Beautiful Trays by Orla Kiely

1. Orla Kiely Owl Tray featuring owl print in hues of green and blue.

2. Orla Kiely Flower Spot Shadow Tray in black and white.

3. Orla Kiely Elephant Tray featuring elephant print hues of blue and red.

4. Orla Kiely Flower Spot Round Tray in denim blue and dandelion yellow.

5. Orla Kiely Flower Spot Round Tray  in ochre and duck egg blue.

6. Orla Kiely Flower Spot Shadow Tray spot shadow motif in black, ochre and duck egg blue.

New tray collection by Orla Kiely can be found at Unique and Unity. They ship internationally, you can find rates to your country on their website. 

Printable Blog Planner

Good morning friends, today's freebie is a great tool for all us bloggers. Whether you are a new blogger or a seasoned pro, we all need to keep ourselves on track and this printable can help you stay organized. The printable features owls, birds, flowers and other animals, and designed in a clean format style.

Martina of "Webby Wonder" has designed a blog planner in two different sections: the first one – "Setting up my blog" will help you plan for your blog with blog style, platform, themes, blog names, domain, widgets & plugins etc.; the second part – "Blogging the way I love" will keep you organized with the daily activities on your blog such as posts ideas, weekly posts calendar, things to do, inspiring blogs etc. It's a wonderful printable that you can print for yourself and a blogger friend. You'll have less stress and able to you run your blog smoother when you know what you need to do and when.

New Plates by Nathalie L'été

New melamine plates by a French illustrator Nathalie L'été designed in collaboration with Petit Jour Paris. The plates is from a tableware collection which also offers mugs, bowls and trays featuring animal illustrations in gorgeous color palette and retro feel. The plates can be found here and here.

Sasha Montiljo: Painted Objects

Sasha Montiljo was born in Belgrade currently lives and works in Zemun. He is a renowned artist known for his surreal paintings, you can find his lovely owl painting that I absolutely love here. While browsing his website I came across a section on 'Painted Objects' which showcases a collection of owls painted by the artist on irregular shaped wooden logs. From his profile on Deviant Art : " I made about two hundred owls in form of log in the past 3 years." It would be amazing to see them all. Each one has its own unique personality. 

You can read this wonderful interview he gave to Kultur Kokoska. Owls are the recurring theme of his work and he shares their significance in his work. "I have always been fascinated by nature’s predators. The intelligence they possess causes me to think of them as creatures very similar to humans. And isn’t man part-beast himself? It may be that only if we were to look at ourselves realistically that we could change and become better. Owls are the only species of birds whose eyes are set directly in the plane of its face, like human eyes are, and since my visual poetics seldom feature humans, it may be that the owls are there to take their place. "

He is a member of the Association of Applied Arts Artists and Designers of Serbia (ULUPUDS) and has participated in several solo exhibitions. You can find more of his work he did in the the past here.

Lovely Owl Necklace by VaniLlama Art

Polish artist Dorothy Kaszczyszyn makes jewelry pieces that are unique and original in design. The owl necklace inspired by barn owl is made of mica clays and brushed with gold shimmer. The wings are handmade bead by bead and strung in a way that reminds of the owl in the wild who is getting ready for a flight. The clever design gives the wings a subtle play when it moves around the neck. 

You can visit her online store - VaniLlama Art for more lovely creations including brooches, pendants and earrings.

Wildlife Paintings by David Cowdry

David Cowdry is a self-taught artist from a beautiful town of Llandeilo in Carmarthenshire, Wales. He is one of the most well-known Wales' artists for creating incredible wildlife paintings. His inspiration comes from the natural world around him, the picturesque Towy valley, the wild & rugged coast of west Wales, the big skies of Norfolk and the places from his travels. The most striking feature of his work is the capture of light and the landscapes along with their inhabitants. 

"I paint what I see as I see it to the best of my ability. Light & atmosphere are what i try to capture, a moment in time, an experience, a memory of beautiful light drenched landscapes & their inhabitants." - from artist's facebook page.

The owl painting on the top made me discover David's wonderful work. I had thought it was a photograph of a barn owl. The light, the rustic walls, the feathers on the wooden plank, nails and their shadows every thing is so real and precise that it would make you think twice before you decide it is a painting!

Felted Owls by Harthicune

Guillermo Molina is a young felt artist of 22 years of age from Santiago, Chile.  He hand-makes these one-of-a-kind creatures using colorful wool and wire displaying painstaking detail and love. Owls, birds, foxes, meerkats and mushrooms is the primary theme of his work. His beautiful felt creations are full of life and personality. The creatures are often seen wearing top hat, vest, red riding hood, cape and witch hat which adds humor and  uniqueness to his work.

His online store Harthicune currently has forty lovely creatures including barn owl, snowy owl, baby owl and other animals. If you would like a felt sculpture made of your pet then you can contact him through his page, he welcomes custom orders.

A Wisdom of Owls

The moment I set my eyes on this beautiful book, I decided I wanted it in my life. But quickly I found out that the book is out of stock. It was published in a limited edition of 500 copies, 400 of which Standard edition and 100 were released as a Special edition. A book like this deserves to be talked about and featured here as it's a rare treasure.

A Wisdom of Owls published by Avenue Press in 1998 in celebration of the 10th anniversary of the Barn Owl Trust. This book contains a plethora of information on owls which is thoroughly researched and compiled by Philip Knowling, a Devon-born writer. 

There are traditional stories from around the world, beliefs from different lands and cultures, amazing facts from science and history. The book lets you discover the significance of owl in folk-lore, religion and even cooking! Accompanying the words there are stunning lino-cut illustrations by Elizabeth Rashley and Sarah Lawrence that adorn every page of the book. If you come across a copy online then don't think twice because it's a wonderful book every owl lover should have!