Halloween Party: Inspired by Tim Burton

Our annual company Halloween Party is next week. For a few months now, we've been planning a smattering of Burton-esque displays: Beetlejuice's Turf Grass Graveyard, Alice in Wonderland's Tea Party, The Nightmare Before Christmas's Well of Wonder, along with a few other scene's from his movies. 

The Tea Party will be complete with tiered plates, mini finger-foods, and, of course, "Eat Me" and "Drink Me" tags in line with Alice's adventure in Wonderland. We are planning to tag every dessert, drink, and ...delicious edible treat.

Pictures of the event and designs will be posted late next week.

Itineraries: Stacey's Wedding

With a fast approaching wedding and 6 bridesmaids, 3 dogs, and a guest book attendant to manage, Stacey was looking for custom itineraries to help everyone stay on track for wedded success! My initial thoughts were retro and playful... (as seen in the rough layout below)

But as Stacey and I conversed, her itineraries came to fruition with a little more sophistication, organization, and, let's be frank, better readability.

 

 

Nicole Lynn Logos

My dear friend Alicia (also mentioned here) has enlisted my help for a logo for Portraits by Nicole Lynn. These are still a work in progress, but my thoughts went directly to portraits from the 1800's - think Victorian-esque bust in a oval-shaped frame.

Eyelash

 

For Ali: Invitations

Working on a few concepts for wedding invitations and the accoutrements that come along with invitations. To start, I've thrown a few ideas into Illustrator. (Definitely rough first drafts!) 

Once the bride to be picks her favorite look, I'll post ideas for RSVP cards, directional cards, accommodations cards - the works! 

A little background: The bride will be carrying cala lilies. Her colors are hot pink/magenta and kelly green. Post comments on your favorites! 

Sweet ...with some Edge

"S" Joint

Circles

Simple Cala Lily

Cala Lily Unveiled

Wedding Invitations

Remember Brenda's Wedding Invitations (here)? Well they have finally arrived! 

Brenda took the layout files that I sent, adjusted her home printer for pre-cut card stock and assembled the pieces for a nice, cohesive invitation package! Scroll down to see the layouts and final pieces.

More on Monday

Just a quick note to my followers and fellow bloggers. 

The pause in my posts came from a short hiatus taken to focus on starting a new position at work. I'll be back in action on Monday with a new post!

Thank you for all of your support! And for the wonderful comments - keep them coming!

Happy Birthday Half Marathon: Part II

A little background and insight to my thought process for the HBHM (Happy Birthday Half Marathon) creations...

Staring at my black slate (or my blank Illustrator pasteboard, rather), I knew I wanted to incorporate a handful of items: 13.1, Happy Birthday, the city, running. I did some preliminary sketching but ultimately went to my trusty pen tool in Illustrator creating a simple square city with a line "running" through it. You'll see the initial 'city and line' in gray.  This evolved to the green city with a more conceptually appropriate line running "through" the city. And lastly, for a bit of birthday flare, the addition of candles made the city look a little bit like a birthday cake! 

As for the Happy Birthday Half Marathon text. The 13.1 pretty much transformed itself into a "B" and "I" as I was writing out 'birthday' on my sketchpad. (To make a B, you first you draw a vertical line and then you draw a "3" to finish it off! How convenient!)  The trick to making it work was finding the right font. You'll see not many were friendly, but ultimately "Still Time" was the perfect fit. 

Concept Collage

The #1 Button

The Front of the Mug

The finished products...

On the day of both the birthday and the race, we adorned ourselves in the HBHM buttons - and even met another birthday runner along the way! It was an amazing race, and a Happy (Birthday) Half Marathon!

lusb.

Happy Birthday Half Marathon: Part 1

Hello, friends! Just back from Chicago! 

What a beautiful city. The return flight home was complete with a half marathon medal in tow and, of course, with dreams to call the windy city home one day. 

The Birthday Boy and I had long ago planned to run the Chicago Half Marathon for his birthday (literally, the race was the day of his birthday). It was a GORGEOUS day and running by Lake Michigan couldn't have made for a more beautiful setting. 

The birthday wouldn't have been complete without a few items to make what I dubbed the "Happy Birthday Half Marathon" extra special. See below for a few sneak peeks at the designs. Once I get unpacked, I will upload pictures of the birthday goods!

Wedding Programs

The wedding was beautiful, bright, and fun! The programs matched nicely to the yellow decor - yellow gerbera daisies, yellow calla lilies, lemon-filled vases and sweet lemon drop favors to boot!

 
The proofs: 

The final piece:

Daisy-filled vase and Daisy-filled program

A Peek from the Pew

Daisy-filled Newlywed Table

Wedding Programs: Sneak Peek

This weekend I am headed up the east coast to a dear friend's wedding celebration. I've been very lucky to have been asked to design the wedding programs. Here's a sneak peek. 

