My Manifesto

I was inspired by a post I read over at Braid Creative (sorry, I can't find the original post!) to write down my own manifesto, and so far, this is what I've come up with!

I believe...

You don't have to be able to describe what you "do" in a few concise words. It can be a whole story!

Leggings can be worn as pants.

In making the people that I love feel very special.

You don't have to have an extraordinary life to have a fulfilling one.

What is your manifesto? Do you think it's a god idea to have separate personal and business (or blog) manifestos? I look forward to seeing my manifesto change and grow.

I had so much fun with this cute little guy this weekend. I miss him when he goes to bed- most of the time!

Bear with me...

Ok, so this wouldn't be the first time I've made a change on a whim, but trust me when I say I think I'm in it for the long haul!

And by "it" I mean my blog design.

I started taking this e-course, which I'll admit started out slow because I thought that I had myself all figured out. It's hard to reinvent yourself when you think what you have is working pretty well, but when I took a second look at my blog, there were some things I could admit I wanted to change. So, I dove in, and using some of the tips I learned for the course, I think I've got a design that really works well and is closer to me than any of the last four designs I've had since I started. Lucky for me, I don't think I have many consistent readers yet, so maybe no one has even noticed!

One of the hardest things, so far, about trying to teach yourself about design (web design in this case) is the tendency to test things out on yourself. I'm trying to learn more about HTML and CSS, so who better to try things out on than myself, right? I'd love to design other people's blogs or websites someday, so learning about the things that are important when having a blog is huge when I [hopefully] get jobs in the future.

Another hard thing about being a blogger, budding designer, and a person in general is learning what is "you" and what isn't quite there.

In the e-class I mentioned above, one of our first tasks was to create some moodboards and cut out all of the things that don't "go". I reluctantly completed that assignment, thinking it was silly along the way because I thought I had a clear vision of what my style is. It turns out that my first redesign was soooo off. It was cute, but wasn't me. I revisited my moodboards and it was even more clear that if I didn't fix things right away, I would be kicking myself in the butt until I had time to change it again.

So, I think I got it and I hope this is more permanent! Take a look at the progression of this blog that has taken place between Thursday night and tonight.

Thursday

Friday

Saturday

It's safe to say that my boyfriend and child have felt neglected the last day or so.

Besides working on my blog design, I've been working hard to plan some good posts, so hopefully they will be coming this week! I'm trying to get serious about this blogging thing, so bear with me!

Happy Weekend Everyone!

Becoming an Expert

I tweeted the other day about wanting to become an expert on too many things, and needing to find one thing to focus on at a time. I'm constantly thinking about my next move and the next thing I want to learn more about, which can be great because I always have something I can be doing. It can also be a burden because my mind is never resting. I'm always on the hunt for either something new that I should set my sights on learning, or learning something I've set out to become an expert in.

The purpose of this post is to let you know what I've learned so far about wanting to become an expert in so many things, and I'm also going to make a personal resolution for future reference.

Here is what I've figured out so far about this problem that I'm having. If you agree or disagree I would love for you to voice your opinions in a comment!

1. It isn't a bad thing to want to learn more things. I keep telling myself this whenever I enter my human version of information overload. The quest for knowledge and continuation of learning shouldn't stop after high school/college/grad school. Knowledge is an asset to your future, and it's so valuable- whether you have paid for it or not. 
2. It's not healthy to become obsessed with a lot of different things at once. This happens to me all the time. I'm reading a blog post, trying to gain knowledge on one subject, and then BAM there's this link into another portion of the universe internet and all of a sudden there's this other thing that you didn't even know you needed to know! Before you know it, you have 5, 6, 7 internet tabs open and you're trying to make sense of it all.at.the.same.time. And... youjustcan'tstopuntilyouknoweverythingthereistoknow. UGH.
3. It's ok if you learn slowly and over a period of time. Heck, if you learn slowly, there is a good chance you're retaining the information for the long haul.
4. The best way to become an expert in something is by trying it out for yourself. I love branding boards. I love the way they look and feel, and I love the idea of filling my portfolio with them someday. But I've never really done one myself, until I jumped into it and made this one for myself! It's not terrible complicated, but it looks great in my portfolio, and has actually gotten lots of views on Behance, and some retweets on Pinterest! My point? Nothing is more satisfying than going out and doing. Stop oohing and aahing over someone else's example and make your own! Someday, after I've completed my 100th branding board, I hope to be an expert.
5. Be resourceful. There are so many places to start the learning process. There are classes like Nicole's Classes, which look amazing. There are all types of blog posts out there, and I bet there are at least a handful for exactly what you want to know more about, and you can trust them because the authors are probably experts (or are at least pretty close!) It's all about clicking every link that looks interesting, and knowing where to look. (Ok, don't go clicking all those interesting links. Some are bad!)
6. You don't have to have a piece of paper to prove that you're an expert. There are so many designers out there that didn't go to school for design, or didn't go to school at all! Don't always be wary of someone without a college degree. If you find someone writing about what you are yearning to learn more about, ask yourself if they seem credible, and if what they say makes sense. Even more than that though, did they inspire you? I tend to admire designers the most if their own work or words have inspired me, left me with a greater understanding, and given me the tools to open up Illustrator and start something of my own.

