Miss me yesterday?  I try to post once per day, Monday through Friday…but Harper needed a couple immunizations yesterday so I was out and about and didn’t have a chance to write.

If you’re my Facebook friend, you’ve probably already seen this photo, but I just can’t help myself sometimes!  My webcam caught this photo of my silly family using Photobooth, but the more I look at it, the more I love it. So I decided to use Picnik to make a Christmas photo (it’s made using the “Collage” function…there are some adorable and easy-to-create holiday templates!).

This is what happens when you put off getting that professional family photo…I’ve been sulking because I missed my chance with the gorgeous fall leaves. But this one is almost as cute.

Happy Holidays from the Christensen Family.
xo, L.

I love my little white MacBook.  It’s 3 years old now, which is probably ancient in computer years, but I’m hoping that I can squeeze a few more years out of it.  I’m a self-taught PC convert, and I love all of the little details that Macs offer, and make my life a lot easier!  You can see my “Dock” below, and some of the most frequently used programs that I use.

I just want to say how much I love iWork, mainly because of how intuitive the programs are, and how versatile they are as well.  Pages is technically Apple’s word processing software, but it’s more like Word, Publisher and more rolled into one.  Numbers is the spreadsheet program (think Excel) but this is the program that I use to create e-decorating boards like this one:

Now how did I take a document that I created in Numbers and turn it into an image, which I saved in my Flickr account? Here’s how you do it on a Mac: File/Print/Click the PDF button, and there is an option that says “Save PDF to iPhoto” and it turns it into a .jpg and saves it in iPhoto.  This is a sample of something I was working on in Pages.

When I send a file to my clients, I convert whatever I’m working on, whether it’s a contract made in Pages, or a paint schedule made in Numbers, into a PDF.  I simply use the Print function here again and convert it to a PDF.

You can use the “Export” function as well, and this is how you convert to a Word doc, and it works well with multiple pages or sheets, but sometimes a header is missing or something, so I like to just print what I see.  If you also hit the “Preview” button, it converts it to a PDF to see how it will print, and you can save it from there as well.  Gotta love it!

Another great thing about Pages and Numbers is that it is also compatible with Microsoft documents (you can convert them so that PC users can read them, and you can open Word docs in Pages).  They think of everything…

Now I want to say that I am jealous of the interior design students who are still in school, because right after I graduated they incorporated a lot of great new classes into the program (I attended California State University, Chico – woot woot!!).  When I was there we did it all old-school; hand-drafting, hand-rendering, cutting out photos, gluing samples and creating large and multiple boards for each project.  We took an AutoCAD class (one class), but it wasn’t incorporated into our other classes.  We photographed our boards and created portfolios on the computer.  I’m trying to keep learning as much as I can, but I really loved being in school and love learning!  So keep that in mind while you view…my…portfolio.    And remember, I created EVERYTHING in Numbers…even my logo.  Enjoy!!

Numbers and Pages are great because you can save a page as a template, which is exactly what I did here to add pages to my portfolio.

I love the “Alpha” tool.  It removes backgrounds…just like Photoshop.  You click on the color that you want to remove, move your mouse outward, and it will find anything that color and remove it.  I completely removed Glenn from a picture using that tool when I needed a good picture of me for a mailer that I made, ha!

If you notice my samples (tile, paint, fabrics, etc.), you can easily make them all the same size by “masking.”  Masking is like cropping, but instead of deleting the part of the image you remove, it’s just ‘masked.’  That’s nice if you need to make changes, plus you can drag the image to show what parts you want to show instead of moving every single side like cropping.

You might notice that I also added shadows to give the pages a little more depth.

Pages and Numbers also has those cute photo frames, making the image look like a paper photo with the edges curled up.

I also love the color tools…just simply take the eyedropper to choose EXACTLY what color you want something to be.  For instance, on my e-decorating boards, I make a paint ‘splatter’ using a font (‘A’ looks like one paint splatter, ‘B’ looks like another, etc.), and then I make that ‘letter’ (paint splatter) the color from the Benjamin Moore paint website.  So great to show paint colors!!

You can also adjust image colors right in Pages and Numbers.  Very, very helpful.

These programs make it very easy to line images up, center them, straighten them…they really are very intuitive and all-in-one.

One thing that I did get a little experience with before I graduated was sustainability and education about eco-friendly design practices.  Now you can major in Sustainability!

This was my first attempt at SketchUp.    I love SketchUp and would love to learn more about it – I’ve seen some amazing SketchUp projects!!

And the end page…hand drawn by me!

