Archive for Design

Next Year’s Christmas Cards?

Perhaps it won’t surprise you to know that I was already thinking about and poking around for next year’s Christmas cards the day after Christmas.

Here’s the thing: I send out close to 100 cards, and buying that many letterpress cards is, well, expensive. So I usually buy them when they are on sale in January. But because I am such a paper junkie, I see more designs throughout the year that I have to buy too, and I end up with this giant mishmash of cards that I send out. I am wondering if I should be patient and wait to pick one design I like, rather than picking the best of what’s on sale. Or, maybe next year is the year I switch to photo cards from tiny prints or cardstore.com – I already have my eye on a couple of designs.

Decisions, decisions.

If money were no object, I would order 100 of these lovely lovely cards from Postal Press:

And package each and every one of them like this:

I also love this “cheers” card from Parrott Design Studio. I sent one of her calendars to a friend this year, and the January design was the same garland motif as this card. I am very taken with it.

I also like the idea of sending New Year’s cards instead of Christmas cards. Maybe next year.

Given my devotion to desserts, this card from Mr. Boddington’s Studio has my name written all over it.

And because I am completely bonkers, I’ve also spent a good chunk of time looking at Valentine’s Day cards. But I’ll save those favorites for another day.

***

Out with the old and in with the new for the New Year, right?  I’m ditching Yummy Tuesday in 2010, because, let’s face it, I don’t do most of the cooking in this house and there are too many other (far far superior) food blogs and recipes out there.

There are often things I want to write about that don’t fit neatly into one of my categories, so, starting next week, I’m introducing Surprise Tuesday, as in “Surprise! This is what I’m writing about today!”

I’ll do my best to bring you a good surprise each week. Ok?

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[Crafty Monday] Free Holiday Gift Tags

Three gift tags I haven’t seen in any other gift tag round-ups: two from Ana Aceves and one from Natascha Rosenberg.

Visit Ana’s blog, Too Many Clicks Spoil the Broth, to download these unbelievably sweet little tags.

And from Natascha Rosenberg, this really fun little tag (that you could use year-round).

I really (really really) love both Ana’s and Natascha’s illustrations – they are so joyful and charming. I look forward to each and every one of their blog posts.

Please remember, as with all free printables, they are strictly for your personal use.

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[Design Thursday] Ellen Giggenbach

I spotted New Zealand artist Ellen Giggenbach on Print & Pattern recently.

I absolutely adore this “Lovely Lady” print.

“Bavaria”

“Godess”

“Cloudless Holiday”

You can read an interview with Ellen on the Boxbird website.

Speaking of Print & Pattern, my Twitter feed exploded yesterday when the TimesOnline published “50 of the World’s Best Design Blogs.” There are a lot of blogs on this list I read (and apparently so do many of the people I follow on Twitter!), but I want to say in particular that Print & Pattern (#15 on the list) is really where my heart is – I just love surface pattern. My other favorites are Oh So Beautiful Paper (#36), Creature Comforts (#9), which definitely deserves its spot in the top ten, and Bloesem (#13), which features one gorgeous thing after the next.

Three blogs that I think should’ve made the list are Twig & Thistle, Seesaw Designs and Share Some Candy.

Do you have a favorite design blog that didn’t make the list?

Tomorrow, I am going to share some inspirations for Rosa’s 6th birthday party (which is happening on Saturday). Stay tuned!

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[Design Thursday] Degrees Latitude

Taking a break from the holiday-themed posts so that we can ooh and aah over this illustration by Jacqueline Czarnecki of Degrees Latitude which caught my eye last week:

She says, “Style tip #1: Tuck in a bunny to support the height of your hairstyle.”

This made me laugh. But the woman is so beautiful, isn’t she? I had to take a look at the rest of Jacqueline’s work, and I wasn’t disappointed.

Another from the Beauty Bunny series of her personal work:

“Style tip #2: A well-placed bunny will give your bustle proper padding. “

“A truly domestic animal” (personal work)

Patron Saints of Procrastination, Perspiration and Prevarication. Screenprinted, hand-pulled. 3.5 x 4.5 inch cards.

Illustrated bookmark for 2nd ed. Booksellers in Raleigh, North Carolina.

“Park Walk” (personal work)

If you want to see more, visit her website and her blog.

Spotted via Share Some Candy (which I love)

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[Design Thursday] Lumadessa

I love the Flora Fauna print collections by Josh Brill of Lumadessa.

