Handcrafted Excellence, Sandra Marie Michaluk

If there is one thing I've really gained an appreciation for via my blogging travels it's the truly amazing world of handcrafted jewelry design. I am in awe of the talent that resides in this arena and truly inspired by the work of designer Sandra Michaluk. Be sure to spend a few minutes on her fabulous website. it is chalk full of gorgeous work, k

Passionate About Lampwork

Just a quick little treat tonight. Lampwork comes in all sorts of shapes and styles and even darling doggies like this adorable bead from studimarcy. absolutely adorable, k

Handcrafted Magic, Melanie Tomlinson

I was doing a bit of browsing today on a few of my favorite arty sites when I came across this amazing work by artist Melanie Tomlinson. Plan to spend a few minutes on her site. It really feels like you have entered a magical world of fantasy, pattern and color. I love it when I happen onto something so original and unexpected. absolutely lovely work, k

Handcrafted Excellence, Sarah Hood

Browsing one of my favorite blogs Heegledab I came across this gorgeous line of jewelry by artist Sarah Hood. The collections are so varied yet all follow a nature inspired theme. My favorite is the leaf necklace, 4th pic down. I would love to own that piece. So simple, elegant and best of all, green. k

Waterboy, aka Scuba Steve

Well I'm back from waterboy's first tournament of the season and I am exhausted. You would think that I played 10 games of water polo and swam literally hundreds of miles in the pool. But no I really have no excuse other than hanging out with fourteen 16-18 year olds is a sport in itself.

But I do have a story to tell that just couldn't wait! First of all just let me say that water polo is an absolutely fantastic sport and parents out there thinking of a sport for your boys or girls please check it out. It is incredibly athletic but for the most part relatively injury free at least at the high school level. But back to the story.

Water polo is basically played above water but it is NOT against the rules to go under water. So picture this if you can. Waterboy is driving towards the goal and heaves an around the back assault on the goal. He throws the ball hard but the goalie catches it in the face and the goal is not scored. Waterboy is not happy and starts to swim down the pool with the other players. While the goalie recovers from the save he starts to pump the ball in his hands waiting for his teammates to get further down the pool before throwing. But waterboy still upset that he missed his goal attempt dives under water and heads back toward the goalie. He is completely underwater heading towards the goalie who has no idea he is on his way. As the goalie gets ready to heave the ball waterboy literally explodes from the depths and knocks the ball right out of the goalies hands and the ball flies into the cage for a goal for our team. The stands go crazy, I am in total shock and well a legend is born. Waterboy has a new name now. They call him Scuba Steve. So stay tuned kstylers for more scuba steve stories to come. The season has just begun. And back to design tomorrow, k

A Little Break

Hey kstylers
Waterboy has his first big water polo tournament this weekend so I will be taking a tiny break and will be back monday. Have a great weekend and THINK GOALS for the GRIZZLIES. k

I'm Still Laughing Kiwi Style.

I thought you all might like a bit of a laugh tonight so I'm sharing a bit of kiwi humor I found while browsing Patricia Gray's awesome design blog. The mural (for full effect click to see larger view) is located in the restroom at five star hotel Softel in Queenstown, New Zealand. This really is the funniest thing I've seen this month. enjoy, k

Etsy Poster Contest

Somehow I missed this contest sponsored by Etsy. Too bad because I would have loved to put a poster together with at least one pair of earrings from Kstyle. My chance at design fame aside I thought the posters were wonderful. Above are just a few of my favorites. Am going to have to spend some time really perusing the collection for great finds. Etsy is really growing into an amazing venue and these "poster collections" tell the Etsy story in such a powerful and original way. enjoy, k

Handcrafted Excellence, Sandra Goss

Nature inspireed beauty is everywhere it seems as I travel through blogland but every now and then when I see gorgeous creations like the pieces you see above by artist Sandra Goss I just want to hop into the computer , try it on and hit the buy it now button. Luckily for me though I'm usually just as happy to obsess about it for a minute or two, download the gorgeous image and share it with you. thankfully, or I would be in real trouble. k

Inspired By Nature

These Lehti trays by designer Maria Jauhiainen are so gorgeous that I just had to post in all three color versions. I love tableware inspired by nature and although I'm not sure I could actually use one of these as a tray I happily place anyone of these front and center on just about any table I own. absolutely exquisite, k

Handcrafted Excellence,Taneke

There is something just so rich and almost touchy feely about felted jewelry that I just can't resist it even though I am not ready for anything that even remotely reminds me of the Fall and Winter heading our way. Check out the amazing site Taneke and a full line of their felted products. k

Stylin With Fish

I've always loved the stylized fish form. I'm sure this may be a reaction to the all too "real" smellier, slimier version that seems to dominate my life with fishing crazed family but I am a fan of the cleaned up stylin version , k

From the top you can find these fishy goodies at, The Guild, Cooper-Hewitt, and Charlie Harper Art.

Happy Art

I love this art by artist Cathy Nichols. So happy and upbeat. Would love to design a room around one of these pieces. Of course if you've been reading Kstyle for awhile it's no secret that green is my favorite color. oh and this definitely goes into the affordable art category which I'm all about, k

Handcrafted Excellence, ane-katrine von bÜlow

Back into the browsing mode I came across this gorgeous line of pottery by artist ane-katrine von bÜlow. I love, love the strong bold graphic elements and the black and white theme is one of my favorites. So classic and chic. Hope you all have been having a wonderful summer. We're already starting to feel the nights cool down here in Oregon and Fall is starting to creep its way into our day but still the beautiful warm weather here is glorious for the moment. I'm not ready to let go quite yet! Anyone out there doing some cool trips this summer. Leave a comment and tell me about your summer vacation. i'd love to hear, k

A Little Treat

We are back from Sunriver and thought I'd share this amazing shot taken by photojournalism son in the early morning at Craine Prairie Reservoir, a favorite fishing lake. We were sitting in our boat amongst the downed timber just waiting for the fish to bite. And bite they did! R caught a 10 pound trout, J an eight pounder and even waterboy hooked but lost a big one. Will have more photos from the trip but instead of blogging tonight I was out with family trying to get a shot of the Perseid meteor shower. Well we saw lots of meteors and had cameras set but somehow we just couldn't get the actual streak. So off to bed and into full blogging swing tomorrow, k

Sunriver Here I Come

Hey Kstylers. I am on my way to one of the most beautiful places in the world and it is only a few hours away. If you've never been to Sunriver , Oregon put it on your list of places to see before you die. Will be out of blogland for about a week. Am going to try and take a real break from the computer although I'm not sure if I will be totally successful . Did buy about 5 books though. I love to read and have really neglected that part of my life since entering the blogging world. So check out some of the links on my sidebar while I'm away. There is so much eye candy to be had just a click away. Oh, and I will be taking my camera. lot's of amazing photo ops in spectacular Sunriver. k

Push Me Pull You

I'm sure all of you bloggers out there know what's it like when you're surfing blogland, clicking here and there and then suddenly find yourself staring at something wonderful. And then you realize that you have absolutely no idea how you got there! Well I'm embarrassed to tell you how often that happens to me and today was no exception as I found myself on this amazing site called PushMePullYou . There's lots to see here, from screen prints, to cards , to playfully shaped shaped pillows most featuring stylized animals in unexpected company or situations. i love them all, k