So there you have it – the products I like to use.  I like to think that I use them a little creatively, but because they are so easy to use I can’t help it!  If you have any questions, I’d love to answer them for you…leave a question in the comments and don’t forget to check back or e-mail me at lindsay@lindsaychristensendesign.com.

xo, L.

I am all about short-cuts and simple tools for real people. And with all of the options out there, you can find some really easy products that don’t have to cost an arm and a leg. I have used Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, AutoCAD, etc. but as a small business owner living in a small town, buying the expensive professional version for my own use isn’t always an option. Plus I have to stick with my 3 year old MacBook for now so even if I did buy a big, fancy software program, my poor little computer probably just couldn’t handle it anyway!!

I get asked a lot about what programs and software I use, so I thought that I’d run through a few that I like, and share some tips and tricks that have helped my work look like I own a bunch of fancy programs! If you’re curious, I use a Kodak EasyShare Z1012 IS. It’s not a point-and-shoot, but it’s not an SLR, either. It’s in between (I think it’s called an advanced point-and-shoot). It takes high resolution photos and HD video, and it has some manual features for advanced picture taking (that I haven’t really figured out yet), and you can take panoramic photos by stitching photos together, so it works great for what I need it for.  Plus my photo editing programs that I use help me out as well.

First up is Flickr. This isn’t technically software, it’s a photo storage and sharing site through Yahoo, but I host a lot of my photos and images here so that I can free up space on my hard drive and on my blog. Plus it makes it easy to organize them and retrieve them, no matter what computer I’m on. I purchased a ‘pro’ account for $24.95/year, and it gives you unlimited storage, account stats, and HD video storage.  Flickr rocks!  You can find some really great eye candy on there as well!

I use a variety of different photo editing programs, depending on what I need them for.  I download them from my camera into iPhoto. From there I can easily organize them, uploading them to Flickr, or wherever I need them to go. If I need to make a collage, like the one below, I like to use Picasa. Picasa automatically imports my pictures from iPhoto, so it makes it very simple to gather them for a pretty collage.

I do most of my photo editing in Picnik. This is an online application that you can easily add some cool effects to, and it allows you to link to you Flickr, Facebook, MySpace, or you can even grab a photo from a website. If you have a Flickr account, just hit “edit” on the photo that you want to edit and it will take you to ‘Picnik Mode.’ From here you can crop, resize, add effects, text, frames, etc. They actually have some pretty fun Halloween features, so I’m excited to see what they come up with for the holidays. You are limited with what you can do using their free version, and this is another account that I splurged a little on because I like what you can do with it. Not really a splurge at $24.95 a year, though. Check it out.

This is a photo that I took when we went to Costa Rica this past April. I’ve edited it a few times using Picnik features, and they’re all pretty darn fun! You’ll see what I mean.  Here is the original photo:

This effect is called “Fancy Focus.” See how I chose the central flower to be in focus, and it made the rest blurry? That’s my favorite effect that you usually need a fancy lens for. Now you can DIY!  It looks great with photos of faces.

I like this one, too…I don’t know why I’d use it, but I like it.

This one is called 1960′s. It even rounds the corners for you.

This effect is called Holga-ish. Again, I’m not really sure why it’s named what it’s named, but I like how it makes the photo look dark and moody.

I know I could easily google these names (this effect is called Lomo-ish), but I’m really more interested in how they look than how they’re named. I like how it saturates the colors and plays with the contrast.  Let me know if you know who Lomo and Holga are.

Here is a cool one – Focal Black and White. You choose where you want the color to stay, and the rest is converted into black and white.

Finally! A name that matches the effect. This one is ‘Gritty.’ Isn’t it cool?

And here we have ‘Orton-ish.’ Very nice.

I really like all of the effects that are available by the click of a button in your web browser.  Picnik is what I used to edit my cupcake topper photos for my Etsy shop.

This is just a small sample of what you can do with Picnik.  I’m sure you diehard Photoshoppers out there know of many more cool effects to use, and know of the advantages of Photoshop over simpler software, but I think that programs like this can help us Etsy shop owners make our listings look a little prettier!

Tomorrow I want to talk about how I use iPhoto along with other iWork tools (Pages and Numbers) to create graphic projects.  Instead of purchasing Illustrator and InDesign, which was recommended in my Portfolio class in design school, I created the entire thing in Numbers.    Stay tuned for that, plus I’ll post my actual portfolio from school – yikes!!

xo, L.

