C O N T E N T

Selective Twitter Status for Fan Pages and Personal Profiles

2009-09-30T09:08:00.009-05:00

Saving time by having all of your tweets update to your Facebook status might sound fabulous, but sometimes your tweets make no sense out of context. Here's an example of a reply I made that would not belong on Facebook: @macaroniandglue I like the part-how many redshirts did they lose-can't be many left.
If you made more than, let's say two tweets a day like this, it would quickly become annoying to Facebook friends/fans and even more so for those who were not on Twitter.
Thanks to a Facebook application by Andy Young, called Selective Twitter Status, you are allowed to selectively update your Facebook status from Twitter. You choose which tweets to allow by ending your post with #fb.
Here's how to set it up.
1) Log in to Facebook, enter "Selective Twitter Status" into the search box on the top right and click on the search icon.

2) When you get to the page, click on "Go to application"

3) Enter your Twitter user name and click "Save"

4) Now, simply add #fb when you want to update your Facebook status.

Note:
1) If you're currently using the Twitter application or other app to update your status, remember to remove or disable it so that it doesn't keep updating with all your tweets.
2) In your Twitter "settings", make sure "Protect my Tweets" box is unchecked.

Do Your Consumers Know Your Brand?

2009-09-16T17:09:00.005-05:00

Your brand is what your consumers and employees think of your services and company. Brand makes an emotional connection to them about your company. Being remembered is essential and a companys brand, or recognition is considered one of the most valuable company assets.

You may be hearing, bzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.

Really, design is like a conductor of an orchestra for your audience. Like music, design has an intangible quality like this:

The silence is pure energy as the audience awaits the beautiful flow of sound and emotion. It begins with one instrument, the core of the piece, the flautist. As the invisible power is built up with more instruments, your heart flutters with the passion of the music passing through you. The speed of the first movement keeps increasing and has the precision of a sailboat cutting through the water. It ends leaving everyone’s breath taken away, wanting more.

Did you hear that? That’s the invisible power that coordinates thousands of decisions and shapes behavior of a well thought out idea. Image by Anti-Ink conveys this idea perfectly.

Ecofont

2009-03-10T19:48:00.004-05:00

Here is a creative idea in increasing environmental awareness. Ecofont was developed by Spranq and uses 20% less ink. It is meant to be used in regular sized reading material.

The company co-founder Gerjon Zomer concedes that the font isn't beautiful, but it could be adequate for personal use or for internal use at a company.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. I think a perception can be changed knowing the end result is fewer used ink cartridges and toner. What do you think? Download it for free, here.

Adore this identity!

2009-02-25T20:20:00.007-06:00

I'm showing this Adore identity paired with my calendar design to show how my corporate work and personal work influence each other. The identity came first. I was so inspired and had so much fun that I took the design aesthetics and created an illustration style applying it to animals and plant life.
I'll tell you a little bit about how Adore came about: Tammy came to Blue Tricycle wanting a name, tagline, logo and identity system for her company. She wanted to reflect her personality and the kind of clients she worked with. Tammy also had an image board of sorts-a folder full of textures, illustrations, photos and objects. {Adore works with small companies and advertising agencies creating strategic development and project management services.}

Top Ten Colors for Spring

2009-02-18T11:25:00.003-06:00

Pantone released its Top Ten Colors for Spring following Fashion Week. "New York fashion designers encourage hopeful attitudes with lively colors, while sophisticated, grounded hues address the need for stability in times of eonomic uncertainty," says Pantone Color Institute.
"Why do two colors, put one next to the other, sing?" Pablo Picasso
Where do you get your color inspiration?

The RikRak Studio Giveaway

2009-02-17T19:04:00.007-06:00

Everything about rikrak screams FUN! Check out this giveaway-
a superdooper rikrak thank you pack- it includes:

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one vintage fabric clutch purse(made in the fabric of your choice!)
plus one vintage fabric wallet / business card holder/ gadget home (made in the fabric of your choice!)
plus one set of 3 fun blue vintage floral fabric magnets
plus 2 iron-on fabric birdies (made in the fabric of your choice!)
plus 1 pretty vintage dark turquiose blue fabric eco.brooch
plus a few more little rikrak goodies, too!

...................................................................................................

this fun giveaway prize pack is valued at over $65.00 US and it can be yours, for FREE!

here's how you can win!

Clever Use of Scrapbook Papers

2009-02-12T19:55:00.004-06:00

I was pleasantly surprised to find these scrapbook papers on my 10 year olds walls. I love that you can hand over something to a child and they will find an extraordinary use for it. Plus, it buys us time on painting her walls!

She also helped organize her 5 year old sister's room by setting up a "tray" for her tea set. Cute!

Room for Improvement?

2009-02-12T19:50:00.006-06:00

My 5 year old made an improvement to the design of the Tart Flower Mini Cards. Cute bees!

A Fun Day of Painting for Kids

2009-02-02T17:48:00.005-06:00

One of my main goals this year is to spend time with each of my kids doing art projects. At Simply Jane, it's easy to get started. Jane Elias has outlined playful images on stretched canvas, custom furniture and home decor. Here are the completed projects of my 10 year old, 7 year old and 5 year old. With Jane's techniques each painting has a unifying look. When the painting is finished and dry, simply use a sharpie marker to outline any areas that have lost their edge. Before using the sharpie, the flower the bird is holding had lost it's stem and the blue was a blob.

Spread the Love

2009-02-02T14:56:00.006-06:00

It's easy to spread the love this Valentine's Day with these sweet and petite mini cards. The whole set includes folded and flat notecards, mini cards and two envelope tempates-one to fit the notecards and one square to fit the mini cards. Perfect for anytime you want to spread the love!

A tailored Valentine

2009-01-30T14:11:00.005-06:00

Head over to CraftStylish for a tutorial on this cute pin. Make good use of old, horribly clashing neckties.

Mind Mapping

2009-01-24T17:13:00.008-06:00

I was inspired by the "Creativity Series-Just Do It" by Holly in the Decor8blog. The series is a 10-week column to inspire creativity with a tip every Thursday.
Tip #1: Create a mind map exploring the topic of childhood creativity starting with "What I loved to do as a kid" in the middle.
I immediately connected with this topic and was surprised to find how many things I remembered and the great associations I had with childhood. Most of my favorite things were some sort of make-believe playing, physical playing or simple wandering/exploring. I'm hoping to find that some others have posted their mind maps, as well. I wouldn't be surprised to find these favorites among others mind map of this topic. Although, I don't expect to find "letting daddy long legs crawl on your arms" be a common favorite!
I'm looking forward to this series and having some fresh ideas for feeling creative.

Found Concept

2009-01-13T11:02:00.003-06:00

I love a play on design. Ordinary objects taken from a mundane environment and placed in an unlikely setting. Ontwerpduo makes a witty exchange with their cuckoo birdhouse and birdhouse clock.

Holiday Sewing Project

2009-01-04T17:43:00.011-06:00

Doodle girls + one monkey sewn by my oldest daughter and myself. These are great to make out of scraps from other projects. We also added fabric covered buttons and roughly sewn in fabric and ribbons to embellish them. You can buy your own finished doll or pdf pattern at Bit of Whimsy Prims. So adorable and lovable!

New Years Gifts for teachers

2009-01-02T22:40:00.000-06:00

2009 calendars are wrapped and ready to go. Fawn Stationery includes gift tags.