color: bluesy

I have been searching for a good blue color palette recently. Who would have thought that I would find such enticing colors in Target's 2010 back to college selection!?

these colors would be so pretty on a new floral pattern wouldn't they??? as you can see they look so calming together. Maybe the blue could be the main background color with the yellow green as a minimal accent. Now to find a flower to sketch that would look pretty with these colors. Any suggestions?

I will see what I can come up with for Friday!
~erin

Inspired: by Print & Pattern book

Can I register for books on Amazon for my wedding???? An amazing book by a blogger I follow is now being sold in the US..... and I would like to own it:)

Here is the link to buy it! Print & Pattern by Bowie Style
and here is the link to the blog: Print & Pattern

From what I can see in the few page views she has posted, this book is filled with tons of inspiration. There are so many talented artists out there and this book gives credit to some of the best. It is great how it shows how the patterns are applied to different products around the world.

I think I need to update my resource library at home. There are so many amazing books out there that have been published to inspire. Sometimes I get held up in the online world and forget about the benefits of the good ol fashioned book. If anyone else has any other suggestions of good design/color/pattern books I should add to my book shelves let me know!

off to find some pretty colors to share with you!
~erin

Color: dining room colors?

I have had the worst itch (like the itch of a new mosquito bite.... constant and pestering) to repaint my dining room. Currently it is a dark marroon. It is a fairly small room to begin with and the dark color does it no favors. A new dining room table is on my wish list as well of course. So to take a break from the wedding mayhem and from working on my personal website.... i decided to look into some good color combination possibilities for new paint in the dining room.

I have lots of different wood tones that the color needs to coordinate with so i am thinking something fairly neutral but a little modern with maybe a pop of color in the accessories (can you tell i watch HGTV alot???)

These are some color combinations that i really like.
The first one is from Behr paint's website. They have fabulous color ideas and inspiration on there that can translate to just about anything! it is great.

This next one i just found online but am in love with how the beams on the ceiling are painted! what a great way to bring in a little more color... too bad i can't add beams to my ceiling.

and finally these last two images are from West Elm. This company does such a great job using neutral colors in a very trendy yet classic way. LOVE LOVE LOVE

I might have to splurge and buy myself some of these bird plates!
my winter project this year will be painting my dining room.... if i can stand the itch and wait that long... might happen sooner :)  for now i will gather color ideas for it.

back tomorrow!
~erin

Inspired: by wood grains

Have you noticed all of the 'wood grain' all over desktop and stationery items lately? no I am not talking about your big oak desk your computer sits on.....

As I am looking into more eco friendly materials for a 'possible' new product line at my job, I am noticing the very awesome ways that other people are using the texture on paper products.

Some of the best 'wood grain' texture art can be found at the modern yet folksy Night Owl Paper Goods. Their products boast eco friendliness to the extreme.
AND they even have actual wood greeting cards. How cute is this one with dahlias on it!

  At my weekly Target visit today I browsed through the stationery aisle and what do my wandering eyes spy..... a set of note cards with wood grain texture. These ones even have an envelope with a wood grain printed on it to match. I really like how leaves pop on the darker shade. The two tones look great because they are balanced ... not too much dark, not too much light.

I have something colorful to show you on wednesday... so check it out!
~erin

Inspired: by MN lakes

OH how I desire to be on a lake ALL THE TIME during the summer. Nothing can beat the sound of the waves on the shore and the loons calling to eachother from across the lake.

As you can tell I have a little itch to hide away at a resort for AT LEAST a couple days. It was such a tease to spend time for my sister's bachelorette party on lake pokegamon (not sure on that spelling but i decided it should just be called lake pokemon). The log cabin we stayed in was built over a year ago and it still had that piney/cedar smell lingering mmmmm.

So after some searching for beautiful lake resorts in MN... and finding WAY too many that seemed perfect... I decided this one is where you would find me. Grand View Lodge on Gull Lake. I will be sitting on the 3rd adirondack chair on the beach sipping a glass of wine and reading my book.

Not only is being by a lake totally relaxing but it is oh so inspiring to be around all of that nature! All of the textures, colors, and sounds make all of my senses come alive.

anyone want to go with me? hint hint fiancé of mine!
Everyone, find the time to enjoy the MN lakes this summer!
~erin

Project: my wedding invitations...

