Howdy! It has been quite awhile since I blogged. I'm chocking it up to a variety of clients coming through the door lately. Everyone from food bloggers to the American Cancer Society. So I thought what better time than now to post a round-up of recent design work. Let's start with a cute photo of a baby... my baby.

It's hard to believe, but this little man is almost one! A whole year, we've survived. I originally did not want to do a first birthday party. C'mon. It's not like he would remember. But then it really started to feel like a milestone. Aaaaand truth be told, I started looking at Pinterest. Which means I got overwhelmingly inspired and found this cute lumberjack inspiration. Coupled with a recent trip back to my college for a football game, and all I could think about was red and black. 

I've also been admiring some "mountain/vintage" design lately. I really wanted to put my own spin on the buffalo plaid craze. Cue plaid shirt photos... This was a recent trip to our friend's mountain house in Como, CO. That view....

But back to the inspiration. I wanted his birthday invitation to feel outdoorsy, Colorado-y, masculine and still playful since it is a first birthday after all. One Saturday afternoon I sat down to design a little logo (because that is what Graphic Designers do in their spare time... design). And I came up with this little emblem. Note the Joann fabric haul in the background. 

From there, it was pretty easy to build out a design for the invitation. I used ALDI font as the primary typeface. Which was a free download from a very talented designer. Once I had a good image (hello baby butt) we were off to the races. I love how the pant-less photo plays in to the "party animal" line. We decided to keep the party simple, coffee and donuts with an open house setting. Which equals no cooking for moi. 

I'm planning to do a few more decor items for his party this weekend. I'll post about that next week (or month, given my recent history). Next up on the design queue was some pro-bono work for the American Cancer Society. I think it is really important for Designers to commit time to passion projects. I had been wanting to volunteer in my community for ages and I reached out ACS Denver about helping with any upcoming events. Lo and behold, they had an annual Gala event they needed help marketing. The theme was Moulin Rouge, and I came up with this vintage carnival type mood board to get the committee on board with the design before I proceeded. 

First up in the design punch list was a magazine add for one of the corporate sponsors, Liv Sotheby's magazine. Then I designed a save the date, and invitation. I kept the vintage parchment paper theme and red and black "carnival" type going throughout the pieces. For the invitation, I wanted it to be a bit more elegant, as it is a black tie event. 

The 2016 Champions of Hope Gala will also feature an After Party, geared towards young professionals. The tickets are $75, and include drinks, desserts and a DJ. The proceeds go to cancer research right here in Denver. Here's a look at this more 'youthful' spin on the Moulin Rouge theme:

Last but not least, I have of course been designing some new koozies for the Etsy Shop. This time of year really slows down around the shop and allows me to concentrate on enhancing SEO and coming up with new products. I designed a fun wedding koozie for some recent Baylor University graduates, it all started with a 'bear.'

Another Texas gal reached out to me about designing a koozie with a lyric to one of my favorite Texas Country artists, Josh Abbott Band. The song, "She's Like Texas" has a great fiddle and so many Texas landmarks it makes me homesick in the best way. I also designed an adorable "So happy I found you here" koozie for a couple straddling the Kansas City border. 

This last koozie design was a really unique commission. The customer wanted to throw a rock concert/fall bash for her husband's birthday. The "Rocktober" theme is set in a guitar pic. Love it! And finally... for all the upcoming Christmas parties, a "Eat Drink and be Merry" koozie design. 

And lastly (this is easily the longest blog post I have ever written. I commend you if you are still reading this, lol). I worked on a vintage travel theme/vintage national park baby shower invitation. The customer ended up not using this design, but it was too good not to share. This can easily be converted to a wedding shower or save the date invite!