FREE ENVELOPE LINER

Here is a little freebie for you this week. A free download for a C6 arrow envelope liner. All you need to do is print, then cut around the pink lines and put a small stripe of gluestick on the envelope under the natural glue line (the bit where you lick). Once this is done place your liner inside the envelope and press down on the glue stripe once you have it in place. 

Click here to download the file

Hope you enjoy it! 

Should you DIY print your invites?

I've got a really quick post for you this week based on the age old question of it's really worth paying extra for printing.


I have just recently added DIY printing options to my template based wedding stationery and as I'm offering both options can see the merit in both. So I've put together a little pro's and cons list for each.


Printed Invites:
Pros:

• You give me the information, I send you a package with everything printed, cut to size and ready for you to pop in an envelope and send out. Easy.
• You know that it is going to be printed on high quality stock at a professional printer … not at office works where you have no choice of paper.

Cons:

• It costs more than the file only option.
• You need to pay for shipping

DIY Print option:
Pros:

• It is a smaller up front investment
• It gives you the option of emailing out your invites.
• Much faster delivery (within a week of ordering).

Cons:

• You either have to print them all at home and cut them to size or find a printer and go through the whole process with them.
• It can be time consuming and stressful if you are already feeling a bit crazy from the other 3025 things you need to get done.

Really there is no right or wrong option, so just keep in mind wether you have the time and patience to take on a DIY print.  Either way is fun

AUSSIE ETSY WEDDING FINDS

While browsing the Etsy archives I found a few Australian wedding supplier that I just couldn't help but share.

From the top left with links:

Bespoke wedding tea: A range of beautiful loose leaf tea for delicious wedding favors right from Australian Tea Masters in Geelong. Just imagine how good your guest tables would smell!

Jewel soap favors: I've used these Vice and Velvet soaps before and they smell almost as amazing as they look. Plus they come in cute little personalized boxes for your wedding.

Gold glitter heart garlands: Subtle but whats a special occasion without glitter? A meeting. Check out the rest of 10 Paper Lanes goodies.

Beaded cap sleeve wedding dress: Super cute dresses (especially this one) from GraceLovesLace in Brisbane.

If you want to browse more of my Etsy finds you can check out my Etsy wedding page HERE 

The man friendly wedding

For some women a wedding is all pink frills & cotton candy clouds in a feminine extravaganza. For others the thought of their future groom running for the hills at the sight of a "traditional" wedding is enough to make them start looking at other options. 

If you are after a man safe wedding below are a few basic tips so that you don't end up with a muscle car and hulk themed kegger.

• Stick with neutral colors. Nature has been speaking to the inner caveman for years, so embrace all the foresty (yeah it's an invented word) colours that nature has provided and go to town.
• The average 'bloke' doesn't want to eat rhubarb foam on twice smoked organic tempeh. Look at mini versions of classics meals like mini burgers and fries, fish and chips & lamb shanks then fancy them up with classic packaging that pokes some fun at the simplicity.
• Give them something to do with fun events planned during the reception. Nothing brings a group of people together better than some good ol fashioned welly wanging (or gumboot tossing for all those non New Zealanders) 
• For your wedding invites you don't need to have an abundance of calligraphy. Take the chance to come up with something original that will set the mood for the rest of the wedding & give your guests a hint at how much fun your big day will be. This can then be incorporated with quirky signage and packaging at the reception and ceremony bringing everything together and giving people something special to take home.
• Don't release butterflies to a Celine Dion song. Nuff said don't you think?

Image links:

One

Two

Three

Four

Five

Six

The winter wedding

I know a lot of my readers are brides from Perth and the majority of those brides will probably be waiting for the sunshine and heat to return before they say I do. But for those of you who are so desperately in love that you can't wait that long and are planning on getting married during the cooler months here are a few images for your inspiration via Pinterest.

Remember that winter is the perfect time to bring out the big guns when it comes to stationery. Think thick lush paper, deep warm colors mixed with crisp whites and ice like intricate details.

Contact me by clicking HERE to set up an appointment for your very own wedding stationery.

