Blustery Day Design

Kevin & Claire's Wedding - Real Wedding Pictures

2010-07-28T14:15:00.001-04:00

It's always so great to see what happens to our wedding pieces once they leave us and end up with the couple. Here's a snippet of Kevin & Claire's "Real Wedding" on The Knot, where they show a picture of the program we designed for them. (It doubles as a fan!) Great photos by Mark Tiderman.

We also designed their invites — see pictures in our gallery. We're happy we could be a part of your day, Claire & Kevin!

My Real Wedding from The Knot and The Nest.

Logo: Soup Bowl Benefit

2010-07-09T11:44:00.006-04:00

Love this logo we're working on for the first annual Soup Bowl Benefit in Terre Haute, Indiana, a fundraiser to combat hunger. The final version might change a little bit, but this start was too fun not to share!

Michelle & Daniel's graduation cake

2010-06-14T12:36:00.000-04:00

We designed an invitation for Michelle & Daniel's joint high school/college graduation, and their parents had this great invitation cake made based on the invite! Super cool. Also super tasty.

Hellooooo, Etsy!

2010-06-10T13:10:00.000-04:00

We're really excited to announce our new Blustery Day Design shop on Etsy! Etsy is great website whose tagline is "Buy, sell, and live handmade," where all sorts of artisans and creative people offer their wares. You can find a number of our retail products for sale there, including blank notecard sets, packs of notepads, and cards specifically for people fighting cancer or dealing with loss. Stop by and check it out — if you're on Etsy yourself, be sure to give us some hearts! :)

You can also stop by and see our recently posted items by visiting our Blustery Day Design Facebook page and clicking the "Etsy" tab.

Invite: An Evening with Yearbook Committee

2010-05-12T12:15:00.000-04:00

A simple little invite for a wonderful little performance! Terre Haute-based band Yearbook Committee (that I happen to be a member of) recorded the show to release as an album. Can't wait to see/hear how it turns out!

Simple and meaningful

2010-05-01T10:09:00.000-04:00

This invitation to a memorial service is simple and straight-forward without being drab. I really like how the color bars turned out — this sort of design is so versatile!

Shiny happy new gallery pictures

2010-04-21T21:25:00.009-04:00

It was too nice of a day today to not spend some of it outside! We took new pictures of some of our more recent invites at a nearby community park and are excited to share them with you. Check out our online gallery for all of the new pictures.

Congrats to Meghan & Brad, and Michelle & Rob, who just got married recently! We had fun working on each of their very unique invitation sets. Meghan's art-deco inspired final design really complemented her retro venue of The Redmoor in Mount Lookout Square. Michelle asked for a color-filled vintage vibe and playful flair for her New York City wedding, and we think our yellow and pink design really delivered. Hooray for thinking outside the box!

Logo: Retirement Plan Advisors LLC

2010-04-05T16:50:00.003-04:00

We just finished up a logo for Retirement Plan Advisors, LLC, in Olde Montgomery. The more I look at it, the more I like it! Lauren at RPA was a joy to work with. We went through a few different ideas for the motif in the logo, but I really find the lamppost inviting, comforting, and established. Nice.

What Women's History Month means to us

2010-03-12T16:51:00.002-05:00

March is Women's History Month, and there is no shortage of amazing women to celebrate! But this year in particular we feel special poignancy in how we look at the future of women and of women's health.

Most of you know that Blustery Day Design is made up of three sisters. The three of us have been inseperable since birth! Many of you also know that Vanessa was diagnosed with breast cancer in March 2007 at the age of 25. After chemo and surgeries, she got back in the swing of things. Unfortunately, we just learned last month that her cancer has returned.

This news leaves all of us looking for ideas: how can we help? How can Blustery Day Design help?

As individuals, we look to organizations like the Army of Women, a pool of women (with breast cancer and without) who are willing to participate in research studies seeking answers to questions about breast cancer. They have a great blog post about how they have chosen to celebrate Women's History Month. We encourage all women to join the movement.

As a company, we're continuing to work on our Rain Drops line of cards for the sad days in each family's story: the cancers, the miscarriages, the illnesses and the losses. Vanessa has gotten first hand experience in the quality (or lack of quality!) of cards for persons in her situation, and we hope to help others find the right bit of sincerity to show that they're thinking of their loved ones. We'll keep you up to date and let you know when they're available for wider purchase.

