Vale Design : Freelance Package Design & Branding

Alt Summit For Everyone

I almost dropped my coffee.

If you are like me, a busy designer / mother / person in general, you may not have had the time or finances to attend one of the Alt Summit conferences. Well buckle up buttercups...now we can! Alt Summit is now offering Alt For Everyone. It is their first completely online conference. Per the Alt website, "You can spread your classes out like you would at a traditional conference, or pack them all into one day if you need to manage your work schedule or babysitter availability." Registration is $125.

Conference will offer the following:

- 7 online classes of your choice
- 1 online keynote session
- 1 virtual social meet-up
- a box of goodies right to your doorstep (how cool!)

Check the schedule. Click to register.

I am so excited and I want to thank the Alt team so much for making their informational classes available to all of us.

{image credit Alt Summit}

DIY Initial Wall Art Project

Continuing with the font love...

Years ago, Nate Berkus told my mom (through the Oprah Show of course!) that everyone should collect something. If Nate says it, you better do it. So I started collecting the letter "V" for our last name. The designer in me loves the simple understated elegance of a beautiful letterform. Letters seemed like a better fit than knick-knacks.

When we were laying out our new gallery wall, I knew I wanted my daughter to be represented in letterform. I sorted through my favorite fonts and filosofia won my heart. (Look at that serif) Voilá! Simple DIY initial wall art project.

DIY Initial Wall Art

DIRECTIONS

1. Type out your letter(s) in any program that allows you to make font changes
    (Word, Illustrator, Photoshop, etc.)

2. Choose your desired size frame (I used a 5x7 frame)

3. Print and test sizes of your letter until you have found the one you love for your frame

4. Choose your paper (Go crazy here! Kraft paper, neutral scrapbook paper, complimentary, contrasting)

5. Trim and mount with tape to your existing matte

6. Hang/prop and admire

This project would be a simple hostess, baby, birthday, playroom or wedding gift! Instead of letters, you could also use significant words to your family, numbers, heck even just the word "love." Get creative!

DIY 40 Creative Ways to Decorate Eggs

It is not just about dye anymore people. 

Let's stay with our egg decorating theme this week. Check out this awesome roundup of 40 Creative Ways to Decorate Easter Eggs found on Brit + Co. I am bookmarking this one for when Little G is old enough to decorate eggs. There are some great ideas in here. Grab your little ones and get creative. The one below, from Martha Stewart, is my favorite! Found via Pinterest.

Do you follow me on Pinterest? I am at evaledesign

{image credits Brit + Co & respective talented original creators}

DIY Sharpie Doodle Color Easter Egg

Let's stay with our DIY Sharpie Easter Egg doodling. This time we will bring in some festive colors! This Easter Craft Craziness tutorial was found on Mom.me and pinned on my DIY Projects & Crafts board. This is such an easy DIY for kids and a nice alternative to coloring eggs. Maybe even try to combine coloring + sharpie doodles! Go crazy!

Do you follow me on Pinterest? I am at evaledesign

{image credit Mom.me}

Sharpie Doodle Easter Egg Tutorial

Believe it or not, but I am not a big DIY person. I like to create DIY projects for others, but I do not usually have time to DIY myself. I love "big bang for little buck" type of tutorials. Alisa Burke uses a black Sharpie and some seriously awesome doodling skills to create these beauties. Black and white always tugs at my heart strings. Click here for the full doodle easter egg tutorial.

{found via Anu Gómez Pinterest}

{image credits Alisa Burke}

Learned & Loved No 01

 

LEARNED

Bréne Brown TED video

"Why You Truly Never Leave High School" via New York Magazine found via Design Mom

Photoshop Tutorial White Balance from Bower Power

Alt Summit Keynote Stephen Sagmeister summary via Design Mom

Alternatives to Gotham Font via imjustcreative

 

LOVED

Healthy Homemade Ice Pop recipes from Jessica Alba on Katie

Rebirth of Slow Blogging via Design For Mankind

Lunch ideas for a 2 year old via Design Mom

Before & After Gallery Wall

Mucca Design

Note To Self blog (graphic design eye candy)

Try by Pink (She is such a bad a@$)

Bangarang by Skrillex (A must to your workout music lineup. I dare you not to get pumped!)

