simple + me

kidney drop earrings

2010-04-17T09:55:00.004-04:00

Crystal Kidney Drop Earrings and Crystal Sun kidney drop earrings that are featured in my Etsy shop.

tape it!

2010-04-16T08:46:00.002-04:00

Wouldn't this patterned rice paper tape be perfect for wrapping gifts, decorating paper lunch bags and sealing envelopes? I love that it's not the typical masking tape, it's a semi-transparent japanese rice paper designed by Kamoi Kakoshi. ('mt' brand). You can see all the beautiful colors here and here.

stamped paper bags

2010-03-28T22:18:00.003-04:00

I found these small kraft bags today at Micheals that are perfect to put my earrings in when someone purchases a pair. I hand stamped the bags with white and bronze ink to spice them up a bit. I'm really happy with how they turned out.

Etsy shop is open!

2010-03-27T18:28:00.008-04:00

I've been a mad woman lately trying to get my Etsy shop up (making jewelry is the easy part!). I am happy to announce though that the
simple + me shop is officially open. I will be adding items regularly so make sure to check back and see what new things I have for sale.

profiled.

2010-03-15T12:24:00.002-04:00

Silhouettes are quite the trend right now but they are so modern and fun and easy to trace. I'm going to print and frame these ones and give them to my cousins for their birthday or Christmas this year.

Granola Bar Recipe

2010-02-18T18:03:00.004-05:00

Tonight is a big night. I have a double header in soccer plus it's our last night of the season! I couldn't resist making granola bars so I had my mom send down a recipe. She used to make these all the time when playing sports is high school, tasting them brought back so many memories.

GRANOLA BARS
1 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup white sugar
1/2 cup butter
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
2 Tbsp honey
1 tsp cinnamon
1 cup flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups Rice Krispies
1 cup chocolate chips
1/2 cup wheat germ

Cream sugars and butter. Mix thoroughly with egg, vanilla and honey. Add rest of ingredients. Press into 9x13 pan. Bake at 350 for 25 minutes.

Lollipops anyone?

2010-02-14T10:25:00.003-05:00

Check out Julia Chiangs work made from melted lollipops. Oh and Happy Valentines Day!

L Letterpress

2010-02-09T23:20:00.004-05:00

Oh my gosh! My night ... week ... month has officially been made! I was just getting ready for bed, catching up on my Google reader and there it was. Black Eiffle posted about the L Letterpress. It's a portable letterpress machine!!!! I've dreamed about the days of letterpressing my very own cards and personalized invitations. I definitely want one of these.

neon love

2010-02-07T12:16:00.002-05:00

{via ffffound}

Happy Weekend!

2010-02-05T19:17:00.003-05:00

I love it when I laugh so hard that I can't stop and my eyes start to water and my stomach begins to hurt. See more of Darwin's pals here.

Sewing 101

2010-02-02T21:48:00.002-05:00

I took Sewing 101 tonight at JoAnn Fabrics. I first learned how to sew in Home Ec class back in 7th grade and it's been years since I have sewn anything so it was time to freshen up my skills. Plus I've been dying to try my hand at quilting and I need to start somewhere.

So tonight we learned the basics about sewing and the how-to's of the sewing machine and then we got to make a pillow case. I have to say, mine didn't turn out half bad and it was so simple to make! You can find detailed instructions here.

P.S. Want to know a little secret about taking classes at JoAnn's? Once a month they run a promotion where all the classes are 1/2 off when you pre-register. So ask a sales associate what day that is and you can save big!

this holiday season remember to

2009-12-16T14:11:00.005-05:00

Something for everyone to think about this holiday season when you're sipping on wine and attending all your holiday parties. (Some fantastic printing to drool over too)

[Purchase poster here]

holiday card preview

2009-12-09T12:24:00.002-05:00

Some cards that I've been making.

home sweet home

2009-12-09T12:02:00.003-05:00

I am finally feeling all settled into my new apartment. It's quite charming and all decorated for the holidays. Living in Eastown is a great change of scenery.

holiday collection

2009-11-11T16:58:00.003-05:00

One of these years I am going to launch a holiday card collection. Just you wait. I'm loving this minimalist set by Blue Pool Road that I spotted over at simple + pretty.

