Jennifer

Earl Grey Reader Survey

08/05/2014 by Jennifer 3 Comments

For a while now, I have been dreaming up a big exciting project that I want to share with you soonish. It is slowly coming out of the dream phase and turning into a reality, but I still have a ways to go. Hint – it involves blogs and design and you.

In the mean time, I would LOVE it if you guys would take a second (okay, more like a minute or two) to fill out this short survey. It’s simple, brief, and to the point. Feel free to be honest as it is completely anonymous. Not that there are any controversial questions or anything. :)

Thanks a trillion. I really, truly appreciate it. Have a good day!

8 Fruit Inspired DIY Projects

08/04/2014 by Jennifer 6 Comments

Fruit. Is. Everywhere. This summer, it’s one of the biggest interior/fashion/craft trends. I have learned that you can put a fruit on almost anything and it instantly becomes cute. The pineapple and watermelon departments are especially booming. I’ve been loving the fruit-inspired DIY projects floating around the blogosphere so I decided to gather up my very favorites to share with you!

1. DIY Fruit Slice Umbrellas – Studio DIY

2. DIY Fruit Tissue Honeycomb Balls – The House that Lars Built

3. Citrus Clay Magnets – Make and Tell

4. Fruit Welcome Mats – The House that Lars Built

5. DIY Fruity Print Zipper Purses – The Lovely Drawer

6. Crochet Tutti Frutti Potholders – Tuts+

7. Printable Fruit Garland – Minieco

8. Washi Tape Pineapples – Omiyage Blogs

Do you love the fruit trend this summer or are you ready to stop seeing pineapples everywhere you look? I can’t let go quite yet.

Create Gold Leaf Hand Lettering in Photoshop

08/02/2014 by Jennifer 14 Comments

Have you ever wanted to know how bloggers and designers write in what looks like pure gold ink? Me too. I’m one paycheck away from enrolling in an online calligraphy class just so that I can learn to write using pretty gold ink. Until then, I’m going to find ways to fake it. Here is how I added a gold leaf texture to my handwriting in Photoshop using my Wacom Bamboo Tablet. If you don’t have a tablet, you can still add gold text to an image or background using any font you’d like.

1. First, open two documents in Photoshop. You’ll need a background image and a gold leaf texture. I used a solid mint colored background, and I found the gold leaf texture here. Next, select and copy the background image and paste it onto the gold leaf texture.

Select the Pen Tool from your toolbar and change the mode to “Clear”. Make sure the top layer (not the gold texture) is selected in your Layers Panel. Then use your tablet to write something fun! If your handwriting looks shaky, try zooming in a bunch (300-400%) and then writing. It’s also fun to experiment with different brush sizes and styles.

If you don’t have a tablet, you can just use plain text! For this, you will want to set up your layers the same exact way we did above. Then select the Horizontal Type Mask Tool. This will automatically turn your text into a selection.

After you’ve got your type mask (seen below), select the Magic Eraser Tool and uncheck “Contiguous”. Then click the Magic Eraser over the selection, and the text should disappear. If you’re using an image as your background, you may need to erase the selection using the normal Eraser Tool or the Pen Tool (under “clear” mode).

To add gold leaf text in the form of a font, you can also follow this tutorial I wrote on combining photos and text.

Here’s an example of how fun it is to add gold handwriting and doodles to a photograph. You can use the method I first described, just make sure the layers are all stacked correctly.

Let me know if you end up trying this! :)

Best of July

08/01/2014 by Jennifer 2 Comments

July was an incredible month for me in Portland and in Blogland. Portland is still wonderful, but I do miss my family more than I can say. My mom and Copper visited this week which was a blast, and my dad and sisters came up earlier this month. I’m happy they aren’t too far away. Saying goodbye is still always the saddest. As far as blogging goes, I feel like I am finally realizing what I’m most passionate about and how to share that with others (you!). I also have been loving the community around here lately. I’m feeling thankful for genuine blog friendships and connections.

1. Near the beginning of the month, I created a CSS Cheat Sheet, along with a basic introduction to the world of CSS. The next week, I shared some ideas of how to creatively customize your navigation menu. There’s something real magical about understanding basic web design and being in control of your whole blog. I can’t wait to share more blog design tutorials with you guys. I have something pretty exciting in the works!

