Expand the mind, perfect your craft

Spare time is not something that is in my realm of vocabulary as of late, but I have realized how healthy it is for your mind to MAKE the time to do something you love - even if it is just ten minutes a day. That ten - twenty minutes I steal during nap time or after the kids are in bed, are similar to mental therapy;) I dive into my little creative world. and use a set of lungs that you can't see but are vital to my existence..

I just finished an online calligraphy course through Melissa of I Still Love Calligraphy. Its an incredibly well done course with printables and demonstration videos (I am a visual learner). She makes it easy and fun to learn and experiment. It felt so refreshing to try something new, and cross of something from my bucket list;)

A few books that are encouraging husband and I to expand the mind, and perfect our craft:) (Mine being hand lettering and typography, his being the outdoors.) 

Top to bottom: 1) Maybooks journal 2) Verdant Journal 3)Typography Sketchbooks  4) Bring the outdoors In by Shane Powers 

Gabe and I don't get to travel together very often (weekend long babysitters are not in our budget), but we do encourage each other to take solo opportunities when they arise. For instance, he was the one who encouraged me to head to New York a few weeks ago. I received this Travel Journal by John Robshaw just in time for the trip, and was able to take note of all the fun spots and divine eats I experienced:) 

What about you?

Something you have been wanting to tackle and learn? Somewhere you want to travel?

Take 3: Paris vs. New York, One Little Bird, Andrea Nguyen

1} I think I could frame the whole lot of Paris vs. New York postcards via Antropologie.

2} Combining artistry and cooking! Recipe prints by One Little Bird.

3} My favorite pixar movies are by far the above. View the adorable full set of pixar movie prints on Society 6, designed by Andrea Nguyen.

Type meets Image: Sun soakers

(original image source unknown: first pinned by Nicci)

This is what I am dying to do this weekend. I arrived to Friday with my head spinning. Nothing a little  sunshine can't fix;) Wishing you all some good weather and a fun weekend ahead!

Take 3: Image Meets Type

One of my favorite aspects of being a graphic designer, is brand and typography research. These past few months, image and type have been a hot trend in the field...

1) Kling's Spring campaign is stellar! As well as everything in their shop...

2) Wouldn't you want to have coffee and breakfast with a buddy at this little corner?

3) This Beach Vacation print reminds me of those childhood memories of summer I miss!

Today is my little Veronica Rose's first birthday. Hands down the fastest year of my life so far! Definately bittersweet. It is hard to see your babies grow up but exciting to see their little personalities grow. She will be celebrating along with her brother this weekend (both April babies) and I will be sure to share a peek next week along with her last month by month photo:)

Take 3: One Hit Wonders

Sources: 1, 2, 3

The clever and inspirational in typographic form:)

Thought it would be fun to share some cool links with you to get you through the week!:

Would love to take you friends on a bike ride through the GA mountains on a row of these!

A preview of the online collection coming to H&M.

Vase + Tape =One pretty table centerpiece.

An easy way to get your ribbon ready for wrapping.

The Olsons are back in the house!

 Happy Wednesday!

Take A Little Bit of Love....

(via Yellow Heart Art)

I love my readers. That's all:)

Seeing Pairs: The People's Wine + Spec Chart

(source 1, 2)

Its fun when a few pieces of artwork work together without even being by the same artist.

Pinterest has been such a great way to see these parallels.

I am in the middle of designing the Spring issue of Radiant so its crunch time for me this week.

Wishing you all a wonderful Wednesday!

Artistry Feature: Coulson Macleod

Who: Coulson Macleod

What: Typographic Art from the UK

Where: Shop | Blog | Facebook

These are a few of my favorites from the Coulson Macleod shop. I was so happy they submitted their work.  Being a typography junkie these immediately caught my eye! I love how the works are made on thick boards. Visit their site for some beautiful examples in the home!

*Thrilled to have so many wonderful responses to both advertising and Handmade Gift Guide. Thank you! Can't wait to start sharing!

Artistry Feature: Grace Hester Designs

As a graphic designer, I really appreciate prints and typography. I am smitten with Grace Hester's shop and artwork. There is a wide selection of categories - each with well selected fonts and colors.

Aren't they fantastic?

Visit Grace Here:

Shop | Blog | Twitter

Thursday DIY: Improving Your Blog

As a new blogger, I had to do my own research on things I wanted to improve on my blog. So, I thought I would share some things that have been great resources for me...

1) Use Fun or Clean Fonts! Some fonts are way over-used. Its always refreshing to see something new. I guess that is the Graphic Designer in me. Its all about the TYPOGRAPHY. Here is a great place you can download free fonts of all kinds.  Like These:

2) Take off the word verification for comments.  There has been many times I have tried to leave comments on blogs and the word verification freezes or comes up after you already left the site, so I give up or miss the boat. If you are like me, you love hearing from your readers! You can remove it easily. Go to your blogger dashboard. Under the Settings Tab, there is a link to Comments.  Here there will be a question whether or not to allow word verification. It looks like this:

3) Design Elements and Webicons - Need a great resource for free webicons, vectors, and textures? I am going to let you in on one of my favorite graphic design resource websites...THINK DESIGN BLOG They are always offering fun FREEBIES.

4) Layout Variation -  A great place to find variations to the blogger.com templates is 3 Column Blogger This is how I found the step by step HTML guide to making my blog three columns. There are lots of other guides and it is EASY.

5) Share the Love- Everyone loves to hear from their readers. Visit your favorite blogs and encourage other bloggers, and the love will come around:)

Hope these tips help you in some way or other! Have any other good ones to share? LET ME KNOW! Have a wonderful Thursday!!