I've become one of "those people" that snaps pictures of their food...

Such a worthy distraction, I say...   Boudin-stuffed pork chops, roasted sweet potato smothered in French butter, honey and roasted pecans, a 2004 Malbec...

Laissez les bons temps rouler,  dear  friends.  ~ XoXo  K

Hill Country Cakery in Austin/Lakeway area

I got a call from a bakery owner in the Austin area who had found Smacking Darcy online.  After spending a few moments on the phone with her, I knew that I was truly speaking with an artist. 

Artists are the hardest to design for.  They don't know exactly what it is they want, but they know exactly what they do not want.

"I'm looking to bring a unique presence with my business  to Lakeway (Austin area)  I like to stir up excitement with my confectionery creations.  I am NOT another Martha Stewart cake designer.   I love textures, layers and vibrant color.  My favorite colors are orange and various shades of vibrant blue/ blue-green.  I also must have an owl, because my grandmother loved owls so, and she my inspiration..." 

 For inspiration, she sent me swatches of loveliness -- such as this royal beauty.

Really, I want a sofa exactly like this one.  I would put it in the middle of my little design studio.  It would be my "thinking" couch.  It would be upon this beauty which I would ponder new designs enjoy wicked amounts of coffee, mounds of dark chocolate.   

Interestingly...after experimenting with wild swatches of color and texture, Hill Country Cakery ended up with a neutral damask/ black diamond look to showcase, and not distract from, all of its beautiful cakes and confections.

 http://www.hillcountrycakery.com/

Therapy Thursdays

This is a mockup of an 8x2.5 banner that a client requested for "Therapy Thursdays."  I designed it to match her website. I was pretty pleased with the results.  She was pretty darn pleased also.  Wow, I love my clients!

(click to enlarge)

Fusion Sweets

Etsy is fast becoming my one-stop/go-to shop for just about ANYTHING anymore. I appreciate the quality and the hand-made aspect. I most especially appreciate this tribe of astonishingly talented artisans.

LOOKY-LOOK what I ordered today from Kay and Angela, a mother-daughter team at Fusion Sweets, located in Michigan.

hand-made caramels

I ordered:

French Lavender Vanilla and Honey with Sea Salt, Star Anise, Saffron, Cardamom Peach, Masala Chai Spiced, Roasted Black Sesame, Rose/ Orange Blossom Vanilla


That's not all!

Mango Rose Lime Berlingots   Lemongrass Mango Lollipop

Fusion Sweets on Etsy.com

*****  A followup… *****

My order from Fusion Sweets (in M-I-S-H-I-G-U-N, ya’ll) arrives at my doorstep in (TEXAS, y’all) three or four days after I place the order. I am gophering through the box with great delight. I notice that Kay and Angela have put in FREE extra goodies… tiny taffies, caramels, homemade marshmallows (oh meowww! Who woulda’ thought to make mandarine-orange-flavored marshmallows, for cryin’ out loud!) I am hooked. Thank you, Jesus, for Michigan People…

A room to love

Do you have a room in your dwelling that is special to you?   A room that as soon as you walk into it you sigh deeply and want to "hunker down" in?  This would be the space that you can unwind in --  decorate and arrange in any way that pleases you.  If you do not have a space like this, try to  make one.  It can be indoors or outdoors. If an entire room is not practical for you, find a nook or a corner.

I have decorated my space in "beach" motif.  On the walls I have pinned authentic seashells, bits of whimsy and photos of my family on the beach.  I have loaded sea grass and hemp baskets with cozy blankets and all of my favorite magazines.  Hurricane globes are filled with sand, in which I have tucked candles and extra seashells.  You can say that I went out on a limb in painting my sun room THIS scrumptious color, but it really works with the theme.  I do not remember the color, but it is a soft but still vibrant shade of coral.  { Divine }

My beautiful sun room... { my beautiful husband }

Fancy Flour is my Valentines go-to shop

This is not a cooking blog, by any stretch, but I DO enjoy baking for people that I care about.  Fancy Flours has been one of my favorite "eye candy" sites for years.  Fancy Flours offers beautiful embellishments and unheard-of supplies to bakers and the general public.  I am not talking about run-of-the-mill cake toppers or cupcake sprinkles. 

Fancy Flour "edible wafer papers" draw me like a magpie.  Wafer papers are very thin, edible (potato starch based) sheets of decorative art that you apply to your treat.  These papers give your treat such a professional, remarkable look that it is hard to even consider eating it.  Every holiday Fancy Flours offers gorgeous thematic papers for desserts.  Here are just a couple for Valentines. 

