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my holiday card

happy holidays!

It's that time of year again!

GAG gift giving time!  Around this time every year, my department gets bombarded with ridiculous graphics requests for gag gifts.  It has always mildly infuriated me that for two weeks in December my time and talent (I'm using the word loosely) is spent creating the silliest, most ridiculous items you can imagine.  The purpose of these items is to entertain and humiliate co-workers, a sport that interests me little.  I worked (and continue to work) on my share of stupid, waste-of-time gag gifts, however THIS year I got a real gem.
The Boarding Pass.

I designed a fake boarding pass and accompanying sleeve to inform Mrs. Managing Director's Wife that Mr. Managing Director is taking her to France in 2010.  This was less of a gag gift and more of a Christmas present.  This project fell right into my creative wheelhouse and boy was it fun.

Following some light internet research the design fell into place quickly.  I ran into a few question marks while creating the sleeve, considering airlines don’t issues these anymore I didn’t have a good sample to look at.  Are they shorter or longer than the boarding pass? Are they open or closed at the bottom? After some consideration, I went with a size and design that made sense to me. Printing had the usual snags but nothing I couldn’t handle. At the end of the day Mr. Managing Director is happy and I have another piece for my portfolio.  Everybody wins.

homemade vanilla extract

 

My apologies if you are one of the future recipients of this homemade gift, but I couldn't wait any longer.  This one has been on the works for weeks and I'm ready to share.  For the past six weeks I have been brewing homemade vanilla extract in my very own kitchen.  It's a simple process: vodka + vanilla beans + six weeks = vanilla extract.  Well, it's a little more complicated.  directions here.

After whipping up the vanilla concoction in a large mason jar I had plenty of time to ponder packaging variables.  Boy, did I ponder.  I found the bottle right away, but the label took a bit more tinkering.  Due to the shape of the bottle, the label needed to be round.  My first attempt was zazzle.com.  I uploaded a design and my order arrived a few days later (love the quickness).  Unfortunately, the stickers were a tiny bit too small.  I had enough time to find an alternative and although no one else on the planet would have noticed, I knew that those tiny labels would haunt my dreams forever.  So, I searched online and luckily found (correction, my boss found it) exactly what I was looking for.  Thanks Pike!

When all of the components were ready I strained the vanilla mixture (now vanilla extract), poured it into the individual jars and slapped on the labels.  It didn’t take me long to realize that the cork stopper was unsuitable for liquid (Doh!).  I traveled with three bottles recently and found that the cork cap soaked up the vanilla.  In fact, that cork LOVED my yummy homemade vanilla extract.  No matter how tight that cap was lodged into the bottle, the vanilla was still going to escape through the cap.  What is the lesson here people?  Cork is an unsuitable stopper for liquid.  The rest of the bottles have been repackaged into 3oz glass bottles with an airtight bail-and-seal hermetic closure.

This was a fun project.  I encountered some hiccups along the way but I’m happy with the end result.  Looking forward to handing these bad boys out!

Make vanilla extract at home and order my labels here.

laura's birthday gift - revealed!

continuing with my handmade pledge, i created these "happy birthday laura" pennant banners for my old friend.

i used a different pattern for every pennant and then cut out each letter by hand using an exacto knife.

now it gets interesting.  after i had cut out all the letters it occurred to me to take it a step further.  instead of tossing the letters, i organized and scanned them to create this card to accompany the banners.  a handmade gift AND a handmade card.  the total package.

laura's birthday teaser

laura's birthday teaser.  handmade, of course.  more to come...

handmade card

continuing with my handmade pledge, i created this card to accompany the seed packet.  i also made one of those super-hip wrap mailing labels.  done and done.  this baby is on it's way to chicago.  i hope sara likes it!

seed packet project

so here we have my latest craft project. i have decided to do a semi-handmade thing (i know there is an actual handmade pledge, but i'm lazy sometimes so I’m not going to commit to that) wherein i make thoughtful, crafty, handmade gifts for my friends and family. i think this is going to help my creative process overall, requiring me to start planning earlier and be more patient. these are good things.

ok. so i’ve made a custom perennial mix seed packet. i created a template in InDesign and laid out a fun design, including care instructions complete with cute little icons. next steps – print, cut, score, fold and glue but not before filling the packet with seeds. i think this came out awesome.

matt+lisa - wedding gift

my friends matt and lisa zelznick just got married in upstate new york. the wedding was amazing (pictures to come) but here are the custom, handmade wine glass charms i made as a wedding gift. from designing the label, to photographing the final product, this project was fun. this is the most well thought out project i have ever done. from idea to completion, the process was slow, steady and thoughtful. i am THRILLED about how it turned out and i have a new outlook on approaching larger scale projects like this in the future.





i enjoy working on projects that require several components. this one allowed me to combine bead work, photography and graphic design. below is the label i created for the outside of the tin box which held the wine charms. i viewed this like branding a product, something in which i have little experience. but i do know a little something about logo design. after some playful experimenting, i settled on a 'logo' using matt and lisa's names. the rest of the design fell into place shortly thereafter. i'm super happy with the outcome and i look forward to exploring product design and branding.

Harp's 1st birthday present

my niece is turning one in a couple of days and i made her this portable, standing picture frame. it was a labor of love. i initially set out to make her a box, but then i realized that i didn't know how. using the same materials, i shifted the focus to the frames. i love how they turned out.







i'm a graphic designer by day (super-crafter at night) so i designed this card to slide into one of the frames. designing for children is a whole new ballgame that i'm looking forward to exploring.

kate+eric

well hello there. it has been quite a white. but i've been re-inspired by a few new projects. first thing's first, my dear friends kate & eric got married in june. this first item is a sticker that i created to put on their gift. i wanted to do something a little different. i thought this was quite clever.



i designed the bridal jewelry for the event and here is the final result for the earrings. each lovely lady had a custom set of earrings and matching (yet completely unique) necklace or bracelet, depending on their personal preference. the dresses were a soft, summer lime so i chose pink and white pearls with pink stones. rose quartz, actually, because kate's middle name is rose. a lovely and personal touch.



really cool picture of kate and eric on their wedding day. image by Kristin Spencer Photography