Images are not my own but you can find them all here:

one

two 

three  - SIBO designs Etsy

four 

five 

six

INTO THE WOODS - WEDDING THEME INSPIRATION

A few ideas via Pinterest for ways to tie a camping / forest theme together with your stationery designs.
All you need to pull of the forest theme is plenty of textured fabrics and papers in neutral colours. Add in wild flowers and berries, a few feathers and an abundance of green with natural lighting and you've just become you're photographers dream.
With this theme, rough is better so it's a great chance to have a relaxed style with high impact.

Images links via pinterest:
One
Two
Three - my own work
Four
Five - my own photography
Six

5 tips to make your wedding banner uniquely you

One of my favorite items of wedding stationery to work on is custom banners. I LOVE when a bride (or groom) comes to me with an idea for some lettering work to add to their wedding styling. It has such a personal touch and usually accompanies a couple with bold ideas and big stories.

If you've been pouring over the 3.75million inspirational wedding images out there and are thinking about adding in a banner to your styling but just don't know how or where to begin, here are a few ideas on what direction to take.

1. The ceremony paper roll backdrop. Perfect for a poem, story, bible verse, your vows or family & friends names that couldn't be there. It sits as a backdrop and gives you a great central point for photos.

2. The black board. This is often used for seating charts and menus but it's also a great way to have a 'statement' piece with quotes and your wedding dates when used as photo backdrop.

3. The bunting strings. It's been done a lot but who can turn their nose up at some fun colored bunting with names and dates mixed in with the patterns & colours.

4. 3D Names. So much fun to make and play with, this is a really great prop for styling having string letters, giant weaved letters in between trees, wood and of course good ol'fashioned card board. It's best to keep the words simple but it has high impact.

5. The traditional banner. This works great for either ceremony or reception, it gives you a center piece and you can use it for anything from your names and dates to love quotes.

There is no limit to what you can do, it's your day so you're the boss!

If you want to find out more about the lettering & banner options I offer, get in touch or leave a comment below.

Pics : 1   /   2  /   3

April - What I've been working on

I think April may have been the fastest month in history. I thought I would give a quick recap of what I've been working on recently.

•  Greeting cards, I've been sending out so many of these that  I jammed up the post box one day.
• Wedding invites, I've had some great clients that really wanted to go above and beyond in April. I've been playing with foiling, white inks on black paper, die cuts... you name it. It's been a great month for weddings. 
• Branding, in the next month or so when this is all complete I'll have an awesome display of a rebrand for a jewelry company. It's so much fun working on this project! 
• Bkind lip balm, new packaging for a new product. This stuff is amazing and all natural. Click HERE and buy some!
• Type illustrations, I've had my share of signage, tshirts and displays for both hand and regular ol' type concoctions in April.
• Life drawing - so much life drawing. I've been so out of practice but hopefully my images won't look like the elephant man soon.

So it was a really busy month but so much fun. So to all my fabulous clients, keep all the great ideas rolling in, it's been a great month! 

HOW TO GET MORE BANG FOR YOUR BUCK WITH PRINTERS

If there is one thing print designers can unite in force over, it is the benefit of using a good professional printer. I promise we graphic designers don’t purposefully find the most expensive printer available just to screw with you, it’s actually that you do get what you pay for when it comes to printers.

So while I won’t go into the different types of printing here today (check back in next week for that post) I will explain some of the major differences you get from your designer recommended printers vs. the majority of the online services and stationery store options.

The online stores and “instant” print shops (where a youthful employee uploads your file & prints while you wait) often have glorified photocopiers, this means the inks will come out murky as the heads can't be manually set nor is it amazing quality inks. You are limited to digital printing - no offset, foiling etc. A very small selection of papers is on offer which can alter the entire look of your design and you are left to do the trimming yourself if it is not a standard size. They also can have a lot of trouble lining up double sided prints perfectly which isn’t great for if you want a professional looking job BUT they are great for quick cheap promo material or your kids birthday invites.