Blustery Sounds

2010-02-02T17:10:00.009-05:00

Every once in awhile we like to pat ourselves on the back, so this time lets recognize Christina's superb job on her CD Sudden Amaryllis. Her music is poetically reviewed by Mark Stalcup in the January/February Terre Haute Living. We are beyond proud of her, but it's always neat to see when others appreciate all her hard work. Besides her brilliant lyrics and music, Christina also designed all the album art. See more pics in the BDD Gallery. Most musicians call themselves "artists" but Christina truly is!

Our first billboard

2010-01-22T11:13:00.000-05:00

We've done all sorts of things for Terre Foods Cooperative Market, but this is our biggest yet! This billboard is currently hanging out on 3rd St. in Terre Haute, Indiana. I snapped this picture right at the beginning of dusk on a cold and gray day in the Haute, so just imagine how great this baby looks on a blue sky kind of day! See more our of our work with Terre Foods.

Sneak peek of our new Blueprint invitation visualizer!

2010-01-19T12:31:00.000-05:00

We've been working on an new invitation "visualizer" and wanted to share a sneak peek with you! This interactive invite generator will help you see what your color, typeface, paper, and pattern choices would look like for your Blueprint wedding invitations, taking the guesswork out of ordering our template designs. We think this will be a fun way to customize your own invite package, allowing design time savings on our end and money savings on yours. We're super excited! Stay tuned...

Learn more about Blustery Day Design's invitation design levels and what else we offer for weddings at www.blusterydaydesign.com/celebrate.

Don't forget to recycle this Christmas!

2009-12-23T12:21:00.000-05:00

Almost as much a tradition as unwrapping presents is the big garbage bag to collect all of the wrapping paper. This year, don't forget that wrapping paper is recyclable! The best solution is to save large scraps for re-use (or use reusable gift wrappings to begin with), but when the little ones tear the paper to shreds, be sure to scoop it up and save it for recycling. Unless the wrapping paper has plastic-based outer coating, toss it in with the rest of your mixed paper and you're good to go.

Be sure to reuse or recycle the boxes, too!

Christmas cards and more!

2009-12-15T12:31:00.003-05:00

We're excited to have a full online retail store in the works, but for now, check out our holiday stationery order form to see what we have for the season! We have holiday cards, gift tags, stationery and notepads for starters. If you're local to BDD (in the Northern Kentucky area) it's not too late to get them for this holiday season. We can ship the same day they're ordered, or you can conveniently pick them up to save on shipping costs.

Stay tuned for more stationery and gift items from BDD! We've got a lot of plans...

Announcing the new BDD web site!

2009-11-20T12:36:00.002-05:00

We're super pumped about our new site. Stop by http://www.blusterydaydesign.com/ and check it out!

You'll notice one big change: we've divided the site into three site sections, each with its own navigation menu for ease of use and to accommodate our varying audiences. If you accidentally get in the wrong section, don't worry — the helpful site map at the footer of each page allows you to move easily between the sections. The sections are:

BDD Every Day: main site. Your home base for items for you and your family: baby announcements, holiday cards, stationery, party invites... Also includes information about Blustery Day Design, testimonials, in the press, and more.

BDD Celebrate: wedding & event. Where to start for invitations, programs, reception materials, and more for your wedding or big event.

BDD Identity: business & promo. Information about services like logo design, correspondence, promo pieces, web art & set-up, etc. From small businesses to non-profits to musicians to artists, this is the section for you.

There are all kinds of other goodies in the site or in the works, but we don't want to spoil it for you. Go check it out! Look around! There are still some little tweaks and bugs to work out, but we're pretty proud of it. Don't forget to let us know what you think!

America Recycles Day Nov. 15

2009-11-10T13:25:00.005-05:00

November 15th is America Recycles Day, sponsored by Keep America Beautiful and the National Recycling Coalition. The purpose of the day is "to continue to promote the social, environmental and economic benefits of recycling and encourage more people to join the movement toward creating a better natural environment." Well, we're all about that, so we took the pledge on their website to renew our recycling efforts. You should, too!

For more about Blustery Day Design's commitment to the environment, see our Environmental Pledge on our Web site.

Intertwined Lives

2009-10-19T12:17:00.001-04:00

Back in August I posted about working with CANDLES Holocaust Museum and Education Center on an exhibit for the Museum. Well, last Thursday the exhibit was unveiled with a reception and it looks great!

The exhibit is made up of 11 four-foot by four-foot panels: one title panel and ten that each tell a bit of the story. Eva Mozes Kor, the museum's founder, and her twin sister Miriam were part of experiments in Auschwitz under the direction of Dr. Josef Mengele. Eva and Miriam were freed in the liberation of Auschwitz, and over the years Eva became interested in educating the public about the Mengele twins as well as the power of forgiveness. This exhibit, entitled "Intertwined Lives: Dr. Mengele, Eugenics, and the Mozes Twins," is a pilot exhibit that Eva and the Museum hope to expand upon in coming years. (Learn more about CANDLES.)

