LCAD’s 30th Anniversary Collector’s Choice Gala + Live Auction

I have been under the weather this past month, which is unfortunate, because it’s delayed me sharing this exciting project I worked on for Laguna College of Art + Design (LCAD) these past couple of months.

I had the pleasure of designing the invitations for their 30th Anniversary Collector’s Choice Gala + Live Auction, which took place on Saturday, November 9th at the Montage Laguna Beach.

This is LCAD‘s premier annual fundraising event in support of their talented students and their award-winning programs. The event plays an integral role in raising funds for the $2.5 million awarded annually to their students’ merit scholarships.

For their 30th Anniversary, they celebrated with a diamonds and pearls theme to incorporate both the traditional and modern symbols.

The accordion folded invitation and response card was digitally printed on a pearlescent paper, paired with matching pearlescent envelopes, all packaged up with a vellum wrap and sealed with a custom foil embossed seal.

A photo of LCAD circa 1964 juxtaposed with LCAD today was also incorporated into the invitation, which again played off the more traditional Fine Art Drawing + Painting classes to the now modern courses offered of Extended Reality Design (XRD).

I also got to design the event program, various event signage and the guest keepsakes, which were these ceramic coasters that included of the artworks being auctioned off that night, by LCAD’s President, Jonathan Burke.

The program played tribute to all the years past and all the amazing people that have played an integral role to LCAD and this fundraising event by showcasing several photo collages.

Image credit: Xun Chi Photography

Slideshows I designed were displayed throughout the night showcasing the different artwork being auctioned off as well people that were being honored and showcased.

Image credit: Hugh Foster Photography
Image credit: Xun Chi Photography

It was such an honor to attend this event and get the opportunity to see my final designs in person. The event itself was so much fun and being a part of a live auction for the first time was an experience in itself. It was pretty amazing to see the incredible amount of people that gave so generously throughout the night to support the students of LCAD.

Image credit: Hugh Foster Photography

Princess Panda 1st Birthday Invitation and Thank You Note

It’s a real honor when you’re a part of announcing the special milestones in a family’s life.

I’ve had the honor of designing the Wang’s wedding invitation, their son, Ethan’s 1st birthday, and now their daughter, Sofia’s 1st birthday.

I loved the idea of doing something similar to their son’s 1st birthday invite but with a princess/panda theme. Same, but different.

Stacy had found these adorable princess panda illustrations online so we incorporated them into the design and they were the inspiration behind the pattern I created on the backside of the invitations and thank you notes.

I love that they even brought back another caricature artist for Sofia’s party. So now we have another drawing of our growing family.

Jackson Danny Turns ONE

I still can’t believe a year went by already and we celebrated my baby boy, Jackson Danny turning ONE last week. Here’s a look into the custom invitation I designed for him and a few images from the party showcasing the party details. The theme was a mixture of a black & white monochromatic color scheme with pops of blue green, with a wild one, tribal, outdoorsy adventure feel.

I always love the idea of sending out invites that act as small little gifts for guests to unwrap.
Jackson’s monogram logo, which I created for the Baby Shower, was used again on the invite and as a part of the party’s decor.
I thought it would be fun to make his invite open up into something bigger like his birth announcement.
The invite opened up to monthly photos I took throughout the year along with details of some of Jackson’s firsts and favorites.
So taking care of Jackson 24/7 requires me to be very creative with my time. So when baby boy was playing in his room, I took the opportunity to assemble the invites in the rocking chair, using the foot rest as my table.
We had a teepee set up outside for his gifts. Although I got the teepee with the party in mind, I also knew it would make for a great play space for either indoor or outdoor use, which Jackson has done already.
I also wanted to make sure there were fun creative activities for both the kids and adults to enjoy. If you follow me on Instagram you’ll see that one of our nightly routines is reading a book (or two) before Jackson’s bedtime. For the bookmarks, I printed out a few different images I found online for guests to color.

On the backside is a quote from Jackson’s favorite book,
Whoever You Are by Mem Fox
“Joys are the same,
and love is the same.
Pain is the same,
and blood is the same.
Smiles are the same,
and hearts are just the same-
wherever they are,
wherever you are,
wherever we are,
all over the world.”
The second activity was to create your own dreamcatcher. I found these cute little dreamcatcher kits online and loved that they were individually packaged with everything you need to create the dreamcatcher, including the instructions. It worked out perfectly because I was able to send the little kits home with people that didn’t have a chance to make one at the party.
I took the decorated 1 from his invite and created a custom shirt for Jackson to wear.
For the cake topper, I used leftover material from his invites. The paper straws were leftover from my Baby Shower. All the amazing cakes & cupcakes were once again baked by my sister, Ilona.
Guests were sent home with homemade trail mix.

“THANK YOU
Please take some trail mix to fuel your future adventures.”

I found this fun S’mores Trail Mix recipe, here. I couldn’t resist packaging them up in these kraft tin tie bags and topping each one with a little thank you sticker.
I kept the decor pretty simple by using wooden dowels to create little teepees with feather decorated mason jars.
The highlight of Jackson’s birthday party for me was definitely his cake smash. I knew his personality would come out the minute the cake was placed in front of him. I LOVE his initial reaction to the cake. PRICELESS!
I specifically asked my sister to place blueberries on top as I knew he’d eat them one by one first before even touching the rest of the cake.
It was funny to see him bypass most of the actual cake to just get to the berries hidden within each layer.
Everyone told me how fast the time goes and how quickly Jackson would grow, but I didn’t realize it would be as fast as a blink of an eye. He has brought so much more joy, laughter and love to our family this past year. I am in constant awe at how smart he already is. I love seeing him reveal his sweet and silly personality each and every day. And I am so proud of the kindness he already possess. 

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