inspiration: the little book of lettering

I was so excited to share the flower with you yesterday that I forgot to post about my inspiration for this week!

Little Book of Lettering by Emily Gregory
I was shopping at Paper Source one day and I stumbled upon this little gem of a book. Love it. It's like a well curated typography treasure and it couldn't have come at a better time. I'm positive it will inspire projects to come.

The designers that are showcased are all very varied. I really like that there are three distinct chapters to help you look for a particular idea or inspiration piece.

 

chapter 1 | digitally drawn lettering | work by jessica hische

 

chapter 2 | hand-drawn and illustrated lettering | work by nate edwards

chapter 3 | three-dimensional lettering | work by yulia brodskaya

Emily Gregory is also the author of a beautiful blog called The Daily Smudge. A visit there will surely inspire you as well. That's where I found the amazing video below.

Happy Friday everyone!


Revolution ( Life Cycle of a Drop of Water). from Chris Turner on Vimeo.

day off

Some days are meant for just meant for playing and getting the mental cobwebs out. That's what today is for me. I'm working on sketches and ideas and as you can see I simply couldn't squeeze in a new project for the shop this week—but I'm ok with that. Quality vs quantity is my motto!

The photo is a simple prototype that I worked on in the last few days—playing with a new tool (it reminds me of a hydrangea). It's simple to make because it's just 12 cones cut out using the Martha Stewart Crafts Circle Edge Paper Punch—easy, easy! It would work really well as a gift topper for a larger gift because is bigger than you'd think (6" x 6" x 3"). Working with this tool has inspired me to make something really great next week. If it comes out like I'm imaging it, it will be SO pretty! We shall see.

Friday tibit

I only have one but it's worth it! If you are an artist interested in entering the licensing field you must run out and get Lilla Rogers new book: I Just Like to Make Things: Learn the Secrets to Making Money while Staying Passionate about your Art and Craft. I got it yesterday and finished it today. What a great read! It fueled me at a moment when I've been having some burn out with a bit of self-doubt (ugh!!) creeping in there too. I was so impressed with it that I felt compelled to email Lilla to thank her for the book—a la girl fan... lol! I probably won't hear from her but that's perfectly ok. I just really believe in spreading your 'thank yous' whenever you're inspired to do so.

Well that's all I have for this week! Off to enjoy some lunch with friends.
Be well and enjoy your weekend!

it's a gazebo!

Those of you that guessed gazebo on my Facebook and twitter post yesterday were totally right!

Every now and then I have an idea for a project that is a bit more involved than usual and it gives me a nice challenge to tackle. That was the case with this Gazebo—just as it was with the Nutcracker (although that project has more work involved than this new one does). Both projects take a bit more time and patience than usual but they aren't as complicated as they look.

My favorite part of the Gazebo: the "tiles". I love that I solved that issue without having to use individual pieces (even I don't have the patience for that!). Incidentally those tiles can be cut out using different colors/textures and it will give the piece a really unique look.

I see this project being used as part of centerpiece, on a cake with flowers all around it or as a garden party tea light decoration, just to name a few ideas. I've even think it could be a very unique way to give someone a tiny gift (instead of using a box or bag).



If you visit my Facebook page you've seen this First Communion Set. It's a good option for Easter too! This set just came together so nicely. It just flowed somehow—love when that happens.

• • •

Friday Tidbits
- Isn't Geninne's work always so amazing?
- Jun Mitani - amazing work! gorgeous.

- Creativity To Fill Your Heart - don't forget! You can download one image per day. For those of you that haven't heard of this get the details here.

Thank goodness for Fridays! Have a great weekend everyone!

hearts + news

Happy Friday everyone!
It's been a long week. I think it's a combination of back-to-school routine with my new idea of getting up early every week day—and I'm talking 4am early. As I've mentioned before I'm going to be exhibiting in Surtex in May (booth 664—I know you're going to get tired of this!!) so I'm squeezing that in alongside my A Little Hut projects. I've decided to use the early morning strategy that I used when I wrote the manuscript for my book way back when. There's just something about the early morning darkness and quiet that gets me really going. The good news is that it's working. I'm getting a lot done!



So here's the new Hearts Gift Set! It's completely inspired by my Wreath Gift Set—can you tell? I just love the combination of a pretty shape with a bit of 3D involved. It takes it to the next level.

Cut the Hearts Wreath and/or the Hearts Flower below really big and use it as beautiful gift toppers!



News
- Many of you know that I contribute some work to the Silhouette shop. I will continue to do so but I've decided that I will no longer break up my sets and post them there. I will only be adding single images that I have on my site and that are not part of any of my current sets. This will make it easier for you to know what will be posted and what will not.

