Thanks for patiently tolerating my addiction to desktop wallpaper. I was excited to see that Herman Miller, the iconic furniture manufacturer, is offering a selection of free downloads. These desktop backgrounds are bright, modern, and graphic. Enjoy, and have a lovely weekend! 
Via ManMade DIY.
If it's time for a blog, desktop, or Twitter page spruce-up, take a look at the pattern gallery at repeatxrepeaty.com. Designs are contributed by artists and available to download free. There are some wacky graphics over there! Click any image to see what it looks like tiled before you apply it to your stuff. For example, heads trapped in cell phones might be exactly what you're looking for. Or not.
I don't have children, but I believe I've met some. And I think they might like some of the projects at Mr. Printables. There are oodles of games to make, things to color, and crafts to assemble, including this US map jigsaw puzzle. Or maybe these egg people— it's presented as an Easter craft, but summertime is perfect for deviled eggs when the people wear out their welcome. Parents, go investigate.
I have the best Mom. (Known to you all as Grandma G, faithful commenter on my blog posts.) I said, "Mumsy, would you pretty please sew me a pleated orange skirt?" And so she did. I picked McCall's M5591 as the pattern and my Boardwalk print as the fabric since I had some extra yardage. It's home dec weight, so it was an experiment to see what sort of skirt would result. A cute one, it turns out! It's a little bit heavy for summer, I suppose, but I don't care about things like that. 
Look, it has pockets! 
And Mum sewed a sweet surprise inside— the selvedge from this print. 
If you haven't poked around Sew 4 Home lately, you might be missing a recent burst of free sewing tutorials. They're posting projects that show off some new fabric collections on the market. Check out a DIY color-blocked duvet cover and bolster pillow, above.
Or get free patterns for making vintage-looking kitchen stuff, including a pleated apron, oven mitts, and a toaster cozy. You know, just in case you've cranked your air conditioning up too high and your toaster gets chilly.
Here's a triangle-patterned table runner project. Find even more tutorials right here.
I played with Inkodye again—a photo-sensitive dye that uses the sun to develop prints on natural materials like wood and fabric. One nice thing about using this dye instead of fabric paint is that fabric stays soft and flexible, instead of stiffening like it does with paint. Plus watching prints develop is always fun! 
I made a simple cloud design this time, since I knew that achieving perfectly crisp edges is tricky due to shadows that might occur. And clouds can have soft edges, so if that's what happened, all the better.
To make your own cloud print, you'll need Inkodye, fabric, a foam brush, a large piece of cardboard wrapped in plastic for your work surface, masking tape, cardboard for cutting out shapes, a pencil and scissors.
Sketch clouds onto cardboard. You could use a cereal box or other recycled cardboard for this; avoid regular paper since it might let light through and it will curl more easily if it gets damp. 
Cut out the clouds.
Tape the edges of the fabric to your work surface to keep it in place while you brush on dye. (My "work surface" was a piece of corrugated cardboard wrapped in a garbage bag, which worked great.)
Mix up your Inkodye solution. It's fine to use it straight from the bottle, but it's very concentrated so you can mix it with water to stretch it. Use a 1:1 ratio of dye to water, and colors will still be vibrant. I used about 1/4 cup of each for this project.
Then blot up any excess dye until the surface feels barely damp. Less moisture will keep the cardboard shapes from curling up.
It's helpful to weigh down your shapes to prevent curling; I used some stacks of coins. Place them quickly to prevent the cardboard from shifting. Once exposed to sunlight, the dye will begin turning color within seconds. When your print has been exposed long enough, bring it back inside before removing your shapes. Remember, the unexposed areas will immediately begin to turn color if you remove the cutouts outside, so resist the urge to peek immediately.
Quickly begin washing out the excess dye in hot, soapy water, scrubbing thoroughly. Rinse, and you're done! The resulting print will be permanent and machine washable.
If you'd like to give it a whirl, Inkodye is available here.
Fans of iconic mid-century furniture (and a few newer classics) will love this set of free desktop wallpapers from David Vineis, a French digital artist and designer. The actual chairs would cost me an arm and a leg, which I need to keep, but I'm happy to admire their images on my computer screen at no charge. Download the whole collection as a .zip file at the bottom of David's page.
