r's adventure

toolbox: 21

being a designer is part intuition, part skill, part practice. it's easy to become stuck in a rut or unwittlingly limit your creativity with gaps in your knowledge base. this is where skillshare comes in...

skillshare offers a variety of reasonably priced, online courses in design, illustration, crafting, business, the list goes on! it's invigorating to be back learning in a structured fashion and i love how when you take a chance to extend your skills, there's always something unexpected to be gained. i'm starting with 'Beyond the Logo. Crafting a Brand Identity' taught by courtney eliseo, founder of Design Work Life + Seamless Creative.

class starts monday and i hope to share my project as it evolves on my blog over the next few weeks.

toolbox is a weekly post offering a selection of websites or links that i've found inspirational or helpful as a designer in my 9 to 5 design day. to see the rest of the series please click here.

klim

klim type foundry - what is your inspiration?

i say

the start of a great week, i just know it. image via the model scout.

wise words | be something

wise words | typographic experiements of things to remember | as and when i feel like creating them :)

minted | holiday cards

minted's famous holiday card challenge is open for voting and with over 3,000 entries from around the world there's an incredibly inspiring selection to choose from. this year i designed four cards all created to showcase your photo to family and friends (including my chalk-board stamp card i mentioned in this weeks toolbox). if you've got a spare moment i'd really appreciate your vote, thanks!

diamond days (shown above)

L to R > two heart thirteen, a merry and bright future, circle stamp greeting (with close up of chalk board detail)

new rose

ahhhh karen, you've done it again. how can i (and more importantly my wallet) resist when you've even gone and added my name to the collection? see more of the range here and if you need any further convincing, read a few of these reviews. amazing.

minted holiday cards

as promised here are a couple of my minted holiday party invitations i submitted recently. winners to be annouced soon; i'm keeping my fingers crossed!

pop roc parties

we're on the two-week-fourteen-sleeps countdown to our wedding and as an distraction from all the boring (yet, incredibly important details like plan b if it rains, or how much wine will 90 people drink?) i went on a little shopping spree at pop roc parties. pop roc parties is a new zealand company, so shipping is reasonable and delivery was super fast. the best thing about pop roc is the selection of goodies; jars, twine, itty bitty kraft bags, the list goes on. it's worth liking them on facebook to keep up-to-date with specials, etc. i'm already on my second order :)

you and me

guess what i spotted on nole's beautiful blog oh so beautiful paper (via her intagram page)?
a letterpress edition of my minted design 'you and me'. you can now also order it as an anniversary card. a lovely surprise to start the week...

{both photos via oh so beautiful paper}

show and tell | new york

after minneapolis it was time to pack our bags (and big red, holding our most prized possesion - the maemae album - it even got my coat when it rained!) and head for the big apple.

highlights from nyc included eating the BEST pizza ever in brooklyn (we ate there three nights in a row at the same table which had us feeling like locals), navigating the subway system, meeting new friends at nss, manicures, shopping and sharing the craziest times with a sweet friend.

if you have any questions or comments about any techniques or products used in these minibooks let me know in the comments :)