Showing posts with label cool. Show all posts

If you love to play around with colors, palettes, and design patterns,
this website is a great place to experiment.

COLOURlovers gives the people who use color - whether for ad campaigns, product design, or in architectural specification - a place to check out a world of color, compare color palettes, submit news and comments, and read color related articles and interviews.

One interesting feature is that when you create a palette, there is an option to attach an inspiration image to it. This next palette I made came from the colors of the photo below it.



Colour Lovers can be pretty addicting. So be warned.

Oooh how I love Basic Grey. Every one of the paper lines that they have put out is worth buying. They are so unique and unlike any other. I just learned that they have introduced some new lovelies for winter 2008. There are oodles of new papers, so I'll share my favorites from each line.

Whatever, is all I can say. I don't do scrapbooks. I do, however loooove the products, especially the paper. So, I can definitely appreciate the supplies some scrappers accumulate . I also tend to drool over meticulously organized studios , craft rooms, or any room for that matter, as mine is certainly not. So, I stumbled across these "scrap rooms" of some 2 peas members, a bit ago, and my jaw actually fell to the floor. These ladies have scrap rooms that put most of my favorite shops to shame, let alone any studio space I've ever seen. And these are just ladies who scrap as a hobby. They don't use these spaces for working, or making any kind of living. Like I said, WHATEVER.

Room 1 - filled with more supplies than any one person could possibly even consider using in 10 life times. And this is just a section of what she's got.




Room 2 - my favorite of them all. Almost as many supplies as the room above. But, the organization in this room just blows me away. She designed this room just for scrapping. Picking out the shelving units and everything else for every little supply, down to a drawer for each letter of the alphabet with chipboards, just chipboards. See the "K" drawer? And that cabinet full of paper, color coordinated, of course.




Room 3 - i love how colorful this room is. How can you not be inspired in a space like this?



I checked and all of these ladies are married. So they must have a magic spell they put their husbands under, that makes this all possible. Not to mention, a few extra bucks to support their habits. Another member of 2 peas mentioned how she was bookmarking one of these photos to show her husband any time he complained that she had too much stuff. Seriously, this is all a bit over the top, excessive, and even a bit absurd. But, I want one too. waaaaaahhh.

see more detailed photos of these rooms and others here.

I need a break from the cheesy "12 days of Christmas" posts. Read it. You'll enjoy it, be amazed, and quite jealous...

From the Board of Wisdom website:

------Jocks vs Nerds----

Michael Jordan having "retired," with $40 million in endorsements, makes $178,100 a day, working or not.

If he sleeps 7 hours a night, he makes $52,000 every night while visions of sugarplums dance in his head.

If he goes to see a movie, it'll cost him $7.00, but he'll make $18,550 while he's there.

If he decides to have a 5-minute egg, he'll make $618 while boiling it.

He makes $7,415/hr more than minimum wage.

He'll make $3,710 while watching each episode of Friends.

If he wanted to save up for a new Acura NSX ($90,000) it would take him a whole 12 hours.

If someone were to hand him his salary and endorsement money, they would have to do it at the rate of $2.00 every second.

He'll probably pay around $200 for a nice round of golf, but will be reimbursed $33,390 for that round.

Assuming he puts the federal maximum of 15% of his income into a tax deferred account (401k), his contributions will hit the federal cap of $9500 at 8:30 a.m. on January 1st.

If you were given a penny for every 10 dollars he made, you'd be living comfortably at $65,000 a year.

He'll make about $19.60 while watching the 100 meter dash in the Olympics, and about $15,600 during the Boston Marathon.

While the common person is spending about $20 for a meal in his trendy Chicago restaurant, he'll pull in about $5600.

This year, he'll make more than twice as much as all U.S. past presidents for all of their terms combined. Amazing isn't it?

However...
If Jordan saves 100% of his income for the next 450 years, he'll still have less than Bill Gates has today.

$$$ Game over. Nerd wins.

From the Storque: "Yesterday, the 2 millionth item on Etsy sold. This is cause for celebration over here at the Etsy Labs. But what we're really happy about is the trend: it took two years to sell the first million. After that high water mark, it only took four months to sell the next million items. Who knows what the future holds?"

It's amazing to me that the first million took 2 years while the 2nd only took 4 months. Go Etsy. Whenever these milestones are announced, I can't help but think how cool it would be to recognize the seller who sold that 2 millionth item. A little prize or something for being the lucky one would be pretty nice. Plus I'd like to congratulate them, and I'm sure they'd want to know. Anyhow, goooooooo Etsy.

