the holidays? huh?

if you're like me, you're still stuck in summer mode. i attempt to snuggle into denial's warm embrace until it finally lets me down, back to reality's pull. then it hits me: another school year means my kids are getting older. no doubt i need to accept it. embrace it. then document it.

enter my new line of holiday cards at ruvacards.com (like the lead in?). these double-sided, color cards let you pick a photo or artwork of your child(ren) accompanied by a list of some of their favorite things - a window, if you will, into their world. be it strawberry picking, cartwheeling, ice creaming. loved ones want to know. loved ones want to ohhh and awww... go ahead, indulge them. and yourself. because even if you're kids keep changing right before your eyes, you can capture them this holiday in all your glorious acceptance.

 

fold n glue fun

like symmetry? simplicity? plain ole' fun? then you'll love what we made at the new children's museum. so simple a kid can do it (and many did)!

1. cut out eight 2" circles made out of wallpaper, thick magazine pages or behr paint chips. pay attention to pattern, color, texture. whatever looks good to you.

2. cut out a 2" equilateral triangle out of cardboard or other rigid material.

3. place the triangle in the middle of the circle.

4. fold in three edges of each circle around the triangle. glue stick folded edge of one circle to folded edge of another. we glued a group of 4 circles together to create the "top" of the circle.

5. repeat #3-#5 with the other 4 circles to create the "bottom."

6. glue top to bottom. voila!

the above directions make the smaller ornament in the picture. to create the larger one, do the same with 45-50 circles and group them together in fives. fill in with additional circle as needed.

possibilities: use monochromatic paper to create themed ornaments for wedding/baby shower. photocopy pictures onto paper to make circles for a memorable baby mobile or kid's birthday. now, you go.

scale, layering, composition

the walt disney concert hall. or as my son puts it, "the place where 'get smart' was filmed!"

each turn up, down and around this building was a constant revealing, opening and unfolding. from the scale of the street, to the sidewalk to the flower petal water fountain. each form individually and as a whole reinforced its role in the power of scale, layering and composition in the form of sculpture and architecture. (sculptecture was on the tip of my mouth but didn't want to get too corny). it seems fitting that this building houses the l.a. philharmonic which in its very nature is an art of scale, layering and composition. an inspiration for the eyes, ears and soul.

giveaways for moms starts today!

know a mom? are a mom? like free stuff? three words: post & win, my friend! head on over to todaysmama.com  for a chance to win something new everyday thru aug 2 by posting your answer to the daily question. 

TODAY'S Q: what piece of advice do you wish you'd been told about giving birth? how about feeling like being hit by a truck the day after? oh yeah, that....go for it and good luck!

kelly lauro, realtor

real estate. how to make your mark. i personally wanted kelly to choose the door knocker. it's an unusual graphic, it's eye-catching, it's different. it's also kinda cute. maybe that's why she didn't pick it. i like playing with typography in logo design, sometimes letters can speak to you. she wanted something simple. something that graphically communicated what her profession was. the question was: do i want to be literal? too many cutesy clipart images filled my mind: house, bricks, chimney. i went the opposite and hinted at the form of a house. in other words, anti-cutesy, abstract, sculptural. good thing she liked that one too!

birth announcements at ruvacards

announcing my birth annnouncement line at ruvacards.com! this was a labor of love because i used these on my sweet baby girl. there's a matching christening invitation that goes with it and if you anything like me, you're late on announcing (too busy trying to sleep) so a 2-for-1 sounds pretty good. pink, blue and green designs available...

seeing and being: 3|2009

whenever i get a new project, i wait for ideas, for images, for inspiration. i don't jump on a design unless i immediately get a visual. about 90% of the time, i just wait. and i'm not saying that i see it in a dream (altho that has happened a time or two) or it just materializes before my eyes. but i do find myself being more open to what's around me: colors, textures, adjacencies.

that bright yellow utility cover in front of my house that i run over with the car each day, only to discover it's beauty on the way back from the park. how the contrast of the earth beneath the green groundcover invigorates the other's color. these specific things may not be incorporated into my actual designs, but consciously being aware of what's around me, helps me to see more, to feel more, be more in my own life. maybe it's this perspective that i'm attracted to, more so than its result.