The reputable / professional print houses have more ranges of paper stocks than you can shake a stick at - if it exists they can get it for you, the machines are programmed to perfection for clear & concise colours so you will never have mismatched brand colours. They can arrange for foiling, embossing, laminate, diecuts, white on black printing etc - so there is a HUGE range of printing options. No size is too weird for them to trim and you get to work with someone who is trained to get your work looking perfect.

So the things to check before you decide on which printer to go ahead with:

• Do I really need this work to look super clean and polished?
• Will I be wanting a speciality paper choice?
• Will this just be a cheap flyer, where quality doesn't matter?
• Is this a double sided print and does alignment matter?
• Am I relying on the colours matching my brand perfectly?

So now you are armed with a list of question to ask yourself next time you need printing done.

Any designy questions? Let me know in the comments and I'll do a big ol' Q & A session.

Why surfing and Frank Sinatra are good for your soul

I've found for about the last eight years that surfing and Frank Sinatra music hold something in common, they both help my brain produce 'ah ha' moments that pull me out of creative ruts.

There's something so soothing about surfing, where your forced to be so 'in the moment', that it seems to help the brain regenerate. As soon as you lose focus and start wondering what's happening next week or thinking about what a nutso that girl in car park was, you get hit in the face by a wave followed shortly by an attack from your board or leash. It's one of those activities where there is no pressure, no one wants to talk to you or demand anything of you (In saying this I am a long boarder at heart... ). It doesn't matter if your a total klutz or the best out there. Until a shark gets involved, you can just be, which is something we so very rarely get to experience.

So when the sharks are circling, (literally, I live in Perth - aka shark attack city) I can get that same kind of lax focus listening to the old crooners when I work, especially my illustration, the music seems to send me into a focused place where nothing much matters except what I'm doing.

It's during these calm no pressure moments that all of a sudden ideas that I've only been able to see in my periphery suddenly jump into the front of my mind and to do a full frontal flash dance. So my recommendation for you, is to find that thing that you can zone out to... while still being productive... don't go using me as an excuse to smoke pot kids... seriously, you'll smell like old meat pie... and just let your mind relax and let it do it's working out at its own pace.

So next time you have creative constipation or your trying to flog out an idea that just won't come, go for a surf and think of Frank (or imagine your mind in nothing but a trench coat hiding behind a bush).

Image found here it's not me... I'm about 302 shades whiter...

smokey night - perth festival

Last week we went to the local art festivals opening show, Bombs Per Minute. The music (if it could be called that) was some kind of industrial, primal drumming... it was, interesting. I was half surprised that it didn't trigger some mass chest beating and grunting, tarzan style. The evening of unusual noises was really saved by the fireworks at the end. I love when they get those really fantastically neon colours that stand out against the smokey, gun powdery sky. Mmmm neon and gun powder...

Free wallpaper ya'll

I've designed a free wallpaper image for you all today because... I'm a complete and utter sucker for inspirational quotes and self help books (even writing this makes me feel like I'm admitting to some glaring lack of knowledge) ... It's my dirty little secret that I have stacks of 'how to do life' books stacked next to my bed. To match my book tower I also have bucket loads of post-it notes with hastily scrawled quotes on them, these end up in bizarre and unlikely locations only to be put back down, where they then scurry back into the black hole that exists purely to swallow notes, odd socks and the occasional left underwire from bras.

My other vice is far less healthy, watching continuous reruns of The League... I think this almost completely cancels out any zen mind state I absorbed from reading my plethora of books. But hey, whats life without a Rafi bomb or a deranged man beast running around yelling "GATTACA!!!" every so often? Missing zest is what it is.

I'm sharing this free wallpaper download for you, because everyone needs a little pick-me up after looking at thier emails in the morning or a reminder after the hard slog of the work day that lifes not so bad and if it is, watch the league.

DOWNLOAD PDF HERE

love is in the air

Just a little something to remind you that valentines is looming closer and closer... so get that lovin feeling.

* Yes, I am aware of how truly terrible this image is 

Eat more chocolate

I came across this brand of raw chocolate the other week and it has become my favorite for two reasons. Firstly the texture is so much nicer than other raw chocolates I usually purchase... it doesn't have that weird fatty globbey feel to it, it almost feels like normal creamy chocolate. The second reason is that the packaging is perfect! I have serious design envy for who ever it was that got this job! I love getting packaging jobs, especially with companies that want to go that step further to make something that is truly unique as well as functional.

