Building a Baby

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architect, home building

I’ve decided the anticipation you get from expecting a baby is similar to the anticipation you get when you are building a house. You wonder will it be a boy or will it be a girl? Will he or she be healthy? What will their personality be like?

This morning, we have the opportunity to go and have our first ultrasound so to speak. We are heading to the architect’s to see their first concepts at the floor plan, site plan and the 3-D of the outside of the home. There is excitement, but also present is that nervous anticipation you experience prior to the doctor’s visit where you get to see your baby for the first time or hear the heartbeat. At that moment, you know the baby is healthy and you’re on track for success.

Those feelings are what I’m feeling today. I’m excited but I’m also nervous and really looking forward to the completion of the home build. For us, this will be a long gestational period. You see, even a year from today we still won’t be in our finished home. We are purposefully extending the building timeline to fit our needs.

In other words, this baby is going to take a while to deliver and while we’re waiting you shouldn’t expect this blog turn into a design blog. Do expect a few updates now and then about the process of selling our current house and the building process. We’re really enjoying looking forward and working with the local team we’ve assembled to build our forever home. It’s going to be a great addition to our Team.

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Creative Card Technology

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#QRcodeInTheWild, design, learn, mom, qr code, qr codes, quiltting, random, scrapbooking, Social media, Stkr.It, StkrIt, tools, Very Merry Christmas, women

Tis the season for holiday cards, right? Are you looking to take your annual mailing to the next level? Look no further than Stkr.It!

For me, it was one of those “You had me at QR code” moments. But here is what is so great. The application goes so much farther than just a holiday card. Imagine the quilt your grandmother made you also being able to play an audio clip she recorded for you. Or your scrapbook page coming to life with video instead of card stock.

I don’t quite understand how they do it, but it appears easy to use. When you purchase a set, it includes a set number of stickers or fabric squares. The maximum file size is 50 MB or approximately 2 minutes of video. The best part: messages are stored for a lifetime. Prices range $2.99 to $9.99 depending on which set you select.

Do you love this idea too? What will you Stkr?

Office Art

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a desk is a dangerous place from which to view the world, Ampersand art, art, art on book pages, collage, collection of quotes, frame gallery, Free Printables, illustration on book page, Indiana prints, Office Art, printable, Quote, random, source of strength, The more we share the more we have, you never know how strong you are until being strong is the only choice you have

I recently got around to framing and hanging prints I had for my office. As I considered what I had, I realized I wanted to add a few more items and make a larger arrangement of frames. Thank goodness for the Labor Day sale at Joann’s! I was able to get all the frames and the reproduction canvas for 60% off. Here’s a breakdown of the art, including free printables for you. Enjoy!

• Ampersand Print – $18.00 from thewheatfield
• Share to Have printable – Free 5×7 Printable
• Decorated Vintage Initial on a Book Page – $12.00 from FauxKiss
• Starbucks Original Store Print with Mat – purchased on business trip to Seattle

• Desk Quote printable – Free 8×10 Printable – Thanks to my friend, Don, who introduced me to this quote via his business card!
• Strong Quote printable – Free 8×10 Printable – This is probably my favorite and I’m so glad it’s right above my monitor when I look up. The design was inspired by this pin.
• Limited Edition Indiana Letterpress Print – $15.00 from 1canoe2 letterpress.
• Canvas from Joann’s – $39.99

And – hanging this frames was so easy using my new favorite tool…Command Strips for picture hanging! They have these great plastic gripper/velcro things so once you’ve got them placed on the wall, you can easily lift and adjust. Brilliant.

What’s Up with Michigan?

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advertising, case study, design, economic development, fast company, indiana, magazine, magazine ad, marketing, marketing campaign, Michigan, print ad, print advertising, Pure Michigan, random, real, relevant, review, work

Two facts:

1. I am a fan of Fast Company.
2. I am a fan of the Pure Michigan ads.

But the intersection of both has me confused. In the past two issues of Fast Company, Michigan has placed a two-page spread. The left page highlights a specific community and a business success story; the right page reflects the quality of life aspects and how they relate to business. Sounds like it could work, right? Individually, the designs are pretty good.

  

  

(insert record scratching sound here)

Until you see them placed side-by-side as they appear in the magazine.

