"A toast" printable greeting card

Head over to Oh My! Handmade Goodness to get this free printable card by Meg of Olliegraphic. Perfect for whenever anyone does a good job at anything.
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Tons of free icon sets

The icon for the folder of active design jobs on my computer is a hamster. I know it's completely juvenile, but it's been entertaining me for the last ten years. If you'd like to replace any of your standard folder or application icons with something sillier, here's a great roundup of 70 free icon sets. (Thanks, Celeste!) Be sure to check the licenses for each, but most are available for commercial use on websites, too.

Among the cutest: Desserts, terrariums and appliances.

To change your folder or application icons on a Mac, follow these directions or open the new graphic file in Preview, select all, and copy it. Do a "File > Get Info" on your destination icon, click the old icon at the top of the window to select it, then paste. On a PC, try these directions.
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Affordable art prints

While browsing on Imagekind the other day, I fell in love with a cat. That orange guy is coming to live in my house. Love the mid-century vibe of CZM's work.

I also have a thing for tilt shift photography. Check out Janez Novak's gallery of prints. Is that what Ljubljana, Slovenia looks like? I can't pronounce it, but I sure do like it.
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That looks familiar

Here's a collection of products sent in by blog readers. These items hit the market after my fabrics came out, and they look a little familiar, right? Certainly we designers can't help being influenced by what we see around us, and genuine coincidences do occur in the design world. Please enjoy these coincidences.


Above are some of my prints.


Click images to view larger
Cute pillows and wall hangings! Looks a little bit like my Calliope print. This company agrees that the design is identical, but insists their artist created it independently. The name of my fabric collection is Amusement Park, with prints called Parade, Fireworks, Calliope, and Boardwalk. The names of other prints in this company's collection are Carnival and Carousel. Fabulous! I wish I could meet this other designer, because clearly we are twins separated at birth and would be best friends.

This company likes the Calliope motif, but thought it might look just a little better with the addition of black dots.

Could we see it in a photo card?

Have fun buttoning your clown shirt.

Unless these product photos are misleading, it looks like these guys couldn't afford the third ink color in their Fireworks print. Sadly the economic downturn has affected everyone.
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My favorite graphic design galleries

The following sites are handy references and provide entertainment if you like looking at nice design. If you don't like looking at nice design and would rather see a gallery of Photoshop disasters, click here. (Be warned that some of the entries are rather risqué, so don't look if you are under 18. Of course, by saying that, I might as well put a giant flashing CLICK ME sign on the link.) But back to the good sites:

Logos: LogoPond
Business cards: Creattica
Letterhead: Letterhead Love
Websites: Site Inspire and The Best Designs
Packaging: The Dieline and Lovely Package
Invitations and cards: Oh So Beautiful Paper and Paper Crave
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Experimental cork trivets

Recently I bought a pack of plain cork trivets for a couple bucks at IKEA. Very functional, but no fun. They needed decoration. To make this super easy project, you'll need:

A cork trivet
Self adhesive cork on a roll (usually sold with regular shelf liner and contact paper at Target or Home Depot)
Acrylic paint and a brush
Scissors or craft knife and cutting mat
Pen

1. On the self-adhesive cork backing, trace around the trivet. Draw a design inside. Don't get too tricky or it will be hard to cut.

If your cork is curly from being rolled, ironing will help flatten it. I took a guess and used the cotton setting, because cork and cotton both start with c. (Kidding. Do not iron based on the alphabet.)

2. Cut out the design with a scissors or craft knife.

3. Paint the trivet so your cutouts will show up nicely. Let dry.

4. Peel the backing off your cork pieces and stick them on. Done.

What I learned:
Leave your cork pieces unpainted or a hot pan will stick to them, no matter how cute they are.
Brushing on paint will get it into little nooks and crannies better than using spray paint.
If you choose to spray paint, don't use your finger to smear it into the crannies. Cooking oil, rubbing alcohol, and nail polish remover will not take spray paint off your finger. An abrasive sponge will, but it will be uncomfortable.
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Free font: Arcus

While font shopping the other day, I stumbled on Arcus, a geometric typeface with interesting curves. Might be useful for headlines or adapted for logos. Get it in regular and italic for free right here from MyFonts.com.
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Vintage labels to fill out and print

Get sheets of ornate vintage labels at Worldlabel.com. Choose a design and download the PDF, then open it and type in your information. Super for people like moi with bad handwriting. Designs are sized to print on standard label papers.
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Fabric sighting

Courtney of Kelly+Olive alerted me to these cute EmersonMade bridesmaid clutches created with my fabric. Love the simple photography. Speaking of fabric, you must be getting sick of seeing this old stuff. I'm happy to share that I'm in the middle of designing a new collection. Fun!
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DIY projects for the weekend

