Oh Good Symbolic Design...

Oh man, I love these Symbolic Designs by Eric Hanson. You could lose hours 

milling through his creative designs {as I did this morning, yikes} I pulled out some 

of my favorites for you. Clearly I had trouble deciding which to choose, so there are a  

lot to read through today, but I hope they make you laugh, because they are quite clever. 

Wishing you a Real Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine's Day to you! <3

quote via my favorite: The Velveteen Rabbit

Adorable Valentine's Day Prints

Love these Valentine's Day Prints from the Big Harumph. Especially that long one,

I like the idea of an 'odd' shaped print, you don't often see prints that size do you?

I really dig it.  

{xox}

Celebrate!

Well Folks... After about 24 days of working Dave and I are taking 2 days OFF 

and heading to our Oasis on the Eastern Shore to celebrate Valentine's Day! Our 

Spirits need the reviving and I am so looking forward to this. Is anyone else planning 

on celebrating valentines day this weekend?

What are your plans?

What makes you feel Sexy?

In Honor of Valentine's Day. I am turning up the heat here at Meant for a Moment 

and I am asking... What makes you feel sexy? I feel like it is important for a woman 

to feel sexy for herself, not jus for her man. So if you were thinking on what made 

you feel sexy and confident (because the words are synonymous) what would it be? 

Would it be red pumps and glossy lips or tousled hair and a flirty smile? Are you the 

most confident in jeans climbing a mountain beaded in sweat or longing in a teeshirt 

reading your favorite book. Sexy should be a happy place. So where do you find 

your sexy place? 

Anthropologie Set, Steve Madden Pumps, Mac Red, J-Crew Night Shirt, Mac Polish

Did you have an Imaginary Friend

"Ill eat you up, I love you so."

Did you have an imaginary friend when you were little? I imagined that all of 

my stuffed animals came to life when I left the room so I had to strategically 

place them next to their "best friend" (yup, each were paired with a best) so that 

when they 'came to' they would wake up next to their best friend and they could 

begin their adventure for the day, kind of like Toy Story I guess, but I remember 

always being very burdened by the meticulous attention it required. I had one 

very special stuffed animal named "Kitty" whom I carried everywhere for a 

while. But remembering back, she never 'spoke' to me, or carried me off on 

adventures, she just hung out and kept me company.

I also thought everything had feelings... like my carpet... {?} Hated the idea of 

getting new carpet because I didn't want to hurt my blue carpets feelings. I am 

pretty sure this made things difficult for my parents; "But Tara a new carpet is

going to be clean and pretty."

What about you? Do you have memories like this? Or children that have 

imaginary friends? I would love to hear. xox

image via

Austin Kleon, 'Steals like an Artist'

It turns out, Austin Kleon, the writer and artist behind these creative black out prints is 

pretty awesome. Reading these prints that are made from blacking out newspapers 

makes me laugh a bit. And it also really makes me want to grab a newspaper and a 

sharpi, but I will save that for the weekend. 

As I did my research into Austin Kleon I learned that he is a speaker, and a darn good

one. He speaks about 'Stealing like an Artist' and makes some encouraging points, he 

even brings Ben Franklin into it. So I encourage you to visit his site and check out some 

of his videos for a little inspiration. 

Roller Skates for Valentines Day

After seeing the Christmas episode of The New Girl, I decided that Roller Skates are 

in fact the prefect gift for any occasion. And luckily we have just the occasion coming 

up, Valentines Day! Welcome back to the 80's xox. Wouldn't it be so fun to get a pair 

for each of you and skate around everywhere {everywhere} Im talking kitchen, 

bathroom (imagine the stories, haha), restaurant, movies... Oh the ridiculous fun. 

It promises for an unforgettable day.

