DIY: Button Ribbon Pin

I had some inexpensive ribbon and some cute buttons and thought I could use them together to create a pin. This pin could be used as a bow for packaging (instead of those plastic-like ones). They’re not too difficult to make and reusable.

Check-the-Box Card

Birthday. Anniversary. Valentine’s Day. The year is full of events (granted some are more important than others) but forget one of them and suddenly that’s the most important event. Because isn’t it the thought that counts? People want to be remembered. They want to feel special. Forgetting someone’s “momentous day” (whatever that day may be) is a slight on them, because basically, you just weren’t thinking of them at all.

So I made this all-purpose card so I can just check off whatever holiday/event I want it to be used for (so for those lazy/forgetful moments, I can at least pretend to have remembered that special day).

I’m a Tweaker

Unavoidable in designing is tweaking. The devil is in the details, so you move an image over a smidge, change a word here or switch colors there. It’s an ongoing process of trying to get every element to work together to create a layout that satisfies you. Yet any satisfaction you have is often short-lived, because you see the flaws. This may sound overly negative, but it’s not necessarily a bad thing. Being critical allows you to question what you’re doing and can help push you in a direction to fix any problems you see. So you tweak to fix those flaws, and even after tweaking, you want to tweak again. It’s almost compulsive, and sometimes you just have to let it go and tell yourself, “I’m done.”

However, I just can’t seem to help myself. Even when I’m done with a personal design project I’m not really done. If I take another look at something I’ve created, I inevitably find something that I want to tweak. I’ll find discontentment with the color, font, image or the layout and want to fix it. Many times it isn’t anything dire that I want to change, it’s just that I think things could be improved.

It’s somewhat frustrating to be dissatisfied with a “finished” project (because usually by the time you’re done with a project, you’re sick of looking at it and never really want to set eyes upon it again). Yet given time and fresh eyes discontentment generally comes, and how can it not? Over time our ideas and perceptions and experiences change us, so what was once fine may not be so fine any longer. So perhaps it’s not so bad to be discontent because it shows that you’ve changed (and hopefully grown) as a designer…at least that’s what I like to tell myself.

DIY: Rubber Band Bracelet

I like using items I see and use every day in different ways. I had quite a few rubber bands and thought they could be tied together to make a quick and easy bracelet.

DIY: Tassel Embroidery Floss Earrings

Embroidery floss comes in a bunch of colors and isn’t terribly expensive (usually under 40 cents for a regular color, more for metallic). I had some embroidery floss and thought I could use it in creating earrings for a simple burst of color.