Party with the Deadly Eye

{Image courtesy of Veer}

Is the title of this post giving you the willies?? I promise you have nothing to fear. This Deadly Eye is the creation of the twin daughter of one of my clients, Ruby, & her girl friends. It's not scary, or creepy or related to anything in the horror category either. It's just the creation of a few 6-turning-7 year olds & this year it plays front & center at Ruby & her twin brother Jackson's birthday party.

I am really excited that I got the chance to turn the Deadly Eye into a party decoration. Ruby did a sketch for me to start from & I turned it into an vector illustration. This just a fancy way for me to say that I made a Ruby's piece of art into something I could resize. Ta Da!


Then we put it on the decor pieces. Here's what we came out with:

{A birthday banner, on white 80lb card stock, hung with a black satin ribbon that says: Happy Brithday Ruby & Jackson. Deadly Eyes separate the words}

{2 inch labels for the guests goodie bags}

{1 inch cupcake toppers - Happy Birthday on one side, Deadly Eye on the other}

I am not sure when, but it is likely that similar party items will become listings in my Etsy shop. Minus Ruby's original art, obviously. Already, other requests for similar items have already been made (which I will show off next week!). I just need to work out the pricing a bit more. Stay tuned!!

A Day at the Beach Treasury

{Etsy Treasury: A Day at the Beach by Rose Interiors}

Look! Rose Interiors on Etsy has included me in her A Day at the Beach treasury!! The other items here are really nice. Very flattered to be included among them. Thank you Rose!

This is a great holiday weekend treasury. So many people headed to the beach. What are you up to?

Cards of the Week - Red, White & Blue all over

Happy Friday everyone! And what a Friday it is! The official start of summer, as I have known it my whole life, has been Memorial Day weekend. But, that is not the real meaning behind our holiday weekend. It is to honor & remember those military service members who sacrificed their lives for our nation. In honor of them, Cards of the Week is loaded with red, white & blue...

{left to right, clockwise: Red Flowers Set On Sale by A Punkin Card Company, Love Cat Cards by Gypsy & Twink, Scarlet Blossoming Flower Coasters by Ruby Press, Cheers Hand-stamped Note Cards by Third Street Paper Co.}

Love all of these - The Red Flowers set comes with a nice tan envelope that I think complements the flowers nicely. Great detail on the cat tails on the Love Cat Cards. I want to have those coasters sitting on my coffee table to give it a punch of color. And the Cheers cards - love the oversize stamp. Send it with a bottle of bubbly!

{left to right, clockwise: Embossed A6 Skull Notecards by Terrapin Stationers, SALE Flower Design White Gift Tag by Kingdom Kards, Faint Snowflake Holiday Cards by Chauhie, Franklin Gothic Personalized Letterpress Stationery by Paper Lovely Press}

Blind letterpress is the process of letterpressing without ink. So cool, don't you think? Here are three nice examples of its use, in totally different styles. Skulls - with a kraft paper envelope they are hip, not goth. Snowflakes - I've seen them printed a lot with blind letterpress - never get tired of it. It's a quiet design element...like falling snow. Then, I love the heavy font on these personalized cards mixed with the delicacy of blind letterpress. And lastly, jumping back to the upper right corner of the picture above, the flower cut outs on these gift tags are a nice touch. Simple yet interesting.

{left to right, clockwise: Polish Wycinaki Folk Art Bird Cards by Pressbound, Thanks Blue Polka Dots by Lemon Loves Paper, Hip Hip Hooray by Letterpress, Many Thanks by Pistachio Press}

Another set of lovely cards! The graphic print of the bird prints rock. It's country & cool in one. The Polka Dot thank you notes may be one of my favorite thank you notes that I've seen this year. So cute that I want someone to send me one. Hip Hop Hooray reminds me of summer spent at horse shows. It says "reward for hard work & a job well done" to me with those crisp letterpressed lines. Many Thanks shows the awesomeness of letterpress. All those lines are letterpressed - so many that the white oval is the most eye catching part. It looks like a felt sticker on the front of the card. Well done!!

So! Enjoy your hot dogs & hamburgers this weekend & don't forget to say a thanks to the men & women who served our country. Have a great weekend!!

