Pinterest Finds: Classic Magazine Covers

If there's ever one thing I collect obsessively, it would be magazines, old and new. It may take me a grand total of 20 minutes to get through one, but I think it's the little graphic designer that reveres all magazines as books of art.  They're also a fun thing to ask people to bring back for you when they travel abroad.  It's always fun to gush over every little clever design choice made.  So until I make my fortune and purchase and frame every vintage/classic magazine cover I see, my Pinterest hoard will have to hold me over for now.
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Get ready for a blast from the publishing past!

Design Crush: Lauren Conrad

A lot of people will be biting their tongue in the near future for thinking this girl is ONLY a celebrity.

Lauren Conrad is most known for her role on the MTV reality shows, Laguna Beach and The Hills, but she is quickly making herself a household name through her creative career pursuits. Why? Because she is ONE smart cookie, and a girl that never let go of her dreams.


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Pinterest Finds: Useful Interior Design Tips

Simple find for today, but House Beautiful's Top Designer Secrets board is one worth bookmarking. 
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It's perfect for those creative spirits who want to get their hands dirty and plan hardcore interior designer in their own home.  The tips come from professionals with ranging styles, but the board is definitely a collection of information everyone can learn something from.  Also, it may trouble shoot a design disaster. Check the board out here!  Have a great Tuesday!

Free Printable Friday: Thank You Cards

Right click on the image below (and after the jump) to view at full size.

Download file and print.

Use scissors or an exacto knife to cut out the cards, and fold.

For best results, use a laser printer and card stock.  

Free for personal use!

Project Runway Countdown - Quiz!

Take our quiz  Are You a Project Runway Fanatic??

...And get excited for Project Runway Season 10!! Premieres Thursday, July 19 at 9/8c on Lifetime!

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Keep In Touch With Us!

If you like Happy Design Stuff, be sure to follow us on Bloglovin'

What is Bloglovin'?

"Bloglovin' is an international website that makes it easy to follow their favorite blogs because they receive a reminder each time there is a new update. As of april 2012, the most popular blogger on Blog Lovin 'over 150,000 followers. For bloggers, this is also a very popular way to market themselves by reaching out to new readers" (Wikipedia) Also, the site has become popular because all followers are anonymous. Create an account today and follow all your favorite blogs!

Follow us on Twitter!

We tweet all of our posts there, plus other updates relevant to our site.  

Follow our Boards on Pinterest

If you like our Pinterest finds, our DIY ideas, etc. repin it for all your friends and we'll follow you back. 

Pinterest Finds: Make a Statement with Pattern Decor

There are few things that I adore more than a beautiful pattern...

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On google you can search wall paper/printed fabrics by brand, colors, and location, but you can't really search pattern by style.  A lot of designers would agree with me when I say Pinterest has turned this issue upside down!  With the use of tags, popularity of high-quality photos, and a growing number of modern businesses using Pinterest to share their products, you can always count on the site to find the best of the best. Before Pinterest, you could almost never find exact patterns you're looking for, and the trendy ones were muddled between irrelevant search results or outdated styles.  Now that the pattern world, among other things, has become more accessible, take advantage and cover your world with pattern!

Pattern Can Be Incorporated Anywhere

I love wall paper on the ceiling, it's unexpected and cool.  It doesn't necessarily have to be this bold - even a traditional paisley pattern on a ceiling brings a whimsical quality to any room. Just make sure the color is something you could live with for a long time and style the rest of the room around it. http://www.mylifestylebyrebeca.com/2012/06/escapada-marrakech-peacock-pavillions.html

Bold Patterned Bedding

The rule here was to keep everything simple against this high contrast dream-catcher pattern. They left the walls and curtains white so the eye is drawn from the pattern, to the bright pillows, to the outstanding mirror wall, to the mid-century modern, oversized chandelier.  The result is just gorgeous. http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/high-impact-dec-140771

Wacky Tacky Websites

Tweet Have you  ever seen a website that made you say:

Back in school, our class all had to post the worst websites they've ever seen, and I think it serves as a healthy reminder for why web designers exist- and people should hire them!  Enjoy the list, and comment if you have any to add!

http://stunned.net/scott/index.shtml 

http://www.ratemykitten.com/

http://yvettesbridalformal.com/

http://www.lingscars.com/

http://pixyland.org/peterpan/

http://lalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalala.com/

http://www.rentistoodamnhigh.org/

http://www.dokimos.org/ajff/

Enjoy!

Pinterest Finds: Bold Necklaces

Click on any of the pins below and it'll take you to their original source. 

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The classic bib necklace 

The necklace in a neutral or metallic shade is most reminiscent of mid century style.  It flatters most necklines, it can fill in negative space created by a v-neck or scoop blouse. It can be worn under the an open-collared top, or over a boat neck dress. The ribbon detail makes it seem extra delicate and adorable. http://capecodcollegiate.tumblr.com/

Design Crush: Viktor Luna

A lot of very talented designers have emerged from Project Runway, but one we hope to hear more from, is Season 9 finalist, Viktor Luna. Known for his humble attitude and avant garde use of photographic prints, this New York fashion designer is one to watch out for in Fall 2012.  

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While the PR judges drooled over his fitted jackets, hand sewn mirror-laced top, and the use of his original photographic fabrics, their biggest criticism on the season finale was that there was "too much sheer."  It was very on-trend for Spring 2012 and keep in mind this show aired all the way back in September.

