"A toast" printable greeting card

Head over to Oh My! Handmade Goodness to get this free printable card by Meg of Olliegraphic. Perfect for whenever anyone does a good job at anything.

Tons of free icon sets

The icon for the folder of active design jobs on my computer is a hamster. I know it's completely juvenile, but it's been entertaining me for the last ten years. If you'd like to replace any of your standard folder or application icons with something sillier, here's a great roundup of 70 free icon sets. (Thanks, Celeste!) Be sure to check the licenses for each, but most are available for commercial use on websites, too.

Among the cutest: Desserts, terrariums and appliances.

To change your folder or application icons on a Mac, follow these directions or open the new graphic file in Preview, select all, and copy it. Do a "File > Get Info" on your destination icon, click the old icon at the top of the window to select it, then paste. On a PC, try these directions.

Affordable art prints

While browsing on Imagekind the other day, I fell in love with a cat. That orange guy is coming to live in my house. Love the mid-century vibe of CZM's work.

I also have a thing for tilt shift photography. Check out Janez Novak's gallery of prints. Is that what Ljubljana, Slovenia looks like? I can't pronounce it, but I sure do like it.

That looks familiar

Here's a collection of products sent in by blog readers. These items hit the market after my fabrics came out, and they look a little familiar, right? Certainly we designers can't help being influenced by what we see around us, and genuine coincidences do occur in the design world. Please enjoy these coincidences.


Above are some of my prints.


Click images to view larger
Cute pillows and wall hangings! Looks a little bit like my Calliope print. This company agrees that the design is identical, but insists their artist created it independently. The name of my fabric collection is Amusement Park, with prints called Parade, Fireworks, Calliope, and Boardwalk. The names of other prints in this company's collection are Carnival and Carousel. Fabulous! I wish I could meet this other designer, because clearly we are twins separated at birth and would be best friends.

This company likes the Calliope motif, but thought it might look just a little better with the addition of black dots.

Could we see it in a photo card?

Have fun buttoning your clown shirt.

Unless these product photos are misleading, it looks like these guys couldn't afford the third ink color in their Fireworks print. Sadly the economic downturn has affected everyone.

Dollar Deals!

Here at sassyNpunk headquarters ;) we tend to get a little carried away with new ideas! As a result, it can get a little cramped in here from all of our new goodies piling up on us. Therefore, we want to let our fans in on the fun that we get to enjoy here everyday! And to do that, we have created our own little dollar store right on our official website! If you're dying to get your hands on something new for your wardrobe but have been strapped for cash, your prayers have been answered! You can stock up on sassyNpunk merchandise without breaking the bank! Simply visit our official website and click on the products page... scroll down a little, and on the left sidebar there is a cute little "Dollar Bin" filled with all sorts of official merchandise with your name on it! Everything is just a buck, and you don't have to worry about shipping fees piling up on you b/c everything purchased from our Dollar Bin ships for a low flat rate!

We love what we do and want everyone to be able to enjoy our products, so take advantage of these great savings and enjoy! The bin is updated daily, so be sure to bookmark our site!

XOXO

My favorite graphic design galleries

The following sites are handy references and provide entertainment if you like looking at nice design. If you don't like looking at nice design and would rather see a gallery of Photoshop disasters, click here. (Be warned that some of the entries are rather risqué, so don't look if you are under 18. Of course, by saying that, I might as well put a giant flashing CLICK ME sign on the link.) But back to the good sites:

Logos: LogoPond
Business cards: Creattica
Letterhead: Letterhead Love
Websites: Site Inspire and The Best Designs
Packaging: The Dieline and Lovely Package
Invitations and cards: Oh So Beautiful Paper and Paper Crave

Experimental cork trivets

Recently I bought a pack of plain cork trivets for a couple bucks at IKEA. Very functional, but no fun. They needed decoration. To make this super easy project, you'll need:

A cork trivet
Self adhesive cork on a roll (usually sold with regular shelf liner and contact paper at Target or Home Depot)
Acrylic paint and a brush
Scissors or craft knife and cutting mat
Pen

1. On the self-adhesive cork backing, trace around the trivet. Draw a design inside. Don't get too tricky or it will be hard to cut.

