DIY notecards

 

i send a monthly mailing to my friend Nita. In another life we worked together and I ran the advertising department and she ran the credit department and our company lived by our weekly mailings. It had sales figures, that week's ad, signing info, etc. So now I send her a much more fun monthly packet of stuff. It usually includes a paperback, a letter and I know she likes stationary so I try to include something.

I recently ordered these little one page scalloped cards from Paper Source.

I had nice colored envelopes from my card making so I lettered her name at the top of the cards and added a colored envelope and volia, you are done! If you don't have mad lettering skills you could stamp something or make a little collage, whatever strikes your fancy. Envelopes also come from Paper Source and are of a nice quality. That is good because Nita only likes nice things.

Ira Glass says it best

Ira Glass on Storytelling from David Shiyang Liu on Vimeo. 

no one can say it better than Ira Glass. All of us doing something creative should watch and remember.

will work for... ah... money....

If you need a handsome polished businessman, a fun-loving traveler, a grandpa or a goofball for print, video, internet or voice work you should hire my husband John at Walks, Talks and Chews Gum.

He also works well with children as he is one himself.

He might also work for golf too. I don't know you'd have to ask him.

type tuesday-d.i.y. modpodge box...

I like making these mindless modpodge wooden boxes. I made a Paris one and a button one. I like making them out of stuff that is laying around that I have collected.

I get my boxes at Michael's. They are cheap but not always smooth. Since I cover almost the whole box with ephemera that is fine. This one is 9.25 x 12 and will live in my office to hold all those papers that I can't quite part with yet. When the box is full I will sort and toss and start over.

I used an Emigre font sample book from many years ago for the bottom of the box. And part of a page from a really large calendar for the top. The ink bottle I found many years ago in a junk shop somewhere and the Koh-i-noor pen was from my art school days.

I got a new small sander and think that I should sand the boxes first. It would make the gluing process a little smoother. All in all I am pleased with the end result. And anything that give me a place to put paper is good.

Maybe some year I will make boxes for people as gifts. It would be fun to try and make a box to suit a particular friend. And then put something special inside as a little surprise.

learning new things...

Sadly I don't think anyone can keep up with all the new things there are to learn. In fact just today my camera said pan L to R for panoramic photo. I had no idea that there was this function. So I ran outside panned and got this. Wow... a whole new thing to look up and learn about. Not to mention this means a long bike ride somewhere to take some great new photos.

But since I share my creative process from time to time I thought I would share about learning technical stuff. I know I have mentioned lynda.com before and have an affiliate link on my site. I pay for this service monthly... it is just $25/mo. And since I am paying for it I thought I should really use it. I try every morning to spend 20 minutes or so working my way though all these things that I should understand in greater detail. I have taken the MobileMe, Wordpress and Facebook classes. Even though I had been using all these apps there was quite a bit a good info that I got. These classes are from 3 to maybe 5 hours long but broken into 3-8 minute segments. Kind of nice to start the day learning something new. Next week I will start the Social Media Marketing with Facebook and Twitter class.

And if you are  like me and can never know enough about Photoshop there is a link to the right with some free tutorials.

creative process... typography table

Over a year ago our sweet friend Phil made this little side table for us and sent it as a kit. We put it together and then moved and it got lost somewhere in the basement.

It has surfaced... and all along I've been thinking that somehow it would be a Paris table embellished with all things Paris... But then we moved here and it seems like it should be a typography table. In black and white with tiny accent colors... So out has come my type ephemera and my thinking cap.

Hmmmm Thinking Caps... we just saw Alice in Wonderland yesterday and I was once again taken with the Mad Hatter. I wish he could make me a thinking cap. Something between the Harry Potter sorting hat that could talk to me and a hat for a tea party. If you are looking for a not for kids fairy tale I recommend it. I loved all the visuals. I've posted a link to the right.

As the table progresses I'll keep you posted!

(Thanks Gwen and Kirk for the additions to the pile of letters!)

creative process & lynda.com

How do we learn? I know I am a visual learner. I also read about what I am trying to figure out but I learn best when someone shows me.

I think my process is somewhat genetic. I think I think like my Dad and my brother. I really admire my brother for the fact that he can do anything he puts his mind to. Absolutely anything and everything. He heats his house with used french fry oil. I think he also runs a car on it too. He is always thinking. And now I see the same thought process in my nephew. We are a family of monkey brains...

In my case I am always trying to figure something out... busy monkey brain... right now it is howdoImonitizemysitehowdoIsetupapaypaldownloadformyfontsIneed todosomecrossmarketingwithfacebookandtwitterIdon'treallyunderst andmobilemeblahblah

I really like the lynda.com site. It is only $25 month. If you sign up for the monthly option you can cancel at anytime. I like the visual learning and they almost always have what I need. I either do a full class (right now I am working my way through the MobileMe class.) Or if I can't remember how to do something in Illustrator or Photoshop I can just look it up quickly. I am going to continue this to learn more about using Facebook for my business and how to make my current site more search able.  Plus they have an iPhone app. I love anything that has an iPhone app.

Just FYI... I am not paid anything by lynda.com to pitch their product. ohbutmaybeIshouldbemaybetheywouldhaveanaffiliatemarketing programmaybeIshouldaskthemblahblahblah

Note: Since writing this post I have applied to lynda.com to become an affiliate. That means if you see an ad on my site and you click on it and become a member I am paid something. May 12, 2010

What creative thing are you doing today?

would like to ask that question once a week to all of my readers. I'd like to share something creative that I am doing and I'd love to have you respond with what you are doing.

Part of why I blog is to force myself to stretch my creative muscle. It is good to think of something interesting to talk about daily or almost daily. Then to take a interesting photo and to share that. But working from home is working in a void. A void that I do enjoy most of the time. When I am happily creative it is a little ivory tower. But I do miss that working in a creative department and having that person at the next desk to show things to. To ask questions of... to just share stuff with.

So I'll post creative things and maybe some of you out there will figure out how to leave a comment and you will share what you are doing. It doesn't have to be 'art'. It can be cooking, or how you are wrapping your Christmas presents or whatever is giving you that little spark of creativity.

Wait... I am hearing some of you say you aren't creative? WHAT? Who ever told you that? Not true. Some of us just practice more. Nothing is too little to share...

I'll start... yesterday and today I am drawing leaves. It is a two-fold project. My friend Brenda Dayne of Cast On fame needs some leaves. And I had already planned a Leaf Doodles font. So I am drawing leaves and rather enjoying myself. A perfect thing to do as I watch the lake try and ice up.

OK... now your turn.