Twenty-Twelve [Calendars]

It's seems too early to be talking about next year. It's only Halloween after all! But 2012 is really only two months away, and so today, I thought I'd feature some fun calendars for the new year.

Here's a pretty one from Susy Jack. I like the one color floral patterns for each month. They are very simple and elegant.

[buy here]

I think my personal favorite months are May, July, and December. I like the uniformity of those designs. I like the way the typography and layout of the calendar makes each month look like part of the set, even though the colors are different for every month.

Some other cool calendars come from Bold & Noble (I saw them on Design*Sponge). This one is my favorite:

[buy here]

I like the color combination, and the geometric pattern that's between each month is so fun! I like how the pattern varies throughout the calendar but still has the same basic shapes and stripes. It's also nice that the numbers are in blocks - it looks like you'd be able to make notes in them.

I found this calendar in a quick search on ModCloth, and I love it!

[buy here]

The patterns themselves are really neat (see image on the right above), but I think the coolest thing about this calendar is that, on the back of each sheet, there are instructions to fold the page into a project, like a file folder or pillow box. What a great idea! It's also available from PaperSource, who designed it.

This is a cool one I found via Design*Sponge. It's a bit different since it's made of wood and paper combined.

The crest shape is fun, and I like the way the paper shows through the cutout. You can buy it here.

Finally, here's a calendar from Felt & Wire Shop. It's called "A Year in Caps" and it's all about typography. Definitely my kind of calendar!

[buy here]

I like the woodgrain background, and the emphasis on typography. Each of the months looks like it's in a different font! The colors are also really fun.

I'd love to know what you all think of these calendars! Is there one you like best? Also, you can find lots more neat calendars in the round ups over at Oh So Beautiful Paper.

Weekend Links: This & That II

Thought I'd try the new variety of Weekend Links again this Friday. I have some fun things to show you all! (And a question at the end.)

>> Satellight lamp from Yiconglu, via Swiss Miss.

[A creative lighting concept that lets you move the lamp around to different parts of the room.]

>> Gray and Yellow Necklace from Button Soup Jewelry on Etsy.

[The colors and the collage look are great.]

>> Magnet DIY from Pure&Noble, via Present&Correct.

[Simple, fun craft idea.]

>> Dreaming of Marrakesh tote from The New Domestic, via Design*Sponge.

[Love the pattern and the combination of gray + a color.]

>> Insekt Desk from Buisjes en Beugels, via Bloesem.

>> The King of Legoland [video] from Dundun, via David Airey.

[If you watch through all the Transformers you get to see some pretty neat old Legos.]

Now for a question...

• Do you like this format with several pictures and links?
• Or do you like the old version where I share one website with a couple pictures? 

(You can see examples of past weekend links posts here.)


I'm not sure which one I'll go with, but feel free to toss out suggestions!

Studio Calico

I haven't been taking many pictures or scrapbooking much lately. While scrapbooking is a wonderful craft, it's just not fitting into my otherwise full life right now. And that's okay. I'll probably do some more traditional scrapbooking in another season of life.

But I do love pretty scrapbooking supplies and fun project ideas, and the place where I find the most pretty products and great ideas is Studio Calico. They're an online shop that runs a monthly kit club, has their own products, and keeps a blog. Their design team gallery is always lovely. I'll share a few images of their products, kits, and ideas.

Here are two recent kits, which are collections of some Studio Calico supplies and some supplies from other scrapbooking companies. The Glee Club kit is bright and fun with a bit of a vintage look.

[source]

The pattern papers are so pretty! I especially love the red dot pattern on the top row and the woodgrain one on the bottom row. The woodgrain alphabet stickers are great as well.

The Field Guide kit is also lovely. I like the mix of bold colors and accents with quieter, calmer ones.

[source]

The butterfly accents are really nice, and I like the cloud print in the top row. The arrow stamp is fun too. The newest Studio Calico kits are posted here. I'm pretty sure a new one is coming in the next day or so.

Studio Calico also has add-on kits that they sell with their main kits. Here's one that I like. It's sold out, but the combination of supplies is cool.

[source]

I like the airmail envelope, the gray patterned tape, the letter stickers - and all the fun little accents.

I'll show you two of Studio Calico's own double-sided patterned papers. They are so fun! I love the way they incorporate a funky, vintage vibe. They are both from the Countryside Collection.

[source]

The triangle pattern is so neat. It's simple and graphic, but at the same time, the colors give it a happy, sunshiney, retro appearance.

This next one is soft and elegant. I like the blue and yellow of the flowers.

[source]

Now for a few project ideas from the Studio Calico blog and design team gallery...

I love this card by Waleska Neris. The dots of patterned paper, gray lettering, and wood accents are so sweet and lovely!