Happy weekend everyone! See you back here on Monday!

{image credit Vale Design at Indianapolis Childrens Museum. Chihuly installation}

Before & After :: Gallery Wall

It's about freakin' time. They should have a support group for people who are afraid to hang things on walls.

I have been making a real effort to work through my nail-in-wall phobia. I have had beautiful images framed and leaning against random walls for years. Then came professional baby pictures shot by my crazy talented friend Sonja of Moonbug Photography. Once I saw those images of Baby G, I knew we had to get hangin'. Enter the gallery wall.

The idea of measuring out a gallery wall used to make me sweat. That was until I came across this easy gallery wall tutorial on Young House Love. So easy. Trace. Place. Nail. Hang. Done. There is no way to mess that up. Not even me! Well, my husband. I set up the layout and then went to the grocery store to keep myself away from the nailing. I came home and it was all done. Love my man!

I love white frame groupings. Clean, neutral and the images are the main focus. As you can see, we have one black frame around the large close up shot of the baby. Truth: we could not find an 11"x14" white frame. I bought the black frame with every intention of spray painting it white. Once we mapped out the wall, we loved that the black frame drew your eye right to our favorite picture, so we left it! Happy accident.

I could not be happier with how the gallery wall turned out. Long overdue, but well worth the wait.

Images on our wall worth noting: All black & white family & baby photography by Moonbug Photography | Framed Thank You note from my Father-In-Law (somewhere Nate Berkus is smiling) | My favorite quote + empty frame for another quote | G's birth announcement by Rifle Paper Co | First footprints from hospital | Cursive V by Three Potato Four | Illustrated Letter V by Jessica Hische | Goregous letter G that I printed on kraft paper

Use Instagram Filters Without Sharing

Before my daughter, I would pull out my fancy Canon Rebel or Canon point n shoot, stage my shots, wait for the perfect light and shoot beautiful pictures. Then I would take them into Photoshop and manipulate them into small works of art to share with all of you.

Then I had a baby. Now I scramble for my iPhone and Instagram blurry legs and arms and hope I captured something that makes sense. However, I do not necessarily want to publish those shots right away. I want to use the Instagram filters to jazz them up to my design standards, but hold on to them until I decide if they will stay personal or make their way onto the blog.

I knew there had to be a way to access the Instagram filters, but not "share" the photos. I googled it and found a super simple tutorial for the answer. (For iPhone)

Simple Steps:

1. Go to Settings on iphone - Turn ON Airplane Mode. Turns off the wifi and disables Internet access.

2. Open Instagram - take or choose an existing picture. Crop picture. Choose filter.

3. Save by hitting Next in top right corner. 

4. Choose Share in the top right corner. It will NOT publish.

5. Instagram will save your filtered photo in your Photos folder. It will say "Failed" and a delete photo X option. Click the X to delete the photo.

6. Go to Settings turn the Airplane Mode back OFF. 

7. Then I just email myself the photo and upload away in my blog post...between diaper changes and naps.

Have fun!

DIY Must Try // Vinyl Letter Wall Art

Next project for my DIY Must Try, Vinyl Letter Wall Art by A Beautiful Mess. {These ladies are so talented!} This is another featured peice we would like to add to our gallery wall. We are thinking about using our daughter's nicknames instead of a quote or saying...but we know I have a quote obsession so I might have to try one of those as well.

These would be great for many gift applications. Wedding, baby, holiday. Just change out the image in the background. Maybe something as simple as a circle or a square. Or try a christmas tree, ornament, pumpkin or leaf for the holidays. Numbers for your home address. Kids names or last names. So many possibilities!

Or if you are feeling more brave and adventurous, try this version from Young House Love.

**Do you follow me on Pinterest?

{image credit A Beautiful Mess}

DIY Must Try // Instagram Canvas Wall Art

I have stated openly on this site that I am NOT a DIYer. I would love to be, but I do not like all the leftover craft products that you have to store. I know, a goofy reason to not do art projects. But, my loyal readers, that is all about to change!

Every Wednesday, I will be featuring a DIY project for a new series I am calling DIY Must Try. I will be featuring DIY projects that I have found around the internet that have peaked my curiousity. Most of the projects on my crafty to do list are super simple and require minimal supplies, but have a big wow factor.