I always have these big ideas and a huge list of projects that I want to do but a lot of them never even surface. I'm also great at starting projects and then never finishing them and then I don't ever have the heart to throw the incomplete ones away so they sit in a bag in hopes that one day they'll be finished.

gwen frostic

2009-11-10T18:58:00.007-05:00

Look, look, look! Anthropologie is now selling note cards and books of poetry by artist Gwen Frostic. I am so ecited to stumble upon this. I grew up going to Gwen Frostic's shop in Benzonia, MI and always loved her art. Frostic's woodcuts are inspired from the nature around her Northern Michigan studio.

my new toy

2009-11-04T22:28:00.004-05:00

My Diana F+ camera arrived today! I'm so excited to play with it. I first have to get film though and read the instruction manual...I have no clue how to use it. If you're not familiar with lomography check out this article and see examples of the style of photographs that it takes.

my halloween mask

2009-11-01T22:37:00.003-05:00

happy halloween

2009-10-31T10:42:00.005-04:00

Happy Halloween everyone!

Last night I had a few friends over and we made masquerade masks for our halloween costume. If you haven't decorated a mask before this is something that you have to do. I started with this gold mask from Hobby Lobby and spray painted it black. Once the mask dried I covered it with glue and sprinkled it with black jewel glitter. Then while that was drying, I hot glued a cluster of feathers together and glued them to the mask. And Tah-Dah, my mask is created.

more earrings

2009-10-25T21:28:00.002-04:00

Here are a few more earrings that I made. I really, really need to get my etsy shop back up and running so I can start selling my stuff. It's such a chore to upload everything that I keep putting it off.

xpedx paper show invite

2009-10-25T20:43:00.005-04:00

Here's a sample of the invite, chocolate favors and drink ticket that I designed for the annual xpedx paper show.

wicker chair revamped

2009-10-20T18:30:00.003-04:00

One of my favorite things to do is find furniture on the side of the road (or at garage sales) and then give new life to it. I conveniently nabbed this wicker chair from across the street and put 2 cans of black spray paint to it. It still could use another coat and a nice bright cushion but that will have to wait until I find out if I have to move yet or not. I found out on Saturday that we may have to be out of our house in 30 days, I will know more in a week. I love everything about my apartment and really don't want to move!

the winner is Ran Ortner

2009-10-09T19:29:00.010-04:00

With all the positivity and energy that ArtPrize has brought to the city of Grand Rapids I hope to see this event take place year after year. Thursday night I went to the closing cerebration to hear the winner's announcement. They had an amazing performance by a shadow dance troupe and bollywood dancers before the big announcement. Mrs. DeVos also made a really good point about how much this event has impacted the children in our community. I never even though about the children until then and how ArtPrize has influenced and inspired thousands of kids. That alone is a pretty amazing thing.

The shots above is the Open Water oil painting that took home the $250,000 by artist Ran Ortner.

daily decorative intials

2009-10-04T21:50:00.003-04:00

Have you been following the Daily Drop Cap? Typographer and Illustrator, Jessica Hische has been creating a new decorative initial cap each day.

Top 10 Finalists Announced

2009-10-02T12:11:00.004-04:00

It's been an exciting week for Grand Rapids. There's been a lot of art to see, I still haven't seen it all but it is now narrowed down to the Top 10 artists. You can see a complete list of the finalists here.

[Collage courtesy of The Grand Rapids Press File Photo]

ArtPrize: Day 7

2009-09-29T20:56:00.003-04:00

Tonight I made my way to WMCAT, you can't miss the giant 42 ft. Gray Whale made out of clay and wood. Another favorite was Armin Mersmann's portraits done with graphite. The detail that he was able to portray was impeccable.

Shay Church: Gray Whale

a closer look

2009-09-28T23:48:00.007-04:00

At artist Eric Daigh.
When you get up close to really look at these portraits you'll see the incredible arrangement of push-pins. It's pretty remarkable. You can learn more about Eric here at his website and vote for him at ArtPrize here. (him and his family also live up in Traverse City which makes me happy)

My good friend Candace.