Photos of the printed piece will be posted early next week!

September Calendar

Bah De Yah, Friends! It's time for dancin' in September!

Fall is just around the corner...I can feel it! 

I'll be putting on my dancin' shoes, 

humming that familiar "ba-de-yah" tune and 

anxiously anticipating cool mornings, 

crisp fall leaves, and bright, vibrant, colorful days!

If you'd like a PDF version of this calendar to print and use - 

leave a comment below with your email address!

New Look: Lindsey Lou

Lindsey Lou wants a new look. 

Old Logo

What I was hoping to accomplish was a new… and-grown-up-and-classy-but-still-true-to-Lindsey's-chic-femme-style...look. Using one of the original colors and similar elements from her old logo, I tried to create something sophisticated, but still girly. Something that was true to Lindsey, but new, fresh, and modern. Thus the "beaded" logo was born:

New Logo

Lindsey Lou has since branched out from her jewelry business to also include monogrammed pieces as well. To view the logo in its natural habitat and purchase all things Lindsey Lou, visit: www.lindseyloudesigns.com.

Wedding Invitations

Invitation time was fast approaching. When Brenda sent her ideas to a mutual friend, Alicia couldn't resist enlisting some help to make sure Brenda's invitations were hi-res and ready to print! The invitations are currently in production along with directions, accommodations, and R.S.V.P. cards. The finished product will be posted in the coming weeks!

Here's a sneak peak at the goods:

Inspired by...

Levi's Bandana Design Contest! 

Maybe you've sported one around the garden or backyard, to a music festival, as part of a Halloween costume, to show support for your favorite team - maybe you've wrapped one around your pet at one time or another. A headband. A sweat band. And "in Victorian times, as a means of flirtation."  That familiar navy square with white paisley adornment is the inspiration for Levi's latest design contest as part of a fantastic Workshop collection.

Recently I submitted "Graphite Fields Forever" which has jumped from Rank 176 to Rank 79!

Join the fun and enter your designs at Levi's Bandana Bonanza!

From the Levi's design site for the Bonanza: 

"Call it a bandana. Call it a handkerchief, square or rag. Call it whatever you want, just know that these simple yet versatile objects are necessary accoutrements for anyone interested in putting in an honest day's labor because, friends, that sweat ain't going to wipe itself off. Much like a great pair of jeans, its form and function was perfected early on, and so far no one has managed to design something better. Can you?"

We can try! I plan to submit a few more designs later today, take a look:

Fun with Itineraries

When friends and family come to visit, I can't resist a good itinerary. 

The itinerary can excite, intrigue, and even, humor the future followers.
(Click on the images for a closer look!)

Wedding Weekend Itinerary

An Atlanta Visit Itinerary

Sometimes visitors are not the only reason for an itinerary....

Birthday Bike Tour Itinerary

Three Little Birds

three little birds blog header

"Three Little Birds", Bob Marley sings, "pitch by my doorstep. 

Singing, every little thing, is gonna be all right."
Sometimes, little birds need reassurance that 'every little thing is gonna be all right' and thus a blog was born. The idea is for friends who are separated by distance to have a place to post goals and fears, accomplishments and failures; to ask questions, to answer questions, to ask for advice, to give advice; and to track each others, and their own, progress in their journeys of life, health, and the pursuit (and possessing) of happiness.

Today is definitely one of those days when I need a little reminder that... 

"every little thing gonna be all right."

Producing Lacrosse Balls: STURLAX

Designing is oft an art of simplifying a complex idea. How do you fit 

you-are-a-great-coach-and-mentor-and-father-who-loved-this-sport-with-me

-and-for-me-and-now-my-younger-sibling-can-enjoy-and-grow-and-learn-

the-sport-with-you-as-you-coach-and-learn-too? Well, you combine the last name-nickname of all three of us, with the "nickname" of the sport of lacrosse to create a new sport: SturLAX. 

The Finished Product: Personalized Lacrosse Balls

Simple, Straight-forward

New Look: a.m. jewels

 Business Cards

Custom Order Form: Weddings

Custom Order Form

a.m. jewels was looking to evolve her look - a.m. jewels, version 2, if you will.

Her first jewelry show was upcoming, and she was in need of business cards,

order forms, and display cards. We produced a glitzy, grassy look. Nevertheless, 

we are ever-evolving beings and designers, so stay tuned for her latest re-vamp - 
a.m. v.3?

In the meantime, check out a.m. jewels on etsy! Handmade couture jewelry that is

created with soul, heart, artistry, and a true talent for jewelry making.

At the show!