[source]

This layout by April Foster is really cute. I love the colors (no surprise), and the repetition of circles looks bright and playful.

[source]

 
This mini-album by Kinsey Wilson is really fun as well. I like the transparency and the font of the title.

[source]

Another layout I like is by Lisa Truesdell. I like the way the colors are muted and serene even though there are lots of elements on the page.

[source]

Well, that's all for today. I hope you've enjoyed this little peek at some nice scrapbooking supplies and projects. Do you have a favorite thing from the post?

Creative Wedding Invitations

I love seeing the creativity some people have with wedding invitations, especially since I'm a sucker for good design and pretty paper (and retro things). So I wanted to share a few cool wedding invitation ideas with you all today.

The first invitation collection I want to show you is by Kyle Marks (via Design Work Life). This whole collection is really lovely. I like the yellow, turquoise, and kraft paper color combination, and the typography is excellent!

I love how everything matches so well. I think the invitation itself has a bit of a vintage movie poster look...

The way the type is interspersed with decorations (black banner, border, dotted line, etc.) gives it a fun feel. The RSVP card is excellent, too. I especially like the white text printed on kraft paper.

See more images of these neat invitation suite right here!

Another wedding collection I like is this one from Christine Wisnieski, also via Design Work Life. It's very different from the bold, obvious lettering of the first one, but its delicate style is very pretty as well.

The watercolor look is really neat. I especially like the gradient looking background of the RSVP card:

But I've got to say that the envelope is my favorite thing. I love the hand-lettering and the cool stamps. I wonder - did they really send the invites with such interesting stamps on them? Maybe not, but it looks amazing anyway...

See more views right here.

Another one I love is this one, designed by Jordan Eakin, via Lovely Stationery. The silhouette look is so nice. I love the colors too! Here's the whole collection:

And another view of the biggest piece. I like the tri-fold style and, again, the silhouettes are most excellent.

And guess what? Much of the text is in Gotham! That's very exciting. And so is the letterpress. You can see both the letterpress and the font up close in this shot:

The last invitation I want to feature is also the most unusual. I saw this Viewmaster invitation on Swiss Miss and loved it. What a cute idea! They were designed by Lesley Weiner, working with Melangerie Inc.

Viewmasters are so cool and vintage, but I would have never in a million years thought of using them as an invitation. The card on the top opens up to reveal more neat text that coordinates really well with the Viewmaster.

Love it. And here's an image of what the Viewmaster reel looks like. It shows pictures of the engaged couple.

You can actually buy these invitations on Etsy. They cost and arm and a leg, but they are just so cool.

What do you all think of these fun wedding invitations? A lot of the same ideas could be used for other invitations too. Wouldn't it be neat to send a watercolor party invitation? Or a movie poster style graduation announcement? I'd love to know what you think!

Book Things

I really like books. Although I haven't had much time to read for fun lately, I enjoyed reading a lot over the summer and I'm becoming a bit more of a book person. And I wanted to share a few fun book-related items I've found recently.

This idea is so cool looking! Wouldn't it be fun to charge your iPhone in a book? However, I find it a bit ironic that a book (old, paper, not uniquely 21st century) is helping to charge a newfangled piece of technology.

You can find lots more neat book chargers from the Inbook shop on Etsy.

I also really like these neat book wallpapers on Shelterness. I'm not sure how I found them originally, but they are neat! Here are two I like (see more here.) I really like the black and white color scheme of this one.

And the way the book pattern is only over a small section is a neat idea, too. It makes the room look interesting but not super busy.

This Kindle case made from a book is kind of a similar concept to the iPhone charger above. I like the idea of making an eReader look more like an actual book. It's from Ela's Idea on Etsy.

I saw a similar idea in this tutorial for a laptop case on Dollar Store Crafts. You can check that out too!

Another fun book related thing is this wood sign from Slippin Southern on Etsy. I like the typography and the rugged, distressed look it has.

Slippin Southern has some other fun signs. I really like this one. :)

I'd love to know what you think of these little book-related items. I hope you like them!

Custom Type by Jessica Hische

Jessica Hische is a graphic designer in Brooklyn, New York, and while I can't really recommend her site because of some inappropriate things (language and one portfolio item I saw), she does some pretty amazing type work! I wanted to share a few specific projects that I really like. I love this style of cursive typography, and it amazes me how anyone can design this themselves. I'd love to be able to to do it one day.