So, now that I've really thought about what it takes to be an expert, I want to put a plan into motion right now. I need to give my brain a rest and focus on one or two relating things that I could get a really good base knowledge of in a small amount of time. (I'm talking maybe a few weeks) The other things will be put on the back burner for now, until I'm satisfied with my base knowledge. Then, I'm going to gather some resources. This might mean buying a new book. (An actual book that I can keep on a shelf or my currently-nonexistent-desk) Maybe bookmarking, Pinning, or "Evernoting" (heads up Merriam-Webster!) some blogs, posts, articles, and tutorials that are relevant? I can take a class from Nicole's Classes, SkillShare, and maybe even my local community college. And finally, I'm going to act. I'm going to physically take all of what I've learned and put it onto action to create something that proves to me, and maybe other people out there, that I know a little bit about something

But wait... it doesn't end. This cycle will repeat- probably for the entire span of my existence- but it will also continue. The thing about becoming an expert is...

There is no one out there to judge exactly what it means to become an expert in anything. You are an expert when you say you are. But a true lover of knowledge will never be satisfied enough to say they have learned all there is to learn.

For this 1850x1150 Desktop Background, click here, and just save the image to your computer! (The link will just bring you to a photo sharing website- no bugs, I promise!)

I'm eager to know what anyone else thinks about this subject! Thanks for visiting my blog!

Elmo Second Birthday Invitations

I'm excited to share a little project that I've been working on recently for a friend. When she told me she was planning an Elmo themed birthday party, I was a little nervous because that's sort of not my "style". But, a really great idea came to my head that would make them extra special. I also didn't want to use the predictable Sesame Street/kid fonts, so I paired our friend Elmo with Origin and Honey Script.

Beginner's Ruts

I talked about finding inspiration and gave a bunch of examples of places that I find great things that inspire me, and I actually started writing that post a few weeks ago and forgot about it. So, I put the finishing touches on it and posted it. Well, shortly after publishing that post, I was browsing on Behance and within a few minutes of scrolling, I didn’t really feel inspired- I felt overwhelmed and a little depressed!

It’s fun looking at the pretty things that other people create/draw/do/make but I think when you’re already feeling discouraged about your own work or life, looking at the awesome things other people are doing can make you feel worse about yourself.

I recognized that I was starting to feel this way, so I got right out of the internet and started to think about the things I would do [after Julian went to sleep] to get me out of a rut and feeling positive and excited about creating. I thought maybe I could begin one of the prompts within this book I bought last weekend, or make some new material for my Etsy shop, or start on an invitation that a friend and I have been talking about sporatically.

So, what happens when you become overstimulated and, as a result, depressed or unmotivated? Well... you unplug. Unplug in the sense of not looking at other peoples' work and thinking of all the ways they're better than you. Unplug by not stepping foot into a nother social media website until you get one project done. It will feel good to know that there was no outside influence on that work- just your pure talent and genius. If you can't put your brain, creativity and vision into something and have it turn out amazing and portfolio-worthy, then you just have some practicing to do, and there's nothing wrong with that! I know I have lots of practicing to do before I can really consider myself a 'designer', but you have to start somewhere, right?

