Hello there.

It’s been a while since my last update, so I’m adding some extra stuff this time.

Right now California’s unemployment rate is the highest it’s been in 70 years. And so my latest wallpaper features a quote from a Woody Guthrie song written 72 years ago, back when the unemployment numbers were similar.
California is a garden of Eden, A paradise to live in or see; but believe it or not you won’t find it so hot if you ain’t got the do-re-mi.
On a personal note I’ve recently had some good news on the employment front, and my soul-crushing search for work has finally, thankfully, turned up with something. All the best to all those searching for work right now- it’s rough out there but don’t give up.

Also, there’s a lovely new wallpaper featuring birdies. And credit cards. This made more sense in my head than it does on screen but dammit I think I did a kick-ass job drawing those birds. (Is ‘kick-ass’ hyphenated? Does adding proper punctuation to swear words reduce the impact? DAMN IT I am such a nerd).

There are three new backgrounds available:

And now, finally, thanks to the magical wonder of a website called FontCapture, I figured out how to make my own fonts. I’ve been wanting to make fonts for years but I never knew how. So… without further ado, here’s four new typefaces in TrueType format:

All these fonts are free to download and use, even for commercial purposes.
That’s all for today. I’m working on another embroidery so hopefully that will be done soon. Ciao!

-Sarah

Hiya.

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

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

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

Hello there.

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

"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 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.

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

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

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

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.

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

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.

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

Howdy.

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

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.

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!

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

Howdy.

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

I’ve got four new background patterns for you:

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

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.

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

Hiya.

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

Also I’ve got four new iPhone wallpapers up.

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

Howdy.
I’ve drawn five more backgrounds for your viewing pleasure. These things look completely fabulous as backgrounds on Twitter. Just saying is all…

My first website host, Geocities, announced last month that they are closing down.
I made my first Geocites website in 1998, back when the internet was still new and it was unusual (and slightly unsavory) for middle schoolers to have webpages. My first website was characterized by cluttered galleries of stolen Sanrio images and an inordinate number of exclamation marks and emoticons. Geocites had a reputation for amateurism, and I was certainly no exception. But as my personal website grew (at one time I held ten different Geocities addresses), I started to teach myself HTML and web design. When I learned to use graphic design software in high school, I decided it was finally time to graduate from Geocites and onto bigger, better things.

Geocites was occasionally excruciating to work with. Their PageBuilder software was full of glitches (see below), there was very little bandwidth available, and the support staff bordered on misanthropic. Back then there were no blogs and no easy ways for average people to post their content to the web. If you wanted a basic website, you had to be willing to put in some blood, sweat, and tears.

I’m sad to see Geocities disappear because I still have a soft spot for them. I owe them a lot. But I can’t say I’m surprised that they’re going under. There are better, easier to use alternatives now. I guess the last question remaining is where will all the amateurs go? Someone has to host Sanrio image galleries dripping with exclamation marks and slathered with emoticons.

I guess we still have MySpace.

Yours,
Sarah

It’s been over a month since I’ve added any new backgrounds, so here’s a new batch.

As always, the newest designs can always be found at the bottom of the backgrounds page. I’m really liking the collage one, but good luck finding your icons! There’s also a design with some Sacramento landmarks. Sacramento needs more love. In my fourth grade textbook the city was spelled wrong on the state map. Thanks, Rand McNally.

-Sarah