Illustrated wallpapers for Apple devices

Lagom, a company that creates contemporary paper products and gifts, makes some of their art available as wallpapers for iPads and iPhones. Find a selection of illustrated goodies free for the downloading right here!

Origami elephant desktop wallpaper

I made myself a new desktop wallpaper from an elephant I folded awhile back. I don't know where the actual elephant is anymore, but his likeness is now on my monitor. Should you need an orange paper elephant for your desktop, download him here (1920x1080 px).

To fold your own elephant, follow the instructions at at Origami Spirit.

Free fonts: Intro Condensed

The Black and Light versions of Intro Condensed are available for free here from Fontfabric. Personal and commercial use are fair game! These are two useful freebies, I guarantee it. Elegant, clean, and geometric. If you need more weights, buy up all their brothers and sisters and cousins at MyFonts.

Pretty tech wallpapers for spring

Have you been to Design Love Fest lately? The collection of phone and desktop wallpapers keeps expanding. Grab something pretty and spring-like right here!

Geometric wallpapers for desktops and devices

Find a bunch of abstract wallpaper freebies at Merek Davis, including this textured tessellation set by Kyle Gray. There's a size for every device! Pretty.

2014 printable Oscar bingo and ballot

[To join the bingo mailing list for future years, sign up here].

My 2014 Oscar ballot and bingo game are done! Get set to enjoy Sunday's Academy Awards with friends. It doesn't matter if they watch movies or know who the actors are; anyone can play bingo and it's a good excuse for a party.

Download the Oscar ballot PDF
Download the Oscar bingo PDF

Save the PDFs to your computer, open them in Adobe Reader, and print.


To use the ballot: print one for each guest and have them mark their predictions before the show starts. The person with the most correct guesses wins.

To use the bingo cards: 20 different game cards are included in the PDF. Print out the number of pages you need for your guests. Then fan out the sheets, close your eyes, wave your hands over them, and put your finger on a card. This one is meant to be yours. Your party guests can fight over the rest of the sheets, but they're not going to win. You are. As you all watch the telecast, the first person to mark off five squares in a line wins. It could be a horizontal, vertical, or diagonal line. (This year I removed the center "free" space to make you work a little harder.)

Movie theater gift cards, boxes of popcorn, candy, or little Oscar statuettes from a party store make good prizes.

Has anybody tried to play with friends long distance? You could each claim a page number to print out and then text or tweet each other when you get a bingo.

Like every year, a disclaimer: Maybe someone will get a bingo ten minutes into the telecast, or maybe your group won't have a winner at all because my psychic powers have failed this year. Best of luck!

DIY papercut greeting cards with template

I wanted to make some cards that would be simple to cut with an X-acto knife, and straight lines are the fastest. So I made a template for an outer frame to cut from card stock, and then set up some interchangeable messages that can be printed on colored paper and inserted for various occasions.




To make your own, download the PDF with the cover template and messages, then print out the pages you need. If you prefer to use a digital cutting machine, the .dxf file (cover only) might work for you.

Download the full PDF here.
Download the .dxf cover here.

Cards are 5" x 7" and fit on an 8.5" x 11" sheet.


To cut the cover for the cards by hand, print the cover template on regular computer paper. Tape it to a piece of sturdy card stock around the edges to hold it in place. Using an X-acto knife and a straight edge, cut along the lines through both sheets of paper. I cut all the long lines first, then went back and cut the short lines.


Remove the computer paper and pop out the pieces, freeing any stuck bits with your knife. Then score the card along the center and fold in half.


Cut a printed insert to size, fold it in half, and stick it inside the cover with a line of glue or strip of double stick tape along the top inside back.

Happy Valentine's Day, and have a lovely weekend, all!

Free font: Blenda Script

If you're a fan of Pablo Impallari's ubiquitous Lobster typeface, you might like Blenda Script by Seniors Studio. It's an experimental font inspired by Lobster and comes with swashy OpenType alternate characters. Blenda Script is free for personal and commercial use.

(P.S. Is Lobster the new Comic Sans? I don't think so. But this cracked me up. If only there were a mustache on it.)

