Mindful Monitors #1
<DISCLAIMER>
I'm horrible at coming up with "catchy" names. (Exhibit A: Blog Title)
<END OF DISCLAIMER>
I'll see catchy names or titles that other companies/bloggers come up with, and find them absolute genius. Then I'll sit down at MY computer, and stare into infinity, struggling to come up with anything resembling an intriguing title to draw some readers' attention.
It doesn't help that as I was sitting at my computer, trying to come up with inspiration, I stumbled across this post about growing your blog that painted this crazy picture of how serious bloggers will need to invest serious money into their art (they were talking about $20k a MONTH... yeah, that's never gonna happen) and/or that you always need to put your best blogging foot forward or your poorly-written posts will ruin your brand name and haunt you the rest of your life.
HOWEVER, failing/flailing or not when it comes to the "blog zone," this post is [hopefully] that start of something that has been on my mind for a few years now, and I'm really hoping I can get it off the ground!
I'm somebody that loves to pause and reflect on deep-thinking images or phrases. I always keep a notebook on me, and whenever I read a good passage in a book, or hear somebody say something insightful, I stop what I'm doing and write it down so I can re-read it later. I'm constantly reflecting on thoughts or people that have inspired me, and how I want to celebrate the amazing talents of these individuals. Of course I dream that someday maybe my own skills or art projects will inspire others, but until that day (and beyond if that day should ever occur) I want to showcase the awesome skills of people around me, be it locally or those I've discovered through social media.
One way I've approached this idea is though creating/curating free wallpapers for personal use. I've attempted this a few times in the past, most drafts which never saw the light of the "publish" button day.
Not-so-recently, I shared an image of a clover I photographed for a freebie wallpaper (Which at the time I called "Design Time"... again, I acknowledge my lack of catchy nicknames)
However, something I've noticed, is that when I put a soothing image or positive quote as my desktop wallpaper or phone background, considering how we probably look at these screens a couple dozen (if not more!) times a day, that is a key opportunity to send yourself some subliminal positive vibes.
Which it might take me awhile to get there, but my ultimate goal with "Mindful Monitors" (or whatever it's in a few months) is to both provide fun and encouraging backgrounds you can use on your own electronic devices, and hopefully feature images/backgrounds that others have created.
I would LOVE to showcase local artists or designers and help spread their artwork on the online community. Let's all encourage each other!
So, to start out with, I used some fun wavy wallpapers that were designed by Olga Ryzychenko as part of the weekly free goods deal over at Creative Market. Something that I really liked with her art was her choice of color and the smooth wavy-lines she went with. her Creative Market account features several wavy-designs, but I picked my top four to create some calming wallpapers for you, so please enjoy.
If you like these, you can check out her digital designs and artwork here!
You can click on the images or the link below to download the wallpapers.
If you enjoy these, please drop a comment or share this post!
If you are interested in submitting your own designs or ideas for a future blog feature, here's what to do:
Make sure the wallpaper design has minimum dimensions of 1920 x 1080 and a resolution of 72 dpi. My goal is to do 1-4 wallpaper downloads per post, so if you want to do just one design you can, or you can make a few different ones!
If you have a business or social account with more of your designs/art, include that information so I can share it with your design!
If the design includes the work of others, make sure you have permission to use it, and include their information as well, so I can give them credit!
Send the images it to me at epicquests4crafts@gmail.com with the email subject "Desktop Wallpaper Design Submission" or something similar. I'll get back to you and let you know when you can expect to see your stuff featured! I've already got some other wallpaper designs in the works, so don't freak out if it takes a few weeks to see your stuff here!
Even if you don't think you have any designer skills, there are a plethora of amazing (and free!) resources out there that make it so easy to learn and create your own. Sites like Canva even have wallpaper templates ready that are the dimensions I mentioned above. Give it a try, it's so much fun!
See you later!!
(Please note that these designs are for personal use only and not available for any commercial purposes)
