Here's an app I would probably not only find useful, but also fun to play around with. MyPantone will even capture colors from pictures on your phone and then create harmonious color palettes. I'd love to have the Pantone library at my finger tips. 

This morning started off right with a dose of delightful design from Quill & Fox. I guess I shouldn't be surprised at their new products that are so clever and beautifully designed. I love everything they have done but these new designs are just too good to be true.

I'm really crushing on the Loch Ness Moster Postcard, but then again I really love the Forest Park Postcard Set. Ahh, I just can't decide. I love them all!

There are even more new designs in their Shop.

click image to enlarge

Infographics are always so cleverly designed. I came across this one about graphic design. I thought it was interesting and insightful--probably because I'm a graphic designer! 

You've already kind of seen the finished product of our chair we reupholstered from Pixel's Watch Me Grow photos, but I wanted to show you more of the process we went through to get this little yellow beauty.

Here is the condition we found the poor saggy chair in at Goodwill. The fabric was pretty worn in spots and the caning on the sides was starting to break, but it was the perfect size and style for the space we have in our living room. It just needed some love.

The hardest part of the process was taking everything apart. There were so many staples holding it together. 

The cushions had seen better days so we ended up replacing those with fresh new foam. As we took stuff off we made sure to take lots of pictures so we could remember how it all went together. We used all the old foam and fabric as templates for cutting the new pieces.

Once we got everything off my dad cleaned the chair really well and touched up a few spots with stain. It looked one hundred times better when he was done and we hadn't even started putting it back together yet. 

Finding the fabric was a lot harder than I thought. I knew I wanted something similar to what was already on the chair. I love yellow and it would be the perfect pop of color to add to our decor. I also wanted something with a soft cozy texture. 

We ended up going to the fabric district downtown LA. There are so many shops full of fabric that it was a little overwhelming. I brought along a swatch of the old fabric I had taken off the chair and went in each store to show the owners what I was looking for. Finally I found one store where the man was able to climb through rolls and rolls of fabric to find just what I was looking for - a nice bright yellow cotton velvet fabric.  

For the buttons we went to a local upholstery shop, gave them some of our fabric and asked them to cover ten new buttons for us. 

The best part was when we got to start putting all the pieces back together. It was such a fun project and we felt pretty accomplished when we finished. We gave an old sad chair new life.

Active For Fashion Interviewed Us!

A little interview we did for Active For Fashion's Mentoring Monday column is posted over on their blog today. Go check it out!

I discovered this jem of a book last week and went out a bought it the very next day. I was so excited about it I just about read the entire thing in one sitting. It talks a lot about the business side of crafting (the part I can say I don't know too much about). All my business knowledge comes from friends and family--and now this book. If you're a crafter and want to know a little more about the business side of things, go grab this book at Barnes and Noble and settle down on the couch for the afternoon. I bet you'll learn a thing or two.

Emma Block is an illustrator from London. Her style is so fun and playful; it reminds me of vintage paper dolls. I was first just going to post about her Style Icon series, but then I got looking at all her other fabulous illustrations and I had to show you some of my favorites.

Style Icon series 

Lost in London

Of course I had to pick the one with a Dalmatian.

Greeting Card

Uh oh, we are going to have to re-think the way we've been cropping these pictures. He is starting to outgrow the frame.

We've been pretty good about taking lots of pictures of Pixel since we got him. His Watch Me Grow series has helped us remember  to take at least one good picture documenting his growth each week. Recently we realized we hadn't taking any picture of the three of us so we grabbed our camera snapped a few or at least we tried to. It was a little tricky holding an energetic puppy, trying to get him to look at the camera and take a picture all while smiling.

Ever since my parents came and helped me with all those diy projects, I keep coming up with more and more things I want to do. It's so satisfying making things yourself. I probably should take it one project at a time before I get burnt out. These are on my current to do list.

Cork Board

Pencil Sweater

Aren't these such a cute idea? She's in the House even sells these cuties in her shop on Etsy.

Spray Painted File Cabinets 

We could really use some more storage in our office.

I don' think I ever mentioned it, but Jake also got me a sewing machine for my birthday. I've been looking for some easier projects to get started with. I think these would be perfect.

Dog Car Seat Cover

We need this for Pixel to have on our trip home to Colorado for Christmas this year. I better get started soon.

Garden Party Napkins

Oh and don't worry; I haven't already forgotten about the granny square blanket I want to make. I leaned to crochet over the weekend. It took me a little while to figure everything out, but I think I've got it down now.

What do you think? I ordered the yarn this morning so as soon as that comes I will be crocheting every spare minute I have.

Mom, Dad, I think you better come out for another visit soon to help me with all this stuff.

Have you seen these nail polishes from Scotch? I have a whole shoe box full of nail polish, but I wouldn't mind adding a few of these colors to my collection. The best part is they are non toxic, fragrance free and have a handfull of other good qualities. I bet they would be much less harsh on your nails too. Have you ever tried them? I would be curious to know how they hold up.

