Lovely Designs

Adorable usb power bar

Morgan — Wed, 16 May 2012 18:28:50 +0000

I am across this wonderful device as I was wandering around the other day. Everything seems to have a usb component these days and one can never have too many outlets. Playing on the visual familiarity of a power bar seems like a no brainer, but it took me completely by surprise. I was instantly in love and had to have it.

The one weak point about this device is that the outlet plugs are not attached. I have no doubt that I will promptly lose them all…

They usb power bars are made by dci and can be bought in either white or black

Pin It

Font love: champagne & limousines

Morgan — Wed, 09 May 2012 16:47:46 +0000

Here is a delectably delicate and elegant font, designed by Lauren Thompson. It’s called Champagne & Limousines and it is just the best kind of fixed-width font. It comes in a variety of weights (regular, italic, bold, and bold italic) and is free for personal use. If you need it for commercial use, the designer asks that you make a donation. Seems pretty reasonable to me.

Download here

Pin It

Lovely branding: apron allure

Morgan — Tue, 08 May 2012 17:41:17 +0000

It is so true that the simplest things are often the best.

Take this branding for Apron Allure by Make & Matter. I love everything thing about it from the cheeky red colour to the charming combination of ‘A’s that form an apron to the gorgeous, classic typeface they used. The back of the tag is just as wonderful with it’s vintage-inspired patterns and charming declarations of what can be done while wearing the apron in question.

Found via Graphic-ExchanGE

Pin It

Foodie Friday: inlaw banana bread

Morgan — Fri, 04 May 2012 03:03:33 +0000

So I had some bananas going brown and soft on my counter for about a week. Since I don’t eat bananas once the’ve lost that slight hint of green and have acquired so much as a single spot, I was in need of something to do with them. My Mother-in-Law came to the rescue for a banana bread that is rich, dark and moist. Since this initial attempt a couple of weeks ago, I believe I have made it three times. It is so delicious and addictive that I can’t stop eating it. I have added chocolate chips to subsequent versions, and I’m a big fan of doing so.

So! without further ado…

Mother-in-Law Banana Bread

1/4 cup sugar (I use brown)
1/2 cup butter (or margarine)
2 eggs beaten
1 tsp. baking soda
4 Tbsp. of sour cream, heaping (or yogurt)
1 cup mashed bananas ( spotty and over ripe, about 2 medium)
1 1/2 cups of flour
1 tsp. vanilla
1/4 tsp. salt
Optional ingredients – 1/2 cup raisins or nuts or a combination (or chocolate chips!)

Pre-heat oven to 325 F.
In mixing bowl cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy. This is a little strange. Brown butter does not seem to want to ‘fluff’ the way white sugar does. Keep at it though and it will look like the picture.

Add eggs and vanilla, sour cream and soda and beat well.
Then add bananas, flour and salt.

Pour batter into loaf pan and bake for 50 to 60 minutes. When a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean then it’s ready to be extracted. Like I said, this is a dark banana bread. Don’t worry if it looks over done. It’s not.

Let sit in pan to cool for 15 minutes and then run a knife around the outside of the loaf. Let cool another 20-30 minutes and then turn out onto cutting board to finish cooling.

Enjoy! (Seriously, it’s the best banana bread ever…)

Pin It

Lovely find: whimsical notebook

Morgan — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 18:07:16 +0000

It has been the most relaxing, pleasant weekend that I’ve had in a while. I didn’t do any school work at all – completely abandoned my computer. I had a romantic date with my man on Saturday night, and a big dinner out with good company last night. Wonderful.

After dinner on Saturday, we were wandering around, enjoying one of the first really mild evenings we’ve had. On a whim, we strolled into Chapters and I came face to face with this gorgeous notebook. It’s pretty, small enough to tote around, large enough to be useful AND it cost me under $4! I felt like I’d won a prize.

Pin It

Smoke alarm bird

Morgan — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 18:00:33 +0000

I’m of the opinion that all things should be lovely. I do not think that wonderful things are diminished when surrounded by many other lovely things.

You can imagine my excitement when I came across this Chick-a-Dee smoke detector. It is just brilliant to take something as mundane and, frankly, irritating as a smoke detector and make it something you actually enjoy having in your house. Would you believe that this whimsical piece, designed by Louise van der Veld, is the result of a design contest organized by the Union of Dutch Insurance Companies?? The Netherlands don’t know how lucky they are to have insurance companies that appreciate functionality combined with design.

I just love it!

They also come in fun colour variations

These whimsical fixings can be purchased from Chick-a-Dee.
The large image was found on The World’s Best Ever.

Pin It

Happy weekend

Morgan — Sat, 24 Mar 2012 21:35:20 +0000

Another week draws to a close…

It’s the final week of this school term for me too and exams and project deadlines loom. I’ve really enjoyed this term’s classes and I’m sorry that they’ll be over soon. But onward and upward to new heights of knowledge.

Back again on Monday!

This past week on Lovely Designs

The Colour Game from Method of Action
A baby shower invitation
Baby shower signage and bunting
The Cloud Factory wine lable by Biles Inc. found on Lovely Package

Pin It

The Cloud Factory

Morgan — Fri, 23 Mar 2012 22:47:45 +0000

It must be such a pleasure to design wine bottle lables. This one does me in completely – with hand-crafted lettering and a beautiful die-line, it is sophisticated, enchanting, and whimsical all at once.

The label was designed by Biles Inc. for this ‘The Cloud Factory’, a New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc. Biles Inc is a wonderful design agency that seems able to put a touch of magic into everyone one of their projects.

Images from The Dieline

Found via Lovely Package

Pin It

Baby shower part 2

Morgan — Wed, 21 Mar 2012 16:48:19 +0000

I absolutely love the colour combination of pink and brown for a girl’s baby shower. Add polka-dots to that combination and I am beside myself with delight. It was an absolute pleasure to work on the signage and bunting for this baby shower.

The sign on the right was outside the building, and the ‘Welcome’ sign was on the apartment door so everyone would know how to get into the building and where to go!

And, of course, baby bunting.

Pin It

Baby shower invitation 1

Morgan — Tue, 20 Mar 2012 23:14:54 +0000

2011 was the year for babies, I think. It seemed that everytime I turned around, someone else had a bun in the oven. In fact, it became a joke at work that there was something in the water, and if you drank it, you would get pregnant.

This is a an invitation that I put together for one such lucky couple. It was my first ever commissioned design project.

Pin It