Blogging or bathroom?  That is the question.  Hehe!  We’ve spent a lot of time recently working on the bathroom plan, and it is coming into motion!  My handy-dandy husband ripped out the old shower surround and then put a new bright and shiny one up!  He also put up new trim and sealed everything!  I painted the walls (while I was home alone with our 9 month old – go me!), and he painted the ceiling because it would have taken me forever and he whipped it right out!  And last night he painted the new trim nice and white.  Now we just need the finishing touches; new light, new mirror (so we’ll have to paint a little more soon), new shower curtain and new towels.

We were going to re-finish the bathtub in white, but after reading the directions it just didn’t seem worth it.  It was very complicated, very toxic, and very easy to screw up!  Plus we couldn’t use our tub for 5-6 days.  So we decided to keep the green tub because the color won’t clash with the design, plus we are just so lucky to have a green tub!  Now I’ll quit talking and get to the pics.  Thanks for stopping by!!

Here is what it looked like back in July when we bought it.  Notice the lovely, faded flower motif on the surround.  Nice, huh?

And here is a shot after Glenn ripped everything out.

Here’s a tip: use the box the surround came in to make a template.

The walls and new trim are up!

And now I begin to paint!

Ahhh…finally done!  Ceiling and everything!  We’ve never painted the ceiling the same color before, but we thought it would be nice to surround ourselves with this earthy brown.

Finishing touches added back.

As you can see it was quite a transformation over Memorial Day weekend. The room is a lot darker now, but I’ve found I can still put my makeup on, phew! I decided on a dark brown with purple undertones called “Pumpernickel” by Ace Hardware paints.  It was very hard to photograph because of the light and the reflections and the darkness, but you get the idea. The old shower curtain and towels are okay, but now that the room is so dark I’m looking forward to lighten it up with new towels and a new linen shower curtain. Plus the green and brick shower curtain and towels don’t match the pistachio bathtub. I’ve also decided that I want a clock in there so I don’t have to bring my phone in to watch the time when I’m getting ready.

So there’s what I’ve been working on…what projects are you hard at work on, or have finished and are proud of? I’d love to check them out!

We bought our first house this past July! So exciting!! It is something that we have wanted to do for years, but we decided to wait until I was done with school and we were settled. We found this house and could immediately see its potential, but I guess nobody else could – it sat on the market (and empty – yuck!) for almost 2 years. And we got a heck-of-a-deal on it! There is just a lot of work to do on it, and fortunately it is almost all cosmetic. As I was getting very pregnant when we were able to move in, I couldn’t really help with much of the initial work, so I took LOTS of pictures of the progress.

I’ve been really evaluating the interior design ideas I’ve had, wondering if the path I’m going down is up to par, and looking back on how it started, I’m actually pleasantly surprised with the current results. We’re by no means “done,” but it is a HUGE improvement from the dusty, dirty, outdated home that we moved into!

Enjoy!
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I know these are supposed to be on Thursdays, but I’m practicing patience with my posts! I am trying to put a lot more time into them so that you will actually enjoy what I have to say, and will want to come back! So here is some color therapy for your weekend!

This week’s “Color Therapy” is inspired by the portfolio of one of my Twitter contacts, Tobi Fairley.  I am loving the fresh, bright color palettes lately, especially paired with crisp, classic patterns, as seen in the gorgeous photo below.

Navy, white and gold den by Tobi Fairley

If I had the guts (or the cash) I would put one of these in my living room in a crisp navy blue and white. Love it!!

Blanca Settee | Pottery Barn

If I was to paint a room in this palette, I might start with navy walls with bright, white trim, crown moulding, and a chair rail, or two navy walls and two white walls, all with yellow accents throughout the room. Or navy and white stripes would look gorgeous! Yellow is always a nice paint choice as well, nice and sunny!

Painted stripes: Patriot Blue, Ralph Lauren Home, Baby Boy Blue, Benjamin Moore

Walls and ceiling: Latex eggshell in Soot benjaminmoore.com

Navy fireplace and wall

Eggshell in Weston Flax HC-5 benjaminmoore.com

Latex flat in Sunshine #2021-30 benjaminmoore.com

Olympic Paints in Sun Shower #A14-4 lowes.com

And here’s some Flickr Finds for you in that lovely palette. Mmmm…IKEA. Enjoy!
 

1. Ready for rain, 2. This week’s shoes . . ., 3. Ikea Building using sunglasses as polarizing filter, 4. Anais sm charm necklace in yellow quartz, 5. Big Top Earrings, 6. Priceless Gems, 7. gingham, 8. Venice Day & The Island of Guidecca, 9. Tobi Fairley, 10. Blue and Yellow, 11. yellow wall blue roof, 12. blue, 13. Colourful old garage – 31, 14. go schwinn lightning, 15. converse.cardinals., 16. the other half