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...

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

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.

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.

Alt NYC: Finally, a recap

Well, this only took me a little over 2 months to write. After seeing so much NYC in the news over the past week, I was inspired to finally write my Alt NYC recap and remember the city in a happier time.

To keep in form, I'll title this "Through the Awkward Eye" again, even though my experience in New York was littered with far less awkward-ness than back in Salt Lake City. I know, it's disappointing. Well, it all started because I was lucky enough to have won a ticket to Alt in NYC about 2 weeks before the actual conference. Honestly, I was a little torn. On one hand, I was over-the-moon excited to be able to go to Alt again, and this time in one of my favorite cities. But the other part of me was shaking in my boots, because once again, I would be putting on my big girl pants and *gasp*, mingle with others. Visions of my painfully awkward experience in SLC were playing out in my head and kind of made me want to puke. I know what you're thinking...."Why would you want to go again then?". Well, at the end of the day, Alt is such a beautiful and inspiring event that makes your heart burst with creativity and motivation and unicorns and cool stuff like that. No matter how awkward my first encounter with Alt was, everything I took away from the conference overshadowed that. Not only the things I learned at the conference, but the things I learned about myself, and the confidence I gained to feel comfortable in my own skin. And boy, am I glad I ventured out again...

Dare I say...Alt NYC was better than the Salt Lake City event. It was 100 times smaller, and was only one day, but those 2 things, I think, are what made it so amazing. I didn't feel as overwhelmed as I did in January and it was just so much more comfortable and natural overall. It didn't hurt that Martha Stewart made a guest appearance either! I think experiencing Alt for the first time back in January, I was able to be much more laid back this time around, and was more eager to learn than to impress. And honestly, it worked for me. People were actually coming to me, instead of slowly backing away. Maybe it was my killer bright red pants, who knows. Don't get me wrong, I still did have a few awkward conversations, but all in all, it was fantastic.

The caliber of the speakers in New York was amazing. Especially Tina Roth Eisenberg, from Swiss Miss. I was pretty floored listening to all the speakers, and felt so invigorated and honestly, like I could take on the world.

Believe it or not, I talked with a bunch of cool folks and DID NOT scare them away immediately. It's true, it's true. I actually managed to make decent small talk and sound like a normal human being. The whole time in my head, I was like, "Hot damn Tara! Work it, work it!" I was pretty impressed with myself. Even during the party at the end of the night, I talked with 3 separate people, and did not miss a beat. No studdering, no weird comments, nothing. After my pleasant conversations, I decided to duck out early, you know, while I was ahead. No need to push my luck in the awkward department.

The view from the rooftop of Martha Stewart Omnimedia

The 2 1/2 glorious days I spent in the city were pure bliss. Even though I've been to NYC multiple times previously, it was like I was re-discovering the city again. And, boy oh boy, I fell in love hard. Exploring the city by myself was perfect. It was so nice to get a little time away and re-group. There's no other city to feel more inspired, than New York City.

I very much hope that there is another Alt in New York in the years to come, it's such a great alternative to the January event. Personally, I think the one reason I love this conference so much is not only is it wildly inspiring to creatives like me, but both the Salt Lake City and NYC conferences made me push my boundaries of comfort, which made me more confident and led me to produce some of my best work this year.

I was totally blown away by the High Line.

On one final note, since I did so well being a normal person for once in my life, this post won't contain any embarrassing stories of me giving my medical insurance card to the car rental agent. (Oh god, I still cringe and get barf chunks in my mouth when I think about that...) or anything like that. And, unfortunately I won't be attending Alt Summit in Salt Lake City this January either, so you'll have to wait for more embarrassing stories in future posts. Don't worry, there are guaranteed to be many my friends, many...

*See my first Alt Summit recap here.

Alt Summit NYC

First of all, I never win anything. So, when I saw Alt running a contest to try to win a coveted ticket to the first ever NYC conference, I decided to play along (but tried not to get my hopes up). Well, much to my surprise, I actually won a ticket! Needless to say, I am beyond stoked and grateful to Bing for running the contest.

I attended Alt for the first time this past January, and it was fabulous, although I did step out of my comfort zone quite a bit, as remembered by this post.  NYC is one of my most favorite cities, and am looking forward to visiting again. I'm thinking I might take in a Mets game, visit the Whitney, and stroll around Brooklyn. I've been to NYC quite a few times before, but am always looking to see something new, anyone got any suggestions?

Time to dust off my big girl pants and try this thing again, and hopefully keep the awkward-ness at a minimum. But really, who am I kidding?

Hump(back)

I've been wanting to make a whale card for a while. Why? I'm not really sure, maybe because whales are cool, duh! So, check out our Etsy shop for our newest card: "Let's Hump" (the inside of this card is blank)

Ut-awe(some)

Tomorrow I leave Utah to come home to good ol' Milwaukee, and I have to say that I really fell in love with Salt Lake City. It's absolutely beautiful. If nature & urban life got freaky and had a baby, it would be Salt Lake City. I love how you can be walking around a really urban, cool city one minute and then 30 minutes later you can be high up in the mountains, snowboarding.

