At the start of every new year I like to stock up on small notebooks for a variety of useful purposes, like keeping track of mileage, appointments, lists, and so on. I stumbled upon the lovely shop of Bailey Doesn’t Bark and fell in love with these Ruler Notebooks – I think these may be my pick for 2010. In addition to being adorable, they’re 100% recycled!

If you are as infatuated with paper as we are, check out these Paper Packs from Three Potato Four. Each one is brimming with timeless ephemera. In their own words: “Each pack is uniquely different, but is filled with a combination of numbers, type, pattern, graphics and color through an assortment of maps, tickets, stamps, cards, labels, signs, stencils and and all things old school.”

Buy your own unique pack here in their shop. The creative possibilities are endless!

I’m in love with these whimsical silkscreen prints by Buenos Aires illustrator sollinero. Check out her etsy store here – it’s brimming with eye candy. (And yes, that is a frenchie in the illustrations!)

Jonathan can testify to the fact that I’m a bit of a grammar stickler. Okay, I’m a huge grammar fanatic. My eyes twitch and I’m sent into fits of rage when I see an improper use of their, they’re, or there. I’ve decided I need these stickers – while I can’t save the world from the improper use of an apostrophe, at least with these trusty sidekicks, I can do my part.

grammar nerd corrective label pack | available here

As winter approaches and things get a little chillier around here, we all start to look for ways to bundle up with some cozy accessories. Stella humours me and allows me to think she actually likes wearing little sweaters and rain coats. I found the Mulberry Street etsy shop and I won’t be looking any further for stylish knits for my girl – oh and they have some pretty great accessories for humans too.

All photos from Mulberry Street.

I love this tweed bag from Etsy seller breagha – the color is perfect for fall and I can never resist an oversized bow.

I love everything about this photo. I love the poster (only $20 from etsy seller Roll and Tumble Press!), I love the vintage cameras, I love the books – this is something I’d like to do in our home. We have a vintage polaroid camera and it’s been difficult to decide how best to display it – but I think I just may have to steal this styling idea.

If you get a moment, check out Roll and Tumble’s etsy shop – their letterpress posters are delightful! I think the Kissing Booth poster (below) would be great at a wedding reception – love it!

Last week we posted about Seb Lester and his ‘Keep it Simple” poster. We couldn’t leave it at that. We had to post more of his gorgeous work. Above is his “Home Sweet Home” poster that not only is a beautiful type specimen but also uses Mirri paper which changes colors depending on the lighting conditions. See this video of the poster for the full effect – very cool!

Another great piece in metallic gold.

Similar style in metallic silver…

…and a beautiful inspirational piece, where in the artist’s own words, he said, “I like to think that almost anyone can achieve almost anything in life. It’s all about passion, focus, and commitment. I wanted to design a strong, dynamic, inspirational poster that referenced this popular self-help adage.”

A nice thing to remind ourselves every once in a while.

All the works can be found and bought at Seb’s website or at the Keep Calm Gallery. {images from here}

I am a huge fan of the summer dress – there is nothing easier than throwing on a fun and flirty dress, wedge sandals, and some lightweight jewelry on a hot summer day. I’d much rather spend my summer days in a comfy dress than in shorts or jeans! I’ve spent the past month searching desperately for some fun dresses and have been irritated more times than I can tell you, dear readers. I am SO sick of the minidresses and floor length maxi dresses! I don’t look good in either. I’d nearly given up hope of ever finding a flattering dress again when I discovered Shabby Apple. I am in love! I’ll take one of each, please!

all images from shabbyapple.com

On an unrelated note…

Brown Sugar Design now has a Facebook page! Become our fan here!

Jonathan and I have a lengthy list of fonts we’d like to purchase (oh, if only we had several thousand dollars just lying around to be spent…) and this gorgeous typeface by Alejandro Paul is currently at the top of the list. It features an astounding 1,470 glyphs (if you’re not a designer, you may not know what that means – but trust us, it’s a VERY good thing to us type nerds).

Adios Script | images from veer.com