News
The most popular Party themes from 2017
Winter Ice Skating birthday invitation and party planning ideas
New Spring Invitations (Upcoming Spring Holidays to plan for)
Now that Valentine’s Day is over, we are officially moving into Spring! I have already been working on orders for March, April & May events and am having so much fun designing new invitations as well! Spring is one of my favorite times of year (although am totally a winter person as far as weather goes) because there are so many fun holidays & themes during this time.
Need a reason to throw a party this spring? Here are some upcoming holidays/events that you can use as an excuse to have a little fun! Also some of these make great themed birthday parties as well.
February 3rd – March 9th – Mardi Gras
February – May – Crawfish Season
March 17th – St. Patrick’s Day
April 1st- Easter Sunday
April 5-8, 2018 – Masters Golf Tournament
April 22nd – Earth Day
May 5th – Cinco de Mayo
May 5th – Kentucky Derby
April – June – Graduation Parties
May – June – End of School Year Parties
Of course these are just a few well known holidays & popular events, there are still thousands of reasons and themes for your Spring Parties this year!
What parties are you planning on throwing this year? Check out my handy post to see how early you need to send your invites out and don’t forget to download your free party planning printable!
St. Patrick’s Day Party Invitation & Party Ideas
How far out do I need to send out my party invitations?
Football themed ideas for your Super bowl birthday parties
- Have people wear their favorite team gear
- Have people wear colors for the team they are rooting for
- Have a contest for the “loudest fan,” “best-dressed fan” etc.
- Place some gameday bets with your guests
- Have some fun kid-friendly games so the adults can watch the game
If you only try one of these recipes…try the spinach artichoke dip (so good!)
Party Planning: Valentine’s Day Themed Party
Printable Valentine’s Day Cards
Pack of all six cards
Business Branding: Packages & Changes in 2018
There’s nothing worse than feeling behind in your work, especially when you’re juggling multiple client projects. For me, 2017 was a learning process with my business branding services. Trying to keep up with 5+ client timelines and deadlines at once can be stressful for a designer, and being in a creative field (especially when this is my side job) where inspiration and ideas don’t always flow freely makes it even more difficult. Believe it or not, designer get writer’s block too!
I realized towards the end of 2017, things needed to change. Before it was just kind of a free for all (I would get an inquiry and say okay and start when they sent me the info), which worked for a while but as I am getting busier and my business is growing that system no longer works. I truly love designing brands for people but didn’t want to drag on projects longer than they needed to be. So things are changing this year and I’m very excited about it!
2018 Business Branding Package
What’s included in a business branding package:
- Comprehensive questionnaires for your brand and how you value your business.
- Primary and alternative logo designs, signature patterns, illustrations, type combinations, and brand style guide.
- Four collateral items of your choice (business cards, social media banners, stationery, up to 5 social media templates, media kit, etc. totally your choice based on what you would use most!)
- Two week turnaround time
- Design Files (Vector, PDF, Transparent PNG and JPG)
What will be the pros to this new package?
The new system that I’m implementing this year will:
- Make client booking easy
- Have a very quick turnaround time
- Create consistency
- And make the customer (and me!) happy
How do you ask am I going to do this?
I will only be accepting 2 branding clients per month.
This ensures that I am only working on one branding package at a time so I can devote my attention to that.
Two Week Turnaround Time
Back to the only 2 clients per month bit… Each project will take two weeks (10 days total). This is to make sure that everything is done in a timely manner and since I will only be taking on one client at a time I can focus my energy into one project instead of spreading it out between multiple clients
Client Homework
I will have a detailed questionnaire for the client to fill out before the two week design period begins. The homework will need to be completed by Day#1. This will also help speed up the process because a lot of times customers don’t have any starting point so then it just ends up being a lot of back and forth with design logos. Not only is communication key to arriving at an end product that both my client and I are happy with, but it’s easier for me to design for a business whose goals are clearly defined.
Timeline/Process:
- When you fill out the inquiry form on my website you will be sent a welcome e-mail that entails a lot of what you see here in this post (process, timeline, price, etc.). It will also have available start dates.
- Once you submit that proposal back to me. You will be sent a contract to sign and an invoice for the first half off the total package. Once the contract is signed and the invoice has been paid you will be scheduled for the time slot you selected.
- Once the invoice has been paid you will be sent the client homework questionnaire. This will give you time to work on it and ask questions if needed before the two week design period starts. (You will be sent sweet reminders to complete this before day 1)
- Once the homework is complete, I will have everything I need for Day #1!
Timeline:
- Days 1-3: brand board
- Days 3-5: Logo Design Concepts
- Days 5-6: Logo Edits/Logo Approval
- Days 7-9: Collateral items (4) Designs/Edits
- Day 10: File Sharing
This timeline is based on the assumption that the client will respond ASAP when sent design proofs. Since there is a dedicated two week time period per project, I ask that you choose the time slot wisely (for example I wouldn’t pick the two weeks where you might be planning your child’s birthday party or have a trip planned, etc.)
As far as general graphic design work not including branding (logo design, business card design, etc.) or invitations. I will accept projects based on availability at my $65/hour rate.
So, who’s ready to get started? Fill out the business branding inquiry here and let’s get your business branded!
Party Planning: Mardi Gras Themed Birthday Party
Valentine’s Day Themed Party Invitations
Happy Friday!
One of my goals for 2018 is to get better at blogging and sharing more about my personal life as well as more behind the scenes. I actually really enjoy writing and creating graphics to build a blog post, my biggest issue last year was time management for it but this year I am getting a jump start and working hard to make these posts a routine every week!
If you have visited the shop page recently then you have seen a lot of pink & red…that’s because Valentine’s Day is just around the corner and I have some adorable themed invites for your February babies birthdays!
Side Note: I get asked this question a lot on Etsy, the wording & colors on any of my invitation designs is customizable! All my invitation designs are edited by me. Once I get the order and the party details I edit the invitation custom to your party needs! So if you like a design but need some colors swapped, or phrases changed… no problem at all just be specific when filling out the details!
Also being added to the shop right now is Printable Valentine’s Day Cards! I have a couple of fun designs that will be up this weekend, so stay tuned!
Make sure you are signed up for the e-mail list. I have a bunch of fun free printables that I have planned to go out his year and to stay in the loop of new products, new designs and special sales & coupons!