Fonts: Creative Styles & Names

I love fonts ~ especially when they're free! 

During one of my first graphic design classes in college, my professor introduced us to the wonderful website dafont.com, and I've been hooked ever since. Believe or not many fonts are quite expensive. The complete te Trinite type face will run you around $3,840! If you ask me ~ that's a crazy way to spend that money! No matter what project I'm working on, I can always count on dafont to inspire great things! I was recently thinking how lost I'd be without it and thought to spread the word to those who may be unfamiliar. You can even type a word or phrase to preview in each font before downloading them. It's worth hopping over to take a peak (look at the dingbats too, they come in handy)!

Here are a few random ones for your viewing pleasure:

Not only are they unique looking, but check out the names of some of these! Talk about randomly creative!

1. new facebook font	5. hair of the dog font	9. self region font
2. fish in the bathroom font	6. agent orange font	10. winter flakes font
3. teenage fantasy romance novel font	7. a yummy apology font	11. alien strawberry font
4. barcode font	8. bleeding cowboys font	12. tuna and hotdogs on rye font

What weird font names have you stumbled upon?

Update: Our Wedding!

Similar to the lack of updates on my 365 project, I realized my crazy-busy life has kept me from posting almost anything since being engaged! It's crazy to realize it's been over 7 months already! I feel like doing a little trip down memory lane with everything wedding-related so far.... Almost all pics & comments are pulled directly from my 365 photo project ~ nice & convenient!

ENGAGED .  04.24.11 .  Day 114
YAY!!!! Andrew proposed!!!!! Such an incredible day! I am truly lucky to have this wonderful man to now call my fiancé!! 
It is such an amazing feeling! And, OH MY GOODNESS I love this ring!! So beautiful!

LOVE .  05.17.11  .  Day 135
enough said! 3 weeks later & I am still blown away by this beautiful ring! 
Today, we enjoyed a lovely lazy rainy day with a nice (competitive) game of scrabble.

ENGAGEMENT PARTY .  07.09.11 .  Day 190
Andrew's family was so sweet to throw us a lovely Engagement Party at his mom's house in MD (with a cute pool party luau theme)! We are so grateful to everyone who helped make the day a truly special one for us. I cannot wait to marry this incredible man!

THANK YOU .  07.14.11  .  Day 195
my first "paper" design for the wedding ~ thank you cards & address labels! I gave these to the wonderful friends & family who joined us at our Engagement Party! And a special thanks to Alyson & Sabri for their super thoughtful/creative gift of Dance Lessons!!! I can't wait!!!

One piece that I'm going to leave out of this particular timeline for now, is the HORRIBLE experience we had with our original venue here in Virginia - Castle Hill Cider.  The short version is, at the very last second before signing, they completely screwed us over. I'd rather keep this post pleasant, and besides that messy ordeal deserves a full, lengthy story-telling post of its own (as soon as I have time!) because, believe me, I want to share that experience. It came at incredibly bad timing - On top of working full time, I was days away from starting coaching volleyball and starting my final thesis class for my masters program!  I didn't have time to start over from scratch.... but we had to. I don't think I slept all week while we searched high and low (and far) for a new venue.  But...... all things happen for a reason and I am SOOOO glad things worked out the way they have. Are families are so scattered, and we love to travel, so we figured why not venture out!? We narrowed it to a top choice in the Bahamas and a top choice in California, near my family. My mom and sister were super helpful and visited a handful of places to take pictures and videos. Ultimately, we fell in love with Keyways Vineyard in Temecula, CA. and began pressing forward......

One of the first wedding purchases I made was this beautiful scrapbook paper (that I later scanned for the background of our little wedding website)!  It came in a huge pack or different designs, but all had the same color palette. I knew I didn't necessarily want a wedding theme, per-say... I wanted to create more of a feeling.

 The font I'm using is Feel Script (which is normally like $1000... woah!) but I searched and was able to find people sharing it for free ~ how incredibly kind!

