In honor of the Man...

My man, that is. Who works for "the Man," as they say in corporate America. It's been a busy month for him, and in recognition of the stress of it all, he and his engineering coworkers dubbed themselves "Power Monkeys." So I whipped this little logo up for him last night to spread the smiles and provide a little lightness to their busy lives. For my part, it was a great little no-pressure creative moment to have fun with Illustrator.

Photo find of the week...

Feeling nostalgic today. These photos feel like a nice treat to finish off the week with. Such a beautiful representation of America's not-so-distant past.


Captured: America in Color from 1939-1943 – Plog Photo Blog

Paper Art...

So I am working on a project for an upcoming exhibition and in full-on inspiration research mode. I came across these images and died a little inside because of the awesomeness. And then I came back to life and wanted to start cutting paper. Real bad.


(Peter Callesen)


(Jen Stark)


(Elisa Mora)


(Bovey Lee)


(Su Blackwell)

Today I am grateful for... Limes!

Good lord, these little green things add a level of awesomeness to summer that just cannot be topped. I am telling you, summer evenings are just so much better because limes exist. Those who know me well know how much I love a good mojito - can you really go wrong with limes, sugar, mint and RUM? But if there is any doubt about how great limes are, I beg you to try this recipe I recently rediscovered:

Key Lime Pie

1 1/4 cups plus 2 tablespoons sugar
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 cups water
3 eggs, separated
1 tablespoon butter
1 teaspoon grated Key lime peel
1/4 cup Key lime juice
1 pie shell, baked (I've used pre-made crust from the freezer department, but if you are more ambitious than me, by all means make your own!)
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar

Heat oven to 425 degrees F

Combine 1 cup of the sugar, flour, cornstarch and salt in large saucepan. Stir in water. Cook over low heat, stirring until thickened.
Beat egg yolks at high speed until foamy. Stir 1/4 of hot mixture into egg yolks and pour back into remaining hot mixture. Cook over medium heat 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from heat; add butter, lime peel and lime juice, stirring until butter melts. Spoon into pie shell.

In medium bowl, beat egg whites and cream of tartar at high speed 1 minute. Gradually beat in remaining sugar, adding 1 tablespoon at a time, until soft peaks form

Spread meringue over filling, making sure meringue is touching crust to seal. Bake 5 to 6 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool on rack. Chill in refrigerator several hours until filling is set. Prepare to fall in deeply in love with lime.

Crunch time...

My portfolio show is only 2 days away, which means I am in full on production mode. This weekend I busted out the screenprint kit and filled our clothes drying rack with awesomeness.



Tonight I assembled 50 pop-up cubes that will serve as a little take-away promotional item. Tomorrow will be all about final details and fine-tuning the actual display.

Ready or not, here it comes!

And after...

Ok, so the business cards in the previous post completely inspired me. Months later...



I have business cards!

Winding down and Building Up

So this is me, getting reacquainted with a long-lost friend. I've been away from this blog for so long I feel like I am starting completely over. And really I guess I am.

The final weeks of my academic design journey are upon me. In seven weeks, I will present my portfolio to the world. Until then, I have MUCH designing to do, and this blog is going to become my means of collecting inspiration and tracking my progress as I get ready to step into the world as a professional designer.

First order: business cards. I found this image this morning and am SO excited about using this process in some fashion for my cards.



By Blok Design of Mexico City.

These are letterpress printed on heavy 4 ply cotton museum board by Studio on Fire.
I love the texture, the impression, the subtle bit of color on the edges... mmmmm!