01/ Would you ride Sky Caliber, a 90 foot tall waterslide with a loop?
02/ Now all of you been connoisseurs have a place to show off the caps.
03/ You can walk above the treetops in South Africa on the Centenary Tree Canopy Walkway.
04/ Jeffrey Milstein gives cruise ships a new perspective.
05/ The Analog Memory Desk has 1,100 yards of paper for your ideas.
06/Jihyun Park uses incense sticks and rice paper to to create a sort of reverse pointillism.
07/ Martha McQuade’s Scarf Shop nailed their latest color palette.
08/ I’d like to be friends with this shirt‘s antagonist, Lord Nermal.
09/ Peter Demetz‘s wooden sculptures look downright human.
10/ This Portuguese Tree Snake House looks amazing.
This week on Design Crush: Ali Cavanaugh‘s stunning watercolor and kaolin clay paintings.
Much inspiration in the form of Super-Modified: The Behance Book of Creative Work. Brenda Cablayan‘s Hawaiian landscapes are only adding to my vacation lust.
Make your furry friends some DIY stamped pet bowls with style.
Spontaneity and disorder are explored in the work of Hyunryoung Kim.
I’m obsessed with my new bag from Olivia + Joy!
If you love hair art like I do check out Marianne Nielson‘s ceramics.
My love of the beach screams that I need one of these Coastal Quilts. Chairish not only has a big ‘ol selection of vintage art, they’re also giving one of you $100 to spend on it!
If the coast holds a special place in your heart I have just the thing, Coastal Quilts from Haptic Lab. From Maine to Washington, the Great Lakes to Gulf, these quilts provide a snapshot of iconic coastal areas and their fragile eco-systems. Gold polysilk is appliquéd onto a pale blue soft cotton to create their heirloom-quality beauties.
If you have pets and an aesthetic above a 6th grade level, you must feel my pain when it comes to the pet dish aisle. I don’t want fish skeletons or dog bones – I want something that fits my style and doesn’t stand out like a sore thumb in my home. While my three cats may not notice what they’re eating out of, I’d like to think that I’m WOW-ing them a little with my effort. It would also be nice if it didn’t cost more than one of the dishes that I eat off of myself, meaning it’s time to dust off my do-it-yourself game.
Supplies
• small, plain ceramic or glass bowls
• acrylic craft paints
• paper plates
• sponge
• scissors
• pencil
• paper towels
I decided on two modern patterns to create in fun, playful color palettes for both a food and water bowl. Before I started I made sure to wash and dry the bowls thoroughly to remove any debris. After squirting some paints (neon pink, olive green, and black) on a paper dish I dove right into the first – a grid-like dot pattern. Using a pencil eraser dipped into the paint I freehanded a pattern of five by four dots in the olive green. I then repeated the process with the neon pink and black, staggering the grid by skipping a dot-sized width and moving the pattern down one row.
The end result reminded me of that pure sugar dot candy of our childhoods! And I’d be lying if I didn’t admit I kind of want my own bowl now just like this.
For the second design I came up with an updated take on a citrus pattern, just want these last weeks of winter called for. I began by cutting out a circle shaped piece of sponge that measured about an inch wide. After prepping my paint – bright orange, robin’s egg blue, and neon pink this time – I got stamping in a random layout. I gave the orange plenty of time to dry (about 20 minutes), then followed suit with the blue. After some more drying time I trimmed out a small leaf-shaped piece of sponge and finished up with some unexpected neon pink foliage.
We happily teamed up with Fancy Feast and their new Broths with Chicken on this project as part of their #WaystoWow campaign. My pets are part of my family, and I love finding new ways to show my love and affection. Aside from well-designed bowls, beds, and toys I also like to WOW my three finicky felines by laying super soft blankets in their favorite sunning spots and placing bird feeders outside of lower windows for entertainment. Broths are full of real, recognizable ingredients and come perfectly portioned for a reward or treat, so you can feel good about indulging your cat kids. My girl Rainey absolutely loves them – two paws up. Sign up to try a bowl on Fancy Feast!
This post is in partnership with Fancy Feast Broths. All words and opinions are my own. Thank you for supporting the brands that support Design Crush!
This week on Design Crush: Pat Perry‘s illustrations will transport you to another world.
Temperatures are slowly climbing and I have my spring wish list ready!
Beautiful modern female portraits by Annie Kevans.
How things are going after being back in Pittsburgh for six months.
The storytelling embroidery pieces of Michelle Kingdom.
These 8 great apps are some of my recent favorites.
Energetic abstracts from Kerri Rosenthal. Ten March DIYs to keep you busy this month.