ArtPrize: Day 6

2009-09-28T22:29:00.007-04:00

If you haven't been to the Old Federal Building yet where the old art museum was, you have got to check it out. It's a definite must-see. Plus since it's suppose to rain the next few days it's a perfect indoor activity to do.

Here are some of my favorites with links to each artists ArtPrize bio. That way you can learn more about the artwork. Heidi Van Weiren medium is Elmer's glue and ink on wood panel. It's pretty incredible that her medium is glue. And look closely at J. Thomas Pallas work because it's a custom Air Jordan stamp that is inked on the drywall to make up the portrait. Eric Daigh's portraits are all made up from push-pins.

Jerry Gretzinger: The Gretzinger Map

Heidi Van Wieren: Badlands 00101

J. Thomas Pallas: Jordan

Eric Daigh: Push Pin Portraits

Mari-Megan Moore: Organismal Constellation

Nadine Saylor: 10,000 Breaths

Stephen Duren: Painting and Painting

ArtPrize: Day 5

2009-09-27T20:13:00.003-04:00

Well, I didn't partake in any ArtPrize festivities yesterday but I am all registered and voting now. FINALLY! I've been tallying in all my "thumb-ups" online since I don't have unlimited text messaging on my phone.
This afternoon we walked downtown for the Rob Bliss, 10o,000 Paper Planes and Melodies Over Monroe and I have to say I was quite disappointed in the preformance. It was definitely hyped up and it doesn't deserve to win ArtPrize. With 100,000 paper planes I envisioned when I would look up to the sky there would just be hundreds of airplanes flying up above, gliding to the music. Instead you could barely hear the music and the airplanes would get dumped off the edge in groups with long drawn out pauses between. The highlight of the event for me was the unbelieveable crowd and the energy of all the people downtown. I think everyone has to agree that it is pretty amazing how Rob Bliss can oraganize a single event and draw that many people to it.

ArtPrize: Day 3

2009-09-26T13:12:00.004-04:00

I just can't seem to get enough of ArtPrize! I just love all the energy that it brings to the city. The biggest excitement of the night was when we were all done for the evening we decided to go to Mixology for a cocktail and when we turned the corner inside the JW we finally discovered where the big Red Ball was after talking about it all evening. It was so fun to see. Other highlights tonight included the The Image Mill: Sustainable Cinema that's in the fountain at the Gerald R. Ford Museum and the life-like baby dolls on Monroe Center in front of Tanaz Hair Salon. It's a little creepy on how real they not only look but feel!

Kurt Perschke: Red Ball

I'm off now to go downtown to re-register to vote. Keep your fingers crossed that it will work this time!

ArtPrize: Day 2

2009-09-24T22:18:00.003-04:00

Tonight I went to the BOB where there are over 100 artists at this single venue alone. So much to see here. If you're going to this site I would suggest going at nighttime when it's dark because the glass sculpture by Jason Mack looks so much more detailed lit from the inside and then around 8-9 pm the 3-D video animation projects on the outside of the BOB. I wouldn't miss these two things.

Jason Mack @ The BOB

David Lubbers: The Grand Dance

Nessie Project

ArtPrize: Day 1

2009-09-24T21:47:00.004-04:00

ArtPrize is officially underway in Grand Rapids. If you haven't been downtown yet you have got to check it out. It's so great to see this event bring hundreds and thousands of people out to explore all the art. Here are a few of my favorites from my first night out. I started at the UICA so I could register to vote and then I checked out the S. Division gallery's and ActiveSite. If you're looking for a one-of-a-kind ArtPrize t-shirt check out ActiveSite they also have a one-of-a-kind ArtPrize beer called Catalyst that is brewed by HopCat. T-shirts are $10 and the beer is free. And if you're still thirsty afterwards head to Bar Divani for a Pantone Martini.

