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.
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.
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.
Above are some of my prints.
Click images to view larger
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.
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:
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:
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. 
2. Cut out the design with a scissors or craft knife.
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.
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.
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!
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:
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.
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.)
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.)
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:
Help yourself to Pilgrim Lee's nifty (and free!) printable bookplates. I'm taken by those triangles. Get the file here at Frecklewonder.
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!
A collection of sewing tutorials from around the web:
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.)
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.)
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.
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. 
