Inspired by...Better After

> I think I've mentioned before how much I LOVE before and afters. I recently discovered a blog that feeds my obsession...Better After.

> Featuring everything from furniture to rooms, to home exteriors, it's a great resource—whether it's ideas for your own projects, to simply being wowed with the results of the vision and efforts of others—this is one of my favorite blog reads.

> If you're a fan of makeovers, you will love this blog.

Good Thinking

> Where do you do your best thinking? Have you ever thought about it? 

> When I was in college, I learned that focusing on something OTHER than what I was trying to solve was the answer to solving creative challenges. 

> I had a creative writing class, and I had been struggling with an assignment. I just couldn't come up with anything that I was happy with. I gave up for the time being, not because I knew it would help me focus, but because I just wasn't getting anywhere with it. We didn't have a dishwasher, and anyone who knows me, knows that dirty dishes in the sink or especially on the counter are a huge pet peeve. They call to me and won't leave me alone til they are cleaned and put away. So, later that day when I had my hands in the hot sudsy water, the solution to my creative writing class just came to me! I was so excited! I have also realized that I have a lot of "creative breakthroughs" while in the shower (what is it with me and warm water??) Anyway, a lot of times, when a solution just isn't coming to me, I try to take a break. I've found that when I get away from the blank monitor, or the empty notebook page—the pressure to create is gone, and my imagination is free to do what it does best, in the way it's most effective.

> What about you? Have you figured out where and how you do your best thinking?

Numbers Count

> We recently had the stucco redone on our house. We were so excited about the results—the newness, no cracks or stains, and the new warmer color—we decided we just couldn't re-hang the house numbers that had once been there. They were cheap, plastic, and from my point of view, just plain ugly. My husband and I agreed that we needed better looking numbers to adorn our face-lifted house.

> In hindsight, I wish that I had taken a photo of the "before" numbers, but I hastily threw them out as soon as we decided we weren't going to use them.

> With expenses and the economy as they are right now, we needed to be frugal as well as finicky, which narrowed our selection quite a bit. 

> We found some in an art deco font that we LOVED, but they just didn't fit well on the plaque we needed to use. Our second choice was a condensed roman (serif) font, but it was SO condensed that we decided it wouldn't be as legible from the street as we felt like it should be. We purchased our third choice—it's a hybrid between a serif and sans serif, giving it a modern feel. Some of the numbers are shown above. We plan to get the numbers mounted and the plaque hung this evening. 

> For someone who's not a numbers person, I'm pretty excited about these!

Vegas from a Different View

> I was in Vegas last week for a family reunion. I've been there numerous times, but this time, we did some activities I haven't done before...like Hoover Dam, or hiking in Mt. Charleston, and the only money I put into machines was at the Pinball Museum.

> I spent one day with my husband, and my sis and her husband, and we checked out some of the places on the Strip we hadn't been to before—like the City Center with its cool modern architecture, lots of glass, and unexpected angles. When we were in places I've been before, I tried to notice things I hadn't seen before (A little tough to do since everything there is loudly fighting for your attention).

> Here are a few shots of some of the things that I narrowed my focus on...a patterned tile floor...a merchant's decorative front window glass...and the covering of the Paris hotel's valet area.

> I feel pretty good about successfully looking past all the lights and glam, and finding some great details that I had missed during previous visits.

Here Kitty Kitty...

> One of the blogs I get regular feeds to is called Freelance Switch. Great articles and great ideas, tailored to freelancers, like me. The article today is about the health benefits of having pets, especially for freelancers. Good news for me, I work alone and I've got 2 cats (Ninja and Dorian Gray). It's a great article with research to back up the theories. There's a study on a group of stockbrokers who all suffered from hypertension. They sent half home with medication, and the other half home with a dog or cat. Guess which group had a noticeably lower stress level? Yep—the animal people.
> I should get double the benefits from having 2 cats...but I'm not sure since cats are pretty finicky...they say who, and they say when! Still, I put up with the hair everywhere, and having to clean the littler boxes...they're part of the family. They get spoiled with kitty treats and toy mice...they must be doing their jobs right.

Fascinated by Failure

> Well, actually this blog title is a little misleading... I'm not saying I'm interested in failing, quite the opposite. However, over the years, as I've given many many options to clients, there are times when my favorite solutions are chosen, and times when I'm surprised by the selection they make. I wonder about the creations that weren't chosen. Is it simply a matter of personal preference? Was it a typeface or a color that turned them off to the whole approach? Or did I simply fail to create a design that communicated their needs in a visual way?

> I have thought many times about putting together a promotion that highlights some of the "rejects" that I really like and think would have been great if chosen. I wonder though...do I need the client's permission to use them? I mean, if they said no to these designs and they're not being used, does it matter? Of course if it's a logo, it has their company name, so maybe it's just respectful to ask...but if I ask, will they question why I'm featuring a design they didn't choose? Why didn't I push harder for them to choose what I may have felt was a stronger solution?

> Maybe I'll just include the "losers" along with the winners in blog posts, and let my readers be the silent judges of the appropriate solution. Thoughts?

Specialty Techniques Done Right

> A few months ago, I shared my love of the blog Bakerella, and now I have reason to send you there again. She recently blogged about a cupcake bakery she had visited called "miette". Next time I go to San Francisco, I am definitely going, and I plan to walk out at least 10 pounds heavier! 

> Of all the delicious treats featured in the blog, my favorite was a photograph of their recently released self-titled cookbook. I LOVE the scalloped pages! What an appropriate and creative special effect. 

> When it comes to special effects in printing, if you're going to spend a little extra money on the production, make it complementary to your company's brand and visual message. For example: if your company's main selling point is that you offer the lowest prices, a metallic foil stamp is not the message that shows your clients that you know how to save money. And if you are a financial investor for wealthy clients, you shouldn't print your own cards from a template file onto flimsy perforated paper stock.