Last week, I threw a Friendsgiving party for me + my girlfriends from Seattle. It has become our annual tradition since moving to LA, but this year I teamed up with Tiny Prints to make it even more magical. Head on over to their blog to see my full recap, photos and details of the event!
[Photos by Yael Nov Photography]
11-17-14
Friendsgiving
11-17-14
8-6-14
Room Inspiration
8-6-14
I have been L O V I N G blue and coral hues lately, and decided it was time for a room update. It is a work in progress, inspired some what by the beach, water colors and this Starbucks packaging:
I love the blues, soft brush stroke, and hint of a accent color. I started off my room with a grey and white comforter from IKEA and let the rest take shape. Check out my inspiration below. I’m still trying to decide what to put on my walls. What do you think, any suggestions?
I’m obsessed with this color palette. I recently went to Home Depot to grab some of their paint swatches just to see what I could make with them.
[Images: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8]
5-23-14
Font Friday 5.6
5-23-14
5-15-14
The Art of Blending
5-15-14
Recently, I was invited to Art of Tea, an LA based tea company that creates and blends their own custom tea. Their products are organic, fair trade, and sourced directly from the growers. We got a tour of the facility + warehouse, did a tea tasting, and concluded with getting to blend our own teas. As an avid tea drinker myself, it was so interesting to learn all about this awesome company, and the many benefits that tea possesses.
The set up
Steve, the founder, and master tea blender, giving us a demonstration on blending custom tea.
How beautiful is this tea!
The six teas that we tasted, varying from white, green and oolong.
Steve’s custom blend
My custom tea blend: earl grey, pacific mint, coconut nibs, cornflower. Looks like Seattle in a bowl!
Another blogger’s blend
At the end, we tasted our tea, named it, and bagged the left overs to take home. Because mine was blue + green, with a strong, fresh mint taste, I named my blend Seattle Rain.
Thanks again to Art of Tea for inviting me to participate in this awesome event. Their tea is top notch, unique and oh so flavorful. I’m definitely savoring my special Seattle Rain blend!
4-10-14
Cupcakes + Parties
4-10-14
Very exciting news for any of you that live in Los Angeles: Trophy Cupcakes is coming to the Beverly Hills Williams-Sonoma this Saturday, April 12 at 1 pm for a book signing and cupcake demo. To top it off, Kelly, from Studio DIY will be there as well, working her crafty magic. If you are in the area, totally come check out this event. Trophy Cupcakes is based in Seattle and happens to be one of my favorite cupcake spots! Nothing better than a taste of my hometown Seattle in southern California! The founder, Jennifer Shea, has written an awesome book devoted to cupcakes + parties, appropriately titled Trophy Cupcakes & Parties. What could be better!? If you can’t make it to the event this weekend, you can order her book online as well! Check out some of the gorgeous photos from the book below.
Yum! Be sure to check out Kelly’s blog for more information and to RSVP and if you’re in the area this Saturday come check out this tasty event!
[All photos supplied by Trophy Cupcakes from the book Trophy Cupcakes & Parties. Thank you Jennifer!]
3-13-14
Journey of a Dress
3-13-14
This weekend, I visited the Diane von Furstenberg Journey of a Dress exhibit at LACMA. It was…amazing, inspiring, colorful and full of life. If you are in the LA area, it is a MUST see. Check out some of the awesome photos below. The prints were unreal, and the space is absolutely so well done.
3-3-14
Oscar Dress Infographic
3-3-14
Some of you may have seen this floating around, and I just can’t get over how well done it is. It is a drawing of every dress worn by a Best Actress Academy Award winner. Interesting to see how dresses have evolved. I don’t know about you guys, but I LOVED the show last night, and Ellen may be my new favorite individual.
2-28-14
Font Friday 4.7 / Oscars 2014
2-28-14
This week, I had the privilege of attending The 2014 Oscars Winner Envelope preview party hosted by Marc Friedland Couture Communications. In the last few years, the creation of the award envelope has become a work of art, and quite a big deal. Updated in 2011, Marc Friedland has revolutionized the look and feel of the Oscar awards. (Check out this USA Today article here for a more information about the new envelopes/awards.) Attending the event with my good friend Troy of Simply Troy, we got to see a first hand look at the creation of the most famous envelope in preparation for this Sunday’s Oscars!
