Just one estate sale in Springfield this weekend. I'll head out there tomorrow to see if there's anything wonderful. I'm on a real vintage clothing kick as I've just altered that navy and red stripe top from the last estate sale to wear for a family Christmas this Saturday.
Sometimes my mom needs help with the ol' computer. It's not as though she can't copy and paste, it just "doesn't work for her" sometimes. Of course, I only blame the computer. This evening I found a site that might be able to help. Teach Parents Tech let's you send an e-mail to said parent with a choice of several videos from The Basics on How To Change Your Wallpaper to Media on Sharing Videos. So far 15,850 parents have been helped. I just wonder, "Will my mom know how to play the video?"
Name: Heidi Rohr
Occupation: Graphic Designer and Owner of Heidi Rohr Design
Sites: Heidi Rohr Design on Facebook, Heidi Rohr Design website, daily design ideas blog
Dream occupation: Getting to donate my services to various ministries, such as groups that work to end the Sex Slave Trades that are going on all over the world. I'd love to help promote the work of these organizations by designing t-shirts, creating their websites, etc. (I'd also LOVE, someday to be a mom).
Favorite Dessert: Well, recently I'm pretty obsessed with FUN DIP :) but if I could choose a more "elegant" dessert, I'd probably pick Creme Brulee.
Where did you go to school? I went to College of the Ozarks and majored in Graphic Arts, where I also worked in the Print Shop and was able to take projects from concept to finished product.
How did you get started?
In 4th grade I became obsessed with handwriting and in my teens I LOVED making signs, doing crafts and drawing. I also really liked computers and was the go-to person in my family when we had computer problems. My mom suggested I do graphic design but I felt like it was cheating to use a computer to design things. Long story-short, I my first design class and fell in love!! Next thing I know, 3 semesters later, I'd completed my entire major and graduated from college with 4 internships under my belt on top of several freelance projects.
Do you ever get "designers' block?" What do you do to get rid of it?
Yes! Especially when I work for days without a real break :) I subscribe to MANY creative blogs and constantly find inspiration through them. Also…it just helps to stop for a bit. Some of my best ideas hit me while taking a shower or a walk.
What's the hardest thing about your job?
The toughest part of my job is managing my time. I'm such a go-with-the-flow type of person and LOVE not having a schedule, but sometimes that means, tons of work and no time to clean the house, etc or dropping work to see friends/family then getting behind or saying yes to too many projects and pulling all-nighters to meet deadlines.
What's the best thing about your job?
The best part of my job is being my own boss and working from home. It's also awesome to get to work with tons of different clients and to have new projects all the time so nothing is ever boring :)
What is the greatest misconception about graphic design?
Hmmmmm….I guess I'd have to say it's that anyone who is creative can do it (w/o training). What I mean is designing for print is very different that designing for the web or creating a t-shirt design. People seem to think it's easy to just whip up a logo but you need to have a vector program, such as Adobe Illustrator and know how to use the various tools and how to create different formats so the logo can be used for whatever the client will need it for in the future. Also knowing the copyright laws are also important. Many clients seem to want to pull an image off of a website or copy another person's logo and that simply not allowed, so knowing those rules are also very important.
Can regular people really afford to pay someone to do custom work for them?
Of course!! The way your logo/website/invitation, etc. ends up looking is a reflection of YOU and what you are doing, so I feel like the look of it is SO important. Most designers will quote a project up front for free so there is no risk in asking. However…one thing I've realized is just because someone has a cheap hourly rate doesn't mean you'll get good work OR cheap work :) A lot of "new" designers are cheap HOWEVER they take MUCH longer to do the work which ends up costing more than an experienced designer.
Another idea is to talk to a college professor of a design class and see if they'd like their students to have the opportunity to design something for your business/wedding, etc. and the best one will be used.
Can anyone learn to do what you do?
Of course! It just takes focus and determination. I feel like there are SO many people who are creative but just don't have the "UMF" to make it happen LOL….I mean you can tell people how to do something, but it's the person who is out there looking to find out how to do it his/herself that will be successful. Most of what I learned came from me asking questions and searching for answers.
What is your advice for someone who wants to be a professional artist?
My advice is to get a job/pain internship in the creative field and practice art on the side. Use your spare time to create and sell your pieces and when you get to the point of working about 40hrs at each job (freelance and your other job), then quit your job and just do your art! That's how it worked for me so there was no risk, but it was just really hard work while I did both.
What do you do in your spare time, just for fun?
I LOVE to play with my nieces, they really could entertain me for hours :) I also love exploring new places, restaurants, food, drinks, etc. I'm sorta obsessed with food/drinks!! I love other cultures and learning. However, usually I am so wiped out when I get time to relax so I settle for watching some TV alone while eating a delicious snack/meal. My favorite things to watch are old Alfred Hitchcock movies, random reality TV shows, and anything funny!
This morning I headed to Nixa for an estate sale and found several great items. I bought myself a vintage skirt and shirt combo in a navy and red stripe. It will be perfect for working at the office once I do some tailoring (I am short, so hemming skirts is generally a must). I also found some vintage anchor earrings that coordinate very well with a white and gold necklace I bought last weekend. I scored a 75 cent shirt for my husband for Christmas and a floraly queen sheet set (pictured above) for $3. Here are a few tips for your estate sale finds.