The first project I am excited to try is Instagram Canvas Wall Art by A Beautiful Mess. I have so many baby photos and we are working on a gallery wall for upstairs in our home. I think this would make a cool addition! This project has so many possibilities. Holiday season switch-outs, Grandparent gift, baby, wedding, trip memories, etc. The possibilities are endless!

**Do you follow me on Pinterest?

{image credits A Beautiful Mess}

Fresh Picked Whimsy & Craft Casserole

My good friend Lori, of Fresh Picked Whimsy and Whimsy Studios is at it again! She recently introduced her Craft Casserole classes for anyone near or around the northside of Indianapolis. You know all those awesome DIY projects you see all over the internet or on Pinterest, but have been too afraid to try? Maybe you told yourself, "I do not know anything about crafts or even where to begin." Well, sign up for one of Lori's classes and enjoy her simple step-by-step tutorials, in her Willy Wonka-ish studio {it is the coolest place!}, surrounded by fellow DIY-ers. Follow Craft Casserole on Facebook for new class offerings and pictures of past classes. Classes for kids and adults are available. I can not wait to sign up!

{image credits Fresh Picked Whimsy}

DIY Holiday Glitter Ornament Tutorial

I found this beautiful holiday glitter ornament DIY tutorial over on Dandelions on the Wall. So easy and with gorgeous results. This would be a great project to do with your kids for teacher gifts, or gifts for the neighbors or to use as a hostess gift. Found via Pinterest.

{image credits Dandelions on the Wall}

DIY Halloween Skull Pumpkin Stamp

I love a good skull graphic and this Martha Stewart Halloween Skull Potato Stamp hits the spot! Imagine the scary possibilities... {click on the link for tutorial and free download skull template}

{image credits Martha Stewart found via Pinterest}

Registered finch&hawk Logo

It only took a year and a half, but my finch&hawk® logo is now officially and legally registered through the US government. Look at that cute ® icon! So excited. If you would like a couple of pointers on how I went about the process, visit this Freelance 101 tutorial :: How to Apply For A Trademark {the basics}.

{image and logo credit Vale Design}

Holiday + Snazzy Spring Links

I have been home from my Chicago freelance work for 3 weeks now and I just feel like I am starting to get back into the swing things at home. I have been catching up on a lot of work, blog, family obligations and most importantly sleep! I am going to spend this holiday weekend relaxing with family and eating amazing food. I hope you have a nice safe weekend. See you back here Monday!

// SNAZZY SPRING LINKS //

+ new Brand Packaging magazine {save paper. view digital online!}

+ LOVE these fonts {found via Paper Crave}

+ want to see this documentary SOOO bad

+ wishing I could climb into any picture on my Ocean Pinterest board {do you follow me?}

+ cool idea for turning polaroids into large wall art

+ some of my favorite DIY coloring sheets I have designed

+ rain barrel tutorial {found via Young House Love}

+ fun DIY confetti egg tutorial {love the fruity pebbles option!}

+ want to try all of these 30 grilled cheese sandwiches options

+ such a cute idea for candy favors for any occasion

+ informative digital printing process {found via Oh So Beautiful Paper from Ellie of Mint}

+ husband and I are checking out these pre-planned gardens

+ keep ending up at this shop for cute goodies

+ easy DIY Easter Egg tutorials here and here

// LOCALS // {Indianapolis}

+ Water Warrior Yoga {in honor of Earth Day}

+ IMA showing of Temple Gradin

+ Adult Easter Egg Hunt

+ Battle for the Boogie

+ Bunny Spectacular {coloring sheets on event website}

{image credits Jordan Ferney Oh Happy Day}

Watercolor Easter Egg Tutorial

I had to leave you with one more of Alisa Burke's stunning DIY Easter egg tutorials. I am afraid of fine art painting, but I bet even I could not screw this up. Beautiful finished product! Would be such a great project to work on with kids. Click here for the full watercolor easter egg tutorial.

{image credits Alisa Burke}

Illustrator CS4 Tutorial :: Adding Gradients to Text

I always look for new ways to push myself on every design project. I try to incorporate a new tutorial or technique that I learn on at least one design solution I show my clients. It keeps my knowledge base current and does not let me rely on my "old standby" techniques.

