly, my 2 year old had to be bribed with one of these before she agreed to walk down the aisle as the flower girl. Here is a pic of her leading the wedding entourage with a chuppa chup sticking out of her mouth. The sugar rush put her on high the entire wedding service.

(Above) My 2 year old daughter, Vera, acting as the flower girl with a chuppa chup sticking out of her mouth as we led the wedding entourage down the aisle.

World's Most Creative Work Environments

I saw this pic at the coolhunter under the call for submission for the "World's Most Creative Work Environments". I am so in love this idea although I wonder if one could get a little looney working in a cylinder... Does anyone know where this project is?

Stunning Hairpiece

Don't you think this hairpiece is simply stunning and romantic? I really think it will be gorgeous on a wedding entourage. You can also request to have these made smaller. (via laceandtea)

Retro-yummy skates!

These retro rollarskates are just too yummy. oh I do miss rollar skating...reminds me of my growing-up years.

New Year, New Inspirations

Happy New Year and welcome back to Laissezfaire! Hope everyone had a good break from whatever you usually do and got to spend some quality time with family and friends! I know this sounds cliche but I can't believe it is 2009! It really seems like yesterday we just celebrated the turn of the century.

I will kick start the new year here at laissezfaire by sharing some amazing places and inspiring work I recently discovered. Top of the list has got to be the lyrical work by Russian Graphic artist Yulia Brodskaya. My jaws dropped when I first came across her work at Oh Joy.

I also came across these lovely handcrafted menus at The Casual Poet, a little store-cum-coffee shop in Singapore which sells a nicely curated selection of books, t-shirts, stationery, and other wonderful creative goods.

And if you are still looking for calender for the new year, this would be perfect! You can even personalise the calendar to include your "logo".

(above) Seeing Eye Calander.

Wishing everyone Happy Holidays!

Hope everyone had a good time with family and friends over Christmas. I was so busy tending to last minute gift orders from the online shop that I didn't get the chance to wish everyone a very 'Merry Christmas' earlier this week.

Anyway, I just wanted to take the opportunity this special time of the year to say that it has been such a joy getting to know so many of you through this blog. I am truely thankful for your warm friendship. Even though I have not been able to post as often as I would like to in recent months since the birth of my second child, knowing that you are still visiting keeps me motivated and inspired in more ways than you can imagine. Thank you so much for your support.

I will be signing off to spend more time with family and friends for the rest of the year but will be returning on Jan 5. Meanwhile, here's wishing everyone Happy Holidays and all the very best for 2009! Here is a little festive dance from my family to yours.

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

And if you are looking for some ideas that will make this New Year's eve party a little prettier and more memorable, here are some lovely ideas to share from Martha Stewart.com.

Above: Place your homemade Oatmeal cookie in these lovely CD sleeves to give to your guests

Above: These Confetti and noisemaker will make a very fun and pretty looking New Year party favour
(Above) Customise store stationary with a rubber stamp and pad

It's easy to miss something you are not looking for

One of the funniest advertisements I have seen in a while that drives the message across. (via Mr Brown)

Mister Rob Ryan

Gorgeous papercuts by paper artist Rob Ryan. Do check out his blogs here and here! (Thanks meefedtothemax for the links!)

Wall Calander

Watch winter turn to spring with this for a wall calendar by architecture duo at StokkeAustad. I imagine the leaf-like tags are like sticky tapes that you remove as the year goes by and the colour of the wall changes to reflect the 4 seasons. (above) The whole year in colour. (Image above from une toche de.)

Level 5

Just in case you miss your floor. (via ffffound!)

Falling words

Amazing project by Letras Caindo found here. (via Swissmiss)

Perforated calendar

This perforated calendar that allows you to tear off each day of the year is such a simple yet brilliant idea! (via delight by design)

Pretty bitter gift tags

Great gift tags with a touch of humour.

Handmade stamps from Nora Jane

Adorable handmade stamps from Nora Jane that you can use to stamp away your own Christmas giftwrap. (via Sweet & Low)