Since September is my birthday month and I have a whole list of fun giveaways planned, I am extending an advertising special of $25 for the month of September.
If you are interested in becoming a sponsor of The Design Girl for the month of September, please email me at thedesigngirl [at] gmail [dot] com
If you are interested in becoming a sponsor of The Design Girl for the month of September, please email me at thedesigngirl [at] gmail [dot] com
Over the past few years aside from designing blogs I have gotten to work on some pretty exciting projects. I designed a menu for a caterer, a book cover, many logos, t-shirts, and even got to work on a video game for a motion picture while I worked at a graphic design company.
I recently experienced another first. I was mentioned in Flea Market Style for designing a blog for the magazine.
The address doesn't link to my home page (thedesigngirlstudio.com) but does link to one of my pages, and my name is in a magazine, so who cares! I saw the mention for the first time today which happens to mark my first 4 weeks in Chicago. I love my new city & my new life. I celebrated with an even shorter/more styled hair cut, having my hair colored a bit darker, and a trip to the market to pick up food & some fresh hydrangeas.
Hope you all had a great weekend! Don't forget that tomorrow is the last day to enter my giveaway!
I recently experienced another first. I was mentioned in Flea Market Style for designing a blog for the magazine.
The address doesn't link to my home page (thedesigngirlstudio.com) but does link to one of my pages, and my name is in a magazine, so who cares! I saw the mention for the first time today which happens to mark my first 4 weeks in Chicago. I love my new city & my new life. I celebrated with an even shorter/more styled hair cut, having my hair colored a bit darker, and a trip to the market to pick up food & some fresh hydrangeas.
Hope you all had a great weekend! Don't forget that tomorrow is the last day to enter my giveaway!
This new look has me feeling rather pleased, so I thought I'd do something to spread some happiness around blog-land. I am going to give away one of my little birdy pre-made blog templates!
This template comes in pink & blue, and is valued at $25. It can also be customized in any color scheme you would like for an additional $15. Just become a follower of my blog & leave a comment to enter!
For extra entries:
1. Add my button to your blog {button can be found in the sidebar}
2. Become a fan of The Design Girl on Facebook
3. Follow me on Twitter
This template comes in pink & blue, and is valued at $25. It can also be customized in any color scheme you would like for an additional $15. Just become a follower of my blog & leave a comment to enter!
For extra entries:
1. Add my button to your blog {button can be found in the sidebar}
2. Become a fan of The Design Girl on Facebook
3. Follow me on Twitter
Be sure to leave one comment per entry! You have until Monday night to enter!
Good luck!
Good luck!
The winner of Misty O'Brien's templates is SAHM Scrapper & Jennifer won my X-Z kits!
Winners, please email me to claim your prizes!
I would also love to hear what you think of the new site design for TDG! I am always saying that I want everything to be yellow or blue, so this combination seemed like the perfect fit. I have had 2 new designs just sitting here for months, and finally got around to the redesign! It is a clean, chic, streamlined version of the last design. I hope you all enjoy it!
I really do believe that having a bicycle in either of these colors would be adorable. Don't you agree?
And just one final reminder that my entire scrapbook line is 25% off through Sunday in celebration of my one year design-iversary!
And because I really prefer that all blog posts have an image, let me share one of my latest obsessions...J.Crew's fall line!
Happy Friday! I Hope you all have a wonderful weekend! Does anyone have anything special planned?
Winners, please email me to claim your prizes!
I would also love to hear what you think of the new site design for TDG! I am always saying that I want everything to be yellow or blue, so this combination seemed like the perfect fit. I have had 2 new designs just sitting here for months, and finally got around to the redesign! It is a clean, chic, streamlined version of the last design. I hope you all enjoy it!
I really do believe that having a bicycle in either of these colors would be adorable. Don't you agree?
And just one final reminder that my entire scrapbook line is 25% off through Sunday in celebration of my one year design-iversary!
And because I really prefer that all blog posts have an image, let me share one of my latest obsessions...J.Crew's fall line!
image via J.Crew
Happy Friday! I Hope you all have a wonderful weekend! Does anyone have anything special planned?
fresh hydrangeas.
the pup. moccasins.
books that inspire. fresh flowers. mad men on netflix. apple products. thomaspaul mouse pad. lululemon key cuff. my desk.
adventures with friends. camera. j.crew hat. my watch. opi on collins ave.
home.
What makes you smile?
I cannot believe that it has been an entire year since I launched my scrapbook line! To celebrate this exciting little milestone, my shop is 25% off all week long!
Just visit my shop at ScrapMatters, and add anything you would like to your shopping cart. If you spend $15 or more, I will email you a $5 gift card towards my scrapbook line. Your discount will be applied at checkout.
