Word Up! Wednesday

The Junkie and I have been on the outs this week. Nothing serious, I’m just regrettably behind on my posting.  I thought I’d better explain why and share a little enthusiastic “howdy” with an 80s-lovin’ Word Up! Wednesday. (If you’re over 45 or under 30, please consult your nearest UrbanDictionary.com for a translation.)

Did I mention that I love my day job? I do. Over the years I’ve had the opportunity to do lots of really fun things with the added bonus of being able to draw, write and play on the computer every day. It’s a tad more complicated than that, but you get my drift. The Queen has given me lots of leeway to explore many hair-brained ideas, and the last few weeks are a prime example. I am so excited that the evolution of our company marketing has given me the chance to start up some new work-related writing projects in conjunction with our new website design. In short, I am now authoring a company blog for Dux D’Lux Advertising called Quack! as well as a bi-weekly ezine called Quick Quack! Nifty. Holy Brain-Overloadus, Twatman! I’m also tweeting for the company and managing our Facebook fan page and group to build up our “social media presence.” Double nifty.

In addition, we are gearing up for the launch of our new website on Monday, July 20th — incidentally coinciding with the anniversary of the Apollo moon landing. The metaphor of the level of complication involved in this “launch” is not lost on me considering the 6537 hours I’ve spent obsessing about this newest iteration of the Dux website!

So, that’s the Word Up!  My thoughts and keyboard have been otherwise entangled of late, but I can’t wait to flesh out some of the ideas I have simmering just below the surface. You’ll be the first to know, Junksters.

I leave you with some screen shots of what’s been monopolizing my thoughts. We’re hosting a Website Preview Party facilitated by Facebook Guy tomorrow. I hope you’ll take a minute to click over to our fan page and cop a comment on what you see!

Tues Ten 062309: Junkspiration Blogs

For this week’s Tuesday Ten Twelve, I’m highlighting design, style, crafting and generally pretty blogs that I’ve been reading this month. These great sources of junkspiration are also very selfless blogs, often highlighting the wonderful work of other artists. Because many of them update several times a day, they’ve been like mini-vacations when I need a little creative jump-start. Please go check them out if you’re window shopping for ideas.

[What's up with the 12, you ask? Well, 10 made the last square dangle down there all by itself, and you know how that makes me crazy :) ]

1. A Field Journal
2.  S.HOPtalk
3. Creature Comforts
4. Sara Jane
5. How About Orange
6. Oh Happy Day (Jordan Ferney)
7. Modish
8. The Bright Side Project ~ This one is completely dedicated to offering a great give-away each day from those committed to helping us look on the well-designed bright side!
9. Oh Joy!
10. The Blah, Blah Blahg
11. Melissa Loves
12. Love. Obsess. Inspire.

Tues Ten 042109: Creative Inspiration

This week, I give you link love for ten creativity-inspiring websites. I can and regularly do eat these up with a spoon with chocolate sprinkles on top.  Enjoy:

1. Creature Comforts – for the design-loving, awe-inspired, cut-and-pasted style maven within
2. A Field Journal – for the old-fashioned, craft-loving, compulsively-artsy, hand-making bookmaker within
3. Sarah Jane Studios – for the love-me-some-baby-boys-and-girls, kiss-on-em-all-day, coloring-book speedster within
4. Oh Happy Day – for the vintage-inspired, rubber-stamped, lace-trimmed woman of letters within
5. Gaping Void – for the snarky, incessant-doodling man-about-town within
6. Small Magazine – for the still-plays-with-toys, bangle-wearing, giant window shopper within
7. Poetic Home – for the upcycling, place-for-everything, “reads” Anthropologie junk-yard dog within
8. bumblebird – for the needling-wielding, felted and embroidered girlie-girl within
9. Everyday Design – for the typography-seeking, pop-culture noshin, grocery-aisle-gazing design student within
10. Inspire Me Thursday – for the perpetually challenged, 1000-words-worth creative juicer within

Junkspiration: First Day of Spring

The first day of Spring.  It’s official, at least by the calendar’s estimation.  And, the few flirtations with warm weather we’ve had here in Mississippi assure me that soon the weatherman may not be too far out of the loop on the change of seasons.  Spring brings an inescapable feeling of newness.  As the earth reawakens and brown blades and bark give way to green, I find my spirit renewing as well.  Just the introduction of a little more color in the landscape makes me crave more. New life is inspiring.

So, aside from the calendar and temperatures above 60, what’s inspiring me to think Spring these days? Try this Junkspiration collage of ten on for size–purchases, old favorites, colors, designs.

