last day! don't miss your chance to win.

the bedding giveaway from csn mattresses ends today. and the set is beautiful. i really can't wait to give it away to one of my readers. so enter now, tell your friends, and get it all in before 5pm today.

the winner will be announced on monday morning.

only 2 days left to win!!

the csn mattresses bedding contest ends on friday at 5pm est!! so hurry up and get your entries in!!

don't miss the bedding giveaway from csn!

we're giving away this great bedding set from csn mattresses. just a reminder to get in your entries here by friday the 14th at 5pm. don't miss it!

"true"ly an opportunity: what i would do with their invitations!

if you are a fan of the HBO fun and fabulous hit, true blood, you probably already know that anna paquin and stephen moyer are engaged. yes, sookie and bill are in love in real life -- which explains the tangible heat between the two of them on-screen.

of course, all i can think is that i would have so much fun designing their wedidng invitations! well, ok, if not anna and stephen's, then definitely sookie and bill's! wow, the things a designer could do.

i couldn't help but look to fonts that might work for their event. (all fonts below can be found on veer.)

so... my first thought was to do it in a blackletter font. tells the story of how long bill would have been on this earth, and of course it evokes some sort of classic vampire feel.




then i thought that a script or calligraphic font, most popular in wedding invitations, might be appropriate. but that script would have to have a hand-drawn, aged, and inked feel to it.



and finally, continuing with the distressed idea, i thought that our modern couple (how much more modern can you get than a vamp with a human?) might like a worn-but-cool looking font. either a mismatched serif/italic font, or a sans-serif in all caps.



which do you think would suit this couple best?

giveaway from csn -- who wants some bedding?!!

ok, so you know i'm obsessed with interior design and home decorating. i love working on my place and seeing what others do with theirs. i continue to look at real estate, decor, and furnishings as a form of entertainment, even if i'm not in the market to purchase anything. i've got issues. =)

so, when i was looking through the csn mattresses website, perusing the bedding, my little anna jae wasn't the only one drooling. can we say yummy? and a few options would look fabulous in our home... i came to the csn mattresses site too late i suppose.

lovely and serene, while still making a statement. american mills' delano bedding set from csn mattresses.

i'm not a pink person, but i still find this girl bedding so whimsical and fun. i would definitely get it for anna jae. PEM america's flowers for hanna bedding collection on csn mattresses.

this makes me want to go to a garden party. blissful living home's kew green bedding collection on csn mattresses.

and man, i wish they had this last year when i was looking for bedding for our master bedroom. black and white AND gold? perfect! blissful living home's anis yellow duvet set from csn mattresses.

since i can't use any of this bedding for myself anymore, i would love for my readers to have something. and csn felt the same way. so the giveaway contest begins...

you can win the delano quilted bedding set (shown below)!!!


RULES:

1. leave a comment below and tell me why your home is the perfect setting for the delano bedding set.

2. make sure you include your name and email address when leaving your comment with blogger.

3. only one entry per person.

the giveaway contest ends next friday, august 14, at 5pm. so get your entries in now!


thanks to csn mattresses for the giveaway!

branding at its best: pentagram's oak bar design

i love a good integrated brand. and this is a perfect example of how you do it.

michael beruit of pentagram headed up the project to create graphics for the landmark oak room and bar at the plaza hotel. the original logos provided the base for the new lettering, and the design team also instituted a secondary logo -- an "O" flanked by acorns. this O is used on the windows, rug, menus, and even staff clothing! it's an elegant and subtle way to tie everything together. the branding initiative won a spot in the CA 2009 design annual.


check out the full redesign at the pentagram blog.

fabulous invitations by betsy dunlap

betsy dunlap, one of my favorite calligraphers, showed off her skills in a hand-lettered invitation design on her blog. it's just so gorgeous! nice work, betsy!

wow! dexter's return, and my love affair with the ads

if you are a reader of this blog, you know that i'm a HUGE dexter fan. huge. don't know what it is about serial killer stories, but i love them. add to that a good looking, loveable, funny serial killer that makes you question your own moral compass, and you've got must see tv. for me, anyway. =)

dexter's coming back for season 4. i just watched the trailer, and i highly recommend that you do too. oh my!! dexter as a daddy. dexter as a hubby. dexter hunting down a fellow serial killer played by... wait for it... JOHN LITHGOW!! whooppeee!!! what a season we're in for! i no longer have showtime, but i may just have to get it back for this.


over the past few years, the advertisements, wares, and posters for dexter keep me very happy. the graphics are a lot of fun, and i think that this one is especially fun, with the great baby shots and onesies (by the way, the onesies are actually available for purchase here). does anyone know who does the design for the dexter print/web ads? if you do, let me know asap!

coney island's fate decided... goodbye, beauty

artist's rendering of the "new" coney island. via the daily news.

i am a big fan of coney island. been going there since i was a kid. now we live only about 10 minutes from the amusement area. we attend the hot dog eating contest every year -- even took little miss anna jae there for her first of our annual tradition.

there's something magical about the area. yes, there are questionable characters. yes, the boardwalk is in dire need of some repair. yes, maybe some of the rides could be safer. and yes, maybe the surrounding area is in need of an economic pick-me-up.

but still, the magic remains. the colors of the rides. the hand-painted signage on the boardwalk storefronts. the mermaid parade. the freak show! these are parts of history. on a weekday afternoon, when the beach is not nearly as crowded, you can really see how much fun coney island was in its hayday, and how much fun it still is, if you really take it in.

photo via la galeria.

boardwalk beauty.

coney island bath house.

