I’ve been fortunate enough to have had such supportive friends during the beginning stages of 8Balloons. One of those friends was Cristy Flores, who eventually became one of my favorite guest bloggers. Cristy always had an eye for fashion and could make anything ordinary look unique. It wasn’t shocking when she told me about her new design venture, California Ave. with her friend Carly. California Ave. pairs their love of colorful designs with jewelry and other fun accessories. Everything from the simple, yet distinct packaging to the eclectic mixture of pieces makes me oh so happy.

{all images via California Ave.}

images via Spofford Press

I had the chance last weekend to venture to beautiful Toronto and it did not disappoint. Toronto is such a fun city with so much to offer with everything including their food, art, outside markets, and people, including my wonderful cousins! I really am amazed at how the city has some of the best paper stores around and has embraced them all. With the help of my cousins and friend Susanna’s recommendations, I was introduced to many more. Since I toured so many, I thought it would be fun to feature one weekly starting with Good Egg.

Good Egg is one of the best curated stores I have been to and is located in Kensington Market. Their main focus is books for the foodie with other fun culinary products for your home. Their unique selection of books doesn’t just stop with food, they have every other subject as well. In every corner, you can also find beautiful stationary, journals, and prints. All in all, it was a fun shop with great atmosphere, and so many fun treasures to explore.

Wishing you a happy July 4th with your loved ones! See you back on Monday!

(photo by Jayme Trainor)

Like everyone we know, I myself am a Pinterest fanatic. I take a break every so often, but when I pin…I PIN! With that said, I do take pride in a board my sweet friend Carolyn of A Beautiful Ripple Effect and I collaborate on. We share a love of printables and most I share on 8Balloons can be found on our board here.

Since I am getting back to my organized self and I am planning the month ahead, let’s start with these July calendars and decorative printables. Happy Monday!

{first image via A Quirky Girl}/ calendar by {chwtt}

{My Fabuless Life}

{Almost Makes Perfect}

{Etsy Digital Designers}

New Orleans is known for it’s music, art, and food, just to name a few things, but I think what makes it so unique is the wonderful people that encompass the City. I was recently in New Orleans and luckily stumbled upon a store called The Blue Jeans Bar. I met Marnee, the manager, who filled me in on their BJB Express home delivery service. BJB Express is a personal styling service that delivers straight to your door. You create a profile with your likes and dislikes and a stylist personalizes a package of six outfits in the most perfectly packaged box. Everything from jewelry, tops, hats, and of course JEANS! I’m a jeans girl myself, so this made me oh so happy.

Two weeks later, I came home to the most amazing package of goodies from BJB Express. They really put so much effort into my selection and I had such fun trying everything on. I don’t always know how I’ll coordinate a certain piece with an outfit when I buy something, so receiving clothes that all work together is great for me. The best part is I had 10 days to return whatever did not work and only paid for what I kept. Another perk was using my mirrors to make sure it looked right instead of relying on department store mirrors…just saying.

Sign up for your box here and find your perfect summer look!

It still amazes me what can be created with paper. Some of my favorite pieces I have collected throughout the years are papercut designs. The intricacy of these artworks are incredible. Most pieces I have are prints of the actual designs since they can be pricey with good reason. I have shared grand installations in the past, but today I wanted to share tangible pieces you could call your own.

{first & second image via Sarah Trumbauer}

{Bird Mafia}

{Papercuts By Joe}

Fourth of July is around the corner and although I will not be in the states to celebrate with family and friends, I wanted to make something before I leave for them to enjoy. With that said, I had no idea what to make since I am known as the “everything paper” girl rather than the baker. It’s also hard to find something easy and unique. These are some ideas that inspired me and I know I can definitely recreate. I am all about everything fireworks and pop rocks!

{first image via tablespoon}

{via Parenting}

It’s officially summer and what a better way to celebrate than by sending a fun summer greeting card to your loved ones. Especially with the ones up north! Typically, I don’t think to send summer greetings, but after this winter I thought my friends and family could use it. I was even more surprised to find so many fun summer letterpress card options as I did. Some of my favorite shops had the same idea with these lovely cards below.

{first image via Hartland Brooklyn}

 {via Hartland Brooklyn}

{via Two Guitars}

 {via Rise and Shine Letterpress}

 {via Rise and Shine Letterpress}

{via Pepper Press}

I have done my fair share of traveling lately, but have lacked when it comes to documenting all of it. When I was younger I was lucky to have camped throughout the US but because of how young I was (i.e. no social media to make it easier), I did not document. I cannot remember every place I had been nor are there any pictures. I promised myself I wouldn’t let that happen again. So before any more trips arise, I have found some great travel journals to keep my memories in one place.

{first image via Gent Supply Co.}

{via Amazon}

{via Barnes & Noble}

{via Amazon}