- For those of you that have asked about Studio files—I can't offer them because Silhouette does not allow anyone to sell files with that format.

- Videos are coming! I stopped making them simply because our camera had died and we finally, FINALLY got it fixed. I'm so happy about that! I'm excited about the ideas that I have in mind. They will be very simple videos but I hope they will give you more creative ideas of how to use my files.

• • •

Friday Tidbits
- I had skipped out on visiting Print & Pattern for so long but I'm definitely back. Always such an inspiration. It was so nice to see a bit of my work included in the Holiday Round Up post!
- Who's keeping an eye out for new products being shown at CHA this weekend? I am! I'd love to go one day. In the meantime I catch a lot of the action through Twitter using the #CHAshow and #CHA2013 tags.

Have a wonderful weekend!

freebies + inspiration

Only fun things and freebies for today. I'm off to do some shopping today—I've never been this far behind in my Christmas shopping and I'm entering a total panic mode. Ack!! 

Today's weekly freebie is up! The texture I added to the red paper is a Stampin' Up Square Lattice embossing folder.

Friday Tidbits (haven't done them in so long!)

- Gift card holder freebie - Here's a downloadable freebie that I designed exclusively for FedEx. The printing and thick paper made it feel like something I'd bought at the store. Loved the richness of color (fyi - they paid me for the project—not for saying this).

- A cheery Santa download - Download this cheery Santa for your desktop, iPad or whatever! It's illustrated by a friend and very talented designer Von Glitschka.
- Paper lamps - Gorgeous lamps and video about the artists. I posted this on Twitter I believe but I have to repost it here just in case you missed it. Well worth the watch.
- How to score lines with the Silhouette - a an easy to follow tutorial of how to score lines in your paper cut projects. Thanks for the great tips and mention Linda! 

BTW - thank you so much for all your comments this past week on my Facebook page. I read every single one and they all make me smile. You're all awesome!

Have a wonderful weekend everyone! 

happiness is...

Happiness is...

- Having a semi-productive week which I'm ok with because I needed to slow down.
- A happy birthday week (lots of love).
- A house full of laughter (a lot of giggling this week).
- Seeing the kids grow more confident every day (they're growing so fast!).
- Knowing that in about two weeks we will meet my first nephew (first time aunt! wooo!).
- Doing what I love (I could say this over and over every day).
- Playing with new stamp samples (more to come)!

Friday tidbits
- Craftsy Sewing Machine 101 - I totally need to look into this class (and it's free!) the rare times I take out my machine it always has some sort of issue and I know that lack of maintenance has to be a big reason why.
- Skinny laMinx - I hadn't visited Heather's shop in a long time and it was about time. She's doing amazing work as usual. I simply love, love her work. We have one of her table runners on our table now. Maybe it's time for a new one?
- Stillpower- The true Path to Flow, Clarity and Responsiveness: an interesting read. I love it when I'm in the zone. This week it was off and on for me but when I'm there it's amazing how easily creativity just flows.

Have a happy, creative and fun weekend!

question of the week (again)

"What would you do if you couldn't do what you are doing now?", my D asked me this week.

He's asked me this before. My answer has always been: I really don't know. This is what I was meant to do—at least for today that's true.

I believe that if you're doing what you are meant to do you just feel it and it flows. There are no other options that seem better or necessary. That's how I've been feeling about my work lately. It seems to just be pouring out. On some days I almost feel like I should be waiting for the other shoe to drop. Will I hit a dry spell? Maybe. But for now I'm enjoying the ride.

• • •

FRIDAY TIDBIT

Tutorials for toddlers
My apologies for the scarcity of tutorials. Trust me it's not for lack of working on any. It's just that some are coming along and still need to be under wraps. In the meantime I do have a few that you can see now and that you can enjoy with your little ones. Check them out on Disney Baby!

Have an awesome weekend!

• • •

My Spring Bouquet collection of flowers is now in the shop! I wanted to create flowers that are more 3D so that they can used on gifts, cards, garlands, centerpieces or in shadow boxes. I hope you enjoy them!

paper as an organizational tool

So here it is! My new bulletin board. It doesn't looked lived in just yet because I still need to figure out a way to hang it. This was originally a black cork board (really ugly!) that has the hanging hardware on the long side. So I have to figure out what to attach to the back in order to hang it the long way. Covering it with linen was something that was long overdue. I couldn't be happier with the results!

The plan is the make the area where the trees are the inspiration side of the board. I will probably be hanging color and pattern studies. I made the bottom pockets using the same Office Companions file that I used for the business card holder that's close to the center. That's what I love about cutting files—resizing is so, so easy which makes all projects so versatile. Lastly, I need to look for a picture of my kiddos and Mr Z. That's what I want to place in the frame that has the blue paper right now. The trees will eventually get framed—I think.

