confetti by lexi

chart yer course if ye dare!

before i get on a christmas in october streak for the stamp release countdown beginning later this week, i wanted to share a few october specific invitations. first up, an oldie with a twist. my pirate map invitations (great in a bottle too!) have long been one of my most requested designs. so when someone asked if i could give the map a halloween makeover, i was all over it. it's always nice to repeat invitations, but it's even more fun to recreate one with new touches. a little more orange and black, a ghost here, a jack o' lantern there, and of course a full skeleton along the way. don't you want to have a pirate halloween party now?!

arrrrrr!
:) lexi

a mad hatter's tea

surprise! i have a second post in one week and it's not even a countdown to new stamps. i've been trying to find time to photograph this party ensemble and finally made it happen. the party was in the middle of crazy august, on stamp-a-faire day actually. which is partly why august was crazy, i guess. anyway, my sister in law chose an alice in wonderland mad hatter's tea party theme for my niece's birthday (or un-birthday since it was a few weeks after) and asked me to create, so create i did...

i went with bright colors and black and white for a whimsical wonderland feel. i had so much fun pulling together all the details - tea and cake with drink me! and eat me! tags, a pocket watch and mad hatter's hat, and of course the 4 of hearts to note the birthday girl's age!

i even created a coordinating return address sticker to set the stage - open me!

matching party favor tags...

and personalized thank you notes were also a must!

and of course, there was a mad hatter's cake as well. it was the very merriest un-birthday ever...

cheers!
:) lexi

mini photo flip'n

my three weeks of stalking the camp website for glimpses of my girls in the nightly photos are coming to an end. in just a couple of days i will see their smiling faces in person!! but before that, i had to create my usual photo gift from some of the pics, so they could see what i saw and have their friends sign them. in previous years, i've made collages with autograph space around them, cd case "frames" with a main picture and smaller ones tucked in, and other similar items. last year was an autograph style photo book with ring binders and chipboard covers. we're going on eight years at camp now, so i'm kind of running out of ideas, but somehow, at the last possible minute to get them mailed on time, i came up with the idea of mini flip books. when the photographer takes pics of a group, she mostly stands in the same place during an activity and snaps the kids individually as they move past her - it's not a perfect flip book, but it kind of works, especially for activities like the slip and slide or jumping on the blob. so i printed the pics as a contact sheet, cut them apart, leaving a little margin at the binding edge, created a wrap-around cover, and used mini binder clips to hold them together. i tried stapling them, but they were too thick for my stapler. in the end, the binder clips were even better because they grip tightly and give you a handle to hold while you flip. they're kind of small for autographs, but i left the back covers free and they each have three. sometimes it's fun to write tiny! i guess i should start thinking about new ideas for next year. although that rarely works - my last minute ideas are usually my best!

:) lexi

flashback friday :: red, white, and blue

today i am flashing back to two red, white, and blue invites from the archives. in fact, both of these actually predate the blog! the theme is not only timely (happy fourth!), it's timeless. before you start thinking that you have to wait a year to use either of these ideas, take a look at the dates. each is a different take on red, white, and blue for pool parties after the fourth of july, taking advantage of post-holiday party store sales for decor and favors. pretty smart! above, we have surfin' usa, with a red, white, and blue surfboard. the board is dry embossed and painted with a light shimmer paint to add texture and make it pop. even now, ten years later, this is one of my favorites!

and here, we have a great american cookout. again, a pool-worthy theme that is made perfectly complete with red, white, and blue decorations left over from the fourth. for this one, we went with a stars and stripes design and a torn paper technique, but the same theme could be used with a variety of images and layouts - all in patriotic colors of course.

the graphic stars and stripes design lent itself well to being mailed in vellum envelopes, with the address handwritten in black sharpie right over the star peeking through from the back of the invite. it's always fun to receive something a little different in the mail! i hope you had a happy fourth of july today - mine was a little quiet with the girls still away at camp, but we headed to the pool for a little while anyway...

cheers to the red, white, and blue!
:) lexi

suit up & zoom on over!

