I saw this poster a few months ago and have had it bookmarked in my “one day I will buy this” folder, and then I forgot about it. It’s available in a variety of sizes, and the one I’d really like is $84. Then, driving through Park Slope (a fancier part of Brooklyn than where I live) I spotted it through the first floor window of a cozy looking brownstone apartment, and I swooned! It was so cute and cheerful on a large scale, hanging on the wall there, and now I really, really, really want it.

buy it for me here.

These photos by artist Christoph Niemann have been all over the internet after being in the NYTimes. They’re so fun! (See them all here.)

This taxi one is my favorite. I can never tell what the lights on top of the taxi mean, so I usually just end up flailing at any cab I see and hope it will stop for me. Yes, I realize this makes me uncool. This is one of many things, really, that make me uncool. It’s ok. It’s part of my charm.

Happy weekend.

“There’s a special on flowers for Valentine’s Day!” said the local florist. We were walking by his shop, going home from the subway, and he was standing in the doorway. “$65 for a dozen roses!” he crowed, as if that was a great bargain. “Maybe I’ll see him in here for Valentine’s.”

Rob smiled and said, “Maybe,” and then when we were out of earshot, “You would kill me if I came home with $65 flowers!”

“I really would.” I said, and I wrapped my arm around him. I’m so glad he “gets it”.

Even if I had all the money in the world, I wouldn’t be down with spending that kind of money on something that will die in a week, and besides, roses are way too easy. I do love flowers, but not roses, really; I’ll take my flowers quirky, unique, wild and un-sprayed with pesticides.  Cellophane-free.  Real, natural grown, and not given out of obligation.  Inexpensive, always, and presented with love.  Like these.

photo by abby. $11  buy a print of this and other beautiful photo prints by her here.

photo by sarah norris, $30 for a set of four mini-prints. buy here.

This new print from Leslie Dallion’s Pankcake Meow makes me happy.

$12, buy it here

* See my note below.

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Chuckles 2009, $20
Heather Armstrong (Dooce!) takes photos of her dog Chuck and turns them into calendars. This year she is donating the proceeds to the Humane Society of Utah. So you can buy two.

at dooce.com

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Aperture2, $200
For the Mac user who is a photography enthusiast (*coughAmbercough*) this software is the perfect gift. It allows you to edit photos using controls beyond the iPhoto basic adjustments, and it’s still easier to use than Photoshop. I play with it every time I’m in the Apple store, and day dream. Over the weekend we did Hanukkah early with Rob’s family, and my in laws got this for me! Woo hoo!

at apple.com

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Cupcake Print by Sandra Juto, $15
I’m a big fan of Sandra Juto. I’d like these cheerful cupcakes for my kitchen.

at bigcartel.com

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20″ x 20″ Fingerprint Portrait, $290
Because you really are a beautiful and unique snowflake. Available in larger and smaller sizes, and in tons of colors. DNA11 also offers a genetic mapping of your DNA which they then translate into visual form, as well as art made from your lip prints if you’re looking for something sexier than thumbs. Currently, they do not have an option for ass prints, but I guess you could ask… Robert.

at dna11.com

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Hand-painted Nesting Russian Dolls, $27
Less fussy than the traditional sets.

at smakparlour.com

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Flickr pro account, $25
My Flickr pro account is pretty much the best twenty-five bucks I’ve ever spent. If you know an internet-savvy photog, especially if they’re using the free version already, chances are they’d love a pro account. Now with video, too!

at flickr.com

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Ork Posters screen print, $27
The concept behind Ork Posters is very cool, and the folks who run the company are so nice, too; I met them this summer at a craft show.  Each location they offer a map for has a unique selection of colors and prints and is available in both printed form and screen prints, which have a bit more texture and character than the printed ones. Of course, I want a Brooklyn poster (I’m waiting for a fun limited edition one, maybe in orange on a cream paper… hint, hint!) in a screen print.

at orkposters.com

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Charlotte’s Web cover art lithograph, $2500
Only 250 lithographs were made from Garth Williams’ original artwork of the cover her did for Charlotte’s Web, and they’re hand signed by the late illustrator himself. Even so, I’m not sure how anyone is justifying the price tag on this… but I still want it.

at everypicture.com

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Fuiji Instax Camera, $130
Tiny, simple, instant. It’s almost as good as an instant Polaroid which, of course, is soon-to-be no more. I think this looks like it came off the set of Star Wars. Want!

at urbanoutfitters.com

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Polaroid Super Shooter Land Camera, $28
It probably doesn’t work, but it comes with cool flash cubes! I love the rainbow stripes on the package, too.

at etsy.com

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Holga 135BC Plastic 35mm Camera – “Black Corners” Version, $46
Holgas are typically a medium format camera, meaning they take 120mm film and produce square photos, not the standard 35mm with 2:3 rectangle photos that everyone is used to. I love my Holga, which was $25 new, but the film is so expensive and niche that between buying one roll and having it developed, I was spending more than the camera itself cost me. Recently, the manufacturer created three new versions Holga in 35mm format. Expensive film problem solved. Out of the three, this is my favorite. It similar to the 120N that I have, except that it includes a cable release adapter in the shutter release button. Very cool. There is an internal mask to create a soft vignetting of the corners, a.k.a. the “bent corners” effect.

