turtle bunny love design

getting back into the swing of designing

just in time to stop again when baby #2 comes in february!

wish me luck because i have a feeling i won't be creating much of

anything but a tiny human, naptimes and breastmilk for a many, many months.

until then i'll relish in the projects i've enjoyed!

hope you like them too...

first off, back in may my dear friend CK had her 30th birthday

and we threw a RAD party for her in the reading pagoda.

of course, the invite had to be amazing, right?! yes.

so, going on her love of the GD and her scarlet begonia theme

i came up with a poster-style invite that i sent via mail chimp.

man, that mail chimp is super cool.

if you don't know, know you know.

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

next, my nephew's stepdad asked me to help him create

a logo and website for his famous knotty egg fly.

i had a great time with this and got to finally use squarespace for the first time

(which is also incredibly cool if you haven't tried it out already).

sheesh. glad i'm not a small web shop or i'd be super bummed.

you really can make an amazing site so easily and inexpensively these days.

no excuses people.

i'm telling myself this for my next website re-do.

(once i know my next direction! ... give me 3 years...)

{click image for detailed view}

i also took the product shots for the website

which i had really enjoyed.

love that NIKON 85mm micro lens!

{click image for detailed view}

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and lastly, i had the pleasure of creating the logo for the new

groovy hopster farm setting up shop in chelsea, michigan!

readying to serve local brewers by september, 2015 –

i'm delighted to be a part of this and see the logo used throughout the farm!

i'll post back when their website is up and running...

{click image for detailed view}

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well, that about wraps up my fun.

i'll hopefully have a few more projects before complete hibernation.

until then, happy design inspirations!

XOXOXO

hey friends!

here's a little update from around these parts...

BEANS.

all day. err day.

not really– but at least twice a day for months now

lubeedu loves to play with her beans.

and wow, what fun we can have with some simple beans!

scooping, pouring, cooking, hiding letters and uncovering them, filling anything nearby with scoopfuls, making them into a turtle habitat, "spilling" them down the inside of your shirt, etc.

a $4 bag o' beans has been beyond thrilling to say the least.

(and yes, that's my girl in her NOZONE swimsuit. eczema hates sunscreen so she lives in those duds)

and fun time for mommy?

i've really craved a quick creative outlet and finally it's the plant season!

terrariums and little planters are the best thing for the busy mom.

why?

my reasons:

1) it takes literally minutes to do.

2) you can do it while drinking wine. optional.

3) it's instantly gratifying and brings happiness to your eyeballs and rooms.

4) the kicker – negligence is actually welcomed after they're complete!

ever get a head of steam on a project only to let it fall

by the way side minutes later from a crying kid or timer ding? um yeah.

even better, i only paid for floral foam and moss!

all the plants are clippings from my plants around the house or yard.

so nice. take a little walk, find what you like and end with something new and beautiful.

ah yes, thank you.

so, the old milk glass got some life.

thingy that had pinecones now has plants!

in this one below i took floral foam and clippings

from the yard and made a little oasis.

popped some sedum and other succulents, maiden hair fern stems,

a giant hosta flower and other planter clippings in there

and instantly felt soothed by the process.

another idea i've been brewing is creating willow water planters.

i clipped willow branches and let them sit in water for weeks.

(great step since i don't get back to very many things for weeks).

i've planted some in pots but i'm really digging leaving them with the roots in water...

and so does mermelda the beta.

keeping busy and feeding the monster/heart is what we all must do, right?

wishing you the best on you and yours –

xoxoxoxoxox

hey–o! just starting to dip my feet into the design world again and

i'm pretty excited about the new logo package i've created for

jenna herring photography!

(website to come)

{some of my favs from jenna's holiday shots of 2013}

{super adorable, right?}

jenna is a lovely girl.

smart, graceful and great at what she does.

so of course, she wanted a very clean and simple logo

to kickstart her photography website for 2014.

she really wanted to keep it light.

sometimes that can be the biggest challenge!

i wanted to keep it simple

and still give her some great patterns to use

along with a color story

and a nice button-style logo that will always look classic

but still have impact and a modern feel.

whew.

so, here's the package:

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

next, a set of patterns to use within the website

or for the backs of biz cards

or whatever else she can dream up...

below, a simple button logo for Facebook and watermarking photos...

both set-ups are great options for watermarks on photos

and hold their own in plain black and white...

really, who doesn't want their very own poppy inspired illustration?