Head over to Pana Chocolates and check out the other 8 flavors and perve at their branding!

what I'm reading

So, this week has been kind of nuts! One of those ones where at the end of the day you want to collapse on the couch and they only way you can be bothered eating is if you are spoon fed soup so you don't have to move while in your comatose state.

So while I've been sprawled on my comfiest seat in the house I've been catching up with my reading and this magazine 'Extra Curricular'  has been something that I have been devouring. It's a limited addition mag that is printed in New Zealand (hence why my copy is so out of date!) for creative folk.

It's full of great interviews from creative people that so far have all had a really interesting story and the articles are easy reading, not full of the elitist twaddle that some small scale creative magazines can sometimes lapse into. It's brilliantly designed and comes in a lovely small size with rounded corners... perfect for slipping into your handbag for those 'I can read and my boss wont catch me' kind of moments. 

Click here to find out more about the magazine and where to get your copies from because it's totally worth it if your even vaguely interested in any form of design. 

feeling blue?

Link ONE, TWO, THREE

I've been stumbling across some pretty superb design work recently and thought I would share some of the finest blue pieces I have found. I love the hand lettering and illustration styles with the hand drawn type on all of them! 


It has left me feeling some what inspired... You can also follow me on pinterest HERE if you feel like seeing more of my collections.

just a little bit handmade

Image One, Two, Three, Four

Here are a few things I've been loving over at pinterest... oh isn't pinterest such a fabulous way to waste the days. As I'm getting a new line of bridal invites done for a store over here in Perth I'm finding myself drawn to handmade aesthetics and swirly type. Pinterest seems like an ideal immersion technique for the job at hand.

Meet Jelena and her beautiful photos

images

I'm lucky enough to be friends with this talented lady. From the first time I saw her photos I knew she had an amazing talent for capturing moments, yes it sounds cheesy but she is an expert at it. Jelena is one of those people that feels like a breath of fresh air, she's exciting to be around, has a horde of bizarre hobbies and is always up to do something with you.


This interview is especially helpful in my opinion, especially to young creatives as so often when you hear designers etc. talking about how they got to where they are, they leave out the hard stuff. It becomes a condensed, romanticized version of events that forgets about the nail biting, hard slog that is baring your soul to the world, just hoping what you do is good enough to make a living from it. When I was in university I wish I knew what I know now, that confidence is key to doing great things and that its damn hard work to make it in this profession without believing at least little of your own B.S. 

So enjoy Jelenas interview and then head on over to her blog and check out her beautiful photos. 

1. Tell us a little about your background - what led you in to the creative field?I've always been a creative person and done art and artsy kinds of things since I was born, so I think it was just something that I've always had and would always do. My favourite mediums were mainly painting and sketching, but I never thought I was any good at it and looking back on some of my work from high school especially, now I do see that I was really very talented, however my lack of self confidence always got in the way. 

2. Do you think that confidence is strongly linked to being successful in the creative industry?
Personally I think it is, because it's easier to step out in a creative industry if you really believe in yourself and your ability. I spent many years unable to even show some of my art to even my family because I was so afraid that it was really crap, and I took any negative reception to my work very much to heart. I learned that people can tell you how great your work is but unless you really know that yourself, you may never go anywhere with it. My foray in to photography is a slow process only because my confidence in that area has been a slow progression as well, I know I'll get there eventually, and it does help to have people who are doing it professionally who will honestly tell you that you could make it if you really believed in yourself, and I've started to listen. 

3. How do you manage to stop your style becoming stagnant when you work alone? Is there ever a fear you'll turn into a reclusive hermit?