This great shot is from Non Photography (No Rules Street Photography). I love the colors and the lines. Very nice.

Oooh such loveliness is being created at PaPaYa, made up of 2 uberly talented artists, Anahata & Gina Katkin. Everything is so vibrant and yummy. Rather than ruining it by trying to describe this beautiful work, just take a look:






There is lot's to see like gift cards, magnets, art prints, postcards, and more, at PaPaYa. It's just a beautiful site filled with gorgeous things. Check it out.

Until I received my order in the mail, I assumed Stamp Francisco was actually in San Francisco. Apparently not! Not that it matters, much. Except that I had planned on visiting since I live in the Bay Area. It comes to find out that they are located in Washington and don't have a brick and mortar shop, anyhow. None of this matters, though because I was plenty pleased with what I discovered from their online shop. I am always on the lookout for good rubber stamps. I like to find new and original ones, as do most people, I am sure. This shop has just that. I spend ages browsing their stamp selection and ended up buying 4. And I will definitely be going back for more. They offer such a selection of great stamps, which most were new to me. You can buy mounted or unmounted in most of their stamps. The savings is considerable if you opt for the unmounted. It was tough deciding which to buy, but here is what I ended up with:










my favorite is the last one, the warning label. If your are into stamps, especially original ones, give Stamp Francisco a try, you'll like it.

So, I've been wanting a binding machine. I was looking through ebay auctions for a used one or something, as they were kind of expensive, for a good one anyway. I came across the Zutter. It's a pint sized little 3 pound binder that is adorable. However, I didn't want to fall for adorable and end up with something that binded maybe a journal or two and then take a shit on me. So, I looked into it. I searched for just one person that had something negative to say about their Zutter. But, all I found was nothing but rave reviews. So, I got one. It hasn't arrived yet, but I have a ton of projects in mind, all ready to go for when it does get here. Take a look at how cute it is. Read a little about it and you'll be hooked too.

I'm loving the new HBO show, "Tell Me You Love Me." It portrays couples in different stages of their relationships in such a real way. There is a 20 something couple struggling with commitment issues, engaged to be married. A thirty something married couple trying to get pregnant. And a 40 something couple with kids living in a sexless marriage. Also, an older lady married for the second time, I believe who is a marriage counselor helping the couples deal with their issues. It was a bit surprising to actually see some of the guys body parts displayed full on in ways you don't normally see on HBO, or movies, for that matter. But, kind of refreshing, at the same time. I look forward to see how the lives of these couples play out. If you are an HBO subscriber, check it out, it's an honest look into the lives of somewhat real people.

I haven't learned all the ins and outs of it all out yet, but so far, ning seems to be pretty cool. I joined the "we love etsy" group as another way to promote my shop. There are quite a few fellow etsiens there. They have a bunch a fun tools to add to your page. Here's a slide show from the photos I uploaded so far:


Find more photos like this on We Love Etsy

It took all of 1 minute to create. Im sure flickr has something similar as do other places as well. Wherever it comes from, it sure is a nice little way to showcase your work.

I love scouring the web for great photos. I used to be obsessed with doing it on my stumbleupon blog. There, I have page after page of some really great images. I thought I would start doing that here. Here is the first of my photo finds to share.

Here is one from my favorite photographer rebekka guoleifsdottir

You know when you sign up for those free trial offers that promise there is no risk? But then, you forget to cancel it in time, so your credit card gets charged. A lot of times those offers are good ones, but where they get you is in the remembering to cancel on time. A great solution for this is using a virtual credit card. They are designed to be used once, or for a short period. This way once you have used it to set up an account for a free trial offer, it will then expire, making it impossible for your card to be charged once your trial period is over. Citibank offers virtual credit cards to it's customers, as well as other credit card companies. Well, today I discovered a company that allows you to purchase prepaid virtual credit cards. But even better they are offering a free card with $1.00 credit so that you can try it out before you decide to buy one. This is great, and it works. I wanted to try out a membership to stamps.com, while taking advantage of their free trial which offers free postage. I had learned my lesson with those "risk free" trial memberships, in the past. I knew better not to sign up with my credit card. So, I thought I'd give my new free $1.00 virtual credit card a try, and guess what? It worked. I now have a free trial membership with stamps.com, and the best part is I don't have to worry about forgetting to cancel in time. If I decide I like the service enough to continue, I can always just give them my real credit card information. Easy Peasy. So, if there is a free trial out there that you are dying to test out, but don't want to risk using your credit card, give this virtual card a try, it worked like a charm for me. Let me know how it worked for you.