PS if you have hamburgers & hot dogs, remember: that's a cookout {wink, wink}

Double Dip for Cards of the Week

Hey! Have you seen the new designs from Mr. Boddington for Paperless Post, called Mr. Boddington's Nephew. They are so nice, so chic. I could see each one as a proper printed (oh! or letterpressed!) invitation or announcement.

These are just a few from the birthday category. Mr. Boddington's Nephew (great name!) also has designs for cocktails, showers, announcements & bridal occasions, although a lot of the designs overlap those categories & so can be used for whatever your imagination allows.

Part of what I like to do with this blog & in my business is to help make written correspondence & proper printed materials accessible. They don't need to be complicated to send or pick out. Plenty of options out there. So, I wouldn't normally bring up e-vites. However, these are an exception to the rule.

Plus, let's be honest. Life is busy. We all do the best we can. If you need to send e-vites do it.

Paperless Post has really done a bang-up job. Mr. Boddington's Nephew is not their first line of designers to partner with them. Look for one of my favorites, Boatman Geller, on their site, as well as many others. Have you ever gotten anything through them? When you go to their site to receive your mail, it actually opens an envelope that your card comes out of! Almost like the real thing...

Enjoy browsing!

Cards of the Week - Pull out the grill!

{Pork Butcher Diagram of a Pig 11 x 14 by The Word Shop,
available in other colors & sizes!}

It's coming. Do you feel it? I do. Every day that the weather gets warmer is one day closer to me using my grill. Actually, these days because of our apartment I'll likely be taking over someone else's grill but that is not the point...

Today's Cards of the Week: Cookout & BBQ invitations! I list those separately for a reason. A cookout does not mean you have BBQ. BBQ is something you serve. A cookout is what you do. Plus, if you tell me "we're having BBQ" you better have pork products for me to eat :) I am from Eastern North Carolina & I love my shredded pork. Enough about that...I'll get on my soapbox about Eastern vs Western BBQ...I take this stuff very seriously if you haven't noticed.

{Barbed Wire BBQ Invitation by Noteworthy Collectsion on InvitationBox.com}

A traditional Texas-style party is what I'd expect getting this, though it could be for any backyard party. Love the color of the paper & the barbed wire as a design element. You would think that would be used more often on BBQ-themed invites but I can't say I've seen it much. This is a new site to me, Invitation Box.com. I really like all the personalization you can do it the designs! Play around with a few! It will make you want to have a party...

{Summer BBQ Invites - Postcards Set of 20 by Girl In Gear Studio}

I have been eyeing these on Etsy for a while. Cool post card invitations by Girl In Gear Studio. Doesn't mater if this is a general cook out with burgers & dogs or a rib-fest, these set the tone for a laid back come-chill-in-the-yard kind of event.

{Cookout Grill Birthday Invitations on PaperStyle.com}

Last but not least is this really traditional cook out inviation from Paper Style.com. You can't go wrong with red checks, especially with the red grill shown here. The reason I'm showing this, though, is more for the coordinating pieces which are all shown right in the item listing. Matching address labels, thank you notes, napkins & fun crepe placemats (not shown above) are all available to keep your theme going. Especially in the summer for something like this, I am all for 1 stop shopping.

Anyone planning a party this summer? Can I come?? :)

PS More fun invites over at Zazzle!

Cards of the Week - Graduation Announcements

'Tis the season! Young people all over the world are leaving high school or college for the next step in their lives. And there are as many announcements to celebrate that as their are options for the grads. Here are a few faves:

{block graduation announcement by the social type on Minted.com}

This square announcement is just plain cool. Simple, but stylish. Love white type against the royal blue. Really crisp. This one is from Minted.com and they of course have LOTS of great ones all designed by their great community of designers.

{Initially Honored Gold Graduation Announcement by Stacy Claire Boyd on Shutterfly.com}

Shutterfly is blowing my mind lately. They have really stepped up their in house designs. Love the multiple photos in this one. It would be easily adapted to a high school graduation. Of course, I would pick one with a monogram...

{Graduation Announcements by Katie-Did Designs}

I have to throw one from Etsy in here. And of course it has a monogram...This is a digital file from Katie-Did Designs. You choose your color (match your school colors!), send her your copy & you get a file to print any ol' way you like. Easy peasy. This design is for a sophisticated grad. It definitely says "adult" to me. Maybe it's the wreath detail...