Just visit my shop at ScrapMatters, and add anything you would like to your shopping cart. If you spend $15 or more, I will email you a $5 gift card towards my scrapbook line. Your discount will be applied at checkout.
On Saturday morning, the pup and I headed to the farmer's market with my friend & her son. In typical Chicago fashion, the farmer's market was one of the best I have ever been to.
This past week, I treated myself to an orchid, hydrangeas, and these bright pink beauties.
This was one of our favorite vendors. The pate de fruit is beautiful & delicious!
Jack was pretty impressed with the tomatoes. How cute is this kid?
The Chicago Honey Co-Op had the cutest little set up. Love these jars! Such a great gift.
While I cannot wait for farmer's market in the fall, I am going to enjoy going to the farmer's market in the summer while I can. Summer won't be here much longer, and I want to take in every moment.
This past week, I treated myself to an orchid, hydrangeas, and these bright pink beauties.
This was one of our favorite vendors. The pate de fruit is beautiful & delicious!
Jack was pretty impressed with the tomatoes. How cute is this kid?
The Chicago Honey Co-Op had the cutest little set up. Love these jars! Such a great gift.
While I cannot wait for farmer's market in the fall, I am going to enjoy going to the farmer's market in the summer while I can. Summer won't be here much longer, and I want to take in every moment.
After weeks & weeks of work, the collection is finally complete! You can purchase this collection & the rest of my scrapbook line at ScrapMatters.
This week, I released W-Z and packaged the entire kit up in a bundle that is just too good to pass up. The bundle is valued at $82, but can be purchased for $32 this week! And when you purchase the alphabet collection, you will get these amazing pages designed by the oh so talented Emma. You can print them in a book, use them as wall art, or any way you choose!
I also have a great giveaway for you! Misty O'Brien designed the templates that Emma used to create these amazing alphabet pages, and she has generously offered to give one lucky winner a set of her templates. These are amazing, and sell at $1.99 per letter! Another winner will receive my X-Z mini kits!
To enter to win these templates, become a follower of this blog.
For extra entries:
1. Become a follower of Misty's blog
2. Follow Misty on Facebook
3. Follow me on Facebook
4. Add my button to your blog.
5. Follow me on Twitter.
6. Post about this giveaway on your blog.
You have until Monday, August 23rd to enter!
This is a fairly personal post, but I know that a year ago reading this on someone's blog would have given me hope or inspiration, so I wanted to share it with all of you.
Just 17 days after moving to Chicago {and exactly 1 month before my 28th birthday} I can say without any hesitation that this move is the best thing that I have ever done. I am still finding myself & have so much to figure out, but for the first time in my life I am truly happy. I love this city & cannot imagine living anywhere else.
For as long as I could remember I had this plan. I was supposed to be married by 28 and a mom by 30. It's a pretty safe bet that those things will not be happening any time soon & I am completely ok with that. Believe it or not, I am actually happy it worked out this way. I had to reach a point where nothing felt right to make this change, & had I not been unhappy with my life in LA, I would not be living in Chicago.
I questioned this move once right after I got to my apartment, and that uncertainty lasted for all of 5 minutes. The only moments that have taken place since have been ones of happiness. That's not to say that there will not be rough patches. I have to assume they'll come because it's impossible to imagine that everything can be this good. I have never felt this happy and on some level think that I don't know what to do with myself. I definitely have plans to start a new career & make my current job part time. I just have to figure out what my next step will be. There are a handful of things I would love to pursue. Until I figure that out, you can bet that I'll be enjoying my life here in Chicago.
Since I am officially training for my first 5k, I headed to the beach with a friend for a run yesterday. This was my first time visiting the beach & I absolutely loved it! When we turned around and I saw this, I had one of those amazing "I live here" moments. Such a great feeling.
Just 17 days after moving to Chicago {and exactly 1 month before my 28th birthday} I can say without any hesitation that this move is the best thing that I have ever done. I am still finding myself & have so much to figure out, but for the first time in my life I am truly happy. I love this city & cannot imagine living anywhere else.
For as long as I could remember I had this plan. I was supposed to be married by 28 and a mom by 30. It's a pretty safe bet that those things will not be happening any time soon & I am completely ok with that. Believe it or not, I am actually happy it worked out this way. I had to reach a point where nothing felt right to make this change, & had I not been unhappy with my life in LA, I would not be living in Chicago.