[This week’s font Friday is dedicated to the award show. Download this font, Born, here]
Three envelopes are made for each nominee in every category. After the winner is announced, all other envelopes are destroyed, other than the one given to the winner. Pretty special!
Mock-up of what the winning card and envelope look like. The envelope weighs about 1/4 pound and is about 1/8″ thick. It makes quite an impact.
Delicious desserts, bits and drinks filled the room. (The party was sponsored by Ciroc and Beverly Hills 90H20).
Me with Marc Friedland, the creative genius behind the Oscar envelope, and many other brilliant stationery designs.
2-18-14
Featuring: A Pair of Pears
2-18-14
Sometimes, I come across a site that immediately inspires me. I want to see and read everything they have to say. That happened when I found A Pair of Pears. The pair of designers behind this awesome blog is a creative couple who shares fun finds, inspiration and their work (which is really good). I picked Jamie’s brain about what makes their blog tick.
1. What made you decide to go into a creative field?
Ever since I was little I have loved art. So I never really questioned what I wanted to do when I grew up. It was kind of a natural progression from coloring in coloring books to designing paper goods for our shop.
2. Explain what your blog is about and your inspiration behind it.
We started our blog the day we got engaged 5 year ago. At the time we were in college and far away from both of our families, so its main purpose was to keep our family updated on things we were doing. After we got married and moved to LA, it was still a place for us to keep our family up to date, but we started really loving blogging in general and began sharing more of our work and inspiration. When I really think about it sometimes it’s kind of weird sharing our life with complete strangers. But at the same time a lot of these strangers are now friends. Friends that are encouraging, and supporting.
3. You do hand lettering. What is your process in creating your prints?
All of our prints start because they are something we want to have for ourselves. For instance we created the tandem bike print in our shop because we love tandem bikes. We rode a tandem bike around Mackinac Island on our honeymoon and since then we rent one every time we go on vacation. So we designed the print for ourselves and then put in our shop too.
Once we have the idea I usually start with a good ol’ #2 pencil a paper. I’ll just start by sketching out different lettering styles and layouts. Once I have something I like, I start refining it until I’m happy with it. At this point I take it into Photoshop and really start getting into the details and colors. My favorite part is taking it to the printer and seeing it printed out on paper. It’s really satisfying to see something go from sketch to screen and then to a beautiful finished piece of art. I don’t think that will ever get old.
4. What do you do when you are having a creative block?
I stop whatever I’m doing ASAP! If I don’t stop, I tend to get really upset and frustrated — and that just causes more problems. So I’ve learned the best thing to do is take a walk, watch some TV, (preferably Parks & Recreation or Sherlock) or just take some cuddle time with my pup. Usually when I make myself stop thinking about what I’m working on for a bit I can come back refreshed and try again and usually get somewhere.
5. What is your life motto?
Be intentional.
6. Favorite app on your computer/phone?
Printic! I just discovered it a few weeks ago and only because they emailed me asking if I wanted to try out their app. The branding is so beautiful and I just can’t get enough of the cute little Polaroid prints.
7. How do you stay organized?
Ha! Well I TRY to stay organized. But let’s be honest: it doesn’t happen all the time. Usually my apartment gets neglected so I can keep A Pair of Pears organized. When I get a project I schedule it out so I know what and when I need to do everything. For that, I usually use Google Calendar. I have different colors that I use for different categories: blog post, personal projects, client work all that goes on there. That seems to do the trick.
Be sure to check out A Pair of Pears, and all of their awesome hand lettering and design. Seriously good stuff!
Be sure to check out A Pair of Pears, and all of their awesome hand lettering and design. Seriously good stuff![Special thanks to Jamie from A Pair of Pears for all of the photos]
1-9-14
December in Review
1-9-14
I think each month starts to go by faster and faster. Here’s a quick recap of my December. It consisted of lots of holiday celebrations, family time and cookie decorating, with UniqueLA, a trip to the PacNW and a fun cocktail photo shoot thrown in! Hope your first full week of 2014 is off to a great start!