I am always looking for simple and advanced Illustrator and Photoshop tutorials. I have decided to start keeping track of my favorites for all of you right here. Every time I stumble onto a tutorial I like, I am going to post and link to it. Some may be simple that you already know and some may be new to you. If you have any favorites you would like to share, please leave a link in the comment section or contact me. Sharing is caring!

Vectips

ADDING GRADIENTS TO TEXT  {this tutorial allows you to keep text live. no outlining required!}

{image credits Vectips}

Gifted Magazine by Creature Comforts

RUN DON'T WALK PEOPLE! Ez, of Creature Comforts blogging fame, has just released the first issue of Gifted Magazine and it is eye candy galore! Gorgeous photography, diy tutorials, gift ideas for everyone, free printables, recipes etc. Lovely articles and interviews with some of your favorite designers, blogger and illustrators. If only all online magazine could be this lovely...Congrats Ez!

{image credits Creature Comforts}

Domestifluff 13 days of Halloween crafts

My super talented friend, Ms. Kristen of Paper Crave, Craftig and Domestifluff, is at it again! She is sharing some awesome DIY Halloween craft ideas that she created for her 13 days of Halloween. As you can see from the above picture, there is a craft project for everyone. Make something for your home, a friend, or get crafty with your kids. Projects have already started so don't get too far behind! 

Make sure to check out Kristen's Tips and Supplies post.

Thanks K! These are great! I will be visiting everyday!

{image credit Domestifluff}

DIY Ghoulish Halloween Invitation

How freakin' cool is this free printable DIY Halloween Invitation and portrait of the unfortunate uncle downloads from TrulySmitten?! I LOVE THESE! They really put me in the holiday spirit. Make sure to check out the tea tutorial on how to make your envelopes look aged and worn. Check out the Truly Smitten portfolio {I like the Vale logo the best!} and you follow Sarah Kim on Twitter. Go. Go now!

{image credit Truly Smitten}

DIY: Free Printable Scrapbook Mexican Wedding Favor Bag Topper

Remember these Mexican Wedding Favor Bag Toppers? I designed them for my brother's wedding reception to top the Mexican Wedding Cookie favors. They have never been available as a free printable download...until now! Use for your Mexican wedding, reception or rehearsal dinner. Here is how we made them:

ITEMS NEEDED

1. Scrapbook paper of your choice

2. Favor/treat bags

** NOTE ** This PDF is designed to fit on a standard 4"x9" plastic bag. We found ours at Hobby Lobby. The brand was Sunny Side Up™ 50 medium clear bags.

DIRECTIONS

1. Buy theme colored or slightly patterned scrapbook paper.

2. {if you need to} Trim your scrapbook paper down to a standard 8.5"x11" sheet of paper.

3. Print free download onto scrapbook paper.

4. Trim on black lines and fold in half.

5. {if you need to} Cut some of the plastic favor bag top off.

** NOTE ** We only had 5 cookies in a bag and we had a lot of extra plastic at the top.

6. Fold favor bag top over. Slip favor bag topper over top of bag and staple twice along the bottom to secure topper to bag and to seal bag shut. {see pictures above for reference}

Click here for MexicanWeddingFavorBagTopper download.

** NOTE ** Download is black type on white paper. Intended for use on colored or patterned scrapbook paper of your choice. 2 toppers per 8.5"x11" sheet.

© Vale Design 

COMMON SENSE RULE: For personal use only. Not for commercial use.  ©erinvaledesign.com

{image credits Vale Design}

Blog Love :: Young House Love

It is no secret that I am allergic to decorating my house. Hives. Panic attacks. Do they make a pill for that? I am on a mad mission this year to rectify this problem. {master bedroom/bathroom painted. hardwood flooring bought and paid for this weekend!}

John and Sherry Petersik run Young House Love, a site BURSTING with home inspiration, tutorials and resources. Plain and simple, this site is amazing. I know I am late to this table, but again, allergic. In a short amount of time, this site has inspired me to set home remodel goals, both big and small, and somehow it has begun to alleviate that fear of messing those projects up. They may even inspire me to hang something on my walls. {can you say phobia?} A MUST bookmark site! Make sure to check out their lovely design dilemma inspiration boards.

