Year in Review

2014 was definitely an insane whirlwind of a year (obviously, due to the lack of posting on here...)

Turning 4, in the 4-1-4

The past 6 months have been a whirlwind of change, stress, and emotion. I finally have some down time to sit back and reflect/recap this crazy year so far. So, I decided to start with sharing some pics from Beckett's 4th birthday party back in May! Back in March...

Catch Up

Why, hello friends! I all of a sudden realized that I had not written any blog posts since January. *shame* Now, it's time to play catch up!

Flashback: Katie and Ryan

I am going to be participating in Indie Wed again this year down in Chicago, and it's already THIS Saturday! Snuck up on me! So, in preparation, I wanted to share some of my favorite wedding designs from this past year that I haven't posted on the blog yet. First up is Katie and Ryan...

Hello 2014

Why, hello 2014. Nice to meet you!
It seems like the years keep flying by, I mean, I thought I just wrote "Hello 2013" yesterday!?

What we've been up to.

As I write this, I feel like my eyes are actually going googly, because I've been staring at a sea of Journey Journals and intricate custom drawings for what seems like a bajillion days.

New New and more New

"What the hill...?" - inside greeting: "Congratulations!"

We have, what I like to call a "butt load" of new cards in the Etsy shop right now! We're really excited about them all. Find all 5 of them in the Etsy shop now! What's your new favorite?

"Beefcake" - inside is blank

"You're an unbelievable couple" - inside is blank

"Hairy Christmas" - inside is blank

"You're Unbelievable- Jackalope" - inside is blank

Our travels: Oregon & Washington

We got back from the Pacific Northwest earlier this week, and like I had mentioned on facebook - we have never been so happy to be back in the midwest! We came home to sunny skies and high 70's, ahhhh! Despite the terrible weather, unreal traffic backups, Crater Lake being entirely covered by dense fog, and our flights being canceled on us TWICE.....we did have a fun trip! Here are some highlights...

On Vacation

Hi everyone! As I posted about here, we'll be taking a much needed break over the next 10 days to the beautiful Pacific Northwest! We will be putting our Etsy shop on vacation starting tonight until Sunday Sept. 29th. Then we'll be back at it and post more about our newest cards!  If you have any ideas or suggestions of cool places to go while we're out in Oregon and Washington - tweet at me!: @crackeddesigns

Fingers crossed that we see Big Foot!


(Above image of the glorious game: Oregon Trail)

Vintage Aviation Graduation

I've been waaaay behind on blogging about some of my custom projects I've worked on this year, so bear with me here. This past spring I designing some very cool high school graduation announcements for Mr. Jayce who is going on to study aviation in Washington. I was stoked to design these right from the start...

Wedding Design: Katie and Jim

Oh man, these invites I designed for Katie and Jim who got hitched back in June were sooooo cute and fun to make! Here's the story...

Sneaky Peaky

Sometimes at the end of summer, I have a little work down time. I usually try to work ahead and design fun new stuff - but I usually procrastinate and end up watching "My So-Called Life". Let's be honest here, who can't get sucked into Jordan Catalano's eyes?

But despite my love for all things 90's pop culture, I have been drawing up lots of awesome new stuff - new cards, prints, and brand new non-paper items! Oh the suspense! It's killing you, isn't it? I know, I'll feed you, but not yet.

Stay tuned for new stuff popping up in the Etsy shop and more photos on Facebook!

The dream of the 90's is alive...

We are planning a trip out to the Pacific Northwest in a month, and I have been a researching machine on all things big foot, grunge music, craft beer, coffee, Paul Bunyan, Twin Peaks locations and all other glorious things the Pacific NW has to offer. But what is my real dream to see while out west you ask? To see Carrie Brownstein but of course! Does this seem like a stalker thing to say? Yes. Am I a question talker today? Yes.

I have been spending perhaps too much time watching "Portlandia" lately, and "Sleater-Kinney" has been playing in the house just a little more than usual. Adam just doesn't get it, but I have had a serious crush on this girl ever since my ears first heard the sweet sounds of girl angst on my walkman, a million years ago. What's not to like? She just oozes coolness.

Well anyways, I'm looking forward to drinking insane amounts of beer and washing it down with a damn good cup of coffee! (Agent Cooper, anyone?) Does anyone have any off the beaten path suggestions? Cool places to visit/see in Washington or Oregon? I'd love to hear, we're always up for an adventure!

