I decided I wanted to give back something to all my loyal readers of Design Lovely by giving you free designs so I am starting a topic called Freebie Fridays where I will post something that I have designed either for you to print, save or share every Friday. My first post for Freebie Friday are these lovely place cards that you can use for Thanksgiving or any other occasion or large gathering. I did a simple line drawing of a chair and leaves and filled them in with a wood texture and the seat cushion is a green traditional styled fabric. All you need to do is print them out here and cut where the soft gray lines are and fold. Voila! I hope you guys like them!

Click here to Print out PDF

I first came across the talented and inspiring artist Summer Dye while perusing my Boho Magazine. I saw the “Anxious Angel Taking Orders” painting (shown bottom left) that she did in the Boho Magazine and I fell in love. (I love that Title too.) I looked her up and sure enough she has plenty more gorgeous pieces. I especially like the ones with an autumn feel to it like the leaves in the squares painting on the top left. I like that she incorporated pink in their as well. Check out more of her lovely art over on her website here.

Summer Dye

Another great magazine that has hit newsstands is the beautiful magazine called Lula. Lula features gorgeous photography of celebrities including Kirsten Dunst and Keira Knightly along with fashion and styled photography of scenes almost as if they come out of a dream. The photos they feature are very magical and whimsical to me which makes the magazine more unique and really stands out from the rest. I think one of my favorite topics is called “Haunt Me” and I believe they are mainly collages or just a collection of someone’s inspiration. They are just lovely! I like their little flip books they have on their site. You can check them out here. They are also having a little contest which I am thinking about entering if I find the time. Basically you have a chance of winning a pair of Charles Anastase sunglasses if you design a pretty postcard with a Haiku written by you. It sounds like a lot of fun. You can check out more about their contest by clicking on “Win Me” on their site.

Lula Magazine

I have always thought that it would be a really cool job to create illustrations for fashion magazines. This seems to be what the Illustrator Daria Jabenco mainly works on. I would imagine that the editor of the magazine comes up with an article or story and then you would create an illustration that went with it. I like that there would be a concept and a clear direction of what you should draw. I think that’s why I love Graphic Design because the clients business really paves the way of the design. Whenever I go to paint or draw I am at a lost of what to draw. Some people have the gift of just drawing anything they think of and that is pretty incredible to me. With Daria’s work she probably reads the article that will be published and then envisions how the scene would look like and I think that is especially creative and takes a lot of imagination. Below are a few samples of her work that I am swooning for. They are just so fashionable and chic yet elegant. You can see more of her work here.

Images from here

Over at the Poppytalk blog she listed a few local craft fairs in Vancouver, BC. Here is a flyer for the first one that she mentioned that looks like a lot of fun to go to. You can see her list here. The One of a Kind Vancouver Craft Fair will be going on November 20th-23rd at the BC Place Stadium. To find out more information on this event please go to www.oneofakindvancouver.com or check out their program here.

I have added more blog banners to the site. You can see all of them by clicking on “blogs” on the top tab of my site or by clicking here. If you would like to add or exchange banners and you blog about design please email me your 125×125 banner or I can make one for you for free. My email address is rachelmallon@gmail.com. Happy reading!

I am officially addicted to weheartit.com. I just signed up today after getting quite of few links to it from Tatielle’s Tumblr page. I started a page and I cant stop looking at other people’s photos. Here is what I have hearted so far. Below are a few images that I have come across recently that I absolutly adore. The pink, the lace, the ruffles, all of it’s just so pretty!

Clockwise from top left: 1. Ye Rin Mok 2. Glynis Selina Arban 3. Tatielle 4. The Venus

I figured I would put together a brown box of favorites that went well with the current season situation. I tried to get a good variety of different designs including fashion, graphics, interior decor, tile design and illustrations. Hopefully one of these items hits home with you. I think my favorite is the owls and I would love to take them home with me.

From top: 1. Net-A-Porter 2. New Ravenna 3. Tok & Stok 4. Pink Loves Brown 5. Happify 6. John Lewis 7. Catherine Regehr 8. Pier 1 9. David Downton

This weekend I added a ton more of my favorites on flickr. I love looking at all of them in thumbnails to see how they all look together and I am definitely seeing a trend of photos that I love. I mainly like photos that are taken of nature in an artistic way and I also love pretty girls in pretty soft clothes. These favorites really inspired me to take some of my own photos and so I got out my old 35mm camera and took some nature shots outside of my house. I still need to take more to finish up the film and if they turn out well I will post them on here and see what you guys think. Below is a sample of some of the photos I added as a fave on flickr. If you like these I would check out more on my flick favorites page. Click here for my Flickr Favorites

If you are a fan like I am of Creature Comforts you will notice I added some of my favorites of hers on the third row down.