{image credits Young House Love}

Creature Comforts & Design*Sponge Blogging Tips

Ez at Creature Comforts has started a free Guide to Better Blogging Series. As a huge fan of her site, you can bet I will be checking in often. 

Grace at Design*Sponge is now offering one-on-one blog consulting. This service is not free, but judging from her site, experience and knowledge, I am guessing it will be worth every penny!

{image credits Creature Comforts and Design*Sponge}

freelance101 :: Illustrator & Photoshop References + Tutorials

The internet is such an invaluable tool when it comes to learning new Illustrator, Photoshop, Web, and Blog design techniques for any skill level. I try to incorporate a "new to me" online tutorial technique on at least 1 or 2 solutions for every freelance project that I work on. This keeps the ideas fresh, keeps you current on design techniques that are out there and helps you to continue to learn and grow as a designer. Today, we will be exploring some great tutorial reference sites and some of my personal favorite tutorials. {most of these sites have multiple platform tutorials}

**helpful hint** These are just some of the amazing tutorial sites on the internet. If you have a personal favorite site or tutorial, please add it to the comment section. Thank you!  

+ tutorial reference sites ::

/ veerle's blog /

/ smashing magazine /

/ vectips /

/ vector tuts /

/ layers magazine /

/ six revisions /

/ bittbox /

/ photoshop cafe /

/ planet photoshop / 

/ psd tuts /

/ tutvid /

See my personal favorite design tutorials after the break!

Blog Love: Pioneer Woman + Tasty Kitchen

I have been a fan of the Pioneer Woman website, run by Ree Drummond, every since I stumbled onto it looking for Photoshop actions a couple of years ago. Ree's personality and voice are quite funny and her life sounds so interesting. This site is heavy with Cooking and Photography {beautiful photos + tutorials + great tips + actions} with a little Home & Garden and Homeschooling mixed in! Don't forget to check out her sister site, the Tasty Kitchen. I can never have enough recipe sites.

 {image credits Pioneer Woman and Tasty Kitchen}

+ side note :: There will be no freelance101 this week. I am still gathering the results from the survey and I have a freelance project due this week. Thank you for your patience! Freelance101 will return next week.

Lotta Jansdotter

I know I am late to the party on this one, but I am in love with designer Lotta Jansdotter's patterns and prints!

Lotta is a Scandinavian born screen printer, inspired by nature, who uses "earthy color schemes and neutral fabrics." She first moved to California at age 20. By 2002, she had a storefront in San Francisco. In 2006, she moved her operations to Brooklyn, New York.

I absolutely love her design style and screen printing patterns that can be found on bags, baby items, home goods, stationery and products from Chronicle Books. {great CB stationery peek on Craftzine} Check out her books and surface printing workshop classes in her Brooklyn studio. You can also find Lotta on Facebook.

{image credits Lotta Jansdotter} 

Tutorial :: How to Password Protect Your Illustrator PDF

Designers, there are a lot of unethical people out there who are trying to use, duplicate and flat out steal your work. I just read a great post over on Decor8 about people who think DIY means "Duplicate It Yourself." The post received a lot of comments and I am not surprised. This subject seems to be on the design/art community mind lately. Please double check that your PDF's are protected. Do not forget about the option to copyright and trademark.

Tutorial works well for

• free printables you offer on your website or blog
• printables that you are selling on Etsy or Big Cartel 
• PDF artwork approval to an unpaid client

ILLUSTRATOR CS3 TUTORIAL ON HOW TO PASSWORD PROTECT YOUR PDF'S

1. Save Illustrator artwork file as a PDF.
**After I save the PDF, I always open it in Illustrator and outline all the fonts and flatten the artwork. This way you will not accidentally outline your Illustrator file. Then I do a "Save As" PDF and do the following steps:

Blog Love: Giverslog

Happy Monday everyone! I hope you had a lovely weekend/holiday and gave and received gifts of time and talent. I stumbled onto Giverslog gift guides recently while researching crafty gifts to make for Valentine's Day. This site is run by AmberLee Fawson and is chalked full of gift giving ideas. There is a plethora of gift categories to choose from. Giverslog also has a blog and a great free printables section.