1.  I bought these placemats at Wal-Mart because I loved the colors and chunky woven texture.  We’ve taken a break from placemats for a while, so when I put them on the table everyone was excited (yes, placemats and toddlers can co-exist). They brought my rustic table made from old rescued floorboards to a whole new level.  Spring green, and turquoise, with a touch of red, orange and chocolate.  I’m sure those colors will show up in some design work over the next few months.

2. Bodoni Ornaments–my favorite font of old-style printer’s ornaments.  They are a wonderful design punctuation.

3.  Charlotte’s Web, E.B. White’s tale of a Spring pig and his eight-legged friend, was first published in 1952.  I was prompted to pull out my 1973 ragged paperback copy after several viewings of the stunning movie version featuring Julia Roberts as Charlotte that we bought my gifts for Valentine’s Day.  Garth Williams’ illustrations are timeless and I love that the turquoise dye on the page ends still hasn’t worn off. White’s story is aptly capped off by this statement:

“It is not often that someone comes along who is a true friend and a good writer. Charlotte was both.”

4.  Vladimir Script–a lovely calligraphic font that’s not too frilly

5.  I love this guy!  He’s the bumblebee that came to Frog and Miss Mouse’s nuptials with “a banjo buckled on his knee” inspiring a “nimble flea to dance a jig.”  Feodor Rojankovky provided the picture for John Langstaff’s Frog Went A-Courtin’ which one a Caldecott Medal in 1955.  Nothing like a Spring wedding!  And, Little Drummer Boy especially likes it when I sing a few bars after the reading is done.

6.  From Robert Frost’s account of the season’s rite of passage “Putting in the Seed”:

You come to fetch me from my work tonight
When supper’s on the table, and we’ll see
If I can leave off burying the white
Soft petals fallen from the apple tree
(Soft petals, yes, but not so barren quite,
Mingled with these, smooth bean and wrinkled pea),
And go along with you ere you lose sight
Of what you came for and become like me,
Slave to a springtime passion for the earth.
How Love burns through the Putting in the Seed
On through the watching for that early birth
When, just as the soil tarnishes with weed,
The sturdy seedling with arched body comes
Shouldering its way and shedding the earth crumbs.

7. Fine floral engraving from a book of reproducible versions we have at work.  The drawings from a multitude of disciplines are an endless source of wonder.

8. This nest and a single egg was a logo development rejection for one of my financial company clients a few year’s ago (the nestegg gave way to an illustration of her trademark dog breed), but I’ve always loved it.  The nest is more alive with three eggs of “robin’s egg” hue.

9. A lovely hyacinth blossom from the recycled gray-brown pot of bulbs I also purchased on my spring-inspired Wal-Mart jaunt.  Vibrant with a multi-colored cloth belt from my college years tied around it. It’s purple and sweet smell are the unmistakable cues of Spring.

10. Cotton pastel pink and turquoise and chocolate dots for my Baby Girl pea pot soft spot–her first Spring in a continuous string of firsts.

Welcome, Spring! God’s yearly reminder of life and growth and creativity is here again!

Widget Storm

Warning. Obsessive tendency alert.  A couple of weeks ago, I wrote about some updates and posts I’ve been thinking about for eyeJunkie — sweeping out the ol’ cobweb.  I’m toying around with a few changes and additions to my sidebars, wanting to update some widgets, add photo galleries and generally reorganize.  And, I’m unsettled.  Yes, my irrational, this-is-my-site-and-therefore-a-picture-of-me-as-a-person mentality and my obsessive all-must-follow-the-clever-concept creative process have joined forces with my little compulsive, cluttered-space-breeds-a-cluttered-mind and there-are-too-many-letters-flying-around streak.  Uh-oh.  The result is total brain chaos and the ensuing indecision.  It’s no big deal, really.  I’m used to it.  I do it every time I have a design (or otherwise creative) problem to resolve.  It’s just part of my process–the insomniac phase where I can’t rest until I get at least a couple of fingers around which direction I want to head.  Then, I’m a creativity flowing fool.

I apologize in advance for making you a part of the process, but sometimes a sheet of paper with words and lists and doodles all over it just needs a different venue.  So, here’s my widget ’storm–a partial brainstormed list of words and phrases related to my sight and vision concept.  I’m thinking at least some of these will find their way into my sidebar revamps, et al.

attention span
needs attention
starved for attention
attention getter
eyesight
insight 
sneak peek
private eye
looking glass
sight line
eye openers
eyelet
eye shadow
bird’s eye view
share the view
view
sight
see
look
have a look-see
hindsight
foresight
viewfinder
re-view
room with a view
eyes wide open
eye candy
eye wash
view point
eye opening
over-view
peek a boo
seen
be seen
see and be seen
sight words