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three men and a little lady

ok, maybe they're not men yet, but they will be someday, and i wanted to use a catchy title! as usual, i digress. here's a collection of the latest baby announcements. you may see a theme here - apparently chevron is kinda popular. (or i just really enjoy it as a design element!)

grey and yellow are also trendy right now, so we fulfilled mama's wish for that. and, truly the sky's the limit with how many images you can use on your announcement.

i can't even get over how adorable these pictures are! they truly make the announcement, and i knew they needed to be showcased. printed on reeeeaalllyy thick, yummy paper, mama obliged my need to round the corners. she wasn't in the mood to address all the envelopes, so those got some flair, too.

no chevron here, but definitely boyish stripes and colors. a fun statement on the front gives the card personality. and, a scripture always adds something to the finished product.

so, in my design history, i think i've designed maybe 4 or 5 girl announcements. it's all boys out there, i tell ya! who's gonna date all these boys?! 

maybe... this little lady? chevron? check. polka dots? check. little birdies? check. and an adorable saying to introduce miss thing. i'm guessing this might get 'stolen' in the future!

preggers? have a newborn? ready to announce that little bundle to the world? let's have a chat!

ten tiny fingers, ten perfect toes

the other day, i realized i never showed you baby brother's announcement. well, he's 5 months old today, so better late than never, huh? i wanted to design something unique, because i felt like i was in a same size card rut. and unless someone comes to me with an outrageous idea, it's usually the fam who gets forced into 'outside-the-box' designs.

i had an idea about pictures of fingers, toes, and his nose to rhyme, but i was stuck on how to piece it together. so, i made creative writer middle sissy put on her thinking cap, and looky here...

we took all the pictures while i was there for bb's birth. middle sissy wanted the announcement to have an autumn feel, so we grabbed a brown and turquoise blanket of sweet p's and the colors were born.

during my sip and see entertaining prep, i unearthed an amazing bowl that was once my nana's gathering dust high upon the kitchen cabinets. lo and behold, the colors were perfect and it would hold a newborn nicely.

working quickly to try to avoid tinkle mishaps (unsuccessfully), we set munchkin atop the farmer's antique pie case, under their cross collection, and man, do i ever love the shots we got.

of course, sweet p needed in on the action. so, we attempted to deck her out in matching colors, and get her to hold bb for longer than 3 seconds! such a good big sissy! 

c'mon, let's get out of the same size card rut. the possibilities are endless! and, professional photos aren't even necessary - if you can stage your own, why not?

have a baby to announce? let's chat.

that time of year

are you in denial that the holidays are about 2 months away? i know it's not even halloween, but once that rolls around, the holidays just keep comin' at us. so, i decided to put this together to get the idea juices flowing.

best part about custom? it can be whatever you want it to be. it can be small, large, do double duty to announce other exciting news, and the list goes on. here, see for yourself:

if you're lookin' for a flat card, all my designs are double-sided, which make them perfect for a short christmas letter.

or, maybe you want a folded card

but, maybe you have lots of pictures and want a TRI-fold

how about no pictures, and a save on postage with a postcard

you could announce your new baby's birth

or a sweet boy's birthday

and, when you're done with the family card, how 'bout one for the biz?

that enough to get those juices flowing? of course, the sky's the limit. whatever you can dream up, we can do it.

check out the site for more ideas later this week and have a super great weekend! i'm heading off for a 2-day trip with mr. man, and i know baby brother's going to arrive in that time, because that's just how murphy's law works in this family!

Surf's Up

one of my sisters from another mister added a bambino to her brood in june, and i thought and thought about what gift to give. checked the registry, added things to the cart, then promptly emptied the cart, deciding instead to gift them announcements made by moi. that's a good gift, right?

since mama's hawaiian, we had to bring some'a that flair to the cards. especially since this was big brudda's announcement three years ago:

i was thinking retro-ish, surfer sign-y, and luckily mama was on board, and even sent pictures of baby in a surfer shirt! so, this is what we came up with:

see the surfboard in the corner? and, the wooden "sign" feel? how it looks like the words are carved into the sign? i was so excited his shirt was turquoise and orange, because those were the exact colors i had in mind.

just another perfect example of how awesome custom is. ain't nobody else gonna have this announcement. insert the hawaiian phrase for too cute here!

