Free resources for designers

I was searching for a Photoshop mockup the other day and found FreebiesBug, a site that rounds up the best free resources for web and print designers. There are lots of junky sites out there, but this is one of the good ones. Get fonts, seamless patterns, buttons, icons, CSS snippets, and PSD mockups of screens to which you can add your own graphics.

Maybe you've designed a nice desktop wallpaper and wish you had a computer image to show it on. Or you need a new background pattern for your blog or Twitter, or you're looking for an interesting display typeface. Check out these resources.

Tutorial: make a DIY art installation

If you're tired of the accessories and artwork in your home, why not transform them into a sculptural art installation? This simple project will refresh the look of any room. Flat planes and geometric shapes echo your room's architecture, while carefully selected found objects add visual interest.

Materials needed:
An apartment full of stuff
Empty boxes
Packing tape

Instructions:
Place your belongings in boxes and seal each with tape. Stack the boxes in piles, varying the height of each column to create visual rhythm. Add a few focal points to draw the eye. Here, I've added a green suitcase to break up the field of beige. I pulled in a few additional elements— plastic tubs and artwork— to complete the composition.

This is a simple, low-cost project any home owner can execute, and the result is a dramatic transformation. Fabulous!

Help me find old-house decorating ideas

I haven't moved in yet, but I've been searching the web for inspirational photos of old homes with dark woodwork paired with modern furnishings. I'd love our house to be eclectic— a mix of modern / industrial paired with the traditional elements that are already part of the 1899 house.

Trouble is, on most of the decorating sites I've looked at, all the trim has been painted white. It's actually sort of challenging to find examples of dark wood plus modern style.

CB2's little Mix in Modern slideshow is a great example. Check it out! An image is above.

Have you guys seen inspiring photos online? I started a Pinterest board for old house ideas, and I wish I could open it so everyone could add pins. That's not possible as far as I can tell; I'd have to invite you all one by one using your email addresses. Besides not having them, it would take a gazillion years to enter them all.

So if you come across any nice photos, could you share them? Either:
1) Paste the link in a comment here. I'll pin them to the Old House Ideas board.
Or,
2) Tag your finds on Pinterest with hashtag #oldhouseideas in the image description.

Maybe other folks have the same type of home and can benefit from some inspiration, too. Thanks!

A peek at our new house

We're off to the Cincinnati area next week, leaving our pretty 1920s condo and going back in time. To 1899. To this house. We like interesting homes, and nothing says interesting like a house with a servants' stairway. This place is lovely.


Or almost lovely. I adore orange, but this is Halloween all day, every day. You can see the potential awesomeness, though, with different paint and a new light fixture, right?


So far we've moved in a couple of our picture frames. They will look microscopic on the walls, because this place has... gulp, 12-foot ceilings. Nope, 10-foot ceilings. (The information on the listing was incorrect.)


Above is the living room.


Here's the master bedroom. See a pattern here? There is A LOT of dark wood. It's really dim inside. After reading old-house forums and Apartment Therapy for awhile, I know there are people who would stab me in the eyeballs for even thinking of painting trim white. On the other hand, they'd probably feel bad if the gloom caused me to fall into a deep depression and I jumped off an Ohio River bridge someday. But I will do everything humanly possible with wall paint, rugs, furniture, and light fixtures to avoid painting over the old wood and then re-evaluate. This bedroom with light, cool-toned walls already looks better than the living room.


Here's the kitchen. The design doesn't make me do cartwheels, but I'll be happy to cook and hang out here.

I'm terribly excited to get in there and start sprucing things up. It's a wonderful house with so much character, and we like projects. Wish us luck! I'll be sure to post lots of before and after shots.

My home office

The Creative Group, a staffing agency for creative jobs, is doing a blog series on the offices of designers. They interviewed me recently to ask about working from home. You can read my answers and find a few snapshots on the TCG blog.

I'm feeling nostalgic about my workspace since I'll be packing it up this week for the move to Cincinnati. Movers arrive a week from today, eek! And then we're off to our new (very old) house in Newport, KY, just across the river from downtown. I'll give you a peek soon.

My favorite cocktail recipes

I've tried making lots of cocktails at home and realized that my very favorites have a couple things in common: fresh-squeezed citrus juice and maraschino liqueur. (Don't use the red juice from a jar of cherries, even if you think it's tasty or want to save money. This is different.)

Here are my top three drinks:

Aviation Cocktail (pictured above)
1 1/2 oz. Gin
1 tsp. Crème de Violette
1/2 oz. Maraschino Liqueur
1/4 oz. Simple Syrup
3/4 oz. Fresh Lemon Juice
Add ingredients to a cocktail shaker filled with ice. Shake vigorously and strain into a chilled glass.

