Incidentally, the book appears to have been republished in the last couple of years and is available on Amazon. While the new cover is missing its vintage appeal, the interior may still be as lovely.
Monday, February 11, 2013
Found Vintage Book: Pattern and Design (1948)
Whenever I have a few minutes of "free time" this winter, I've been trying to get a jump start on spring cleaning. Included in this task each year is organizing the bookshelves. Over the weekend I stopped and looked through a book I've had for a long time called Pattern and Design, by N.I. Cannon. It was published in London in 1948 and includes over 200 illustrations, some on lovely color plates. Most of the book details how to make patterns from subjects in nature. Here are some of the color illustrations, many done by students.
Incidentally, the book appears to have been republished in the last couple of years and is available on Amazon. While the new cover is missing its vintage appeal, the interior may still be as lovely.
Incidentally, the book appears to have been republished in the last couple of years and is available on Amazon. While the new cover is missing its vintage appeal, the interior may still be as lovely.
Thursday, February 7, 2013
Letters of L-O-V-E (a.k.a., Love Letters)
It's been awhile since I've entered a Spoonflower Fabric-of-the-Week contest. I've had to sort of pick and choose my "battles", with sickness in the family usually winning this past month. But I've also been busy with some personal projects, Etsy orders, and revamping my website (more on that in the coming weeks!).
This week's Spoonflower contest theme, in celebration of Valentine's Day, is "Love Letters". I had two completely different ideas in my head--sketched out and researched one, but ultimately decided to go really literal, using the letters in the word 'LOVE'. All of us have probably done cut-out magazine collages at some point, right? Or at least seen ransom notes made on TV crime shows. So I cut out L's, O's, V's, and E's from one magazine, had a nice little pile going, but after some thought realized I would need to buy many more magazines in order to get a nice variety. Conclusion? Go digital. In Illustrator I created each cut letter piece, added color to each individually, then made a "whole lotta LOVEs", and organized and fit them into a design. I did three additional color ways for now: one in black-and-white, one in the style of a Xerox photocopy, and one inverted with red.
You can view the pattern in yardage here. If you like my design, you can vote for it, and all your favorite "Love Letters" designs, here. Thank you!
This week's Spoonflower contest theme, in celebration of Valentine's Day, is "Love Letters". I had two completely different ideas in my head--sketched out and researched one, but ultimately decided to go really literal, using the letters in the word 'LOVE'. All of us have probably done cut-out magazine collages at some point, right? Or at least seen ransom notes made on TV crime shows. So I cut out L's, O's, V's, and E's from one magazine, had a nice little pile going, but after some thought realized I would need to buy many more magazines in order to get a nice variety. Conclusion? Go digital. In Illustrator I created each cut letter piece, added color to each individually, then made a "whole lotta LOVEs", and organized and fit them into a design. I did three additional color ways for now: one in black-and-white, one in the style of a Xerox photocopy, and one inverted with red.
You can view the pattern in yardage here. If you like my design, you can vote for it, and all your favorite "Love Letters" designs, here. Thank you!
Monday, February 4, 2013
It's Thank Your Mailman Day: A Preview of 2013 US Postage Stamps
It really is "Thank Your Mailman Day" today, so I thought we could celebrate by taking a peek at the new stamps that will be issued this year by the United States Postal Service. These are just a few that stood out for me, but you can view them all at the USA Philatelic "Beyond the Perf" website. Some designs won't be released until later in the year; buy those available now here, or keep an eye on the ones you like by following USPS Stamps on Facebook. Which one is your favorite?
Emancipation Proclamation, designed by Gail Anderson
Sealed with Love, designed by renowned letterer Louise Fili
Just Move!, designed by Eli Noyes
Kaleidoscope Flowers, designed by Petra and Nicole Kapitza [LOVE!!!]
Johnny Cash, designed by Greg Breeding, and made to look like a 45rpm record picture sleeve
Emancipation Proclamation, designed by Gail Anderson
Sealed with Love, designed by renowned letterer Louise Fili
Just Move!, designed by Eli Noyes
Kaleidoscope Flowers, designed by Petra and Nicole Kapitza [LOVE!!!]
Johnny Cash, designed by Greg Breeding, and made to look like a 45rpm record picture sleeve
Wednesday, January 30, 2013
Friday, January 18, 2013
Way to Go, Oreo!
Did you know Oreo cookies have been around for 100 years? To celebrate their anniversary, advertising agency Draftfcb came up with a 100-day advertising campaign, each day using the Oreo to illustrate a milestone from the last century. Genius. Here are a few selections from the campaign. You can see more here, and here.
Wednesday, January 16, 2013
Riley Blake 'Geekly Chic' Coming Soon!
The new Geekly Chic fabric collection from Riley Blake, which features there colorways each of my Mix Tapes and Stars on 45 patterns, comes out in March and I'm getting excited! It has started appearing on the 'Coming Soon' sections of some popular fabric websites, including Fat Quarter Shop, Hawthorne Threads, and even an online company in Germany called Swafing. Woohoo!
Monday, January 14, 2013
Monday Meditation: Pens, Pencils, and More Pens... Oh, My!
If you like pens and pencils as much as I do, you'll find this photo from the latest issue of Martha Stewart Living to be mesmerizing. I could stare at it all day. Just think of all the things you could make with these!