2. I also moved into my studio apartment! I still can’t believe I live by myself and it’s surprising how much I enjoy it. Living alone has made me more motivated to go out and make friends. I’m still working on making the studio look nice but I’ve made some progress (those ugly curtains are gone!). If you want to see more interior updates, follow along on Instagram!

3. Arro Home, or as I like to call it “the Disneyland of home goods stores”, opened up in Australia recently. I loved exploring their website and creating a collage of my favorite products.

4. In addition to sharing blog design tutorials, I’m also happy to be sharing more general resources for bloggers. Some of my new favorite blogs are ones that consistently share helpful, honest advice for bloggers. I believe the best advice is rooted in personal experience.

5. Speaking of collages (#3), I made a video tutorial sharing my collage-making process. I used Photoshop for the tutorial, but I know there are many free programs that allow you to work with images in similar ways.

6. In July, I found myself crushing on round mirrors. I have a couple of cute rectangular mirrors already so I think I’m set for now, but if anyone offered me a pretty round mirror I’d happily accept.

7. I have been in a watercolor mood lately, so I gathered my very favorite watercolor tutorials for a colorful roundup post.

8. For the quickest second, I thought I might be into primary colors. Primary modernism is a very stylish interior trend lately, but I think I’ll admire it from afar before adding any red/yellow/blue combinations to my home.

9. Finally, Tuesday was Eames Appreciation Day! At least that’s what I decided. I might never get tired of those beautiful chairs.

So, what were your favorite parts of July? Did the month go by extremely fast for you too?

Eames, Please!

07/29/2014 by Jennifer 6 Comments

Can we all agree that Eames chairs make every room a little bit better? They are everywhere I look here in Portland. In boutiques, coffee shops, creative workspaces, and kitchens. Even though Eames have been real trendy the past couple years, they are far from overrated in my humble opinion. I will keep them on my wish list until that fateful day when magically I find them in a thrift store, discounted at a crazy beautiful price. That could happen, right? I guess I am just an optimist.

(top left, clockwise)

1. Sunshine Yellow Eames
2. Camilleri Design
3. Wooden Eames
4. Eames DSW Chairs
5. Vintage Eames Rocker
6. Fjeldborg Blog

Are you an Eames lover too?? Someday when I have a bigger place, I may invest in these Eames-style chairs. They’re $119 for a set of two, which is a little unbelievable. I’m perfectly fine with knockoffs in this case.

Stop Saying Sorry

07/28/2014 by Jennifer 3 Comments

Since seeing this Pantene Pro V Commercial (warning – it’s quite cheesy), I have been hyperaware of every time I say “sorry”. I think I say it most when someone bumps into me or when I’m caught in stressful grocery-cart-situations. You know the ones. Grocery carts = major anxiety.

It’s also really easy to say sorry when you’re confronting someone. In my experience, it is more comfortable to say, “Hey roomie, so sorry but can you do the rest of the dishes?” You’re taking on the blame, making it your fault, and not having to deal with any sassy backlash. Makes sense. It’s super convenient. But it’s heavy, man! Taking the responsibility for somebody’s grocery cart running into you is one small thing, but if you do it all the time you might start feeling a little down and perhaps less confident and empowered.

I have never had to confront anyone in the blogosphere (knock on wood) but I can just imagine myself saying, “Sorry, but I noticed that my blog post is replicated on your page.”

This “Stop Saying Sorry” campaign is directed primarily towards women. The theory behind it is that when women apologize for things that aren’t their fault, they are taking on a weaker role. However, I believe this sorry business is relevant to any gender. Women may be more prone to apologizing, but I think everybody in general could gain a lot of self-confidence and happiness by cutting out the word “sorry”. You know, unless we have actually done something wrong. ;)

There are so many words to say in place of sorry. “Pardon me.” “Excuse me.” “Whoa!” (Used that one at a convenience store the other day when someone ran into me. This person didn’t look up or say anything, so I was glad I hadn’t impulsively said sorry. Small joys!) A simple smile is also an alternative to “sorry”. I’ve been doing this a lot lately. It shows the grocery cart speed racer, or whoever, that you forgive them.

What do you think about all of this? Is “sorry” one of your go-to words in awkward situations?