Dog Days Are Over

Great news! I quit my job today. The job I started 3,216 days ago! So, now onto bigger and better things, including my graphic designing on the side.

I LOVE looking at graphic design website online.  Mainly sites that feature business cards, logos, and invitations.  Below are a few images (specifically  business cards) that have served as inspiration for me in my graphic design ventures.

These cards are so simple in design but everything about them is me.  Colors: perfect.  Texture: Perfect. Mixture of fonts: perfect.  I love the simple little edge cut-outs. Just love:

These cards are awesome for a few reasons.  Again, they're simple and sleek but the solid lime with white lettering really makes a statement. My favorite feature though is the edge painting.  It really finishes the card and just boosts the quality and wow factor 10 fold:

I don't think I need to explain why this card is awesome.  I'm not sure if this particular one is made out of actual wood or if that is just the print on the paper....but I'm hoping the former.  I have a little gift card like this from a woodshop here in Oklahoma and I love it so much that I never spent it:

Another thing I'm digging are odd shaped business cards.  These oblong ones (again with neon edge painting) are so cool: 

Side note: Since these are files that I have just saved on my computer it is hard for me to remember the exact source or designer of these cards but I have no doubt I found them on one of the following (highly recommended) blogs:

Card Observer

Oh So Beautiful Paper

Dingbat Press

Ruby Blue

I would like to start off by saying that even though I have a degree in Interior Design, I have never considered myself to be especially talented or well versed in the art of decorating a home, which may come as a surprise to those of you that aren't really sure what interior design is if it is not decorating a home.  And, if you're still doubtin', please trust me that it is so much more.  Sometimes I think that if maybe I had a lot more $$, or if I owned my own home, that I would be able to experiment more and actually have decorating skills to draw upon....but until then I spend endless hours dreaming of ideas I would "one day" like to execute.  I work with what I have which happens to include a very old and neglected (but charming) rent house on campus with a landlord who doesn't give a rip if I paint the walls. (yes!)  

Which now brings me to the fact that I have been thinking about my best friend Fronnie a lot lately who currently lives in Cairo, Egypt with her husband.  (They both teach at an American school, and with all the recent citizen uprisings they decided to get the heck out of dodge for a while until it cools down a bit.) Last summer, she came back home for a short visit and brought me two royal blue pillow cases.  I loved them but didn't really know where I could use them.  My bedroom is pretty green and my living room remains completely unfinished but looks as though I was steering it in the red & neutral direction with hints of yellow.  Perhaps I haven't ever truly tried to do anything with that room because I wasn't happy with those ideas and then it hit me: royal blue.  Perfect.  SO I have officially found the inspiration for my living room!

This first picture is of my very RED couch, the curtains my mom made and the pillow case from Egypt.  One of my favorite things is to mix patterns, and I think these go great together. Not sure about the zebra rug yet but I'm thinking it will work out just fine:

This next little piece of artwork is just stretched linen, a cheapy thing I found at Target a few years ago:

Somewhere along the line a lot of my decor in the living room is Asian inspired, which is fine with me! It was so unintentional though that it boggles my mind how I didn't notice. I also have a yellowish/gold blanket from Thailand that my friend Carter gave me and several red and gold decorations from the Orient that belonged to my grandpa.  So I think a pop of royal blue (perhaps on one or more of the walls) will be just the thing. I love how it can go so many ways from elegant to modern to eclectic to traditional.  Below are just a few images of royal blue inspired design that tickle my fancy:

  

decorpad.com

decorpad.com

Discover the great indoors

It is officially Feb 2 and I have been stuck in my house, alone, for almost 36 hours now. For those of across America that hadn't heard... Snowmageddon 2011 hit Oklahoma with a thundery vengeance about 2 days ago.  Yes, thundery.  As in thundersnow.  I know, right?  It is COLD.  And coming from me, that means a lot.  I usually don't let the weather (especially winter weather) affect my day to day life.  I drive in snow, I drive in torrential downpours, I live for a tornado-filled evening but let me tell you... I couldn't stand to be outside for more than 5-10 minutes today. Crazy.  And so since I have been alone for such a long time now without any human interaction (besides the nice guy that had to tow my car back to my driveway after I tried to make a quick run for it...of course I got stuck a mere 100 yards from my house) I decided it would be the perfect time to actually start and figure out this blogthing.  I think more than personal musings like this, it will mostly be centered around design & art.  My projects, friends projects, stuff I like, ideas for projects, you know.  I am by no means a good writer so I'll apologize in advance for the lack of flowery descriptions and basic reasoning behind future posts but that's how I think I'm gonna roll.  I know what I like when I see it and usually can't tell you why. So off I go to gather images and ideas for my first official design post!