If your cork is curly from being rolled, ironing will help flatten it. I took a guess and used the cotton setting, because cork and cotton both start with c. (Kidding. Do not iron based on the alphabet.)

2. Cut out the design with a scissors or craft knife.

3. Paint the trivet so your cutouts will show up nicely. Let dry.

4. Peel the backing off your cork pieces and stick them on. Done.

What I learned:
Leave your cork pieces unpainted or a hot pan will stick to them, no matter how cute they are.
Brushing on paint will get it into little nooks and crannies better than using spray paint.
If you choose to spray paint, don't use your finger to smear it into the crannies. Cooking oil, rubbing alcohol, and nail polish remover will not take spray paint off your finger. An abrasive sponge will, but it will be uncomfortable.

Free font: Arcus

While font shopping the other day, I stumbled on Arcus, a geometric typeface with interesting curves. Might be useful for headlines or adapted for logos. Get it in regular and italic for free right here from MyFonts.com.

Vintage labels to fill out and print

Get sheets of ornate vintage labels at Worldlabel.com. Choose a design and download the PDF, then open it and type in your information. Super for people like moi with bad handwriting. Designs are sized to print on standard label papers.

Fabric sighting

Courtney of Kelly+Olive alerted me to these cute EmersonMade bridesmaid clutches created with my fabric. Love the simple photography. Speaking of fabric, you must be getting sick of seeing this old stuff. I'm happy to share that I'm in the middle of designing a new collection. Fun!

DIY projects for the weekend

I'm sure you're all reeling from yesterday's one-or-two spaces controversy, and perhaps some of you didn't sleep last night. To calm things down to How About Orange's usual innocuous level, how about some DIY projects? Woman's Day magazine has a nice collection of craft projects, many excerpted from popular books. Some examples to try:
Easy cafe curtains
Waffle bath mat from Scandinavian Needlecraft
Pyramid painting from DIY Art at Home
Embellished handbag from Bags in Bloom

Typography lessons for everyone

Friends, I've discovered a website that makes me giddy with joy: Typography for Lawyers (via Swiss Miss). If the words "typography" and "lawyers" don't usually make you giddy, bear with me. The site is a well-written, beautiful piece of work from Matthew Butterick, a typographer-turned-attorney. If you're a non-designer, this simple guide will help you make pages of words look better. And if you're a designer who's tired of telling folks to stop using two spaces after periods, send those peeps right over here to get them straightened out. And soon the world will be a better place.

Hexagon notecard printable

Download this colorful notecard freebie, compliments of Ginger & George. It should be easy enough to find a colored envelope to match, right? (Via One Pretty Thing.)

Google Me business card freebie

Does your name appear at the top of Google search results? Need a quick business card? Get this template from Ji Lee and add your own words to the search box. (The download is on page two.)

Mom made me oven mitts

Look what my mom, AKA Grandma G, just mailed me: oven mitts made from my fabric! When she suggested the project was so easy I could make them myself, I refused and begged her to do it since things are more special when made by one's mommy. (That depends on the mommy, I suppose, but I happen to like mine and she's an excellent sewer.)

If you want to make a pair, see Mum's notes:

"I combined a couple of tutorials to make these oven mitts. I used the pattern and most of the instructions from Skip to my Lou. I liked her suggestion of cutting everything into rectangles first and then doing the quilting before cutting out the mitt shape. It worked very well.

Like savvyseams.com, I tried the idea of stitching the mitt together only halfway around before attaching the seam binding. I think that made it a little easier to sew the binding on without having to work inside the small circle formed by sewing the entire mitt together first.

The only thing I would do differently next time would be to finish the seams (I zigzagged them) before sewing the two mitt halves together. I did it after sewing them, and it made for a bulkier edge to sew on, plus I couldn't sew all the way to the end of the one seam where the binding went on because it was pressed open at that point. I used an overcast stitch to sew those ends by hand to prevent raveling.

