Magazines and tissues

Speaking of magazines, the current issue of CS Brides has an ad I put together for Bliss Weddings and Events. Which reminded me of another promotional project I worked on last year featuring Bliss: an entry for AdPack USA's annual tissue pack contest, in which copywriter Diane Landsman and I won the top prize: $6,000, which was not too shabby.

AdPack USA manufactures pocket-sized tissue packs printed with your company's graphics. Super popular in Japan, they're starting to catch on in the U.S. as a creative way to get your name into the hands of potential customers. Maybe your business could benefit from this new medium? To read more about the campaign we designed, go to AdPack USA, choose Applications, and then click the Contest link. And if you're in need of an outstanding event planner, check out Bliss and get inspired by Renny Pedersen's gorgeous work.

(Did this post sound like an infomercial? Sorry. Maybe my next post will be about Snuggies, which crack me up.)

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Fabric Cadabra

That's the clever little title of this blurb about my fabric in the winter edition of CS Interiors, a high-end Chicago home design magazine. To read the article, click here. Also, I think I'm going to get one of those cow-leg coffee tables for my dairy farmer dad for Christmas next year. The table has six legs instead of four, which is odd. Other than that, I don't find it strange at all. Ha.

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Customized postage stamps

I just got a surprise present: real postage stamps with my own fabric design on them. How fun is that!? To make your own, visit this site.

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Quiz: What kind of creative are you?

Take this creativity quiz and learn "How creative are you? What gets your juices flowing?" I turned out to be Eyes Wide Open. I wouldn't put much stock in the results if I were you, but it's pretty fun.

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More storage buckets

I just added some more buckets to my shop.

Update: All gone. More on the way.

And a totally unrelated tidbit: if you're concerned that you're not getting enough junk mail in your email inbox, I can help you out. You can now subscribe and get new How About Orange posts sent directly to you. Click the link at the bottom of the left-hand column if you'd like to clog up your mailbox a little more.

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Every household ought to have it

Orange masking tape. Santa left it in my Christmas stocking. He may have purchased it at our local Blick art store. Or maybe north pole elves manufacture it under the pseudonym "Pro Tapes and Specialties" and distribute it to Blick. The elves also make tape in other lovely (though inferior) colors, in case you're interested in something besides orange.

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Cookie brownies

I'm always looking for easy treats to whip up for guests and just saw these chocolate-chip-cookie-dough-brownie squares. It's a recipe from Betty Crocker, tried out and photographed by Bakerella right here. I love brownies. I love chocolate chip cookies. I love easy recipes. Fantastic.

(Image from Bakerella)

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New in my shop: fabric storage buckets

My mom sent over some adorable storage buckets she made from my fabric, now for sale in my Etsy shop! They're reinforced with very heavy interfacing which makes them so sturdy, you can set a big dictionary on top and they won't buckle. These are not tiny, wimpy buckets, no siree. Perfect for storing pretty much anything.

Update: sold out in one day. But more go into the shop next week!

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Obamicon yourself

Inauguration day has arrived. Whatever your politics, you can express yourself by creating an "Obamicon," your own image in a style inspired by Shepard Fairey's iconic poster. Make yours right here.

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Aw... baby shoes.

My friend Lyla emailed me a picture of the baby booties she made with some of the ribbon I designed. Cute! Yet one more use for ribbon that I hadn't thought of. If you want to make some, it looks like she used this free pattern here, and ordered the ribbon here, from JCaroline Creative.

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Desktop wallpapers

When I sat down at my computer this morning, it was -15º F outside. I decided to put Iceland wallpaper on my computer to commemorate this, until I learned that the average winter temperature in Iceland is 31º F. Practically tropical. Heh. Oh well. Get these wallpapers and others here at PokedStudio.

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Origami everything

I know that just before you clicked over here, you thought to yourself, "I wish I could spell out my name using origami papers." Well, my friends, it's your lucky day. Origami Club is a site full of instructions for making origami everything, including numbers and letters in two kinds of "type" styles. All projects are rated for difficulty. You can also download patterned paper to print. (Thanks, Penny!)

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Paint chip bookmarks

Looks like I'm on a bookmark kick. We had extra paint swatches lying around because, lo and behold, we painted our guest room orange over the Christmas break. (I'll show you after we get some stuff on the walls.) These paint chips were begging to be spared from the trash. Trim them to a size you like, paste two colors back-to-back with some rubber cement, attach a string or ribbon, and you're golden. They're especially sturdy because the paper stock they're printed on is very tough. Now I have no excuse for using a Kleenex or an extra book as a bookmark.

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Coraline

In a clever marketing move, the promoters of the new stop-motion movie Coraline sent out handmade boxes to bloggers. (And it worked, because here I am, posting about the movie.) Who wouldn't be intrigued by a movie set made entirely of tiny handmade things? You can watch the trailer here. And the website is a wonderland of rooms to hunt through and special things to find, including a printable bookmark and a downloadable sweater pattern. And if you do nothing else, at least watch this clip about the woman who knits miniature garments. Amazing. The movie opens February 6.

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Flickr memory game

Need to kill some time? Here's an online memory game using images from Flickr. Type in any words you want and your puzzle will feature images with those tags.

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Free fonts

Help yourself to some crazy free fonts from SMeltery. Left to right: ALusine, TRottoir, GEronto Bis.

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Things you can make

More project instructions:

Magazine file boxes at Apartment Therapy (above)
Bulletin board with shutters from Craftynest
Herb garden markers at Reese Dixon
Flower hair pins at CraftStylish
Roman blinds by Jen Duncan
Printing on fabric using your computer by Hanna Sandvig
Daffodil napkin rings at Good Housekeeping
Chicago skyline notecards by Merriment Design
Apple pin cushion at Living Creatively
Newspaper bunting by Maya Made

(Image from apartmenttherapy.com)

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Fabric bookmarks

Inspired by a bookmark a friend sent from Japan, I made these little guys out of light-weight fabric scraps. Here's the super easy how-to. (It's so easy I'm kind of embarrassed to write it as a tutorial. And I stole somebody else's idea to boot. Sorry, Japanese company somewhere.)

1. Brush rubber cement onto a piece of cardstock in an area larger than the size your finished bookmark will be. Stick on a scrap of fabric, smoothing out any wrinkles.

2. Flip the cardstock over and repeat for the back side of the bookmark.

3. Mark the edges of your bookmark with a ruler and pencil, then cut it out using a sharp scissors.

4. Punch a hole at the top (I used an eighth-inch punch) and tie on a bit of thin ribbon.

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Blogger is on the fritz

I haven't been able to upload photos all day. Which is causing me to reflect on how much I take free, functioning technology for granted. I should be grateful I even get to have a blog. Thanks, Blogger. Now fix it.

UPDATE: After posting this, I decided to try one more time, and I kid you not, it worked. I'm certain Blogger's technical team reads this blog, was frightened into action by my commanding tone, and resolved the problem immediately.

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Desktop wallpaper from Nate Williams

Nate Williams, a designer and illustrator who has worked for a ton of well-known commercial clients, offers free desktop wallpapers right here. Help yourself.

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Show and tell

Look what Alex gave me for Christmas: an orange Swingline stapler, the best stapler I ever saw. He knows I would never spend the money to get this for myself. I love it.

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Happy New Year

I wish you all a great 2009. Back to regular posting on Monday. Have a lovely weekend!

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