Random Discoveries to Pass On

These may seem incredibly scattered and in no way connected, which is actually pretty true....
but they are just small discoveries that I enjoyed and couldn't resist sharing with you.

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Google pays tribute to Cezanne!

Paul Cezanne's 172nd Birthday:
The Story Behind Google's Doodle

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One popular designer!

Not only was David Airey (graphic designer in Northern Ireland) listed as one of the Top 20 Graphic Designers followed on Twitter (according to GraphicDesignBlog), but his book website turned book Logo Design Love, is now listed as an Amazon Bestseller. Congrats!

I've browsed the website & love what I see.... I'll have to add the book to my "pick up" list. Has anyone read it? Curious on your thoughts?

http://www.davidairey.com/
http://www.logodesignlove.com/
Twitter: @DavidAirey @LogoDesignLove

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Simply stunning artwork!

By Bella Mancini Design

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Adorable handmade clothing!

Probably the cutest thing I've seen all week!
By Neve Inspired

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Last, but not least for today, Beautiful Type!

Beautiful Type's website was featured on The Best Designs for its clean, bold design!
They offer tons of great typography and design inspiration,
while also suggesting great typo-related websites, blogs, articles, and books.

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Happy Wednesday!

Day 18 Photo

"I Give You The Moon" - Day 18 - January 18, 2011

:o) My first moon attempt night, and I'm quite pleased! So, for Day 18, I give you the moon!

Day 17 Photo - Choices

I can't decide which one should be my Day 17 photo....  hmmm - any opinions would be great!

choice 1

choice 2

Stunning Macro by Magdalena

First, thank you Stephanie @ Pretty {much} Art for your recent post introducing the brilliant work of photographer Magdalena Wasiczek.  Stephanie phrased it perfectly saying, "Looking at her fairy tale-like photos, I feel as though I'm a shrunken Alice; fallen down the rabbit hole and plopped right into Wonderland."  I cannot agree more.  Browsing through Magda's site, I find it near impossible to only select a few to share with you here - I love them all!  Her color palettes and attention to detail are truly inspiring!

Here are a few, but be sure to check out her full portfolio.

 

 

New Sketchbook Project Pages Up!

Little by little, since November, Andrew and I have been slowly adding to our This Is Not A Sketchbook!  Visit the sketchbook project tab along the top, or click here to view all the latest pages (larger, too)! I certainly have my favorites ... but we'd love to hear your comments!

         

         

           

Day 13 Photo

"Lucky Me" - Day 13 - January 13,  2011

I feel lucky, so this is for you.

Day 12 Photo

"Ascending" - Day 12 - January 12, 2011

I love the sweeping angle of these vines and the fact that the just quite haven't reached the top yet!

Photos - Day 10 & 11

I'm loving this 365 photo project so far! In addition to the dedication aspect, I'm finding the hardest for me is choosing my best "one" photo for the day ~ sometimes I get "shot-happy" and then I'm left with several to choose from .... and, I'm a Libra (which means I'm super-indecisive). Regardless, the project is fun. I'm "exploring" a lot more, and I catch myself analyzing everything thinking "could this be my photo...could that be my photo" :o)

"Poor Neighbors" - Day 10 - January 10, 2011

Yes, this is someone's yard, and yes, this was taken January 10th. Hmm ... Also, unfortunately not seen in the photo is the big sign that says "Donations, please" or the sign on the door that says "Lights will stay on all day until January 8th" ... Hmm.

"Sprouting" - Day 11 -  January 11, 2011

I'm not quite sure why but these leaves have very slowly been sprouting these strange little buds. They're kind of super-leaves actually. I think they were originally part of a flower arrangement from about six months ago .... When everything else died, I put them in a skinny vase with a bit of water, and placed them on the floating shelves in our living room. Now, sadly, the hardly ever see sunlight and I barely ever remember to give them water. Yet still, it sprouts!

The Happiness Project - Simply Inspiring

On Sunday I posted several quotes from this book, The Happiness Project: Or, Why I Spent a Year Trying to Sing in the Morning, Clean My Closets, Fight Right, Read Aristotle, and Generally Have More Fun and guess what - I have a few more today. I will probably continue to comment and include my favorite portions until I'm done reading because frankly, as I said before, if you enjoy reading, give this book a chance ~ it is simply wonderful.

"Enthusiasm is more important to mastery than innate ability, it turns out, because the single most important element in developing an expertise is your willingness to practice" (p. 71).

I was pleased to read one of Rubin's goals for March was to "Launch a Blog." I instantly felt a bit of a connection with her. I'm not really sure what exactly inspired me to start mine this past fall, but I knew I would somehow benefit from an interactive portfolio/inspiration-keeper of sorts. I've always, since as young as I can remember, spent time journaling, sketching and brainstorming. I love it. "My research had revealed that challenge and novelty are key elements to happiness. The brain is stimulated by surprise, and successfully dealing with an unexpected situation gives a powerful sense of satisfaction" (p. 74). Like many, I had no idea what I was doing at first with this blog, but over time it became a fun challenge to design, shape, and format items to be just the way I want. "My blog gave me a new identity, new skills, a new set of colleagues, and a way to connect with people who shared my interest" (p. 79). And, yesterday I stumbled upon this neat website called Blurb that can automatically transform a blog into a book. How neat is that?! All you bloggers out there may want to take a peak.