You can purchase his and her skates here. {!}

Rehearsal Dinner Dress... Oh Joy

I don't usually indulge myself in dresses... but I have had my eye out for the perfect 

rehearsal dinner dress. Oh what fun! P.S I highly recommend you follow the link to #4, 

its got a low lacy back and is amazing. 1. Ruche 2. Ruche 3. Zara 4. Urban Outfitters 

5. Catbird

Shout, Illustrations

I wondered over to Illustration Friday this morning looking for some inspiration and 

found some within the illustrations of 'Shout' I love the unique layouts, color and 

simplicity of his art. 

And I love this little tidbit on how he got the name Shout:

Well, of course I have to start from this question, although you must have said it many times in past and sick of it… Can you tell the readers about how you came about using name Shout?

Yes of course.

Between 2002 and 2005 I was represented by a Canadian illustration agent.  They were nice but they didn’t allow me to try different ways of expression.  I wanted to change my visual language but they didn’t let me do that. I signed an exclusive contract with them so I had no choice.

They started representing me in 2002, and I think they were scared of loosing some clients by showing different styles from me, although I didn’t work so often with them at that time. Maybe only about 2 assignments a month, almost always with clients you have never heard of who didn’t have good budgets…

Anyway, during that time, I never stopped creating work for myself, looking for my own voice. I worked very hard, trying and trying again. It finally ‘clicked’ in October 2005. That month, I found a way. My way.

It was an assignment that gave me a spark; I tried to think more on the concept and put less attention on the “make up”. I was enthusiastic of the outcome but the client rejected my sketches. At that point I decided I have to do this all by myself.

For one of my first illustrations, I made a new brand name: Shout, a man shouting from a bottom of a hole in the ground.  I chose the name to hide myself from the agent. I started looking for clients on my own. In 6 months I collected more than 2000 art director’s email addresses. That worked immediately. This was how Shout was born and I left the agency.

Now I have some problem going back with my real name, but I eventually will.

Love that. 

Pop over to Illustration Friday for the entire interview

Valentine's Day, How do you Celebrate?

Well, its February (already), and Valentine's Day is just around the corner. Believe it or not, 

I am actually a hopeless romantic. Completely Hopeless, but I bet you could have 

guessed that. I devour Valentine's Day and any occasion to enjoy Dave. Each year I ask  

only for a love note. I look forward to it every holiday and have tucked each one away in a 

special box that we will uncover one day and "remember when." 

How do you feel about Valentine's Day? Are you a hopeless Romantic or do you 

prefer to ignore the holiday all together? 

I have posted some of my favorite Meant for a Moment Prints to inspire cupids 

arrow this month. 

{xox}

Honeymoon Planning, Any tips?

Dave and I have been searching for the perfect honeymoon spot and my mind is 

reeling with beautiful destinations, I wish we could visit them all. Some of the places 

that we have considered are; Turks and Caicos, Norway, Cinque Terra, Big Sur CA, 

Key West, and Greece. We are working on a budget so some of those places were 

knocked off our list simply for cost reasons {Norway, I love you.} sigh. I have been 

to Cinque Terra and it was Heaven on Earth. I highly recommend anyone visit that 

is able. But last night we came up with this brilliant plan that sounds perfect for both 

Dave and I {!}  Here is what we are thinking;

Get Hitched, Head down to the Keys, Rent a Villa, a Car and a BOAT. Spend the 

entire week exploring the waters of the Keys and Fish our hearts out. I imagine 

for an ideal vacation, it couldn't be much sweeter than to have a boat and a bunch 

of islands at our disposal. {xox}

Where did you honeymoon? Do you have any tips?

Non Dairy Ice Cream, Success

Oh Hello Delicious, Non-Dairy Ice Cream. 

I suffer from migraines often and I have found if I drink a whole glass of milk 

or large latte, a migraine would start brewing {humpf}. I also have to stay away

 from 90% of the worlds delicious cheeses. So I have considered the fact that I may 

have an intolerance to Dairy. I have recently switched to a non-dairy diet to see if it 

helped with energy levels and my migraine issues. Its been wonderful so far, 

however I am just drooling over the idea of ice cream.  