SMOOCHES .  09.20.11  .  Day 263
After a long day (6 hours of work followed by 6 hours with 25 seventh & eighth grade girls .... *we won our volleyball games, yay*) it's refreshing to come home & see a beautiful new illustration on the fridge whiteboard... haha, my fiance is pretty cute!

RING AROUND THE RAINBOW .  09.23.11  .  Day 266
A rainy Friday..... I crouched down, umbrella in one hand, camera in the other and had just enough time to snap this one photo before a new car drove and parked right on top of the little rainbow circle! 
Also, super ironic rainbow-connection to mine and Andrew's "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" song (that I didn't realize until much later after posting this picture)..... considering, today, we officially booked our wedding venue!!!! The beautiful Keyways Vineyard in Temecula, California.

TOGETHER .  09.24.11 (11 months until our wedding!)  .  Day 267
Working on some wedding stuff.... together :) just the way I like it!
Officially 11 months until our wedding! 

OUR SAVE-THE-DATE SUITE .  10.10.11  .  Day 283
We finally finished making most of our Save-the-Dates, and I must admit, I love how everything looks together! The decorative paper on the clothespin magnets and the bridal party cards is the same paper I scanned and used for the background of our little wedding website.  I can't wait for the rest of the fun crafty projects ahead :)

Here's a shot of Andrew's "smooches" drawing turned into our return address stickers (blurred in this pic, of course) :) I love how they turned out and especially love the extra meaning behind everything!

IN THE MAIL .  10.14.11  .  Day 287
Wahoo..... save the dates for our Meyer-Ruppert wedding have been sent :)

Also, I recently told a story about how my favorite "lucky" number has ALWAYS been 24. I never really knew why, but ever since I could remember it was "my" number. When I played volleyball in High School, the number was already taken, so I settled for half, 12, which I dubbed my "runner-up" lucky number. Like I said, there was never a known reason...... Guess when Andrew proposed? The 24th!!! Guess when we're getting married? August 24, 2012. :) Silly, I know, but it makes me smile.

Cyber Monday - Make It Green

Are you trying to make the holidays a bit greener this year? 

As you know, Monday, November 28th is Cyber Monday -- the biggest online shopping day of the year -- So, why not start the season off by making this a DIY day instead? The Nature Conservancy's Green Gift Monday concept encourages us to: "find responsible, meaningful holiday gifts—make something, give an experience, donate to a cause or purchase an eco-friendly product." Visit their website to learn more and discover great green ideas! Also, in case you missed it, don't forget to check out my 2011 ultimate DIY gift guide featuring 101 tutorials and recipes you don't want to miss!

Show & Tell: Vegas Painting

I love receiving all types of special custom painting requests and was recently given quite a big challenge -- a four-foot canvas of the Vegas Skyline done in a "painterly-style"... The giant blank canvas was a bit intimidating at first, but I admit once I found my rhythm it was quite enjoyable! After a few very late-night painting sessions (I have the bad habit of being most inspired after midnight!). My client was planning to gift this to her sister as a house-warming gift, and I had to laugh when I dropped it off and her husband instantly pouted that they couldn't keep it for themselves -- I took it as a compliment! And.... within hours, they'd shown friends and peaked someone's interest in having a New York one painted too ~ how fun!

"Painterly Vegas" © dani marie 2011

Interested in a custom painting for yourself or to give as a gift?

View a collection of my work on facebook:

 Or, go ahead and submit your ideas now through a project request form!

24 Creative DIY Advent Calendars

The holidays are quickly approaching, and I'm thinking of making my first advent calendar this year for my fiance! Or, I might not be able to keep the idea a secret and perhaps if he wants to join in the effort, we can make it for both of us (I'll do all the odd numbers for him, he can do even numbers for me) :) .... I did a little searching for some creative ideas and was blown away at the variety of styles. so I thought I'd compile a quick little list of my twenty-four favorites!

Congratulations, KATE!

Thank you everyone for the incredibly sweet comments and support!!! And no worries, there will be plenty more little contest opportunities down the road... so keep visiting!