Here, Eva is being interviewed by the local media. (You can watch WTWO's clip on the opening here.)

See more photos of the exhibit in the BDD Gallery.

Stickers stickers stickers!

2009-10-13T16:59:00.002-04:00

People love free stuff. We do, at any rate. Vanessa's husband Billy in particular goes out of his way to find free things, from the Cincinnati Reds visors free to the first 1,000 fans or the Walgreen's rebate that gets him a pack of pens for free. (Sometimes it's taxing, for instance when we don't want to go to the Reds game two hours early, but most of the time we love him for it.) :)

So, naturally, we LOVE stickers as promo pieces. They're a great way to not spend too much yourself but be able to reach hundreds of people for a few pennies a pop. Slap 'em on guitar cases, slip them in gift bags, or hand them out at your next event. These examples are for musicians (including me!), but there's no reason you couldn't utilize stickers for your business, party, or even as wedding favors! See more of the Yearbook Committee 73 stickers or the Christina Blust stickers in the BDD Gallery.

A Visit with Mary Todd Lincoln

2009-10-09T12:43:00.003-04:00

I am such a fan of public libraries. Whoa. What other institution does so much to educate the masses? So I was happy to pitch in when the Vigo County Public Library asked me to pull together some programs for their fundraiser event featuring Deborah Gentit as Mary Todd Lincoln.

This program is a great example of how organizations with small budgets can still have great-looking materials. We designed the piece to use black ink only and provided the Library with a PDF for them to print as they found best. But since the program was well designed, it'll look good no matter what. I had a lot of fun pulling the 1860s typographical style in for a simple but nice little program. See more photos here.

Sneak peek of the new BDD web site...

2009-09-05T17:24:00.004-04:00

We're working on a new web site that will hopefully make it much easier for everyone to find the information they need! Here's a sneak peek...

Pieces of the past: CANDLES Holocaust Museum

2009-08-10T17:54:00.009-04:00

I've been working on an exhibit for CANDLES Holocaust Museum. There's still a lot to be done, but we're currently at the stage where we're pulling together info and images to create display panels. I'm quite struck by what an honor it is to work with personal treasures! Pictured above are Eva Mozes Kor and her twin sister Miriam, both of whom as children were part of experiments in Auschwitz under the direction of Dr. Josef Mengele. She only has a few pictures of her family, but the photos she does have are beautiful snapshots of her loved ones.

Eva is Founding Director of CANDLES, and she's an inspiration to work with. I can't wait to see how the exhibit shapes up.

In the Press: The Knot Ohio

2009-07-16T21:15:00.002-04:00

We've popped up in the Ohio edition of The Knot magazine! Check out the Fall/Winter 2009 issue (pages 66-68 to be exact) where you can find pics of the table numbers and escort cards we designed for Kate & Todd. Knot members can also view the online feature. And if you missed it, our escort cards were featured on The Knot blog back in March. Photographer Kim Long did a beautiful job capturing the spirit of Kate & Todd's apple green theme. Thanks for the pics, Kim!

See the rest of Kate & Todd's invitation set on our gallery.

Meg & Dan's Super-Personalized Guestbook

2009-07-05T21:36:00.007-04:00

Guestbooks are always a great way to remember who came to celebrate with you, but we particularly love guestbooks like the one we pulled together for Meg & Dan. Each guest receives a half-sheet of paper at their seat at the table with the instructions to write (or draw!) something for the couple.

At the end of the night, the pages are collected, we bind them together, and the newly married couple gets an irreplaceable keepsake from the people they love the most. We especially applaud the creative souls who do much more than write their name, who leave a haiku instead! or a long story! or a drawing of that one time at the Cleveland Indians game...

See more pictures of Meg & Dan's invites, reception materials and guestbook.

Yearbook Committee 73

2009-07-01T16:01:00.006-04:00

Nearly every musician knows that you've got to have a Myspace page. It's a clunky site and leaves a lot to be desired, but for accessibility and easy upkeep it's a necessity. So, I like to tackle the challenge of taking this awkward platform and tweaking it into something that looks great and really reflects the band.

Yearbook Committee 73 is a super-awesome band/musician's collective with a fresh sound full of singalongs, handclaps, banjos, an accordion, some banging on the garage door... okay, I'm biased, because I'm a Committee member myself, but you should check them out anyway. :) At any rate, we made YbC73 a great little banner for the top of their page, as well as some additional matching art for the contact box. It's just a small example of how we could make you look better online, too!