Free, printable Valentine's Day cards

Here are a handful of nifty Valentine's Day cards posted around the internet. They're all free to download and print.
1.) Hand-lettered cards at A Pair and a Spare
2.) Simple love notes at She Knows
3.) Typewriter Valentine by Kiki and Company
4.) All You Need is Love notecard from Design Corral

Good free fonts

If you haven't visited Fontfabric for awhile and you're a compulsive typeface hoarder, it's probably time to go check out their freebies bin again. This time I'm going to grab High Tide.

Popsicle desktop wallpaper

I'm done with winter. I should not be wrapped in a blanket at my desk, but in a beach towel in the sand. My fingers should not be cold from drafty windows, but from holding a piña colada. To put me in a better mood, I'm switching to popsicle wallpaper.

Free pattern downloads

Jessica Nielsen is an illustrator based in the Netherlands, and she generously shares many of her pattern designs as free downloads for personal use. You could use them as gift wrap, make patterned envelopes, print out notecards, or set them as wallpaper backgrounds on your computer or phone. Find a selection of designs here, or visit Jessica's Etsy shop. I love her style!

Free font: Ayres

Ayres is a condensed serif typeface designed by Mariel Gornati. It's got some pretty ligatures and alternate characters. Download it at the bottom of this page at Behance— free for personal and commercial use. (Firefox works best.)

New year, new wallpapers

If your computer or mobile device needs a facelift in 2014, grab one of these free wallpapers from generous designers around the web.

Above, January wallpapers at Sarah Hearts.


A variety of motivating messages from The Sweet Escape.


Pretty cacti backgrounds by Helen Dealtry at Design Sponge.

Holiday wallpaper downloads

Need to add a little Christmas cheer to your desktop or phone? Check out these freebies posted by kind designers around the internets. Above, one of a collection of sweater desktops at The Sweet Escape.


Find several calligraphy backgrounds at Fabulous K (lettering by Heather of Design Roots.


Help yourself to holiday iPhone backgrounds by Heidi Sonnenschein.

Free printable Christmas gift tags

Today I'm sharing some free, printable holiday gift tags you can download. Help yourself to these typographic designs.


I had fun trying out some Avery label stock the company sent over. I've always thought of Avery products as being for business use, but their stickers and tags can make some nifty holiday gift embellishments.


To make these tags, print the PDF at 100% size onto Avery 22802 Printable Tags with Strings paper.

The tags are perforated, so just fold the paper back and forth a couple times along the edges of the tags to break them off. The edges turn out neat and clean.




Then use the supplied strings with clasps that come in the package, or add your own pretty ribbon or twine to attach the tags to wrapped gifts, wine bottles, or the kittens you're giving all your friends this Christmas.

Download the PDF for Avery perforated tags here.
Download the PDF for printing on plain cardstock here (then cut out with a scissors and punch a hole in each tag).

(This post was made possible by free stuff from Avery. Thanks, Avery!)

Printable 2014 owl calendar freebie

My Owl Barn's annual printable calendar is back! The 2014 version features owl artwork from 50 artists. Choose your favorite 12 illustrations, assign each to a month, and download your customized high-resolution PDF calendar, free. Make yours here.

Desktop wallpapers from UPPERCASE magazine

This month, UPPERCASE magazine— an artful, beautiful, inspiring publication— asked for submissions with the theme "Office Types." Readers submitted alphabets and letterforms made from office supplies. Check out the clever binder clip alphabet by Gregory Ries! Download all the desktops featuring staplers, sticky notes, and paper clips right here, plus lovely backgrounds with other themes.

Halloween kitty desktop wallpaper

Happy Halloween! In honor of the day, I amused myself making cats when I'm supposed to be working. If you want either of these kitties as desktops, grab them here:

Download dark cats (1680x1050 px)
Download light cats (1680x1050 px)

Artwork for personal use only, as always! Have a fun evening, and may you eat lots of chocolate.

Last-minute Halloween paper crafts

It's not too late to make a last-minute Halloween paper toy! Get the fam printing and folding these free DIY projects tonight.
Retro pumpkin treat basket at My Paper Crane
Little desk dracula by Samantha Eynon (scroll down on the page to find him)
Cute Halloween menagerie from Happy Thought