{ps I was super excited to see that our Take-Along Treats No 2: Grandma's Caponata is currently being featured on the home page. Thanks Amber!}

{image credits Giverlog}

Design Resource: Vectips

I am constantly on the look out for great design tutorial websites. Illustrator or Photoshop. I try to incorporate a new technique into every freelance project. This helps to keep my designs fresh and current, and also helps me to continue learning.

One of my favorite sites lately has been Vectips. This site is run and maintained by Ryan Putnam. "Vectips is a site dedicated to Adobe Illustrator® tips, tricks and tutorials. Whether you are a seasoned Illustrator user or just starting out, Vectips can help." I have found some very good advanced tutorials on here. Ryan, or Rype, also owns Rype Arts, designs for iStockphoto and can be found on Twitter. {Vectips posts great links via Twitter. In my opinion, a definite must follow for a designer.}

Happy VALEntine's Day everyone! ~ erin 

Nonpareil Online Magazine is LIVE

I am so excited! Nonpareil magazine, the brainchild of two of my favorite people, Maddy of Inspired Bride and Kristen of Paper Crave is live! I wish I was getting married all over again!

The first issue is Beauty on a Budget. It is chalked full of budget friendly ideas, from DIY FREE PRINTABLE wedding invitations all the way to favor ideas. {Yep, I said it, free printable wedding invitations}. I was honored to be a contributor for the very issue. My design work {printables in the downloads section} is featured with some truly creative women, Twig & Thistle, Carter and Cook, Posh Paperie, Cottage Industrialist, Bread of Many, Wiley Valentine, Jackie Wonders Photography, Roxanne Bradley, and The Floral Lab.

Congratulations ladies! It looks so lovely. I am so proud of both of you and continued success! ~ erin

ps The finch&hawk Printable DIY Gable Box - Scrolls was designed to pair with the Vale Design Swash Ornament invitation in the downloads section. I will be adding Nonpareil color choices to the Etsy listing very soon.

Bakery online business course

One of my goals of 2010 was to focus more on the "business" side of my companies, Vale Design and finch&hawk. The creative side comes easily and I am always interested in learning and educating myself more on the business aspects. As a result, you will be seeing more design business oriented posts this year. What I learn, I will be happy to pass on. Give and give back!

I recently signed up for Bakery's Half Dozen online business course. This is a 6 week online course provided by the company Bakery {run by the Erin and Jaime, the geniuses behind Design for Mankind and Design Milk}. The seats are limited and a bit pricey, but I am guessing it is going to be well worth it. You can sign up online and pay via PayPal. The course runs from February 1st through March 12th. Topics included are: Business Plans, Marketing Plans, Media and Press Kits, Public Relations, Advertising and Social Networking. They will be providing multiple template downloads, tips, media etiquette and interviews with top bloggers. By the end, they state you should have enough information for your own Bakery Half Dozen course binder. I am really looking forward to utilizing all their knowledge and experience. Thanks ladies. This is perfect timing!

{image credit Bakery}

Blog Love: Farm Fresh Creative

There are logos and then there are great logos. If you are a lover of design, logos and branding like myself, then you must check out Northern California designer Cathe Holden's Farm Fresh Creative. This site shows some of her latest work and work in progress. Her logos and typography are clean and clever. You can check out her full portfolio here. ps Somehow along with creating these stunning logos, she manages to be the wife of a fireman and a stay-at-home mother of three! {I am always in awe of women who can juggle being a mother, designer and business owner. I am not a mom and I can barely handle my husband, small dog and two businesses!} 

You may also be familiar with Cathe's other site, Just Something I Made. This site is a plethora of DIY tutorials, vintage design items, and design resources. You can also check out her new offering of custom vintage monograms.

{image credits Farm Fresh Creative and Just Something I Made} 

Nonpareil Online Magazine

I am so excited for this project to launch! Two of my friends, Maddy from Inspired Bride and Kristen from Paper Crave, are collaborating on an online wedding magazine titled Nonpareil. These two talented ladies/bloggers have beautiful and informative sites respectively and I can not wait to see what happens when the two of them put their heads together! 

From Paper Crave "As Maddy has said, “Nonpareil is not just another wedding magazine with pretty imagery.” Yes, there will be plenty of gorgeous pictures for you to pore over (yay!), but our goal is to be a trusted friend and advisor as you’re planning your wedding or special event. We’ll be focusing on inspirational craft and do it yourself projects and tips and tricks that you can translate and customize for your special day, regardless of your budget or skill level." 