I questioned this move once right after I got to my apartment, and that uncertainty lasted for all of 5 minutes. The only moments that have taken place since have been ones of happiness. That's not to say that there will not be rough patches. I have to assume they'll come because it's impossible to imagine that everything can be this good. I have never felt this happy and on some level think that I don't know what to do with myself. I definitely have plans to start a new career & make my current job part time. I just have to figure out what my next step will be. There are a handful of things I would love to pursue. Until I figure that out, you can bet that I'll be enjoying my life here in Chicago.
Since I am officially training for my first 5k, I headed to the beach with a friend for a run yesterday. This was my first time visiting the beach & I absolutely loved it! When we turned around and I saw this, I had one of those amazing "I live here" moments. Such a great feeling.
I have been feeling inspired to cook the past few days, and wanted to share a few recipes with you.
Margherita Pizza:
I used a piece of whole wheat pita, tomato sauce, fresh mozzarella, spinach leaves, and finely sliced tomato. I just put it in the oven at 350 and took the pup for a quick walk. Since I didn't time it, I'd just say to keep an eye on the pizza. I set it to broil for the last 2 minutes. So good!
Veggie Burgers:
1 can organic black beans
3 finely chopped garlic cloves
1/2 onion
1/4 bell pepper
1 cup rolled oats
1 egg {be kind. use cage free eggs.}
whole wheat breadcrumbs {1/4 cup maybe? just sprinkle some in there.}
1 tsp ground cumin {I just sprinkled it in}
Pour the can of black beans into a mixing bowl and smash the beans with a fork or spoon {or use a giant ladle like I did}. Add the remaining ingredients & form 4 patties. Cook the patties in a pan on the stove until they are a little brown.
Sweet Potato Fries:
I cut up one sweet potato and added a little salt, some ground pepper, and garlic powder. Set the oven to 450 and bake for ~25 minutes, turning occasionally.
Margherita Pizza:
I used a piece of whole wheat pita, tomato sauce, fresh mozzarella, spinach leaves, and finely sliced tomato. I just put it in the oven at 350 and took the pup for a quick walk. Since I didn't time it, I'd just say to keep an eye on the pizza. I set it to broil for the last 2 minutes. So good!
I enjoyed yet another glass of cucumber water {my favorite drink}. So light & refreshing!
Veggie Burgers:
1 can organic black beans
3 finely chopped garlic cloves
1/2 onion
1/4 bell pepper
1 cup rolled oats
1 egg {be kind. use cage free eggs.}
whole wheat breadcrumbs {1/4 cup maybe? just sprinkle some in there.}
1 tsp ground cumin {I just sprinkled it in}
Pour the can of black beans into a mixing bowl and smash the beans with a fork or spoon {or use a giant ladle like I did}. Add the remaining ingredients & form 4 patties. Cook the patties in a pan on the stove until they are a little brown.
Sweet Potato Fries:
I cut up one sweet potato and added a little salt, some ground pepper, and garlic powder. Set the oven to 450 and bake for ~25 minutes, turning occasionally.
Simple. Healthy. Delicious.
Happy cooking!
Crystal won my 2 latest scrapbook kits, and So Inkin Cute won the $30 credit to my shop! Winners, please email me to claim your prizes. Thanks to all of you who entered!
The first 3 people to use the following coupon at my store at ScrapMatters will get 40% off their next order!
40offTDG123
The coupon expires on the 18th!
The first 3 people to use the following coupon at my store at ScrapMatters will get 40% off their next order!
40offTDG123
The coupon expires on the 18th!
My alphabet collection is almost done! A-V are now up in my shop! I am going to give 1 winner any two of my alphabet kits. Just leave a comment with your two favorite alphabet kits in my shop!
R is for Rhino
S is for Sheep
T is for Turtle
U is for Unicorn
V is for Vulture
My alphabet flowers coordinate with this collection.
Sharon
Lashawn
Kris
Andrea
Emma
R is for Rhino
S is for Sheep
T is for Turtle
U is for Unicorn
V is for Vulture
My alphabet flowers coordinate with this collection.
These letter kits are so much fun and there are so many ways to scrap with them, from alphabet books to and A – Z scrapbook pages, your options are endless. Here are some layouts from my amazing CT to inspire you.
Sharon
Lashawn
Kris
Andrea
Emma
I have 5 new mini kits & an element pack coming to ScrapMatters tomorrow! Don't forget that SM is having a HUGE sale right now!
Something pretty exciting happened on Wednesday night. I was in downtown Chicago walking to dinner with my mom and all these big black SUVs pulled up outside a restaurant we were passing. Some very secret service-esque people get out and surround the place. My mom told me she thought it was the president, which I thought was a little crazy.
