Poppytalk

Pulling this treat out of the volt to celebrate all things midsummer. From National Aboriginal Day (hence the bannock), Summer Solstice and Mid-sommar Celebrations from Scandinavia where they always make a strawberry cake, this recipe is a good reason to be with friends and family and break some bread! This recipe is a twist on the regular strawberry shortcake, the bannock (a traditional Canadian aboriginal bread) is sweetened with a little bit of vanilla and sugar. Best eaten when the bannock is fresh. Happy midsummer!

Summer is finally here and we are loving these sixteen hour days of sunlight especially and can't wait to hit the beaches for a few dinners al fresco! I love creating a cozy beach dinner scene and have been collecting a few images for inspiration. Here's a few to set the scene.

1. Camp Out
(Above) A camper van on the beach with all the trimmings. Love this scene from Livet Hemma.

Father's Day is tomorrow and if you're like me, you may have forgot gift wrap. Whenever that happens I get to work on the computer and make my own. I loved this combination of vintage whale illustrations I came across at the Biodiversity Library, and so I combined them into a fun gift wrap pattern. When I see pictures of whales, it reminds me of the sad things happening to them because of climate change. Fun fact: Our friend @erinbonifero of @collagecollage just visited an exhibition going on at the Royal Ontario Museum right now about them. And so this to pay homage to these mysterious, beautiful mammals. (It also makes a cute print)!

Graça Paz is an artist based in Portugal. We've been following her online for several years now and recently we've been inspired by her new work, especially her Bach and Meditation series. A set of abstract graphics that pop with vivid colours. All of her work is inspiring though, from knitting to poetry. We invited her for a little Q&A, here's our conversation.

Father's Day is literally just around the corner, but there's still a few days if you want to make him something unique and special. We picked out a few of our favourite DIYs from our archives that we think Dad would love if you made. From a stool made out of a skateboard to a desk organizer. Check them out below.

A few years back, Emily Hirsch and Erick Steinberg created an outdoor shower for their camp and shared it here on the blog. We thought it was worth a reblog since summer is just around the corner, and how fun is it to shower outdoors (especially when it's heated). Check out the how-to below.

Due to popular demand and a bit of confusion, we created a separate and new post for our rainbow mini donuts which we originally published with our One Cake Two Ways how-to last year. As the donut recipe to top the cake was at the bottom of the post, many were missing it when we pointed it out on Instagram last week. So here it is, now with it's own link. Thanks for reading!

Instagram @xantheb

It's that time of year again, where IKEA hosted Democratic Design Day in Almhult, Sweden. Democratic Design, explained by IKEA's Marcus Engman, Design Manager at IKEA Range & Supply is, "great form, function, quality, sustainable, and available for everybody (low price)". I can't believe it's already been two years since I attended DDD, but thanks to Instagram, and IKEA broadcasting the event live, we had a chance to get a sneak peek! Here's what stood out to us:

I came across some beautiful vintage pear illustrations last week and started playing around with making patterns out of them and thought they would make pretty gift wrap. So as a thank you to you, our readers, I created them into a printable, along with a matching gingham wrap also. There's some desktop wallpaper too if you're interested. Links to downloads below.

Recently came across the work of UK letterer, Steph Baxter of @stephsayshello on Instagram and was struck by her beautifully drawn piece (above), mixed up lyrics from a Decemberist's song, from her sketchbook which she posted on her account recently. It rings so true during these troubling times. Nice to see also that she has an Etsy shop. Check out her work below.

Idlewild Co.

It's that time of year again when everything seems to rhyme with RAD! And of course we had to round-up some RAD cards for the ocassion! Below find 20 choices to celebrate with! Happy month to all Dads and Grads!

When I was younger, I was hilariously terrified of being abducted by a UFO. There was one point when I was about 13 when going to bed at night was super scary. Sooooo glad those days are over, but was reminded of that period in my life when I came across this super-fun hoop art embriodery piece by À mão on Instagram. So today we're making À mão this week's Insta Find. With adorable subjects like E.T., unicorns and cacti, who can resist? Let's take a look!

Summer days are perfect for napping and naps are just ten times better when you're outdoors, swinging on a hammock, reading yourself to sleep, sunglasses on and a hat to cover your face. Here's a few things on our napping radar.

In honour of #Canada150, Hudson’s Bay has created its first new Point Blanket design in seventeen years. The marled grey colour of the new Hudson’s Bay Collection Ice Point Blanket is meant to evoke the serene beauty of Canada’s glaciers.

Fig. 4

Continuing with our love of vintage botanical prints, recently I came across a few palm tree images and thought they would make for a nice set for framing as wall art. We created them into printable pdf's and have just made them available for you to download. These are all 8.5" x 11" making it easy for any printer. Print them out and frame them in any frame that holds 8.5" x 11" or just tape them up for a fun addition to any wall. (Links to downloads after the jump).

Back in April we mentioned IKEA's new SVALNÄS shelving system, a Scandinavian and Asian-esque design with a mid-century vibe. Made of bamboo, the minimalist design reminds us of days gone by with a flexible and expandable array of endless solutions. From a cabinet or desk and shelving unit, be it, small or big, open or closed. Here, IKEA's stylist Pella Hedeby creates an adaptable look using it as a sprawling headboard, almost poetic like a tree growing up a wall. Let's take a look!