Stationery for Mom

Tomorrow I'm going to visit my good friend Shannon and her newborn baby, Reese (short for Therese). As a little gift I thought I'd make her some "mommy" stationery for her to use if she needs to write a note to the daycare or to another mom.

I started off by designing the stationery in InDesign. It says "From Reese's Mom" with a flourish at the bottom.

To keep it simple I printed it on an 8 1/2 x 11 sheet of cardstock paper and quartered it.

I rounded the corners with a corner punch. It's one of the easiest ways to make your stationery look more finished.

I love rounded corners!

Next, I cut a Cherrios box to the same size as the stationery and covered it with damask patterned paper.


This is the cardboard backing to protect the stationery and to keep the paper from bending.

Here it is all packaged up with a pretty bow. Congrats Shannon and John... can't wait to meet the lil' one!

Anthro Inspiration

I love shopping at Anthropologie... who doesn't?! But usually I go to get inspirational ideas for decorating. Right now I'm loving their mason jars filled with random objects by color. I'd love to have a window sill filled with pretty jars catching the light.

Navy Friday & some Photoshop Actions

I had so much fun working on my Navy Friday picture today because I downloaded some fun Photoshop actions from Pioneer Woman. I'm a self taught Photoshop-er and my skills are mediocre at best, but I'm slowly coming up to speed. Pioneer Woman is a great resource for people like myself who need a little inspiration and a lot of coaching. Here are the results:

Here is Navy, the straight out of the camera (SOOC).

And here he is enhanced with the "Boost" and "Quick edge burn" actions.

This is my favorite, Navy "Vintage" style with a little help from Pioneer Woman.

Have a great weekend everyone! See you Monday!

Pantry Perfection

One of my house aspirations is to have a pantry. Most people dream of walk-in closets but I dream of walk-in pantries...

Photo by Jon Jensen found via Desire to Inspire

Fonts & Hand Lettering

I've been working on a design project this morning and it got me thinking about fonts. It is amazing how much feeling a single font can emulate. There are:

Anderson Four Feather Falls

Phoenix Sans

Wilhelm Klinspor Gotisch Df

Taglettes

And everything in between. I literally have hundreds of fonts but sometimes I still can't find the one I need. I've been hitting up DaFont (the go to website for hundreds of free downloadable fonts arranged by category, found via Jordan Ferney) a lot today and I'm just awed by the endless possibilities.

But then I got to thinking how hand lettering is now a lost art form. As a calligrapher, I feel fortunate because I get to experience the process of writing instead of just tapping keys on a keyboard. Luckily there are still some people who still cherish it as an art form and continue the wonderful tradition. Like Pierre Tardif (found via oatmeal and cinnamon):




It is fascinating to watch and I have so much appreciation for the skill involved. If you have time, check out his other you tube videos, you'll be mesmerized by the process.