it's been a while since i posted an invitation. i have so many to share! but i like to wait until after the party, and by then, i'm usually on to the next thing. this one has been sitting in the stack for a while - 2 years! i finally photographed it for superhero day last month, but then was too busy getting product out the door to post that week and now here we are! the request was for a girl superhero party. birthday bea specifically wanted a superhero party because she wanted to dress up in a batgirl or supergirl costume. my original plan was to draw my own versions of batgirl and supergirl on top of the building. as usual, i started with google to refresh my memory, look at costumes, colors, etc. and i came across mike maihack's batgirl & supergirl fan comics. i love his take on colors and costume details, but, best of all, in the first frame i came across, supergirl spoke my little friend's sentiments exactly! he said it was ok that i use the image and the invite was complete, with a billboard instead of the characters themselves.

the billboard idea worked perfectly on the matching cake as well...

double sided, sitting on top of the cake, with a city skyline to match the invite all the way around. boom! pow! super sweet! i'm with supergirl. it really is all about the costumes!!

:) lexi

more happy camp gear

school officially ended here last friday and now i can focus on all things summer! specifically, those camp orders that continue to land on my desk. today, i have part two of the colorful camp set from my last post. to the stationery set, i've added a personalized laundry bag, a soap sock, and "write me" postcards. the personalized laundry is not only perfect for jazzing up your corner of the cabin, but it's practical too. the name will be hard to miss when the laundry staff sorts it all back on laundry day. the soap sock doubles as a washcloth and, since you can wear it on your wrist, you won't drop your soap in the shower. and the postcards make it easy for friends and family to send mail. all they have to do is write on the back, add a stamp (a postcard stamp, at that!) and drop it in the mail between the dates provided. this camper is all geared up and ready!

happy summer!
:) lexi

flashback friday :: happy mail

school is winding down and kids all over are gearing up for camp - and i've got some fun gear! so fun, that i repeat it year after year after year after year. camp is one of the few times that kids will write actual hand written letters. they have to. literally, as my girls consistently point out in their first letter home each summer. apparantly, that one is mandatory to get the pen rollling. but they always end up writing more as the days go by, especially now that they're older. camp stationery is flying out of my studio right now along with the popular coordinating clipboard box. it's a great size for stationery and supplies aplenty, plus drawing materials, summer reading and a mini ipod, if they're allowed to bring one - everything needed for quiet time. and it's a desk to write on, too! the request for this surprise birthday one was color, color, color - and i was told i nailed it. so much so that i got an order from the birthday girl's friend the very next day!

:) lexi

original post: july 31, 2007
take two: july 29, 2009
another one: april 20, 2011
even more: june 25, 2013

a streetcar to desire

lots of orders heading out the door this week, including my new streecar design. repeat requests are great, but i really love drawing something new! i can't believe i hadn't been asked for a streetcar before.

chugging along...
:) lexi

yoga birthdays, revisited

after a request for the yoga and yogurt birthday invitation i posted a couple of years ago, i realized i had never posted the two equally cute revisions i've created since. as i always say in my response emails, i create everything from scratch, so anything is customizable! usually, it's all about favorite colors, or coming up with wording specific to your activities or rhyming with a different name or age. but, i especially love when i've done little people and include hair and/or eye color to match the birthday child. for the invite on the right, for example, i was given a photo of the pigtailed birthday girl going down a slide in just that pose - the result is ella in yoga cartoon! i'm always up for a completely custom challenge, but sometimes a few changes are all you need to make it your own...

namaste!
:) lexi

flashback friday :: counting down

i posted this vintage coke crate advent calendar after christmas last year because time got away, so i thought it was worthy of a flashback at the correct time. the original post has all of the how and why, but i will confirm here that it's great to be able to pull it out, fill it up, and start on time this year! let the december countdown begin...