So imagine my surprise when President Obama walked right out of the car. He was just a few feet away from us. I stood there like I complete fool {mouth dropped, no expression} and did not immediately think to take a photo, even though I had my iPhone in my hand. My mom smiled, waved, and says hello. He waved & said hello back.
Then I remembered who I was and snapped a quick pic of part of the back of his head {and his arm, too}.
I saw Shane Botwin from Weeds on my flight, and the President of the United States a few days later while walking downtown. Crazy!
So imagine my surprise when President Obama walked right out of the car. He was just a few feet away from us. I stood there like I complete fool {mouth dropped, no expression} and did not immediately think to take a photo, even though I had my iPhone in my hand. My mom smiled, waved, and says hello. He waved & said hello back.
Then I remembered who I was and snapped a quick pic of part of the back of his head {and his arm, too}.
I saw Shane Botwin from Weeds on my flight, and the President of the United States a few days later while walking downtown. Crazy!
The winner of the blog makeover giveaway is...Chic 'n Cheap Living! Congrats! Please email me to claim your prize. If you entered and did not win, I would like to offer you $15 off your deposit. Please email me to take advantage of this offer. You have until Wednesday night!
On to the giveaway! I am giving away $30 credit to my shop at ScrapMatters! Just become a follower to enter.
For extra entries:
1. Visit my shop at ScrapMatters and leave a comment with your favorite kit from my shop.
2. Follow me on Facebook
3. Follow me on Twitter
4. Tweet about this
5. Add my button to your blog
6. Post about this giveaway on your blog
On to the giveaway! I am giving away $30 credit to my shop at ScrapMatters! Just become a follower to enter.
For extra entries:
1. Visit my shop at ScrapMatters and leave a comment with your favorite kit from my shop.
2. Follow me on Facebook
3. Follow me on Twitter
4. Tweet about this
5. Add my button to your blog
6. Post about this giveaway on your blog
Please leave one comment per entry!
You have until August 12th to enter!
You have until August 12th to enter!
We're having a huge sale over at ScrapMatters! Stop by & shop around. My entire shop {along with all the other designers' shops} is on sale through August 12th!
The past 3 days have been wonderful, tiring, and L.O.N.G. I am so painfully tired. I had this whole plan to work out each day, but after walking miles and miles and lugging bar stools & carts full of food all over the city I am done. I just need to lay on my non existent sofa and watch some Rachel Zoe {& last week's Entourage}.
Cannot wait until the sofa comes on Thursday. Not having a place to sit makes you realize how nice having a place to sit can be. So take a moment to appreciate your sofa and/or desk chair.
This morning I headed to Andersonville with my mom. We went to Scout, The White Attic, and Brimfield where I found some amazing pieces!
Top right: My new industrial bar stools from Brimfield. Exactly what I wanted & they are actually comfortable! The shop owner said she can make cushions for them for just $25 a piece. Planning on finding some cute fabric so I can have that done.
Middle right: Mason jars from Scout. Just $2 each! Love, love, love them! It took so much self control to just purchase 6 {and a 7th for my sis}.
Bottom left: End table from Scout. So reasonably priced and perfect for my small space. I love it!
Bottom right: My gorgeous new dresser for my entry hall from The White Attic. Thanks, mom! It is stunning in person! The best part about this dresser is that the inside of the drawers are robin's egg blue. You can see a photo of the blue drawers {middle left}.
My cable has been set up so I am off to watch The Rachel Zoe Project and last Sunday's Entourage! I will be on a pillow on the floor. Thursday cannot come soon enough. I want my sofa!
Cannot wait until the sofa comes on Thursday. Not having a place to sit makes you realize how nice having a place to sit can be. So take a moment to appreciate your sofa and/or desk chair.
This morning I headed to Andersonville with my mom. We went to Scout, The White Attic, and Brimfield where I found some amazing pieces!
Top right: My new industrial bar stools from Brimfield. Exactly what I wanted & they are actually comfortable! The shop owner said she can make cushions for them for just $25 a piece. Planning on finding some cute fabric so I can have that done.
Middle right: Mason jars from Scout. Just $2 each! Love, love, love them! It took so much self control to just purchase 6 {and a 7th for my sis}.
Bottom left: End table from Scout. So reasonably priced and perfect for my small space. I love it!
Bottom right: My gorgeous new dresser for my entry hall from The White Attic. Thanks, mom! It is stunning in person! The best part about this dresser is that the inside of the drawers are robin's egg blue. You can see a photo of the blue drawers {middle left}.
My cable has been set up so I am off to watch The Rachel Zoe Project and last Sunday's Entourage! I will be on a pillow on the floor. Thursday cannot come soon enough. I want my sofa!