Happy Friday the 13th! Hope it's a lucky one!

One Kings Lane - my new address...

Do you guys know One Kings Lane? I have been a member for a while, but haven't really shopped their site. I am in love. LOVE, I'm telling you!!!

Right now I am loving these planters...though I might make one of them a trash can in my "studio."

{these are so sweet!}

It is yet another online sale site that sends you daily emails with their offerings. It is by FAR my FAVORITE. It is the classiest sale site yet, in my opinion, but not over the top expensive. There are items for every budget. Make haste & check them out!

Cards of Last Week

Hi readers! Last week I didn't get my Cards of the Week post up. Shame on me, I know. To get back on track, I have 2 posts planned - the first kicking off thus:

K. Batty Rescues Mother's Day

Two weeks ago my cousin, Kate, asked if I could help out by designing 3 sets of stationery for gifts for Mother's Day. "Do we have time?" she asked, fretfully. "Yes!!" I said, "but we must act quickly!"

And so we did...Designs were decided on within the week. Orders placed. Orders arrived, checked, assembled & forwarded to my cousin for gifting. All in the span of a week & a half. It was Operation Custom Stationery-In-The-Blink-Of-An-Eye. She was thrilled, her "moms" were all in love with their gifts & I was so excited to be able to get the job done for her.

{M for Marie, her grandmother, left, with pink lemonade envelopes.
ABH for her mom, right, with sno cone envelopes to match the stripe detail on the card.}

{A triple monogram for her mother-in-law, in periwinkle with envelopes in banana split, left.
All the colored envelopes to match each set, right.}

Have I said how much I love colored envelopes these days? Not that I ever disliked them, quite the opposite. Maybe I am just finding myself more comfortable with mixing them into the design. Hmmm...

So you see, I was working hard on these & COTW had to be put off. I'm good at being busy, but I can't always "do it all." Though, God knows, I try. Oh! Good news! I have been asked to do another project with my cousin - look for our collaboration on bridal shower invitations.

Yippee!!

My new love...

Last week, I saw this bag in my inbox, thanks to my daily Vineyard Vines email (above). Any one who knows me offline is not surprised in the least to know that I fell in love the second I saw it.

Fast forward to Thursday night, last week. I'm at a benefit for the Fiver Children's Foundation & guess what is on the raffle table!? Yes! This bag! And I could not find a raffle ticket sales person anywhere. Drat. I was saved by my friend Gabi who put one of hers in the tin for me. And, as it turns out, she had the lucky ticket.

Thanks to Gabi for her generosity & for keeping my stylish this summer! I cannot wait to sport it. xo!

PS Love this clutch in a similar style...{le sigh}

Daily Drop Cap Recap

A while back I posted about Jessica Hische, the designer & blogger behind Daily Drop Cap. It's a beautiful blog featuring illustrated initial caps that she has created & are available for anyone to use on their own blogs. She has recently had many special guests designing for the blog & the work is outstanding!!!

See for yourself here. These are some of my faves:





And this one, last but not least, especially with it's many fabulous stages...




Cool right?!! So many styles & colors. I kinda want to frame some as art...

Have a great week, everyone!

National Postal Museum

Mr. B & I had a weekend jaunt to Washington, D.C. this weekend for a few festivities in our nation's capital. And a few hours to kill after arriving at Union Station, when found that we couldn't get a train right away. Did you know that across the street from Union Station is the National Postal Museum? Me, neither!

{this picture from Family Adventure Guidbooks.com because I forgot to take one myself.}

I've talked here before about the importance of writing in this day & age, especially with all of the electronic communicating we're doing, but going to the National Postal Museum (a part of the Smithsonian, btw) shed a new light on what written communication used to mean. Letters between every day citizens of America paint a picture about life through the ages. This may put a few of you to sleep, but anyone who has found a box of their parents' or grandparents' letter in an attic or basement knows how exciting these kinds of things can be.

Fortunately you don't have to go all the way to DC to learn about these!! Lots of the Postal Museums exhibit information is online! Check it out the museum itself here. And the letter writing exhibit here.

So, who has letters in an attic or basement somewhere? Who knows what they hold!