Here’s another project that I recently finished for work. I wanted to play off a Día de los Muertos aesthetic but interpret it in a new way. Foam-core was used for the base and standard sewing pins to created the larger image. After that, I used bright thread to fill in the rest of the piece.

I love how it turned out and I have so many other ideas I can’t wait to try this technique on! This first one was quite ambitious and terribly time consumming but I learned some valuable tricks along the way. I’ll be sure to share more projects soon!

Well, I don’t but I’m pretty sure there are some ladies that enjoy a cold brewski from time to time. In honor of them and to people that are fond of drinking from glasses period, I created this pint for the design club at my office. Each month, a designer is selected at random to design an object. We typically do a series of things like t-shirts, or notebooks and now we’re doing pint glasses.

There are no rules other than to do whatever you want and whomever is in the club is stuck with whatever you design; a tall order for a designer and quite an terrifying one at that. It’s not every day that I can design without any restrictions. Admittedly, I was a bit overwhelmed at first. But once I’d made up my mind to design something pretty and overtly feminie, I just went with it!

The phrase on the side “may you enjoy many, many happy hours” is my personal wish to all that drink from my glass; whatever the beverage may be. Cheers!

Hello again friends! Gosh, it feels like it’s been forever! Only three months away from blogland and I felt myself going a little crazy. I’m happy to report that I am finally feeling much better. I still struggle with some pain from time-to-time but overall I am encoraged by my progress.

I want to say a big thanks to all that sent me notes and good wishes. I can’t tell you how nice it was knowing I had so many people caring for me and thinking positive thoughts. I think it helped to take some time off from blogging and realy focus on getting better. Thank you agian for your support and patience.

Some pretty packaging to start off the week! Divine Dairy does an impecable job of looking modern and standing out with it’s use of bold color choices. At the same time, it stays true to it’s roots of French Style cheese with woodcut illustrations and rustic typography. A difficult balance to achieve I’m sure but designer Frank Aloi did an amazing job! See more of the cheese line on the Packaging of the World blog.

I recently discovered the work of Poppies for Grace and not only do I love what they do but the styling for these images is stunning! Alan and Sara are the designers behind the Poppies wedding stationary and they worked together with photographer Armel to capture their work beautifully. Love, love, LOVE! See more of what they do in their shop and be sure to check out their blog too!

Love this series of Get Together cards from Kathryn Whyte’s Etsy Shop. These would get used right up in my household!

I’m head over heels for these chalk illustrations by Dana Tanamachi.  The fact that they’re done freehand without the use of stencils or projectors just blows my mind!

Via Grain Edit

Photography by Collin Hughes

I have an affinity to men’s accessories. I think it’s the classic materials of leather, metal and glass that create such a glamorous scene. Designer Taylor Pemberton created this line of gentlemen’s accessories and fine goods for a school project.

Naturally, Cavalier Essentials has received quite a bit of attention; just look at those details! The subtle black-on-black notebook and the etched metal scream rustic sophistication. Unfortunately these products aren’t available for purchase just yet but Taylor says if the demand is big enough he’d consider launching his manly kits. Check out this interview with Taylor on The Madbury Club about the project.

Hands down one of the best students projects I’ve ever seen. I’ll be the first in line to purchase some of these beauties for my husband when they do become available but until then, we can admire the beautiful styling and impeccable pieces from his Cavalier brand!

I spotted this beautiful first birthday invitation and certificate on Pinterest yesterday in Inspired Bride’s collection. This suite was created by the husband and wife team of Duet letterpress for their adorable daughter, Emily. What a lucky girl!

The invitation is letterpressed on the smaller pink card and details from the 1st year are included in the certificate. Both were bundled up with baker’s twine along with a picture of the birthday girl in a small glassine envelope.

I think the certificate is such a sweet way of celebrating all those simple moments and big milestones with your friends and family. See more pictures and find out the details about the printing here.

Photo By Elizabeth Messina

Undoubtedly, many of you have already seen these beautiful wedding invitations on Snippet & Ink and Oh So Beatiful Paper but in case you hadn’t I thought I share. Kathryn of Snippet & Ink was married this last December in San Francisco and her wedding was absolutely stunning! Every detail was executed brilliantly all while having that casual laid back sophistication – much like Kathryn herself.

I literally gasped when I saw her entire wedding suite! The subtle grey type on white paper with the bold pops of red are breathtaking! My favorite detail is the hand-edged red on the invitation and reception card along with the red hand-boardered envelopes. Oh and the bride and groom – AH-DORBS! Be sure to check out the rest of this lovely suite here and see more details of Kathryn and Ryan’s enchanting wedding here, here and here!

I’m signing off early this week friends but I’ll see you all back here Monday. Have a great weekend everyone!

I’ve been working on a new addition to the Etsy shop recently and I’m thrilled to be able to share with all of you! I wanted to create a unique Save The Date card based off of a matchbook. The covers are letterpressed in gold metallic ink onto light blue, pink or green stock. Inside, are custom magnets that are perforated at the bottom so they can be torn off and saved on a refrigerator.

I am so excited with how these turned out and have definitely been inspired by lace and spring colors! You can check out the new Save The Dates here – hope you like them!

It’s a little past calendar season but I happened upon this embroidered one via the Behance Network and was blown away! What a clever idea and equally beautiful in execution.

This one-off design was created by design student Iwona Przybyla from Poland. All her work is quite impressive and I wish that I could read Polish so that I could follow along on her blog. Definitely worth checking out either way, full of fantastic inspiration!

Images via: Mahon & Band

I admittidely buy products based on packaging. As a designer, I can’t help it. All the bottles in my shower have to match even down to the bar of soap! Maybe that’s a little more OCD than designer but I like to to call it “coordinating”. Either way, I’m constantly on a look out for pretty pieces.

Unfortunetly Bloom Organics isn’t available in the states but I can still appreciate the lovely packaging! Designed by Mahon & Band in Australia, the use of botanical illustrations is striking but appropriately elegant and refined for a beauty product line. I particularly love the added twine detail to the soaps!

I stumbled upon this set of illustrated letters on Flickr and fell in love! These were designed by Dustin Wallace for his new son, Asher. Each was printed onto canvas and wrapped around a wood frame. I adore that each letter has an added illustration; A for Ant, S for Squirrel, H for Hare, E for Earthworm and R for Robin. Such a brilliant idea and a special gift to a wee one!

Today’s Well Branded comes from Fbdi in Buenos Aires. Created for a local speakeasy named Frank’s, it just screams prohibition to me. I really like the roughness of the design, from the cropped logo to the blind embossed “FRANK’S”, every element is on message. While usually hard to pull off, I also think the distressed serif  is a nice touch.

Via: Lovely Stationary