Flashback: Sasha and Ryan

I have another "flashback" wedding invitation suite to share today, this one comin' way back from 11/11/11!

Sasha and Ryan had a "two hearts, one love" concept they wanted to incorporate in their celebration. So I decided to design a sleek and simple invitation suite for the two. My favorite part was the little two hearts combination with their new monogram, "S". Something about those two little hearts make me smile. The tri-fold design was complete with the "11-11-11" paper band that held the invitation together, forever locking that special date into each guests' mind.

I loved how simple, yet visually striking these suckers turned out to be, and the blue and black color palette was a nice choice for the wintery November Wisconsin wedding that it was!

I have one more "flashback" wedding I'll post this week, and don't forget, Indie Wed in Chicago is THIS SATURDAY! Boy, that sure came up quick. We'll be on the first floor again, eager to talk with all you cool brides and grooms.

New Love

"Let's Grow mOLD together" (inside blank)

"I pick you..." (inside: "to be my valentine!")

"Be my valentine..." (inside: "and nobody gets hurt.")

We have 3 new cards in the etsy shop right now! Two are re-designs ('Pick you' and 'Gun valentine') of old favorites, and the other is brand spankin' new! We love makin' love cards that are a little different than the average lovey dovey card, and these 3 are no exception- complete with nose picking, guns, and moldy cheese. Check out these 3, along with the rest of our awesome love cards!

Flashback: Dorota and Adam

So, in preparation for Indie Wed in Chicago (coming up on Feb. 2nd!), I've been going through my archives of wedding invitations, and stumbled upon a few designs that I've never shared on the blog. Including this invitation from waaaaaaay back in 2010, which coincidentally is one of my favorites! It's no surprise I totally forgot to post about this suite, considering I gave birth shortly after I finished designing it. It's not like I had anything else better to do. 

This wedding invitation suite was terrific to design, because it was really different than anything else I had ever done up to that point. The bride and groom had specific visions, and I had the challenging and wonderful task of bringin' it to life! The end result was so fun, and I love how vintage/modern/simplistic is turned out to be.

Dorota & Adam wanted a detailed outline of the events of the day, and wanted to convey just how fun and not-so-traditional the day was going to be. Dorota loves books and Adam loves music, so they asked for something that portrayed those elements. The RSVP card was designed as a library card and the "info" card was designed to reflect an old school billboard chart. We stuck to the chic black & white color palette, by pairing the white cardstock with jet black envelopes.

I absolutely adored the old school vibe Dorota & Adam stuck to.  These puppies are definitely unique, and remain one of my favorite designs!

Watch for more "Flashback" wedding invitation suites in the coming weeks as I prepare for my 4th Chicago Indie Wed!

Hello 2013.

I spent the last 4 weeks frantically preparing for Christmas, a stellar holiday party, and continuing the long excruciating process of our home remodel. And finally today, I'm able to sit down and take a step back and remember all the awesome-ness that was 2012. It's funny to look back at things I wanted to accomplish in 2012 (as seen here.), and I realized that you'll never know what a year will throw your way and how your resolutions grow and change as each month passes.

CD had a fantastic year, and each year I grow this little company, I'm always handed new surprises. This was the first year that I started to feel like CD was actually work, hard work actually, and was torn by what that meant and how I could fix it. Feeling stuck in a rut is never fun, but I think it's a necessary evil in being an entrepreneur. It forces you to gain the strength to overcome challenges, and grow stronger.

2012 was definitely a learning year. I had the pleasure (and fear) of going outside of my comfort zone and attend Alt Summit, twice! The experience in Salt Lake City and NYC was tremendous, and I spent all year thinking about what I learned and gained from the conference. My experience at Alt pulled me in all different directions, and I'm still trying to organize my thoughts to this day. Even though I was crazy ass nervous about attending both conferences, at the end of the day, it was extremely beneficial, both to Cracked Designs, and personally.

I'm looking forward to 2013 (despite the fact that I'll be turning 30...) and I'm intrigued by what curve balls I'll be thrown this year.

Some highlights of 2012 include:
-The Journey Journal makes it debut on Urban Outfitters online!
-I had the good fortune of traveling a lot this year. (Hawaii, Nashville, Salt Lake City, NYC, Phoenix)
-My son turned 2, and may have went a little overboard on the invites...
-We are finally in the home stretch of finishing our massive home remodel project!
-I had the pleasure to once again display at Indie Wed in Chicago, and Milwaukee too!
-I did my first craft fair in 3 years in Dec. (Urban Garage Sale in MKE), and boy was it nice to get back out there.

Again, thanks to all the CD supporters out there. I couldn't do it without you. Cheers to making 2013 super terrific!