What's Been Goin' On...

did you run, go turn on amos lee when you read that post title, too? sometimes the titles come easily, sometimes not so much. it was either this, or 'round here (which woulda had me groovin' to counting crows). more often than not, i scroll through song titles in the ol' brain card catalog to come up with the titles. anyhoodle...TANGENT. (my specialty!)

these days, the workshop's been open late, and these hands have been working overtime. and that, my friends, is a very good thing. here's a little glimpse into what's been flying off the press.

announcing babies (yep, another boy!)

parties for 5 year olds

parties for 40 year olds (amazing race/scavenger hunt, no less)

parties for the corporate folk

and, tons of folding

for parties for graduates

can i just say, i love me a tri-fold. and, if they weren't so dang time-consuming and cost-in-effective (just made it up), i'd pitch 'em to everyone. check out the real estate: 6 whole pages! i tried to talk baby sister into one, but she wanted nuthin' to do with all those pics. party pooper.

and, lastly, the goods went mobile again last night.

there wasn't a huge turn out, but i hear as the summer (what summer?) goes on, the crowds get bigger. so, i'll be out there again august 18th and 25th, if y'all are out and about. baby sister will be here and i'm putting her to work, but shhh, don't tell her!

p.s. it's middle sissy's birfday today, so head over to her blog or her facebook and give her some love. she's heavy and hot with bambino, so she'll be extra excited to hear from you!

p.s.s. i inhaled a leaf last night, and now i'm certain a tree's gonna sprout in my lung, ala grey's anatomy. (let the eye rolling commence.)

Spring Fever

So, Mother Nature's playing a joke on us Seattleites. She's decided to send us snow! Ok, so it's not sticking, but it's MARCH, and after our warm Winter, it's got to be a joke!

I hadn't been anticipating Spring too much, but I now have the fever. The magnolias out my bedroom window are making me antsy for the rest of the yard to blossom. And, the recent temps around here (at least 65 on Friday) have me craving happy hours on the patio, and stringing up the lights for dinners alfresco.

It might have something to do with my recent orders, too. All shades of yummy pinks, Easter cards, cutesy owl themes. Just take a look at this cute bunny:

Now, if you're thinking this looks a little "rock & roll", maybe "edgy", you're right. The mom-to-be is both of those things, so we blended her love for Mark Ryden with the baby's bedding to create this awesome design. I wish you could see them in person, they are so delicious! Heck, even the baby's name is rock & roll - Phoenix joins us around May.

So, if you've got Spring Fever too, and want to incorporate that into a design for a special event you have coming up, let's chat! And, as you can see, Spring doesn't have to be pastel and plaid.

If you're there, I'd love to hear from you - I love getting comments, so share away. And, if you'd like, I'd love to have you follow me here at this little blog.

Holiday Cards, Already?

Check something off your holiday list early this year. Your holiday cards! I know it may seem early, but if you're like me, there's something planned from now to next June, and Thanksgiving will be here, like tomorrow. Jeez!

Here's the gist:
You give me an idea of style (classic, alternative, modern, color (red/green, purple/gray, pink/red), and saying (Merry Christmas, Deck the Halls, Grandma Got...). Then, I whip up some ideas, and you check your email inbox to pick one. Easy, right?!

All you mamas due around the holidays, this is a perfect way to, oh, what's that cliche, something about two birds, one stone - well, you get the idea.

One sided, two sided, folded, print yourself - whatever you like, let's get started already.

Well, whatcha waitin' for? Ok, ok - I'll back off - get back to me when you can, but remember, it's already September 23rd!

Some ideas to get your juices flowin':

Whatcha Workin' On?

You're probably wondering, "So, what's she working on?" So, I thought I'd answer that question for you (even if you're not wondering that).

Since being laid off, I've been doing alot of "cleaning" the house (don't confirm that with mr. man, cause he might not agree!), working on this here blog and the website (link's over there...to the right...), and doing some design work.

I finished up announcements for baby Cade. Isn't he adorable? So sweet, too!

And, I'm working on announcements for baby Rylan. Now I'm probably being biased here, cause he's the BF's kiddo, but isn't he the friggin' cutest thing you've ever seen? Those eyes! Love this kid to bits, I tell ya! Now if his mama'd only make up her mind which announcement she wants...

And, in the middle of all that, (I know, who'm I kidding?) I found time to walk 60 miles for breast cancer! My teammates & I, Pay It Forward, were the little engines that could - "I think I can" was heard, more than once! Phew, lots of blisters and muscle aches, but that cause is so worthy!

So, what can I work on for you?