blank walls

I have a confession to make - for the last five, almost six years of living in our home ... I've hardly put any artwork on the walls. And honestly for me, it's a travesty! Okay, maybe not that tragic, but you know what I'm saying. Can I even call myself remotely creative when I have nothing on my walls? Okay, save for a photo print of trees that someone gave us for a wedding gift and a photo rope filled with baby announcements and wedding save-the-dates in the kitchen. A friend from college once said "blank walls are the sign of a blank mind," a statement that I don't necessarily agree with, but it sure does make for some boring decor!

So lately I've been pinning artwork on one of my Pinterest boards to try to nail down a style or look that I like, and I realize why my walls have been so blank all these years! I have a fear of commitment - "print commitment" if you will. A hilarious concept, really. I'm afraid that what I put up there is going to be there forever and an inaccurate representation of who we are. And I think I just need to bite the bullet and get hammering! These photo hanging strips will help me with my commitment-phobia so I can change things out more easily if that Magritte/Super Mario print doesn't tickle my fancy anymore (which in fact, it doesn't!).

Here are a few art prints I've been eyeing:

This first one is from the American Cancer Society and is by Andrew Bannecker. It's called "Wish."

It is a great tribute to the fight against cancer, which I'm all for.

I love the rustic wood type print and colors in this next print by normatstudio and I'd love to create something like this with another saying.

This print has a great sentiment and I love the hand drawn words.

My summer project will be to get some art and photography up on the walls, and hopefully in the coming posts you'll see the final layout. Whether or not these works of art will make it, well, that's another story!

easter reflections

Hope you had a lovely Easter weekend, friends! We had a great time at two weddings (hubby and daughter went to one, I went to the other) on Saturday and then took off for a night and a day at the beach house! Some sweet family friends offered it, so we took them up on the generous gift. Though it was very very windy at the coast, it was still beautiful.

So beautiful that I got up to take it all in! If you know me, I'm a woman who loves her sleep ... but even so I found myself wanting to sit by the waves even in the early morning hours. So while everyone else was asleep, I snuck out to the beach and sat on a driftwood log to enjoy the waves and gulls in the foggy gray. It was a perfect way to think on and reflect on the true meaning behind Easter. Not all the eggs and bunnies, but of Christ's love for us. As a new mom, I feel like I have a better understanding of the sacrificial and pure love that God has for us, at least in a small way. Each night before I put Norah to bed, I look down at her in my arms and I am overcome by love. It's nothing like I've ever known. All my life I've chosen to love others -- my husband, my friends, even my family. It is a conscious decision to love them. But when I look at her, something just stirs within me when I see the child that I've carried inside and given birth to. She is someone that I immediately loved and had no choice about loving. The love I have for her just IS. It is full and deep and hits me right at the core of my heart. When they placed her on my chest after she took her first breath, I was moved straight to tears. I could not hold them back, and from that moment on, she was the most precious thing to me.

So I can't even wrap my mind around how much God loves us! Or that He would give His Son! It is overwhelming. Thank you, Jesus. Thank you.

cinemagraphs

I've been a big fan of photographer Jamie Beck since discovering her beautiful tumblr blog, From Me to You over a year ago. Recently she started creating these photo + video combinations that she calls cinemagraphs, which are totally awesome animated gifs. But about 200 times better. Remember those horribly garish ones from the 90's? Yeah, these are not like those at all.

They are still photographs with objects or subjects that subtly move and give way to a moment in time. It is super brilliant and so interesting. I think it's innovative and I wonder if other photographers are going to pick up on it! See the collection of cinemagraphs here, and read an interview with Jamie and her fiance Kevin about the concept here. Beware, it does take a little time to load the gifs, but it is very worth it. And some of them will creep you out, they are so real.

Here are two of my favorites (look at her skirt in the second one!).

a little soundtrack: april chase

My friend mentors a band called April Chase and they just released their new EP, Still Breathing. Consisting of young students from my alma mater, this alternative pop rock band has some infectious melodies and a great female lead singer. I love her indie style and her voice, which sometimes reminds me of a younger Gwen Stefani with a cleaner edge.

One of my favorite songs is Time Won't Tell, which is especially wonderful as an acoustic number. Check out this fantastic music video shot by some talented buddies over at The Mighty Fifty. I love music Tuesdays. Stream their entire EP here.

April Chase - Time Won't Tell (Live Performance) from The Mighty Fifty on Vimeo.

martha stewart spring ipad videos

Erin Jang is so talented! For her art director position at Martha Stewart Living she has been coming up with these short and crafty iPad videos that are very inspiring. Whether it's stop motion origami, disappearing chocolates, or swirly and colorful soap suds, it's neat to see a lighter side to Martha. And the music selection is pretty great too.

friday photo: hot hot hot!

It's been so hot lately ... it was just 80 degrees today! No complaints here, we are breaking out the shorts and flip flops with glee! This photo was taken last summer during a trip to Seattle to visit our cousins (good times!), and the heading is quite appropriate. Note the preggo belly as well.

Well, we're headed off to farmer's market tomorrow, have fun playing wherever you are!

designing away

Okay, I'm totally behind on blogging, but I'm going to do my best to keep it up -- at least weekly! Lots has been going on lately ... mostly by way of design projects that have been cropping up. I've had at least 1-2 a week! Exciting.

A baby shower invitation and decorations for the event, a wedding invitation, a t-shirt design for our church youth group, and the cover of a songbook! Fun fun fun. I can't show all of the designs here yet, but here are two:

a baby shower invitation for my best friend

a t-shirt design commissioned by our church youth group, art directed by me

I am loving the design process for these events - each idea is very organic, and sometimes I find myself getting an idea after a night of sleep. It's quite refreshing to see them come to fruition with some sketching and reworking. My little notebook is filled with ideas, and some of them may not become a reality, but I like that other projects ride on the wake of those little thoughts. Sometimes it's difficult to be consistently creative and challenge yourself to think out of the box, especially when there is so much swirling around the internet. I feel blessed that there is so much creativity spilling forth right now. More to come!