drip dot swirl

I love great mail days. Today, I was giddy to get my copy of Drip.Dot.Swirl. by Von Glitschka. He is an illustrative designer that I admire very much. His talent is only equaled by his generosity and humor. The book is a must-have resource of 94+ diverse patterns that just seem to just pop off the pages. I can imagine using them in so many ways. I am guilty of not having Von's first book, Crumble.Crackle.Burn, but that will be corrected as soon as I head over and order it. I don't know what has taken me so long. He's working on his third book now and I'm sure it will be another must-have.

Drip.Dot.Swirl. includes examples of how the patterns where applied by ten designers and illustrators. I am flattered beyond belief that Von invited me to be part of the group and that I was able to add my small contribution. I took some pictures of a couple of spreads but they don't do the book justice. So, I'll just show you some old images that I believe I've posted before.

For more information regarding this book visit Vonster Books.

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I've been a little MIA because we've been busy with the kids and I've been working on projects I can't show you just yet. It's so hard to keep quiet! I'll share when the time is right. Promise.

Admittedly, I've also been away from the Internet because of mental overload. Sometimes I just need to get away from it all—like I need to hit the reset button. I find that this creeps up when I'm concentrating on new work. I feel the need to simply absorb my own avenues of inspiration, be that through my sketches, my photographs or my surroundings. Do any of you go through this?

Tomorrow we're headed out on a short road trip to see how they make ice cream at Blue Bell. I hope it helps us put up with this insane heat. I can't even imagine what July and August are going to be like.

favorites around my desk

I'm cleaning up my studio today and here are a few things I could never get rid of.



- Sketch box :: It really is a recipe box but I use it for 2 minute sketch ideas. I make them whenever an idea hits or I do several in one sitting. These are separate from my sketch book because I don't thing about them. I just do. That sounds similar to what one would normally do in a sketchbook but somehow I don't feel so attached to them (maybe not bound permanently?) so the ideas just flow more freely. If I don't like it, it goes into to the recycle pile. If I do it stays in the box for future reference.

- Sketchbook :: I'm stuck on Moleskines. I love my black cover Moleskine but my cahiers (which aren't in the photo) are never far away either.

- Paper + envelopes :: Just got a new order and I love my new kraft envelopes! I've been wanting my card envelopes to be this color for a very long time but I had to use up all my previous stock first. I know kraft envelopes are everywhere but I don't care. Call this a small indulgence or a grown up version of a 2 year old "I want it!" fit. Either way I love them.

The paper will stay the same - a natural color with visible specs. Still love it too. I use French paper because of the quality and because of their focus on environmentally sound products.

- Small clipboard :: I use it for my to-do lists and it gets a lot of use. Who could ever get rid of a clipboard?

On an unrelated note :: If you've ever made anything using one of my tutorials as inspiration I'd love to see it. I've created a Flickr group for this purpose. I hope that doesn't come across as self-indulgent but I really enjoy seeing others' work. Some of you have been kind enough to email me photos of your creations - thank you! Now we'll all have a place to share. Care to join in the fun? Click here.

Since the tidiness in the picture does not reflect the rest of my studio, I must get back to work!

going in circles

There was something that always bothered me about the way my blog had been set up for the last year or so (main column in the center with two side bars on either side). At Mom 2.0 Summit, Kirtsy's Laurie Smithwick, a graphic designer herself, pointed out that she considered that particular set up lacking. As she put it, it defies all rules of hierarchy. She finally put into words what was bugging me. So, if you've visited within the last few days you may have caught me in the middle of messing with my blog template (still not done!).

Let me be clear. This isn't all to say that all blogs with side columns on either side of the center column should be redone immediately. I had it set up that way for a very long time. I just knew there was something about it that didn't quite sit well with me. No need to go running to change any of yours! Please! To each his own and I fully respect that. I just thought I'd share my thoughts on the subject.



Another thing, I am definitely not a programmer. What little I know is due to my IT guru husband (thank you nn!). So if you have any questions my answers may be limited at best.

The current version of the blog that you see today was achieved by following the layout shared here. At first, I followed the template instructions as they are shown. However, I realized that I didn't want my blog to be so wide so I changed some of the measurements.

For those of you that were around here at midnight and you caught me fiddling around, I apologize for the mess. You can now rest assured that your browser wasn't having cardiac arrest.