Celebrating Cincy: Larissa & Timothy

2009-06-24T12:24:00.002-04:00

I had tons of fun making these invites, and I think they turned out great! Larissa and Timothy wanted to show their love for their city in the design, so we incorporated the skyline with their sapphire blue color to really say, "Cincinnati!" Add the super-sweet linen textured paper and metallic silver cardstock, and we ended up with an invite set that could show a little class. Nice. See the rest of their invites here.

NYC or bust

2009-05-14T21:56:00.003-04:00

We're heading to New York City tomorrow for a big industry paper & stationery conference.... truly couldn't be more in geek heaven. :)

We've talked about wanting to take this trip for years! I'm looking forward to seeing some new potential supplies, some eco-friendly product options, and of course the sister-together time will be nice too. :)

Check back soon for our post-show comments and ideas!!! Woot!

Design Can Change - designing for sustainability

2009-05-01T14:36:00.012-04:00

We've taken the pledge! Design Can Change is a group of graphic designers all over the world who are committed to making system-wide change to how our field of work affects the planet. This is especially important to us with Blustery Day Design, as the end result of our work is often a piece of paper with something printed on it. Vanessa, Christina and I have formally pledged our commitment to the cause, which is spelled out as such...

In my professional practice, I will endeavor to:
~Learn: Engage in the topic and seek to understand the issue
~Think: Make a sustainable mindset second nature
~Act: Put my knowledge to use in my daily work
~Inform: Share information and build awareness for sustainability
~Unite: Spark change through collective strength

Consider us committed!

Blustery Day Design has always had a focus in our studio on incorporating "green" practices to running the business - reusing scraps of paper, using both sides of paper to print on before recycling, etc. We've also recently been investigating some ways to reuse the by-products of our work to make our own packaging, which is an exciting development! Our products themselves frequently include recycled elements as well, and we encourage clients to forgo pieces like inner envelopes or extra inserts if they can be reasonably excluded. Similarly, we make every effort to use local resources and vendors – not only does this cut down on transport damage done to the earth, but supports our local economy too.

However, Design Can Change has inspired us to look beyond just our production and office management processes. We have lots more opportunity to improve in reducing the impact of our work on the world, and it’s thrilling to get creative on some ideas to do that!

For example, we can look at the complete life cycle of what we are producing. With a typical brochure for a small business, its general purpose is to represent the business and convey some sort of information. However, when the intended recipient of the brochure reads it and takes whatever action, will the brochure still be useful? If not, it’s most likely headed for the trash. One easy idea would be to include in the design a reminder to please consider recycling the brochure when you are finished with it! Or pass it along to someone else, or even return it to the business for reuse.

Something as simple as that could have big dividends in ensuring that our pieces that get sent out into the world are ending their useful life on a note that helps the environment. Another idea for the same brochure could be to include a tear off mailable response postcard, making the same piece have multiple functions, and utilizing a postcard to avoid needing an envelope.

We have lots more to learn and way farther to go in brainstorming new ideas for our design work, but Blustery Day Design is proud to make this commitment to continual growth. We’ll share our ideas as we refine them, and plan to feature more designs and supply choices on our website soon that encorporate earth-friendly options.

Here’s to taking care of the world we’re so lucky to have!

Some super-sweet spring sewing (& knitting!)

2009-04-26T22:13:00.009-04:00

Blustery Day Design has been way busy these past weeks (we're not complaining - I consider that a blessing in this economy!), but I realize now just how long it's been since we've blogged - waaay too long! It's the busy season for wedding invites, so we've been working with tons of different couples. I've really enjoyed the wide range of style to work on. It's exciting to get to have a hand in helping each couple have exactly what reflects THEM best.

But for this post I'm going to branch out from paper! I spent a day recently catching up on some sewing projects I wanted to complete for a friend who just had her second baby. I sewed a rice heat therapy pillow (in cute removable slipcover) for her, plus a crayon wrap-up roll for the new big sister. I sent the brand new little baby girl some booties that I knit her, too. Everything was pink since, well, everything was for a different girly girl!

Ahh, spring - it just makes me want to get my craft on. :)

Sneak peeks from a busy week

2009-02-14T15:44:00.002-05:00

This past week has been jam packed with the last steps of several wedding packages all at once. Our studio has been a flurry of printing on envelopes, assembling backing cards, and packaging up pieces. I think we went through over 1800 inches of double sided tape in less than two days!

It's all worth it though, as the finished products look soooo good - and after so much time spent on the on-screen design, it's nice to get to touch and feel all the PAPER!

