stereomood

Super excited about this new-to-me internet radio sensation* called stereomood that lets you choose a radio station based on your mood. Favorites thus far include Melancholy, Sunday Morning, and Summer (for obvious reasons).
The playlists are comprised of old, new, and waaayy-cooler-than-I'd-be-capable-of-finding-on-my-own songs, but all of them are very well suited for the designated mood.

from the site:

behind every song there's always an emotion. we don't know why but maybe that's why we love music.
so we've created a way to suggest songs that follow your feelings: stereomood is the emotional internet radio, providing music that best suits your mood and your activities.

*if it wasn't before, it is now. I declare internet sensation.

(via mint, stereomood here)

summer skirt-o-my dreams

Dear Gap pleated chambray skirt,
You are well on your way to becoming my best friend this summer. Not too long, not too revealing, and your spacious pockets make my heart sing. Thanks for the removable bow-belt and lightweight knits. I have a feeling we're going to get very close these next few months. It also helped that Gap had an additional 40% of skirts and dresses.
love,
Frances

tasty, tasty lobster

As mentioned over on How About Orange, the Lobster font is too lovely to pass up. TONS of ligatures and options -- I love when things this thoughtful are free. I can't wait to try it out!

lovely lovely light.

I love this photograph from Snare Creative's portfolio. I originally bookmarked them a LONG time ago when they were featured on OK Great. Their portfolio is incredibly comprehensive, but this image is my favorite. Part of a series of travel photographs captured on film, this photo was taken spontaneously. I've been back home celebrating my little sister's graduation, and this reminds me of my beloved CTA. I'll be back soon Chicago!

Haiti Poster Project

The Haiti Poster Project has been up and running for quite a while now...some kind folks got together and sent out a call for posters. Designers submit 25 editions of an original poster to sell through the website. The profits go to help Doctors Without Borders, and so far there are 438 posters! They're still accepting submissions, and there are many beautiful posters already listed. My school's AIGA student group submitted several posters (here, here, here, and here), and there are plenty more that I haven't checked out. If you're interested in submitting, you can read the guidelines here.

left Unity*, a gorgeous blind deboss on cotton paper by Catherine Lorenzo Realce of design and letterpress studio visualchemist. right Sew, a screenprint by Thomas Jennings of The Half and Half

left L'espoir Fait Vivre, a screenprint by Josh Emrich of The Tenfold Collective. right Haiti, a relief print by Tim Hartman.

 Together in Harmony, digital print by Arturo Wibawa


design*sponge mentioned it a while ago and included my poster in the round-up. Made my day!

cupcake-pa-looza

I have an internet, umm, err...problem. I currently have six windows open, and each window features at least six tabs. Most more. The idea is that if I leave a website open in a tab I will figure out what to do with it, whether that means bookmarking it three months later or actual application of the knowledge offered. I'm usually fearful that it will get lost in my bookmarks (which it will), and digital hoarding is a lot less clutter-ful than in real life...right?

Anyway, I've had the link to Ming Makes Cupcakes open since someone blogged about it months ago. I also happen to have a bit of a cupcake problem. Ming's photographs are all SO beautiful and everything looks so tasty. The actual recipes aren't that daunting either. Some day in the near future, I'm going to pick a recipe (likely out of a hat, it'll be that difficult) and make them. Cupcakes are just the best, and Ming knows what's up.


Ming's website also features some tasty looking cookies and "savories." If she keeps this up, I'll be addicted.

off le desktop

I have no idea where this image came from, but I saved it to my desktop a while ago. I'm not sure I could ever own patterned furniture with this much intensity, but IKEA makes it easy to dream, right?

holy wowza gelato

Package design and I have a bit of an odd relationship. I really appreciate packaging that is well-designed, but there's a lot of stuff out there that's just fine. Not overly dandy, just slightly above average. It takes something significant to get me excited.


That said, I am so jazzed about this gelati (I assume that's like gelato) packaging by Truly Deeply.
I'd never heard of them before digging around in the archives of Lovely Package, but from the looks of their site, they've got a ton of awesome work.
I love the way they communicated the idea "what dreams taste like" through collage. The combination of dream-like and flavor-related images and unification through color create a completely unique feel that fits each flavor so well. Not only is the design perfectly suited for the product, it's wonderfully inspirational. Ice cream/gelato/sorbet are things that are already appealing, so it's nice to see someone play with the design to make something fresh.

Now if we could only get this stuff in our grocery stores...

Animal Portraits

These have probably been around the blog-block a time or two, but I recently came back to Berkely Illustration on Etsy. Not only do these animal portraits make me laugh, the color palettes are unique and the illustrations are excellent...I can't pick just one.

I would love to put one (or two) of these in my kitchen (or really anywhere) and at $10 for a 5 x 7, that's a realistic possibility for the near future!

calculated colors: bright florals

I think I might be inspired by color palettes more than anything else. There's a certain possibility possessed by simple squares of color, as if they're calling out, "Aren't I unique and great? Make me yours!"
So I usually do.
I originally saw this image along with some other beauties on What Possessed Me and scooted on over to its original home at Dinosaur Designs.

Sometimes colors just look nice together, right?

This is a little ridiculously feminine, but lately I've been really drawn to bold red-oranges paired with softer pinks.
And I would die a little if that floral arrangement magically appeared in my house. Such beautiful peonies.

tiny toy sculptures

I read my fair share of blogs, and one of the best parts of all that reading is learning about artists I wouldn't have otherwise.
Adam Beane is one such artist who works as a commercial sculptor creating incredible life-like tiny masterpieces. That was a lot of adjectives, but I'm really inspired by his craftsmanship and attention to detail.I would love to see what these look like in color, but they're very beautiful regardless.
This kind of blows my mind a little. It's nice to every once in a while browse the portfolio of someone who works in an entirely different medium.

(via Drawn!, Adam's portfolio here)

there are two kinds of light -
the glow that illuminates
and the glare that obscures.
- James Thurber