Kate, I can't wait to start brainstorming your custom painting!!

One Year Blogiversary Painting Giveaway!

I'm a tiny bit late with this, but I just can't pass up announcing my little blog has turned one! And, not only that, but today it passed the 100,000 visit-mark as well ~ wow! I want to say a big THANK YOU to everyone who has stopped by, followed, commented, and cared. On 10.15.10 my first blog post stated I was, "setting some time aside for ME today and giving this blog-thing a-go... let's see what happens." I can't describe how rewarding it has been to not only explore this new creative outlet for myself personally, but how incredible it is to share ideas, inspirations, and my work with others. Because of this blog, I have extended my artistic reach and have been featured on various other websites, in several boutiques, and have now sold artwork across the globe!

I feel I've learned a LOT, but know there is still TONS of neat web tricks and tools out there. The appearance of this site has undergone a few minor makeovers over the last year, but I have still have some big ideas brewing on how I want the layout and design to look.  As soon as I finish up my masters program (in seven weeks, yay!) my hectic schedule will lighten... leaving more creative time for me! So please, continue to visit often and comment whenever you feel moved to do so!

Now... let's discuss the fun details about this One Year Blogiversary Custom Painting Giveaway!

The Giveway: One randomly-selected winner will receive a canvas acrylic painting by dm designs! They will be contacted to brainstorm ideas, but the style and subject mater of the painting is 100% customizable and completely up to the winner!* Click here to see some samples of my previous work.

 

How To Enter: (1) You must leave a comment (below) to this post, (2) include your email address, and (3) you must also be a fan of dm designs on facebook (simply click the like button).

Deadline: Monday, November 7, 2011 at 11:59pm Eastern Time

Rules: No purchase necessary to enter. Entries will be numbered based on the order in which comments were received below, and the winner will be selected at random by dm designs using the Random.org website random number generator. Entries that do not comply with the three requirements above will not be considered.  Winners will be notified via email and will have 48 hours to confirm receipt of their prize. If the winners do not reply within 48 hours, dm designs may choose to cancel the offer and may choose to select an alternate winner(s). *While dm designs is open to a wide variety of styles and subject matter, any painting requests that are vulgar, distasteful, or against the design beliefs of the company may be declined. Canvas size choices are as follows: 5"x7", 8"x10", 11"x14", 12"x12", 12"x16", 14"x18". Painting will be shipped free of charge within the US. If the winner is outside of the US, shipping charges may apply. This giveaway was sponsored by dm designs.

Hello November

(a few randomly sweet things to ponder this month)

 . . .

Feel like sleeping in late?

 Don't forget to fall back! Daylight Savings Time ends Sunday, November 6th.
 . . .

In the mood for a little shopping? 

Check out my Hello November Treasury!

 

. . .

Curious what photos are popular right now?

Check out the current Top Photos on the 365 Project

 . . . 
Thank You Veterans!
 Friday, November 11th is Veterans Day, so please make sure to pay respect and honor the incredible men and women who serve. I want to add how incredibly proud and thankful I am of the men in my family: my Father, both Grandfathers, Uncles, and sweet Fiance!
THANK YOU!

. . . 
Have too much leftover Halloween candy?

No worries! Make it last the whole month of November with this neat countdown project via alpha mom

 . . . 
To shop or not to shop?
Friday, November 25th

I love the comical opposing concepts!
What do you plan to do the day after Thanksgiving?

Aside from eating leftovers (of course), I plan on spending the day with my amazing mom to celebrate her birthday! HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOMMA! 
. . . 

 Speaking of Birthdays - Need a Gift Idea?

I created these little digital designs entirely with fonts! Yes, every dot, image, scribble.... is a different font!
They are currently available as prints or magnets.

Scorpio Font Art © dm | buy now

Scorpio Font Art © dm | buy now

 . . .
And....the holidays are right around the corner. If you haven't already checked it out, be sure to take a peek at this list of 101 Tutorials & Recipes!