christmas card 2010

Time to spread Christmas cheer through snail mail.

Perhaps I got a little carried away, considering that I started working on them mid November. The wooden card is by Night Owl Paper Goods. I saw their calendar designs and fell head over heels. My favorite is that people have something to keep all year. I also wanted to write a short letter because growing up I loved reading all the letters that came during the Christmas season (and finding a fun way to send it was a must).

I hope this Wednesday finds you enjoying all the festivities. Christmas Eve is only two short days away!

mod love story

Excited to share a recent project, these simple & modern wedding programs that were designed around the couples' love story. All photographs courtesy of the talented Kelly of Relic Photography, located in St. Louis.

Their story is very much like chapters in a book, and that theme is carried throughout the entire wedding. Here is a snippet of how their invitation was worded.

"Once upon a time Brad + Julie went on a date to a beautiful garden. They fell in love. One year later in that same garden, Brad asked Julie to be his lovely wife. Together with their families they go back to the botanical gardens for the celebration of their marriage and the beginning of a new chapter in their story together."

Isn't that just the sweetest!? And even more amazing, they planned their wedding in 40 days! Ah, I just love love stories. Thanks again to Julie and Relic for letting me share.

some fun fonts

How could I not throw in images of a few store fronts?! Loving the colors and type combinations. Also couldn't resist showing off the greatest window display I've ever seen. Foil is the new black.

crafting goddess

Please drool over the work of Ashley Meaders with me.

You may recognize some images from her pancake breakfast or popsicle picnic features on Design*Sponge. I can't even tell you how far my jaw dropped when I realized this was all done by the same person! Could the talent be laid on any thicker??? If only it was possible to steal a creative crumb or two!

Head over to her site for even more inspirational lovliness. Now I MUST mop up this drool spot before I pack up and hit the road, er....air.

in the mood for faith

{ Lovely Package }

{ knack studios }

{ persimmon&pink }

{ where is thumbkin? }

{ Orange Beautiful }

{ Jeanne Winters }

{ persimmon&pink }

Just thought it was interesting to see A) common phrases B) that came from the Bible and C) that are all designed well. I really love the collection! What do you think? Any surprises?

in the mood for prints

Today just seems like a great day to dream. Maybe I'm just not in work mode. I've been on a mission to "finish" each room in my house, and I sure wouldn't mind any one of these prints. Or all of them.

*Don't forget to comment on Friday's giveaway*

all the difference

First post of the week thanks to a relaxing and long weekend. I noticed mine wasn't the only blog to take a break. :) Life has slowed dramatically and I'm finding time to work and play. Updating the portfolio is now on the front burner—woo hoo. And what does thinking about portfolios remind me of? Well designed branding.

Eat, Drink, Chic. posted this adorable branding that I can't help but share. And if you missed it, I posted on my blog branding which is a great intro if you are thinking about personal updates as well. Okay on to a few of my favorites...

The Farmer's Cart // Studio Ten and a Half // via The Dieline

The Design Bakery // Joe Stephenson

Delicia // Avant/Cargo // via The Dieline

Julian // Jordan Gray // via Twig & Thistle

Gaslight // Designer source unknown {holla if you know}

Recession Bites // Freshthrills // via The Dieline

Parc // Mucca Design

Doesn't the whole design package make all the difference?!! So great. Any other favorites that I missed? I'd love to know your favorites...

voting time

I have had some success designing for Minted, and took on their latest Breakout Wedding Challenge. The judges this time around are 100 Layer Cake and Brooklyn Bride. I recommend checking out all the fun designs—so much inspiration! And of course while you're there, I would sure covet your rating my designs.

Any thoughts? Favorites? Not-so-favorites?

speaking of details

Have you ever noticed this little icon?

It is called a favicon! Favi-what??? I was bound and determined to get one of my very own. Here is what I discovered:

You start out with a Photoshop doc that is 16x16 pixels. I just copy/pasted my flower from Illustrator as a smart object and then resized it to fit the square. Save it. Then you use a website like this one to convert it to the right icon format. Then depending on your website, you upload it to your web server in the root directory. Now that is a little too techy for me, but since I use squarespace (God bless you squarespace) I just went to website management > website settings > advanced > and adjust the setting to use my favicon. And PRESTO!

Now I am legit.

I did have a small problem with the favicon NOT appearing when I used a url mask (joyeverafteronline.com), but I removed the mask and it works fine. I'd like to pretend I could help if anyone finds complications, but that just isn't so.

But I welcome all challenges!

today's topic

Yay! The blog is for real under way this new year. I want to show a bit of what I'm working on regarding logo/branding. I did a lot of research and what better place to go than Biz Ladies by Design*Sponge? I found this great article on branding your business and how CRUCIAL it is.

So here is how I broke down the process. Concept/Mission>Name>Logo>Design. Design includes fonts, palette, patterns, elements, and type treatments. This is just the starting point and the brand should evolve with the blog as I develop content and products.

So the basis of my brand look started with the font Buttermilk, by Jessica Hische.
I completely adore all that she creates, and I found myself repeatedly drawn back to it.

Then I had to decide what other visuals I wanted. I love textures, but also the simple clean approach. This is where I ended up for patterns and other elements to incorporate.

So this is a start! Hopefully it will be helpful to someone. I am more than willing to answer any questions and give pointers if you are throwing around the idea of revisiting your brand!