First, gather your materials. I used old design magazines that I save for such occasions (although fashion mags work great as well.) Find colors and patterns you are drawn to and use your circle punch to cut out as many as you like. (Yes, these could be cut out by hand but I suggest investing in a circle punch. It is just so wonderfully satisfying, the punching out of those circles.)

Find a frame you want to use and cut a piece of cardboard to fit the frame.

Start layering your circles from the bottom up. Use a dot of glue (I used a glue stick) to adhere the circles to the cardboard. I opted to work from the bottom up, much like scales. You could also work from the outside in. Use your imagination!

When you’ve done as many rows as will fit, put in your frame and hang!

I wanted to give my vintage bird mobile a little rainbow to fly over.

Enjoy your homemade art!

xo,
Miss Krista

To download, click on the image to open it full size and select file “save as” for your own personal use.

And be sure to leave a comment or email us with your suggestion and you may see your “name in lights!”  This week’s great quote was submitted by the lovely Kim Gordon–thanks Kim!

Hello, dear readers! Please forgive the delay in the posting of our most recent winners. We assure you there ARE winners (I mean, we’re all winners when it comes down to it, but you already knew that.) All of the winners for any giveaway through February will be announced Monday, February 20th. After that, there will be a regular Monday morning announcement of winners. What a way to start the week, don’t you think?

Here’s how it will work:

• At the bottom of every giveaway, you will notice an ‘answer by’ date for the question at hand. Each post is open for comments for one week (only one entry per person, please!) Once that week is up, comments will be closed.
• Winners will be announced every Monday morning, with a week between the close of the giveaway and the announcement. This is to give our contributors time to pick their favorite answer!
• To claim your prize, please email krista@thebrightsideproject.com and please write “Winner!” in the subject line with the name of the giveaway. (This is completely a selfish request to make it easier for me to keep track of ya’ll. Please and thank you!)
• In the body of the email, include your full name, mailing address and phone number. Please do not contact the contributors directly, but allow us to do the work for you! This will ensure that everything runs as smoothly as possible, since we already have a line of communication with our amazing contributors.
• Allow 6 weeks for your prize to be shipped to you. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact us here at the BSP and we will do our due diligence to make sure you wind up with sunshine on your doorstep asap. This is why we’re here. Because life is (still) beautiful.

Let me also take this time to remind you that all winners have one week to claim their prize. After that week is up, the prize will go to another winner! Remember, check back every Monday morning for a bit of brightness in the winners box!

Love and sunshine,

Miss Krista

As a little girl I used to dream about becoming a greeting card editor. It’s true. I used to even create homemade numbers from glue and bits of paper and write little poems and hand them out to family. (Before you ooh and ahh over the cuteness, you should know that they were hideous. Penned from love, but hideous nonetheless.) As I grew older, I began to realize that my strength lie not in the creation, but in the admiration. My years of blind passion also culminated in a finely tuned palate. Frankly put, I heart paper goods, but I am extremely picky.

The Nimbus Factory is one of those brands that you don’t really have to introduce. I mean, their name alone puts them a step above, as far as I’m concerned. It’s the product, however, that will make your heart flutter just enough to force a smile. I really wish I would have had the foresight to buy the “Narwhal Cupid” card for Valentine’s Day this year. (Tell me it’s not the cutest thing you’ve ever seen.) Perhaps I’ll have to add to my stock of must-have paper goods with the “Everyday Occasions” card collection. And maybe a “Flying Elephants” journal, just for fun. It’s Valentine’s Day, people. Let your heart overflow.

The Nimbus Factory is giving away one set of “Thank You” cards to one lucky winner. To enter to win, please answer the following question by Thursday, February 23rd.

What are you most thankful for at this VERY minute?

Please begin checking the winners box on Monday, February 27, 2012 to see if you’ve won. Good luck!

Today’s spotlight is on The Nimbus Factory.

1. Please introduce yourself to our readers and explain a little bit about your business.

We are The Nimbus Factory, a design team that began as a dream lingering in the backs of our minds and on the scraps of notepaper tacked to our bulletin boards. The four of us hold degrees from Ringling School of Art and Design, SCAD, University of Michigan, and Washington University in St.Louis. Thanks to the miracle of technology, we were able to turn our dream into reality despite being spread across the country now in San Francisco, Cleveland, San Diego, and Savannah!