ActiveSite

Jason Hackenwerth and Shelly Klein @ UICA

Tanya Aguiniga

summer weekend

2009-08-17T13:29:00.003-04:00

I'm sad to see the weekend over but at least it is raining outside right now so I don't have the urge to be out there playing. Back to work it is. Most of my weekend was spent outside soaking up the sun. I rode my bike to the farmer's market Saturday morning and picked up some peaches and blueberries then went to the beach for the rest of the afternoon. The beach was so packed and it nearly took us an hour just to park and get settled in our spot! Ridiculous. (but well worth it). Afterward we went to Fricano's Pizza (i'll post about that later).

On Sunday it was so hot and muggy out so my friend and I went kayaking down the Rogue River up in Rockford. We got caught in a couple downpours but it was so refreshing. It was nice to get out of the city and be out in nature. We got to see lots of wildlife too – turtles, deer, ducks, geese. It was pretty inexpensive to rent kayaks from AAA Canoe just be prepared to wait a little. They weren't the most timely.

bedroom before + after

2009-08-11T10:05:00.007-04:00

Here is a before & after of my new bedroom paint color. I just love the soft, soothing, pale lavender color–Portland Gray. I wasn't expecting such a purple hue but I really really love it! Now that I have settled in to my apartment, I want to update and redecorate my bedroom so it's more me. Here are some things that I want to do:

buy new bed spread
get new bedside lamp, more lighting for room
find a garage sale or antique store nightstand
refinish dresser drawers and add new hardware
make or buy artwork for walls (really need something for between the two windows. Maybe a mirror?)

this makes me smile ...

2009-08-06T11:26:00.001-04:00

and gives me hope. i'm such a hopeless romantic.

{design is mine}

ink bleed calendar

2009-08-05T16:34:00.004-04:00

Check out this ink calendar by Oscar Diaz. What a great concept to measure the progression of time watching the numerals fill in with ink. Quite brilliant if you ask me.

[via design milk]

happy thoughts

2009-08-05T16:09:00.001-04:00

loving {this blog}

it's official ...

2009-08-04T22:32:00.003-04:00

I've moved! And since this seems to have become a yearly tradition, I also got a PO Box at the downtown post office. I have to admit it's quite fun to walk inside and get my mail amidst the sea of vintage boxes. (mine is #1172 out of the bunch). And check out the alphabet combination dials–love the letters!

I love, love, love my new apt. and can't wait to share pictures. My roommate and I painted my new bedroom before I moved in and now I've been in search of a new duvet cover so I will keep you posted on all the progress.

my fave: smitten with the mitten

2009-07-22T16:35:00.002-04:00

Yes, this is yet another t-shirt company making it's presence online BUT they're produced right here in Grand Rapids so that's pretty cool – Michigan Awesome. Here's some more Michigan t-shirts you should check out on Campfire.

silks screen prints

2009-07-21T11:49:00.003-04:00

beautiful hand silk screened prints by beauideal.

pretty by pistachio

2009-07-21T11:20:00.002-04:00

Aren't these flower earrings and rings just charming??? I just love the name of this UK based company too, Pretty by Pistachio.

[indie quarter]

i wish

2009-07-09T11:22:00.002-04:00

Colour Lovers

I had this many books and this much bookshelf space so I could organize them all by color!

type necklaces

2009-07-09T10:23:00.003-04:00

I just saw this post over on Mint about Jenny Lu, a jewelry designer who is launching a new line of 14K gold alphabet necklaces. I just love the delicate gold chain and off centered letter or numeral. Albeit, plans to launch this summer. Read more about it on Mint.

dangle dangle

2009-06-16T22:05:00.003-04:00

a few kidney wire earrings that I made. So far I just have gold & brass kidney wire earrings, I can't find silver kidney wire at any of my local shops. Argh! I guess I'll have to buy them online.

recap

2009-06-16T21:17:00.003-04:00

Ahhhh ... I'm back to the grind of things but I have to admit when it's so nice out it is really hard to be on my computer. Summer has officially arrived to Grand Rapids and I can't get enough of it. I even have a bit of a sunburn to prove it. I took last Friday off and headed down to Saugutuck for the Waterfront Film Festival. Saugutuck is just a short 45 minutes away but it made me feel like I was hundreds of miles away in Cape Cod. Other highlights to my weekend was going to Bizaar Bazaar in Eastown and the featured Etsy Art Market on Sunday ... and after all the fun in the sun, some friends and I got together Sunday night to watch the season premiere of True Blood. (and yes it's a graphic vampire soap opera but it's sooooo good).

