I just recently came across Lab Partners. Their web design is what really caught my eye. It't not your typical navigation. They include lots of fun patterns and shapes. The hand on the clock even moves! The best part is that Lab Partners is made up of a husband and wife creative team. I'm kind of partial to them. It's the best way to work. Check them out! They do a lot of fun colorful designs. 

I love animals. I think I get that from my Grandpa. You can take me to the zoo any day, preferably everyday! 

I can't help but smile when I see these neatly composed scenes from the shop Wild Life Prints. I mean just look at the little hippo blowing out the birthday candles. I think the word whimsical about sums it up. 

Monday has hit me harder then I expected, hence the late post. I have a million and one things to do (ok maybe slightly over exaggerating), but it sure seems like that. As I type this another item just got added to my list...oh boy. My only plan I have devised is to buckle done and just do them. That should work, right?

Baltimore Print Studios 

Letterpress cookie cutters from Paper Source

How cool are these cookie cutters? My friend's mom showed them to me. I think they're the best thing to come to cookies since chocolate chips. 

I've been itching to make something the past few days. It's been a while since I've done a good DIY. On Monday I posted some embroidered typography that I completely fell in love with. I wanted to give embroidery a try, but knew it needed to be something simple (at least for now) since I've never done it before. I came up with these button badges and I couldn't be more thrilled with how they turned out! I'd say they're as cute as a button (pun intended). I started with the CMYK one, but then I just couldn't stop so I made 2 more! I think these would make the cutest boutonnieres for a wedding. You can just about embroider anything you want. 

You will need: 

• Embroidery Floss
• Embroidery Hoop (optional)
• Needle
• Embroidery Transfer Pen
• Cover Button Kit (1 1/8" or desired size)
• Brass Tie Pin (in the jewelry section)
• Fabric (I used cotton muslin)
• Felt
• Scissors 
• Glue ( I like Gorilla Glue)
• Pliers  

STEP 1: Trace the button pattern from the back of your button kit onto the fabric. Then trace the button inside of that circle--that way you know what space you have to work with. Now you need to trace your design onto the fabric. You can either print it out and use a window to trace it on your fabric, or simply just draw it right on using the transfer pen. Once you have traced everything, place your fabric in the embroidery hoop (if you are using one). 

STEP 2: This is the fun part. Thread your needle and start embroidering your design! For the smaller designs I split the floss in half because I thought all of the stings made it too thick. One of our readers told me about Sublime Stitching. You can check that out to learn all kinds of different stitches. 

STEP 3: Once your design is beautifully stitched (which I know it will be) cut it out around the outermost circle. 

STEP 4: Now take your pliers and your button back and pull off the hoop that is used for sewing the button on clothes. It's pretty easy to take off, just wiggle it back and forth a little with the pliers.  

STEP 5: Assemble your button using the directions that came with your kit. The hardest part is making sure your design stays centered on the button while putting all the pieces together. Before you snap the back all the way in you can carefully peek and double check if it's positioned where you want it. 

When it's all put together spray it lightly with water and magically the blue marker disappears!

STEP 6: Now we need to add the pin on the back. Squeeze a dot of glue on the back of your button and place the pin on top. The back isn't very flat because of where the hoop was. That's why I like Gorilla Glue because it expands while drying and fills in any gaps. Just be sure to use sparingly.

STEP 7: Cut a strip of felt 5" x 1" and cut triangles into each end. 

STEP 8: Fold the felt in half and place it on the back through the pin.

Now isn't that cute? If you make one, let me know. I would love to see what design you came up with. And Katie I expect yours to be extra awesome ;).

Today I'm posting something super special. It's special for 3 reasons... 1. The artwork was created by Aaron Bartlett, 2. I love minimalist posters, and 3. They're super heros. Who doesn't like super heros? And if you are wondering if Aaron is related to us, well, he is. Aaron is Jake's oldest brother.

I picked out 3 of my favorite characters he featured. I love the simplicity, texture, and geometricness of it all. See for yourself. They're pretty great!

You can see the rest of them (and purchase prints!) here. Which one is your favorite?

Another lovely Illustration by Danielle Kroll

The best thing about long weekends is when you go back to work it feels like a Monday, but it's actually Tuesday. I like that, even though I have lots of work to do. I better buckle down and get it done!

I alway love finding a new craft medium to learn and experiment with. I never would have guessed embroidery would ever be one of those. That is until I came across all this beautiful embroidered type. These aren't your average grandmother's designs. 