and now, it's all about to change. the city council voted yes on the revamping of coney island yesterday, complete with high-rise hotels and an indoor amusement area, so that it can be open year-round. i understand the desire to bring new jobs and a new life to the neighborhood. but the way they are planning it seems as though they are just going to stamp out the life from what already exists. what made it famous in the first place.

maybe this is a larger commentary -- maybe new isn't always better. maybe we can preserve the old while using it to bring in more people, more business. maybe, sometimes, they just don't make 'em like they used to.

blog love: kirei nest interview!

nicole at kirei nest approached me for an interview about my little nest. and you know how much i love talking interior design! even when it's my own... =) it was a fun little interview. enjoy it here.

sorry for the absence...

hellloooooo out there!

so sorry i've been absent. life has been a little tricky as of late. my little babe is teething and has been nothing but a handful. i've had a few physical issues, including back problems and migraines. and i've been attempting to get work done.

that being said, i'm back and up today. hoping to get some more goodness out there to you!

i think i like the old one better

from the dieline... FTD has redesigned their mailing boxes. because of competition in the floral delivery business, they decided they needed to revamp their look and up their presence. optima soulsight came up with the black and gold boxes, a big change from the old and colorful polkadot options.


ok, so maybe i'm biased towards polkadots. but really, i like the old boxes so much better. they were upbeat and cheery -- if i saw one delivered to me, i would be excited before i even opened it up. the boxes just looked so festive. now, the black and gold boxes are very morbid. unless you're sending something for a black tie event, a golden anniversary, or a funeral, i wouldn't want to use something so serious and *almost* scary.

FTD has also clearly redesigned their website to match their new box scheme, but i don't think the black and gold works there either. the images of the flowers are so happy, and the black/gold is so serious. FTD, go get happy again.

creatives alert: contests for spec work becoming common

i had the pleasure of attending a new media bootcamp last monday, hosted by david vinjamuri of thirdway brandtrainers. david is a marketer who now trains others in the trade, as well as hosting a blog on market and branding trends. it was such an eye-opening workshop, providing me with even more information regarding blogging, twitter, and website usage for promotional purposes. david is great at marketing -- he really and truly knows what he's doing, hence why he's so popular these days! -- and was a wonderful source of information on how to improve my own marketing skills.

there was something that caught my attention however, and not necessarily in a good way. as we've seen as creatives, spec work is running rampant these days, moreso since the economy tanked. of course, businesses need to find less expensive ways of meeting their advertising and PR needs. but the idea of doing for work for free doesn't exactly appeal to most creatives. the no spec campaign is growing at a rate that rivals consumer-created campaign generation. and i have personally witnessed (and participated in) the anger of creatives when contests are revealed.

with the successful consumer generated advertising campaigns used by companies such as heinz, the use of contests for commercial or viral campaigns has increased. something i didn't know -- there's a website called zooppa that allows a company to create and promote their own contest for their consumer-generated-advertising needs. but what this amounts to is more and more spec work -- lots of talented creatives doing work for free and not seeing anything for it. in fact, most contests have verbage in their fine print that states that all submissions become property of the company -- so the corporation gets tons of free work and ideas and the creative does not get anything at all.

thankfully, in this room of marketers and business people, i was able to stand up as a creative and remind all of them that we are not happy to participate in contests such as these. i did tell them that it was important for them to change the verbage and allow creatives to maintain copyright to their work until paid for the rights to it. it did reach this group of people who responded thoughtfully and kindly, understanding that we won't continue to stand for the kind of treatment that treats us as though we're in it for the fun and the hobby rather than as our career.

what are your thoughts creatives? do you enjoy participating in contests such as these? would you like to see them eradicated, or rather adjusted to be more fair?

fab new rug from flor!

i'm a big fan of flor carpet tiles. like many other parents before us, we decided that it was the best way to handle the rug in anna's room -- we could get the colors we wanted without the rug being too "kiddie". and it definitely worked.



well, flor has continued to be a go-to company for our household. i love to go on the site and look for new ideas and ways to brighten the space.

today, i received an email from flor touting their new find-a-face rug. using photos from francois robert, this rug features pics of "faces" found in regular objects.


so much fun! it's a great rug for a kid's room, your living space, wherever. nice job, flor. you continue to surprise me. =)

slacking!

so sorry readers. working and baby have been keeping me away. but there's a couple of new blog posts coming up, so stay tuned!

whitney speir (brown sugar design) interviewed on sage wedding pros

my friend and fellow stationery designer, whitney speir -- co-owner of brown sugar design -- was interviewed on sage wedding pros. it's a very interesting read. most so because of her business and industry tips. go to it!

blog love! NicEvents on julia newman's blog

julia newman, a fabulous photographer and a sweet friend, posted a vendor review of NicEvents today on her blog. check it out!


also, don't forget to have a gander at the photos she took of my darling daughter anna jae (and myself) earlier this month.

have a fabulous weekend!

sugar-inspired interior

in doing research for a current illustration project, i came across this candy-cane inspired room by toby fairley design. i'd love to live here.

my pages in 100 Habits of Successful Freelance Designers

without further ado, below are my spreads in the book 100 Habits of Successful Freelance Designers. what an amazing opportunity. i'm so proud to be a part of this publication with so many extraordinary creatives.

anna's life in front of the camera

so one of my most favorite photographers, julia newman, came over today to photograph anna! what an exciting shoot. she got to eat, play, discover, and cuddle, all in front of the camera. how exciting for her momma. =)

julia is going to be sending over the images soon, and blogging about it even sooner, so keep your eyes peeled for the results.