oh lah lah

2009-06-11T11:37:00.003-04:00

My heart just melted over this UK bath and body line, Green + Spring. The simple cool grey type on the white opaque bottles with various color coordinated birds ... L-O-V-E.

animal friends

2009-06-08T23:01:00.002-04:00

How cute are these Jonathon Adler napkin rings!?! Just saw them over on Decor8.

anthro love

2009-06-08T19:49:00.004-04:00

Oh how I dream of the day when I will live in a city with an Anthropologie. When I can just walk out my door and in a few short minutes be surrounded with endless inspiration. Since the nearest Anthro is 2 and a 1/2 hours away I suffice to flipping though my catalogs (and never throwing them away) and rummaging online. I just love the layered type in the catalog cover above and the online page layouts are pretty hip too!

And if you haven't checked out Adobe's "Shortcut to Brilliant" make sure you do. Anthropologie's creative office is featured so you can get a behind the scenes view into the life of a Anthro designer!

my earings

2009-06-06T18:24:00.002-04:00

Lately I've been on a jewelry making kick – primarily earrings but I have made a couple necklaces and bracelets. These are some of my latest creations. I hope to sell them on Etsy.

festival

2009-06-06T18:00:00.004-04:00

I rode my bike down to festival last night and this afternoon–I love seeing all the people down there, everyone coming together for the same thing. Makes me feel like part of the community which often gets lost in the bigger city.

enough said.

2009-06-03T15:26:00.002-04:00

{via Hijirik Studio}

pies galore

2009-06-02T10:06:00.003-04:00

current screen capture from work

wish list.

2009-06-02T09:53:00.004-04:00

remember that I room I showed with the letter "e" light? you can buy large letter lights here!

happy weekend

2009-05-22T10:11:00.004-04:00

I'm going to be heading up to Traverse City for the long holiday weekend. I'm running around the apt now packing and cleaning up, then heading out to run some errands. Then my friend Janna and I are going to meet for lunch. I haven't seen her in such a long time. We actually met years ago while interning at American Greetings. It will be good to catch up. I'm thinking we'll walk down to Marie Catribs or Wealthy Street Bakery. I'm also going to ride my bike to St. Mary's Hospital to visit my friend who just had her baby, Ella Grace. I just love that name!!! So pretty. I saw this elephant print on Decor8 and thought these would look so cute hanging in a nursery with white frames. Would be a great gift idea too! Well I hope you all have a fabulous weekend!

bikes. bikes. bikes.

2009-05-21T00:43:00.003-04:00

Today Highland Group was offering free bike tune-ups if you brought your bike into work!!! What a great idea. Let me tell you, it was a marvelous scene, seeing all the bikes on the newly installed bike racks at the back of the building. And my ride home was so much more enjoyable with the wheels spinning smoothly and gears shifting soundly. ahhhhh ... so nice!

enjoyable.

2009-05-17T22:48:00.003-04:00

the highlights of my weekend were spent at the farmer's market, flea market, garage sales, the park, reading, driving range, in the kitchen making homemade pizza and strawberry shortcake ... and watching the Survivor finale. (can you believe Survivor just completed over 18 seasons = over 9 years!?!)

ride.

2009-05-12T10:26:00.006-04:00

Bike Print by den10studio

Today I rode my bike to work. Not that this is anything unusual or that but yesterday marked the beginning of Bike to Work Week (May is bike month). AND this Friday is National Bike to Work Day. So if you aren't as lucky as me to be able to ride your bike every single day try to bike on Friday! If you live in Grand Rapids here are some maps to help you make a bike route.

tulip time

2009-05-03T20:30:00.003-04:00

Today I went to Holland (michigan) for the annual Tulip Time Festival. I saw the traditional Dutch Klompen Dancers preform on the street, wooden shoes and all, and then went to the Arts & Crafts show in the park.
I bought these layered circular silver earrings from the vendor Silver Pebbles. I just love them!!! The baby and toddler clothing from K Bella Bambino really stood out from the bunch with the bright modern colors and patterns. Check out Karin's Etsy shop.

