Today is July 4th. To most Americans, it's Independence Day or the 4th of July. To me, it's the best holiday ever. I've always loved this time of year, and even today it remains one of my favorites. I think it's a great time to be patriotic and proud of what this country has become, and really, I just absolutely love fireworks. The past few years I haven't been able to get the chance to see as many of them, but it's always something I enjoy watching. You just lay back in the grass and stare towards the sky, and there's this wonderful, larger-than-life fireworks show happening in the clouds above you. That's pure awesome, and I love it so much. If you don't get the chance to see a great fireworks show, there's still always sparklers! Gotta give these guys some loving, too. Just be careful not to burn yourself! :)
This year, I'm also looking at today as another push to take control of my life. It's an independence from the daily routine that so many of us find ourselves in. This year is all about change and progress, and it's rolling along towards more positive things. If bad things happen, you don't let it derail you, you let it make you stronger. 2013 is already halfway done, and it's completely flown by. But I think during even the past six months, I've made more of a effort in myself, than I have throughout my whole life. It's a great thing, and even though I'm not where I want to be quite yet, I'm definitely proud in knowing I've determined something needs to change, and I'm making progress to get there. Any progress at all is a good thing. All it takes is one step in the right direction, to keep moving forward. Keep stepping, keep moving, and you'll get there eventually. And hopefully, you be able to gather some good stories along the way! :) So, here's to Independence. Here's to the final half of 2013. And here's to July, the best month with the best holiday (and my birthday, wee!). After all, this is Ruby July, guys. July is my turning point towards a great future. Let's see how the rest of this year goes! Make yours the best it can be, too! :D
Go figure. While I was nice and ambitious last week, this week I super-slacked off. I didn't have time to search through the treasure trove of pins this week, so I figured I'd look back on some of the things I already pinned. Give them a second chance and all. Generous. ...Right? ;) Anyway, here's this week's Pinterest Find of the (Last) Week. Looking through my earlier pins, my eyes stopped on this one of a pattern by Helen Dardik, that I had discovered a few weeks ago:
I was once again impressed by the pattern and colors used in this design, as well as the whimsical quality of the illustrations. I clicked through to Helen's blog, Orange You Lucky! (which you can find here!), and was just as happy to see it as I was the first time. All of her illustrations fit a similar style, with the wide eyes and I think, a kind of retro child-like appeal. I've been on a big retro kick lately, and it's something I want to challenge myself to try. Helen's designs make it look so pleasing and fun. The colors are so bright and happy, and the illustrations are just wonderful to view. She has a variety of patterns posted on the blog as well as some centralized designs, like this one, which I loved:
And really guys, you are super. I hope you know it! Helen's super too, and I really think she's worth checking out. If you take a look at her blog, and look through the designs, you won't be able to help but have a smile on your face. What are you waiting for? Go take a look!
Alright. So usually when I think of stationery companies, I just think of a company that sells pretty paper. When I came across Seven Swans Stationery Studio from Cape Town, South Africa, I thought it might be some of the same. I was wrong. These guys don't just sell paper, but they straight-up create. Looking through their samples on their website, I fell in love with nearly everything I had seen. Their invitations are incredible--each one is thought out and executed perfectly, and some are even the product of collaboration with other artists and designers. Here is the initial pin that I came across:
I really enjoyed the choice of colors they used, as well as the owl illustration and especially the typography. I think sometimes a clean typographic layout is difficult for designers to master, and here, Seven Swans excels. It's something that often gets overlooked, but they placed just the right amount of emphasis on the right information. I noticed this, and appreciated it. Looking through their website, I discovered they have worked with everything from designing wedding websites to laser cut invitations (whaaat?!). I think that's pretty awesome. It's easy to see that Seven Swans gives each client an impressive amount of attention and care. They design invitations that are simple and stunning, all at the same time. The typography is bold and beautiful. And more importantly, each design is unique. Their clients are getting exactly what they want, and more. If Seven Swans Stationery Studio impresses you as much as they impress me, check out their website here. They also work with clients that don't happen to be in South Africa, so they are able to reach a very broad clientele. Look into them, you definitely will be glad you did!