Sep 1st 2010 11:24:03 am

In an attempt to improve my personal blog and try to increase my blogging enthusiasm, I signed up for IndieBizChicks.com’s September Blogging Special. It is a month-long “eClass” that includes daily emails with blogging tips and prompts. I may not be able to do all of the blogging prompts, but I am going to try to do many of them – starting today!

Today’s Challenge: Get out of your blog reading rut! Crissy challenged us to visit our three favorite blogs and then visit three totally new-to-us blogs that are outside of our comfort zone.

First, 3 of my favorite blogs:

ljcfyi – a daily blog with lots of photos

[i]LoveLife- an artist’s blog on creativity

Oh joy! – a premier design blog

Now, 3 new (and cool) blogs:

100 Layer Cake – This is a very popular blog about weddings. I got married seven years ago, so I don’t really read wedding blogs, but this one is so beautiful! Lots of design and party inspiration.

This Girl is Losing It – A weight loss and running blog (found via). The author has had a lot of success (lost 38 lbs!) and is training to run a 5k, which is very interesting to me right now as I train for a marathon!

Conversion Rater – So this is actually my friend, Pat’s, blog, but it is a bit outside my comfort zone. It is a tech blog with a focus on online advertising and internet startups and Pat really knows his stuff!

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So, I didn’t move outside of my comfort zone too far, but I have added these three new blogs to my reader and hope to gain a fresh perspective by expanding my blog circle. What are a few other new-to-me blogs I should check out?

5 Comments » Categories: Favorites, Just for Fun, Website, design

Aug 10th 2010 11:37:28 am

I know, I know… you are most likely sick of hearing about the lady blogging conference. I apologize for being so single-minded lately, but I feel like I need to write down all of the good info I picked up at BlogHer before it slips out of my mind and is lost forever! Wow. That sounds dramatic! I better get to it.

Today, I have a list of all my favorite new websites that I learned about over the weekend. Hopefully, you will like some of them as well…

Crafty Blogs & Sites:

• Handmade Detroit – If you are in Michigan, this site is for you. And even if you’re not, the blog has lots of great crafty content.
• Tonya Staab – This and That – Tonya was on the Etsy blogging panel with me and she is fantastic. Her blog covers just about everything – including cupcakes!
• DIY Buiness Association – A new blog and organization from Amy Schroeder, Founder of Venus Zine and venuszine.com.
• Teen Angster – The personal blog of Allison, one of the authors of the amazing Etsy blog.
• The Creative Empire – You already know about Tara Gentile from ScoutieGirl and Megan Auman from Crafting an MBA because I link to their great sites all of the time. The Creative Empire is their new project – a community built to help web entrepreneurs.
• The Honey Pie Tree – A hand-crafted toy designer’s blog.
• The Studio Creations – A very pretty art blog by Thais, a Brazilian living in NY.
• Louise Gale – An artist who hosts the The Creative Color Challenge.
• Kipiboo – A blog of art and inspiration from a Brooklyn artist.
• Design Mom – Gabrielle is one of the founders of Kirtsy, a designer, and a mom of six.

Other Blogs:

• The Token Fat Girl – Lorrie writes about her weight loss adventures, plus lots of other stuff like fashion and recipes. I hung out with her a bit at the conference and she is really sweet and multi-talented.
• The Bloggess – This is a “famous” blog that I had read in the past, but somehow lost track of. It is super-funny.
• Pine Creek Cottage – Marcy’s sweet blog.
• Zipbag of Bones – Funny. And a little inappropriate. But mostly funny.
• Mama’s Keeper – A work at home caregiver’s journey.
• Just a Girl in the World – Adventures of a southern girl, sometimes traveling the world.
• One Bored Mommy – A mom of four blogs daily.
• Little Tech Girl – A tech geek blog written by a mom of two set of twins!
• You Can’t Call It “It” – A hip baby names blog.
• Things of Random Coolness – A blog of very cool design-y things.

Other Cool Websites:

• Indie Biz Chicks – I’ve already linked to this site a couple times, but Crissy’s website is an excellent resource for small business owners.
• Reware Vintage – a vintage clothing shop and blog.
• Food on the Table – A meal planning tool. Amanda, the rep, was super-sweet!
• Cake Lab – The most beautiful and delicious mini cupcakes. I had them at Etsy.
• Girlfriend Circles – A community that matches up online friends for real world get togethers.
• Graph Jam – A funny graph builder.

Whew! That is a long list of websites… and the thing is, I am sure I left off some good ones. Please add more of your favorite links from the conference (or just in general) in the comments…

10 Comments » Categories: Crafts, Friends, New York, Website, Work, design

Jun 10th 2010 02:41:05 pm

So… I am not really sure I want to tell you about this lovely website that I recently found. You see, it is a giveaway site that has really fantastic daily giveaways that you can enter just by leaving a comment. If I tell you about it, then you will enter all the giveaways and it will reduce my already miniscule chances of winning… But, I’m a nice gal, so I’ll spread the love…

You must check out TheBrightSideProject.com! It has really pretty posts featuring the best in style and design, and every day they give something nice away. Sadly, I haven’t won anything yet, but the site has turned me on to lots of lovely things, like the stuff seen above:

• Toy Watch, in white like Chanel
• By Boe reminder bow ring
• Chan Luu wrap bracelet
• Ayofemi Jewelry necklace
• Tarte’s new glam gams bronzing leg stick
• Prismera Design Fiona necklace
• Seychelles sandals
• and… Banter Banners

The daily posts are a quick read and I almost always leave a comment to enter the giveaway… It doesn’t hurt!

