New Design: Annie and Marc's New Years Wishes

You may remember Annie and Marc's winter wedding invitations from the end of last year. After the wedding festivities died down and the new year began, they came to me to design a cute, simple and modern holiday card. The picture of the newly weds (and their pup) is precious so the card didn't need much more than a cute message. We kept everything minimal and established a strong blue and black color palette. The blue envelopes and the address labels are the icing on the cake. I love how it turned out and can't wait to work with this amazing couple again in the future!

New Work: One Letter Monograms

 

Historically, the first monograms consisted on one decorative letter usually an initial. Today we think of monograms as consisting of multiple intertwining, decorative letters that normally stand for your first, middle and last names.

Over the holidays, I wanted to offer a more affordable custom monogram option for a few friends (and myself) to give as gifts to loved ones. The single letters where a lot of fun to draw because I could really focus on the form of the letter and add in decorative flourishes to fit the personalities of the recipients. In the end, the monograms were printed in an eggplant purple with thermography for personal stationery.

Letter Love: Snooping on Dribble

I found these incredible letters (the top one is drawn by Joshua Bullock and the bottom was vectorized by him) today while snooping on the internet. They are absolutely breathtaking. I especially like the intertwined letters on the bottom design (originally by Erin Potter). Is it an R, a P or a B? Maybe it is all of them? Beautiful!!! Thanks for the daily inspiration dribble.

A Couple of New Monograms

 Lately I have had a lot of requests for classic, elegant and traditional invitations that feature a custom monogram as a focal point. As most of you know, I absolutely adore drawing and designing custom monograms, and when they become the "hero" of a wedding suite I am thrilled! Below are two recent monograms in my classic style that were printed with thermography and used throughout the couple's invitation suite, thank you stationery and "day-of" paper. I hope you enjoy!

Elizabeth and Jeff's classic monogram is printed in Peacock Blue, and is being used as the main visual "logo" for their Michigan Winery Wedding!

Kimberly and Danny's classic three letter monogram is printed in military navy since Danny is a captain in the United States Army. A military wedding on the weekend after July 4th seems pretty ideal if you ask me.

A Week Full of Good Friends...

I have been in Atlanta (with a small trek to Birmingham) since Saturday to visit friends and celebrate their upcoming babies, their birthdays and the fact that I just plain miss them. This week has been a whirlwind of activity (and work during the day), but it has been incredibly rejuvenating to laugh out loud (mostly about how silly we were when we were younger), to talk about everything good, bad and secret, and to eat way to much good food and sugar with my closest friends in the world. Since I live so far away, I sometimes forget how vital my friends are to my life. After this week, I vow to do a better job of staying in touch with my friends that live far away and to continue to build long-lasting friendships close to home.

Now off to another HUGE meal with a friend. Aghhh... this is the life :)

a perfect quote and fun typography. Found here

Designing Online: Two New Websites Launch

In a million years I never thought I would be designing so many websites. Truth be told, I HATE the coding part of web design. Trust me when I say, I can do it (I know html and css) but as much as I tried to fall in love with the back end part of web design it didn't happen. Which is why I feel SO incredibly lucky that I found Tony, from EvenPar Solutions. He is a genius at all the coding and programming stuff. So now, I can focus on "pretty" (horrible design word, I know), functional and aesthetically pleasing front end web design. I love our little collaboration, and I love helping clients realize their visual dream online. I have met so many amazing bloggers, creative individuals and small business owners through web design. It has broadened my horizons, portfolio, and network in more ways than I could ever imagine.

Tony and I have been very busy over the past couple of months with multiple projects. Last week we launched two new sites, Beneath My Heart and Andersonville Guesthouse. Beneath my Heart is an adorable and inspiring blog about life while Andersonville Guesthouse is a small, family run boutique guesthouse in Chicago.

Hope you enjoy! And if you are ever looking for a great place to stay in Chicago may I recommend Andersonville Guesthouse (sorry for the plug, but I couldn't resist).

New Design: Baby Caroline's Announcement

This upcoming weekend I am headed to Atlanta to see two of my best friends who are both pregnant, before heading to my youngest brothers college graduation the following weekend. It will be a whirlwind trip filled with friends, family and celebration. Since I have babies on my mind due to the upcoming showers, I thought it was time to share baby Caroline's birth announcement.

My dear friend Emily, from Ten Little Bluebirds, took Caroline's newborn photos and graciously passed along my name to design her birth announcements. I wanted to keep the announcement simple, girly and elegant to mimic the precious and serene photo. I hope Caroline looks back on her announcement one day and realizes how special she is!

Enjoy!