This is a small but good start. I'm hoping to have the rest of the studio in better shape soon. It was getting out of control for while there.

• • •

Throwing out my back and being in bed for more than a week has really thrown things of course around here! So here are the videos that I had planned on posting before all the chaos ensued and when I first posted about the Office Companions set. I hope they help.

It's always so strange to hear my own voice... 

Friday Tidbits
- Pinterest and it's policy issues have even affected the founder. Read about it here. Interesting, very interesting.
- I read about Twig Terrariums in this week. They seem so enchanting.
- My Easter Eggs and Basket are on Lettering Delights!

A big thank you to Babble for including me in their 2012 Top 50 Mom Craft Blogs list for the second year in a row! I'm so honored to be included in such a talented group of women. Get yourself a cup of your favorite beverage and dig into the entire list—just make sure you have time!

Have an awesome weekend everyone!

playing catch up

Considering the week I've had a catch up day is badly needed. So... today will be all about cleaning up and putting us in order again.

It seems fitting that my most recent update in the shop is a group of Office Companions files. I made a recycling version of the Hanging Note Holder in the past but I'd never thought of making it an SVG cutting file until now. I can't wait to get my bulletin board updated with this set. I'm going to make myself a new rolodex card holder and these templates will also help me with that.

Optional idea - add magnets or magnetic strips to the back of the Hanging Holder or Hanging Pocket and you can place them on metal bulletin boards or your refrigerator.

Another new file— a set of Four Lattice designs: houndstooth, knitting pattern, petals and flowers. I'm working on some ideas for those too! And no, I haven't forgotten about the tutorial (cutting mats) that I was going to post this week. It's coming! Hopefully next week things will be back to normal.

• • •

Friday Tidbits

Only one today... 

Foxtail Creek Studio: I wasn't online much this week but as soon as I saw this shop I felt so enchanted by it. It has such a fairy tale feeling and the work is beautiful! 

Have a great weekend everyone! 

thinking ahead

- Spring cleaning is starting today. I can't wait to clear out so many things around here.
- Spring illustrations are coming along.
- Tutorials are forthcoming.
- And... I am now accepting advertisers. More about that below.

Friday Tidbits
- Dreamy! I want this to be my studio. You can all come over for drinks in the evenings!
- But my contemporary side would scream pick this one instead!
- Best article I read all week: The Truth: Creativity comes from blending dissonant goals into radical harmony 

• • •

Advertising
I want to partner with companies that are truly a good fit for A Little Hut. I want us all to benefit from this opportunity. I had been resistant to this idea for a very long time but now I believe it's the right thing for me to do for the blog to be sustainable. This will by no means affect anything I've been doing so far. In fact, I believe it will improve things. I will try to maintain the clean format that you've all grown accustomed to while making the ads visible to those of you that are interested in visiting my sponsors. I hope you understand this new direction and if you have any questions or if you are interested in advertising please contact me for more detailed information.

Have a great weekend my friends!

when you put your mind to it

Fridays are going to be my Project Life days. I'm already into the second wee and I love it. The fact that I'm actually sticking to my guns is no small feat. I've been journaling on the grid cards and today I will develop the photos for the week (so I have nothing exciting to show right now). I'll be done as quickly as it takes to slip everything into the pocket sleeves. I like that—I need that.

It's been crazy around here. Between work and D's first experience with mid-term exams (oh he hated every minute of it!) I think we're all overdue a laid back weekend.

The biggest thing on my mind right now is getting ready for Altitude Summit I can't believe I'll be there next Thursday! Yikes! It has come so quickly. My class materials are almost done (I wish that were the case with my what I'll be wearing!) and I can't wait to see who my students will be. Not to mention the fact that there are so many people that I want to meet. It's going to be really exciting. I'll take lots of photos so be ready for those.



One of the fruits of this week's labor is my new set of Ripples Stationery and the matching Ripples lattice and border. I think adding some green is just my subconscious wanting to call spring here faster. I can certainly do without the cold mornings!

The lattice is a welcome addition to this collection. Love it! I used the Ripples card of the set to make one the cards for my Clean & Simple class assignment too. I need to be killing several birds with one stone or I'll never get anything done!

Friday Tidbit
I don't have a link per se but just a thought...
Stop postponing your personal projects (whether they are crafty or not).What is holding you back? Before you answer that, believe me when I say that I was the queen of excuses when it came to not working on something like Project Life—but this year I'm taking a different approach. I'm just going for it! How about you?