Both tutorials were easy to follow, and probably the hardest part of the whole project was turning the thumbs right side out when they were finished."

Each mitt is lined with a layer of Insul-Bright and a layer of Warm & Natural batting, available at Jo-Ann Fabrics.

Printable bookplates from Draw! Pilgrim

Help yourself to Pilgrim Lee's nifty (and free!) printable bookplates. I'm taken by those triangles. Get the file here at Frecklewonder.

Entering Jasper National Park

The word Jasper alone evokes all kinds of inevitable comparisons.

Jasper. The Canadian Rockies' other park. Jasper. Banff's quieter sibling. Jasper. Just like Banff except with more glaciers and less lakes.



Many visitors, faced with limited time and budget, are bound to ask the question of "how much time should I budget for Jasper while I visit Banff?" That's quite unfortunate of course, as anyone who has spent more than a couple days in both parks can tell you that each has many unique things to offer. We were fortunate to spend three nights in the town of Jasper, yet the vast expanse of the surrounding wilderness seemed like it would take at least a couple of weeks to properly appreciate.



While both Banff and Jasper offer spectacular, world class views and adventures, I feel that the main difference between the two parks is due to geography. Banff is 1.5 hours from Calgary (and thus from a major international airport) and an easy day-trip destination; Jasper on the other hand requires much more time and effort to visit and deters many casual tourists. This advantage leaves Jasper with a less commercialized townsite, less crowds to get in the way of great pictures, and most importantly to most visitors, an amazing abundance of wildlife.



And we didn't have to travel far to start running into these locals. Note the wires at the top of the picture -- these white-tailed deer were foraging at the edge of the townsite. In fact during our three days in Jasper, we could hardly travel an hour without running into some species of deer, elk, bighorn sheep, hoary marmot or ground squirrels.



We were enjoying the scenery somewhere between Medicine Lake and Maligne Canyon when we saw this pair of massive antlers sticking out from a bush on the roadside. I was able to walk within 5 metres from this gentle giant of a bull elk, and he was too busy scratching his forehead against a small tree to bother even looking at me.



In fact, the Maligne Lake Road was the most prolific wildlife viewing area on our entire trip. The rock face above Medicine Lake's north shore seems to contain certain mineral deposits, known locally as a "salt lick," which attracts herds of bighorn sheep from higher elevations. We came across at least two different herds, lounging along the grassy roadside and licking at the natural salt deposit. This huge ram in the picture stared down the oncoming traffic, while its harem of ewes congregated to taste the rocks in salty bliss.



The 48km drive along Maligne Lake Road is just packed with wildlife, spectacular views, as well as easily accessible scenic walks. The grey limestone cliffs of the Maligne Canyon, polished for millenia by the glacial water of Maligne River, is only one of the many beautiful canyons and falls within Jasper National Park.



Following the canyon upstream leads to the rocky shores of Medicine Lake, which drains into the canyon through an extensive underground cave system. During our visit in July it looked just like any other emerald-colored lake in the Canadian Rockies, but will soon start to drain and turn into a large mudflat in a matter of months.



The reflection of Spirit Island in the deep turquoise of Maligne Lake is no doubt the quintessential image of Jasper National Park, and one of the most recognizable images of the Canadian Rockies. Be prepared though, to fork out a steep CAD$55 for the 90-minute boat tour (or to paddle about 40km roundtrip, which is near impossible to do in one day). So we were content with strolling the well-maintained footpaths on the lake shore, and opted for the panoramic view from the Bald Hills which was free.



The Parks Canada brochure described the Bald Hills trail as medium intensity, 10 km round-trip, 4 to 6 hours to the lookout and back. Now I have to admit that we're novice to intermediate hikers, physically unfit (we're both office workers and don't regularly work out), and it was our first hike in about a year. It took us only 2.5 hours to reach the lookout, and 4 hours round-trip including lunch and wandering around the lookout for 30 minutes. I figure if we can do it as a half-day hike, any reasonably fit person can do it, as a great addition to a day at Maligne Lake.