merry, merry!
:) lexi

original post: december 31, 2012

still more from camp

yesterday, i referenced this design when describing the variations that could be done on the original camp fill in the blank design, but i couldn't find it anywhere on the blog to link, so i thought i'd share it today. it's a perfect example of how you can personalize the notecards to match your child's camp or interests. here the camp was a sports camp, so sports balls with a camp flag were perfect. i also used the same balls to create a matching luggage tag.

while looking for that picture, i found this one that i also never posted. it's a look at the smaller clipboard box that i've used before. it doesn't have the inner pockets and extra compartments or the handle, but it does have a pen compartment in addition to the main paper section - and it comes in different colors, which is a nice plus. you many not be able to put all the drawing supplies my girls like to put in theirs, but it is still nice for stationery supplies and maybe a book for rest reading, too. and it takes up less space. these were for my nephews and were just right - the boys didn't need all that fluff! they also chose a mix of fill in the blank and notepaper to mix up the letter writing a bit. i can't believe i forgot to share these options earlier in the season. but it is important to note that everything i do is very customizable - just give me your ideas and i'll make it all yours!

:) lexi

mail call!

well, i've survived a week without kids so far, with two left to go. i like the quiet and slow pace, but it's actually a little too quiet sometimes. and then there's all that time i spend stalking the mailman in the morning and the camp website at night! so far, we've received four letters, all on the same day, two from each. in true teen fashion, the 14 yo used up a whole letter to tell me she had to write it, but already wrote one, so yeah, camp is fun. thanks for the details, pie! they've been in lots of smiling pictures online though, so that keeps me happy! i thought i'd mark the beginning of week two with a look at some of the camp stationery that's gone out the door so far this season. the ones above are a new design this year. fill in the blank letters are very popular, so i thought it would be fun to create a new one to look like a newspaper. afterall, it's news from camp we all want so much!

i always say fill in the blanks are great for young or very lazy campers who may not like to write so much. (perhaps i should have created a sarcastic version for my teen!) my original fill in design still remains the most ordered, with color and/or image personalizations. some of the more recent ones are shown above. the canoe was the first, so that gets the most requests in colors to match camp colors, but i've also replaced it with the tent a few times and even a collection of balls for a sports camp.

many people do still prefer blank stationery. personalized with campy images, of course! these are just a few recent prints. the peace, love, and sunshine one is a consistent fave, but i love the peace, love and camp version just as much. and i was so excited when someone asked for a more boyish version, with arrows and the wooden crate font - so fun! i just hope all these kids are writing home more than mine. or that mine are spreading the love to other family members and friends, at least!

where's that mailman?!
:) lexi

hello mother, hello father...

my girls went off to camp this past weekend. they love their summer home away from home! i've been stalking the website for pictures as soon as they're supposed to be up the past few nights. i love catching the little glimpses of them as they enjoy their activities. so far, i've mostly seen the 9th grader, but i know the 7th grader made it there too, because she's in a cabin pic from invasion day. fingers crossed she pops up in a few shots tomorrow!! this is year 5 and 7 at camp for them, so we're pretty set on crafty camp items. but there are plenty of new campers around town that come calling for stationery and accompaniments like those i created for them. the decorated clipboard box is always a popular request...

this box is particarly great because it has pockets to organize stationery, envelopes, address labels, and stamps, as well as compartments for pens and other treasures. the big open space is perfect for drawing paper, markers, and the dreaded summer reading. everything you need for quiet time can be tucked right inside, easy to grab on the way up to your bunk. and then it's a desk to write on, too!

i get a variety of requests when it comes to stationery and box design. these three were designed to match the green cove logo, with trees, mountains, and a lake. peace, love, sunshine, and sailing are often popular camp related motifs as well. the daisies above are similar to the ones i created for my girls way back when, but in colors chosen by this particular camper to coordinate with the stationery she also chose. of course, personalization is a fun must! i hope these little campers are writing lots of letters. i should get a couple any day now myself...

fingers crossed!
:) lexi

oh, baby!