An easy way to add some Holiday Cheer to your outfit is with these jingle bell bobby pins. Thanks for the inspiration, Kate, but I just don't have $45 to splurge on something I can make myself in about a minute. Just slide a pair of jingle bells onto your pins. A dab of hot glue will hold them in place. If you don't care for the jingle, pour in a bit of white glue and let dry overnight. You can also use this same idea with buttons. Slide the bobby pin through the shank (that little loop on the back of the button). You can secure with hot glue or leave free to change whenever you like.
I saw this during my morning blog read over at Apartment Therapy. I literally laughed out loud at my computer. If I were the cardbuying type, this is the one I'd pick up to send out this year. Get them from Paper Source $16.95 for eight.
Over the Christmas holiday (mine is longer as a full time student) I will be swapping the craft room and master bedroom. When we first moved into our three bedroom house, it didn't occur to me that we should pick any room other than the largest for our master bedroom. After about six months, I'm realizing how much extra space there is around my bed and how squinched our combo craft room-guest bedroom has become. In our new master bedroom I'm going for a vintage-cozy-chic-farmhouse in the mountains-worn quilt sort of vibe. This gray and yellow pallet fits well. It also takes advantage of the gray coverlet we already have. I'll be making my own version of the West Elm duvet but in negative. I have some large white sheets that I'll be printing with an antiqued gold in a similar pattern then sewing up into a quick duvet cover (Hint: future post). Our old nightstands (from Wesley's parents) will get a fresh coat of paint on the bottom and a dark stained top similar in style to the table above from the Miss Mustard Seed blog. The walls need to be painted, but other than that, the room will mostly be things I already have just in a different room. I made sure to take a "before" picture and will be excited to post the before and after photos in a few weeks.
My husband Wes recently built a cabinet that provides extra storage and counter top space for our kitchen. The side that faces our open-to-the-kitchen living room and dining room needed a little something. Since we entertain frequently, I decided to use chalkboard paint to make it fun yet utilitarian. I bought Folk Art chalkboard paint in Slate Gray from Amazon. An 8 ounce jar cost about $10. I had to use three coats instead of the two recommended to get a really good coating on my cabinet. Be sure and sand your surface well before painting. I use my chalkboard to keep an updated list of all of the soda we have in house. We literally buy 15 cases of soda when it's on sale, so we have a lot of variety to offer to all of our guests. This list makes it well known what we have to offer instead of having to ramble off ten different sodas each time someone asks what we have to drink. Write the evening menu, grocery list, or the daily chores on your kitchen chalkboard or use it as a drawing station for your kids or guests.
Pom poms seem to be a wedding staple these days. I can see why. They are inexpensive, you can make them yourself, and they easily fit into any color scheme. If you're not in the crafty mood, you can purchase ready-to-assemble pom poms from the Martha Stewart collection at both Michael's and Wal-Mart. Or, support someone else who loves to craft by purchasing them on Etsy. I know either way these pom poms take some time to be ready for an event, so fluff yours out ahead of time. For your own flare, use a few slightly varied shades or patterned paper. I could see mini poms topping cupcakes, a garland of poms twirled around a banister for any Holiday, or a scattering of bright poms hung from a tree for an outdoor party. Below is a link to MS for instructions and some additional inspiration.
2311 N. East Street in Springfield: Furniture, dishes, things from Germany...
If you're any kind of planner you will dearly appreciate this post. I love to plan. I love my planner. I write down all sorts of things in it. I love keeping lists, I like having it with me at all times, and I often doodle in the margins or the entire space of a day gone by. If you're like me and you are, "how do you say?"--beezy, then a planner is just the ticket to keep you from forgetting where you're supposed to be and when. Getting the upcoming year's planner is exciting to me. What will this next year hold? After a quick browse on Etsy, I've decided on this decidedly simple planner from redstarINK. Notice the description, "If you like making lists and check items off, this is the planner for you." It's like she read my mind! I feel that, as a girl with a lot going on, it's nice to have a planner just like this. Note this, redstarINK also has an academic calendar that I would have purchased if I did not already have a planner for this fall semester. I'll be opting for the red/black version. 
Thanks, Apartment Therapy, for recommending Specialty Bottle. If you're in need of bottles or containers you can purchase just a few or oodles of them from this site. There are so many options in plastic, glass, tin, and aluminum. You do have to pay shipping, and it seems as though it starts at $5 and goes up with weight. This site would be especially handy if you are in need of some containers for your home made lip balm, spice blends, or caramel popcorn. 
I was hung up on this photo during my daily gander of Apartment Therapy. Something seemed familiar about that list, and when I read it, I was thinking, "How funny, Springfield has an FM Store that I go to all the time." Then I realized Springfield has all of the things on the list, and that's because the writer lives in Springfield! Rachel Denbow writes Smile and Wave. See her blog and marvel at the wonderful vintage finds in her 1000th post!
I literally have bushels of fonts downloaded on my personal computer to use for fun projects like flyers and for more serious stuff like my resume. The biggest problem with having so many neato fonts is sending a document to someone who doesn't have neato fonts. You may not even realize what the document you formatted so nicely looks like when a prospective client/boss opens it up on a computer that does not have Aubrey, or Swenson, or Honey Script. A mess! That's what it looks like. That computer will replace the beautiful font you've selected with someone that comes standard, so if you've resized and placed your font just so, it's not likely to look anything like that on the other end.
Not everyone loves a little girl in baby pink or boys who look like miniature baseball players. For the baby in your life that wears black, listens to classic rock, or just likes to wear something a little different than the typical Baby Gap baby, take a look at these sites.