Take a peek at Gus Hughes‘ right-out-of-the-tube paintings.
(Clockwise from Top Left) WhiteAlbum / No edits, no retakes. Once you take 24 photos in the app they’re printed and mailed to you. Like a disposable camera for your phone.
Timeline / Headline news online tells part of the story, this app weaves events into compelling stories.
Next Glass / Science helps you choose your next glass of wine or bottle of beer.
loungebuddy / Buy access to an airport lounge when you’re looking for someplace to work, freshen up, or relax between flights.
Expensify / Hassle-free expense reports on the go.
Along the Way / Search your roadtrip route for cool places to stop along the way to your destination.
Run Pee / Find out the best time to make a restroom run so you’re not missing any of the good parts.
Weather Dial 2 / A well-designed, simplified weather forecast.
This week on Design Crush:
Eight new pieces of art to mix up your wall game in Print Edition: March. Maker & Mineral‘s screen-printed pouches make me want to organize my bag. Caroline Larsen does oil paintings like you’ve never seen before. Backyard workspace inspiration for the outdoor office space I hope to create.
I’d open my mail way faster if it looked anything like Do Not Open.
Meet your go-to modern jewelry shop – Adorn Milk.
Completely inspired by the work of Hiroyuki Izutsu.
Check out Woven Pear for the best patterned socks!
I have this shed in my backyard. It’s shaped like a barn and there may or may not be (happily co-existing) families of raccoons and skunks living underneath. I’m lucky enough to have a basement with direct outdoor access that houses all of the things that a shed would hold, so my wheels have been turning. I don’t want to tear the thing down when nothing is wrong with it, so what are my options?
I’ve fallen in love with the daydream of having a little backyard workspace oasis. Because I live in Pennsylvania and I’m not about to install any sort of heating/cooling system I’d only be able to use it successfully for about half of the year, but I’m already sort of sold on the idea. It would be nothing to paint the interior, add a desk, floor rug, and some other accessories and enjoy! The dogs would get to spend extra time outside (which is totally okay by them, we’ve already talked it out) and so would I, which falls right into my plan of getting the most out of the leafy green oasis I plan on creating.
The biggest issue I faced when picking up and moving halfway across the country into my new home was that it was 114 years old. It doesn’t get much more traditional than this colonial beast, but when you fall in love with a space that’s the opposite of your aesthetic what’s there to do? I’m partnering with HP x360 #BendTheRules + Meghan Trainor’s That Bass Tour to talk it out and share four ways I’ve modernized my home.
Add Contemporary Art. This tip is first for a reason, and that’s because it adds the biggest dose of personality right off the bat. I’ve added pieces and prints of all shapes and sizes through my home, grouping the smaller together and leaving the oversized to stand on their own. One thing I abided by was sticking to the same frame style and color – simple and white. It helps to pull everything together and achieve the sleekness I was after.
Embrace Clean Lines. Furniture, light fixtures, all of it. I love how the simplicity of almost all of my dining room in particular is the polar opposite of the ornate banister on the stairway and the 10-inch moldings throughout the house. It allows you to appreciate what the space does best without competing with it, which should really be the end goal of every design decision you make.
Go Light and Bright. Before I moved in the moldings and framework were thankfully already painted white, but the walls were a buttercream yellow. Safe for staging, but not even a little bit my taste. So within two months I had painted the entire interior (you read that right, all of it) a lovely white-grey/grey-white. The natural light bounces throughout now, creating an almost gallery-like feel that makes every room feel bigger.
Use Modern Patterns. I like to keep my patterns in check by using them sparingly and choosing modern global repeats. It keeps things feeling fresh and contemporary while breaking up the monotony of large fields of color for your eye. I prefer to neutral tones, but that doesn’t mean you should shy away from color if that’s your aesthetic.
The HP x360 has four great things going on for it, too. Actually four modes – notebook/laptop, tablet, stand, and tent – in one device. I’ve especially loved using tent mode in the kitchen, it’s so convenient to have my favorite recipes at arm’s length while I make dinner. Its touchscreen properties also make the tablet mode perfect for flipping through my emails in bed first thing in the morning (bad habit, I know). The compact size and weight are perfect for carrying the x360 around the house from one room to another like I tend to do through the day. See all four modes here, along with more info on HP + Meghan Trainor’s That Bass Tour and episodes from the fan-generated documentary being created using the HP x360 Convertible PC.
This post sponsored by HP. Be sure to follow along with the Meghan Trainor tour by watching Behind The Scenes episodes or following @HP for updates. Thank you for supporting the brands that support Design Crush!
