A Crafty and Playful Valentine Idea

I had a lot of sidewalk chalk leftover from Davis’ 1st birthday party so I decided to incorporate them into Jackson’s school Valentine’s this year.

I hope the kiddos enjoy the chalk. I always feel like it’s a nice change from receiving candy or chocolates. Especially when we’ve been consuming so much of that since Halloween.

Hope you’re all having a lovely Valentine’s day!

Davis’ First Trip Around the Sun

I’ve been so busy with my other freelance work, I haven’t really done too many custom invitations this past year. So when Davis’ first birthday came around, I took full advantage and created something really fun and what I hope is memorable. I knew I wanted to tie in his announcements to the party theme, so I decided on a First Trip Around the Sun theme.

I know that Davis may not remember any of the little details included in his party, much less the party itself, but when he’s older and looks back on photos, I hope he’ll see how special it was and how loved he was by everyone.

Like his older brother’s 1st birthday invites, I wanted to incorporate his monthly photos as well.
It was so nice to hear that everyone enjoyed receiving these in the mail and that they loved spinning the wheel to see what each month unfolded.

Here is an animated GIF so you can see what every image contained.

I used one of the photos of him eating his smash cake to make these custom thank you note cards.
These party favors complimented the theme really well. I found someone on Etsy that makes these fun plantable die-cut shapes. I packaged them with my own backer card and translucent envelope.
Of course, the little kiddos got their own little party favors as well. A goodie bag full of fun little treats.
Once again, my sister made this cute little smash cake, that I topped with a matching little flag, and all the delicious cupcakes that got devoured.
The wind really picked up that day so a lot of the cute signage and even the balloon arch decor I had created was just being blown around. At least his little high chair banner stuck around for his cake smash and his little custom shirt managed to stay clean the entire day, which is pretty amazing considering this is how well his cake smash went.

I still can’t believe this little guy is one already and that I have two boys. I can’t say I ever imagined my life with two boys, but now, I can’t imagine my life without my two boys. 💙

Drive-Thru Party Favor Treat Tags

Drive-Thru celebrations is basically the new normal now. Let your guests know how much you appreciate them rolling through with custom party favor treat tags.

These custom tags were created for a one year old’s birthday celebration.

Interested in custom party favor treat tags for your next event? Contact me for details.

Planes, Trains, and Automobiles 2nd Birthday Party

Last week, our little man turned two, so we invited some family over to celebrate with a small backyard party.

Jackson is about all things transportation right now. So I thought it fitting to have a Planes, Trains and Automobiles themed birthday party.

I started with a digital invitation and let that set the look and feel of the party.

I thought it would be fun to incorporate one of those balloon arches as a backdrop, but with wanting to keep the budget real low this year, I decided to try my hand at creating one on my own. 120 hand pumped balloons later, here is how it turned out.

I’m used to creating my own banners and menu signs, but this was the first time I decided to do a DIY food station as well. One of Jackson’s favorite dishes is my spaghetti, so I decided to do a Pasta Station.

And of course no party, big or small, is complete without a dessert table spread.

Freshly baked homemade cookies and other sweet treats made up the dessert station.

A big thanks to my sister for, yet again, baking the delicious cupcakes!

The driveway was decorated with a little road and other sidewalk chalk creations so Jackson and the other little kids could drive around in his little car and motorcycle toys.

Happy 2nd Birthday Jackson Danny!

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