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. ;)

At the Wedding March

Weddings are lovely. I'm honored every time I'm asked to contribute to that most important day.

Planning the board- so many possibilities!

The classic fonts Elizabeth chose for this board worked so perfectly with the gorgeous filigreed frame.

Rough draft worked in chalk. I love this organic look...

The details coming together!

 

Designing this board was pure fun.  The larger script is Edwarian, and the smaller is a variation on Bickley. (The original Bickley was a bit too noisy; I wanted those classic Edwarian curves to stand out.)

Ready for delivery! 

I wish many blessings on the new couple; in the words of Hopkins, may "each be other's comfort kind; Deep, deeper than divined." 

Summer Wedding

This last weekend I had a chance to help decorate for a lovely outdoor wedding. Karianne and Jeremiah brightened up their rather rainy wedding day with hundreds of sunflowers and bunches of yellow dasies picked by the roadside. Here's a peek of the board I drew for their reception.

First, of course, I had to do my least favorite job. Scrubbing a board clean takes a lot of energy & elbow grease.

Then I was ready to create!

Here's to many years of wedded bliss!

The Circus is Coming to Town...

All aboard!

I was thrilled last week to be able to send off a special package to my first long-distance customer; a friend from Tennessee whose adorable son is turning one picked a circus train themed party and asked me to design the invitations!  And so I got to spend my time sketching cute animals and tiny cabooses in bright colors-- pure fun. 

I used colored pencils and felt-tipped markers on rough paper and matted the final prints on blue card-stock.  Using stripy twine to secure the package adds a little extra carnival flavor...
Come one, come all!

Clarence the Clown

Giraffes were a must.

Ten little monkeys jumping on a train...

AND... the little red caboose!