I come from a family of bird lovers, who were always spotting and naming birds in the yard, or outside my grandmother’s kitchen window when I was a kid, and we do the same with our girls. These prints really speak to me.

He included the bird sound at the bottom of each print. Sweet.

And these clever designs are from his Extinct collection:

(Woolly Mammoth)

(Saber-Tooth Tiger)

If you have an iPhone, Josh offers these designs as iPhone wallpaper.

Thanks to SeeSaw Designs for featuring Lumadessa (or I might never have seen these beautiful birds!)

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[Design Thursday] Linzie Hunter

I discovered Linzie Hunter on Share Some Candy and went straight to her website. What a treat to click through all the images of her work. Here are just a few examples. Don’t you love them?

“Coney Island”

Pages from “Lettering Sketchbook

Illustrations for Baltimore Magazine’s “101 Things to eat, see, and do before you die” feature

Junior Magazine City Guides, Map of Glasgow

Illustration for Gardening Which? Magazine

You can find more of her illustrations on Flickr.

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[Design Thursday] Night Owl Paper Goods

Just as a follow up to my 2010 calendar round-up, I wanted to share some pics from Night Owl Paper Goods and their Critter Calendar, which I already own and adore, and the Pattern Calendar, which is also lovely.

Night Owl Paper Goods Critter Calendar

I love the April duckies and the August otter.

The calendars (as well as many of their single notecards/postcards) are printed on eco-friendly yellow birch wood which has been sustainably harvested (yay!).

2010Critter Calendar_right

Here’s the Pattern Calendar:

NightOwlPaperGoods_2010PatternCal_2

I especially love those blue/green/yellow flowers of October.

If you follow them on Twitter, they often have one day sales which you can take advantage of, and visit the sale section of their website for some really good deals.

Night Owl also designs for Tiny Prints. You might remember that not long after Christmas last year, I totally fell in love with these Valentine’s Day cards:

Night Owl Paper Goods Big Hug valentine Night Owl Paper Goods Big Hug in blue

So, yeah, I’m pretty much a big fan of Night Owl. Can you tell?

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[Design Thursday] IMOGA Children’s Clothes

Last weekend, I fell in love with a few pieces of IMOGA children’s clothes, which I found at Tippy Toes in downtown Princeton (a totally adorable kids’ shoe store with a small collection of beautiful clothes). The founder of IMOGA, Haejung Chung, used to send gifts for her nieces signing them “i moga” or, “from auntie” in her native Korean. By the look of these designs – simple, elegant clothes with an Asian influence – I bet she gives great gifts!

From their Fall/Winter 2009  collection:

Imoga Fall 09 1 Imoga Fall 09 3

Imoga Fall 09 4 Imoga Fall 09 5

(I saw this coat at Tippy Toes – it is SO gorgeous, so beautifully constructed).

From their Spring/Summer 2010 collection:

Imoga Spring 10 2 Imoga Spring 10 3

Imoga Spring 10 4 Imoga Spring 10 5

You can take a look at the IMOGA collections on their website.

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[Design Thursday] 2010 Calendar Round-Up

So, there have been a lot of calendar round-ups lately (I’ve seen and liked ones from Oh So Beautiful Paper, Design Crush, and Twig & Thistle). I’ve been working on my own version for awhile, but in the meantime, many of them have already made the blog/twitter rounds, so my apologies for the duplicates. I hope you see some new ones in here that you haven’t already seen.

Linda and Harriet 2010 Calendar

Linda and Harriet 2010 Calendar Postcards

This Linda & Harriet calendar is such a clever design. When you’re done with the month, cut the bottom half and use it as a beautiful letterpress postcard! I just love design that incorporates multiple functions into it. Well done.

Elum Press 2010 calendar

From Elum Design, their “Four Seasons” calendar.  I love the colors and design. Something about this calendar seems beautifully unusual and different to me.

Lisa Rupp Circus Train Calendar

I can’t remember where I saw this Lisa Rupp calendar originally – I think Oh So Beautiful Paper – but I just love it. What a nice addition to any wall.

Parrott Design 2010 Calendar

Parrott Design 2010 Calendar 2

Parrott Design – don’t you love January? So beautiful. I also really like Sarah’s Etsy shop. Please take a look.

ps paper good 2010 calendar

p.s. paper goods’ 2010 calendar (which comes with your choice of colorful wooden cube stands!). You can get this desk calendar in her shop.

Satsuma Press 2010 calendar

Satsuma Press designs are so elegant. I own a few of her really beautiful notecards.