Here's an invitation Jessica made for the Make a Wish foundation. I love the cursive type mixed with the silver text and patterns (that looks letterpressed maybe?). This invitation is so elegant and formal, but the happy patterns keep it from looking at all stiff. I also love the way the swirls flow flawlessly from the letters. It all works together so well.

make a wish foundation by jessica hische

I also love this business card design. The yellow letterpress type mixed with Jessica's cursive lettering is elegant but so fun and happy looking...isn't this a beautiful business card?

kate murphy by jessica hische

Another fun thing Jessica Hische designed is a temporary tattoo sold through Tattly, a site that Tina Roth Eisenberg of Swiss Miss runs. I personally think this is kind of a fun idea - to create well designed temporary tattoos! It's a little weird, yes, but it makes me smile. Here's the one Jessica designed. I love the type with swirls, which is similar to the two projects above, and the "type nerd" term is great. I think it certainly describes me. :)

available through tattly

I'd love to hear your thoughts on this type. What do you think of the cursive style and these projects?

Encouraging Words, Part 2

Today I'm continuing with quotes from my Tumblr. I have more encouraging words to share today that I hope you all will enjoy!

Once earthly joy I craved,
sought peace and rest;
Now Thee alone I seek, give what is best.
This all my prayer shall be:
More love, O Christ to Thee;
More love to Thee, more love to Thee!

     —  Elizabeth Prentiss

“God does not send out his church to conquer. He sends us out in the name of the One who has already conquered. We go only because he reigns.”

—	Kevin DeYoung and Greg Gilbert

“Do not let your happiness depend on something you may lose… only upon the Beloved who will never pass away.”

—	C.S. Lewis

“The right manner of growth is to grow less in one’s own eyes.”

—	Thomas Watson

“Ye are brought with a price.” To every man of whom this may be said, it is the best news he ever heard. An angel sent from heaven could not bring to any man or woman here a more delightful message than this, “Thou art bought with a price, even with the precious blood of Christ.”

—	Charles Spurgeon

Rejoice in the good of others, though it eclipses your light, though it makes your parts, your abilities, and your excellencies dimmer in the eyes of others. Were it not for the eminence of some above you, your parts perhaps would shine more brightly and be of high esteem. Yet to rejoice in this from the heart, to bless God from the soul for His gifts and graces in others, that His name may be glorified more by others than I can glorify it myself; to be able to truly say, ‘Though I can do little, yet blessed be God there are some who can do more for God than I, and in this I do and will rejoice’—this is indeed to be able to do much more than others. This shows a great eminence of spirit.
—Jeremiah Burroughs

That last quote really stuck out to me. The radical kind of humility and passion for God to be glorified that this quote describes is amazing.

Encouraging Words, Part 1

Every now and then, I like to post a few quotes from my Tumblr, words that I've enjoyed and been encouraged by lately. I haven't done a post like this in awhile, so I'm going to divide it into two parts, one today and one tomorrow. I usually don't post over the weekend, but I wanted to this time since there are so many fun things I want to post about! I hope you enjoy these quotes:

“Take my heart and hold it in thy hand;
Write upon it reverence to thyself
with an inscription that time and eternity cannot erase.”

—	The Valley of Vision, page 139

“…let us not reckon upon the continuance of present ease, nor fix our happiness upon the fickle weather of this world, but let us be ready for changes, so that, come when they may, we shall not be afraid of evil tidings, our heart being fixed, trusting in the Lord.”

—	C.H. Spurgeon

“Waiting is an act of faith. Because in waiting for the Lord, we are saying, Lord I trust in you. I hope in you. I have confidence that as I wait, you are being good to me and you are acting on my behalf. I’m trusting you for grace to come. Faith waits confidently for the Lord to fulfill his promises.”

—	Mark Altrogge

“Being with Jesus is the essence of heaven; it is what the life everlasting is all about.”

—	J.I. Packer, Growing in Christ

“The key to continual and deeper spiritual renewal and revival is the continual re-discovery of the gospel.”

—

Timothy Keller

“Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the Lord that will stand.”
     —  Proverbs 19:21

“O LORD, you are my God; I will exalt you; I will praise your name, for you have done wonderful things, plans formed of old, faithful and sure.”

—	Isaiah 25:1

I hope you all are encouraged by these words! If you'd like to read more, I post pretty regularly at To Sit at His Feet, my Tumblr page.

Weekend Links: This & That

I'm taking a bit of a different approach this week for my Weekend Links series. Instead of a link to a site you can browse around, I'll post a few links to certain cool things around the web. I got the idea from this post on Mint Design and I thought I'd try it. This is a nice long post and I hope you enjoy it. :)

>> Envelope bag from Molla Space, via Swiss Miss.

>> No Fair Bookend from ModCloth, via Design Happens.

>> Custom Handpainted TOMS from alymf on Etsy, via Fresh and Joyful.

>> Linen Cocktail Napkins - Triangles from Willow Ship on Etsy, via Design*Sponge.

>> Stay Cool from Pie Bird Press on Felt & Wire.

 

P.S. Keep your eye out for a special extra posts this weekend!