I love lomo cameras; they’re whimsical, unpredictable, quirky and fun. Everyone from children to professional photographers will appreciate having one of these, and therein lies the beauty of lomo photography: it is art for everyone to make.

at adorama.com

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Frolic print by Yellena, $20
I’m hoping not to sound insulting when I say that I envision this print going in my bathroom. It’s so pretty, and would make me happy when I saw it every day as I was putting on my face.

at etsy.com

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eco-packaged Joby Gorillapod for SLR, $40
Hats off to Joby for offering this without the packaging and giving a discount for people who buy it this way. As for the thing itself, I have one. It’s invaluable. You can put it in your camera bag and set it up anywhere. The ingenious way it attaches to your camera reduces the set up and take down time to about two seconds, it’s virtually indestructible, and it’s so darn cute, too! I love this.

at joby.com

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*I mentioned that this would be the “awkward” section of the gift guide. Art is a weird gift, and not everyone likes strange and/or old cameras and photo stuff. Tomorrow is more “kind of strange” things to give; I’m going to show you all of the cool kitchen and home stuff I came up with.

Still, the concept of my gift guide started out as a way to give Rob gift hints for me, and all of this is stuff I love. Some of it I already own, everything else I would like to. This one is mostly for me, but I hope it makes you happy, too.

This cute program takes a digital image and converts it into a faux Polaroid. It’s kind of cheating, but the results are really pretty.  It makes a genuine Polaroid camera noise and then takes a few minutes for the picture to appear.  While it’s “developing”, you can shake it!

I used the program to convert a cell phone photo my friend Carissa snapped and sent to me.  The bracket is from Anthropologie, and the a lamp shade and cord are both from Ikea.  She strung the cord through the bracket and made herself a charming, inexpensive, zero-footprint light, perfect for a her tiny apartment bedroom.  So cute!

Oh no! Why are these adorable bunnies all blurred out?! Have they committed a crime?

YES!

Do you know that the image of a Pe… er … “certain brand of marshmallow bunny” is copyrighted, and that you can’t sell photos on Etsy of these “certain brand of marshmallow bunnies”, even if you don’t use their proper name in advertising. Even if you’re just a nice girl, living in Brooklyn and selling art prints to raise money for charity. Even if you write the owner of the image after receiving a (very nice but firm) take down notice of this certain brand of marshmallow bunny and ask nicely, because, Oh my God they’re just photos and THEY’RE SAVING DOGS AND DON’T YOU KNOW THAT SAVING DOGS IS IMPORTANT WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU?

I know. I should fight the man. But The Man is pretty big, and I’m not even certain if I’m right. Lots of really smart people have gone back and forth about copyright laws in cases such as these, but I personally am not sure what the legal correct answer is. All I know is that I got a take down letter from the owner of the image of this “certain brand of marshmallow bunnies”, and I can’t sell my prints of them any more in my sad, empty Etsy store.

So…

I’m giving them away. I still have some copies of each of these left, and I am upset because they were my best selling prints and made a lot of people happy. So, lemons into lemonade.

If you would like one for free, here’s what you do:

1. Make a $10+ donation to Manos por Patas/Hands for Paws here. (I was selling them for $10 and kicking $5 from each to them, but now they get the whole thing. Also, postage is free for you. I’m eating the shipping, so bargain! Woo hoo!)
2. Send me proof of your donation, your home address and print preference to theambershow at gmail dot com
3. Feel smug knowing you were able to help a worthy cause, damn the man, and save the empire.

You’ll be getting rid of my prints for me and helping out some great little pups who are way cuter than marshmallow bunnies.

I finally got back to the Brooklyn Flea this weekend after wanting to go for several Sundays and not being able to find the time. We came home with some small treats.

First we found a tiki mug that had been part of a pair. The vendor told us she was trying to sell the duo but one had been dropped and shattered earlier. The survivor had a really big chunk that had broken off and been glued back on, and the crack was still really visible. Because of all this, his price had sunk to a steal at $5, and we took him home.

We also bought some mini pins. Rob got a $3 mystery pack of four from Karen’s Monsters who sells both the squishy monsters and photos of them on pins, and I picked out six from Becky Johnson at sweetiepiepress.com.

My favorite find was a photo art print. I needed oooone more piece of art for this one spot in my house, and I was thrilled when I found it at the Anniebee booth. Her photos are done with vintage cameras and are of vintage things. I was pretty excited flipping though her work, and selected an 8×10 of a duo of “freaked out looking” vintage deer.

This is another one of my favorites from her, called “Robot Heads are Good for Dancing”.

It was a pretty good haul, not too expensive. Brooklyn Flea takes place every Sunday from 10am to 5pm—rain or shine—at Bishop Loughlin Memorial High School in Fort Greene, Brooklyn, on Lafayette Ave. between Clermont and Vanderbilt Ave.

This is a completely self-indulgent thing to say, but I’ll say it: I want my imagination and penchant for frivolity back. I lost it somewhere while I was trying not to loose all of the good parts of myself to the “you’re no good” sentiment that constantly barraged me. It’s time to get it back.

Riitta Ikonen has got the right idea.

I have a medical condition called “etsy want-iss”, and this poppy print isn’t helping.

Buy it here, from my neighbor, MellisaKate.