DIY geometric art with simple stamps

The minimal, geometric designs that Fellow Fellow is sharing lately make me happy. Reducing objects to their most basic shapes is very satisfying, and these are great examples of what you can do with rectangles and triangles. Head to Fellow Fellow to see how to make your own stamps and create a village print.


Or grab the kids and stamp some animals together. Abstract patterns are pretty, too, when they've got that nice, stampy texture. Lovely work, Claire!

DIY stitched Mother's Day Card

Need a last-minute Mother's Day card idea? Stitch one! Chronicle Books has offered us this tutorial from Jessica Marquez, author of Stitched Gifts. The book offers 25 simple embroidery projects for weddings, holidays, baby showers, anniversaries, or just because. Here's one for mums.

Stitching this card should take 30-45 minutes according to the directions, so you don't even need to start until about 10:30 PM on Saturday night, right?

Download the how-to PDF (4 MB, so give it a minute)
Download the stitching pattern

Only a couple types of stitches are needed. These steps are also included in the PDF, but if you need quick refresher...

How to backstitch:


How to make a French knot:

Happy stitching! For more projects, get the book Stitched Gifts right here.

Decorating ideas using wallpaper

I've had wallpaper on my mind ever since Chasing Paper licensed one of my designs for their self-adhesive, removable wallpaper collection (read about that here). I tried out one of the sample pieces on this TV tray. I might stick a chunk on the back of my iPad, too.

It's fun to think about ways to add wallpaper to a home without the cost of doing a wall or an entire room. The panels at Chasing Paper are 2 ft. x 4 ft., so perfect for smaller projects like these:

Source: Chris Everard

Frame out a large section of wallpaper with some crown molding.

Source: BHG

Cover a cart (or bookshelf on wheels) with wallpaper.

Source: House to Home

Stick wallpaper inside a bookshelf for a graphic patterned backdrop.

Source: BHG

Wallpaper a headboard.

Source: Chez Larsson

Give your stair risers some extra oomph. This is a Chasing Paper print.

Source: Aunt Peaches

Wallpaper your fridge. This is Chasing Paper, too!

Source: Waverly ad via More Design Please

Add pattern to the laundromat you manage.

Removable wallpaper from Chasing Paper

I'm pleased to announce a new print on a new product: removable wallpaper! Chasing Paper has just launched my Sunburst print in nine— that's right, NINE— colors in their shop.


I'm super excited. This stuff is like regular wallpaper, except it's self-adhesive and no paste is required. It's low-tack, so peeling it off won't harm your paint. (Or your 70s wood paneling.) Renters, rejoice! It's repositionable, so if you stick a piece on crooked or start putting it up on one wall and then decide it would look better somewhere else, no problem. Just move it. It's not contact paper; it's actually printed fabric and has a visibly woven texture so it looks richer than a wall decal. And it's wipeable!

Chasing Paper's wallpapers come in 2 ft. by 4 ft. panels, so you can buy a little for a small project, or a lot for a big project. Cover an accent wall. Or the inside of a bookshelf, or the top of a TV tray.






There's a bit of satin sheen to the paper.


I covered a plain white cabinet in my dining room.


Since I'm always skeptical about claims of durability, I decided to find out how easy this stuff is to clean. Let's pretend you accidentally throw some chocolate sauce at your wall.


It wipes off easily, leaving the wallpaper unharmed.


Let's pretend you accidentally run your wallpaper under some water. No problem. The ink doesn't run and you can dry it right off.

You know what that means. I have to put a wallpaper backsplash behind my sink.

Buy this design from Chasing Paper right here, or browse their other fun patterns!

Click here to see some fun and unconventional ways to decorate with wallpaper.

12 May desktop wallpapers

There are a ton of pretty, floral May desktops out there, free for the taking. If your screen needs a May calendar or quote, consider one of these springy items from designers around the web:

1. Enchanted Woods
2. Emily Ley
3. Ruche
4. Sarah Hearts
5. Regina F. Silva
6. Grown-up Shoes
7. Caroline Johansson
8. La boom!
9. Jonathan Woodward
10. Pimpelmees
11. Love Creative
12. Rebekka Seale

Printable Mother's Day card

Mother's Day is coming up, so I made a little freebie you can download and print for your mum. It's a greeting card that fits in a standard A2 envelope. (4.25" x 5.5" after folding.) And it won't use up much of your ink cartridge. You could output this on linen-textured cardstock to make it really nice, and pair it with a red or green envelope. And a pie.

Download the card right here.

Design your own stamps

A package came in the mail today.


A stamp I designed! It's from Stamptitude, a shop offering custom-made, self-inking stamps. Run by a husband and wife team, the little company just opened their doors. They agreed to make me a complimentary product sample to review, so I simplified the design I'd put on those foil cards and sent it over. Voilà! It has been magically reincarnated as a pre-inked stamp! When the ink runs out someday, I can just pour in more. No need for a stamp pad.

This thing is going to be really useful. On envelopes and packages, at the top of note paper, on post-its, gift tags, wine bottle tags, treat bags, business cards... I might go around stamping everything. I totally love it.

Some of the first impressions I made with it were pretty patchy, but I figured out I needed to press harder and leave the design depressed against the paper longer. According the website's FAQ's, you can also adjust the amount of ink flow by using the "lift & twist" mechanism at the base of the handle.


Stamptitude's custom stamps are quite affordable; prices start at $12. Just create your design, choose a shape, size and ink color, and upload your artwork. They ship globally. Order here.

Creative Market: resources for designers

Graphic designers, have you come across Creative Market yet? It's an online shop full of useful goodies.

Some examples from the store: textures for adding flavor to your images. Product mockups, like the vector iMac shown above ($2)— useful for showing off websites or desktop wallpapers. Also find fonts for sale, plus a selection of templates for everything from business cards to WordPress blogs. Personally I'm most interested in the Photoshop actions. Get automated processes that turn average photos interesting, like the 42-action set below ($10).

It's a good resource to keep in mind for projects, since there's lots of stuff that will save you time. Buy something for $5 that would take you three hours to make. Or if you've already spent those hours, consider selling your own digital products over there!