It's Been a Long, Cold, Lonely Winter

My brother-in-law has worked the night-shift for years now. The transfer to day-shift has been a long-awaited occasion, one that has finally dawned (haha). Of course, my creative big sister is throwing the party of a lifetime for her hard-working man-- sending ShortCake invitations, naturally-- and I cannot wait to see the decorations she comes up with.

Gettin' started with those invitations...

Different borders for each invitation emphasizes
 the cheerful mood of this event!

Designing these retro "Here Comes the Sun" invites took me into a world of groovy new fonts that I wish never to leave. Thanks, Charis, for this opportunity to shine. Ok. Enough with the puns. ;)

Check out the retro umbrella-- I just had to fit that in somewhere. 

Loads and loads of invites.

For the Love of Thrift

One of my favorite places to work is the Cedar Chest Thrift Shop at Lambs Farm.  When I have a bit of free time, I run on over and whip up any signs they need.  I love the fact that nothing goes to waste here.  To make these signs, I use old scraps of paper, manila envelopes, bits of cardboard.  Even their large chalkboard is made from an re-purposed tabletop.

 Lambs Farm provides an amazing community for adults with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities-- check them out here: http://www.lambsfarm.org/

Some genius took a legless restaurant table and slathered
a thick coat of chalkboard paint over the top-- voila!

Some fun fonts...

Even during winter-- which is a slow time for donations--
there is quite the clothing selection at the Cedar Chest.
I swear my entire wardrobe is from here.

Thanks for stopping by!  

Free Time Fun

Sometimes I enjoy playing around with thrift shop craft supplies.  And my Canuck has to put up with paper bits and thread ends scattered through the house for a week or so.  Here are a few I've worked up recently.

Custom-made adventure cards-- bundled together with striped cord and a blank gift tag.

Honestly, this is mostly a chance to show off my new grey duvet cover-- soft slate-colored linen, with that lovely, naturally messy look.  It makes me want to stay in bed all day.  Notice the backdrop of each craft pic...

I love gift tags... especially with different types of string.

Seasonal gift tags

Bookworm Tags-- crafted from old novels
and dictionaries found in my favorite thrift shop.

I love old lace, and especially love making old lace
 into gift tags.  Did I mention I love gift tags?

Thanks for stopping by.  I'll continue to post craft pics as I find more thrift shop materials and have free time to craft.

Spring in SC

 My intimidatingly talented sister decorates for weddings in South Carolina.  She also refurbishes fantastic furniture (hazelnutsdiy.blogspot.com), works as a nurse, and is raising two adorable daughters.  Superwoman, yes.
While I visited family in Greenville last week, she recruited me for a fun, light, spring-wedding project.  Very simple, very enjoyable:

The wedding guests will place their cards in this adorable chest.

Giving Thanks

Sometimes life gets very busy, and thankfulness falls by the way.  Here are some pictures of a board I drew to warm myself up with happy thoughts in the cold winter months.

A re-purposed tabletop is now one of my favorite chalkboards.  I used sticks of real chalk, which I adore for their organic look. 

Just look at that texture.  

Have a thankful week!

Rita Pia's Pizzeria (Say that five times fast...)

My favorite chalkboards and signs are designed for small businesses around the northern Illinois area.  I'm thrilled local businesses can have access to unique, custom-made menu boards that showcase their particular style.  I had a lot of fun working with Rita Pia's Pizzeria in Libertyville recently.

My mouth watered extensively while lettering these menus.  If you ever drop by to try their delicious pizzas or lunch items, my personal favorite is the thin crust SOB.  The prices are pretty tasty too! 

These boards are the most beautiful I've ever worked on.  I appreciated the manager's desire to go for quality on his menus.

Can you tell how short I am?  Even with the help of a ladder...

I made an important discovery: I LOVE drawing garlic.

Thanks for dropping by, and be sure to pay a friendly visit to Libertyville's new pizzeria! You will not be disappointed.

Missing Summer...

Fall means that Winter is around the corner; this girl does not appreciate Winter, despite the Canuck's best efforts to make it seem palatable.  Anyways, in order to relive happier days, I finally got around to taking pictures of some summery birthday invitations from earlier this year.

(All My summery plants have been killed by frost; hence the apples.)

  Maggie's two adorable boys had a joint party-- picnic-themed, which is so perfect for summer.  I wanted to design something simple enough for a picnic, but with a few cute details, like those pesky ants marching their way around the border.  Lady Rene, an all-time favorite font, ended up working so well to get that cute-and-casual look I was going for.

The original was colored pencil on watercolor paper,
to get that nice texture. A fine pen for the lettering, of course.

More details...

I matted them on red and yellow gingham with thick brown card-stock behind that. Nice and sturdy. 

 These boys are all boy, by the way, and so completely adorable.  Happy birthday to them both, a little late. ;)