Make sure you are first in the know by signing up for their mailing list here and follow them on Twitter. Good luck ladies!  Happy Friday everyone. See you back here on Monday!

{image credits Nonpareil}

Blog Love: Geninne's Art Blog

I can not seem to get enough DIY tutorials and creative e-commerce hints and helpful tips lately. In my pursuit of learning new techniques and information, I have stumbled onto some lovely new sites, Geninne's Art Blog being one of them. Geninne is a stay at home mom, artist and I believe is currently in the process of re-locating to Mexico! Her style is fabulous and the more I wander through her work, the more I fall in love. She seems to love birds as much as I do!

I found this site through an easy hand carved stamp tutorial that Ez at Creature Comforts mentioned on Twitter. I have always been interested in stamping and block printing. Any time someone mentions "easy" in the same sentence, well, you have my attention. I can not wait to make some time to try these eraser techniques. Thanks Geninne for sharing and good luck with your move!

{image credits Geninne's Art Blog} 

Giada at Home Dinner menu

So excited to be home and catching up with my favorite Food Network chef and show, Giada at Home. I taped the new episodes while I was away and have been excited to see what new recipes Giada has to offer! There are some tasty ones, but these three are on the dinner menu for this evening. I think my husband is glad I am home!

• Grilled Pork and Fontina Sandwiches

• Red Potato Salad

• Mini Chocolate-Meringue Cupcakes

{image credits Food Network}

Blog Love: Bakerella

Ahh the super sweet goodness of Bakerella! I first found this site through Kathleen at Twig and Thistle. If you have a sweet tooth, love design, branding and beautiful stunning food photography, than this site is for you! Cakes, pies, cupcakes, cute little baking projects, holiday and wedding projects and recipes are illustrated step by step through some seriously amazing food photography. You will wish you could reach through the screen!

I am always fascinated by photography and styling tricks, especially food shots. They are SO difficult. There are some great photography tips on this site. If you have some time, definitely pop over and wander around. I am sure there will be some amazing holiday projects, recipes and photos coming up!

**You can also purchase some cute t-shirts and aprons from Bake Love for the bakers in your life! Follow Bakerella on Twitter here.

Inspired Bride: Winter Wonderland Dessert Buffet

I had the wonderful privilege of being able to meet and spend some time with Maddy of Inspired Bride this past weekend. It was an absolute treat! She is smart, funny, and super talented! She shared a little bit about the joint project that she was working on with Bake It Pretty and today she let all of us into their Winter Wonderland! All aspects of this display buffet are laid out and she walks you through every step. These beautiful shots were done by an amazing team. Maddy did the food styling, Michael Haug was the photographer, and Kirki Schultz did the prop styling. Amazing work guys and thank you again Maddy for breakfast! Go Huevos Rancheros!

{image credits, Michael Haug, Maddy Hague of Inspired Bride and Kirki Schultz}

Craftig - Sea Glass Candy Tutorial

As you know, I am a huge fan of the Craftig site. The creator, Kristen, is a friend of mine and I have been fortunate enough to have seen the site grow from the beginning stages. I had some time to go wandering around the site and was amazed at the crafts that everyone has been submitting. The Sea Glass Candy Tutorial found on Intimate Weddings caught my eye. Imagine the possibilities! You can change the flavor and color for any of the upcoming holidays or for any wedding or personal event. Orange and black, orange and brown, red and green or even a wintery blue mix. Place in cute packaging and give these away as homemade gifts, spruce up a holiday party, or use as party favors. The possibilities are endless! My husband is already asking if we can make some root beer candy. Keep sharing your great ideas everyone!

{image credits Craftig and Intimate Weddings}

How About Orange - DIY Recycled Magazine Business Card Holder

Jessica Jones from How About Orange has another crafty DIY project for all of us! Check out this recycled magazine business card holder tutorial. She is so crafty and talented. I am not a person who sews, but if I did, I would totally attempt these. It is starting to get close to holiday shopping and my house is already being bombarded with catalogs and what a creative way to use them before you recycle them. These would make the cutest little gifts for friends. I would definitely use the CB2 catalog for this project. Great color schemes and bold graphic patterns. {I think that may be what Jessica used for her holder.} Thanks Jessica for sharing your great idea! Now go get creative everyone!