How could I possibly resist a box of orange push pins? I bought these pins in an art store this weekend. They're actually map tacks for marking locations, but my bulletin board likes them just fine. See other colors here at Amazon.
Check out Winnie the Hoop, a contemporary rounded typeface you'll want to hug. It's the debut release of Teo Tuominen, a Finnish type and graphic designer, and inspired by you know who. As prescribed on the website, "Using this font to communicate a sad or grave message is not recommended." Get it for free right here at MyFonts.com.
Guys, this looks awesome. Have you ever wished you could sell the amazing t-shirt you designed, or the digital magazine you made, or the six tote bags you sewed in a frenzy one night? And you wished you could do it right from Facebook or your blog, so you don't have to set up an entire e-commerce store for a single product? Oh, and you also wished you could sell your thing in a way that looks professional instead of tacky?
While I'm on the subject of books, here's a really useful one. Blogging For Creatives: How designers, artists, crafters and writers can blog to make contacts, win business, and build success. Robin Houghton has put together this super guide to help anyone (not just creative types) set up a blog from scratch and make it go. 
I speed-read through the entire book and would definitely recommend this to anyone interested in starting to blog, or looking to grow their little blog into something with more impact. 
Chronicle Books has recently released Happy Home: Twenty-one Sewing and Craft Projects to Pretty Up Your Home by Jennifer Paganelli, the designer behind Sis Boom Fabrics. I peeked at a review copy from the publisher and snapped pix of my favorite projects: a duvet cover with piping, a pleated bed skirt, patterned boxes, and floor-length drapes. 
Make them with Sis Boom fabrics if you adore an explosion of candy-colored florals and wish you lived in a garden. Or choose geometric prints and lots of solids if you love a modern look and wish you lived inside a Room and Board.
Other projects in the book include party bunting, pillows, a tote, an apron, laundry bag, dog bed cover, pillowcase, fabric-covered headboard, and bed canopy. Written instructions are accompanied by illustrated diagrams, and a couple of printed sewing patterns come in a pocket inside the front cover. Bright, cheerful photos of finished projects are peppered throughout. Happy Home is available here at Amazon.
Sebastiano Ercoli emailed me about a DIY project he designed with Alessandro Garlandini for Comieco, the Italian consortium for paper recycling. It's a cardboard iPad stand that's simple to make from any corrugated cardboard box. Watch the delightful video tutorial here and download a free PDF template. Make sure your volume is up; the sound effects will make you smile!
Since last year I've been receiving invitations to join Pinterest. I've dragged my feet until now, since I was afraid Pinterest would become the ultimate time-waster. There's already Facebook, Twitter, updating this blog, responding to comments and fielding emails... stuffed into the cracks between running my graphic design business full time. 
This morning I stumbled upon BoråsTapeter, a Swedish wallpaper manufacturer. And then I wasted too much time playing with the site's wallpaper selector that lets you choose rooms and drag wallpaper onto the walls. Change the furniture, too! Try it out by going to BorasTapeter.se and clicking "Wallpaper Guide." Then throw some Hanna Werning on those walls. Or check out the same game at Eco, a sister company with a less floral, more graphic collection.
You know how sometimes you need to take a break from work and fold an elephant? Here's my attempt, following this YouTube video in which Jo Nakashima shows how to make an origami elephant designed by Li Jun. 
This guy's pudgy derriere is even cuter than his face. 
Have you seen these awesome printable cards and labels for Father's Day? They're compliments of Hello!Lucky, where you can download them for free. Assemble a gift for Pop with coordinating sock bands and beer or wine bottle labels, then jot a note in a matching greeting card. Choose from black or white designs. Very manly and cool, and totally beats the zillions of golf and fart-themed cards found in stores, right?
Alma Loveland has posted a handful of free summer patterns you can grab to beautify your blog, Twitter page, or desktop. The images are seamless graphics that will tile perfectly across your page. Get them here at the Nicole's Classes blog.
Hello, everybody! I'm back from my travels. I hope last week's orange round-up didn't scald the retinas of those who prefer other hues. I've got a freebie for you today, and you can make it in any color you like (though I do recommend orange).
(Photos from A Bag for All Reasons.)