Hemingway Daiquiri
1 1/2 oz. White Rum
1/4 oz. Maraschino Liqueur
1/2 oz. Fresh Grapefruit Juice
3/4 oz. Fresh Lime Juice
1/2 oz. Simple Syrup
Add ingredients to a shaker filled with ice. Shake and strain into a glass.

Blue Grass Cocktail
2 oz. Bourbon Whiskey
1 oz. Pineapple Juice
1 oz. Lemon Juice
1 tsp. Maraschino Liqueur
Shake and strain. You know the drill.

Give one a try this holiday weekend!

P.S. My orange starburst cocktail shaker and ice bucket were a gift from Wild Eye Designs. I'm sure you can appreciate why I love them. The shaker even comes with a spare gasket.

Recipe book: Small Gatherings

Another cookbook I'm looking forward to testing is Small Gatherings: Seasonal Menus for Cozy Dinners by Jessica Strand. It offers complete menus divided by season, with suggestions for what to make the day before, hours before guests arrive, and at the last minute. That way you'll have maximum time to spend with your company instead of being tied to the kitchen. I love that the timing is planned out— then I don't have to think so hard. The food is fancier than I normally make, but still pretty easy to prepare. Lots of fresh ingredients are put together into simple, elegant dishes that will trick friends into thinking I'm sophisticated.


There are seasonal drink recipes, like Spicy Ginger Mint Cocktails.


I'm definitely making this Crostini with Goat Cheese, Garlic, and Grapes. I might forget the name of it and accidentally serve it as "Yummy Stuff on Toast," but it will taste great.


The photos are inspiring.


Photo by Sheri Giblin.

The publisher has provided a sample spring menu for us to try. Download and print out these recipes:
Spring Pea Soup with Mint and Toasted Pistachios
Fingerling Potatoes With Herbed Whole Yogurt
Salmon en Papillote With Dill
Perfectly Rosie Peaches with Crème Fraîche

Small Gatherings is available here at Amazon. Enjoy!

Double-Chocolate Raspberry Muffin recipe

I'm pretending I'm a food blogger this week. I got some fun review copies of cookbooks in the mail, so Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday heading into the holiday weekend I'll post some recipes to try out.

Baked carbs are my favorite food group and comprise the bottom tier of my personal food pyramid. (What, the Food Pyramid is now obsolete and the USDA recommends something called a Food Plate? Okay, then please load up my plate with muffins and bread.) I can't wait to test recipes from Good Morning Baking!, a new cookbook by Mani Niall. Here's a sample recipe for Double-Chocolate Raspberry Muffins from the book. They happen to be vegan, too, if you use non-dairy chocolate chips!

Download the printable recipe here.

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Double-Chocolate Raspberry Muffins
From Good Morning Baking by Mani Niall. Photo by Erin Kunkel. Provided by Egg and Dart Press.

"These are so cute that my guests called them cupcakes! I adapted an old World War II recipe that called for neither eggs nor butter, because both were in short supply at that time. My vegan friends were thrilled and no one else suspected that this rich, delectable combination of chocolate and tart raspberries contained no dairy or eggs. Feel free to use frozen raspberries if fresh are unavailable, adding them to the batter frozen.
Makes 12 muffins

2 1/3 cups unbleached all purpose flour
1½ cups sugar
½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1½ teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
¾ cup canola or other neutral flavored vegetable oil
½ teaspoon distilled white vinegar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
¾ cup semisweet or milk chocolate chips
1½ cups fresh or frozen raspberries

1. Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350˚F. Line a 12-cup standard muffin tin with paper liners.

2. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt. If the mixture is at all lumpy, pass it through a sieve or sifter. In a medium bowl, whisk together the oil, vinegar, vanilla, and 1¼ cups water. Make a well in the flour mixture and gradually pour in the oil mixture, whisking as you go. The mixture will become quite thick and pasty, but you need to whisk firmly so that the dry ingredients absorb all the wet ingredients. Stir in the chocolate chips and about two-thirds of the raspberries. Divide 90 percent of the batter evenly among the prepared muffin cups (see note). Garnish with the remaining raspberries.

3. Bake until the muffins spring back when pressed lightly in the center with a fingertip, 20 to 22 minutes. Let cool in the pan on a wire rack for a few minutes, then turn the muffins out onto the rack and serve warm. These muffins are best when eaten the day they are baked.

Note: Sorry, but this recipe makes just a little too much batter for a standard muffin tin! I bake the extra batter in an ovenproof ramekin and enjoy it as a special treat for the baker."

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The book is full of delicious-looking breakfast items— some traditional, and some gluten free and vegan. Chocolate Blackberry Scones, Mexican Capirotada (bread pudding), or Apricot Cherry Buckle, anyone?

Get Good Morning Baking right here at Amazon.