Click here for my Flickr Favorites

After looking at so many designs and photographs I have noticed something about my personal taste and style. I love things that are very natural whether it be flowers or leaves and I also love beautiful girls with windswept hair and Annette Mangseth combines both of them and so I absolutely love her artwork. Her drawings are so pretty and just adorable and I love how she draws on old pages of books. She is so original and very talented. Check out more of her work.
Etsy: Click here
Flickr Page: Click here

I mentioned early this week that I was really inspired by the layouts of the Boho Magazine so I decided to step it up a little on my collages. I really loved how boho incorporated quotes in the layouts that fit with the images. So here is a gray collage that I did with some cool gray quotes to follow. I have been doing a lot of gray posts over at my other blog dwellings and decor so I would check it out for more gray inspiration. Have a wonderful weekend!

Clockwise from top right: 1. Dutch House of Photography 2. NY Times 3. Jared Fowler

Opening tomorrow November 14 is the exhibition of Where The Wild Things Are which will show beautiful illustrations by Kelly Smith. She captures this innocent beauty in all of her sketches and I love her play on color and ordinary objects as cover ups. I really like what Alexandra Cuthbert says of her work.

“Viewing Smith’s collection of work is like the equivalent to stepping into a modern day fairytale, an Alice and Wonderland like fantasy land, where Gucci girls drink tea and play with kittens”

If your in Australia I would check it out. If not you can see her work on her website www.birdyandme.com.au.

www.birdyandme.com.au

I am so in love with Elif Sanem Karakoc’s photographs right now. They are breathtakingly beautiful and make me feel so calm and relaxed. The lace, the leaves, the twigs, and the water droplets are taken with such thoughtfulness. She definitely has a great eye for all things beautiful in life. The only things I know about her is that shes a 17 year old chick who lives for photography and lemonade and she is located in Istanbul, Turkey. If she is creating photography like this at the age of 17 then I can’t even imagine what her work will look like when she is 30.

Images from Elif-Sanem-Karakoc

So I don’t usually blog about the graphic work that I do but I wanted to share with you this flyer I designed for a Tropical Styled Furniture Store on Maui called Hale Zen. They opened about 8 months ago and I have worked for them before. I designed their advertising postcard. You can see it here. After doing some research on flyer design I knew I wanted to have something that would really pop and grab your attention so I incorporated a star shaped ornament that they actually sell in their store. I also wanted to create objects that would be slightly angled to make it more interesting so I made little gift tags and angled them and also added a shadow to make it look more 3-dimensional. I was really inspired by the trees that they have in their window display so I made sketchy looking trees that point to where I want the user to read. The client was looking for a tropical yet Christmas feel and is very pleased with the result. If you are going to be on Maui on November 29th you should check it out.

Photographs and Design by me

As I mentioned last week my favorite color is green so I figured this would be the perfect time to share some of my Green Design Lovely Favorites. There is usually a very natural calming feel that goes with anything green except maybe the hulk. Below I have shown green colored products including handbags, jewelry, glassware, notebooks and also product design and green graphic elements that I adore. Make sure to stop by my Wists to see more of my favorites over at http://www.wists.com/designlovely. Enjoy and have a lovely Tuesday!

From top: 1. Mad Imports on Nimli 2. Zelens via The Dieline 3. Alisha Louise 4. Yee-Haw 5. Imaginary Moments 6. Orla Kiely 7. Anthroplogie 8. Velocity Art and Design 9. Kate Spade 10. New York Botanical Garden Shop

Have you guys heard of Boho Magazine? It recently came out on the stands and it is fabulous, inspiring, and all eco-friendly! I have to be honest about how I feel about most magazines. I usually don’t buy them because they have way to many advertisements and I see and find way more in the blogoshere and they are wasteful. The thing about Boho is that there are hardly any advertisements and if there are they are there for really good causes. The magazine is printed on Environmental paper which is chlorine free and FSC certified and you can recycle it! They also feature all green products and they score it with 1-3 leaves. Even though eco-products are still all the rage it isn’t always easy finding out about them and Boho makes it really easy! I love the way they lay out every page and they must have a talented graphic designer on board. They have so many cool brushes and fonts and its just page after page of gorgeous and cool finds. I am just so inspired by this magazine and it really pushes me to create better looking posts and to feature more eco-friendly products. Thanks Boho!

Photographs by me. Photoshop Brush by Graphics Illustrations. Check out the magazine’s website at www.bohomag.com

Below are some beautiful and romantic looking green photographs that I felt I must share with you. Green is my favorite color because its calming, inviting, and natural and I love that these photos tell a story especially in the ones with the women in them.  I imagine that the middle image is a woman who is waiting for her lover and I imagine that the woman in the bottom right hand corner was hiding in the bushes and now she has been discovered. It takes a talented photographer to create a story from one image even if its not the same story for everyone.