When working on a lot of people's invites at once, it's also a nice visual of how different and unique everyone is. These designs, colors, fonts and feels are all pretty different! It's fullfilling that we are able to give each person exactly what they like.

(Although interesting is that 3 out of 4 of these sets feature blue!)

Here's some sneak peaks of the gorgeous finshed products for Mary Lynn, Brendan, Jennifer and Ashley... We'll have these ready for you guys soon. :)

The texture on this paper is just incredible and looks great with the natural, big pattern:

Yay for personal & meaningful little details (this couple got engaged in a hot air balloon!):

Dots are a classic yet playful touch and I love the J&J monogram:

This combination of deep linen texture and the swirly flourish is so very vintage cool:

We just got a Bride's Choice Award!

2009-02-04T23:12:00.005-05:00

WeddingWire, the nation’s leading wedding technology company, just announced that Blustery Day Design has won the 2009 Bride’s Choice Awards™!

In its inaugural year, the Bride’s Choice Awards recognizes and honors vendors from the WeddingWire Network that demonstrate excellent quality of service, responsiveness, professionalism, value of cost and flexibility. This year’s recipients represent the top three percent of WeddingWire’s vendor community, which includes over 100,000 wedding vendors from across the US. That means Blustery Day Design is one of the very best vendors in the Invitations and Favors category.

Unlike other awards in which winners are selected by the company, the Bride’s Choice Awards are determined exclusively by recent newlyweds through surveys and reviews.

“We are excited to launch this annual award program to honor high-performing vendors based solely on the experiences of our WeddingWire community,” according to Timothy Chi, WeddingWire’s Chief Executive Officer. “This year’s recipients have set the bar high, exhibiting excellent service and expertise in the wedding industry.”

Here at BDD, we would like to thank our past clients for speaking on our behalf and helping us win the 2009 Bride’s Choice Award!

You can find Blustery Day Design on WeddingWire right here, so stop by and leave us a review or just say hi! :)

Photograph save-the-dates: Candace and Mark

2009-01-28T12:03:00.006-05:00

Our friends Candace and Mark are the kind of people who see every day as an excuse to be creative. From their masterpieces in the kitchen to their written marvels, from Candace's love of yarn to Mark's gleeful enjoyment of Tinker Toys, these two put things to good use in fun new ways. (Candace's blog Delve and Spin, chronicling some of their creative pursuits, is one of my favorites.)

This is why I was not surprised at all when Candace wanted to use old photographs as their save-the-date postcards. I think this is a great idea — who doesn't have old 4x6s laying around? She and Mark went through their collections and pulled out specific photographs that related to the people each specific save-the-date would be sent to. Then we printed the text on labels, trimmed them to fit, and stuck them on the back of the photographs. Easy as pie! (4x6 photos are mailable with no problem through the USPS, so even a photograph with no label just needs an address and a stamp to be on its way.)

What else I love about this is the emphasis on the relationships and memories we share with those we love. Every save-the-date is a reminder of just why you're inviting these people to your wedding in the first place. Hooray for friends and family. :)

Colors colors colors!

2009-01-24T18:40:00.005-05:00

We've been thinking about colors lately. We like colors. A whole lot.

As everybody knows, colors are a major part of any wedding and one of the first things couples pin down. They are a huge facet of any small business branding and can really bring consistency and freshness to business materials. The colors present on an album cover can convince someone to buy your CD.

(In fact, that's how I discovered Josh Ritter — I'm still grateful to whoever designed the Animal Years album cover for convincing me to check out the CD, which is as sonically awesome as it is visually great. Good thing, because I get mad when bad albums have good covers that sneakily trick you into listening to them. False advertising. Inexcusable.) :)

To get back to the point, colors are hugely important in everything we do. I find myself going to the COLOURlovers site quite often for inspiration and color palettes. The site is a community of people who love colors (duh) and is full of hues, color combinations, and patterns that are easily searchable and easy to make. It's the kind of site one can easily spend hours ooohing and aaahing over.

The more I've thought about it, the more I want to share this site with our clients! Many people come to us and find themselves trying to describe a very specific color: "a sage-y olive fern green," "that color they use on the Target commercial" or "a mix between pumpkins and the Bengals." There's an easier way - I encourage you all to go to COLOURlovers and find your particular shade of blue, and then send it to us! Go to the Colors section, search by hue or keyword, and then send us the link to the color you love.

If you are feeling extraordinarily ambitious, you can go one step further and pick out or create a color palette, and then send it along. Users have already created thousands of great color palettes you can search through. Simply go to the Palettes section and start digging around. You'll find this tool SUPER useful for finding new colors to throw into your mix.

