Mini Food and Cute Stuff

Since it's a holiday weekend, I allowed myself some time to surf the web for things that make me smile. I came across a few that I'd like to share here:


The Mini Food Blog
Mini pumpkin pie by Sarah Maloney

I love food and I love miniatures so it makes sense that I really really love miniature food! Who knew there was a whole blog dedicated to this?

These Full English Breakfast earrings, also by Sarah Maloney, look very tasty:
Through The Mini Food Blog, I came across the delightful blog, Less Apathy More Cake, by Melly Kay. She writes in her intro, "I make lots of cute stuff" and that is true.
Check out her Etsy shop where she sells her adorable mini cakes along with other items.


As an artist, I constantly look for inspiration and the web never fails me. I always stumble upon something fresh and surprising and I appreciate and am inspired by the risks people take in sharing their creativity with the world.

This makes my day!!

Keeping it Local

When I first moved to Tucson almost five years ago (it will be five on September 9, 2009), I must admit that I was underwhelmed. Tucson did not wow or dazzle me right away. But it has grown on me over time, surprising me with its quirkiness and subtle desert beauty.

I was most proud to be a Tucsonan this past week during the 4th Avenue Underpass Opening (August 20, 2009). The tremendous spirit of Tucsonans came pouring out as individuals of all ages and backgrounds streamed into downtown to celebrate the long-awaited reconnection of 4th Ave and Congress. All of the downtown businesses put on their Sunday best - welcoming the crowds with free treats, discounts, and special performances. I scored a pen from Chase Bank, a t-shirt from Dinnerware Artspace, glow sticks, an Entertainment guide, and a free historical walking tour of the El Presidio neighborhood. But it was not this collection of goodies that most put a smile on my face. It was the energy and excitement I felt walking under the new underpass and searching for people I knew in the portrait tile mural. It was the feeling that we were all in this together, that for at least one day we could forget about all of the complaints and woes of downtown politics and development, and just have a good time. It was pure magic.

Tweetup at Tooley's

I created this video with Judy Kinney. You can follow me on Twitter if you so desire!

Post-it Love

Client Spotlight: LA Commons

Trekking LA 2009 E-Flyer

I have been working with LA Commons for three and a half years, doing grant writing, research, and graphic design. It has been a wonderful partnership and I feel truly grateful to contribute to this innovative and dynamic LA non-profit arts organization. I met the executive director, Karen Mack, when she was the interim program director at The HeArt Project, another amazing arts organization where I worked for three years and continue to do freelance work.

Several years ago, LA Commons, in partnership with UCLA's Department of Urban Planning, launched Uncommon LA, an initiative to bring attention to the cultural treasures of the neighborhoods where it engages artists and residents in public art projects. Uncommon LA's signature event is Trekking Los Angeles: Local Adventures in A Global City, now in its third summer. I have been involved in the design since the inception and have had a lot of fun watching the project - and the resulting graphic identity - evolve.

Cover, Trekking LA Guide, 2007

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Trekking LA website
Site design by Khari and Akia Scott was informed by Trekking LA graphic identity.
I designed the map!

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Front and back of postcard for 2008 Trekking LA BBQ series. I was very inspired by this project, partly because I love working with food images. For the background image on the back, I took a picture of ketchup that I had squeezed onto a paper towel.

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A final food + design tidbit: I used okra and peppers from my mother-in-law's beautiful summer garden (in Ohio, not LA. Don't tell anyone!) for LA Commons' 2008 gala invite and program.

Okra and Peppers

Uncommon Angels Invite (inside of invite)

The Wonderful World of Online Color Resources

I love color. I love names of colors, especially paint colors. Dill Pickle, Olive Branch, Barley, Sea Urchin, Burnt Peanut Red, Cool Lava, and Sweet Butter are a few succulent names I just pulled from a Benjamin Moore color guide.

A quick guide to color for graphic and web design: There are two different color modes - CMYK and RGB. RGB (the red-green-blue light emitted from a monitor) is the mode for computers and internet. CMYK represents the four inks - cyan, magenta, yellow, and black - that are used for four-color printing. Here is a good article explaining the differences.

You may have heard the term "web safe colors," which refers to the 216 cross-browser color palette, created to ensure that all computers would display the colors correctly when running a 256 color palette. This is not as important today, because most monitors can display millions of different colors. W3 schools.com is a great resource for HTML colors.

An important color system to know about is the Pantone Matching System (PMS), a standardized color system developed in the 1960s by Pantone, the "global authority of color." Pantone sets color trends, each year selecting a color of the year. The 2009 color of the year is PANTONE 14-0848 Mimosa, representing "hope and reassurance" during tough economic times.

Here are a few online resources for choosing colors for a project.

Kuler is a beautiful Flash site from Adobe. Themes have five colors each. You can browse and rate themes created by users, create your own themes, download themes to use in Adobe Creative Suite applications, and even use color extraction tools to generate themes from your favorite painting or photograph.


Color Schemer and
Color Schemer Online
You can browse through hundreds of color schemes created by users (for free) or purchase their software. I have never used the software myself or downloaded schemes. I just browse through the schemes as a quick reference. I noticed they have a free Galleria dashboard widget that I will probably try out. (I like widgets!)

Visibone Color Lab
This is a fun visual tool for browsing the 216 web safe colors. Each color also includes RGB and CMYK values.


Please let me know what online color resources have been helpful to you. Happy color journeys!