The panoramic view of snowy peaks crowning Maligne Lake from the Bald Hills lookout was definitely worth the 4 hour round-trip. A complete 360-degree panorama can be gained by means of a further 45-minute hike to one of Bald Hills' peaks, for those more adventurous (and more physically fit) than us.

These are only some of the sights along the Maligne Lake Road -- I haven't even started with my photos of the wildly scenic and more famous Icefield Parkway. That will come in the next couple of posts.


THE TOWN OF JASPER


The only real settlement within a vast 10,000km2 national park, the town of Jasper is a true gem of a Canadian small town -- large enough to cater to the demands of modern tourism, yet small enough to remaining peaceful, unpretentious, and authentically Canadian. This is a quality that the now internationally-flavored "village" of Banff has lost forever.

You won't find any major retailers like The Bay or even a neighborhood Safeway -- the largest store in town is a locally owned, 90-year-old grocery store (Robinsons Foods). The major bank (CIBC) occupies a beautifully maintained heritage house, as does the Parks Canada information centre. The two main drags (Connaught Drive and Patricia Street) are filled with small eateries and watering holes, nondescript souvenir shops, and a high concentration of outfitters and outdoor equipment stores. Fast food franchises like McDonalds and A&W are marginalized to the edge of the commercial district.


CHEAP EATS AND CHEAP SLEEPS IN JASPER


No disrespect to the dining scene in Jasper and Banff, but we would have chosen Montreal and Quebec City for our vacation if the best Canadian cuisine was our focus. Here in Jasper we chose to spend more of our time in the great outdoors, and sought recommendations by locals on where they would go out for inexpensive, quality food.


BEAR'S PAW BAKERY
Address: 4 Cedar Avenue, Jasper
Hours: 06:00-18:00 Daily
Website/Map: Official Website
Directions: Corner of Cedar Avenue and Connaught Drive, half a block from the train station.


We sampled a number of eateries based on our guesthouse host's recommendations -- a steakhouse, a pizza and taphouse, and a sushi restaurant among them. Here I'm passing on to you the number one worthiest recommendation -- a tiny, extremely popular bakery widely considered to Jasper's best.

We were first introduced to this little bakery by a fellow blogger, secondly by our guesthouse, and thirdly ... most importantly ... by the incredible amassment of 40 or so customers lining up within the tiny shop for fresh-off-the-oven baked goods in the morning. Some were tourists, but many were locals walking down the block in shorts and sandals for their daily dosage of freshly brewed coffee and muffins.


Prices were very reasonable for a small town -- around CAD$1.5 for bakery items such as scones, sausage rolls or cinnamon rolls. Pictured above is the shop's signature item aptly named ... what else ... Bear Paw. It's actually a cutely shaped cinnamon roll -- not too flaky, not too sweet, but filling enough to power our mid-morning hike up the Bald Hills. I regret not taking a photo, but the sausage roll was definitely one of the best I've ever had.

For budget travelers like us, Bear's Paw also sells decent sandwiches for a measly CAD$4.5, probably among the cheapest in town (Robinsons Foods has a different selection, but costing a little more). We made them our designated lunch supplier for our daily hikes and excursions in Jasper.


SELDOM IN GUESTHOUSE
Address: 123 Geikie Street, Jasper AB
Price: $95 including tax in high season; double room with ensuite bathroom; breakfast not included
Website: http://www.bbcanada.com/11539.html


The entire town was nearly fully booked during July's peak season, and there just weren't a lot of options when it came to inexpensive lodging -- cheaper hotels in town generally charged $150 and up for double rooms, guesthouses charged anywhere from $90 to $120, the town's HI hostel charged $71 for a private double with shared bathroom, while dorm beds ran around $30.

We booked several months ahead at a little guesthouse on the northern side of the town, run by a Canadian couple with the help of a couple of Japanese assistants. Seldom In Guesthouse gave us a smallish but spotlessly clean room, with a huge ensuite bathroom and shower, for $95 including tax. Breakfast was not included, but coupons for complimentary coffee at Bear's Paw Bakery was provided.