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

so pretty and delicate – just like jenna!

hooray for branding from the inside out.

hope i did her right and so very proud

to be a part of good peeps doing good things.

xoxoxoxoxox

our funny little easter miracle...

we found this interesting hole in our ivy bramble by the house.

kinda reminded me of andy goldsworthy's work.

so we approached and found dominique emerging!

funny lady laid an easter egg in there for Lu to find!

she screamed EGG!

she was well practiced at finding eggs

thanks to her grandma sue.

she reached her whole arm in...

and came out with her first real find of the season.

amazing how nature is all you really need in this world.

xoxoxox

hope everyone had a wonderful valentine's day!

crazy how much fun we had with some heart stickers on string and paper.

little Lu is getting more and more awesome by the day.

we can't even say how much LOVE we have in our hearts this year!

wishing you the same...

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox

{my screen shot of just some of the bento box art image search}

ok, so what? i like to play with my food.

i'm realizing how very driven i can be by the visual presentation
of the food i like to make and eat

so obviously the whole bento box trend has really been stirring my imagination lately ...

if you haven't seen the great world of bento box love seen above

please click here and be amazed... i'll wait...

like wow, right!?

so, feeding my little one is top priority in life right now
(my how priorities have changed?)

and what better way to have fun doing it than to incorporate
making it into art?

i've purchased this book to jump start my creative juices

and have a bento box waiting in my amazon wish list
for the next gift giving session.

can't wait to post pics of the fun we have!

even though Lu can't eat egg –i see that as a challenge.

stay tuned for food art mania...

xoxoxoxox

oh happy day!!!!

i feel like i've just struck GOLD.

the mother load of gold. if you get what i'm saying.

my hubs and i were talking about our favorite records from childhood

and decided to buy them for our daughter.

{his and mine}

listening to them has been so fun and heartwarming

i decided to look for more–

and what did i find? yep. as i said before... gold.

this link will take you to a library

of free downloadable mp3s of children's vinyl record series.

all kinds of wonderfully narrated stories for you and the kids to listen to!

gah, i'm loving it.

put them on while you play, draw, wrap presents, take a bath, eat a snack –

whatever. just put them on and you'll see.

this morning on the stereo it was like i was transformed in time to the best times in my childhood.

i remember our humming stereo, the orange shaggy carpet,

and the potted plant by the window of our old house.

the recordings wake up my imagination and memories so intensely.

it's like proust phenomenon to my ears.

hope you partake and enjoy.

xoxoxox

my very favorite spots from around the house these days...

a living room is always so cozy with the lovely low-lights.

hooray, a mantle with stockings this year.

sprigs from the tree holding left over balls for the kitchen.

{i used a candle, covered it with burlap and stuffed in some pinecones!}

it's also feeling like christmas with all this snow and cold.

(frozen pumpkins anyone!?)

my little snow-bunny-blue-eyes loves it...

and her best buddy.

merry doesn't even come close to how i feel.

~ hope you're feeling it, too ~

xoxoxoxox

hey friends!

here's a little look at my little Lu's 1st birthday party.

we decided on a native american theme since it was the perfect time of year

and this house had seen many indians in its day.

we read history about the very many indians and black bear

in this area in the 1790's and thought it be kinda cool to pay some homage.

since i only had 5 invites to make

i went crazy and really made them special.

hand drawn envelopes with pop-up teepee invites arrived at each mailbox.

• • • • •

then i started on the headdresses.

again only 6 so i went crazy.

luckily, i have a plethora of crafting supplies

and used swatch leather scraps and my old invite adornments

to make each one super nice. i only had to buy feathers and elastic.

all that craft saving over the years is finally paying off!

every kid got a headdress and a goodie bag

with tiny treasures inside.

made a little teepee to go atop my

sweet dutchess white chocolate raspberry cake!

and a little "luella" flag was all it needed...

Lu was in great spirits!

she was a little stunned to wake up from her nap

to a ton of peeps in her house but she rolled with it quite well.

and kept her headdress on all day.

(we did practice. but she loves "hats" anyway.)

then we ate cake,

hooted like a tribe,

ran around for an arrowhead hunt,

and sat in a teepee.

it was great.

oh, it's my favorite time of the year!

and now that our babe is finally with us – it's even more fun.

(remember last year what the yard looked like in the season of her birth)

these days we explore the yard afternoon and this week it got super interesting.

the milkweeds are doing their thing and all the coolness that comes with it...

{click photos to look closer}

milkweed bugs.

totally cool.

(i love that all the things that hang with the milkweed are poisonous to eat and show themselves to be that way in bright orange and black. danger colors are rad.)