If you’re a paper lover, there’s new blog called Fresh Rag you should check out. Have you heard of it?

Fresh Rag is the brainchild of my art buddy Dave Conrey. If the name sounds familiar, he stopped by for an interview here last year, then again earlier this year to share his thoughts on when to hire a graphic designer.

By day, Dave works in the print media industry. Being so involved with art direction and magazines, he’s noticed how digital media is slowly overwhelming print. But the love for printed material and paper goods is still strong, both for consumers and artists, so Dave started Fresh Rag as a way to highlight the awesome things people make and do with paper.

What I love best about Fresh Rag is what the About page says – it is not your momma’s paper blog. This is a blog meant to be a little gritty, and I love that. I love seeing a guy’s perspective on art, especially since there is a ton of gorgeous blogs and websites out there run by us ladies. How about you?

To read more, hop on over to FreshRag.com and subscribe to the RSS feed (which is good idea since Dave publishes new content a few times a day). You can also find Fresh Rag on Twitter, Facebook, and Pinterest, too.

I completely underestimated how difficult it is to take sharp, in-focus photos from a moving car until I tried it.

Even when the driver obliges by slowing down to around 20 mph, I’ve discovered it’s still not easy. Which is humbling when you think you may finally, after 2 years, be getting the hang of manual photography, and then something comes along to show you there’s always more to learn.

I’ve got a lot going on this week, so I’m keeping today’s post short. Current projects include an update to my An Artist’s Guide to Pricing ebook, setting up round 4 of the Color Palette Blog Walk, a couple graphic projects for client friends, and a brand new project that I hope to launch in a few weeks, which was inspired by my most recent D.C. trip. Despite the spinning brain, it feels great to be busy! Know what I mean?

P.S. Can you spot the random garden gnome in a photo above? I think it’s an adorable surprise.

P.P.S. These photos were taken on a trip to a few Virginia wineries. Virginia has somewhere around a hundred wineries, which I found not only impressive, but delightful. No real photos of said wineries other than small, growing vines in fields because I had other things on mind. You understand.

One of my new favorite shops is Yellow Heart Art, run by the super adorable Leonora, and I had to share it today.

Leonora’s a graphic designer based in New York, and what I love about her shop is that it’s just plain fun. Her prints are quirky, delightful, and never fail to bring a smile to my face. I’ve got her My Hair Isn’t Messy, It’s Just Erupting With Awesome print and it makes me giggle (because it’s true – my hair is quite awesome right now). Sometimes, it’s great to see designs with a little bit of whimsy.

To see more, or to connect with Lenore, you can stop by her shop, visit her blog, or follow her on Twitter.

Photo Sources:

• SHHH, not while I’m crafting print
• I make pretty things all day print
• Today I will do awesome amazing things print
• You’re my most favorite piece of art print

If you ever get a chance to go to the Library of Congress, go.

Seriously, the ceiling alone is worth an in-person look. The architecture, the sculptures, the murals, and a recreation of Thomas Jefferson’s library are lovely bonuses. Every place you look there’s something gorgeous to see.

It reminds me a little of Grand Central Terminal, in that from the outside, it’s lots of gray, then when you walk inside, pow! Color. But it’s even more intense, because there’s just more to see everywhere you look. Quotes all along the walls, tucked in between murals of the seasons. Mosaics on the lower level’s ceiling of authors. Grand staircases, and marble all over the place. And the round reading room? Incredible!

No photos of the inner library, because it’s not allowed. In fact, the only way to view it is to walk through a balcony covered with plexiglass, which gave me a ‘close, but not close enough’ feeling. I was so tempted to chance a photo, except the tour guides/docents were trying to rush us through for a VIP tour, so they were not in the mood (and I didn’t want to get thrown out). I did hear, however, that Ph.D. students have to reserve study space a year in advance; it would totally be worth it, though, to visit.

What about you? Ever been to the Library of Congress?

Confession: I spent an embarrassing amount of time editing these photos yesterday, mostly because I couldn’t decide what kind of look I wanted. Maybe a little faded, maybe a little pink, maybe a little bright, maybe a little blurry. Forty-seven rounds later, I called it ‘good enough,’ but had to throw in a mental ‘for now’ so that my perfectionist side would be appeased enough to let me continue on my day. So, if it looks as if it’s all a little bit of everything, you’re right.

Because I’m Indecision Girl!

But anyways.

I love walking around D.C. I love the architecture and the history most; we just don’t make buildings quite like this anymore. And we definitely don’t have much in the way of this style of architecture in North Texas, so it’s a novelty to me.

These photos show a walk that started at the National Archives, wound around and across the mall, then down to the Jefferson Memorial, and halfway back up. Insert groan here, and here’s why: the exact distance from the Archives to the Jefferson Memorial, in case you aren’t sure, is far, which, if you’re wildly out of shape like me, turns the distance from far to excruciating-and-ohmigod-I-can’t-really-breathe-let’s-stop-and-yeah-I-know-we-just-took-a-break-humor-me-here. It’s scientifically proven.

Clearly, I’m super fun to take a walking tour with. What makes it all hilarious was that I was the one who pretty much came up with said walking tour itinerary. So ridiculous, I know.

But one thing the taxi drivers in D.C. might keep in mind – some people who trek out to the Jefferson Memorial might be desperate enough to pay for a ride back to the nearest Metro station. I would have pretty much paid anything for a ride back, let me tell you. Food for thought, D.C. taxi drivers, think it over.