Hand lettering

Hand lettering is really popular right now and I have never tried it because, frankly, I didn't think I could. I can NOT draw, but I have neat handwriting and always like to doodle on my to-do lists. I was on the phone today and started doodling and thought I'd scan it in and give it a try. Hours later (it is time consuming!), I am pretty hooked. While it is a tedious process, it was so fun to create something completely unique.

* and yes, I'm always one holiday ahead - I'm already designing for Easter!

A Little Office DIY Project

With the start of printing my invitation samples, my inventory is about to increase significantly, and frankly, I didn't know where I was going to put it all.... so we went off to search a few Salvation Army stores to see if we couldn't stumble upon a treasure or two. At our second store, I spotted a great dresser that seemed perfect for what I needed and it was $60. Great drawer space, but not too large and not too tall - it will be a great work surface - and if it never needs to be relocated, it will fit nicely in a bedroom. We bought it.

We removed the drawer pulls, filled in the holes, sanded, primed and painted it a really great olive color. I was pretty nervous about trying something other than grey (if you know me, you know grey is my go-to color), but it was a great choice. It looks a little light in the photos, but it's really pretty dark. I love how it looks against my pale blue walls. We finished it off with some adorable drawer knobs from Anthropologie. Granted, the knobs ended up being as much as the dresser, but what are you going to do - I loved them.  With it all said and done, it was probably around $150 and that is quite a deal on a solid wood dresser.

Here are some photos I snapped on my iphone of the process.

We feel very accomplished.

County Fair Themed Birthday Invitations

I recently designed these custom invitations for a county fair themed birthday party. I was asked to incorporate a ferris wheel and gingham.  I used a subtle gingham as the background and then used some bold red gingham for the envelope liners. We used kraft envelopes and I just loved how they turned out. It all tied together perfectly. Happy Birthday to Stella!

You can purchase this invitation here.

I am really loving gingham right now. I bought this shirt from J.Crew and added these notecards to my shop after designing this invite. So versatile.

Check out this design and many others in my shop!

Font Friday: Investment Fonts

You know when there’s a fashion segment on a talk show and they always feature pieces that every gal must have in their closet. Those pieces that are worth investing in and you can always pair it with the trendier pieces. Well I'm bringing you that segment... Font Friday style. There are certain fonts that I think every designer should have in their font library. When I was getting started, I was always curious about the fonts that weren't the script fonts. I think they are so much harder to identify and so for anyone who is just curious about the best of the basics, then this post is for you. Also, I say 'investment', but these are not outrageously expensive fonts. They add up, yes, but you will use them ALL THE TIME! (and this ladies and gentlemen is how I justify most of my clothing purchases - it works like a charm)

Hands down my favorite go-to serif font is Mrs. Eaves. It's the little black dress of fonts ;)

From Mrs. Eaves Roman to Mrs. Eaves Italics to Mrs. Eaves Small Caps, it's one of the most versatile, elegant, and lovely fonts. I have to stop myself from using this font sometimes.

In the sans serif category, I think Futura is one of the best options out there. There are 38 (!!!) versions of this font, so obviously it is versatile, but I recommend getting Futura Light, Futura Book or Futura Bold to get started.

I think a problem that newer designers have is that they choose their script fonts carefully, but just throw whatever serif/sans-serif they have. Know that these fonts are just as important (if not more) as those lovely script fonts. Also, revisit my Fonts 101 post to brush up on your tracking and kerning!

What is your 'investment' font that you would recommend to a new designer?

For more font love, don’t forget to check out the picks of my favorite font friends: Alexandra & Craig from The Aerialist Press, Allison at Allison Owen Design, Anna from And Everything Nice, Jen from Blush Printables, Sophia and Andre at Brancoprata, Steph from Bubblerock, Cecile of Cecile Paper Lounge, Catherine at Design Editor,  Laurel at Go Against the Grain, Jenny from Hank + Hunt, Allie at Honey Bee Invites, Lauren from Lauren Elise Crafted, Jenna and Elizabeth from Little Bit Heart, Kerry from Super Swoon, Vicki from Vicki Designer and Wendy at Weswen Design (#fontfriday on twitter)

Resources for Stationery Designers

I get a lot of emails from new designers asking me questions about paper and printers and anything stationery related. I am a huge advocate for information sharing (everything that I have learned is because someone blogged it or shared it with me) but the busier I get, the less I am able to send long winded emails and am trying to figure out the balance of being helpful and valuing my time. I like to at least point people in the right direction, so I thought I would share some great resources for those interested in learning more about the behind the scenes details in the stationery biz. The Minted Forum I don’t know how long I was on Minted before I figured out their forum, but let me tell you, if you are interested in anything from paper, printers, design tips and tricks, copyright laws, and just other designers’ general opinions than this is the place for you. The Minted design community is very open and encouraging and people share great info. Over the past year or so Minted has grown so much that the forum is a getting large and there are a lot of repeated conversations. I would recommend doing a lot of research first, but if you aren't finding something, don't be afraid to ask a question yourself. And while you are at it, sign up for an account and enter a challenge. You won't regret it.

Let’s Talk Stationery Forum This is a lesser known forum (among my friends) and is not free but a great resource as well. I signed up last year and immediately thought it was worth the $50ish (don't quote me) fee for a year subscription. I never have had the time to participate much myself, but it can also be a networking tool to meet other stationers.

There is no one right printer or paper supplier, no perfect answer to every question, but these forums are a great place to start. You can only get out what you put into this kind of thing, so dig in and start researching!