Busy, Busy and a New Logo

I have a lot of projects to add to my blog, but for some reason, other stuff keeps bumping it out of the way. With my mother-in-law visiting this week and keeping my kids happy, my goal is to get a bunch of new posts scheduled. I'm putting that out into to universe, so hold me accountable!! 

I have been working on a new logo for myself. I have only had a couple of logos since I started this freelance gig, and it usually takes me a REALLY long time to come up with a logo that I love enough to actually put on my website. It's just one of those funny things; I can design a logo for someone else pretty quickly. But for myself, nope!

One thing that seems to remain consistent is my love for art history. The little ink drawing of Venus de Milo that I put on my invoices and some applications of my logo will stick with my website for a long time (unless I find something else that I love better). I created that little drawing back in 2004 as part of an assignment from an illustration class in college. I honestly don't remember what the assignment actually was, only that it was to be done in pen and ink. That previous summer my family and I had taken a trip to Europe where we explored parts of The Netherlands, Belgium, and France. So I created this composite to document us getting lost in Paris. We actually got lost in Brugge on that trip, but landmarks in Paris are more identifiable. 

There are a few drawings I made from sculptures I saw at the Louvre from that trip; these are two of them:

I love to create ink drawings and I really don't do them enough!

So that's why my Venus de Milo sketch hangs around my logo and branding, even when the font and colors change from time to time.  

Speaking of which, like my new logo?

Ayva's Birth Announcement

I was thrilled to design a birth announcement for Ayva's mommy, Lora. 

We kept the design simple and straightforward and I really love how it turned out. Jarek is going to make one awesome big brother!

Welcome to the world Ayva!

AMYS Martial Arts Tees

Both of my boys are taekwondo students at AMYS Martial Arts in Utah and we LOVE it (someday I just might become a student). I do some design work for them, including designing t-shirts when needed. 2017 is the 7th year in a row they've been Utah State Champions and I've had the privilege of creating t-shirts for the last few years to celebrate. 

For 2017, they decided to have two colors printed... for the folks who baby don't want to wear gold (like me!). 

In addition to the above t-shirts, I also created this fun ninja t-shirt that both kids and adults enjoy wearing. They printed it on both red and royal blue t-shirts.

Years back, someone created a little somewhat-Anime-style character for the studio. I redrew it, made some changes, and gave the little guy some new poses. I also created a girl version, a ninja version (below), Ninja Santa, Ninja Easter Bunny, Ninja Valentine, and more depending on the event or holiday. My oldest son loves to wear his Ninja in Training t-shirt.

If you live in Salt Lake or Utah county, I HIGHLY recommend checking out AMYS Martial Arts for your family. They have studios in Draper and Orem and lots of options for class times and days, including Saturdays. Classes start for kids as young as age 2 all the way up to adults, and ALL skill levels and athletic abilities are welcome. Students work on tumbling, flexibility, and strength training, along with taekwondo discipline. There's a lot of focus on building a strong character both inside and outside the studio. My son has to have his room clean and his teacher has to sign off when he's testing for a new belt. He's had to learn his phone number and address, anti-bullying strategies, and how to count in Korean. They offer week-long summer camps, an after school program, a monthly Parent's Night Out, and seasonal picnics and parties. Seriously worth checking out!

Amber & Shawnstin

Amber presented me with a really fun challenge this spring, design an invitation for a wedding that would have both Star Wars and Harry Potter themed elements. Not wanting to use any licensed characters or logos meant that nods to both fandoms would have to be subtle. I'm really happy with how it turned out. 

If you aren't a big fan of either Harry Potter or Star Wars, then you might need the elements pointed out to you. At the top, the Star Wars inspired text is pretty obvious. On either side of the text are silhouettes of the Elder Wand from Harry Potter.

Towards the bottom are a couple more nods to Harry Potter with the infamous chapter stars on either side of their wedding date and the word "Always" at the bottom with the A mimicking the icon for the Deathly Hallows.

They had just one insert with their invitation that showed a map to the venue along with how to RSVP online.

These were SO fun to work on! I wish you guys all the best on your wedding day. Congrats! 

Stella's 2nd Birthday

Stella's mommy, Rachel wanted to do a fun mermaid theme for her 2nd birthday and I was thrilled to be able to create some fun items for the party. She went with a color scheme that included magenta, orange, and aqua.

I created a super simple favor tag.

Cupcake toppers were simple and Rachel used a scalloped circle punch with them.

A simple pennant banner finished things off.

Happy birthday Stella! I hope your party was a blast!