     

Black and White Vintage Floral - edible wafer paper      Vintage Valentine - edible paper

The man, the muse, the moon... he's from Tulsa, ya'all!

While there are so many who strike some inner chord for me artistically, there is only one that causes me to percolate, to ponder and puzzle over color arrays, origination, or the theatricals of shadow-play between items in perfectly displayed collages... Mr. Charles Faudree.

Mr. Faudree is considered among his contemporaries as the master.  He has been selected among design authorities to be one of the most talented interior designers in the world.  You can see his work commonly in Veranda, House Beautiful, Southern Living, Southern Accents, Traditional Home, Renovations Style, House and Garden and Country Living -- to name a few.  Mr. Charles Faudree is my champion.

Mr. Faudree wrote a preface to his book in Country French Living called "My Favorite Things"  His preface made me laugh out loud.  His honest account of the raw emotions and joy that come from designing for clients resonates loudly for me.

I thank him, and his creative team, for the dedication to translate the art that flows from within him.  I thank him for the brave way in which he carries the divine Faudree inspiration.

Like myself, at age 40, Mr. Faudree decided to break with the conventional, corporate world to pursue strong design "urgings." He became inspired to collect his favorite design projects in a book, which eventually turned into several.

I keep a copy of "Signature," "Interiors," and "French Living" in my sunroom. "Interiors" and "French Living" are recent acquisitions.  However, I can honestly say that I have perused "Signature" at least 100 times over the years, along with many great delicious cups of coffee or glasses of wine.  "Signature" is my companion. Our springer spaniel, Darcy, chewed a corner of that book.  I was furious! Still am... I think.   I vowed to replace the book -- replace the dog!   I have done neither.

(Mr. Faudree's books are like beautiful "browsing" vacations)

What is attractive content?

I am always a little disconcerted when I see that websites are not using content presentation to their best advantage.  What do I mean by this?  I mean poor font use/combinations, poor photos, no captions. 

For example, a nice picture...

But now add captions.

Another nice way to present products is with a product collage...

The "Perfect Pillows" statement came from Cynthia Gipson, a fantastic client of ours from Tyler, Texas. TheGipsonGirl   A little bit of fancy fontwork, your webpage is looking more like a magazine spread.  Nice!

If you are struggling with content presentation, please give us a call. We can help.  Our interpretation of a beautiful website page is feel-good and magazine-style in layout.

Teel & Company

I absolutely LOVE Teel & Company.  Originally, Teel & Company opened in April of 1992 as a gift and home decor shop located within the Med-Shop Pharmacy. Within a few years, the store had outgrown its retail space.  I had been "hankering" for years to build a website for the fabulous new Teel & Company.

A bit of background on Linda's location... The City of Hughes Springs renovated a beautiful, older building located on 1st Street in the quaint downtown area in hopes that a retail store would find its way there. 

The store is filled to the brim with new, fresh inventory. Teel & Company is the kind of place that you bring a mug of coffee while browsing the intriguing selections they have to offer.  

visit www. Teel & Company

Gaudy Me project

I received a call one afternoon from the manager of "Gaudy Me" in Tyler, Texas.  They needed a website makeover and were considering me for the job.  I was honored, to say the very least.

Gaudy Me (a/k/a Dressin Gaudy) is located in Longview, Tyler, Canton (Tx) and Branson, Mo.  For 20 years they have offered up young, hip and contemporary fashions to many a lucky lady. 

Tim, co-owner, wanted a web design that was "glam-gaudy, brave and bold."  His color request was distressed black (being dominant), gold and turquoise.  As a roadmap to where they were headed, designwise, I was presented with several
objets d' art to be my guide...

Hmmm... Here is my challenge:  Marry gaudy-glam, young, hip with a neoclassical flair, then translate it into an eye-popping 3D-ish website.   Talk about juxtaposition.

Let's just say that this one intimidated me.  I fretted, I stressed, I prayed over it.  Then I decided to follow my gut and add my "signature red" to the mix (#c61e1a -- Oh MEOOWW!)   This is the result:

mockup 1

mockup 2

This week the wonderful folks at Gaudy Me will start filling their new website to the brim with glam/gaudy treasures.  I am very honored to have been selected to re-design Gaudy Me's new website.  You can visit them here:  Gaudy Me