Remember back around Christmas we told you how we went to Disneyland with Pixel and they happened to be filming promotional video for their Kennel Club? Well here it is! Our little Pix can be seen with Jake at the 35 second mark. They are only on screen for a few seconds, but we still think it’s pretty exciting.
A few blogs behind the ALT business cards
I finally started going through the piles of cards I received at ALT. I thought it would be fun to share with you some of the amazing bloggers behind the beautiful cards. I narrowed it down to just a few. Some of them I have heard of before, some of them are new to me. These are all blogs you should definitely check out. I think you’ll like what you find.
The House That Lars Build
I got to chat with this lovely lady at the Clue Party. Brittany does some really amazing works. Not to mention makes really pretty paper flowers.
Ampersand Design Studio
Morgan & Carrie not only have a blog, but also have a shop filled with lots of ampersands. What’s not to love about that?
Lupa & Pepi
Rachel runs a blog and shop too. We chatted it up at the Clue party and did a little dancing at the mini parties. She’s one fun girl.
Sugar & Cloth
I only met Ashely quickly in passing but she was as sweet as can be. And her blog does not disappoint. She fills it with a lot of cute diy projects.
This Little Street
I had dinner with Audrey the very first night. She is originally from France but has lived all over the world. Amazing right? Her most recent post about patterns is a dream.
Melissa Esplin
Melissa is a really talented calligrapher. She even makes a lot of her own clothes. I’m pretty sure most everything she wore to ALT she made herself.
Somewhere Splendid
Somewhere Splendid is just that – splendid. Maddy posts lots of great parties and home decor.
There are tons of posts going around right now about ALT business cards so if you would like to see more just do a little google search.
Our Weekend: Palm Springs
We went on a little getaway this weekend to Palm Springs with some of our friends. We had such a great time eating banana bread french toast, riding bikes around town, playing lots of games, and just enjoying the company of our friends. Then we drove home sipping on yummy iced coffee with our sunroof open.
To end the perfect weekend we went longboarding with Pixel and then got to meet his new best friend Wall-E the Westie that our friends got to bring home on their way back from Palm Springs. He’s a cutie! We feel so refreshed and ready to tackle the week.
Finders Keepers: Lolita Heart Sunglasses
I’m crushing pretty hard on these Lolita Heart Sunglasses from Tumbleweeds Handcraft right now. I’m definitely seeing some heart shaped sunglasses in my near future.
Here are a few other things I’ve found this week:
Polka dots and paper go so well together.
I’ve decided these are my favorite flowers.
Piles of puppies are always a good thing.
A Few Important Things ALT Taught Me
I finally have had some time to process my ALT experience. I know a lot of people have been waiting and wanting to hear everything about it, but i’m just going to stick to a few things I think are some of the most important things I have learned from attending. Things I think will be relevant for you as well.
You are a content creator: As a blogger our first and formost responsibility it to create content.
Numbers aren’t everything: This goes hand in hand with being a content creator. It’s more important to focus on producing great content. If all you are worried about are numbers your content is probably suffering.
Work/Life Balance: A quote from Patti Smith sums this one up.
“In art and dream may you proceed with abandon. In life may you proceed with balance and stealth.”
Practice Seeing: Karen Walrond spoke on finding your voice. One of the ways she mentioned doing this is by practicing seeing. She said, “Nothing makes you stop and see like a camera in your hand.”
Set Golden Hours: Golden hours are a time of day when you are at your best. Save those golden hours for work that makes you feel productive.
Learn to Say “no”: I’ve heard this before. It’s something I struggle with so I have to constantly keep reminding myself that saying “no” is even an option.
Here are some good questions to ask yourself before you say yes or no.
Do you want to do the project?
Do you have time?
Can this project afford to hire you at a rate you can afford to work at?
I love watercolor: On the last day at the conference there were workshops for you to attend. I chose the watercolor class taught by the amazing and tallented Lana. It was the very last thing I did before heading back home. This might sound silly, but the watercolor class was my favorite thing I did. Yes, I loved it more than the classes, more than the yummy food, and even more than the parties. These things were all spectacular. You know how Disney parks have everything so well put together down to the very last detail? Well Alt was pretty much the same way. There were letterpressed menus, tons of decorations and the clue party was the most elaborate thing I have ever seen. It was Disney perfect. Something about the watercolor class though really resonated with me. Maybe because it was the first time all weekend where there was peace and quite. Or the the fact that I didn’t have to introduce myself to anyone new for a whole 2 hours. Or maybe it was simply because I was full to the brim with knowledge and my brain was ready to take a break and create something. There were only about fifteen of us in the class so it felt like we were just a bunch of girlfriends hanging out and having fun. It was exactly what I needed and the perfect way to end the weekend. This class also made me realize I need to take time for more moments like this.
I hate the cold: I knew I wasn’t the biggest fan of cold weather, but Salt Lake City was just brutal. I think I’ll stick to Southern California.
DIY Dog Scarf
you will need:
- yarn in two colors
- number 8 knitting needles
- scissors
- yarn needle
If you don’t know how to knit, check out the Howcast for helpful videos on how to knit.
STEP 1: Cast on an even number of stitches. I did 20 stitches. You can do more or less depending on the size of your dog. Using a Rib 2×2 stitch (knit 2, purl 2), knit a long rectangle the length you need to fit loosely around your dog’s neck plus about 7 extra inches to make the loop the pom pom will go through. Do as many fittings as you need to get it right.
STEP 2: Once you have finished the length of the scarf, bind off your stitches. Then take one of the ends and fold it over to make a loop the pom pom will go through. My loop ended up being about 3 1/2″ folded in half. You can make it bigger or smaller if need be. Just make sure your pom pom will fit through it. Next, thread your yarn needle and sew the end of the loop.
STEP 3: Now make your pom pom using the second color of yarn. If you don’t have a pom pom maker you can use your hand to make one. Here is a easy to follow tutorial on how to make a pom pom.
STEP 4: Sew your pom pom to the end without the loop with your yarn needle. And that’s it!
Take your dog on a walk so he can try it out!
For the Taking: Mini Valentines
Valentine’s Day is almost here. Last year I designed these mini cards and posted them on our blog. Our blog has grown a lot since then so I thought I would re-post them for those of you who might not have seen them before. Spread the love around this Valentine’s Day by sending sweet notes to a friend in these mini cards. One reader last year even suggested including one of these cards with some cupcakes. Now wouldn’t that be cute?
Please read the Conditions of Use before downloading files from A Pair of Pears.
Recovering from ALT: Be Back Tomorrow
Whew! I made it back from ALT SLC. It was quite an experience. I had fun, learned lots, and met a ton of awesome bloggers. As I’m sure you can image this all resulted in pure exhaustion. I’m still recovering from the trip and can’t wait to tell you all about it. Before I get into all the nitty-gritty, I’m taking a little break today just to breathe. I hope you don’t mind.
In Motion: Animation Exercise
Lately I’ve been seeing a lot of amazingly designed 2D animations on the internet. It’s been very inspiring to me and made me want to get better at what I love doing. So as an ongoing exercise to come up with new ideas and to just become a better animator, I’ve decided to use any down time I have to create short original animations. I’ll be uploading each animation to my Vimeo account, where hopefully you’ll be able to see my creative ability start to grow. Here are the first two experiments I’ve created:
New in the Shop: Socks & Sweaters
We’ve got an exciting new card in the shop just in time for Valentine’s Day, or just for someone special in your life. You can buy an individual card, or a set of 5.
Showing 251–260 of 785 results