I am impressed, Salt Lake City, I can't wait to come back and explore some more!

Hello, Salt Lake City!

Well, I am off to Salt Lake City tomorrow to attend Alt! I'm a little nervous, since I'm an Alt virgin, but since I hear nothing but amazing things about the conference, I am beyond excited!

Our Holiday Card

I always love designing our family holiday card, and each year I try to come up with something new and cool that conveys a year in our life. Since 2011 was packed full of fun vacations, first steps, and more, I came up with a bunch of icons that represented our year and shaped it into a heart.  I really loved the outcome, it makes me smile and remember all the awesome-ness that was 2011.

Hello Wren!

Heather Cook Elliott, the amazing wedding & family photographer, approached me back in the fall to design some birth announcements for her new arrival, baby Wren. I was super excited when I heard some of Heather's ideas, so needless to say, I loved working on these. Heather & Brian have such a sweet and long love story, so Heather really wanted to play on that story that led to arrival of their first child.

Thank you Heather for allowing me to design these for you, little Wren is so precious, and I can't wait to see what's next in your journey.

PS: Here are Heather's amazing photos of baby Wren.

San Fran Print

I am freakin' in love with this print from Hero Design Studio. It makes me want to hop on a plane to San Fran where I'll sip on Speakeasy beer and wander Market Street. sigh. Anyways, I love this print and the awesome illustration mixed with cool colors. Check out Hero Design Studio here. They have a TON of cool prints in their Etsy shop.

MINI Journey Journal is here!

The Journey Journal just got mini-fied! Check out our newest edition of the Journey Journal in our Etsy shop - The MINI. This puppy is perfect for tucking away in your back pocket, so it's always close to document your most important travel memories. Measuring 4.25 X 5.5, it's a perfect stocking stuffer for your traveling loved ones! Check it out here for all the specifics.

Excitement

I love owning my own business, and being able to create and design freely as I please in my little office. But now and again it's easy to feel isolated and cut off from the outside world (especially during the cold Wisconsin winters...) So, I am beyond excited to be attending Altitude Design Summit in Salt Lake City this upcoming January! I've always wanted to go, and decided to go for it this year! I'm taking a few days away from my boys and indulging in all things design. Oh, and the temptation of a snowboarding day in the mountains made my decision quite easy too. I'm really looking forward to networking and meeting other bloggers, designers and cool people.

On Wisconsin!

I forgot to post about our newest notecard set a few weeks ago...so here it is now-the Madison notecard set! This set is pretty specific to Wisconsinites and is super cool. Set comes with 6 inside blank cards and matching red envelopes. Each card features different Madison specifics-like the the Capitol, badgers, the union, the lakes, and Bascom Hall. Check this set out now in our Etsy shop!

Happy Halloween!

I was really excited about Beckett's Halloween costume this year (The Stay Puft Marshmallow Man from Ghostbusters), so I had this idea to design a little card to showcase the awesome-ness of Beckett in his costume. The end result turned out better than I expected, and I laugh every time I look at this card.

Happy Halloween to all!

Mama Bird Baby Shower

A few months ago I designed these fun baby shower invitations for the super talented Heather Cook Elliott. A mama bird and egg seemed perfect for the mama-to-be! I really dig how these turned out! I'll be sharing her baby girl, Wren's, birth announcement in the next few weeks too...they are suuuuuuper cool.

PS: Check out Heather's work here.

Close Encounter

Look out! There is a new card in town, and it is super cool. Find it in our Etsy shop now!

Specs: "Looking forward to our close encounter", the inside of this card is blank.

Wedding Invitations: Dave & Deb

I had the pleasure of working with Dave & Deb on their wedding invitations earlier this year, and I am really into how their final invitation design turned out. Dave & Deb had a vision for what they wanted their invitation to look like, and it was exciting to design a pattern that closely matched a turn table design that was specifically important to them - without me even knowing it!

Not only was I really diggin' their color scheme of orange and grey, but I loved their overall feel of their Pier Wisconsin wedding celebration, right on the lakefront - simple, hip & elegant. Dave & Deb are a smart & loving couple with a great eye for design, and I couldn't have loved working with them more!

(The final invitation I designed for them was letterpressed at Bayview Printing Co., and was then put into a grey tri-fold pocket and wax sealed by the couple.)

Pabst, my love

A few weeks ago, Adam was traveling for work, so I decided to play around and design a card for him for when he arrived home. Let's face it, we both love Pabst, a lot. What's not to love? They're cheap, tasty and come in 'Tall Boy'. I hand drew the Tall Boy can and kind of love it, I think I'm going to post it up in my office.