I have a really bad memory. Infact I have this talent of warping and exaggerating memories in my mind so much that sometimes I'm not sure if the event actually happened or if I made it up; and this is what really stops me allowing my style to become stagnant. I'm always striving to capture a moment of a memory exactly as I experienced it and saw it at the time. I've found that when I'm photographing I end up blending in to the background and a result I don't get to experience what I'm seeing through the view finder, which does make me a little concerned about becoming a recluse, but it's something that is making me more focussed on being able to recognise a moment that I want to remember and capturing it quickly, whilst being able to put the camera down and engage in my surroundings as well.

4. What do you think the biggest challenge is to the success of creative businesses?
I would have to say, not even trying. A wise man once told me that you only really fail if you never try it. 

5. Did you always know what your "style" was or did you have an a-ha moment where it seemed to suddenly make sense?
No, never, when I used to paint and sketch I did what ever I felt like and in what ever style I thought would suit. Now, I've found that it's just become very apparent in my photographs on it's own. I've tried mimicking other people's styles but I would always unconciously go back to photographing things the way that I do, but it was only after people had pointed it out that I realised that I did have a style. 

6. Have you ever had to deal with creative burnout? Any tips?

YES! I once didn't do anything artistic for eight years because of burnout! No painting, no music, no anything - but I missed it, and it got to the point where I missed it so much I would get very upset. I think if you're nearing burnout you need to reassess why you are doing it, and remember your first love for it and what made you want to do it in the first place. Sometimes I get really caught up in technical aspects or deadlines with my art that suddenly it's not fun anymore and I don't want to do it. Going back to my first love of the simplicity of taking a photograph reminds me of why I love it so much, and looking back at those picture which really capture that always pulls me back from the edge of burnout.

7. Do you have a dream creative project?

I do and it invovles a beautiful hardcover photographic book and a lot of travel - but it's a secret because one day I will actually do it!

8. What are your top 5 places/people you go to for inspiration?
In no particular order and unfortunately, I know, I'm not very specific with it: my friends and family, the internet with it's plethora of information, my own dreams and memories, other artists I admire, and the world directly around me. I get inspired by the most ridiculous things, like letterboxes for example! I think there's beauty everywhere and in everything that you don't actually have to go very far for inspiration, which is good because living in Perth I'm very much far, far away from most things!

9. What are your favorite medias to work with?

Photography, at the moment I'm trying to jog the memory with film photography but predominantly it's digital; and I still dabble with paints, but not to the same extent that I used to.

10. What can we expect to see from you and your blog/work in the future?

I am aiming to get the balls to actually turn this hobby in to work, so hopefully in the future I'll be able to proudly say that I'm a professional photographer, but I have to admit I do like the 'amature' tag, it sounds more adventurous I think.

I wanna be a book designer when I grow up

It's been a dream of mine to design books since I was tiny and by tiny I mean 20ish... so about 4 whole years. There is something so beautiful about the finished package that is a book, it's pretty cover, the choice of font for the text, the layout... When I get a new book I can't help but smell it and rub it's pages, kind of like how people sniff babies, only I don't get arrested for sniffing strangers books, just funny looks (not that I've ever been arrested for smelling babies, mostly because I don't sniff them).

I love the brightness of these covers, it makes me want to read whats inside. I've read many a rubbish book because of it's pretty cover. I don't know what that says about me but I assure you, I love my husband for more than his pretty cover.

Now after this lovely ramble I'm off before I waste any more of your time, I've had a sweat shop in my living room today, screen printing hundreds and hundreds of cards and forcing my husband to fold the card for me because I've hurt my back and am too crippled to do much of anything. So good night and I hope my blathering hasn't killed too many of your brain cells.

Artist spotlight: Brittany Wood

Today I'm lucky enough to feature the up'n'coming new photographer / artist Brittany Wood from the blog, Little Lady and Landon. Brittany has an amazing eye for dreamy photography and as if that wasn't enough also makes beautiful charcoal portraits. We're guaranteed to be seeing big things from this lady in the future! Every time I look on her blog I'm blown away by her photos and get the urge to pack everything up and move to the U.S because her photos from where she lives looks so idyllic. So once your done reading this make sure you go over to her Etsy store and her blog to check out more of her work.