Wow busy friday for me! I have been running around all day today.... very productive but boy is it good to just sit in front of my computer for a little bit. Among the garage sale rummaging, iced latte sipping and grocery shopping I have had wedding invitations on my brain!

Now I know you all are dying to see what I have up my creative sleeves for the design of my invitations but I really want it to be a surprise! So instead I am going to share a few websites that have REALLY inspired different aspects of what I am coming up with.

Emmy Lu Designs :

Most of this oh so talented company are a little too simple for my taste but they have a amazing sense for good type/information layout. They really know how to pull out just the right information and let the other text be subordinate. I love this layout.....

April Ink:

This stationery boutique has the most unique invitation layouts i have seen! I love the use of type and image AND COLOR!!!! All of the pieces coordinate so well but aren't too similar.... each a piece of artwork in its own. If I wasn't a designer and artist myself I would totally trust Shannon to design for my wedding. Her RSVP layouts are great... especially the one for this package.

There are so many artistic creators out there...... maybe after I post my invitations (probably after my wedding this fall) you all will want me to design yours too!

oh and ps. I will try to not let my next week's project posting be revolving around wedding stuff.... not everyone is in ooo la la wedding land like me :)

we will see what inspires me at the lake this weekend! check back monday
~erin

Color: Gray and lemon

Well, yet another rainy day here in MN. So my mood seems to be latched onto the dreary color combination that I have been finding totally intriguing for the past few months. I can't seem to get enough gray.

You may be thinking.... blah gray who would want to wear anything or decorate anything with such a boring color. Well think twice and take a look at all the wonderful shades and values of grays there are out there! Gray is the new black?! :)

My Anthropologie catalog came in the mail a few days ago and as I was flipping through I came across this great duvet comforter! Just so you know I 'dog earred' the page and it has gone onto my wish list. The warm gray is paired with light wheat colored yellow accents. While browsing their website (bad idea for a girl on a strict wedding budget) i found this adorable oh-so-comfy looking dress.

I promise you this is not that last time you will read a blog post about how up and coming gray is!
Check back friday to see my creativeness for the week.
~erin

Inspired: by Paperwink

After a well needed LONG weekend of relaxing and visiting with family and friends I am preparing mentally to go back to work tomorrow. Yes, I have one more day off and besides loving picnicking on the beach with my fiance, I am totally inspired today by this adorable stationery boutique in CA. Paperwink.

Paperwink's journals were featured in Real Simple magazine. As I was sitting chatting with my mom and her sisters on the fourth, I couldn't help but imagine what it would be like to have my own little creative stationery company like Tara and Darcey do. Oh the beautiful products I would come up with :)

How great is their patterned masking tape! Sunshiny yellow and orange stacked and held together with a ribbon! This tape would sure make my broken back screen door look much cuter then the patchy packing tape now holding the bottom of the screen in tact.

I think the use of the black and white frame on this journal is a great compliment to the teal of the cover. Add a little color to your desk yet keep it professional looking with the black and white accent. Then to marry the two colors together in this calling card is fabulous! Very summery combination of buttery yellow and teal.

Check out Paperwink! Maybe their simple designs will inspire you like it inspired me.
~erin

Project: Perpetual Calendar

Well my morning has already gotten away from me and it is only 10:30 am! The warm sunshine and nice breeze this morning was calling me to be unproductive and take a nice long walk with the dogs instead. So I did.


This afternoon will be time to whittle away at the perpetual calendar assignment for Gina B. Designs. I currently have 2 perpetual calendars in their line already that sell wonderfully!.... so why not add a third.
I layed out all of my patterns so far that would create a good mixture of colors and types of florals. Below is what I came up with (top left is January and goes left to right by row ending in the bottom right being December. The next step will be to take these patterns and format them into the page layouts for each month.

For those of you who don't know what a perpetual calendar is (as I did not previous to my first design)... the purpose is to record birthdays and anniversaries all in one place. It is perpetual because it is not dated. Each month has blank lines numbered with the date next to it and then you just hang it somewhere where you can reference it.
This is the calendar I designed last year! Aren't the birds cute!

Anyway this new calendar I am working on today will be for sale in a month so check back to Gina B. Design's website and get one for yourself! Be Organized!
Check back with me on Monday after a fun inspiring 4th of July weekend! Have a safe holdiay everyone.
~erin