So last night I took some time to get to know a pint of Mocha Almond Fudge 

Purely Decadent 'Ice Cream' made with coconut milk. It was amazing. An 

absolutely wonderful Dairy Free substitute to ice-cream. 

Cuppow, Turn your Canning Jar into a Travel mug. {Love}

Must Have. Enough Said. 

Go to their site and watch their video, its adorable. 

The Wheatfield, typographic design to drool over

There are more wonderful things happening at The Wheatfield. I adore Katie Daisy's 

typographic designs and color use so much, I can't wait for the wall space to hang a 

bunch of her work on my wall. Wouldn't these prints be cute in a little girls room?

Or a nice white Studio?

Incredibly Important Stationary, by Meant for a Moment Designs

Meant for a Moment's custom illustrated, Incredibly Important Stationary has been 

one of my favorite new projects and it is growing in popularity as it spreads through 

the mail. {!} Nothing beats a hand written note, and when it is as cute as this, how 

could you resist. 

Psst: These would make great Mother's Day gifts.

For your own custom illustrated package, email me: meant4amoment@gmail.com

Gotta Have, Cup Holders for your Desk

Again, I am kicking myself for not thinking of this. This is totally genius is it not?

I could use about three of these for my drinking problem. Coffee Water and Coffee. 

I always end up accumulating a bunch of cups through out my work day and than 

Cricket manages to jump up (on my desk, yikes) and put us all in a precarious 

position at least once, before the day is through. 

So these Drinklips are a must have in my book!

Recent Meant for a Moment Project (Fairy Tale for Adults)

Ever wonder what I am up to?

One of my recent projects has been really fun, because I got to create a fairy 

tale for adults. {dreamy}

Each character in the book played a very specific role so we opted for a profile

 type illustration in black and white ink. I have included some of my favorites 

above to show you a peak but there are more, like a wise judge and of corse 

the princess! 

This project was so much fun {!} I can't wait to see it printed, I will post a 

link when its ready. 

New Project for the Weekend, Building a Shelf

I am in desperate need for more shelving but I am also in desperate need for 

more space... This usually poses an issue. But I came across this beautiful 

minimalistic shelf at West End today and my wheels started turning. Not only 

did I think, "Well, thats a cool shelf that doesn't take up a lot of space." I also

 thought, "With Dave's mad skills and my creative touch we could recreate that 

pretty easily." So. I proposed to Dave that we do it. And he said 'Yes'.  

Stay tuned for details. 

Do you SNOOZE?

Anyone else hit snooze a million times before they wake up? I have to set my 

alarm early just so I can get up on time because I snooze so much. But I was up a 

little earlier than usual yesterday because Dave had just gotten home from a long 

weekend away. We had coffee together and shared stories of our weekend and it 

was wonderful. It felt like a perfect morning. Usually, Dave and I are both working 

by 7am but it was so wonderful to take a little time in the morning to chat over coffee.

  And Cricket was in Heaven, because she got lots of attention. So I thought I would 

make an effort to wake up a half an hour earlier everyday so we can have some time

 together in the morning. (Today I made it 15 minutes early, its a start right)

Here are some tips I found online about getting rid of the snooze habit. 

• Place your alarm clock strategically. If you place your alarm clock across the room 

or outside your door, this might force you walk to the clock to shut it off.

• Train yourself. Instead of forcing yourself to wake up, train yourself to react instantly 

by practicing the motions of waking up. During the day, turn your lights off and practice 

jumping out of the bed as soon as your alarm goes off. Do this repeatedly twice a day for 

about 10 times until it feels automatic.

• Get an alarm clock that lights up. You can mimic waking up naturally with this 

BioBrite Sunrise Clock ($134). This alarm clock will gradually glow brighter and 

brighter and will act like your own mini sunrise. You will no longer be jerked awake 

by jarring noises with this clock. BioBrite also has a cheaper version for $90.

• Active Work. Start your day with work that actively uses your mind. Creative 

activities like writing, drawing, programming or designing work better than 

passive activities like reading. By focusing your mind early you can stay focused

and brush off any unwanted drowsiness.