Art: graphic design | myMCMlife.com

Blog Update

03/06/2013

I updated a few things on the ole blog design last week. If you, like me, use Google Reader or some other RSS feed to digest blog material, you might not have noticed. Click here to check it out.

I updated my blog header (which still had pictures from from 1-2 years ago).

I changed some of the main links at the top. Now I have:

I also updated most of the pages those links go to… Inspiration is a combo of 3 pages I had before. Timeline is new and gives an overview of our lives. Tour – New is a landing page for the New Home Tours I’m gradually revealing. Tour – Old is a tour of our old house. The others didn’t change.

Thanks for coming to my blog! It’s means a lot to me that people enjoy my ramblings enough to come back over and over again. I love interaction and it keeps me going to know that others read what I write. Please feel free to comment or email me anytime! I read each comment and respond to most.

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Leave a Comment » | Art, Art: graphic design, Family, Family: Me | Tagged: blog, changes, update | Permalink
Posted by mahlbrandt

Nesting

01/28/2013

Apparently I’m nesting. After getting the news that we had a February 28 deadline to reopen our home with DCS, I spent most of my free time during the weekend while Jason was out of town hanging pictures, unpacking those last few stubborn old boxes, sorting, organizing, hanging curtains…

We also got the door lock for the hall closet and our new home phone line set up.

I think maybe Jason is nesting too, because he’s patching up spots on the wall where we had some nicks and scratches as I’m writing this. We still need to assemble the monster KURA bed, install safety locks, cover the outlets, secure the TV to the wall in the den, rugs need to be “secured” with antislip pads…we also need to get a booster car seat, another twin mattress, night lights…Sheew! Is my list getting longer instead of shorter, or it just me?

Leave a Comment » | Art, Art: graphic design, Family, Family: Foster Parenting | Tagged: children, expecting, foster care, foster parenting, kids, nesting, parenting, preparations | Permalink
Posted by mahlbrandt

2013 Calendar – Christmas Gift for My In-Laws

01/23/2013

For Christmas, I made Jason’s parents a photo wall calendar. I looked at templates online but nothing fit exactly what I had in mind so I decided to just buy photo paper and washi craft tape and make one myself. I’m really happy with how it turned out. I mostlyused pictures of their three grandkids—Ali and her cousins Aiden and Eliza. I also mixed in some family portraits and some funny ones of the adults, too.

Leave a Comment » | Art, Art: crafts, Art: graphic design, Family | Tagged: calendar, christmas gift, Family, photos | Permalink
Posted by mahlbrandt

Desk Calendar for 2013

01/08/2013

My Pinterest BFF* (whether she knows it or not) and Instagram friend Jill Browning sent me this awesome retro 2013 desk calendar as a house warming gift. It’s made up of 12 printed 4×6 cards and a neat little clear case to display them. It’s sitting proudly on my desk:

Here are a few more pictures from her Etsy shop.

If you don’t have a 2013 calendar yet, go get you one!

*Do you have someone on your Pinterest feed who pins all the most amazing things? I feel like I could save myself a lot of time and just like and repin everything Jill pins. She’s a graphic designer, she’s a mom, she’s into mid-century modern style…she has great taste. Thanks again, Jill!

1 Comment | Art, Art: graphic design, Art: mid-century design, Art: modern design | Tagged: 2013, calendar, design | Permalink
Posted by mahlbrandt

Posters for Sale

11/27/2012

Now that Thanksgiving is over, it seems everyone is getting into the Christmas spirit. Here we’re getting into the almost time to move into the new house spirit. Christmas decorating is in the way, way back of my mind. I wanted to remind you that I put the Wishing You a Shiny Brite Christmas poster back in my Etsy shop again this year. It’s 11×17 and $12 plus shipping.

I’m trying something new this year. I also turned two color variations of the Shiny Brite Christmas poster into downloadable PDFs that can be printed at home on 8.5″ x 11″ paper. They’re $2 a piece and free shipping, of course.

Shiny Brite Poster – Green Print-at-Home / Shiny Brite Poster – Brown Print-at-Home

Leave a Comment » | Art, Art: graphic design, Art: mid-century design, Art: modern design | Tagged: Christmas, graphic design, poster, print, shiny brite, welcome home | Permalink
Posted by mahlbrandt

IKEA 2013 Catalog Interactive App

11/06/2012

The first three times I thumbed through the new IKEA catalog I wondered what these graphics at the corners of some pages would really unlock and if it was worth the effort of downloading an app. One night I decided to try it out and I ended up going through the whole catalog, using the app, looking for all of the interactive elements. It was fun!

Scanning some pages with the IKEA Catalog app unlock a gallery of more photos of the space or piece of furniture.

Some lead to videos.

Some open an X-ray view of the inside of a cabinet.

Some make a 3-D model of the furniture seem to grow right out of the printed catalog sitting in front of me.

My favorite was the 3-D animated model of the BJURSTA table that demonstrates how the leaves slide out and into the table. I can see how this would be really beneficial.

This is without a doubt the most interactive catalog experience I’ve ever had and the first time I’ve tried an app combined with a print medium.

Have you ever seen anything else like this?

Leave a Comment » | Art, Art: graphic design, Art: interior design | Tagged: app, catalog, digital, graphic design, IKEA, interactive, magazine | Permalink
Posted by mahlbrandt

New Home – Exterior Paint Mock-Ups

10/22/2012

Because things aren’t moving fast enough (that’s a joke!) I decided to take some of my photos of the house with siding and add our paint colors in Photoshop to see how they look. The house process has been flying lately at the house so it’s possible that by the time this post goes live, the painters will actually be painting the exterior…but anyway…if I’m going to waste my time daydreaming, I might as well waste yours too:

(The battens weren’t all up yet when I took the picture below, but close enough.)

Use your imagination here. Our garage door will not be translucent. It is coming soon, though. Hopefully the rest of the driveway (and back patio) concrete is coming soon, too.

OK, now this one got me really excited. Our front door area has been a mess since the beginning of construction and I never like how it looks in photographs. Now I can really start to visualize how lovely this courtyard entrance could be…

My landscape expert husband Jason will be planning out this courtyard with what areas will have planters, paver stones, gravel, potted plants, etc. All I know is that our OTP orange metal chairs will be resting here. Probably. So the birds have somewhere to perch while they watch us eat breakfast.

6 Comments | Art, Art: graphic design, Art: modern design, Art: new home build | Tagged: architecture, construction, exterior, house, landscaping, mock up, new home update, paint colors, photoshop | Permalink
Posted by mahlbrandt

Posters for Sale

10/01/2012

I recently got inspired to design a new Welcome Home Mid-Century Modern Poster (maybe because I’ve been longing for “home” so much?) I ordered a few extra so I could restock my Etsy shop. They’re 11×17 and cost $12 plus shipping if you’re interested.

Also, because I get requests for it every year I’ve added the Wishing You a Shiny Brite Christmas poster back to my Etsy shop as well. Same as the Welcome Home poster – 11×17 and $12 plus shipping.

Shiny Brite Poster – Green Print-at-Home / Shiny Brite Poster – Brown Print-at-Home

I’ll probably mention these again as Christmas gets closer—I know, I know, Christmas decorations on October 1st—but I wanted to get them into my shop early this year so I’m ready to go.

American Sign Museum

09/18/2012

A few weeks ago while we were up in Cincinnati visiting friends, we went to the American Sign Museum. There were lots of signs and it was very cool, especially for this graphic designer. That’s about all I need to say about it.