Road Trip: Patterns

I went to Robert’s Crafts this morning because I just needed an excuse to get out of the house. You are probably thinking, “why didn’t you take a nice relaxing walk or work in your garden and get some fresh air?” Well, because it’s stinkin' hot here in Utah and an air-conditioned building sounded much more comfortable.

While I was there I spent most of my time looking at scrapbook paper. So many great patterns—it was heaven.

(scrapbook paper by My Mind’s Eye & Crate Paper)

I decided to splurge and get these two without actually having a purpose in mind for them. The sheet with the circles on it is from the Magnolia "Our Family" collection, and in a way reminds me of the many 1970’s textiles that were peppered throughout my grandfather's home. I’m sad to say that after looking at their website it appears this paper is no longer in print so grab it up before it’s all gone.

The blue paper is named Ivy and belongs to the Samantha Collection—very similar to old wallpaper patterns that I have a serious weakness for.

After looking at both of their websites I can not help but share with you some serious eye candy.

(Coastal "Authentic" collection, from My Mind's Eye)

When I was a kid nothing was more fun than experimenting with rub ons. Well, that and shrinky dinks but thats a post for another day. Here are a few of my favorites also by My Mind's Eye.

As for Crate Paper, I am seriously crushing on their Crush collection—what great textures and color combos.

Free & Fancy Font Alert: Green Piloww

I have been crushing on this font ever since I saw it up for grabs at DaFont.

(Green Piloww by Billy Argel, available at dafont.com)

Green Piloww’s rough sketchy appearance really appeals to me. Like this font, I love bringing a personal touch into my design work and often use my own handwriting or illustrations. At such a digitally driven time it’s refreshing to step back from the computer every once in a while … but not to far. After all, I heart my pen and paper but my scanner is my BFF.


Did I mention that DaFont has a wide selection of FREE fonts ready to download for both Mac and PC users? Yep, there is a lot more where that came from :)

Business Cards

Today I thought it would be fun to show you some business cards I put together for my shop. They are printed on outdated paper samples just like my thank you tags. Three cheers for trying to be green!


... and if you are wondering about that rad yellow pattern they are sitting on ... well, look no further.


It's my new Sommar gardening bag from Ikea–what a steal at only 3 bucks.

Etsy Seller—Christina's

I took my son to the doctor today for more immunization shots. Yikes! Although dragging him to his appointment is unnecessary (he is only six months old and has no idea what is going on), being a new parent I still find this task challenging–It's hard to watch them poke my little guy. I think they should give suckers /stickers to the parents for being so brave ... and well, I just really like suckers.

(Oh Puppies—Yellow, by Christina's)

If my son was at the age of which bribes occasionally become very handy I would be totally temped to buy him this cute little dog. Christina's plush puppies are so adorable ... how could anyone not immediately fall in love with those big black eyes and that long skinny body just perfect for squeezing.

She also makes very fashionable pouches, bags and other lovelies so stop by her shop.

Spoonflower Textiles

In the future I would love to pint my own fabrics–perhaps a line of tea towels, totes or some other magnificently crafty idea. You can imagine my excitement when I heard about Spoonflower, an online textile printer that allows individuals to print small runs of their own designs onto fabric.

(designed by June Craft, printed by Spoonflower)

I first heard about Spoonflower on Decor8 and quickly noticed it popping up all over the place. Emily from The Black Apple has been featuring her newly printed designs on her blog and just the other day Cicada Daydream posted a quite detailed review about her printing experience with them as well. (insert applause here)

Spoonflower also has their own Fabric Designs Flickr group where customers have uploaded pictures of their newly printed orders. Be sure to hop on over for some textile goodness.

Me ... The Busy Little Bee

Today I have been scrambling around trying to work on freelance projects while my six month old takes naps.


Between my baby, design work, doctor appointments, errands and Pioneer Day (Utah holiday) this week is going to keep me on my toes!

I hope today is treating you well. Happy Monday!

House Industries

It's always fun to open up my mailbox and spot a new House Industries catalog inside.

(previous House Industries issues)

Their use of transparent screens, eye popping color, metallics and playful illustrations are so fantastic.

(current House Industries issue)

This issue features Studio Lettering, a collection of fonts that revives the spirit of professional hand drawn letting by combining classic techniques with present day technology.

Don't be shy. Sign up to receive free issues of this publication.

(House Industries free sampler font, House Slant)

By the way ... you can also sign up for some free fonts. Hooray!

The Big Four Zero

Yep, it's a freebie from yours truly to celebrate Little Paper Dog's 40th blog post. Hooray! I was going to wait until my 5oth post but I got too excited. On this special occasion I decided to design little tags for all your gift giving needs.



Click here for the print ready file.



