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Life Under Ladders

September 14th, 2009

Hiya.

I’ve got four new backgrounds up, all in autumn colors:

backgrounds 9-14

Also one new wallpaper, this time illustrating some famous superstitions.

Superstition wallpaper

I was not a superstitious child. At age seven I intentionally walked under a ladder two times (14 years of bad luck) just to prove to myself that luck was not controlled by forces as arbitrary as construction equipment. Many years later I thought about that day, and figured that if I really did receive 14 years of bad luck then very soon the spell would expire. Somehow, magically, my life would improve in every way without this ‘ladder curse’ weighing me down.
The next day when I came home from school there was an abandoned ladder positioned directly over the only door to my apartment. Seems I’ve got seven more years of bad luck ahead, and I’m destined to live my life under ladders.

-Sarah

You go, Glen Coco

September 6th, 2009

Hello there.

I’ve made two new wallpapers, up in a variety of sizes:

Bad Fortune Ne'er Should Daunt Me
"Bad fortune ne’er should daunt me, for I am young and the world is wide"

I designed the above wallpaper to keep myself from getting too down lately. I’ve been spending my time applying fruitlessly for every job I can find. I can think of a few words to describe this economic recession, and most of them are plagiarized from George Carlin.

proverbs wallpaper
Proverbs from around the world

There’s also this wallpaper with proverbs. When searching them out for use here, I came across an interesting one from China: Do not remove a fly from your friend’s forehead with an axe. I hope this doesn’t mean that 600 years ago in the Forbidden City some poor soul found this out the hard way.

I’ve added five new backgrounds, this time a very eclectic collection. I’ve got three collage-style backgrounds that I assembled out of junk mail and old magazines, a deco design in teal and orange, and a background listing some 1930s diner lingo.
To be fair I’ve never actually heard anyone use diner lingo in my entire life, but I’d love to hear the workers at McDonalds shout out "Burn one, take it through the garden and pin a rose on it" every time somebody wants a burger.

backgrounds

I’ve also uploaded 12 new iPhone wallpapers to Flickr.

iPhone wallpapers

You go, Glen Coco!

If you are Marketplace beta tester over at Spoonflower, you can now purchase a few of my designs as fabric. You can take a look at the designs available if you like, and when the Marketplace opens to all users you’ll be able to buy as many yards as you could ever need.

With love,
Sarah

My Computer Outlives Tree Frogs

August 12th, 2009

Howdy.
I’ve made five new backgrounds. Take a look:

August patterns

My computer is now six years old, which is pretty old for a desktop I suppose. It seems like I’ve put it through a lot of torture over the years (heavy usage, four moves, power outages, viruses, etc.) but it still manages to cling to life. I read somewhere on the internet (so it must be true) that the lifespan of the average desktop computer is three to five years, or (amazingly enough!) about the lifespan of a small tree frog.

My computer is older than most tree frogs.

The next time you buy a computer, buy a pet tree frog on the same day. Feed, care for, and love your tree frog, and when it dies of old age you will know it’s time to replace your hardware. YOU’RE WELCOME.

Love,
Sarah

Not Actually a Sesquicentennial

August 1st, 2009

Greetings again,

I’ve added six new backgrounds to the site. I don’t normally use a lot of white in my designs, so I went out on a limb this time to try something a little different.

backgrounds for August 09

I’ve now officially designed over 150 different backgrounds. If it took a year to make each one, then this would be the Sesquicentennial. But it doesn’t take a year, of course. I just wanted an excuse to use the word sesquicentennial. And I did. TWICE.

There’s also six new iPhone wallpapers available.

I think that’s it for today.
-Sarah

Grover Cleveland, Again

July 21st, 2009

Howdy.

I’ve added five new backgrounds to the site. Take a look:

Backgrounds for July 21

This new update means Grover Cleveland has now appeared on this site on two non-consecutive occasions (1 & 2).

There’s also six new stationeries. Does anyone actually use stationery anymore? In case you ever need it, it’s here and it’s free.

Six Stationeries

I sometimes print my designs on fabric and sell them through my Etsy shop. Etsy user bamboobaby created this fancy little passport pocket using fabric printed with my acrobat design. It’s so cool to see one of my designs being put to a practical use!

