Saturday, March 30, 2013

D.I.Y. Tye-Dye Easter Eggs

Here's A Quick Way For Kids To

Tye-Dye Easter Eggs

 

Easter is just around the corner, and each year we look forward to the tradition of dyeing Easter eggs.   We wanted to share a fun way for the little ones to get involved and design their own little egg creations!  Tie-dyeing Easter eggs is a unique way to bring some color to your eggs, and the results are very awesome!

 

To get started you will need to gather a few supplies:

 

Paper towels The Thicker The BETTER!

Distilled white vinegar
Hard boiled eggs
Liquid food coloring
Latex gloves


Prepare an area that can get dripped on with the dye.  I found it best to line a baking dish with a few layers of paper towels.

Put on your latex gloves and rip off a half sheet of paper towel, and dip it into a bowl with the white vinegar.

Squeeze off the excess vinegar, and wrap the hard boiled egg tight with the paper towel, trying to just have one layer of the towel around the egg.  There will be a little extra paper towel on one side.


Place the wrapped egg on your prepared area and squeeze drops of food coloring around the egg, alternating colors if you wish!  (This is the part that the children enjoy doing the most!)


Have the person with the latex gloves on rotate the egg, and continue to place drops of the food coloring all around the egg on the paper towel.  It works best if you allow the squeeze bottle tip to come in contact with the paper towel, then squeeze on the dye right into the paper towel.

When the entire egg has been colored with the dye, have the person with the gloves on carefully unwrap the egg, and place in the egg carton to dry and admire your work!


Once the eggs are completely dry, show them off, crack them open and have a snack, or hide them for the kids in your Easter egg hunt!


The little ones are going to love to find such a cool egg to add to their Easter basket of treasures!

thanks go to Caroline, the talented mom and author of Armelle blog!




Wednesday, March 27, 2013

Monday, February 4, 2013

Saving your A$$ETS

We've all been there,  doesn't matter what time of day or how many hours into an in-depth design project with multiple layers, effects, and filters you have gotten.  Right when you're ready to make the big push of progress (as soon as this filter is done rendering) the power cuts off.  Leaving you staring at a black screen with your mouth wide-open because if you weren't overly cautious with your file, now you've lost everything you were previously working on and are going to waste valuable time getting back to the place you had it, if you can even get "back there".  I've had it happen to me, unfortunately on more than one occasion.  Nobody knows when mother nature's going to blow in a wind storm that pushes a power pole over, or when the lightning strikes the building power-surging all the outlets, or when a car crash goes right into a generator blacking out the entire area, or when half-the lights go out in the building, much like what happened last night during the super bowl between the Ravens and 49'ers. Not one of those thousands of people could ever predict that the lights would go out and it's the same in the design studio.  It's those moments you either say to yourself, "man I'm glad I just saved my file a few steps back" or "o no, i lost it all, can I do a system restore?" If I can leave any advice for anyone creating the next big-thing on their desktops as you're reading this, and the same thing my mentors taught me in the beginning of my career is "save, Save, SAVE!"

Monday, January 28, 2013

Making Your Mark

In this economy, everyday there are new businesses opening up all over trying to get their piece of the "American dream" pie whether it be offering a service, an edible good, or a new product you think everyone will just "have-to-have"   This new venture can be exciting, fun, and scary as hell at the same time.  According to statistics published by the Small Business Administration (SBA), seven out of ten new employer establishments survive at least two years and 51 percent survive at least five years. This is a far cry from the previous long-held belief that 50 percent of businesses fail in the first year and 95 percent fail within five years. One of the most vital tools you can give your new business for success is a new logo design that will forever brand your company name, no matter how large or small, and will last the test of time.
Stop for a second and think about the logos of the most famous companies you know:  most of them have one thing in common. 
A simple logo is dynamic, can be used everywhere and in all types of media. And more importantly, it is long lasting. Your company will grow, improve and change but your logo should always stay the same.