Besides unplugging, it's important to remember not to "compare someone elses middle to your beginning" (-Jon Acuff). If you're starting out, you can't compare yourself to someone who is experienced, because you'll be there someday! So many things happen with time. It's easy to think "Well, I should be as good as them, so why aren't I!" and send yourself into a rut, thinking of all the reasons why they're better than you.

So, I guess the moral of this story is to focus on you, and your work. Keep practicing until you have the confidence to compare your work to that of other, more established designers. Also, don't lose sight of why you are really passionate about something, just because you're trying to get better or look better from the outside. Work at a pace that allows you to grow as a creator- or however you want to interpret this!

Now, go forth and do something amazing. I hope someone can feel inspired by this, because I know I do!

Working Full-Time to Find Inspiration

There are many ways you can stumble upon inspiration for a project or piece of art. The first way happens when you’re going about your usual internet perusals, and you happen to stumble upon something truly magical and amazing. You have to save it in your favorites, your mind, or- lets be real- Pinterest.  That’s the best way that inspiration comes to you. Sometimes there is a project in the back of your mind, and you’re not looking for anything to kick-start the design process yet, but then you come across that amazing piece of inspiration, and you’re able to start the project.

The second way that inspiration happens can be a much more difficult process that begins with a project that was given to you by a client or a teacher. Some of these projects are self-explanatory and you don’t need inspiration in order to complete it. Many projects that are open ended, or where the client isn’t particular about many things, require some sort of inspiration to get you feeling excited and creative.

It can be difficult to find good inspiration, especially if you’re just beginning to explore the design world. It’s so important to find great websites, blogs, design communities, and resources to feed your knowledge of design. We live in an age where learning doesn’t just happen in the classroom, but through everyday experiences that happen because of the internet. I can honestly say that at least half of what I know about good design and design trends are because of all the research I do in my spare time. You really have to dedicate a lot of time to finding inspiration and knowledge about design. It’s like a full-time job!

Below are four awesome sources of design inspiration:

Pinterest

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I will admit that most of my searches for inspiration begin on Pinterest (pinterest.com). I highly recommend that if you enjoy spending time browsing the internet and discovering new blogs, design communities, and having a place to store all of the things that inspire you, then you need to get on Pinterest. Besides providing pretty much a never ending source of visual inspiration for design projects, it’s a great tool for finding recipes, décor, craft and even outfit ideas. And there are funny things for when you need that pick-me-up that isn’t being delivered by your morning coffee!

I have a special “Pin Board” for “Art &Inspiration”, as well as a “Graphically Pleasing” board and a “Font Snob City” board (it houses my font obsession and is a great place to look for that one special font) and I’m always going back through to see if anything creates a spark for creativity. They’re also resources for when I do have a specific project and I need a color scheme, font, or imagery ideas.

Dribbble

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Dribbble is something I’ve recently discovered, thanks to one of my favorite design bloggers, BreannaRose. It’s an exclusive community of designers, and you have to be invited to have an account to post your work. The greatest thing for a student  to do when we look at communities like these is to look at the quality, style, detail and creativity that top-notch designers are producing. This work was created by real people that you can reach out to, and not by an anonymous design team within a huge corporation or design firm. These are up-and-coming, innovative people that just want to share their work with you (and probably to get a job, obviously). Get inspired by these people and their work. Take the time to search for your favorite medium, style, color scheme, or area of design. Look at what they’re doing, and don’t copy their work, obviously, but take inspiration from it and let your imagination run wild. Don’t forget to give credit where credit is due! Designers love when they hear that someone was inspired by their work.

Blogs

There are probably millions of blogs on the internet right now. Some great, most… not so great. Press “Next Blog” on Blogger, and you’ll see the not great ones. But if you dig hard, you’ll find the good ones. I find some great blogs by clicking through Pinterest images, and they carry me to the artist’s blog. Then you start reading more about the person, read a few posts, and then it becomes as if you’ve been best friends forever. Then you look in their sidebar and click on some of their affiliates and say to yourself, WOW these people are great! I love new friends!

Comment on posts that get you thinking, or posts that have their artwork in it. Make sure to include a link to your blog or portfolio website if you have one, so they can check you out, too!