pen + ink tile

2009-05-03T20:02:00.002-04:00

I've been on a bit of a computer detox lately when I'm not at work or doing work. The weather has been so nice out that the last thing that I've been want to do is be on my computer more. A couple days ago I started doing this pen + ink duck drawing to go with the other 2 tiles that I have done.

e light

2009-04-28T11:21:00.003-04:00

Via Design is Mine

I would love to find this "e" light somewhere. I can imagine it hanging up in my nonexistent studio ... one day.

unveiled – ArtPrize

2009-04-23T09:48:00.006-04:00

I have some very exciting news to share! After much anticipation, Rick DeVos announced the $500,000 ArtPrize contest he is starting in Grand Rapids. This fall the art competition will begin with artists from across the globe competing for the cash. And who's judging this, you may ask? We are. Similar to "American Idol" the people will be able to text in their vote or vote through ArtPrize.org. Read more about the event here.

There's a lot of exciting things going on around Grand Rapids right now, especially in the arts. It's a great place to be.

wednesday inspiration

2009-04-22T13:23:00.002-04:00

prints by Yellena James. purchase via etsy.

pretty puzzle books

2009-04-20T09:30:00.005-04:00

Happy Monday all! It's a cold, rainy, dreary day here in Michigan. I so badly wanted to stay under my covers this morning and read White Oleander, play some sudoku and drink some hot tea. It's just one of those days. As many of you know I am a huge game lover, and I just nearly fell out of my chair when I discovered these Pocket Posh games this morning! How cute are they!?! I'll take one of each, please.

weekend wrap up

2009-04-19T14:18:00.010-04:00

photo by Terry Johnston

On Friday Downtown Grand Rapids turned into an art mecca with Art.Downtown. There was everything from live glass blowing at the live/work studios on Division to a multi-level student exhibition show in an old undeveloped building. I checked out the ACTIVESITE | Emerge exhibition in the old Flat Iron Building where selected undergraduate and graduate fine-art students displayed their thesis work.
Saturday morning I woke up bright and early to go to the Grand Rapids city auction. They had over 350 bikes they were auctioning off along with other confiscated items that the city and police had collected over the year. There were a couple of bikes that I was interested in but I went home empty handed.

After that I strolled Downtown with friends to participate in the the Chalk Flood that was taking over the sidewalks. Rob Bliss, a 20-year-old student is becoming a pretty popular guy around this area. He's the brains behind starting the massive pillow fight, zombie walk and now chalk flood. He got 30,000 pieces of chalk donated and an estimated 5,000 people showed up to the event. It was great to see everyone downtown drawing, having a good time. It was such a positive event, I hope to see events like this continue around the area. photo from Grand Rapids Press

coloring eggs

2009-04-19T13:48:00.003-04:00

I traveled to the Detroit area easter weekend and when I got there my sister and I colored easter eggs. We tried to make tie-dye eggs but it wasn't quite worth the time.

Wednesday inspiration

2009-04-15T15:38:00.001-04:00

Design Related

it's not a game anymore

2009-04-09T13:55:00.003-04:00

work by Alexander Nedelev.

chocolate graphs yumminess

2009-04-07T18:30:00.006-04:00

5.5 Designers

i've been quite engulfed in charts and graphs at work lately ... if only they were comprised of chocolate.

HOW

2009-04-07T10:36:00.005-04:00

HOW Design Blog

I love everything about handmade. I'm excited for the May/June issue of HOW because there will be a feature of the whole whole DIY/handcrafted movement that's a huge trend right now.

tea kettle product design

2009-04-03T11:57:00.004-04:00

I just love, love, love this tea kettle! The concept is quite genius as the graphics appear as the water gets hot and the modern and sophisticated technology can go from the stove top to the table top with ease. Check out the "one" by Vessel Ideation.