Viktor Luna: Fall Collection 2012

I think myself along with many other Pinterest-fashion obsessed women would seriously debate the idea that ANYONE can really have "too much sheer."  Personally, I think it's very cool that he pulled off a spring collection dripping with black.  Just because the weather is a little warmer doesn't mean I want to wear peach tops and white shorts every single day of the season.  Go Viktor!  I also would like to say that I very much appreciate the fact that he designed clothes with a woman's body in mind, aka, things that can look good whether you're size 2 or size 14, clothes that don't require showing 70% of your skin...

ALL the Secrets to a Great Slideshow Presentation

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Have you ever been shown a powerpoint presentation that hurt your eyes? Or one that had grammar/design errors that distracted you from the message it was trying to convey?  You don’t need to be a powerpoint expert or layout designer to create clean, fool-proof computer presentations.  If you know how to put together a seamless slide presentation it not only provides a visual outlet for your information, but also maintains your credibility.

Graphic designers like myself, love talking about why things aren’t successful visually/organizationally.  We may even make fun of it a little, but we make careers out of doing these things correctly.  One thing we all can agree on: the best work is clean and simple.  Here, I’m going to go over the do’s and don’ts of basic presentations, software, and safe exporting.

Presentations need to be clean, simple, and functioning in order to get the information through with clarity.

Free Printable Friday: Summer Party Invites

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Right click on the image below (and after the jump) to view at full size.

Download file and print.

Use scissors or an exacto knife to cut out the invites.

Fill out the information, and send in an envelope.

For best results, use a laser printer and card stock.  

Free for personal use!

10 Ways to Get More Out of Your Pinterest Account

10 Ways to Get More Out of Your Pinterest Account, for users just starting out and see #5-10 for advanced user tips.

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Starting Out

1.  Link your account to follow all your Facebook/Twitter friends.

They already know you! Plus, it’s a quick way to really jump in and see what Pinterest has to offer-based on what your friends are pinning. You may quickly start to see what things you are and aren’t interested in, in which case, check out tip #2 and #6.

2. Check out the categories at the top.

Roll your mouse over the word “Everything” in the top tab and instantly the famous Pinterest categories list pops up.  Each category holds a feed of what people are pinning based on each of those categories, and it goes on forever.  Refresh it, and you’ll see that it’s pretty much operating live. You might see things that don’t belong in that category because right now Pinterest is having an issue with people mislabeling their boards and some are possibly marketing scams.  Don’t fret! Just keep scrolling, because soon enough you will find something in the category that makes your mouth smile, your eyes tear, and your heart sing- right next to the obvious marketing scam or annoying miscategorized item.

3. Like things!

Just like on Facebook, Pinterest allows you to like things, but Pinterest lets you keep record of all those items. There’s no proper etiquette for which pins you should “Like” and which you should “Repin”, but if you’re first starting out, I’d recommend exploring and “liking” things first, knowing that you can go back and organize it later. You can see all your like-d items by rolling your mouse over your account at the top right of the page.  It’s a really good way to keep track of the pin you want to organize in the future.

Free Printable Gift Tags

Enjoy free printable gift tags from your friends at HappyDesignStuff!!

Right click on the image above to view at full size.

Download file and print.

Use scissors or an exacto knife to cut out the gift tags.

Use a hole punch for the holes, and attach with decorative ribbon of your choice.

For best results, use a laser printer and print on card stock.  

Free for personal use!

Thanks for visiting HappyDesignStuff.blogspot.com!

Let me know what you think!

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Design Crush: Sabrina Soto

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It’s no secret that HGTV has been on their A game the past few years with the influx of new DIY trends with the less than happy economy. While there are many shows vying for my attention this season, the surprising newcomer has got to be "The High Low Project".


You’ll probably recognize her, as she was a cheerful home stager on another show from HGTV's past and a current face of Target, but home stager she is no more. If this show’s made one thing clear, Soto in undoubtedly a DESIGNER first.  Her humble, hard working attitude, just makes her more lovable to watch.  I’ve watched almost every episode this season to see if her identical splurge vs. save designs could hold up for a whole season, and it was the most recent episode “Gregg and Anson's Apartment” that secured my adoration for the show.  I’m not going to lie, there was one episode that got a little too Target-plug-happy, but I was pleased to see that this was not repeated so heavily in the following episodes.   

Illustrator Title Art Tutorial

How to Make an Interesting Textured Header on Adobe Illustrator. Plus some bonus tips.

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Find an Image

Find an Image/texture. If you're using Google Images, make sure it's set to Large, so you shouldn't have too much trouble finding one with a good resolution. -save to desk top -no watermarks. Open illustrator. Set the document to 8.5 by 11 or "Letter size" Go to Window>workspace> and then click "default" or in CS4 it's called "essentials". Go to file, place. Find the image you saved to the desk top and click. Check the size. How much space does it take up on the art board? Illustrator tells no lies. If it doesn't extend far enough to the width of the page, it's usually advised that you should just find another picture. If it is too large, to size it down, use the black arrow key to select it, grab one of the corners, and MAKE SURE to hold down "option" and "shift" on your keyboard to make sure the dimensions are locked. People screw this up more than you know. That's why things look unintentionally stretched or too pixelated. Looking ok so far? Bonus points if you open Photoshop, open your picture, and adjust the brightness/contrast or add your own extra flare to the image via color or a filter. If you do this you will have to remember to re-save it as a png or jpeg to place it back into illustrator.

FIRST POST YAY!!

This is our first post for Happy Design Stuff and we really hope this turns out to be the fun success that we foresee!

Make sure to follow along to see more design-related articles, free printables, and useful tutorials.

Contact us at: happydesignstuff@gmail.com
:)