Have fun and stay safe. It's addictive. If you have dishes or laundry to do, you should maybe go do that now, before you get sucked in...

Color of the year!

2009-01-10T11:26:00.004-05:00

Once again, Blustery Day Design is cutting edge awesome...

Pantone "has been the world’s color authority for 45 years, providing design professionals with products and services for the colorful exploration and expression of creativity," they tell me, and it's true - Pantone pretty much reigns over color from graphic design to textiles.

Which is why the fact that they picked our shade of yellow for their color of the year 2009 is so nifty. Explaining their choice, the Pantone folks said, "In a time of economic uncertainty and political change, optimism is paramount and no other color expresses hope and reassurance more than yellow."

We feel pretty cool.

Real Wedding spotlight: Amy & Kyle

2008-11-30T21:22:00.026-05:00

So to us at BDD, a wedding doesn't seem real until, well, it happens! That's why we love when clients send us photos from their big day! We recently received some great pics from Amy & Kyle's wedding (thanks, Amy!). They are shot by photographer Mike Bresnen and are simply gorgeous. Amy's wedding was outside and she wanted her ceremony programs to double as fans, so we designed her panels, and she attached a holding stick -- so clever, and elegant too! The escort cards and table numbers also were designed to match the wedding colors and reception decor. Very pretty! To see the other pieces we designed for Amy & Kyle, visit our gallery.

Up, up and away

2008-11-16T13:49:00.007-05:00

We've been having lots of fun working with Brendan and Leigh. Brendan proposed in a hot air balloon (which is awesome) and they wanted to incorporate a balloon motif into their pieces.

Last week we got their save-the-date magnets in, and they look great! Magnets have been pretty popular lately. They're not only a great way to let people know what's up – they also add a happy burst of color to the fridge. What's not to love?

I love the internet

2008-11-09T10:41:00.008-05:00

Lately I've been having tons of fun perusing public domain images on the internet. There are SO many beautiful photographs, illustrations, and glyphs that are ours for the using. My most recent favorite is Google Books, which has scanned thousands of old books whose copyrights have expired. It definitely takes some digging, but I think the results are worth it - just enter a search term and start clicking around through the PDFs. (They have copyrighted books, too, so you have to pay attention, but pretty much any book published before 1928 is fair game.)

This little vignette I pulled from OldBookIllustrations.com is from Contes populaires de Basse-Bretagne, published in Paris in 1887. The design opportunities for these things are endless! I'm so excited to pull some of these finds into cd art, invitations and other happy pieces!

Leaves

2008-11-05T22:16:00.007-05:00

Leaves were popular this year! Here at BDD we're making finishing touches on our fall weddings, making ceremony programs and seating charts, and looking forward to new seasons.

We've been updating our gallery with all of these new autumn additions, so stop by and check them out! This set for Alicia and Michael uses a pocketfolder quite well and is so darn cute! So stop by the gallery to see theirs and other fall weddings.

Incidentally, Alicia and Michael will get married this Saturday - so congrats from all of us at Blustery Day Design, and good luck with everything!

Christmas Craftiness Challenge

2008-10-30T07:32:00.000-04:00

I got the latest issue of my CRAFT magazine subscription recently, and it's really inspired me to try to make some time to get crafty soon! I so love making things, but I've not been able to do as much as I would like to lately.

Every year I try to make something for all the members of my immediate family for their Christmas gift from me, and this year I am already starting to think about what to do. Now I don't support the retail world jumping on upcoming holidays way too early - but when you're talking about making things, it's imperative to start far in advance! ;)

I have also decided to add a new twist this year - I'm going to attempt to make all the gifts this year out of supplies and objects I already have, without purchasing anything new! I may make an exception for a notion or two if absolutely needed, but I have enough fabric and other materials as it is, that it really shouldn't even be that hard to accomplish. It just feels wasteful to buy any more stuff without using up some of what I already have, and it seems like a good year to spend less money where possible... plus, the challenge makes it extra fun!! ;)

If you haven't ever thought about making some or all of your gifts for the holidays this year, I'd encourage you, nay, I'd CHALLENGE you, to consider it! It's a lot of fun to exercise your crafty side, and gifts from the heart that are made with your own hands are extra special. :)

I obviously can't talk any more about my ideas for this year, as my sisters are frequently on this blog (obviously!) - so instead I'll leave you with some pictures of what I made for people last Christmas. Hopefully it will leave you with some ideas of your own, or inspiration to try making something this year yourself! You can do it! ;)

Purse for Vanessa:

A very roomy but lady-like pleated style in this awesome nubby pink upholstery fabric with a light pink taffeta lining. Pattern is {I'll add later once I find it}, although it's an older one now out of print; I actually really wanted this specific pattern bad enough to find it on ebay! I also pinned a sparkly brooch on the front for some old school bling...