While we are on the subject of gift tags here are a few smashing ones designed by some talented Etsy sellers. Did I mention that they are all gocco printed? I love you gocco.
• Mothball Charlie
• Remake
• Gigis Garden

* Want to share this download? That sure is thoughtful of you ... please direct readers to this post for the actual file. *All my freebees/downloads are intended for personal use only with your home printer. Commercial use or any sharing or distributing of these files is strictly prohibited.

Etsy Seller—Modernradar

Owls may be plastered all over the place right now but I'm still not tired of them. Maybe its their puffy round bodies or their big bulging eyes that makes me love these creatures so much.

(Modernradar owls tote in teal)

Modernradar has listed these friendly tote bags for sale in their Etsy shop—now you can take these little buddies wherever you go and they don't even mind carrying your stuff for you. How thoughtful of them.

I will be celebrating my 4oth post tomorrow so be sure to tune in for a free fancy download. Oh la la!

My Flickr Faves

Ok, I admit it. I am officially addicted to Flickr. Whenever I visit the site I am amazed to find an endless supply of creativity and inspiration.

The other day I was looking at Flickr pages that belong to some of my favorite Etsy sellers ... which led me to their favorites ... which led me to other great Flickr members and so on. There is so much too see. It can get a bit overwhelming. Wow!

Visit my Flickr favorites to see great images from the likes of: Something's Hiding In Here, Aunty Cookie, Ashley G, PataPri, Scrapabee, Swallowfield, Skinny LaMinx and more.

Have fun exploring!

 

Tangerine, Peacock Blue & Sunflower Yellow

I have a thing for Fiestaware. It's fun, classic and comes in bright energetic colors (that make me happy). The items below are available at Kohls ... and currently on sale.


From right to left:
• Sunflower Dinnerware
• Peacock Pitcher
• Tangerine Vegetable Bowl
• Peacock Salt & Pepper Shaker Set
• Tangerine Flatware Set
• Ribbed Placemat Set

I am not really a kiwi person, however, they do look quite tasty in that orange bowl :)

Cake Stand Crush

This pink Hobnail cake stand was featured in the July issue of Better Homes and Gardens. Gosh ... it would look so pretty sitting on my kitchen counter next to Betsy.

(To purchase call Lane Sanson at
800-358-0053
804-358-0053.)

I found similar ones available several places online but none included the sweet dome lid.

(A few other hobnail beauties that caught my eye.)

If you make fancy cakes or would like to display one of these in hopes of tricking people into thinking you make fancy cakes you can purchase them here:
• minty green: L. E. Smith Glass Co.
• white: Robins Nest
• blue: Gorgeous Classics

Etsy Seller—The B Hive

While traveling through Etsy's time machine I spotted an amazing new shop called The B Hive.

(My Trunks CA Roll small pencil case by The B Hive)

This little elephant pencil case is one of my favorite items Korina has up for grab. Now that I think about it, this shop opened just in time for the back to school rush—a perfect time to start selling these lovely cases ... I wonder if she did that on purpose ;)

Pretty Shipping Labels

I finished designing new shipping labels for my shop today. These were sketched by hand and then scanned into the computer for easy reproduction.


Hopefully they will give each package a personal touch.

Letterpress Love: Etsy Finds

I hopped on over to Etsy's homepage this morning and spotted a treasury that really tickled my fancy. Hand-picked items by Karen Ondracek featuring everything letterpress. I'm in love!


From left to right:
• set of 3 cards by Bemi Designs
• fossil flags by Blackbird Letterpress
• alphabet card by Sweetbeets
• poppy card multi-set by Red Oak Press
• set of 5 beautiful blue pattern cards by Pistachio Press
• red flowers card and envelope by Lucky Bee Press
• rat east limited edition print by Dutch Door
• bunny and carrot thank you cards 6 pack by Armato Designs
• set of 9 orange and turquoise tree gift tags by Sycamore StreetPress
• pink twirl blank reporter-style notebook by The Sherwood Press
• spring trees mini prints with envelopes by Yee Haw
• set of 3 elephant folded notes by Megan Creates

Packaging & Photographing

5 different gocco designs are all printed. Excitement! I've been a busy little bee both photographing and packaging each in their own glossy cello bag. It wont be too long before they will be available in my shop.


I still need to head over to the post office and see how much one of these little beauties will cost to mail. Does anyone have advice on shipping that I should know about before I visit the USPS. Any tips? International vs. domestic know how? What you wished you knew before you shipped something off? I would love any and all suggestions.


Thanks for stopping by ... and for those in the US, happy 4th of July!

Etsy live how-to's

Hooray for the month of July!

(photo by Anda Corrie of Etsy)

All month Etsy is featuring live how-to demonstrations on a variety of exciting craftiness. Some of the free classes include fusing plastic bags (which I sadly missed), applique, screenprinting, stencil making, and glass etching. I attended the the print gocco class with Julie today. She is so sweet. I swear that if we ever met we would totally hit it off and be best buds. Julie just in case you ever happened upon this post I hope you are not freaked out by me saying this :)
Check out the full schedule for tons of handmade fun!