Man resigns from job by handing in notice on cake

2009-03-31T13:43:00.002-04:00

this person obviously cared about the company he was leaving – read the full article here.

first day of spring

2009-03-24T07:26:00.004-04:00

It's that time of year again–the butterflies are out at the Frederik Meijer Gardens. What a great way to spend the first day of spring. The Jonathon Borofsky exhibit that they have now is something that you don't want to miss.

DIY Envelope Book

2009-03-20T12:35:00.003-04:00

I am one of the least organized people when it comes to keeping track of receipts, bills and misc. info. I dream of the day when I have everything in order and I am able to actually maintain a process. I wish I had my mom's book keeping organization skills, she knows right where a bill is from 2 years ago. AMAZING.

When I saw this DIY Envelope Book over at Design Sponge, I thought now this is something that I can handle. And I thought if I made one that was colorful and inspiring, that this system may actually help me keep organized for the year because I will want to use it. We'll see. I will make sure to let you know how my envelope book turns out and if I actually use it. Wish me luck!

boxed water is better

2009-03-18T12:57:00.007-04:00

I'm so excited to share this local project with you. Yes, local. (ie: Grand Rapids, MI) Boxed Water is as simply stated a brand taking a more sustainable approach to bottling water, in a box. 90% of the container comes from renewable resources and 20% of their profits is reinvested in clean water and sustainable forestation initiatives. Pretty cool.

And did I mention the design. They were designed by founder Benjamin Edgar (one of the guys behind thebrilliance.com). I love the minimalist typographic approach of the black on white. Wouldn't the world be a better place if milk cartons and packaging looked more like this? (however I do think the registration mark should be a bit smaller)

Boxed Water is part of the window display at Lamb, down the street from me on Cherry.

(pics from Boxed Water and the Dieline)

reusable vegetable bags

2009-03-17T13:12:00.003-04:00

I just stumbled upon these reusable happy vegetable bags, perfect to take to the market. I like the collage mixture of type and illustrations.

shiny squirrel

2009-03-17T11:04:00.005-04:00

I love saying and typing Shiny Squirrel--what a great name. When I think of squirrel, shiny is the last verb that I would ever think of pairing with this animal but the two words really do work well together. Check out this print by Blanca Gomez over at Shiny Squirrel.

{This print may look familiar to you from Uppercase's magazine--don't forget the spring issue comes out next month. I can't wait!}

birthday card palette

2009-03-07T12:09:00.003-05:00

I love making (and mailing out) cards. Here's a recent Birthday Card that I made for a friend.

alphabet bags

2009-03-06T11:43:00.002-05:00

For all you type lovers, check out these Alphabet Bags! Wouldn't they be great to take to the Farmer's Market or to the beach? This warm sunny weather has me itching for summer, it couldn't come soon enough.

ABCD - 3D book

2009-03-06T11:14:00.002-05:00

A friend of mine sent me this video and I just had to share. Have a great Friday!

my new addition

2009-03-04T12:52:00.002-05:00

So you know how I have been saying a lot about purses lately, well I found this gem for 50% off at Younkers this weekend and I just had to bring it home with me. It's a lot smaller then my usual purse but it fits everything perfectly and will be great for spring/summer. And yes, the white makes me a little nervous..

drum roll please ...

2009-02-27T17:00:00.007-05:00

Ad week concluded last night with the annual Addy Awards. It was a great night for Highland Group. "Highland Group sweeps up 18 Grand Rapids Addy Awards." Below are a few award winning projects, you can also take a look at all of the winners and work here.

2009 Best of Show: Grand Rapids Kids Marathon Poster

2009 Judge's Choice: Steelcase Green Giants Print Campaign

2009 Judge's Choice: Grand Rapids Kids Marathon Print Ad

creative crawl

2009-02-24T14:29:00.004-05:00

It's Ad week in GR which means each night is filled with festivities. Tonight is the Creative Crawl from 5-9 so if you are available, stop by Highland Group and say HI! You can see the list of agencies participating here. You can count us in for Beads + Beer ... and perhaps a little Rock Band too.