An advantage of staying at guesthouses is of course the use of the living room, fridge, microwave and other conveniences of staying in a fully functional home. The clear view of the mountain peaks from our room window was just an added bonus.

Entering Jasper National Park

The word Jasper alone evokes all kinds of inevitable comparisons.

Jasper. The Canadian Rockies' other park. Jasper. Banff's quieter sibling. Jasper. Just like Banff except with more glaciers and less lakes.



Many visitors, faced with limited time and budget, are bound to ask the question of "how much time should I budget for Jasper while I visit Banff?" That's quite unfortunate of course, as anyone who has spent more than a couple days in both parks can tell you that each has many unique things to offer. We were fortunate to spend three nights in the town of Jasper, yet the vast expanse of the surrounding wilderness seemed like it would take at least a couple of weeks to properly appreciate.



While both Banff and Jasper offer spectacular, world class views and adventures, I feel that the main difference between the two parks is due to geography. Banff is 1.5 hours from Calgary (and thus from a major international airport) and an easy day-trip destination; Jasper on the other hand requires much more time and effort to visit and deters many casual tourists. This advantage leaves Jasper with a less commercialized townsite, less crowds to get in the way of great pictures, and most importantly to most visitors, an amazing abundance of wildlife.



And we didn't have to travel far to start running into these locals. Note the wires at the top of the picture -- these white-tailed deer were foraging at the edge of the townsite. In fact during our three days in Jasper, we could hardly travel an hour without running into some species of deer, elk, bighorn sheep, hoary marmot or ground squirrels.



We were enjoying the scenery somewhere between Medicine Lake and Maligne Canyon when we saw this pair of massive antlers sticking out from a bush on the roadside. I was able to walk within 5 metres from this gentle giant of a bull elk, and he was too busy scratching his forehead against a small tree to bother even looking at me.



In fact, the Maligne Lake Road was the most prolific wildlife viewing area on our entire trip. The rock face above Medicine Lake's north shore seems to contain certain mineral deposits, known locally as a "salt lick," which attracts herds of bighorn sheep from higher elevations. We came across at least two different herds, lounging along the grassy roadside and licking at the natural salt deposit. This huge ram in the picture stared down the oncoming traffic, while its harem of ewes congregated to taste the rocks in salty bliss.



The 48km drive along Maligne Lake Road is just packed with wildlife, spectacular views, as well as easily accessible scenic walks. The grey limestone cliffs of the Maligne Canyon, polished for millenia by the glacial water of Maligne River, is only one of the many beautiful canyons and falls within Jasper National Park.



Following the canyon upstream leads to the rocky shores of Medicine Lake, which drains into the canyon through an extensive underground cave system. During our visit in July it looked just like any other emerald-colored lake in the Canadian Rockies, but will soon start to drain and turn into a large mudflat in a matter of months.



The reflection of Spirit Island in the deep turquoise of Maligne Lake is no doubt the quintessential image of Jasper National Park, and one of the most recognizable images of the Canadian Rockies. Be prepared though, to fork out a steep CAD$55 for the 90-minute boat tour (or to paddle about 40km roundtrip, which is near impossible to do in one day). So we were content with strolling the well-maintained footpaths on the lake shore, and opted for the panoramic view from the Bald Hills which was free.



The Parks Canada brochure described the Bald Hills trail as medium intensity, 10 km round-trip, 4 to 6 hours to the lookout and back. Now I have to admit that we're novice to intermediate hikers, physically unfit (we're both office workers and don't regularly work out), and it was our first hike in about a year. It took us only 2.5 hours to reach the lookout, and 4 hours round-trip including lunch and wandering around the lookout for 30 minutes. I figure if we can do it as a half-day hike, any reasonably fit person can do it, as a great addition to a day at Maligne Lake.



The panoramic view of snowy peaks crowning Maligne Lake from the Bald Hills lookout was definitely worth the 4 hour round-trip. A complete 360-degree panorama can be gained by means of a further 45-minute hike to one of Bald Hills' peaks, for those more adventurous (and more physically fit) than us.

