Awesome Find: Dartstrip to display art!

Whenever I come across an awesome product, article, video, etc. I usually share it on my personal FB page but I've realized that I should be sharing them here, in the blog, because this is where I am able to reach YOU!...and the rest of this amazing community.

Today's feature is Dartstrip, a snappable steel strip that is 8 ft in length and 1 inch wide. It comes with a removable adhesive for you to place on any wall. It is bundled with powerful magnets for hanging art, photos & more.

But it's not as simple as it sounds. When I said powerful, I meant POWERFUL because each tiny magnet can hold up to 10 sheets of letter sized copy paper. Ummm-hum!




You can probably find many uses for the Dartstrip but I am ordering my own to hang this beautiful 2014 PaperFashion calendar which I've been wondering how to display at home, in my work area.

So what do you think? Are you curious to try Dartstrip?

Pretty Modern (& One Retro) Wrapping Paper

Birds :: Ornaments :: Bike :: Octopus 

I agree that the gift is the final most important part when opening a gift but the wrapper is also very (VERY) important; otherwise, these pretty gift wraps wouldn't exist. 

Fuchsia Ornament :: Boxed Tree :: Purple Snow :: Retro Santa

I picked these 8 beautifully designed papers from +Paper Source & +PAPYRUS and hope they inspire you to wrap nice gifts this holiday season. My favorite for a boy gift is the Octopus with teal and red. For a girl I would pick the Fuchsia Ornament. Let me know your favorite pattern in a comment. Cheers!

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Ivanesa Luna's Photography

Are you following me on Instagram? If so, you've probably met my niece Zayra. What you probably don't know is who's the amazing photographer behind the newborn baby photos. Today I want to share with you, Ivanesa Luna's Photography. She is currently a photography student at Pratt but she has a large background in photography starting her studies many years ago in high-school. The broad range of her photo categories are a true inspiration. My favorites are the baby photographs but also the creative compositions here, and here.

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Cute Animal Prints For Baby Rooms!

I recently discovered The Animal Print Shop, the cutest animal photo prints website! They sell baby animal photography that are perfect for baby nurseries. These four are my favorite, because I find them to be the most adorable, but they have lots more on their site.

Elephant :: Giraffe :: Bunny :: Bobcat

Aren't they all adorable? Share your favorite in the comments below.

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From Haiti, for Haiti

I've always been a fan of the TOMS brand not just because they help the world be a better place but because they do so in a creative way.

By commissioning 30 Haitian artists for this limited edition collection, they help create local jobs and provide the world a view of Haitian culture; creative, colorful, and vibrant.

My favorite four are shown below but view the full women's collection here.

My Favorite 4 TOMS from the HAITI Artist Collective

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Make 'em laugh!

Everyone will sure be laughing with these crazy, cute cards from Julie Ann Art on Etsy. These are my favorite four but there are plenty more to help you make someone's day. Smile!! :)

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Draw your heart out!

Hi there! I am here experimenting with the Paper App for the iPad and I am really enjoying it. As a graphic designer, I have always wanted to create great illustrations but that's not a gift I have or that I have practiced to master. I've learned that not every designer is an illustrator and, not every illustrator is a designer.

I am always experimenting with new things so I want to give myself a chance and draw something each day for a month and see how creative I get. I'll be posting my daily creation on Instagram. Keep in mind that I am not promising anything fancy but please join me in this crazy challenge that I've given myself.

Cheers!

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Cheers from San Francisco!

I am writing today's post away from home. It's 6:22 AM in San Francisco, CA and I am such a morning person that I am up and ready at the Starbucks Coffee line. The rare thing here is that I just got a bottle of water and an apple. Not hungry nor feeling the need for coffee. 

The reason for my trip is the HOW Design Live Conference. I am blessed with an amazing day job that  is paying for it. Fortunate to work for a company - and have a boss - that care for their employees growth. 

I arrived yesterday and headed straight to the hotel. Setup my stuff and walked to the conference at Moscone West. It's rainy and humid here so I am not very pleased with that because my walk is about 10 minutes. Yes, that's coming from a New Yorker that's used to walking a lot! 

But let me tell you that I am very happy to be here. The opening keynote last night was Austin Kleon, he taught us how to steal like an artist and my take on his talk is this:

Nothing is original because everything is inspired by something else (even if you don't think it is) so, go ahead and make something. Make art. If you think something should be different change it. Do the things that make you happy in life and good things will come. And finally, fake it 'till you make it. Pretend to be what you want to be, or how you want to be, and you'll eventually get there. 

One last thought to those of you who think that art is just designing, painting and drawing, art is whatever you make and connects you to other people. This I learned from Seth Godin's book 'The Icarus Deception' that I just finish reading last week. Do recommend it to anyone.

Happy Monday!

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Judging books by covers...

People say don't judge a book by it's cover, meaning that content is what's important. I agree. What I don't agree on is that as a designer and visual person that I am, I'll be choosing a book with a bland cover from the bookstore shelves.

Most of the books I read are on my Kindle, but I still visit Barnes and Nobles at least once a month and wonder around thinking about what I'll be reading next. A well designed book cover will definitely be picked up by my hands and even if it isn't added to my reading list, it accomplished the designers goal.

Last year I read many novels-including the Hunger Games and the Grey series (Wink, wink) and what made me read them was definitely the buzz that every women I know was already reading the book. That's a proof that content is key but I also want to make the point that content could be discovered by an awesome cover.

One of my goals for this year is to read 12 books and below are some book covers I liked and made the books part of my reading list. Enjoy and feel free to share what you are currently reading in a comment below. Also, please share your thoughts on the books below if you have already read them.

Cheers!

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Vegas Inspired Typographical Installation

Fall in love with this Vegas inspired typographical installation by Studio Xag. As they described, each letter has it's unique story that can be tracked back to real Vegas signage.

Have you been to Vegas? Share your thoughts in a comment below. Cheers!

Mount St photography by Susie Rea

Tattly All Over!!

Have you heard about Tattly??? If you followed me on Instagram prior to launching CheersCristalia.com, you probably know about this super awesome tattoo brand. It was born when Tina Roth Eisenberg got tired of putting poorly designed temporary tattoos on her daughter's arm and decided to start a cute temporary tattoo line designed by professional artists. They are non-toxic and safe for kids (and adults) of all ages. 

My First Tattly order shared on +Instagram:

The order came with extra goodies.

My first Tattly - Pixel-Perfect.

Live in New York City? Lucky us! They've partnered with cool stores and places to bring us the Tattly Randomizer, a vending machine dispensing Tattly's for just 25¢. Sweet!

Tell me about your tattoos! Real ones? Have you removed any? Do you have any Tattly's? Share your brilliant thoughts with me below. Cheers!

Source »


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chalkboard + nails...

The British nail company, Ciate, came up with the brilliant idea of turning our nails into chalkboard. The Chalkboard kit includes a base coat in black, a clear matte finish and 4 colorful chalk pens to help us release our inner child and doodle all over the "black board" nails.

The kit also includes an inspirational look book and it's now available at +Sephora.

Cool right? Definitely adding to my wish list. Happy Monday!

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Via Fashionista.com

fashion watercolor inspiration

Get inspired with these fashion watercolors by Jessica Durrant, a fashion illustrator that I discovered on Etsy. She specializes in fashion, travel and lifestyle illustrations but what really caught my eye were the fashion illustrations. 

As I read her bio I realize that she is pretty popular. Her illustrations have been featured in many magazines including Glamour and she has collaborated with Target on store visuals.

Check out my favorites from her etsy shop below.

What do you think of Jessica's work? Post your thoughts in the comments section below.

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