now that summer is here, i'm trying to catch up and keep up with some of my favorite blogs. blog surfing is one of the first things that goes when i'm super busy and i miss it. this week, carole from mother's little helper, posted a fifty shades inspired father's day canvas, which reminded me of my very own grey tie card waiting in the to be posted file, using world's greatest, baby face, and limitless labels from pti. i was holding on to it to post with these pictures that i also hadn't taken the time to edit yet...

my book club doesn't meet regularly over the summer, but we usually pick a light beach read along with something more book club worthy to pass the time. last summer, with all of the hype surrounding it, of course that book was fifty shades of grey, with the assumption that many of us would continue on with the rest of the trilogy. and because i had recently thrown an epic hunger games party for my daughter (which i also still need to share!), i was nominated to host the fifty shades book club when school started up again. so, to live up to that expectation, i went all out and had tons of fun with it, starting with my email reminder invite above. straight from the book!

the topic and dominant details of the book, along with the timing of the book club definitely called for more festive decor than usual, so i continued to deliver the fun in my dining room. rope, hand cuffs, and the tie, along with roses and kisses - and yes, i even recreated the contract! i also used mini zip ties as napkin rings and printed a few fun signs and tent cards with some of the more memorable (um, overused) quotes from the books. oh my!

everyone brings food to share - i think i made a pizza (a nod the girls' packing night) and maybe a salad or pasta. i can't remember anymore, but the important thing from the book was that anastasia ate. it was in that contract up there! in addition to my dinner dish offerings, i had a few book inspired snacks in the living room to be enjoyed during our discussion - kisses & twizzler "ties" (hee hee!) plus a small assortment ranging from "very vanilla" to "spice it up" (haha!). as an added touch on this table, i tied bows around the various pieces of controlling technology christian gifted to anastasia. so much fun and everyone got a kick out of it all! creative credit goes to the book, pinterest, and google for all the fun inspiration. and today, i have to thank carole for the kick in the pants to edit these pics! if you're looking for a beach read and never got around to it before, i say go for it!

laters, baby.
:) lexi

motorcycle man

hi there! long time, no blog. the end of the school year proved to be a major race to the finish line, followed by requests for camp stationery before getting out of town for our annual beach vacation. i have so much to share from recent orders and events, but i thought i'd start with the personalized subway sign i made for father's day yesterday. like many dads, mine is hard to buy for. if he wants it, he gets it, and at this point in life, he has a lot! but, i often find cool motorcycle or vintage car art to go with his two main hobbies (he has a really cool "garage" lined with signs and posters) or interesting grocery art or signs for his office (he's a grocer). this year, i hadn't seen anything at the different fairs and shops i frequent, so i decided to make one myself - his name, a nickname, a reference to the grocery store (and all of his license plates), some bike and car phrases, and i was good to go. i had fun playing with fonts and lining things up. i can easily spend hours obsessing over the little details, but this time it all came together pretty quickly. and of course, i had to photograph it on one of his bikes. now, i can't wait to see where he hangs it...

zoom! zoom!
:) lexi

flashback friday :: diaper duty

i mentioned in this week's way back wednesday post that i had purchased the newspaper stamp for a possible birth announcement for my first child. the other set i purchased at the same time was cuddles and tickles. i used both to create a variety of ideas, and in the end, this is the design that won. i can't believe i had never shared it here, but a 14 year old project definitely qualifies for a flashback! there was an article on birth announcements in martha stewart living that came out right when i was looking for ideas, and this one caught my eye. they showed it with a bow on one, and a real diaper pin on another, but i had this great pin stamp, so i immediately saw the possibilities. and i loved that i could slip a photo cut to the same size into the diaper with the announcement card. and there you have it, my first big stamping project. not much stamping, but i traced, cut, assembled, stamped and colored a lot of them! while i never showed this exact design here, i did share a later version in my invitations and announcements photo album - a printed striped diaper in bright colors for a baby shower. i've even made mini gift card ones. this is one of those baby designs that will always be relevant!