I first came accross all kinds of embroidery lettering patterns over on imprint. There are enough letters there to inspire you for any type project you'll ever do. The best part is, Public Collectors has provided a free download of Elsie Svennas's A Handbook of Lettering For Stitchers. 

Source Maricor Maricar

I can't get enough of this Sweater Letter Project from Maricor Maricar. There is so much detail in each little letter.

Source: Merri Weather Council

Source: Posie Rosy Little Things

I really want to give embroidery a try. I already have a simple little project in the works that I'm going to give a shot. Be on the look out for that later this week!

Photojojo always has fun camera accessories. They now have these super cool cutouts you can attach to your camera's lens and create some beautiful effects with ordinary light. Jake and I experimented with this idea over Christmas. We didn't have this kit so we just cut out our own snowflake shape from construction paper. It was a lot of fun for a cold winter afternoon.

Have you seen Danielle Kroll's What I Wore series on her blog? I've been a fan of her work for awhile. I love her fun illustrative style and beautiful use of color. Can I borrow that yellow sweater please?

There are more fun outfits she wore over on her website.

Art Print from Julia

Yesterday morning I took one of Altitude Design Summit's online classes. It was taught by one of my favorite bloggers, Melanie from You Are My Fave. There were around 90 other bloggers taking the class too! It was a lot of fun to connect with them and hear some great blogging advice from Melanie.

I love the quote on that poster from Julia. Let's be honest, we all want to be successful at what we do. I think if you love what you do and you work hard at it then you are a success already. I hope it encourages you as much as it did me.

Couch | Donuts | DIY Felt Pins | Organic Tote Bag
 Valentine's Wedding | Office | Lace Heart Print

Happy Valentine's day everyone! I'm pretty excited about today. I love having a day dedicated to showing people just how much you love them. Plus it's probably the only day all year when you can go heart crazy and none cares: heart cards, heart shaped food, hearts, hearts, hearts!

I know I say it a lot, but I can't say it enough. I love my husband. I am so blessed to be able to call him mine. As crazy as this sounds this is only our second Valentine's day together as a couple. When we were dating we never once had a Valentine's together. We were always in different states. Although, our first date was on Valentine's Day our freshman year of College. We were already good friends at that point, but we didn't start dating for another year and a half after that. 

Tonight we're going to make a romantic dinner at home. We both prefer it that way. LA restaurants are busy every other day of the year so I can't image the crowds on Valentine's day. We'll make some steak, open a nice bottle of wine and have our own little candle light dinner. How about you, any Valentine's plans? 

I came across this cute video this morning over on Moglea's blog. The 5-year-old daughter of a graphic designer offers her insight on corporate logos. I'd say she is off to a good start with her design future.

...And how about those Grammys last night? I was so excited about Adele winning all 6 of the Grammys she was nominated for. She truly deserved all of them. The part I loved most about her was that she seemed so thankful and almost embarrassed to receive those awards. She's the best. 

Jamie and I were fortunate enough to get a clear view of Sir Paul McCartney receiving his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame yesterday afternoon! There were hundreds of people there, and we were a good 75 feet away from the podium. Luckily, Jamie was able to see through the crowd, and I had long enough arms to get my camera above everyone else's. It was so much fun getting to see and hear him in person! Neil Young was also there to talk a bit before Paul did. What a cool experience.

  

  

The head of the Walk of Fame was talking for what seemed like forever before Paul finally got to speak. The crowd was getting pretty tired of it, and Paul played along by making all of those faces. 

It was pretty hard to tell what my camera was pointed at because the sun was directly above us. But I just turned on the continuously fire mode on, held the shutter down, and did my best to point it in his direction. I ended up with over 200 pictures, but these were the ones that turned out the best. We can't tell our future children cool stories of how we saw The Beatles, but at least we can tell them we were there when Paul McCartney got his star. 

The Beatles: Paris, 1964

When it comes to The Beatles, sometimes I feel like I missed out on a huge part of history. They're the biggest (and best) band of all time! I still enjoy their music today, but just how much more amazing would it have been to see them live or even just experience their music for the first time along with the rest of the world.

Today in Hollywood there is going to be a little bit of Beatlemania going on. Paul McCartney is finally joining the rest of his band members and getting his well deserved star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Jake and I are going down there on his lunch break to see if we can show some homage to Sir McCartney. I missed out on all the other historical events, so I hope I can at least take part in this small one.

I just came across these giclee print letters this morning from Methane Studios. They have designed each letter of the alphabet so you could buy one or a whole bunch and spell out anything you can think of. Since Valentine's Day is just around the corner I decided to spell love. The O is my favorite.