Some of the design and photography blogs I recommend are:

·         Breanna Rose

·         Ashley Ella Design

·         The Barn Blog

·         Pugly Pixel for web design enthusiasts

·         The Hunted Interior for interior design ideas

·         Design Seeds for color palette inspiration

·         Angie Makes

·         Hannah Mac for photography inspiration

There are unlimited inspirational blogs out there, and I haven’t even begun to explore them  all, but these are the ones I read almost every day. There’s always amazing advice and inspiration floating around. And the best part is, if you email them they may email you back! It’s awesome to form a connection with someone that could be thousands of miles away.

Etsy

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It can be a longer process to find inspiration on Etsy, but if you know what you’re looking for, you can find a lot of great images, quotes, color schemes, and project ideas. You can also see which shops are successful and get some ideas for your own business. You should take note of what sells and is popular, as well as what isn’t. As with Dribbble, don’t take anyone’s ideas and claim them as your own! It’s like window shopping- just look at the things you like and think about how you can incorporate them into your work!

You can also get inspiration from design shops that aren’t on Etsy. These can be harder to find, but a lot of design bloggers also have ecommerce sites where you can purchase their work. It’s a good idea to look at the things they sell, and take note of what you like or don’t like about their work. This helps you discover your design style, too!

The internet is massive, and there are millions of sources of inspiration out there for you to find. And besides the internet, there are actual places to go that may inspire you! It’s all about taking the time to develop a keen sense of what will be useful to you now and in the future. Sometimes I lay in bed and can’t stop thinking about something I saw that was amazing, but that’s a great thing to keep you up at night.

I’m in love with creativity and all of the people that I share that love with. Finding sources of inspiration isn’t hard when you love finding beautiful things that make you want to be a better designer- and a better person.

There are so many more places to look for inspiration, and this post doesn't even cover the places that you find in real life (as opposed to the internet). Where do you prefer to get inspiration from? The internet or in 'real life'?

DIY Temporary Wall Decor

Our apartment isn't the most beautiful thing. Nice apartments are sort of hard to come by in Auburn, and this is our first one, so we sort of took one of the first ones we looked at when we were hunting, just because we were both excited to be out on our own together. Hopefully this spring we can start looking for a place that's more long term.

There is this wall in the kitchen area that drives me nuts. We used to have a little clock that I hated, and then it ran out of batteries and just got taken down. Then I just had a cute apron hanging from a nail (embarassing...). We could really use more storage for small appliances (we have a little deep frier that currently lives on the dining table when inactive) and my array of platters and serving dishwear. I love the look of industrial open shelving, but I don't think that fits the current aesthetic of our place, so hopefully next time we can go that route.

I love the look of wallpaper and patterned walls, so I've been gathering some ideas (one, two) that could be more temporary for our place, went out and bought some supplies, and went to town!

I went to A.C. Moore last night and picked up 6 large pieces of metallic gold scrapbook paper and a package of the non-permanent Glue Dots that don't leave residue and remove easily. (With their sale on the paper and Glue Dots, it came out to less than $7) I used the base of a plastic kids cup to draw 16 circles on the back of the paper, and then I cut them all out. It was a nice sitting-on-the-couch-watching-Revenge activity.

I knew I didn't want a super pattern-y look, and I liked the way reference two had that bursting look, so I sort of went by that. I started in the upper left corner with closer together dots and gradually moved them father apart, moving down and outwards on the wall. I didn't go all the way to the bottom because I knew it would be too enticing for little hands. I bet they would look amazing going all the way to the floor!

 The wall in our kitchen turns into this narrow wall that's really awkward, but a good place for Julian's high chair, and I never really bought a mirror or anything for it. So, I continued my dots along that wall and it looks great!

If I had the patience to cut out more circles, I would go buy more paper and continue the dots all along the other 2 kicthen walls. And looking at the pictures above, they don't look as nicely distributed as they do in person.

This is such a fun update, and it's perfect for you renters (or white wall lovers looking for a pop) because they really are temporary- I took one off the wall to move it over and it came off super easy- and a great update if you can't paint. The window in the kitchen catches the metallic paper and makes some of the dots shine so nicely! Julian came out of his room this morning pointing and clapping at them, saying "OoooooooohHH!"

So far he hasn't harassed a single dot. So far.

Have you added a temporary wall decoration lately? Have you come across any other inspiration somewhere? I think I'm addicted, so stay tuned for another edition of Temporary Wall Art!