I'm sure you're all reeling from yesterday's one-or-two spaces controversy, and perhaps some of you didn't sleep last night. To calm things down to How About Orange's usual innocuous level, how about some DIY projects? Woman's Day magazine has a nice collection of craft projects, many excerpted from popular books. Some examples to try:
Easy cafe curtains
Waffle bath mat from Scandinavian Needlecraft
Pyramid painting from DIY Art at Home
Embellished handbag from Bags in Bloom
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Typography lessons for everyone

Friends, I've discovered a website that makes me giddy with joy: Typography for Lawyers (via Swiss Miss). If the words "typography" and "lawyers" don't usually make you giddy, bear with me. The site is a well-written, beautiful piece of work from Matthew Butterick, a typographer-turned-attorney. If you're a non-designer, this simple guide will help you make pages of words look better. And if you're a designer who's tired of telling folks to stop using two spaces after periods, send those peeps right over here to get them straightened out. And soon the world will be a better place.
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Hexagon notecard printable

Download this colorful notecard freebie, compliments of Ginger & George. It should be easy enough to find a colored envelope to match, right? (Via One Pretty Thing.)
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Google Me business card freebie

Does your name appear at the top of Google search results? Need a quick business card? Get this template from Ji Lee and add your own words to the search box. (The download is on page two.)
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Mom made me oven mitts

Look what my mom, AKA Grandma G, just mailed me: oven mitts made from my fabric! When she suggested the project was so easy I could make them myself, I refused and begged her to do it since things are more special when made by one's mommy. (That depends on the mommy, I suppose, but I happen to like mine and she's an excellent sewer.)

If you want to make a pair, see Mum's notes:

"I combined a couple of tutorials to make these oven mitts. I used the pattern and most of the instructions from Skip to my Lou. I liked her suggestion of cutting everything into rectangles first and then doing the quilting before cutting out the mitt shape. It worked very well.

Like savvyseams.com, I tried the idea of stitching the mitt together only halfway around before attaching the seam binding. I think that made it a little easier to sew the binding on without having to work inside the small circle formed by sewing the entire mitt together first.

The only thing I would do differently next time would be to finish the seams (I zigzagged them) before sewing the two mitt halves together. I did it after sewing them, and it made for a bulkier edge to sew on, plus I couldn't sew all the way to the end of the one seam where the binding went on because it was pressed open at that point. I used an overcast stitch to sew those ends by hand to prevent raveling.

Both tutorials were easy to follow, and probably the hardest part of the whole project was turning the thumbs right side out when they were finished."

Each mitt is lined with a layer of Insul-Bright and a layer of Warm & Natural batting, available at Jo-Ann Fabrics.
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Printable bookplates from Draw! Pilgrim

Help yourself to Pilgrim Lee's nifty (and free!) printable bookplates. I'm taken by those triangles. Get the file here at Frecklewonder.
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How to run a freelance business

You might have seen this book floating around the internet lately: Creative, Inc. by Meg Mateo Ilasco and Joy Deangdeelert Cho. If you're thinking of freelancing in a creative field, I highly recommend it. When I transitioned a couple years ago from working full time at a design firm to working for myself, I read through several books on this topic. Most of them left me slightly panicky and overwhelmed with complex legal terms and business forms; not to mention many of the books were outdated. But this little volume offers clear, accessible advice and steps to follow. It's realistic: yes, you'll need thicker skin to deal with rejection. Yes, you'll put in lots of hours for what feels like little return (at first). But it's also inspiring. The interviews with successful freelancers are fascinating, and the useful information from Meg and Joy provides a road map to get you where you need to go. I wish I'd had this book earlier!
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Cute things to make with fabric

A collection of sewing tutorials from around the web:
Mug cozy from Hazelnuts
No-sew pillows decorated with felt at Woman's Day
Guitar strap cover by A Pretty Cool Life
Tiny letter needle books at KellyRachel
Simple coin purse by PMThreads
Land of Nod-inspired floor cushion at Living with Punks
Patchwork pencil pouches from Little Big Girl Studio
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Customizable crest monogram

Know some folks getting married? They might like to customize their own fancy crest from Maemae Paperie. Choose colors, enter text, and a file with the personalized design will instantly be emailed out. (Via Papercrave.)
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Instant business jargon translator

If your clients are business people and your spouse regularly brings home jargon from the office—in other words, if you're me—Unsuck It can help. It's a little bit vulgar, but lots of fun. Next time someone suggests an ideation session and you wonder if that involves a visit to a doctor, enter the phrase right here and discover it's just a meeting. Whew! (Via Notcot.)
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Quiz: Match the origami folds

I just watched Between the Folds, a fascinating documentary about fine artists and theoretical scientists who fold paper. I think Alex and I said "wow" out loud about five times each. Just for fun, take this quiz to see if you can figure out what each origami diagram creates when folded.
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A fabric sighting in Family Fun

My fabric was spotted in the September issue of Disney's Family Fun magazine. Good eye, Katie. Those apple pie bars don't sound half bad, either.



P.S. I've finally made pages that gather all my fabric and ribbon designs in one place. Or rather, two places. For fabric, click here. For ribbon, click here. And if you sell any of these and want your shop listed, let me know!
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