:) lexi

show and tell time

last week i participated in a trunk show, which has had me busy catching up with orders that were already in progress, along with creating for all the new orders that came in over the two day show. as the stationery girl on board, i created the invitation, too - i had so much fun with that clothes line of little towels! i had not done a show like this in a long time, so i had to put together a few displays to highlight my work.

i already had these boards which i loan to auctions when i donate gift certificates, so that was at least something to start with. they feature recent or favorite projects and double as artwork on the wall of my studio. since these often travel without me, i tried to include a variety of invitations and other cards, and i switch things up every now and then. i think i still have to blog about one or two things up there! for the trunk show, i surrounded them with even more invitations to look at and hold - i've done quite a few things that are interactive and need to be touched!

i don't have a catalog because most of what i create is custom, but after doing this, i feel the need to pull together a better compilation of certain designs, especially those for stickers and gift enclosures. i've done so many over the years! so this time, in addition to scattering samples all over my table, i created an example page of each of the main shapes of stickers i print and put them in table tent frames, along with a couple of other important signs, like a basic price list and a note that everything is customizable! i even created my own scan image for those tech types who wanted to scan themselves directly to my blog - so cool!

and last, but not least, i put out a basket of seasonal cards from those that i've posted here. i pull from this basket whenever i need one for a gift or note, but i've never been able to send as many as i create. i have a few regulars who like to pull from it too. it makes me happy to know that they actually get used! i sold several birthday and congratulations cards this go round. overall, the show was a success! i think i have a few more things to make the next time i do a trunk show, but it's a process. while this one is over, my blog is really an ongoing trunk show, right? so, if there's anything you need to freshen up for spring, just let me know!

:) lexi

rocker baby

in keeping with the theme i began earlier this week, i have another stationery set from the not yet shared file. i had designed a really cool and unique music poster inspired couple shower invitation for this customer and she wanted to give the family a set of notecards and gift stickers with the baby's name using the same guitar. traditional baby and kid themes are great, but i love when i get fun requests that are a little out of the ordinary. got a rocker girl? i think it would look pretty in pink, too!

:) lexi

construction zone

how about a boy design today? the request was for a little boy, something construction themed, possibly a dump truck. which was exciting, since i had actually drawn a dump truck (with moving parts!) several years ago for a construction themed birthday party.

so i resized the truck, added a road, and used it for a couple of layouts along with an alternate design for my idea pitch. it's hard to see in the picture, but the first initial is also on the boy driver's hard hat. and on the one with the name on the truck door, i included the birth year. i love personalizing things in interesting ways! like the cards from yesterday, i will add these to my etsy store very soon. it's been a crazy busy back-to-work week around here - i really miss spring break!

:) lexi

starlight movie night

after sharing last weekend's backyard party yesterday, i realized that i never posted the one from last year. our eleventh hour brainstorm then was to rent an inflatable movie screen and have a movie party under the stars. for the invitation i designed a drive in movie style logo on a big screen, complete with retro frame details, stars, and concessions characters - "let's all go to concessions! let's all go to concessions!" i couldn't resist! i even included a few vertical static lines. remember those?!

the invitation design also lent itself well to creating some fun signage. in addition to the welcome sign above, i created others for concessions, the game room, the restroom, enter this way, and thank you for coming. like the banners yesterday, it was an easy element that helped set the scene and personalize the party. ferris bueller's day off was our special feature that night - the kids would stop and watch parts of it here and there, but it really ended up being background noise to the seventh graders more than anything else. although the two fifth graders watched it from start to finish despite the noise and flying objects - boys will throw anything!

you can't have a movie party without popcorn and candy, right? the movie screen company also had popcorn machines available to rent, so it was fresh and hot. as always the candy was a hit. gotta love the bulk choices at sam's - the display boxes they came in were perfect for the movie theater feel. other concessions included quesidillas made to order at the grill - yum!

and last, but not least, i created a popcorn cake. this is a remake of one i've made a couple of times before. it was silly to try to come up with something new. it's such a fun design - and easy, too! i love the added touch of using real popcorn with melted marshmallow to "fill" the container and have a couple of spilled pieces. so there you have it - another take on the back yard bash! and i'm finally sharing things from the very high "to post" pile...

goodnight!
:) lexi