Each of us brings something different to the company; we have worked with small and large firms, designed and sold paper products out of our own homes and for one of the largest greeting card retailers in the country, and represented booths at local craft shows as well as the national NYSS (New York Stationery Show). Though we all traveled along different paths, our shared enthusiasm for creating products we love brought us together as a team. We absolutely love working together and making our designs real!

The name, ‘The Nimbus Factory’, appealed to us because it had a really quirky, optimistic feeling about it, which we think is very fitting for us. We’ve come to think of it as a perfect representation of our own aspirations.

2. We believe that one of the ways to achieve happiness is to “Do what you love, love what you do.” How does this philosophy apply to your life?

When we started The Nimbus Factory almost 2 years ago, we set out to create products we love and that add cheer to people’s lives. We hope that you find that our products do so!

3. Our mission here at The Bright Side Project is to spread sunshine on a daily basis because we firmly that life is (still) beautiful. Where do you find beauty and inspiration?

Claire: I enjoy taking walks along the cobblestone streets in downtown Savannah (where I live) and soaking in the Southern charm. It is so neat to see such beautiful old buildings and how they’ve withstood the test of time.
Emily: I love going on hikes, especially along the San Francisco coast and through the redwoods. I’m also really influenced by marine life, so visiting aquariums inspires me quite a bit (especially The California Academy of Sciences!). Watching the variety of fish swim by is relaxing and inspiring.
Julia: In nature – anything having to do with plants and animals. More specifically, in BBC’s Life narrated by David Attenborough.
Phyllis: As a new mom, I definitely find beauty and inspiration in my baby daughter! It’s amazing how these little human beings help you to see life and beauty in a brand new light

4. On a dreary day, what do you do to infuse your life with a bit of sunshine?

Claire: A cup of green tea and a hearty helping of Pinterest usually does the trick for me!
Emily: A long walk with the dog and a cup of tea afterwards makes me feel warm and fuzzy inside!
Julia: I’d take a walk around the lakes right by my apartment. Oh, eating cookies usually helps too.
Phyllis: Sitting in a coffeehouse with a cozy cup of coffee, people watching and reading a book! That and hearing a baby laugh …that is the quickest mood lifter if there’s ever been one!

5. At this very moment, what are you most grateful for?

Claire: My amazing family, goofy fiance, and lovable pup Nattie Gann
Emily: I just moved to San Francisco so I’m extremely grateful to be living in such a beautiful and eclectic city.
Julia: The freelance lifestyle (it’s snowing and blizzard-y outside!)
Phyllis: Living in San Diego (can’t beat this weather in the winter) and of course, my beautiful family, especially my daughter Julia, who never ceases to bring joy and brightness into my life!

To download, click on the image to open it full size and select file “save as” for your own personal use.

And be sure to leave a comment or email us with your suggestion and you may see your “name in lights!”

{ please visit imaginenations here }

Every single wishlist I have contains something globe related. There are globes scattered throughout my home and I find myself perusing the internet for hours on end, ogling any and all globe related art projects/diy projects/home decor, etc. It would be impossible for me to even speak of a theme such as “We Heart It” and not touch on my love for all things globe. However, I have standards. I don’t just covet any old globe that circles by. There has to be something compelling, something mesmerizing, something outstanding to pique my interest.

Wendy Gold of ImagineNations has been on the top (absolute top!) of my wishlist for some time now. When I say I covet one of her decoupaged globes, I say it with a whisper because I am afraid I will scream from excitement when I talk about them. My personal favorite is the Peace Globe. But a close runner up is the Not All Who Wander Are Lost Globe.  Honestly? Every single one of her creations make my heart beat a little faster and I hear oceans in my ears if I stare at them too long. Perhaps her most inspired idea yet is Gold’s creation of DIY Kits so that you, too, can decorate your world to your liking. Le sigh.

ImagineNations is giving away two Travel DIY Kits to two lucky winners! To enter to win, please answer the following question by Friday, February 17th.  Comments now closed! Good luck!

If you were told to pack a bag tonight and take a vacation anywhere in the world (all expenses paid, of course!), where would you go?

Please begin checking the winners box on February 27, 2012 to see if you’ve won. Good luck!

