The spring 2012 issue of Sweet Paul is live today. As always, it's photographed beautifully with good ideas, recipes, tips & easy (not tacky, ahem) crafts. Of particular interest for those planning trips to Paris: 5 days, 10 meals by photographer Ellen Silverman. 
A little boy in rural France dreams of going to Paris. (Who hasn't?!) Leonore Klein's charming story, originally published in 1962, is a GG fave. We didn't even know (then) that the amazing illustrations were by a genius graphic designer, Saul Bass. The out-of-print book, long a collector's item, has recently been republished by Rizzoli. Click here for more pictures & more design posts. (via Brain Pickings)
ART WORKS Projects’ mission is to use design and the arts to raise awareness of and educate the public about significant human rights and environmental issues.ART WORKS provides visual advocacy tools which produce action on human rights crises at the grassroots, media, and policy levels. Conceptualized and created in conjunction with established humanitarian and human rights advocacy organizations, ART WORKS’ art and design exhibitions, books, recordings, films, and other initiatives provide opportunities for large numbers of the general population to engage in ending major human rights violations. via Art Works Projects
On November 8th, Horn of Africa, a multimedia exhibit by ART WORKS Projects will open at George Washington University. You are invited. Here are the details (there's also a panel discussion with John Prendergast & a concert afterwards). Check here to see if the exhibit will be coming to your area.
(photograph by Andrew/Cuba Gallery)
So you flip through magazines & scroll through fashion & style blogs. You look at pins on Pinterest. And you think "Bah. I could do better..." OK. Here's your chance, big shot. Whip up a design of a skirt, dress, or blouse & submit it to Shabby Apple's Dare to Design contest. Yep, you should. You know why? You don't have to sew it, that's why. (Though if you want to, that's great.)
With the fate of Mad Men finalized, you might be thinking where oh where will I get my MM fix until March 2012? Where can I read features on the 1960s? Who are these "regular" people who get the interviews with creator Matt Weiner & MM actors? And perhaps most important - where can I read about ceramics of the 1960s? Basket of Kisses is the place for you.
Happy birthday year to Amnesty International. See The Guardian's slideshow of the best of the posters (the one by Picasso is a favorite & available as a notecard). If you would like to get involved, here's an activist toolkit that will get you started no matter where you live. 
"American Duchess creates clothing designs that interpret the whimsical, natural, and feminine ideals of the past. I love all things of the past, and carry the lovely shapes, fabrics, and styles of these past centuries into my designs for modern wear. I consider myself "fashion backwards," and looks to what was trendy, beautiful, interesting from decades and centuries gone by." American Duchess interview, Garmz
For lucky ducks in London (or who will be) before 6 March 2011, there's a new exhibit at London's Design Museum on fashion illustration. In the museum shop is beautiful catalogue, a set of 6 cards, & two reproduction prints. (image by François Berthoud via artnet(dot)com)
Thank goodness a friend had the foresight to send Giulia's editor this fab Zara Carpenter Alice Bow headband for a recent birthday. She'll be suitably attired for the new Washington landscape. Zara is the talented hat/head gear designer at Chatham Girl. She has a cheeky English sense of humor. GG's editor wrote about her, here. And you can visit Zara, here. Now we must rush for we are late, very late...
GG wants YOU to vote for your favorite Shabby Apple's Dare to Design finalist dress. There is a technical error that zee blogeuse at Apple a Day is working to resolve, but you can vote in the comments for now. Voting ends 15 November 2010. Vote only once. (This photograph is on many sites. This particular version is from audrey hepburn complex via daily bits of beauty)
For those of us residing in the State of Penury, here is an excellent idea by Sarah of Blossom and Branch, via Design*Sponge. It's a definite upgrade from our parsley-in-a-creamer. This is Sarah's second post in a twice-a-month series, Flowers A-Z. Take a look, you might be surprised by the ingredients.
You don't have to be designer, nope. Visit Shabby Apple's website & learn all about it. GG's editor loves Shabby Apple & thinks that you ought to consider some creative activity this weekend. The contest opened on August 15 & closes October 15. It's really, really not too late. You can find out more on their blog An Apple a Day.Every $100 donation from Shabby Apple Dresses provides at least 20 women with access to financial services - and the chance to live a life without poverty.
Each new Shabby Apple Dresses dress features a unique hang tag with a micro-credit success story.
GG has turned into a feline Pippi Longstocking. She has been so very devilish that her editor has to rest, perhaps for the rest of the month. Maybe until after the Fourth of July; we'll see. (Saving the world is all well & good, Giulia, but get your own computer!)
Even though GG is a feline, one of her favorite people is a very Clever Pup. Big news: The Clever Pup's artistry is available via her new shop The Plum Plum. See here for a hint about the name if you're in a fog. (We were & it's one of our favorite novels & film! Evidently, we need to do more crosswords.) Anyway, GG Central awaits an order of The Plum Tarts & we're quite interested in the new notebooks as well. Everything is very well-priced & there's more to come.
GG & her editor are back home after a week in exile from a freezing apartment. We're looking to spiff things up around here, mainly through sewing curtains & such. However, this project from design*sponge caught our eye. The idea is made all the more attractive by the impossibility of GG Vandalism. (OK, it was a mistake, those purple tulips all over the floor last night...fume). Go here for all the details. By Lindsay & Tayor of purr design, can you stand it? Wait until you see their logo. It was meant to be, GG. [photographs via design*sponge, by purr design] 
GG received this wonderful holiday gift on Saturday from her friends Maria Caterina & Hermione the Cat. She's ever so busy making a wish-list for furnishings, looking at swatches for wallpaper (well, she's lounging on Elle Decor at the moment), & generally making a nuisance of herself (when she's not sleeping on one of her two new floors). Thank you MCat & Hermione! (*Below is a description & link to the new & non-embarrassing cat item to have 'round the house via DrsFosterSmith.com)
We were reminded of John & Yoko's Happy Christmas card in the New York Times a few days ago. Go here to download the poster & for news. [Image courtesy of www.IMAGINE PEACE.com]
Fellow Benevolent Postcard Society member, Samantha in Istanbul, Turkey is a finalist in a design competition and needs your votes! Last year she designed a shoe for Fluevog that was eventually made into a real shoe named the Zaza (after her). This time around, she's in the running for a competition to design the ad for the Zaza. The winner is determined by the number of votes their design receives, so Samantha needs as many votes as she can get to win. Help her win by voting for her beautifully illustrated ad, called Why Wear Anything Else?, here. You can vote once a day until December 22. 
(original post from 19 September 2008; Update: still find it slightly alarming.) On the other hand, some field workers & reporters in dangerous places in the world (& others who do not go on about eating ham sandwiches) have found it very helpful. As with Facebook, no one said you have to update your every thought. In fact, we beg you to stop it. The 'what are you thinking/doing' is merely a prompt, a suggestion; not a command. Something to keep in mind. You can contact juliethecat if you like; she has a restricted account. (Update - it's unrestricted. C'mon over!) Since this post, a Twitter Tips site has sprung (along with widgets). Have fun.]
For Anna at Mit Herz und Hand, who would like to go to Morocco. GG's editor is called elsewhere today. Enjoy. Visit some of our favorite sites on the page, especially Darfur Peace & Development Organization (DPDO). Visit Anna, too, & encourage her Moroccan musings.... Would you like to go? Have you? Either way, what are some of your favorite things about Morocco (& Moroccans)? We love to hear about everyone's experiences...even if we don't get to your comment right away, we will. (photographs by the charming & generous only alice)