Tell us a little about your background - what led you in to the creative field?
I discovered my love for art when I was a junior in high school. I was in an art class and my teacher assigned us our first big project. That night I found myself up until 4AM with color pencils and water color spread all around me. Before I knew it my art was put in the county's museum for a contest… I really didn't know I had any kind of art talent in me before that… it just came out of no where! (If you want to see my first piece it’s on my   website under illustrations- the very bottom left)

Do you ever get overwhelmed/confused with so having both photography AND illustration projects on the go at once?
Honestly I think having both photography and illustration keeps me balanced and helps me be more productive.  My mind is always jumping from one idea to another and I guess I work that way too. My husband will come home to me photographing food, while in the middle of drawing a charcoal, editing a photo shoot, and finishing off making a book. I love it!

Do you think that confidence is strongly linked to being successful in the creative industry?
I think that confidence is greatly linked to being successful in the creative industry.  I always have a fear of no one liking my work, wanting to buy my charcoals, or wanting me to photograph them; but I realized I would never really know unless I put myself out there.  

How do you manage to stop your style becoming stagnant when you work alone? Is there ever a fear you'll turn into a reclusive hermit?
The Internet is such a great tool of inspiration to my work. I am able to easily access early photographer’s work from 40 years ago and am constantly inspired by other artist’s work all from my computer.  
And about turning into a reclusive hermit… well I've always been an independent person and need my alone time so being alone doesn’t really bother me too much. I do think it's healthy to get out of the house, get some fresh air, and converse with friends every now and then though. 

What do you think your biggest challenge is to the success of your business? 
Since I just graduated and just barely started my business, the biggest challenge for me is the actual start of my business. The branding, building your clientele, the designing of everything… it all takes a lot of time and thought process.  I’m still in the process of finishing everything and I am constantly rethinking and re-changing. 

Did you always know what your "style" was or did you have an a-ha moment where it seemed to suddenly make sense?No I didn’t always know what my exact style was but I have always been interested in the same things and have noticed a reoccurring theme throughout my work but never had a ‘style.’ My a-ha moment came to me when I was stressed out during finals week in college. I decided to take a break from studying and relieve some stress by drawing and painting.  That night I created 8 pieces that are still some of my favorite. It was when I was honestly creating to create and not over-analyzing every line I was drawing. 

Have you ever had to deal with creative burnout? Any tips?YES! I have had a complete creative burnout before, a whole year and a half burnout!  When I first discovered my talent I felt a weight of expectations put on me and my work and felt like all eyes were on me waiting to create more.  I felt like my new art had to live up to my best work and it was all just too much pressure for me (it also didn’t help I was going through some other huge life decisions.) I don’t necessarily remember how I got out of it but looking back a few tips would be:

Constantly be looking/searching for other artist’s work to be inspired by. 
If you can find it, reading artist’s theories on art really opens my eyes and helps me to really think deeper about concept, meaning, and technique.  
Sometimes collaborating with other artists allows you to share ideas and forces you to create and helps you get out of the black hole!  
What are your top 5 places/people you go to for inspiration?
-John Galliano’s fashion runway shows they are more than amazing!  
-For photography inspiration I always turn back to the early photographers and their work; Julia Margaret Cameron has always been a favorite.  
-As silly as it seems Martha Stewart and The Food Network always encourage me to get in the kitchen and bake!... and then photograph the food afterwards of course.
-Kime Buzzelli is one of my favorite new-age artists.  Love everything she does.
-Magazines! I have books and boxes filled with magazine clippings that I have been cutting out for awhile now.  Always searching/looking through those bring back all of my ideas I had for photography/art.

What are your favorite medias to work with?Charcoal! I’ve always loved it over everything else. In my opinion it is the most fun to work with.  You end up with black hands and a messy desk, I love the carefree feeling of it.  And film is amazing too.  Since I’ve moved away from the university I can’t really develop it anymore, but there was something so healing about being in the darkroom for hours upon hours. 

What can we expect to see from you and your blog/work in the future?I plan to create more: 
-Charcoal/Nupastel fashion girls
-India ink/gouache work
-Different series for children’s rooms and around the house, 
-And hopefully some styled fashion photo shoots!