So remember last year when I got all gung ho about knitting? I had all these projects that I wanted to do. What happened with that you ask? Well, not much. I did finish a head band and got about three quarters of the way through one leg warmer; then I got discouraged when I realized I still had another one to make.

Now I'm on to bigger and better things - crocheting. The problem I have with knitting is that I want results fast so I get worn out with the process. People have told me that crocheting is faster. I can only hope.

Spearmint Baby

Sarah London Textiles

Wise Craft

Yesterday I discovered the magnificent granny square. Now I can't get enough. They are so cute, colorful, and cozy. I have no idea how to make them but I'm determined to figure it out. You're probably all thinking I'm going to get through two squares and give up. Not this time. See--that's the beauty of granny squares. I only have to make one square at a time. It seems much more manageable when all you think about is finishing a square and not the entire blanket.

Apartment Therapy

Drowsy Swords

If any of you know how to crochet I would love some tips, learning resources, and even a good (not too pricey) yarn to use. Basically I don't know anything and would love your help.

Now that my birthday has past I am ready for Fall. There are so many wonderful things that come with cooler weather. One thing being scarves. Don't you just love them?

Janee over at Yellow Bird, Yellow Beard had this brilliant idea to host a scarf exchange in preparation for Fall. I signed up right away! If you would like to join in the fun, you can check out all the details over at her blog.

1. Erika gave me this lovely candle from Anthropologie for my birthday last week. The color fits perfectly into my living room decor and the scent is devine. 

2. That's our little Pixel. Yeah, I just can't get enough of him. 

3. My dad brought his french press on his trip to visit us. It was such a treat. I could get used to that every morning. I like the look of the Chambord press from Bodum.

4. The Tinted Lip Balm from Burt's Bees is so great. I'm not that big into lipstick so the nice tint this gives is perfect. My favorite is Pink Blossom.

5. My parents bought me these Sydney Bowls from World Market for my birthday. I love everything about them, the colors, designs, and even the size. 

6. I'm on a mint craze at the moment. I picked Krylon spray paint in Pistachio up at Micheals and have already painted a wire basket. Now I'm just on the look out for another object to turn mint. 

7. Jake alway spoils me on my birthday. This year he surprised me with a Crosley Record Player along with some records. You don't know what you're missing until you hear your favorite music on vinyl.

8. The Dark Chocolate Powerberries at Trader Joe's are so yummy. Costco has some good ones too. They are my little afternoon pick-me-up.

My parents left for home this morning. We had a wonderful time with them this past week. Unfortunately it has been the hottest week of the summer which meant we had to stay inside most of their visit. On the plus side, we got a lot of projects done in our apartment. First we reupholstered the yellow chair, then hung up some shelves in our kitchen, built a mail/drop off box by our door, hung up the coat rack, built a mantel and late last night we finished painting the design around the fireplace. I'm pretty excited with how everything turned out. I'll post more detailed pictures later this week along with some tutorials.

Pixel is still growing strong! He is already 3 months old. Notice anything different about the chair this week?

My parents are visiting this week and we are hard at work. The first project we decided to tackle is reupholstering the chair we picked up at goodwill a few weeks back. We did the majority of the work yesterday and plan on finishing it up today! Here is a little sneak peek. It's looking great!

One Lantern Art Prints

I love the way One Lantern styles their art print photos for their Etsy shop. It's a really great how they show the prints in an actually environment. It makes me want that workspace and those prints (which I'm sure was the idea). Plus I just love the simplicity of the prints. Now I'm inspired to take the time to set up and take some better photos for our shop.

We used to wake up every day, drink our morning coffee, and read our favorite blogs. But ever since we brought Pixel home our routine has changed a bit. We still have our coffee, but browsing blogs has kind of fallen by the wayside. Pixel demands our attention most mornings.

A few days ago I sat down and pulled up my google reader to see all the blogs I'm subscribed to and started going through all the ones I haven't read in a while. I went to Katherine's blog Gathered Heart and started reading all the past posts I had missed, when I saw the coolest most amazing thing EVER!

Back in the beginning of July, Katherine posted Jessica Hiche's wedding website: jessandruss.us! We've posted about Jessica a few times here on our blog. She is one of our favorite designers and typographers. I was so excited to see what she came up with. And wow it did not disappoint. The way the site functions is so awesome. It is one of the best websites I've ever seen.

Hand Drawn Typographic Poster by Nicolas Baillargeon

We are all familiar with the saying "the customer is always right". I get why they say that, but I think it is kind of silly. If you're wrong--you're wrong no matter who you are. So when I saw this poster I immediately laughed and felt an immense gratitude towards Enzo Ferrari who had the guts to say it in the first place.

We love when clients have an opinion and vision of what they want, but it's also nice when they trust us to make the right aesthetic decision. After all, we want to create a beautiful design for them just as much as they want to have one.

I have some more free printables for you today! Here are three different worksheets I've designed that have helped me plan my parties. They're great to keep you on track and make sure you don't leave any of the important details out. I hope you find them helpful.

Click on the images below to download the worksheets.

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