Dutch Door 2010 Calendar

Dutch Door Press makes this pretty wall calendar. If you’re not familiar with their work, check out their Etsy shop. I especially love the color combinations in their designs.

ilee 2010 calendar

ilee paper goods‘ 2010 desk calendar. I  love the variety in this calendar. It would be such a treat to turn to each new month and find a totally new and unique design. I love her October.

Peony Paperie Charlotte Calendar

I had to include this “Charlotte” calendar by Peony Paperie. So clean, simple and colorful – and the name is brilliant. (See the other totally adorable calendar in her shop).

Egg Press May 2010 Calendar Egg Press May 2010 2 Calendar

Egg Press September 2010 Egg Press September 2010 2

This is two months’ worth of Egg Press, one of my favorite letterpress shops. Makes you want to see the rest, right? If you read my Top Ten List on Indie Fixx, you saw that I list Egg Press (along with Hello! Lucky and Snow & Graham) as my top three favorites. They are the ones whose designs I return to again and again.

There are many other fabulous calendars out there:

Night Owl Paper Goods – I bought their Critter Calendar last week and it arrived this past weekend. I absolutely could not resist. I’m not including a picture, just because the picture on their website is really too small for you to be able to appreciate how amazingly cute it is, but take a look at all of their paper goods and you’ll know what I’m talking about.

Pistachio Press – Always beautiful. You can’t go wrong with Pistachio Press.

Paper Source – Paper Source has several different calendars to choose from, but this wall calendar is my favorite – it’s got big, bold, beautiful colors.

Erin CondrenI wrote about Erin Condren last year. I’ve been buying her jumbo wall calendar for three years now. It’s indispensable to my family.

Modern Printed Matter – I’ve never bought anything from this Etsy shop (not yet!) but I’ve had it in my favorites since I started shopping on Etsy. She has really pretty things, including a very pretty desk calendar. Take a look.

A Little Hut – I love Patricia Zapata’s calendar and her paper designs. She does some pretty amazing things. You can find her Etsy shop here. She also has a new book out, “home, paper, scissors.”

Sweetbeets – You know I love Lisa’s designs. She has a printable calendar that I think you’ll love too.

Ana Aceves – Last but definitely not least, I wrote about Ana Aceves a couple of months ago, because I was the lucky winner of her desk calendar giveaway. I truly adore her work, and she has a new blog and a new online shop where you can take a look for yourself.

Good luck picking just one, now that I’ve completely overloaded you with too many great choices!

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[Etsy Wednesday] Raquel Castillo

My brother-in-law is gettin’ hitched in a couple of weeks (sooner, actually).  Two ceremonies + one reception = I have to come up with three outfits (dresses, shoes, jewelry, clutch, etc.). I have some nice things in my closet that I can wear, but I’m seriously lacking in the jewelry department.

I’d been ogling the vintage-inspired jewelry at Anthropologie, so when I stumbled across Raquel Castillo’s Etsy shop, with her beautiful necklaces and earrings (mostly from revamped vintage jewelry), I decided to ask her to make a necklace for me.

Want to see what she came up? I love it.

Rose Pendant by Raquel Castillo

Rose Pendant by Raquel Castillo 2

The pendant is about 3″ wide, to give you a sense of how big it is. I don’t own anything like this – which is nice. I think all of my jewelry is too conservative. I’m glad to have something really different.

I looked through Raquel’s sold items to get some inspiration, and found it when I came upon this Bed of Flowers necklace. It’s a very clever design, and I was so drawn to the pendant – it seemed like the right size for me, and I loved the colors too.

Bed of Flowers Necklace by Raquel Castillo

Although I ultimately decided on a variation of the Bed of Flowers necklace, this Yellow Flower Layered necklace was my second choice. I love the color combination she used.

Yellow Flower Layered Necklace by Raquel Castillo

Going through the sold items in her shop is such a treat. I think this Garden Wedding necklace, for example, is just stunning. Don’t you? I can only imagine how beautiful the bride looked that day.

Garden Wedding Necklace by Raquel Castillo

And currently in her shop, I’ve got these Vivian earrings in my list of favorites. I just love the milky white glass jewels.

Vivian Earrings by Raquel Castillo

Take a look at Raquel’s shop and the next time you’re thinking about giving jewelry (or looking to buy something for yourself), support artists like Raquel who put a lot of time and care into handmaking one of a kind (and affordable!) pieces.

Also, I’ve added a few new shops to my Etsy Love links – take a look. ‘Tis the season to shop handmade…

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