Today’s spotlight is on Wendy Gold of ImagineNations.

Please introduce yourself to our readers and explain a little bit about your business.
my name is wendy gold. i decoupage on top of vintage globes with recycled materials to create colorful, new worlds.

We believe that one of the ways to achieve happiness is to “Do what you love, love what you do.” How does this philosophy apply to your life?
yes, i’ve heard people say that when you love what you do, you never go to work. that’s exactly how i feel. using a globe as a canvas provides me with limitless inspiration.

Our mission here at The Bright Side Project is to spread sunshine on a daily basis because we firmly that life is (still) beautiful. Where do you find beauty and inspiration?
everywhere… inspiration strikes at completely random, mundane moments for me. the more i look for it, the less likely i am to find it. i truly have to let go of “finding it” and there it is…

On a dreary day, what do you do to infuse your life with a little bit of sunshine?
going to the studio with my 4 year old daughter and getting as messy as we can.

At this very moment, what are you most grateful for?
for the world that i have created for myself.

Check back later today for an amazing giveaway from ImagineNations!

{ please visit quill and fox here }

If there is one thing we can’t get enough of here the Bright Side Project, it is great design. Combine that great design with fine paper goods and our hearts are aflutter. Sure, we adore paper goods as a general rule, but we do have a discerning palate and it takes more than your average note card to catch our attention. But when it happens, when “We Heart It”, we can’t wait to share it with the rest of you.

During our search for the best paper goods around, we stumbled upon Quill and Fox and  immediately bookmarked the store for future reference. Yas Imamura, the designer behind the goods, creates wonderfully whimsical designs with an effortlessly beautiful, vintage aesthetic. The “Typewriter Hello Card” is on my wishlist currently, if you must know. Imamura lives her life doing what she loves and it shows in the ease and joy in her designs. You will find yourself with your heart smiling from the inside out. You will “Heart” it. You’re welcome.

Quill and Fox is giving away one set of Terrarium Postcardsto one lucky winner. To enter to win, please answer the following question by Wednesday, February 15th.  comments now closed! Good luck!

When is the last time you received a handwritten note?

Please begin checking the winners box on February 27, 2012 to see if you’ve won. Good luck!

Today’s spotlight is on Yas Imamura, the designer and creator behind Quill and Fox.
1. Please introduce yourself to our readers and explain a little bit about your business.

My name is Yas Imamura. I own a bite sized stationery shop called Quill & Fox. I specialize in finely crafted paper design that reflects my own affinity to vintage and whimsical things.

2. We believe that one of the ways to achieve happiness is to “Do what you love, love what you do.” How does this philosophy apply to your life?

I’m a strong believer of this! Ever since I was a kid, I’ve stubbornly stayed away from things that I didn’t enjoy. It seemed really capricious then, especially growing up. I was very drawn-in by art and imagination, and put absolutely no effort to school and academic memorizations. I was an “all or nothing” kind of gal. However, I believe that the ups and downs of that kind of behavior really lead me to the amazing path I’m taking now. We can never be truly realized as a person, if we’re not applying ourselves on something we’re over the moon about. I’m very happy that I’m at a place were I can keep honing something I truly enjoy!

3. Our mission here at The Bright Side Project is to spread sunshine on a daily basis because we firmly that life is (still) beautiful. Where do you find beauty and inspiration?

As cliche as it sounds–I really find beauty and inspiration everywhere. For sure, I don’t find it in every place. But I believe that there’s a million different things in what we see everyday that can really inspire us and lead our minds into creative pursuits. I find inspiration in unsuspecting details!

4. On a dreary day, what do you do to infuse your life with a bit of sunshine?

I always go to my husband for a lil bit of sunshine. Working from home, the both of us never run out of things to inspire and brighten each other. We’re very easily excitable people–so it’s really not hard to do. I think a general mind set is to really let down guards that you’ve built for yourself because of age and maturity. It’s nice to peel back, relax and be your 10 year old self!

5. At this very moment, what are you most grateful for?

I’m very grateful to get the chance to do something I really love and make a living off of it (from home!). I’m also immensely thankful that I get to do it right next to my husband, every day. It’s literally following your dreams–with no risks or setbacks!

Please look for an amazing giveaway from Quill and Fox later today!