Airstream Before and After

Welcome to 3rd Bird Design! We are up and running out of the Airstream now! All the major work is finished, and now we're just waiting on fabric for the sofa and pillows. I have a temporary solution for both of those now. I'm not sure how long it will be until we get that part completed, so I thought I'd go ahead and share photos of our restoration. These are just photos taken with my iPhone, but I plan to have professional ones taken later as well. So here it is! Hope you enjoy!

Welcome to 3rd Bird! Come on in!


The sitting area before and after. This is where the custom fabric and pillows will go. For now, I have a sheet and two pretty pillows my mom made that will go back in my house after all this is finished.




Here's the kitchen transformed into my work space! It's so cozy you won't even believe it. I use the TV on the wall for client presentations. My wonderful father in law built the desk. Isn't it gorgeous?? And I could stare at the wallpaper all day long. Thanks, Lounge Interiors!




This is the little window I day dream out of sometimes. And if I'm lucky, a few pretty little birds will land on that fence post! My next DIY: Bird houses! I've got some good ideas:)



The food section slightly updated from before:) And a gorgeous lamp my thoughtful husband bought me for Christmas. I still can't find a good shade! Any suggestions on where to find a good one?




Yep. That's a fake fire/real heater. It's even cozier in here than you thought, right?


As most of you know, we always have a house full of people. So this works out when Casa de Singleton is all booked up! And it also works out when I need to rest my creative mind and take a little nap:)



This is my book shelf that's in the bathroom. Mainly because that would have been wasted space otherwise. I found that little ceramic origami bird at West Elm! And I haven't brought all my books out yet either, so the poor shelf looks a little naked now.


Here's the tiny bathroom before and after! The streaks on the window are from the product we used to try to buff the Airstream to a beautiful shine. We let it sit overnight, and it rained, so now I have streaky windows. Oops!



All of the cabinetry is beautiful and clean and white! I love it.


And last, but not least, a happy mistake! We didn't know that these metal panels were magnetic when we bought them! But I was especially excited when I figured that out!! It makes it easy to look over proofs throughout the day.


So that's it for now! I'm very excited to be working out in the Airstream. I could not ask for a better work space! I didn't put photos of this, but we made storage underneath the beds and sofa so I can store paper and extra supplies. Very handy! Hope you've enjoyed!!

Airstream Progress

Hello! I haven't updated about the Airstream in a while, and that's mostly because I want my fancy father in law hand made desk to be in there before I post the final photos. Other than that and covering the sofa cushion and getting a few throw pillows, we're finished! It might be the coziest most fun place to work that's ever been! And I haven't even started working out of there yet! I know, it's annoying that I'm not showing you what it looks like yet, but I will tell you that there's some really pretty wall paper involved. And I'll show you my office chair.



Isn't she a beaut? I was a little nervous about the silver, but once I got it all put together, I knew it was the perfect Airstream chair. And it reminds me of an Eames chair that is far out of my price range. I got mine at Overstock.com for a pretty good deal! They have a great selection, if you're in the market for an office chair.

Anyway, just wanted to let you know that we should be completely finished in the next few weeks! Stay tuned!

Work it Out With a New Mix

It's the 3rd day of 2011. Did you make a resolution to start going to the gym? Or maybe you already go but have been slacking off a little during the holidays like I have and replacing your workout with cookies and pecan pie. Either way, a new mix always makes the gym a little more fun. I just put this 30 minute mix together tonight, and I expect my time at the gym tomorrow to be way more exciting than it was today. I'll probably do 30 minutes of cardio, a few weights, then maybe shuffle my mix for 15 more minutes before I leave. Sorry about the vulgarities, but here's the list:


1. Home - Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros
2. Flathead - The Fratellis
3. Percussion Gun - White Rabbits
4. 99 Problems - Hugo
5. Shake Ya As$ - Mystikal
6. Little Secrets - Passion Pit
7. Drinkin Dark Whiskey - The SteelDrivers
8. Runnin' Down a Dream - Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers
9. I Can Transform Ya - Chris Brown
10. F**k You - Cee Lo Green


You can preview all of these on iTunes before you buy to be sure you like them. Hope you enjoy, and hope you shed those holiday lbs. right off! Happy 2011!

A Few of My Favorite Christmas Things

It's the holiday season! (In case you haven't noticed). It's 1:30 in the afternoon and I'm still in my pajamas. I've had dessert with every meal for the past two days, and stuffed myself until I felt like I couldn't move at each meal. We're at my in laws this weekend, then go to my mom/sisters/dads on Wednesday. I'm gonna need some bigger pants!

It's all part of the holidays though. I kind of expect to be miserably full, not shower for a day and a half or so, and prepare myself to be entirely more lazy than any person should. That's what it's all about, right?

Anyway, just thought I'd share a few of my favorite things from this holiday season. There's definitely more than 4 things, but since I'm blogging from east TN, I couldn't photograph the rest of my favorite Christmas things. Hope you enjoy! Happy Holidays to you!



