Allie’s Phone Photo Challenge already has me viewing my world in a new way. Here are my submissions for week 1, the focus on the color white. I’ve enjoyed taking the time on my walks around the city, my house and my work to take a look around and notice the details. I’m really looking forward to next Monday’s challenge, the color red.
I’m excited to share a personal project I’ve been working on: the McMullen Family Cookbook! I’ve wanted to try my hand at book design for a long time and I looooove food, so when the idea came up to do a cookbook, I was immediately on board.
My sister Kelly (chopping onions above), cousin Jen and I became chefs and stylists for the day and after setting up a mini photo studio, I styled and shot pictures of six recipes for the section dividers. I shopped the day before and day of to find unique dishes like the silver rimmed glass and salad bowl and used fabrics and table cloths from my collection of textiles as the backdrops. I wanted a more traditional, old-world feel for the cookbook (the cover is going to be a one color design on chipboard) so I edited the pictures to make them feel vintage, yet still vibrant. No cookbook should have dull pictures!
The next step is to finish the recipe pages and add in some McMullen details. I’ll update with more later this month!
{ fresh asparagus, my ring as I cut cucumber, our pink champagne soda bottles
and a grilled cheese and tomato soup dish }
As promised, the final round of pictures from the party. The menu consisted of items from my inspiration board and I loved serving the grilled cheese with the Tomato Parmesan soup from the Souper Market in Clarissa’s bright teacups and saucers. And again, a HUGE thank you to Clarissa Westmeyer for all of her gorgeous photography. She made my birthday one not to be forgotten!
Here are part one and part two if you missed it and now I promise not to milk my birthday any longer. Well… until next year.
{ our drink table }
{ more of the table with ranunculus flowers, a place setting and the sparkle candles for the cake }
My friend, Tarrance, asked me to design her baby shower invitations and I was eager to design them, especially when we found out she was having a baby girl! I loved the poem she found and since Tarrance is a copywriter by day, I decided to skip the illustrations and use type as the main focus. In the end, we couldn’t decide which ones we liked more, so we took our favorite two and printed both!
Printed on my Canon Pro9000 Mark II on Whip Cream French Paper and with Cotton Candy French Paper envelopes.
I’m excited to share some of the photos from my birthday, from the fabulous Clarissa Westmeyer! She was a fantastic hostess and chef (she made the cake and food herself!) and I love the photos she took of the day. It makes me want to transport back asap. { above: funfetti and strawberry checkered cake with a pale green sugar icing }
{ tabletop full of gerber daisies, ranunculus, vintage vases and china }
{ paper straws for our vintage soda bottles filled with bubbly pink champagne }
{ kitchen, living room, straws, paper flowers, table }
As promised, I want to share some party inspiration from the birthday weekend I had with my girlfriends in Cleveland. Like any picture-obsessed designer, I had to create inspiration boards to hone in on what I was looking to accomplish in two days time. I couldn’t have done it without my friend, Clarissa Westmeyer, whose love of vintage and lovely home created the perfect atmosphere for the weekend. She was so fantastic (and a great cook!) and I couldn’t have made it happen without her. Thank you, Clarissa!
So here are the inspiration boards I made for the weekend starting with the colors. I like to use inspiration boards as a jumping-off point and don’t feel bound to them when I’m making something. They serve me well to get ideas flowing but I love it when an idea or something unique I find can take me down another path to something better.
One of my Paper Remnants cards was featured in the February issue of Country Living! I was excited to hear that it was chosen for the Learn How To Letterpress article in which Igloo Letterpress is featured. On a side note, I have no idea how the February issue is already out in the first week of January…
My Christmas cards are finally finished! After a snowed in Sunday sketching, painting, scanning and editing, they are now printed and headed out the door.
This year’s cards are #10 single-sided prints on 180 lb. textured cardstock with red-orange envelopes, both purchased at Hollo’s last year. I’m excited to finally finish them and move on the next thing on my list…. laundry.
Congratulations to Sycamore Street Press’s Eva and Kirk on their new baby girl, Ingrid! While Eva and Kirk are busy welcoming their new bundle of joy into the world, I’ll be filling in as guest contributor this week on their blog!
If you’re unfamiliar with Sycamore Street Press, Eva’s illustrations are second to none and I love her use of letterpress to enhance her detailed lines. Here is a snippet of their work:
You can follow me on the Sycamore Street site all this week right here and you can see more of Sycamore Street Press’s prints and buy some of your own right here.
Oh, how I love inspiration boards. I started a stationery line while at Igloo Letterpress in the Spring and unfortunately, haven’t added to the line of letterpress cards I created 8 months ago. Until now! Paper Remnants is coming back to life and much of this weekend was spent creating inspiration boards and cards for the next few months of holidays and gifts. The pictures featured below are just a snippet of the images I gathered that move me most and the direction Paper Remnants new pieces will take.
I like to stay away from using too many graphic design pieces in my inspiration boards, instead using interiors, photography, fine art or type to inspire me, because I find myself wanting to set a mood with the images rather than a style. It’s easier to see if my design fits in a mood rather than if it’s a style I tend to use over and over. It helps to keep longevity within my designs and give me the freedom to create what I want and not get stumped after 12 cards with dark blue Trade Gothic type.
The things I have noticed about my inspirations so far are: I love color (duh), vintage details, personalized or handwritten scripts and type, the texture a paintbrush leaves and did I mention, color? Clearly, your future Christmas cards will be bright. I warned you now.
I’m excited to bring this little passion back to life and I feel good about the direction so far, so stay tuned!
