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!

Quiz: Which celebrity designer gets you?

I've posted a million design-related quizzes over the years. Here's a new one: Which celebrity designer gets you? Take the quiz at PopSugar to determine who's the best match for your preferences based on pictures you choose. The best part is, Emily Henderson— one of the possible answers— wrote a blog post about how she took the quiz herself wondering if she'd end up with Emily Henderson as the answer, and how it would affect her mental health if she didn't. Hilarious. See her thought process here.

I got Jonathan Adler, which didn't surprise me in the least.

Use a magnifier as a tiny photo frame

We spotted this gizmo in a curiosities shop last weekend. It's a magnifying glass on a stand with two adjustable arms with clips. It's for repairing watches, jewelry, and electronics, but it's even cuter as a tiny picture frame for photo booth shots or old yearbook photos. It magnifies about 4X.


This doodad would make a cool gift for somebody who's into industrial decor, or who just likes weird things. Here's one like ours on Amazon: Helping Hands Soldering Hobby Station, $7.

New Jessica Jones fabric: say hello to Arrow!

Today The Needle Shop has released a new print I designed for them: Arrow, available in three colorways. It's simple and graphic and geometric and cool. Let's make it the new chevron, y'all! Shop for it here.

This fabric is 7 oz. cotton home decor canvas, good for accessories and furnishings. Or you can get crazy like Rachel of The Needle Shop did and whip up a blazer. It would make a smashing shift dress, too. And that suitcase is killing me. I've begged Rachel for a tutorial, so stay tuned.

These prints will also be available in laminated canvas in two weeks. Think makeup bags, placemats, beach totes, wipeable chair seats and all sorts of goodies.






Mum made a quick reversible tote. Love it! It's Tanya Whelan's Flea Market Bag pattern, but with the strap lengthened and the body size adjusted a bit. A great bag for beginners if you want to give it a whirl.



Buy Arrow right here by the yard, or get it wholesale here if you're a fabric shop or manufacturer.

We're dreaming of printing other colorways, too. What combos would you like to see?

I found something in my yard

This was hiding by my front step. A crocus! It's spring!

Just kidding. I know this is a daffodil. It's one of the four plants I know. I haven't seen our yard in spring, so I'm curious what will happen. Right now it looks like a dead weed patch.

Speaking of dead, my new potted palm appears to be ailing already. I followed the Home Depot lady's instructions and let it soak up water from the bottom. After couple hours I dumped out the extra water. That was a week and a half ago. Yesterday after seeing it's looking poorly, I watered it again, this time from the top. Today it seems a little yellower yet. It's in a bright room but out of direct sunlight.


Can someone diagnose the problem? Left up to me, I'd do the plant equivalent of seeing someone with a bad cough and concluding their arm is broken. Not enough water? Too much water? Needs plant food? Root rot. More sun. Less sun. Wants to move to Florida. I don't know. Help.

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.

New old light for the office

A recent antique store find: this mid-century ball pendant light, which now graces the office. At night from the street it looks like a big round moon in there. I love it. Plus it coordinates nicely with these awesome globe lamps in the adjoining room.


I guess some bloggers like to decorate their workspace with cute garlands and buntings. I prefer to drape electrical cords all around behind desks for a more linear, modern effect. Who's with me?


Here's the light fixture that got demoted. It's just not cool. The green finish reminds me of sponge painting, which I dislike pretty intensely. Maybe this guy can find a good home on Craigslist.

I bought the vintage pendant light for $90. Not a steal, but cheaper than new and comes with extra character. I see West Elm is selling something similar for $129, or you could shell out $285 at Rejuvenation.

A cute wallet pattern to sew

Look what my mom (alias Grandma G) sewed me: a couple Get Carded wallets from the pattern by Erin Erickson of Dog Under My Desk. I know you just exclaimed out loud when you saw the cuteness, didn't you? I did when I opened the package.

I have a big vinyl wallet that's slowly disintegrating, and I wanted something trimmer and lighter to put in a small bag or carry in my pocket. So I convinced my mom to make me a Get Carded. Then I looked for fabric on Etsy and was dazzled by all the prints at Fresh Modern Fabric. I couldn't make up my mind between Skinny laMinx's Free as a Bird and Lucie Summers's Summersville Brush Strokes, so I sheepishly asked Mum for two wallets because I'm a greedy, greedy person. FMF mailed her the fabric, and these finished goodies just arrived at my house!

The wallet pattern uses just a fat quarter each for the lining and the exterior, so check out the pretty fat quarter bundles at Fresh Modern Fabrics. Or concoct your own order if you need something different than the combos listed. Such a lovely shop! Go there.


You might turn into a wallet-making machine like Mum. Look— she just keeps going, and she's not done yet. I've created a monster.


The wallet pattern offers three variations for the coin pocket: a flat pocket, a pleated pocket, or a gathered pocket, with a wrist strap or without.


Throw your loose change in there.


Put your driver's license in the clear pocket on the other side. If you don't want your mug showing, the pattern has an option for a fabric pocket there instead.


Then fill all the interior slots with credit cards and cash.


Mum says these are a piece of cake to make. All the cutting is straight lines so it goes fast and there's no hand sewing, only top stitching. She's a big fan of Erin's patterns and says the instructions are so clear and there are so many photos demonstrating the project that you just can't go wrong. (And Grandma G is a tough critic— not all patterns are created equal, so if there was anything wrong with this one, I'm sure I'd hear about it.) The pattern is for sale right here. Enjoy!