MP3 player case for Christina:

Another upholstery fabric, this time in green (it's actually leftover yardage from when I reupholstered my kitchen chair seats!), and not using any pattern but just measuring the music player and making up an envelope type case. There was a split interior, for keeping her earbuds separate (and untangled) from the actual player. I also gave it a detachable wrist strap/key chain and a belt loop on back as well, for multiple options in carrying it with you...

Camera case for Mom:
Yet another upholstery fabric - I really love the stuff! This was a pink with fun grooves, and I used the same pink taffeta lining here as in Vanessa's purse. For this I did not use a pattern either; after measuring the camera and sketching out some ideas, I just kind of winged it. There were a few things I would change starting over, but it turned out super cute, with a perfectly sized battery compartment and an inside pocket for an extra memory card...

Dad is a little harder to actually make something for, so I gave him some stained glass window books, to further his new hobby and help him make something himself...

Finally, in the background of the first camera case picture, you can see the little containers of hot chocolate mix I made in bulk for many other members of my family and our friends. :) It was really delicious, and easy to make out of just a few dry ingredients! I made a big batch for us to keep as well; we're still using it now and it's kept fresh really well. There is no actual cooking or baking involved in making this gift, just some mixing of all the ingredients.

Here's the "recipe" I used, and I do recommend it:

~*~*~Batch of HOT COCOA MIX~*~*~

2 cups nonfat dry milk

3/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup cocoa

1/2 cup powdered creamer

dash of salt
Optional: small marshmallows or chocolate chips added to mix; candy cane to use as flavored stir stick.

To serve: add several heaping tablespoons (or more like 6 if you're like me) to a mug of hot water.

Also, I melted chocolate chips in a bowl in the microwave, dipped plastic spoons into it, then laid the dipped spoons on parchment paper and added some sprinkles on top, before allowing them to harden and then covering in a plastic wrap square tied with ribbon around base of spoon, to make chocolate covered stir spoons... yummy!

Now off you go - let's all get crafty this holdiay season! :)

Almost famous

2008-10-10T13:07:00.010-04:00

So our mom called the other day, and said that our dad had been doing the crossword puzzle in the paper, and when he finished that he read an article in the same section about a $6000 wedding... and Blustery Day Design was mentioned it. Wooo! It was definitely a passing reference kind of thing, no feature article or picture of our invite or anything, but hey, we're still excited! It was cute that Mom and Dad were so stoked to see us in the paper too. :)

The article was about planning a wedding on a budget, and since both Vanessa and I were in the same boat when we each got married, we enjoyed reading how Caitlin handled all her planning. So glad we could be part of her solution! I definitely feel we were able to design her a simple yet beautiful invitation that fit her budget. Here's a picture of Caitlin's set!

Caitlin and Jon are getting married tonight - congrats from us at BDD, guys! And thanks for the shoutout in the article. :)

Giving something back

2008-09-20T10:22:00.006-04:00

Since at Blustery Day Design we are always striving to be active members of our community, we enjoy sharing our services with causes and organizations that we support. In Terre Haute, Indiana, some illustrious folks are starting a food co-op called Terre Foods Cooperative Market, which has great potential to be both a source of wholesome food and products AND a place for the community to gather. Needless to say, we support their efforts! It's been fun creating materials for them.

Terre Haute has a big railroad history, so when I created the logo I tried to transform this industrial past into a place where new life and energy can flourish. This logo has been applied happily to bags, t-shirts, brochures and posters - it's really exciting to see increasing community awareness of the project. Hooray for cool people doing good work!

Yum.

2008-09-05T16:15:00.007-04:00

It's always fun to see our work in action. A few weeks ago I attended the wedding of my good friends Meg and Dan. Their invitations turned out super-cute (you can see them in our gallery), and at the reception there were hand-written place cards and food signs to match. All of the food was homemade from local ingredients by friends and family of the couple - how DELICIOUS does that hummus look?

Think outside the envelope!

2008-08-20T21:35:00.024-04:00

In our many years of doing invitations, we have found it's fun to spread the love, and extend the designing to more than just the invite that gets mailed out. Why not make the items at the ceremony and reception match your invites?!? The coolness of the design shouldn't just be restricted to one piece! Might as well go all out and create an experience that everyone will remember. And don't just stick to the traditional items like seating cards and M&M pouches...anyone can do that! The more unique the better!!