Tomorrow at 8am Jen Crowley from Highland Group will be giving a presentation on "The Secrets of Social Networking" and Thursday night is the Addy Awards so don't miss it!

miss abbey girl

2009-02-23T17:22:00.001-05:00

greeting card in a can

2009-02-16T16:01:00.004-05:00

For the person that has everything, why not send them a message in a can. The beans are laser engraved to show the message when the plant starts to grow, choose from 8 different sayings here.

potato + stamp

2009-02-15T12:00:00.003-05:00

Here are how the cards turned out with the heart shaped potato stamps that I carved. They were fun to make and it was nice to be able to put my perfectionism to the side and just play.

sewn valentines

2009-02-12T11:56:00.004-05:00

Last night after work I went to the store and bought a bag of potatoes because I wanted to make some potato stamped valentines. It will be my first time stamping since 2nd grade so I'll let you know how it goes. My valentine alternative might be these super cute sewn cards. Get step-by-step instructions here.

some Wednesday motivation

2009-02-04T12:42:00.002-05:00

Here's some motivation to get you through the rest of the week by David Horvitz.

etsy find

2009-02-03T15:59:00.003-05:00

I've been eying these bags by Drika.B for over a year now. I always wanted the basic tote but now I'm leaning towards the super cute wristlet for spring perhaps. I just spotted this wristlet over at Creature Comforts and love it!

night owl

2009-02-02T22:38:00.003-05:00

Sweet Japonic is having a pre-sale on t-shirts. There are two designs to choose from. Make sure you order yours before Feb. 7 from here.

sweet japonic t-shirt concepts

2009-02-02T22:07:00.003-05:00

Here are a few t-shirt designs that I worked on for Sweet Japonic.

new desktop wallpaper

2009-01-30T15:04:00.003-05:00

I just changed my wallpaper to this. Seemed fitting. You can download it here.

SOLD!

2009-01-30T14:24:00.006-05:00

pics from Graphic Exchange

if I lived in Australia I would want to live here ... the promotional materials alone have sold me.

farewell.

2009-01-30T09:41:00.003-05:00

It has been a great run and I will be VERY sad to see this magazine go. The last issue is March, you can read more about it here.

furniture hunt

2009-01-29T12:27:00.002-05:00

Lately I have been on the look out for a great furniture find that I can refinish and spruce up a bit. I've been looking for a bench, upholstered wooden chairs (possibly in a dining set?) and/or an antique end table. I'm quite particular so this hunt may take awhile but I'll know it's right when I see it. So far, I really just have been looking on Craigs List but come spring I'll check out area garage sales and flea markets.

These chairs would be perfect! Check out this Before & After over on Design Sponge.

poster gallery

2009-01-27T11:56:00.004-05:00

I've been seeing this posters all over the blogging world for months now, popping up in all sorts of room interiors. You can buy them here in all sorts of colors.

I love you more than _______________.

2009-01-23T09:56:00.003-05:00

what a fun site: iloveyoumorethanblank.com

i would love to be able to do this ...

2009-01-22T10:25:00.004-05:00

Paper Graphics by Yulia Brodskaya

in case you didn't know ...

2009-01-21T14:49:00.019-05:00

Couldn't live without: Peanut Butter

Known for: My positive attitude

Wants to learn: Letterpress Printing

Always wanted: A Hedgehog

Secret ambition: To live on a lake in the middle of nowhere

Favorite time of the year: July

All year: my toe nails are painted

don't complain, just work harder

2009-01-18T11:16:00.002-05:00

when reading the book, The Last Lecture this morning, this little life lesson stood out to me. There's nothing that I can't stand more then people complaining. But we all do it. The optimist in me is always trying to help others see the light on the other side of the tunnel when I hear people complaining. Randy put it best saying complaining isn't going to get us anywhere and it won't make us happier. So, why not focus that energy elsewhere?

jaume plensa

2009-01-18T10:39:00.002-05:00

Awhile ago I posted about this artist/sculptor, Jaume Plensa. I finally checked out the exhibit the last weekend that it was in town and let me tell you it was well worth it! Very inspiring. The Frederik Meijer Gardens now has one of Plensa's peices in their permanent collection outside in the sculpture walk so if you missed the whole show you can still a glimpse at his work when you visit the Gardens.