1. Sparkly Bird ornaments I bought 4 packages of these sweet glittery birds at Walgreens, two boxes of silver and two gold. The boxes had 10 birds each, and they were 2 for $5! SCORE! 2. Frasier Fir Household Cleaner Spray (by Thymes) This is the very first Christmas of my life that I haven't had a real tree. We've been so busy this year, I guess we're lucky to have even put one up! But I do love my white tree, surprisingly enough. Anyway, this Frasier Fir spray smells exactly like the tree I'm used to having in my house at Christmas. Warm, cozy, amazingly delightful, and only $10! I got it at a cute store in downtown Franklin (TN), and I can't think of the name of it right now. But it was one of the only shops open the night before Dickens Christmas. And it was only 5:30. Two weeks before Christmas. Why do stores do that? Stay open, and we'll shop!! 3. True Shimmer Peppermint Chapstick YUM! And pretty. And tingly! My lips were dry one day when I was standing in line at the grocery store, so I just grabbed the least ugly chap stick on the stand, and what a surprise! It's so nice! Not too glittery like most cheap chap sticks normally are, and incredibly refreshing! Although, I wouldn't sleep in it. I put it on one night before bed, and my lips were pretty dry the next morning. But it's perfect for day time! $2 at your local chap stick vending store. Makes a great stocking stuffer! 4. Decorative Lighted Branches I got these cuties at the beginning of the season at one of my favorite places known as Target. They're indoor/outdoor, and I had planned on lining them down my walkway outside, but due to Airstream electrical wiring issues, my front outlet wasn't working. So I just stuck some beads in one of my glass hurricanes and hung a few candy canes. I think the twigs were originally $20, but I bought them on sale for $15/four!

What are a few of your favorite Christmas things?

Vintage Inspired Christmas iPhone Wall Paper

I was out thrifting the other day when I came across this pretty vintage Christmas bowl.




There was only one, but I thought I could use it for candy or something, so I bought it. I liked the simplicity of the design so much I thought I would draw it in Illustrator and make it in to a festive iPhone wallpaper, just for you! Hope you enjoy!


Here ya go!

QR Readers | Advertising Uncensored

In case you haven't heard about this new technology(which has actually been out since the early 90's?), I'll just show you. If you have iPhone or any other mobile device worthy of the thousands of apps out there, you should definitely download the QR Reader if you want to keep up with the Jones's. QR stands for "Quick Response," which ultimately is what we all want. We want to push a button and be able to know exactly what we need/want to know as fast as possible. You may have noticed these ugly black and white squares all over everything lately. In magazines, on products, on bus benches, and even on billboards. Did you download QR reader yet? If not, do it, then hover your phone over this ugly box.



Took you straight to my site, right? So now you know what it does. Recently, Calvin Klein released an ad campaign using only their QR code that leads to a somewhat racy commercial that they probably couldn't have otherwise aired. They censored themselves before someone else beat 'em to the punch. Genius. Nice way to advertise exactly how they want without offending anyone. If you hold your QR reader up to their ad, you're asking for it. You're choosing to see what they want you to see. They're making it your idea! You're voluntarily taking time out of your day to look at an ad, when in the past, sometimes you don't even realize you've seen it. But now, it's open on a window in your phone. You are exclusive! You want to show your friends. They want to show theirs. After you scan the code and open the commercial, you can share the video on Twitter or Facebook. That's serious advertising. Here's the ad in case you want to check it out.



So what does this mean for the design industry? If you're a designer and have ever designed any sort of packaging, you know how annoying it is to have to add that ugly bar code. It's just sitting there in the corner. Being distracting from the design you've been slaving over for weeks. Looking all black and white and ugly. Now, not only is there the bar code to deal with on the back, but these hideous codes that will more than likely dominate the design. I'm not saying I don't like the idea of a QR code, I just don't like the idea of the print design being ignored so quickly because people will see the code and just get the information they need from the site it directs them to. It's nice for companies who use these though. How often do you look at your phone and realize you have about 5 windows open? The QR code enables companies to make you keep them in your pocket. This is yet another technology that's killing print. But it is pretty cool.

What are your thoughts?

Stella & Dot Packaging

Recently, I was in Jackson, Mississippi visiting my family. My sister had been invited to a Stella & Dot jewelry party and informed me I was coming along with her. I usually don't like these kinds of things for a few reasons: #1. I feel obligated to buy something whether I want to or not. (which is the point of this type of sales, I'm sure) #2. The stuff people sell at house parties is usually really ugly. BUT this Stella and Dot stuff is actually really cute! Not the most inexpensive, but reasonable for the most part. I'd been on the lookout for a wrap bracelet anyway, and I found one that luckily came in gold, so I wrote up my order, had a glass of wine, and I was on my way! THEN, the most exciting part...the packaging! I just got my bracelet in the mail today, and I felt like I was getting a special present! So pretty, and so exciting to open. Check it out:




I love this! "You Have a Great Eye" Why thank you, Box!


The bracelet is great quality too. I think it may turn in to an every day staple!


I just love the attention to detail from the lining of the main box, to the sweet little note on the jewelry box. The pattern comes from a shape that that use in some of their jewelry, which is also a nice touch. Nice work, Stella & Dot designer!