These are only some of the sights along the Maligne Lake Road -- I haven't even started with my photos of the wildly scenic and more famous Icefield Parkway. That will come in the next couple of posts.


THE TOWN OF JASPER


The only real settlement within a vast 10,000km2 national park, the town of Jasper is a true gem of a Canadian small town -- large enough to cater to the demands of modern tourism, yet small enough to remaining peaceful, unpretentious, and authentically Canadian. This is a quality that the now internationally-flavored "village" of Banff has lost forever.

You won't find any major retailers like The Bay or even a neighborhood Safeway -- the largest store in town is a locally owned, 90-year-old grocery store (Robinsons Foods). The major bank (CIBC) occupies a beautifully maintained heritage house, as does the Parks Canada information centre. The two main drags (Connaught Drive and Patricia Street) are filled with small eateries and watering holes, nondescript souvenir shops, and a high concentration of outfitters and outdoor equipment stores. Fast food franchises like McDonalds and A&W are marginalized to the edge of the commercial district.


CHEAP EATS AND CHEAP SLEEPS IN JASPER


No disrespect to the dining scene in Jasper and Banff, but we would have chosen Montreal and Quebec City for our vacation if the best Canadian cuisine was our focus. Here in Jasper we chose to spend more of our time in the great outdoors, and sought recommendations by locals on where they would go out for inexpensive, quality food.


BEAR'S PAW BAKERY
Address: 4 Cedar Avenue, Jasper
Hours: 06:00-18:00 Daily
Website/Map: Official Website
Directions: Corner of Cedar Avenue and Connaught Drive, half a block from the train station.


We sampled a number of eateries based on our guesthouse host's recommendations -- a steakhouse, a pizza and taphouse, and a sushi restaurant among them. Here I'm passing on to you the number one worthiest recommendation -- a tiny, extremely popular bakery widely considered to Jasper's best.

We were first introduced to this little bakery by a fellow blogger, secondly by our guesthouse, and thirdly ... most importantly ... by the incredible amassment of 40 or so customers lining up within the tiny shop for fresh-off-the-oven baked goods in the morning. Some were tourists, but many were locals walking down the block in shorts and sandals for their daily dosage of freshly brewed coffee and muffins.


Prices were very reasonable for a small town -- around CAD$1.5 for bakery items such as scones, sausage rolls or cinnamon rolls. Pictured above is the shop's signature item aptly named ... what else ... Bear Paw. It's actually a cutely shaped cinnamon roll -- not too flaky, not too sweet, but filling enough to power our mid-morning hike up the Bald Hills. I regret not taking a photo, but the sausage roll was definitely one of the best I've ever had.

For budget travelers like us, Bear's Paw also sells decent sandwiches for a measly CAD$4.5, probably among the cheapest in town (Robinsons Foods has a different selection, but costing a little more). We made them our designated lunch supplier for our daily hikes and excursions in Jasper.


SELDOM IN GUESTHOUSE
Address: 123 Geikie Street, Jasper AB
Price: $95 including tax in high season; double room with ensuite bathroom; breakfast not included
Website: http://www.bbcanada.com/11539.html


The entire town was nearly fully booked during July's peak season, and there just weren't a lot of options when it came to inexpensive lodging -- cheaper hotels in town generally charged $150 and up for double rooms, guesthouses charged anywhere from $90 to $120, the town's HI hostel charged $71 for a private double with shared bathroom, while dorm beds ran around $30.

We booked several months ahead at a little guesthouse on the northern side of the town, run by a Canadian couple with the help of a couple of Japanese assistants. Seldom In Guesthouse gave us a smallish but spotlessly clean room, with a huge ensuite bathroom and shower, for $95 including tax. Breakfast was not included, but coupons for complimentary coffee at Bear's Paw Bakery was provided.


An advantage of staying at guesthouses is of course the use of the living room, fridge, microwave and other conveniences of staying in a fully functional home. The clear view of the mountain peaks from our room window was just an added bonus.