Another March goal of Rubin's was to "ENJOY THE FUN OF FAILURE..." (yes, you read that right) "...W.H. Auden articulated this tension beautifully: "Between the ages of twenty and forty we are engaged in the process of discovering who we are, which involves learning the difference between accidental limitations which it is out duty to outgrow and the necessary limitations of our nature beyond which we cannot trespass with impunity" ... "It's fun to fail, I kept repeating. It's part of being ambitious; it's part of being creative (p. 79).

On a separate happy note, at the beginning of December, I posted a cute and quirky piece "So Very Happy" by Studio Mela. My sweet boyfriend surprised me and ordered that print, along with another. I love them! Now I just need to frame them (there's a spot waiting on my office wall)! I don't think I could describe enough how lucky I am to have found him ~ he is so sweet and thoughtful!

"Fight For It"

"So Very Happy"

Yes, I'm Still Crushing On Owls

I love these beauties! So vibrant, with so much personality. Check out Cori Dantini on Etsy or take a peak at her blog. Her illustrations are unique and stunning!

Excellent Happiness Book

I'm only on page 73, but I highly recommend this book! I'm loving it ~ Gretchen Rubin is absolutely inspiring. Often times I find that the quotes on the back of a book give 'false-hope' or overly glorify a writer, but this is not the case here. I won't even begin to phrase it better than others; these remarks are dead-on: "This book made me happy in the first five pages. And the more I read it, the happier I got" ... "A cross between the Dalai Lama's The Art of Happiness and Elizabeth Gilbert's Eat, Pray, Love, seamlessly buttressed by insights from sources as diverse as sychological scientists, novelists, poets, and philosophers, Gretchen Rubin's book is one that readers will revisit again and again as they seek to fulfill their own dreams of happiness."

I've found myself several times saying to my boyfriend, "hey babe - listen to this!" I'm a quote lover, so here are a few of my favorite little snippets so far:

"It is by studying little things," wrote Samuel Johnson, "that we attain the great art of having as little misery, and as much happiness as possible" (p. 37).

"What you do every day matters more than what you do once in a while" (p. 41).

"We hugged -- for at least six seconds, which, I happened to know from my research, is the minimum time necessary to promote the flow of oxycontin and serotonin, mood-boosting chemicals that promote bonding" (p. 45).

"Give proofs of love" (p. 56). "One of the great joys of falling in love is the feeling that the most extraordinary person in the entire world has chose you" (p. 60).

"My Quaker grandparents, who were married seventy-two years, said that each married couple should have an outdoor game, like tennis or golf, and an indoor game, like Scrabble or gin, that they play together" (p. 62).

"So I arrived at my final formula, and it struck me as so important that I named it the First Splendid Truth... To be happy, I need to think about feeling good, feeling bad, and feeling right, in an atmosphere of growth" (p. 67).

As I said before, I highly recommend this book. Even if you only have time to read a page a day, it's worth it.

365 Days of Photos - Day 9

"Classic Miss Leo" - Day 9 - January 9, 2011

It's been a wonderfully lazy Sunday, and our little kitten, Miss Leo (rescued from the woods this summer) was running around all day; playful and curious, as usual. Trying to quickly snap a shot of her, I forgot to change previous camera settings, but am actually really pleased with the outcome. I know it's a bit 'harshly-bright', but I love the simplicity and her expression. My guess is you'll be seeing other shots of little Miss Leo in the future.

my 365 photo project has begun!

I came across this project idea in November 2010 and was instantly intrigued.  The challenge: capture one unique photo every day...for a whole year!  Why? Because it sounds fun! Also, I want to see if I CAN do it and think it will be good for a little creativity spark!  When I did a little "research" I was shocked at the thousands and thousands of people who've attempted this. Many have taken beautiful photos, some have completed the project successfully and sadly, others have fallen short (some even less than 30 days-in)!  I found a neat website (see below) where I'll be posting all my photos. Hopefully I make it to the end! I decided to wait until January 1st, 2011 to start because 'why not start a new year with a fun new challenge', and because a little birdie told me santa might bring me a nice new camera! <-- Update: "Santa" did bring me a nice new camera (wahoo~my boyfriend is the greatest)!  

   

Here we go! I'm very excited to say my 365 Photo Project is officially underway, and my first 4 photos are now posted. This will certainly be a fun and challenging year ~ and I'm determined to succeed!

Click here or visit the 365 tab at the top for more info and a link to my project!

"One to Ten" digital art

Here's a little counting sign I designed last month.  It's currently available in two color schemes "Shades of Ice Cream" and "Shades of Earth"... but I'd be more than happy to adjust or customize it in any way to make it uniquely personalized just for you!