No Comments » Categories: Fashion, Just for Fun, Lovely Things, Website, design

Mar 2nd 2010 12:37:55 pm

When we ventured out to Soho on Saturday, one of my intended stops was the Kate Spade flagship store on Broome St. I had heard about a cool neon tape art installation by Rebecca Ward and wanted to check it out in person. Rebecca Ward is an installation artist who creates colorful, site-specific environments using mostly tape. (btw: I loved the installation in the store, but it wasn’t as extensive as I had anticipated.) The Kate Spade brand sometimes feels a little too ladylike for my current style, but I have always loved its playful use of color and pretty designs. For a long time, Kate Spade was my very favorite designer, mostly because she is from Kansas City, like me, but also because her designs were always so simple, but unique. It is exciting to see the brand supporting such a hip, young artist in such a public way! In addition to the cool installation, I also loved all of the corresponding displays throughout the store – so beautiful!

After the stop at Kate Spade, Travis and I continued our stroll over the the Madewell store. (my favorite!) I was totally caught off-guard by the awesome airmail-themed windows and displays there.

Vintage airmail envelopes and mail packages were everywhere! I think that they were all reproductions – not actual old letters – but I was still tempted to swipe one to take home… I love anything mail related because it reminds me of Swap-bot. Don’t worry, I didn’t end up stealing any of the envelopes, but I couldn’t resist taking a few photos of the displays. Three cheers for snail mail!

And in a serendipitous turn of events, Gilt Groupe was having a sale on Kate Spade accessories on Monday! With my “free shipping” coupon, I scooped up this airmail-themed cosmetics case at a nearly-free price. I am going to use it to carry my Swap-bot arsenal to crafty events. Who knew that fashion and the postal mail went together so well… Swap-bot is so stylish!

3 Comments » Categories: Art, Fashion, Lovely Things, New York, Swap-bot, design

Feb 6th 2010 04:13:05 pm

Already done with my thing-a-day creation for today! I had been planning to make downloadable Swap-bot Valentines this year and I am so happy that I actually made the time to do it. I designed two cute Valentine cards – one with Ernie, the Swap-bot logo/mascot, and one with Crusher – and a little matching envelope. The PDF file is totally free and you simply download it, print it out on card stock, cut out your Valentines, and give them to your friends!

Download the Swap-bot Valentines PDF here.

There are some basic instructions on the PDF, but assembly is really easy. Cut just inside the black lines, then score and fold the envelope on the grey lines. Fold in the shorter sides of the envelope, then the bottom. You can glue these parts together. Slip your Valentine card inside the envelope, fold down the top, seal it, and give it to someone you love!

I hope that some of our Swap-bot users enjoy them. Crusher was so excited about the cards that he already started handing his out!

6 Comments » Categories: Art, Crusher, Cute Things, Projects, Swap-bot, design

Feb 2nd 2010 07:00:20 pm

Quick post today: For my thing-a-day today, I am counting the graphics I made for Craft Critique (the one above is an example). But, I also wrote a nice write-up of last night’s Craft Night on the Swap-bot blog and I put together this photo matchbox tutorial on the Etsy blog. It was a busy day!

2 Comments » Categories: Crafts, Swap-bot, design

Jan 21st 2010 06:15:16 pm

5 Comments » Categories: Swap-bot, Work, design

Jan 15th 2010 04:56:06 pm

I have been working hard over the last two days helping a colleague with some design work. The icons above are related to the project. I did all of the illustrations for them from scratch and I am pleased with how they turned out. They are intended to represent the many different categories of crafting – beading, photography, sewing, paper crafts, etc…

What do you think?

7 Comments » Categories: Work, design

Jan 6th 2010 03:49:31 pm

New year, same work. Productivity is my goal, but my mind keeps flitting around between all off my different projects and duties. I like to have variety, but sometimes I wish I was better at staying on task! Today I fit in some design work for Swap-bot and set up an email newsletter system for the Swap-bot blog. Sweet. (You can sign up for the Swap-bot blog emails here. I know you want to get the latest news and info about the ‘bot!)

I have almost run out of the 500 one-inch Swap-bot buttons I ordered at the beginning of last year. (I have been sending them in all my swaps and handing them out at all sorts of crafty events.) So, I reordered the two original designs, plus created this new larger button. It is going to be metallic! Pretty awesome.

Some other good Swap-bot news: I am going to be hosting the Etsy Labs craft night on Monday, February 1st! I am really excited about it. If you are in NY, come make adorable matchbox Valentines with us!

1 Comment » Categories: Swap-bot, Work, design

Aug 9th 2009 10:48:46 am

If you like pink, I have a present for you. I tried my hand at creating an original background image for my iPhone and I thought I would offer it up as a free download, too.

To add it as your background screen on your iPhone, open up this page with your phone’s internet browser. Then, hold your finger on the image until the box pops up that says “save image”. Then, go to your iPhone photos, click on the graphic, hit the bottom left button, and select “save as home screen.” Voila! You just gave your iPhone a makeover!

EDIT:

I kinda forgot about the top and bottom bars on the iPhone home screen… The following background image will work better with those bars.

3 Comments » Categories: Just for Fun, Lovely Things, design