Some things to have fun with to carry out your design, color, monogram, motif or theme:

guest book
favors (maybe a CD, photo card or favorite recipe)
candy guess
menus
bathroom signage
table centerpiece
welcome sign
"reserved" signs for head table
specialty drink list
activities for guests (cornhole, anyone?)
ceremony programs
anything and everything you can add your special touch to!

So go forth, you party planner you, and think outside the envelope! Don't be afraid to do something new and different. After all, who wants to go to another reception with the cheesy printed stock-art napkins?!

Browse these photos from my wedding for some ideas! :)

Family

2008-08-18T22:30:00.009-04:00

We've been working on our family tree recently at a cool site called Geni. Christina started with our immediate family on there, and now we're up to 349 relatives! What I especially love about the project and website is it's so collaborative - everyone can work on adding who and what they know, and dividing the work among so many people makes it easy, and fun. Seeing the relatives pile up is amazing!

It's really awesome to see so many people that I'm related to! I love being part of a big family and feel super lucky that we are all close. Looking at the massive family tree we have going on, there is something inspiring about seeing all those who came before us, and have left their mark on the family still today - through their brave choices to uproot their families to a new country, their hard work to provide for their children, even their goofy exploits that are part of the family legends!

I've felt like I'm really starting my own little family now with my hubby and new little baby, and am so glad to be creating that on the shoulders of the larger families we have. Family is a wonderful reminder of how we're all connected and never going through anything alone. :)

I love that much of what we do through Blustery Day Design is honoring and celebrating ties between people who love each other. Yay for families!!

The coolest thing EVER

2008-08-15T14:27:00.008-04:00

Look at that thing! May I point out that it's a double rainbow? And that all four ends were visible and touching the ground right on either side of us?

Vanessa and I saw this rainbow somewhere in the mountains of Pennsylvania. We were on our way to New York City so that Vanessa could again be part of the Scar Project, a series of portraits of the scars of young women with breast cancer, taken by the photographer David Jay. (We also trekked up to NYC in December for a portrait earlier in Vanessa's treatment schedule.)

It's so inspiring to see people respond to less than ideal situations with creativity and passion. Seeing such humanity is humbling and lovely. I think that both of us returned from New York with reinvigorated drives to create pieces celebrating the interactions between people and the bonds we all share.

Also, excuse me for a moment while I brag about how AWESOME my sister is. She's been through so much with so much strength. Jess and I are beyond proud of her. :)

Shiny happy stacks

2008-08-09T15:08:00.006-04:00

I've finished up wedding invitation sets for a few girls lately, and while of course I love the designs themselves that are on the paper, there's something so fulfilling about the finished stacks of each piece too. When the client wants to do assembly themselves, we give them each element cut and ready to go in little bundles that they can then put together as is needed. As a DIY kind of chica myself, seeing the finished stacks ready for assembly is just as fun as seeing the final product put together! The process really is just as pretty as the end result... :)

Quantum Music Production

2008-08-03T18:46:00.005-04:00

A friend of mine, Don Arney, runs a recording studio near Terre Haute, Indiana, called Quantum Music Production. Since he's a great guy AND has helped me record some stuff, I jumped at the chance to make him a logo.

Don's one of those people who seems to know a lot about everything. He wanted his logo to incorporate a Feynman's Diagram, which shows the path of a photon. I think it turned out pretty nice! (Don also lent me three books by Richard Feynman, who is SO cool. I eagerly devoured all three in short order.)

Fall

2008-08-03T09:38:00.016-04:00

This is the time of year when it's hot and sticky out, but all I've been thinking about lately is fall! That's because summer is the time of year when we are working on invites for all the autumn brides. :)

I'm really excited about the designs we've created lately - this year the season has been all about deep rich colors, metallic paper for just a hint of sophisticated sparkle, and bold big elements (like mod stripes!). The girls have been asking for bold pattern and pops of intense color, which is a refreshing change to work with and a lot of fun.

I've also noticed a shift from traditional designs to more modern styles being requested- a lot of the designs we've made lately have included lowercase letters, sans serif fonts, and large photo-realistic graphics. Very hip and in style! I'm including a few samples of some of my recent designs in this post. :)

Welcome!

2008-08-02T16:40:00.003-04:00

There's a great quote by Thich Nhat Hanh that we include on our main site:

"If you are a poet, you will see clearly that there is a cloud floating in this sheet of paper. Without a cloud there will be no water; without water the trees cannot grow; and without trees, you cannot make paper. So the cloud is in here."

We're pretty excited about our blog. Keep checking back to see what we're working on, what we've been up to, and other delightfully useful randomness.