happy valentine's day!

I will be celebrating with the G man in my life and our two little sweet hearts. When I say celebrating, I mean we will be taking it very easy at home with maybe an extra chocolate or two.. or three for dessert. All we need is to be together and we're good.

I hope that you have a wonderful day with your loved ones too.

Sorry for the late post today... but that's what happens when you run off in the morning to volunteer at the kids' school and don't plan ahead. You forgive me, right?

(ps- in case you're curious... it's another photo of the project I did for Craft)

valentine's day matchbox card

If you're still looking for an idea for Valentine's Day check out my new project on Craft . It's not as difficult as it looks and you'll get some good practice with simple paper cutting.

This photo is a just a little teaser. But there is a little more than meets the eye. I'm fond of this project because it has several of the elements that I like to use:

- Using paper in 3D form
- Multi-layered work
- Trees. Of course!
- Multi-functional
- Can be customized (you'll see! - it's tiny)

There will be more of these soon and they will be available in SVG format in the shop.

Head on over to Craft to see the whole project, so you can make one yourself—and let me know what you think!

• • •

Welcome to those of you that are visiting from Craft or Lifehacker (memo holder feature)! If you'd like to see other DIY ideas please use the menu at the top above my blog banner.

It feels like it's going to be a very productive week. Happy Monday!

the basics - editing

I've always preferred the 'less is more' approach for any project. The trick of the matter is to avoid falling over into the stale or uninteresting side. But what happens if you'd like to go in the opposite direction and make something more elaborate. Does it always work the way you think it will?

Remember this piece from the other day?



What if it was like this instead?



How do you feel about it now?

I mentioned in my newsletter that I couldn't wait to see this in a more repetitive form (9 pyramids). But the more I thought about it, the more I thought that with this particular design the idea really wouldn't work. After a bit of Photoshop work (so glad I thought of doing that first) I realized that I was partially right. Part of me thinks it's too busy, part of me prefers the original.

Always edit.
I tried out the busier option after the fact and found out that my initial instincts where accurate. I edited before realizing that I had done that. Typically it goes the other way around. I start with something more elaborate and then I edit, edit, edit.

I think the best ideas are the ones that take a concept to it's minimal point without losing their twist or interesting point. Editing is just another way to create. Think of it as applying carpentry to an idea.

Minimalism vs Editing
They are not the same. I'm a minimalist at heart and many of you may not be, but editing benefits every single project. Where you draw the line at editing or where I draw it, if we're working on the same project, may be very far from one another. The point is that we've each taken the time to make our ideas more solid. That's what counts. From that point forward, taste and style take work to another level and keep the world interesting.

Next time, you work on any given project ask yourself:
Does everything there have a purpose? The answer may be "No, but I like it anyway"—and that's fine too.
Can I get rid of anything?
Does anything look like it's an afterthought?

Tight ideas make for better design.

• • •

Talking about minimalism and editing... here are interesting examples of how they affect packaging.

Now I think it's time for some tea. Have a great day!

february calendar

Can you believe it? January just flew by. I'm immersed in some projects so this will be a quick one.

This is a simple project for you to make and enjoy this month—it won't take you more than a few minutes to make.

Download here.