Who is designing these?! Clearly two different agencies without any coordination, right? That’s the only possible explanation, and I’m not saying that is a good model to have. However, the alternative is that one agency did both, knew they were being placed side-by-side and threw all consistent branding out the window. (Note the logo placement, text treatment, and the odd ways the images interact when placed next to each other.)

My suggestions for improvement: design content across the full-spread. Why is the logo placed twice and in different ways? Why is the URL listed twice? Pick a photo any photo; they could have easily used the photo from the left side across both pages. If a common design can’t be utilized, place the ads throughout the publication instead of on facing pages. The current designs appeal to a different audiences – one to those who want all the info and the other to those who are drawn by emotion. By separating them, you have a chance to catch both audiences at least once and potentially twice.

For what it’s worth, I hope they continue with the bad designs and placement. After all, Indiana is a great place to do business and we have a notable quality of life. Keep up the good work, neighbors! 🙂

Do You Know These Products Even Without Their Visual Branding? | Adweek

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advertising, Adweek, brand identification, Brand Spirit tumblr, branding, design, graphic design, importance of design, marketing, package design, packaging, relevant, visual image, work

I am a fan of packaging and am the first to admit that I have purchased something many things based purely on the package design. Have you ever done the same? Could you identify a product based simply on its shape? Well, take a look at this article from Adweek and follow it through to Andrew Miller’s tumblr “Brand Spirit.” I learned the missing graphic design is key to some (surprising) identifications.

Do You Know These Products Even Without Their Visual Branding? | Adweek.

Were you able to correctly identify them all?

31 Days of Quotable Goodness: a review

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#betterinbetterout, 31 Days of Quotes, collection of quotes, design, favorite, Free Fonts, Free Printables, list, marketing, meaningful, original design, pinterest, Quote, random, real, review, tools

If you followed along with the quotes in the month of March, I hope you found at least one quote that resonated. I had a good time finding the quotes and pushing my creativity to create them visually. In summary, here is the collection of 29 quotes. (I had already posted the first two days with plain text when I decided to create visual representations of the quotes for the rest of the month.)

If you’re interested in grabbing one of the files, I’m happy to share. Just leave a comment here with your email address and I’ll send you a JPG. I’ve also pinned the entire group of quotes.

Want some more free goodness? All the fonts I used were downloaded for free and I’ve listed them below with links. Cheers to quoting and creating!

BlairMdlTC TT     Code Bold     Architects Daughter     Pea Rachael Rossman     Bicycle     Matilde     Pea How Sweet Eats     CK Ali’s Hand     Candara     Belgrad     Chalkduster     Chocolate Box    Charcoal    Birch Std     Bolton Sans     Lavanderia       Artiststamp Medium     American Typewriter     Sathu     Desdemona     Zapfino     NeoRetroFill     Honey Script     Acknowledgement     Handwriting – Dakota     Albemarle Swash

Pinterest Changes

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@HSchoegler, changes to social media, design, facebook, learn, LinkedI, marketing, pinterest, Pinterest profiles, random, real, relevant, review, Social media, social media channel, tools, twitter, update, work

Oh my! Pinterest has been updated! Aside from the layout, font and placing the editing features more front and center, I don’t notice anything extremely different. I have noticed that it more strongly encourages me to post to Facebook and put Pinterest in my timeline. No need to thank me, Facebook friends, but I won’t be doing this.

Call me silly, but I don’t like to mix my social media much. There is a time and place for everything but I like to keep my pins of light fixtures on Pinterest, my videos of my kids on Facebook, links to work-related articles on LinkedIn and knowledge share on Twitter. Obviously, there’s always an exception to the rule and things get posted in several if not all locations. But like I said, I try to make it the exception.

What changes have you noticed? Do you like the update?

Follow me on Pinterest and comment here with a link to your boards!

A Few Good Ads

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advertising, cause marketing, Charity Water, Live United, magazine ad, NIV Bible, print ad, print advertising, traditional advertising, United Way

I can’t help it. When I read (or browse) magazines, I’m checking out the ads almost more than the articles. It’s rare that I’ll think “job well done” as I turn the pages. So many ads seem paint-by-number. Perhaps it’s my line of work and my passion for non-profits, but these are a few magazine print ads I’ve noticed recently and appreciated them for multiple reasons including design and topics.

What are your thoughts on the state of print advertising? Have you spotted a favorite ad recently?

Show me your app!

