Shrinky Dink Key Chains for Mother’s Day
by evie s. on May 12th, 2008
I love creating handmade things for our moms on Mother’s Day. This year, I was inspired by How About Orange and Making it Lovely to create shrinky dink key chains. It was my first time to work with the shrinky plastic, and it took some trial and error for them to come out just right. The instructions suggest reducing the saturation of your design by 50%. After trying that, I opted for full color saturation. The brighter colors were prettier to me. I purchased my sheets at a local craft store, but you can buy a package online for $8.50 and that gives you six 8×10 sheets.
To see more photos, go here.
I hope everyone had a great Mother’s Day!
Create Your Own Font with FontStruct
by evie s. on May 8th, 2008
If you are feeling creative today and want to tackle creating your own typeface, FontStruct from Fontshop is the place to go.
Fontstruct allows anyone to create and generate a custom designed typeface and then share it with others. Once you’re done building a font, FontStruct generates high-quality TrueType fonts, ready to use in any Mac or Windows application.
You can also browse fonts that have been built using the program. Best of all, it’s free!
DIY Project: Handmade Nursery Art
by evie s. on May 7th, 2008
I made these wall hangings for a friend of mine. Her nursery is being done in a cute elephant theme and her primary colors are brown and blue. You could really use this idea to match any design or decor. Here is how to make these for yourself.
What you need:
- Three 5 x 5 Paper Mache art boards ($2.99 at craft supply stores)
- Ribbon for hanging
- Scissors
- Acrylic paints and paint brushes
- Card stock for printing your design
- Permanent spray adhesive
Steps:
- Remove rope strands from the boards and discard.
- Choose a style of ribbon and cut 3 strands the exact same size.
- Apply your base coat to cover the brown paper mache. Paint everything, including the back side.
- Start painting! It helped me to sketch out my design on the computer before diving into painting. I used acrylic paints and paint brushes. All three boards were given a different pattern in the background.
- I drew the elephant in Adobe Illustrator and chose two colors for the elephants. Then I printed them out on card stock and cut them out, leaving a little white border to help them stand out against the painted backgrounds.
- I tested out the placement before adhering the paper elephants to the boards. Using permanent spray adhesive, I adhered the elephants to the boards. Tie on the ribbon to hang and your done!
To see a full-size photo of the finished product, go here.
The Beauty of Intricately Cut Wood
by evie s. on May 6th, 2008
Laser cut wood can be so intricate and beautiful, and it’s great for designs that require precision. Hand-etching can only do so much, but with a smart laser, just look at what you can do!
From left to right:
Laser Etched Art on Skateboards // Laser-Cut filigree wood earrings // Wood Laser-Cut Coasters
Spring Inspired Product Photos
by evie s. on April 30th, 2008
Showcasing products in photos can have many forms. Some opt for simplicity, but many go the route of creating context in their photos and it really pays off when props and styling are beautifully executed. These spring inspired images from Cotton Idea Studio are perfectly arranged and make the products even more enticing.
Companies like Anthropologie and Nantaka Joy do this type of thing very well. What are some of your favorite product photos to look at and be inspired by?
LightArt
by evie s. on April 29th, 2008
I love seeing art installations located in everyday places. You shouldn’t have to go to a museum to admire some art…it should be everywhere to enjoy! That’s why I love this “artscape” in Kijkduin, Holland. Between December 2007 and January 2008, the third edition of LightArt Kijkduin created a fairy tale like landscape in the dunes of The Hague’s southern beach resort of Kijkduin. One hundred and forty illuminated globes of different sizes and colors were spread among the dunes, constantly changing their hues in the evening hours.
You can see more photos here and here.
[ Via Gala Darling ]
Packaging and Design Inspiration
by evie s. on April 28th, 2008
Following my last posts on packaging and business card inspiration, here are some more great ideas in those categories.
From left to right:
Impact Salon Card Sleeves by Creative Suitcase // Business card design by Jason Tremblay // Beehive Honey Packaging by Little Fury // Freska, facial tissue packaging
Collecting: Children’s Stuff
by evie s. on April 23rd, 2008
This is a collection I’m just beginning, because I’m 12 weeks pregnant with our first child! Ever since discovering this wonderful news, I’ve been keeping my eye out at estate sales for cute vintage kid stuff. With that said, don’t be surprised if I start posting more things that fall into the “baby” category.
From left to right:
Vintage finger puppets (lion and bear) // A Little Elephant vintage book // Things to Color vintage coloring book
Collecting: Globes
by evie s. on April 22nd, 2008
Globes are a pretty common collector’s item. I’ve been collecting various shapes and sizes for about 10 years now. Here are just a few from my collection.
From left to right from top shelf to bottom:
Vintage Seagrams globe // Globe from Bombay Company // Glass globe // Hand-carved wooden globe made by my husband // Second shelf // Plastic globe on stand // Small vintage globe // Large lit globe // Timex clock globe // Third shelf // Vintage globe bookend // Plastic globe by Hammond // Clear glass globe
Free Download: Mother’s Day Card
by evie s. on April 21st, 2008
May 11th is Mother’s Day and for those of you that like to plan ahead, here is a free card you can download just for her. Just download the template using the link below, print out on 8.5 x 11 card stock, cut around the guides and fold in the middle.
Here’s to all of our wonderful mothers!