{image credits How About Orange}

Stay up to speed with all of our DIYs, FREE Printables, Recipes, Inspirations and Personal Design Work. Click here to follow Vale Design. See you all back here tomorrow!

Become a facebook fan

It is official. Vale Design has a Facebook page! Click HERE to become a fan. It will be great way to stay informed of all of our upcoming DIYs and catch any past ones you may have missed. Make sure to tell a friend! {I am new to Facebook so thank you in advance for your patience.}

I also want to say hello to all of our new followers. All your sentiments have been very sweet and humbling. Thank you for visiting! Stay tuned. We have some exciting projects in the works! 

-xoxo Erin

How to make a Favicon tutorial

Ever wonder what those little icons next to the web address in the address bar are called? They are called Favicons and they are very easy to make. Now I am not a computer programmer or web designer who speaks in code, but I spend a fair amount of time digging through code and online tutorials to figure out how to do what I am after. Once I figure it out, I will try to make it easier for someone else. Now that you know the trick, you could change out your favicon depending on your mood, new logo, or even the season! Have fun!  {original tutorial found here. This was a Typepad tutorial, but process should hopefully work for anyone.} 

Step One: Design 16x16 pxl desired favicon art

Step Two: Save art as a .gif file

Step Three: Upload art to third party software site to produce an .ico file

Step Four: Upload .ico file in your website's HOME folder

{Troubleshooting info from Photoshop Support.} I had to do the Safari for the Mac part. Then my favicon worked.

Browser Issues: Microsoft IE 6 for Windows will not display the favicon until the URL has been added to the favorites. Or try this trick: go up to the address bar, click on the existing (usually the IE default) favicon, then "jiggle" it a bit and let go. That will reload the page and should get the new favicon to show up. 

Safari for the MAC will not display an updated favicon until the browser cache has been cleared. But choosing ‘empty cache’ from the menu won't help because Safari stores favicons in a separate cache. Go to Edit > Reset Safari, and check “Remove all website icons”. If you can’t find that, you must empty the icon cache yourself. Look for it in User>Library>Safari>Icons. On the Windows version of Safari, find C:\Documents and Settings\YourUserName\Local Settings\Application Data\Apple Computer\Safari\WebpageIcons.db. Quit Safari, delete the file, restart Safari. (Sometimes you need to restart the computer too.)

On FireFox, clear the cache and restart the browser. On Opera, just refresh.

Windows can actually be the most beligerent about not updating favicons for Internet shortcuts (on your desktop, for instance). This tip from www.vistax64.com/tutorials: 

1. Right-click on the Desktop.
2. Select Personalize and select Display Settings (or simply Settings on XP).
3. Change the Color from 32 bit to 16 bit and click Apply.
4. Change the Color back to 32 bit and click Apply. 

File Format Not Available: The Windows Icon (ICO) file format will not be available until you have downloaded and installed the plugin, and then Quit and Restarted Photoshop.

Troubleshooting Update
One person who had trouble with Internet Explorer 7 has sent us a little tip:
I had some trouble with IE 7 — but the addition of these 2 lines of code solved the problem:
<link rel="shortcut icon" href="favicon.ico"> 
<link rel="icon" type="image/ico" href="favicon.ico">
 I found the info here:
www.webmasterworld.com/html/3251565.htm 

Gocco printing how-to-video

Curious about gocco printing? Excited? Nervous? Intimidated? I know I am. I have books about it, but I could not find a good video on how to actually use the Japanese machine. Until now. Just found a cute educational YouTube video. There is also a very good explanation on DIY Life. {image from M.E. Williams on DIY Life}

Vector Tutorials and Free Downloads

Do you like to doodle and draw. You too can be a graphic designer! [I hate that commercial] If you twitter than you should definitely be connected to VecTips. They have some great tutorial links and a ton of free vector downloads. Sometimes, depending on time, it is nicer to have the beginning shape to manipulate other than drawing them from scratch. I have been pretty pleased with the links that I have quickly checked out. I have moved one, the seamless paisley pattern, into my Fav Tutorial category. If you are a designer on twitter, get connected. You never know when you will need a new trick up your sleeve for that next project!

 

CHEERS