COVER PHOTO: My Artist Soul
The super lovely Casey of K.I.D. Collective invited me over to share a summer music mix today, so scoot on over and download it! While there be sure and stay awhile to look around. Thanks for having me over, Casey!
Posted In downloads, mixtape, music, shameless plug
PHOTO: betkaa
01. mmm, salt water taffy
02. Jenna’s photography on the new Whimsy & Spice site looks delicious
03. these conjoined skyscraper plates are brilliant
04. a map of London’s Underground made from string
05. Helveticons
06. what if you lived at IKEA?
07. loving this literary ad campaign
08. not a mayonnaise fan, but make it flavored and in great packaging and I’m on board
09. make some wrap bracelets
10. the 50 things every graphic design student should know
Me in other places this week:
01. talking about my favorite nook on Brooklyn Limestone
02. guest curating on Supermarket
PS: This is the last week to sign up for the mixtape swap!
Posted In ads, create, downloads, food, happy weekend, jewelry, make it, mixtape swap, music, online, recipes, shameless plug, wear it
[INSERT AWKWARD PAUSE]
I’ve been accepting sponsors for the past year and have never really mentioned it, so if you only read Design Crush via a reader chances are you had no clue. I thought for May I’d throw it out there. I keep my ads limited to ten so that you get max exposure and response, and so far my sponsors have reported really great traffic results. If you’re interested in becoming a monthly sponsor you can email me at designcrushing@gmail.com. I’m more than happy to answer any questions you might have and send you my rates and traffic numbers.
[STUMBLES OFFSTAGE]
Posted In shameless plug
PHOTO: Mattie Krall
01. now I want my next birthday party to be based around a cereal bar
02. loving on this Bullshit/Meeting ambigram mug
03. and these ridiculous animal wine stoppers
04. a recipe for making strawberry milk with actual strawberries
05. stop the presses: banana bread croutons
06. love this mini paper turntable calendar download
07. a great collection of vintage fan club cards
08. check out/download the desktop wallpaper I designed for Design Milk
photos via ffffound
+ Visit me and some of my favorite memories on the Lil Bee!
+ Make your own bacon bourbon.
+ Crazy for this DIY Scandinavian-inspired wooden heart.
Alt Summit completely blew my mind, my sleep schedule, and my waistband for the second consecutive year. There were picturesque views from the Grand America Hotel.
Goodie pails for one and all, filled to the brim with treats from the Spoon Sisters, Just Shorn, and Method (among others).
Lots of interesting panels with lovely ladies. (Ahem.)
Not to mention design camp sessions with focuses such as calligraphy, photography, and screenprinting.
Three course keynote lunches with pretty letterpressed menus by Smock.
HP Lounge
Honda Lounge
Lovely lounges were full of conference goers, beverages, and treats between sessions.
Then there were the unexpected freebies, like these from Just Shorn and Etsy.
And the hosted dinners and parties.
I can’t forget to mention DJ Spooky, who spoke (incredibly eloquently) at Friday’s keynote lunch and had to turn down scads of marriage proposals from my table alone.
Everyone became quite adept at striking a pose for the camera.
The highlight of Alt, for me, was listening to Swiss-Miss’s closing keynote. More specifically when I introduced myself to her afterward and she knew of both me and my blog. My only honest to goodness starstruck moment.
And I would be remiss not to mention the libations. Because there were lots at the ready.
I mean I look like I had fun, right? Cause I’m totally counting down the days until the next Alt Summit already. You should be, too, so you can be there.
Because I suck at remembering to take photos “in the moment” these are all from the Alt Summit flickr stream. With the exception of the first, which is from the HP flickr stream and the last, which is from the Kate Spade photobooth.
Sometimes the fastest and most furious of designs turn out to be the truest. I designed these cards for myself in about fifteen minutes flat last Monday after realizing I needed some new ones for Alt. Instead of going all in with the Design Crush logo, I opted to focus on my name while staying true to the fonts used in the logo. I then had them printed on some really nice matte cardstock. I’m really pleased with the end result.
Posted In create, graphics, shameless plug
photo: James Adams
It’s hard to believe that it’s almost been a year since the last Alt Summit! My experience last January can only be described as life changing in the best possible way. I met so many amazing people, networked with the best of the best, and had gads of fun all in three short days. The only thing I can even compare it to is Design Blog Summer Camp, I didn’t want to leave!
And at this time next week I’ll be on my way to Salt Lake City once again! This year they’ve expanded the summit to include five days of discussions, round tables, networking, and parties. There’s even a chance to hit up Sundance, ski, or thrift around the city.
I’ll be speaking on the Striking a Balance: Balancing Social Media and Your Day Job panel Friday with three lovely ladies who I have the utmost respect for – Jaime Derringer of Design Milk, Kirsten Grove of Simply Grove, and Suann Song of Simplesong. If our prep meetings give any hint of how the conversation will go on the panel, well, it’s going to be fantastic. We even have a few surprises up or sleeve for those of you who plan on attending our session! You can check out the entire list of speakers and schedule here. Hope to see you next week!
PS: I threw together a little wardrobe planner/packing list for myself and decided to share after a few people asked for it. You can download your own here.
Posted In create, shameless plug, travel
+ I love these DIY flower bulb favors.
+ Yesterday I shared some out of the ordinary wedding rings over on Oh, hello friend.
+ I also answered a few questions for Annie at Poetic + Chic.
+ More Halloween cards + invitations.
+ I’ve been wanting to paint some Mason jars, so this DIY is perfect timing!
+ Sad I didn’t think of this idea when I moved into my first apartment.
+ Every designer, actually every human, needs to read these words from Milton Glaser.
+ Wowed by these courtroom sketches.
+ Web designers rejoice and meet the Gridulator!
+ I can’t wait to pick up a copy of Baked’s second cookbook.
+ WANT: these Maple Candied Apples in my face.
+ One more reason I need to my ass to NYC: FoodParc.
+ Did you know you can visit illustrator Edward Gorey’s house?
+ Looking for a reason to make + wear a fall leaf mask.
+ New garb for your desktop 1, 2
A new site design and a move to WordPress. What else would a girl like me do over the summer?
After wanting a redesign for the past few years and getting nowhere with it myself (Why didn’t anyone tell me how hard it is to design for yourself?!) I decided to turn it over to some willing and able hands. I’ve had the pleasure of working with some ultra-talented locals – Cooper Multimedia on the site, along with And Kathleen on the new logo – to make it all come together over the past few months. They’ve helped make this transition incredibly exciting and painless. It probably doesn’t hurt that they’re my actual friends! There will also be a few new features being added over the next few weeks.
I’m sure there will be a bug or two to get worked out, but I hope you’ll take a look around. The Categories and Archives bars are collapsible, there’s search capability to make it easier to find that specific something, and all of my favorite blogs are listed under on the Links page. There’s even a little bit about me and some information on becoming a sponsor.
Cheers,
Kelly