Clockwise from top left: 1. Chictopia 2. Caroline Swift 3. shandyrp 4. Christopher Baker on Bill Charles 5. (Center) Natalia Fanzoom via Mood Board Blog

My mom and I were at Borders last week and we came across these fun and eco-friendly greeting cards. They are made out of some sort of balsa wood and they have so many cute designs to choose from. I love some of the names they give the cards like corny racoon, Modern Folksy Blue Bird, and Fashionably Folksy Owl. When we headed toward the checkout we saw little adorable notebooks just like the cards. I highly recommend checking them out either at Borders or online at Night Owl Paper Goods

There are quite a few art events going on this weekend that I would be sure to check out if you are in the area. The first one is the Art Attack located over in Minneapolis, MN over in the Northeast Minneapolis Arts District. The weekend-long event features hundreds of artists working in ceramics, glass, jewelry, mixed media, mosaics, painting, photography, pottery, sculpture, wood, textiles, and more. This is great for some early holiday shopping. The second event is featuring the wonderful and talented artist Audrey Kawasaki. Her sketches are so beautiful and detailed that you cant help but be intrigued by her work. The last flyer shown is for Timothy Karpinski’s artwork. I love that his work brings a sense of love and warmth and that it brings a feeling of peace. Go to the links below to see sneak peaks of the shows. The last two are being featured in Los Angeles.

http://www.northrupkingbuilding.com/artattack

http://www.sourharvest.com/thinkspace/2008/drawingroom/index.php

http://www.sourharvest.com/thinkspace/2008/project/placehome/index.php

The work of Dana Cowie is absolutely exquisite. Her choice of color combination is unique and well balanced and she is able to capture such a beautiful feeling to her art. Check out more of her inspiring art over at www.danacowie.com.

As most of you know tomorrow is election day. So today I just wanted to show some lovely images of red white and blue photos and artwork to give a little reminder to vote tomorrow. These images are really only politic by color and are quite beautiful. Hopefully they will set the tone and get you in the right mood for making all those decisions. Happy Voting!

Clockwise from top left:1. IJM 2. Katja Rahlwes Photography 3. i.anton 4. Gucci 5. John Dolan 6. The Pairabirds 7. Lloyd Hughes 8. Sand Box Studio 9. Julien Pacaud 10. John Dolan 11. Edge Reps

12. Lloyd Hughes 13. (center) Volksfaden

The lovely work below was created by the talented artist Lena Wolff. I am especially intrigued by her work because she uses so many different mediums and at first glance you cant really tell but most of her work is a collage of images. She creates was she calls a Paper Quilt like the one in the top right hand corner. That one for example is made with acrylic, graphite and pinpricks. There is a total of 9 panels and its 60 x 45 inches. Her consistent collection is quite beautiful and her work is very inspiring. Check out her website to see more of her lovely creations.

Have a great weekend and a Happy Halloween!

Below is my roundup of lovely favorites that are black or black and white. You will notice that I like things on the ornate side when it comes to black whether it be jewelry, artwork, or packaging. I think it might be because when something is simple plain and in black it doesn’t intrigue my interest as much. Not to say I don’t like simple black objects because they definitely have their place. When you have a lot already going on and you need a more simple item then black or white can really compliment and complete the look. Enjoy!

From Top: 1. Miss Capricho 2. Cooper Hewitt 3. Kates Paperie 4. Day 5. Nina Chakrabarti 6. Inside Out 7. Finnish Design Shop 8. Marcatlan 9. Magnolia Moonlight 10. Bride and Wolfe

While trying to decide on what I wanted to be for Halloween I pondered the thought of being some sort of magical creature. Before I decide on any design I always do the research. So I started by searching for some inspiration and I came across Little Robot. She is an artist in Glasgow, Scotland where she creates magical looking art with her favorite materials ink, paper, oil, and wood. I adore the fairy like creatures in her art and just love how delicate and natural they look. I ended up going with a wood elf costume and I’ve been having so much fun putting it together. I got these really cool brown suede high boots with faux fur inside and I also got a really cute short green dress. I am putting together a brown leather tie up belt around my waist and I have fake gold and green foliage for my hair and to add to my boots. I really wanted a bow and arrow but we couldn’t find any on island. On Maui we have this event called Marti Gras of the Pacific and it goes on every Halloween. They close down Front street for the night and people from all around the world come to celebrate. It is one of my favorite things to do here. I highly recommend it.

These are some images that I just love and came across recently from most of the blogs that I subscribe to. I felt that I needed to share these fun and cool photos for Halloween that may help you get into gear for Halloween whether it be decorating, hosting a party or making your costume.

Clockwise from top left: 1. Smosch 2. Matthew Mead Style 3. Smosch 4. Garance Dore

Clockwise from top left: 1.Martha Stewart Crafts 2. Ranek 3. Amy Atlas 4. IJM

Clockwise from top left: 1. Luella 2. Uppercase Gallery 3. Ye Rin Mok 4. Smosch

Clockwise from top left: 1. Cloud Berry Living 2. Hostess with the Mostess 3. Birdspoke 4. Camera Link