Thank you SO much to those of you that have responded to my little survey regarding a paper class I'm planning. I love reading all your comments and ideas! I'll post some general results next week. If you haven't answered and have a couple of minutes it's right here (only 3 questions!) and thanks again!

Have a great weekend everyone!

projects

So, here's a glimpse of the first week of Project Life. Super simple and straightforward. You know I'm not keen on showing family photos here so I'll only be posting glimpses or materials I've used.

My plan moving forward is to make some patterned journaling cards. Some may be printable and some will be cutouts. The flower image above is a heart 'flower' that I decided not to include the in the new Valentine's Day Kit—it's seems to be working well here.

For now I've decided that the color will be given by photos. My journaling and additional elements will be neutral with the occasional pop of color that goes with the photos on the pages—at least that's the plan.

As far as the photos are concerned—I'm going the pharmacy prints route. I don't have a particularly good printer (I rarely use it anyway) so I don't want to spend time on special paper, ink, etc. While I worked on my journaling I sent my photos to the store online and picked them up an hour later. Easy.

For this spread I used kraft paper, grid journaling cards and photo pocket pages (design A).

• • •

Another project in the works
I'm putting together ideas and sketches for an e-course that will be ready in a few months. It's going to be a big project but I'm so ready for it. Since it will be for you I'd love to hear what your thoughts are on the subject matter and materials. What type of e-course would you like from me?

I've set up a very short survey (3 questions) where you can speak your mind and only I will see it. If you'd like to post in the comments section below that would be perfectly fine to.

So how about it? What would you like to learn?

Please click here for the survey.

• • •

Friday Tidbit
Craftcation Conference: You know when you go from site to site and you don't how you landed at a certain page? That is what happened to me this week with this web site.

Delilah Snell and Nicole Stevenson are co-producers of this beachfront 3-day conference that will take place March 22-25, 2012 in Ventura California. The line up of speakers is pretty amazing. I wish I could be a fly on the wall there!

Dieline's Top 100 package design of 2011 - An amazing list full of eye candy! 

• • •

Have a great weekend everyone! 

[ahhh! sorry for the dual or even triple posting today!]

weekend project

This is a fun project I want to take on this weekend. Will it get done? Who knows. But I will give it a serious try. Those of you that have my Christmas Paper Quilt collection can easily do it by editing the box covers.

What will you be making?

• • •

Friday Tidbits
- Origami Christmas tree: my favorite paper find of the week!
- Geometric steel bracelets: yes, please!
- I desperately want to make this cowl! Maybe I should trade the coasters for this? Hmm...

Have a great weekend everyone!

paper ballerinas

My parents went to Spain and Paris a couple of months ago (lucky them!). When they were in the Palais Garnier opera house gift shop they saw these lamps and took photos because they knew I'd love them. They were right!



I've been trying for weeks to find out who the artist is and even called the gift shop in Paris to find out. I called and my Mom called a couple of times (yes, we're determined women). The man that we talked to acted like we were asking for a state secret. In any case, I finally found the information I needed today. I wanted to give credit where credit is so very due.

Papier à  êtres — So, today's link is the artists' web site. The work is incredible! Take a few moments to visit. Trust me it will be worth it.

Have a wonderful weekend everyone!

the heart of the matter

I went through my Flickr sets and decided to pick out my absolute favorite pieces and here they are. The fact that they are all white is no coincidence. I love white (surprise, right?). Interestingly our house and my wardrobe are anything but just white. I'm not afraid of color per se. I think that I just really like working with shapes and seeing how far I can take them. It's almost like color gets in the way of that—it's a distraction.

I've been thinking about the progress of my work and I feel like I've taken a bit of a detour. I need to get back on track. Taking stock and looking at what really interests me is the first step. If you notice some changes around here you'll know that this is why. I've been thinking about this so much that I even have had the urge to just delete my entire blog and start from scratch. Can you imagine that?! The scary thing... I'm still tempted. Very tempted.


Friday tidbits
The weather has finally cooled and I've started using my crocheted slippers. I just love them! They keep my feet so toasty and warm. I can't share that particular pattern with you, since it's copyrighted material, but maybe this one will work for you.

Spooky Halloween Silhouettes: Punch-Out Window Shadows for a Haunted Home - This book looks like it would be a fun and easy way to make something fun with the kids. I already showed my little C this and she begged me to do the same. The author, Jeff Rudell used to do some amazing work for Craftstylish.

Wendy Jung - My favorite find of the week. I absolutely love this shape–and yes, it doesn't hurt that it's white. Too bad she has nothing for sale at the moment.


Have a great weekend everyone!