Passport Wallet

I could have used something like this a few years ago to keep my passport looking presentable. As it stands though, I have to live with an absurdly lumpy passport until 2014, and will have to continue to explain to the customs guys at JFK that, yes, actually, I am aware that passports should not be put in a washing machine.

And technically, it went through a washboard.

-Sarah

And the winner is…

July 13th, 2009

The All Modern giveaway has come to a close. I’ve just visited random.org and come up with the magic winning number, and it is (drum roll please)…

Random number generator: 34 WINS!

Number 34! So the winner of those fabulous bowls is Amanda, who left the 34th comment on the post. If you are Amanda, then congratulations! If you are NOT Amanda, then I am terribly sorry, because you won’t be getting any free bowls in the mail. But thank you all so much for entering, and for leaving such fantastic comments about this site.

Also, my thanks again to All Modern for making this giveaway possible.

-Sarah

Some Day I’ll Make it to Disneyland

July 12th, 2009

Howdy.

Finally I have gotten around to getting some updates on this silly website.

I’ve got four new background patterns for you:

Patterns

I’ve made a new wallpaper, seen below. This wallpaper is available in six sizes, and also as a tiled background.

Red Collage Wallpaper

For my birthday I got a larger computer monitor. It is awesome on so very many levels, and I’ve learned that Dreamweaver is really a million times easier to use when you can actually see what you’re doing. But sadly there is a down side to all this awesomeness: Not a single one of the nearly 80 wallpapers I’ve created over the years actually fits my screen. So in an effort to get with the times, I’ve updated many of the old papers so that they are available in a variety of wide screen sizes. I’ve uploaded over 60 new images today and dealt with quite a lot of code, so if you find any errors on the wallpaper page please let me know.

Grauman's Chinese Theater

I’ve also updated the travel section with some new photos of Los Angeles. I was there for three days in June, which finally gave me some time to see some of the touristy stuff that all Californians are required to know about. I feel like such a bad Californian sometimes; I’ve lived here my whole life but I’ve never been to Disneyland, Alcatraz, or Yosemite.

Remember that if you want to enter to win some bowls from All Modern, this is your last chance! Really, RIGHT NOW. A winner will be chosen on the the 13th.

That’s it for today.

-Sarah

All Modern giveaway!

June 29th, 2009

Greetings!

I know I’ve been slacking a bit this month in updating, but I think this entry is going to more than make up for it! A few days ago the nice people over at All Modern contacted me about possibly holding a giveaway on my website. So of course I said yes because everyone loves free stuff, especially when it’s shiny and new and fabulous.

So let me introduce you to the ‘In the Mix’ Small Bowl Set, designed by notNeutral. It’s a set of four porcelain bowls with various black and white patterns on them. They’re modern, they’re practical (dishwasher and microwave safe) and they can brighten up any table setting. But best of all, if you are lucky enough to win them, then even leftovers and mushy cereal will taste like VICTORY. Or so I’m guessing.

Bowls from All Modern.com

They could be yours free if you just leave a comment on this post with your first name and email and maybe a little comment about why you’d like to win. This contest is open only to residents of the US and Canada. The winner will be chosen randomly on July 13th, 2009, and I’ll send you an email if you win!

Even if you are not lucky enough to win these lovely bowls, you should check out All Modern’s website, which is filled with a great selection of modern furniture, home accessories and lighting from top brands like Kartell, Alessi, Knoll, Herman Miller, Blu Dot and more.

Good luck!
-Sarah

The Summer of George

June 10th, 2009

Hiya.

I’ve added six new backgrounds, and here they are:

Six Backgrounds image

Also I’ve got four new iPhone wallpapers up.

iPhone wallpapers preview

My internet is touch-and-go lately, or rather touch-and-not-go. If I touch the wireless router, my internet stops working. Earlier today I accidentally nudged it and I got a blue screen of death error. Lousy breakable technology. THIS WAS SUPPOSED TO BE THE SUMMER OF GEORGE.

-Sarah

Ranger Rick Rolled

June 2nd, 2009

It’s June, so I figure the best way to kick off the month is with a bad pun and some copyright infringement. This is not my proudest moment, but here goes:

Ranger Rick Roll
You have been Ranger Rick Rolled.

Okay, enough. Now seriously, support wildlife.

-Sarah