I’m back baby! Sorry for not blogging for a while. In addition to getting a super fun side job teaching dance I’ve been designing away! More to come on that later. I hope you’ve all enjoyed your holidays and are starting off your new year on a positive note. For now, this is a blog post I’ve been meaning to write since I got an iPhone…. in October!

So in all the time that I had my Droid phone I kept thinking about how iPhone had all the cool cases. I guess it’s easier to build a case that’s almost all the same shape versus the various Android phones that are out there. So when the day came for me to finally purchase an iPhone case of my choice… well, the choices were more than overwhelming.

I like the stripes. The polka dots. The wooden cases. The ones that looked like cameras. The phone wallet. I couldn’t decide! If every case was five to ten bucks, fine, I could buy a variety. But at $30+ a pop, there was no way I could afford to get more than one. Plus I have design ADD. It’s hard to commit to a pattern since I’m always loving different trends. Chevron one minute and stripes or polka dots the next.

So as I hit Google for some inspiration I came upon an awesome idea. Interchangeable iPhone skins!

All you need to do is simply purchase a clear iPhone case. These can run pretty cheap if you buy it online but I just ran into the Apple Store so I could get started on this crafty project ASAP. You can then fill it with anything. In this example I used extra scrapbook paper but you can use any patterned paper, magazine, print-out, napkin, etc. The possibilities are truly endless.

If your case comes with an insert like mine did, use that to trace out your template. If not, then trace your phone, but know you’ll have to trim it a bit to fit into the case. To get the hole for the camera, simply place the case on top of the paper to trace out the hole.

To cut the hole you can use scissors, a knife tool, or the easiest option – a paper hole punch. It doesn’t have to be perfect as long as the camera can cleanly take photos.

Place the paper insert into the case and see how it fits. If it doesn’t lay flat, trim the sides as necessary. And that’s it!

Since discovering this trick I’ve gone from this paisley design shown above, to chevron, to Christmas stripes, and now currently big black and white stripes. In the future I may have some pre-designed patterns for you but for now you have a ton to work with. You can even do an image search for your favorite pattern (I did this with chevron) and just print then trim!

Enjoy!

Happy Holidays! (posed here with the guys of Onomonomedia)

Happy Holidays! Hey Love Designs will be taking a little holiday hiatus to spend time with loved ones. Business will resume on January 2, 2012. Any projects already in progress will still be worked on during this time.

I wish you all the best for the upcoming holidays and lots of peace, love, and prosperity in the new year.

See you in 2012!

michelle

Clockwise from top left: (1) (2) (3) (4)

So as you can see, this isn’t your grandmother’s calligraphy. I’m the type who would rather try and make something on my own (hello, queen of DIY over here!) so right now I’m teaching myself rather than taking a class (it’s pretty pricey). I’ve been practicing regularly and feel like I’m getting better over time. This is purely for my own personal entertainment and continuing education, however maybe one day this may be a new service to Hey Love.

Here’s some mobile pictures of the work I’ve been messing around with:

Using a regular fine tiped marker.

Practicing for my holiday cards.

And just for fun I had a calligraphy stamp designed by the one and only Primele! Her work is such an inspiration and after seeing these stamps I knew I had to have one of my own. I’d just figure out calligraphy on my own later. These look great on the back of my holiday cards. Here’s a sneak peek. My address isn’t shown for obvious reasons, but you can get an idea of what they would look like if you click here.

I picked up a calligraphy kit just yesterday – before I was using calligraphy “markers” – so stay tuned for more progress. I’m really excited that I’m able to teach myself and with a lot of practice, I’m eventually going to find my own personal style. I really love that I can teach myself new skills. Did you know that I taught myself how to use Photoshop (aside from a basics class back in high school) and Illustrator? And  I design all my print goods using those programs!

If you’re interested in learning calligraphy, here is a good tutorial which helped me out. You can also see if your local rec center or art studios offer classes.

Is it sad I’m totally geeking out over this? Are you working on any new projects? Do you get freakishly excited about this kind of stuff like I do?

(via)

A letterpress machine. To make awesome prints like this.

(via)

A spacious office to put said letterpress machine. With big windows for natural light. And to decorate. And to have dance parties.

(via)

A new Mac. Preferably an iMac. I WILL purchase one in 2012. While my MacBook still runs pretty well, sometimes it slows down SO much when my design programs are open and I could use the extra screen space. (No, little brother, I’m not going to give you my old laptop, ha.)

(via)

Wacom Bamboo tablet. For doodling! And designing.

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Silhouette Machine! I could do so many more crafts with this.

There’s so much more I could add to this list, but I think it’s plenty long (and expensive!) enough. What do you want this Christmas?

-John Fitzgerald Kennedy

Thank you to everyone who has helped support Hey Love Designs this past year. I couldn’t be more grateful for my supportive friends and family and my awesome clients. Enjoy the holiday and be sure to wear stretchy pants to dinner!

I’ve had the pleasure once before of working with Lisa for her sister’s baby shower invitations. Imagine my delight when she contacted me to work on her business cards!

Lisa runs Quarter Life 202, which specializes in vintage and thrift goods in the DC area. Her efforts are definitely gaining popularity as she hosts clothing swaps, blogs about the latest vintage finds, and educates fashionistas about the wonders of secondhand. It’s obvious she is going to need a lot of business cards to hand out!

I love that while Lisa didn’t have a specific design in mind, she gave me some words to help describe her style:

Quarter Life is: practical, realistic, classic, smart, and witty.
Quarter Life is not: glam, fashionista, trendy, or pink

Is she great or what? This really gave me great direction while still being freedom to think outside of the box. With a few tweaks, we came up with a simple background to highlight her logo.

Lisa also asked to have a variety of colors for the cards which made laying them out together fun. When I asked her if I could keep one, I had such a hard time choosing which color I liked best. So she let me have one of each!

Closer look at softened crosshatch detail:

I also designed these cards for the Moo mini cards size with Lisa’s personal information which she has ordered herself. I am looking forward to seeing my designs in itty bitty sizes!

PS: I’ve been working on giving the website a little bit of a makeover. You can see most of the changes already but if anything looks wonky, it’ll be back to normal soon. I’m still playing around with the header to see if I like it so I’ll post something when the website design is totally done.