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!