Sweet Tooth

So, I don't know why, but over the last several months I have become in-love with cupcakes... Like the beautiful, amazingly decorated kind of cupcakes. It's quite possible it all started with TLC's baking shows, like Cupcake Wars and Cake Boss.

I'm in love with them so much, that one day I decided to run to the store, solely for Funfetti cake mix and vanilla frosting.  Unfortunately, it wasn't until after my spontaneous dash to store, that I realized I don't have cupcake tins in my tiny bare kitchen! Luckily, I do own one giant cupcake pan though - a cake pan... And so I made a cake just for myself. It wasn't even pretty looking, but I loved it and savored each bite... Until I was full, that is.

Now, pulling graphic design into this sweets phase here, I was recently asked to design some dessert table labels for a wedding rehearsal dinner -- and I was happy to help. An eclectic bunch of dessert dishes will now sit with these similar, but all unique labels.  Take a look :)   The circular labels are going to be attached to ribbon and wrapped around the high dessert stand bases, while the rectangular labels are going to be folded and propped in front of the flat dessert plates. I may have some photographs to post later in the week too, so keep a lookout.

Now, some dessert-inspired work by others, also worth checking out....

I came across these lovely laser cut decorative cupcake wrappers by Lisa Su Company on Etsy. Her laser cut work is beautiful so I had to share!

And below, check out these cute knitted cupcakes, by cakescakescakes on Etsy. These make me want to be a little kid all over again... It reminds me of playing house with my sisters and neighborhood friends, when we would serve play food to our play dolls :) 

See the resemblance? I love that with a little searching you can find anything on the internet. These were the play cupcakes my sisters and I enjoyed as kids.

Kind of wishing this item was still for sale on Ebay!

A lovely, lovely project.

If you're into sketchbooks, you should sign up to be a part of this lovely project. I will definitely be participating! The project was created by Art House, and anyone can join. To start, each participant receives a blank sketchbook... You choose from the list of themes (for example, "I remember you", "Hope", "Travel With Me", "In Ten Minutes," "The Worst Story Ever Told", and many more), and then you're free to start drawing away.  At the end of the project, everyone mails their sketchbook in and they go on tour, traveling the country... on display at various art events, and they also get cataloged in the Brooklyn Art Library. People from all over will get to see your work.

So many themes to choose from... Looking forward to this.

Here is the website if you're interested in learning more:
http://www.arthousecoop.com/projects/sketchbookproject

The sign-up deadline is October 31, 2011, and you have to send the finished book in by Jan 31, 2012, so it can be ready for the tour in April.  Love it :)

Save The Date!

This is a Save The Date Card I recently designed for a local "cowboy" themed event. I had so much fun creating the background pattern, choosing colors, and playing with unique vintage fonts to fit the design. Hope you like!

 

 

 

 

A Three-Part Post

{One} I've been hearing about mason jars more than usual lately. First, from the Wells Gallery in downtown Charleston when I stopped in to see Sally Tharp's work...

Sally Tharp's work was on display during April's artwalk and her work is delightfully captivating and refreshing. She uses mason jars and all things retro as inspiration for her paintings... What's not to love.  Here are photos of two of my favorites, and here is the link to the rest of her work if you'd like to check it out.

I love the colors, the preciseness of strokes, but I also love this for a personal reason. It is called "Three of Us", and I am one of three girls in my family. An older sister, myself, and then a younger sister -- so this is special to me :)

This is my other favorite... I love the color palette and the subject of this painting. It reminds of being a kid and unwrapping those candy Lifesaver packages. The wrapper did always curl like that!

{Two} The other time I heard about mason jars recently, was from my architect-friend who has seen them used in an amazing unconventional way.  She's seen them wired, hanging from a ceiling, and used as a light.  A hanging mason jar light!  When I heard about it I had to look it up online... I came across this beautiful photograph from PoshPosh.

{Three} And now you must check out PoshPosh.com.  It features a whole pageful of unique chandeliers/lights made from everyday objects. They're beautiful! Besides the mason jar light, here are my other favorites from PoshPosh's site:

I love this because it was made from bits of "garbage," and recycled into this gorgeous chandelier!  This is by Stuart Haygarth.

This is made by Wisteria. Unfortunately,  I don't think this is for sale anymore, but they have some other unique items on their site too!

Oh how I love beer -- and using beer bottles to make something pretty! This is from Tabby, Inc.

---- 

That's it for the three-part post :)  I hope you enjoyed reading this as much as I have enjoyed writing it. Have a great day!

Google Just Got Cuter

Oh letterpress, how I love you. Everyday the image on Google.com changes, and today's image was in honor of Mother's day. This image is of a letterpress paper goods design and it is by far the prettiest and cutest Google design I've seen. Maybe that's just my opinion though since I am in love with all paper good designs! Cheers to letterpress fun.

Music-Filled Night

I had another one of those "best kind of nights" on Friday... It was a night spent with some of my lovely friends - Amy and Caxton - who are cool and awesome, and inspiring to me in so many ways. Inspiring because they're always up for doing something fun, they're into music, and are all around - artistic.

The night started at Tin Roof (great music venue) with Amy and I dancing away - completely absorbed in every song performed by The Specs - and nope, the night didn't end there. We took the fun back to her apartment, and I grabbed my favorite musician friend, Caxton (also my neighbor), on the way too. We spent the night listening to her sing any song we requested, and again became absorbed in every song, completely in awe of her beautiful voice. Walking in Memphis, Crazy by Gnarles Barkley, Mr. Jones, a few "Caxton originals", and many more.  Loved every minute of it, and when she got tired, we switched to Amy's record collection... A little Elton John and Chuck Berry that night.

It couldn't have been more fun.

Here's a song by The Specs, called Annabel Lee, that has been in my head all weekend...  And here's Caxton's Blog. If you're in the Charleston area you should check her out!

Happy Easter!

Instead of decorating actual Easter eggs this year, I decided to decorate them in Illustrator.  I've never had the best results with dyeing eggs, but I think this turned out kinda pretty!

Congrats

My card prints recently arrived in the mail! It was exciting to see 10 of them with coordinating envelopes, all wrapped up together in plastic wrap, just as I always see "real" cards on store shelves.  These are flat, one-sided 4.24 x 5.5 cards, meant for writing a short, but sweet congratulatory message to a loved one.  Here's a photo of them...

P.S. I apologize in advance for my crappy camera and my poor photography skills.

Sketchbook at Last!

Just got back from a trip to Artist & Craftsman which was long overdue... Picked up a new sketchbook, pencils, kneaded eraser, and a pencil sharpener.  I love going to that store because I always leave feeling even more inspired than I was going in! And the people there could not be friendlier.

So many blank pages to fill in my sketchbook - looking forward to it :)