Cheers to Boxing Rock!

There are only a few things we love more than greeting cards, and one of them is definitely beer. Cheap beer, fancy beer, you name it. We especially love craft beer from craft breweries, so we were so excited when Boxing Rock Brewing Co. from Nova Scotia Canada loved our "Brewing between us" card. All of our Canadian friends can now enjoy not only a tasty brew, but a cool card as well! Get our original "brewing" card, as well as the same design in a bunch of different greetings at Boxing Rock in Shelburne, N.S. (Isn't their logo cool!?)

Visit this brewery here.

Hello? It's Chatter Phone!

One of my favorite things is being able to design something and have all the creative power up to me. So when Saoirse's mama asked me to design some birthday invitations, inspired by vintage toys, I was pumped. I adore anything vintage, especially kids toys - they just don't make 'em like they used to!

While I was brainstorming what to design, Beckett and I were playing with his beloved chatter phone and then BAM - it hit me! The bright colors and fun demeanor of the silly little chatter phone were perfect for a 1st birthday. I drew up the little guy and hand drew the big font as well, for a playful invite that is as cute as the birthday girl herself!

Heaven has bumper stickers

A couple of things first:
- I've been severely neglecting this blog lately, which makes me sad. So, I really want to get back in a groove and start sharing more fun/weird/random stuff that's been going on in the world of Cracked Designs. Because of my lack of blogging though, I have been working on lots of new stuff, both new products and custom designs that I'm excited to share in the weeks to come!

So anyways...
The CD crew went out on a little road trip last week to South Dakota. It. Was. Amazing. It was like I had died and gone to souvenir heaven. We basically struck (black hills) gold out west and came home with tons of new tacky souvenirs to add to our rapidly expanding collection. I'll introduce you to 'Boyd', the Jackalope we adopted, in another post.

Maker Market Milwaukee

Wow, long time no post. Sheesh. Just a quick reminder to all Milwaukee peeps that we will be participating in the "Maker Market" at Alterra in Bay View (Milwaukee) tomorrow, Sunday July 7th from 10Am-4PM. It should be a killer market with lots of local goodies. You can also get your hands on one of our "Bay View" prints or the brand new "East Side" print OR the "Dueling hoods" note card set, which has one Bay View and one East Side note card. Word to that. See you all tomorrow!

Holding on for dear life

The conversation started a while back, but it went a little something like this:
Adam: "Hey, what do you want for your big 30th birthday!?"
Me: "A mother frickin' Delorean, so I can go back in time and re-live my 20's."
Adam: *silence* (with a frightened look on his face)

I'm turning 30 tomorrow and I just can't shake this feeling of dread. I know I am being a complete wuss, and no matter how many people tell me that "30 isn't old",  I still can't help feeling like I'm gonna barf. I continue to watch the gray hairs dominate my head, and listen to my knees crack while I go up stairs. ugh.

My 20's were good to me - I married my best friend, I started a company that I adore, I became a mom to the coolest kid on earth, I traveled to amazing places, I finished college, I had the best times with some of my best friends. So, I can't help but think: "So, what now?" The 30's are a mystery to me, and I don't know what to expect, which is why I'm dreading letting go of my 29 year old self.

But, since I can't stop time, I have no choice but to accept turning 30. And by "accept" I mean get totally plastered. I'm going to spend the rest of today and tomorrow being completely nostalgic and bump some Ace of Base and other awesomely bad 90's music.

A 3D Birthday

As most of you know by now, I absolutely love planning birthday parties for my son, Beckett. Do I go a little overboard? Yes. (As seen here and here.)

Well, this past weekend we partied it up, and celebrated his 3rd birthday in 3D style. (Get it...3-D) So far, this party was my favorite theme yet, and I think it turned soooo cool. I'll post all the pics this week, including the radical invitations, but first, here are some of my favorite pics from the fun-filled 3D party!

Stay tuned for more pics from the party this week!

Mummy and Pops

front: "From Womb to tomb... You'll always be my mummy" Inside: "Happy Mother's Day!"

front: "pop, you're cool!" inside: "happy Father's Day!"

We've been working hard at designing lots of new fun cards over the past weeks, and we're especially excited about these two new fun ones! Blow your mom and dad away this year with these radical new cards! Find them both in our Etsy shop now.