Yesterday I found this great jewelry shop on etsy, gorgeousredhead. I loved just about everything in her shop. I couldn't resist buying something. Here is what I decided on:



giver her shop a visit, there are lot's of lovely things left. You'll be glad you stopped in.

I discovered this great blank book by ALEXANDRE BETTLER . He created this "envelope book" from paper recycled from a college. It was part of a recycling workshop he organized. I love how it looks. I would definitely enjoy keeping my notes in one of these.








I have always liked the look and the idea of blank books made from various "scrap" papers. Like the way Tyler Bender does his blank books, or like the great "sew useful" contest entry by donovanbeeson, where she made a book from envelopes. I think they look great, are very useful and practical, and of course, it's always a good thing to do right by the environment.

So I discovered this guy, Mister Rob Ryan, who does these gorgeous paper cut works. As I was admiring all of his work, I stumbled upon his Etsy shop, which I wasn't aware of before. But, of course why wouldn't he, his work is amazing. Here, just look for yourself...



After browsing around his site and his blog, I discovered lot's of work he's done including book covers, posters, records, magazines, etc..... It's no wonder, he's so talented. Love it.

If you haven't heard of Hambly Screen Prints, then take a moment to pay them a visit. Their products are geared towards scrapbooking. But, then again most of my favorite paper/supply sources are and I am definitely not a scrapbooker. You don't have to be a scrapper to appreciate their super products. Though the company has been in business for 35 years, they have a very fresh and hip line of papers, overlays, rub-ons, stickers, and other great stuff. I purchased a set of their awesome chandelier rub-ons a while back, and have yet to use them. They are one of those things that I love so much that I'm afraid to use them. ( I know that is silly). But, I think today, I have come up with a great idea, which if I follow through with, I'll post here. So, look at some of the delicious designs they offer below, and then go pay them a visit. You'll be glad you did.


This first one is an overlay they offer. But this design is available in rub-ons, 12x12 paper, and other screen printed products they offer. Isn't it great?


I just love this disco ball paper.


Their rub-ons are great quality, and they have some great designs.

My first, of hopefully many, artist interviews is with the wonderful Kathryn of Smashing. Her jewelry is just as lovely as she is. I love the colors she uses in her pieces and the milky glass beads she chooses. She is a prime example of the great artist that the Etsy community is made up of. Take a look at some of her great work, then read below to learn more about why smashing is so darn smashing.






1. Share a little about yourself and what you create.

i am a ex-art major/ex-banker/stay-at-home-mom/full time babysitter/puppy wrangler.

i love to make jewelry with glass and stone and silver. i don't really like to string beads. i don't think each bead gets enough attention that way, so, i wire them up on silver. plus, i hate when a string breaks and your beads scatter all over :)
i want to create things that are beautiful now and that are sturdy enough for your kids to inherit.

2. What are your favorite materials?

i really really really love opaque glass, any and every color and of course milky white. anything that reminds me of after dinner mints :)
the best part of jewelry making is going bead shopping. i'm lucky to have a great store nearby where the buyer loves the same sort of beads i do. my brain just glows when i get to look at all the different colors and shapes, racing through possibilities. that's the best :)


3. How did you discover Etsy?

when etsy first started, i heard about it on npr. i remember going to the site and shopping by color for hours. the worst thing is that i forgot about it! then about a year ago, i was looking for cool baby announcements and rediscovered etsy through a google search. yay!

4. What is your favorite thing about Etsy?

etsy is like having a million friends that are all really talented and that make amazing things. without etsy, i wouldn't own some of the coolest things i own.
and people are usually really supportive of each other, even when they are your competition.

5. What are the most important things you have learned about selling?

i'm still pretty new, so, mostly i know what i like to buy :) these things make it easier for me to buy from a shop:

good photography of items. if a customer can't pick it up and check it out in real life, photos are the only way to experience them.
it takes a lot of practice (for me anyway :) and every time i do a "photo shoot" with my jewelry, i learn a little bit more.

quick and friendly communication with your buyer. don't give anyone time or a reason to change their mind about buying something :)

6. If money and resources were not an issue, what would you be doing?

i would try to house and feed everyone that wants to be housed or fed. then i would buy everything in my favorites. then i would build a super sweet modern house on a giant plot of land. then open a free art school for all ages. oh and get another dog maybe :)

7. Share something most people don’t know about you.

i am an extroverted recluse :)

thank you Kathryn!