A farewell to orange

Dear friends, the time has come. This blog is going into retirement. I'm packing it a suitcase stuffed with coral golf shirts, pumpkin plaid shorts, and tangerine tube socks and sending it off to hit golf balls in the sunny land of old blogs that had a good run.

If you know me in real life, you know I've been talking about finishing up this project for... oh, a couple of years now. Blogging has always been just a hobby for me, and I've avoided turning it into a full-time business with big collaborations, brand partnerships, and sponsored everythings. I never even bought a real domain name. I love graphic design, my bread and butter, and it has become too demanding to run this blog and get my client work done, which is always my first priority.

But I'm not disappearing. All the old posts will remain, plus we will stay internet friends. Here's where to find me:

How About Orange Facebook page (because I can't quit cold turkey, and will likely post more frequently there. Click "Get Notifications" under the Like tab.)
Me on Instagram
Me on Twitter
Me on Pinterest
My graphic design site blog
My graphic design Facebook page
The Oscar bingo mailing list (yes, I am still making Oscar bingo every year!)

Thank you, everyone, for your friendship, comments, and company for the last 7 1/2 years. God bless you and keep you, and make His face shine upon you and be gracious to you.

Amen.

Goodbye.

Um, leaving now. Okay. Right. Done. The end.

New work for Renaissance Ribbons

A fun surprise came in the mail today— a box of my latest designs for Renaissance Ribbons. I had a catalog of options they picked from, and then they requested a few color changes and a new design to add to the bunch, school buses. It's lots of fun working with those folks; they are delightful.


The tickets are my favorite. I amused myself by making the numbers tiny jokes that nobody is ever going to notice. 8675309. 5882300.


The stamps are fun.


And this zigzag stuff makes me happy.

These are now posted in the Renaissance Ribbons wholesale site for shops to order, and they'll appear on Renaissance's retail site in several weeks where you can buy them by the yard.

Various projects on my list

I've got an unending list of small projects for the house. So fun! It's like my own personal playground in there. Here's a sampling.

See that clear acrylic table in front of the couch in my office area? It's part of a set of 3 cheap nesting tables I got on eBay. I picked them because I liked how they didn't look bulky and I can rearrange them all the time. The problem: I keep running into them because they're clear and I'm a klutz. So I plan to draw some sort of design on them with a white Sharpie paint pen.


It could look cool, right? Here's an example of something related: the Timber Table from Gus Modern. (Photo from Gus.)


Next. A confession: I created an art forgery. I had a Rifle Paper calendar sitting around and decided that something flowery and patterned just like that would be precisely the thing to add to our patterned dining room. Except no Rifle prints come in 2 ft by 3 ft, so I painted one. Er, as artists like to say, "it's an homage to" Anna Bond? Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery?

I don't know what came over me since I don't even LIKE really flowery things that much. The room made me do it. I'm having second thoughts and maybe I'll put something else there. Not flowery. More modern. Either that, or this canvas needs a frame. On the to-do list: solve this problem.




And then I have this parrot fabric. I'm thinking it could go on the folding chairs we'll pull up to the table when we have extra guests. I could spray paint the frames and reupholster the seats; people can sit on the parrots. OR I could decoupage them onto a tray and set a vase of greenery on those birds.

Those are three projects from my list of 500.

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!

Noisli soothing noise generator

When you're trying to work without distraction but need a little background noise, or you're struggling to relax and fall asleep, you might like Noisli. It's a website and app that lets you pick different sounds to play, including rain, a fan, white noise, crickets, and more. Play multiple sounds at the same time if you want to get crazy. The coffee shop is the best— freelancers feeling lonely at their desks can just turn on a background hum of people talking and dishes clattering. Instant fake human contact. Try it out.

Arrow iPad case

Alex has taken over my old iPad case, so Mum sewed me a new one from Orchid Arrows. The pattern is Erin Erickson's Gadget Guard, and I love it. Nicely padded with Soft & Stable, but not bulky. A perfect fit for my antique iPad.


The pleated pocket on the front can hold a charging cord, pens, small notebook, cash, love letters, or photos of your hamster.

The pattern has options for putting the zippers on the long or short side, leaving the pocket off, and sizing it for any device up to one inch thick.


Of course I requested orange zippers to go with the purply-pink arrows, but the turquoise zips Mum put on her own case with the navy background look almost as fabulous.


P.S. I just learned that Erin's patterns are all 25% off through Sunday, May 11. Correction: Monday, May 12. Go shopping!

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.

Freshie & Zero modern jewelry

I'm not a huge jewelry person, but I love the simple, modern earrings and necklaces at Freshie & Zero— they're "made with love and a hammer in Nashville, TN." Beth Lawrence, the jewelry artist behind these handmade beauties, is a How About Orange fan and wrote in to share her work. As she says, these pieces are great for accenting any orange outfit without taking away from it.

So true. Though you likely dress in orange every day of the week, I bet the designs will even work on those very few occasions in which you can't. Like funerals and family portraits where you must all wear white shirts and khakis to humor your mother-in-law. Shop here!

P.S. This is not a sponsored post. I just like these.