• • •

Blog change —I've decided to stop using Disqus for the comments area. Disabling it means that I will unfortunately lose all the kind words that you've shared with me since I started using it. They will all be gone once the code is removed from the blog (it still is active as of this post). I regret the loss of your comments terribly, but I think that in the end it will be better for the blog. Please don't take it personally—I hope you understand.

EDIT - Ok... you can comment on my blog again! All I have to say is that I never should've used Disqus. Ugh.

more than a building

If you're stuck and need new geometric inspired ideas look no further than the architectural treasures in your area or the ones you find in cities you visit. This is a little study in form using the capitol photo as inspiration and more are coming.

Friday Tidbit

Today I don't have link to share. I just want to offer you a friendly reminder to use your cameras to collect patterns and shapes. I have a folder where I save photos that fall into this category and I use it for reference when working on new projects. Shoot without overanalyzing—but do shoot things that interest you.

Happy weekend!

soaking it in

I've been pouring over a stack of magazines and books for the past few days and now I'm ready for some sketching. I think this is one of my favorite things to do. After some mom/kids time I'll be ready for...

Quiet time

Coffee

Moleskine

Black pen

Friday Tidbits

- A personal one... the new A Little Hut site is chugging along. I thought we'd be done by now but summer is what it is—slow. In the meantime I decided that it was high time to organize my current site. I almost feel like it's new. It doesn't look different but it's all nicely organized. What a relief! Oh... and I'm slowly transitioning to a new logo (the one you've seen on photos)—now it's here on the blog. See it up there? I'll be changing the color of house periodically. It was high time for a change.

- In the photo—if you want to go down the rabbit hole!

Mollie Makes (newest favorite find), Wallpaper, Anthology, InsideOut, Handmade Weddings, and last but not least Decorate by the very awesome Holly Becker.

- Paper, paper, paper on Pinterest.

- This is by far the best idea I saw all week. The idea of a paper record player is amazing. I also love the typography, patterns and colors—pretty much everything. More photos and explanation of the project can be found here. (via strictlypaper)

Paper Record Player from kellianderson on Vimeo.

FYI - My in-laws are coming to stay with us for a bit so if I'm not around you'll know why!

Have a great weekend everyone!
¡Feliz fin de semana para todos!

clean slate

Our summer officially starts when I pick up the kids from school at 11am. Woot! I'm ready.

The last day of school makes me almost feel like it's January 1st. Clean Slate Day. It helps that I now have a new work station and I'm reorganizing the studio. Hopefully that will be done within the next few days.

This brings me to the fact that, I've decided that I'm going to be taking a blogging break next week. I need it and we'll all be better for it in the end. I'll be puttering around on Twitter but there will be no updates here. I'll be back on June 13th with fresh ideas and things to show you.

Friday Tidbit

Paper mache teacups by Ann Wood - This looks like it would be a fun project to make. (via Decor8)

Have a wonderful start to June my friends!

making

I'm in the middle of a busy albeit invisible productive week. Invisible because most my work is tucked away in my sketchbooks. Some of you have asked to see them, but to be honest I totally shy away from being that open with my ramblings and doodles. It would be like showing my underwear drawer—although I'm sure none of you are interested in that! I've always admired people that open their sketchbooks to the world.

Now work in progress is another story... That I don't mind showing you at all. Strange?

You've seen these little animals before here (worked from my Animal Friends fabric). They were framed and completely sold out. I ordered some more of the same designs and I'm trying to figure out how I will work with them this time. A combination with paper is a sure bet and small bits of fabric are a possibility. We shall see.

For now, I do know that if I don't start on the little doll that C asked for I won't hear the end of it. But I'm honestly worried if I'm going to do the design any justice—specially since she wants me to combine two designs. Gulp.

• • •

Friday Tidbit
I'm completely inspired by Abigail Reynolds' work. Amazing.

Have a crafty weekend!

the ball is rolling

Thank you to everyone that replied to yesterday's post. My mind just kept racing with questions and ideas as the comments were coming here, on Diane's post and on Twitter. I feel that there is a shift of sorts and we are on the cusp of it.

I thought that I'd be taking a risk by sticking out my neck a bit and sharing my thoughts but my word for the year (fearless) made me take the leap. I'm so glad that I decided to go for it and I couldn't be happier that your response has been of understanding and support.

I hope that this will be a successful year of exploration for all of us that share the same dilemmas. If we put our heads together and come up with ideas I know we will find solutions.

Friday Tidbit
Along the lines of yesterday's conversation, here is an interesting article called: 5 rules for Mindful Creativity.

Have a great weekend!

PS. Guess what I'm getting ready for?