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App, favorite, favorite things, iPad, iPhone, random

That’s right. I would love for you to show me your app(s). Everyone’s always looking for app recommendations. For me, the apps I use the most are the ones I put at my fingertips (aka on my front screen).

Of course if I’m asking, I’m also telling. Here are screenshots of the front screens from both my iPhone and iPad.

  

Thank you to my boss (and Apple fan) who has already shared his with us too!

  

Now it’s your turn. Leave a comment below with a link to your front screen photo(s). And just for fun even more fun, do you organize your apps a certain way? Type? Use? Color? 🙂

DIY Lamp Makeover

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design, diy, DIY project, Hacienda Tile, how to, how to make your own lampshade, how to redo a lamp, inspire, joel dewberry, jowl dewberry napsack, lamp, lamp makeover, lamps, lampshade, learn, make your own lampshade, pinterest, Pinterest projects, random, real, spray paint, spray paint project, Valspar

Recently, my coworker gifted me allowed me to snag two, matching lamps from her trunk on the way to Goodwill. I offered to pay her but she gave them to me for free. Mark the start of a great, inexpensive DIY project!

I knew I wanted to use these on the nightstands in our master. We want to give our room a mini-makeover and this is a great first step. Since I’d already picked out fabrics for the makeover, I quickly knew the colors I’d use for the lamps. If you remember my fan redo, you know I’m not afraid of a little color. 🙂

What you’ll need:

• Ugly lamps. Ha!
• 1/2 yard of fabric for each lampshade
• Aluminum foil
• 1 can of spray primer
• 1 can of spray paint
• Paper – large sheet or roll of contact paper
• 1 can of spray adhesive
• Hot glue

The Base

Step 1: Put aluminum foil on all the parts you want to keep paint-free, like the electrical areas and parts of the lampshade that may show in the end. (I didn’t quite accomplish this as you’ll see in later pictures.)

Step 2: Prime your metal base and the metal on your lampshades. I prefer to use a gray primer when covering with any color.

Step 3: Spray away! Dry. And spray away again. Side note: This project was the first time I used Valspar “the perfect finish” gloss interior/exterior spray paint with “easy-spray technology”. I have to say I loved the application the nozzle gave. First, I didn’t have to battle with a cap that you “squeeze and pull off”; instead, you just turn it. It might not be ideal for all applications since it gives a very wide almost mist-like application. I loved it though because it prevented me from getting streaks and gave a much more even application.

        

The Lampshade

Step 1: Prep the shade by removing any trim.

Step 2: If your shade has a paper or plastic shade with fabric already over it, cut the fabric being careful not to damage the shade. The fabric should then peel off fairly easily. (In my case, I had a plastic shade with pleated fabric that was stuck on with spray adhesive.) If your shade is only fabric or doesn’t leave you with a shade to work with, this blogger offers a great tutorial on making your own shade with the top and bottom rings only.

Step 3: Make the pattern for your new fabric. (This is the point I found the most difficult.)

1. Layout your paper. I found that contact paper worked well because I needed a wide paper and it was heavy enough to layout and not require pinning.
2. Place your shade on the paper and carefully trace the top ring as your roll the shade around completing a full rotation. (I used the seam as my start and end point.)
3. Place the shade back at the starting point and trace the bottom ring as you did for the top.
4. You now have two curves (top and bottom rings) that you should connect with straight lines essentially creating a “C” shape.
5. Cut out your custom pattern. (And pat yourself on the back!)

  

Step 4: Place your pattern on the wrong side of your fabric. Cut around the pattern giving yourself .5″ to 1″ extra on all sides.

Step 5: (Having removed the pattern) Spray the wrong side of your fabric with spray adhesive.

Step 6: Place your fabric around your ‘naked’ lampshade. I found it very helpful to have an extra set of hands at this point. Thankfully, my husband was a willing helper.

Step 7: Fold over the unfinished edge and glue down with hot glue to create your seam.

Step 8: Around the top and bottom rims, fold the unfinished sides over and up inside your shade. Use hot glue to secure.

I couldn’t love my finished product more! It has dramatically improved my nightstand that went from this…

(so honest it hurts), to this…

• Shade fabric: Joel Dewberry Napsack in “Timber”
• Base color: Valspar Gloss interior/exterior spray paint in Hacienda Tile
  
• Jewelry Tree from Selina Vaughan Studios