Wrapped

Since I was a little kid,  I have loved wrapping gifts.  I've been using craft paper the last few years, and this is yet another version.  Though I also integrated a few fabric pouches and a little shine.  I printed out this little drawing  for tags.

Also, Dylan and I exchanged gifts tonight. I'm super excited for my new autoharp.

Arctic Towns

Map of Svalbard

Homes in Longyearbyen

One of my favorite new pastimes is floating around Google maps and "discovering" tiny arctic towns.  I don't know what it is, but I find it endlessly exciting to imagine living in a small northern village.  A while back, my dad and I were looking at an atlas and came across Svalbard, Norway.  Svalbard is a group of islands halfway between Norway and the North Pole.  Home of the Svalbard global seed vault, Longyearbyen is the largest village in Svalbard.  It is actually a requirement for those who are outside of settlements to carry rifles, as polar bears stalk the landscape. The glacial landscape towers over this beautifully colorful town.

Tromso in 1900

Tromso of the past

Another town I'd very much like to visit is Tromso, Norway.  Once touted as the "Paris of the North", Tromso is home to 58,486 people.  Much of the town is actually an island, but is very close to mainland Norway.  Because of the Gulf Stream, the climate is quite temperate.  It is the big city of Northern Norway.

A great Sweden-based  artist/designer/blogger to check out is Klara Bothén over at Bergslagsgatan. She makes beautiful mittens and has a very lovely blog.

A Walk

Woodland Beauty and Skype: A Match Made in Heaven

Sometimes I feel like I'm the last person to know about a lot of things.  I often cocoon myself into my own little world and am usually last to pick up new technologies.  I finally learned how to Skype last night which was pretty awesome but somewhat strange.  Anyhoo, my friend and I talked a bit about, you guessed it, beauty products.  With that line of thinking, check out these sweet nail transfers from Kate Broughton.  What a great product for an illustrator to get into distributing!  Great packaging too.

A Good Skate

I remember watching this when I was four.  I still watch it now.

Fog Linen Work

I've been stalking this new find lately.  I love the illustrated product keys on their home page and the charming, simple approach to living portrayed.

100th Post Giveaway

Why you May Ask?
I quite agree there can be found little meaning in numbers.  However, for the benefit of meeting some of you, I would like to extend a free giveaway to one randomly chosen reader for my 100th post as ReRae.

I will be giving away this chevron hand printed flat tote made by yours truly.

To Enter
Please follow me on Facebook, or click follow (to the left) to follow my blog. Then, please comment on this post that you have done so.  If you are already following both, you can just comment to this post.  I will literally draw out of a hat the name of the lucky winner.  Please enter by Friday 3 pm central US time.  The winner will be announced this Friday evening.

<3

Sorry, this contest is only inclusive of US residents