Taylor Made designs

Custom Baby Showers Invites + BookPlates

This is just one of the five different baby shower invites I designed last month. I loved that I also got the chance to design bookplates, favor tags and tiny note cards for the entire event. The mum-to-be even contact me afterwards to design her thank you note cards. She said she will be in touch in a month to work on baby announcements :) Love how that works out.

A Day at the Museum of Fine Arts

 
What kind of parent would I be if I didn't expose my kids to a little "cultcha" :) So, during vacation last week I took the kids to the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. We had such a good time.

As an artist myself, it pleased me to no end that both my kids loved the museum. We spent over three hours visiting all the different exhibitions. Naturally, William loved the Egyptian and Greek art. All reminisant of what Indian Jones might have found during one of his digs. Poor Davis was freaked out by all the talk of mummies. She asked if she could call me "kristen" instead of mummy... that's how freaked out she was! We could not get out of there fast enough for her. Poor thing.

Since we are reading all about the presidents, they were overjoyed at identifying Washington and John Quincy Adams in the Art of the Americas. They can name almost all the presidents. I'm lucky I know who the last five were! (and some of them I want to forget! ha!) We also managed to visit my favorite wing, the contemporary/modern art section. 

Now, I'm not a fan of self-serve, fast-food, so we ended our visit at one of their new bistros. I thought I could order the kids a nice plate of cheese + fruit like the good old days. But boy has it changed. Now it's fancy and expensive. Most entrees were @ $16 which for kids is a bit pricey, no? Davis will try and eat anything so I never worry about her. But William is a nightmare to feed. And, seeing that I was much like him growing up, I have a bit of soft spot for him and try not to give him a hard time about it. Anyway, our waiter could barely speak english - and I can barely speak spanish... so there was a lot of miscommunication. And not in a funny "sitcom" way :) The kids were hungry, but would not eat the food because, "it's not what we asked for mum! Tell him to do it right." It was so frustrating trying to explain to the waiter that there was suppose to be no red sauce on my son's pizza etc.  We ended leaving, hungry, tired, and well a bit pissy.

Not wanting this to dampen the kids experience, I found a Dunkin Donuts and bought them a donut + me a large coffee. Yup, a bit of Boston cultcha :)

Books + Bookplates

Aren't these a great idea? I just designed these bookplates for a school fundraiser.

Maybe it's all this snow and people are inside reading more, but I have never been so busy designing bookplates as I have this past January/February. How long this trend will continue is unknown seeing we are heading more and more towards digital media. No need for bookplates then :(

Myself, I've been doing my fair share of reading too. {just don't ask me if my books have bookplates in them.} Much like the cobbler's kids, my books are naked too. Someday I'll actually get around to placing bookplates inside them. Although lately the books I have been buying + reading have been on my iPad. A trend I have been slow to adapt. But adapting I am.

I have to admit, it's quite nice to open my iPad and read anywhere: the pool during swim lessons, the doctor's office, the hair salon.  The problem... I like paper. Ok, understatement. I love paper. I like the smell of books. I like the feel of paper and turning the pages of a book. Swishing my finger to turn the page doesn't have the same appeal for me.

I downloaded Treasure Island to read to the kids and it's just not the same as reading a hardcovered book. It's just not the same experience. I'd hate for them not to have a beautiful library full of books. So I continue to buy them books and yes, their books, unlike their mum's, have bookplates in them :)

My latest reads: Cutting for Stone, The Slap,  Peace Like A River, Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet to name a few. All really great books.

So, what are you reading? Are you reading a hardcover or have you gone digital?  I want to know :)

Hotdrop!

Remember the logo I was working on last year? The one for the yoga clothing line? The one back in July? Well, here it is again  :)

My client has done a 180. They changed the name. Which I have to applaud. I hated the original name...and very diplomatically told them so :) Around Christmas time they agreed and brainstormed for a new name. They came up with "Hotdrop". They are aiming for "activewear" for men + women, ages 14-65. So far, all they have is yoga wear but are planning on expanding in the future.

So anyway, I needed to design a new mark since the last mark no longer worked with the new name. The mark will be printed on all the clothing. I always strive to give them a variety of looks to chose from.

I have my favorite... #5. I like how simple, clean + modern it is.  It's strong.

#3 the client drew this and had me recreate it in illustrator. For some reason, it does not work for me. The "h" looks like a "b". Perhaps if I rework it and find a good font I could get it to work...though I did try a bunch of fonts, but it felt like an "h" on top of a drop, and it kept looking like a "b" still.

#1,#4,#7 are some of the original marks I created and then reworked. I like the overlapping shapes that create new shapes. #4 created a "heart" and evokes movement, flexibility. #7 the shapes create a "drop" and then I added an "h" to it. It also looks like a bird. Which symbolically respresents freedom, soaring, achieving new heights etc.

#9 represents a bunch of drops that creates "flames" hence, hot drops :)

If you have a moment...can you give me some feedback? Let me know if there is one mark that resonates with you... or if you hate them all :) I can take it! Thanks so much.

Winter in New England

I am tempted to say, sucks. But I'm not :)

Despite the neverending snow storms, tree branches down, and day after day school cancellations, I have to admit...it's awfully pretty outside. Plus, I get to wear my new Northface boots. Which are also pretty and are very warm. They have been perfect for my daily walks with the dogs.

We have been watching my sister Renée's pug, Gracie, for the last week while she has an event down in Miami. {tough life huh?} She's one cute dog!

Go Pats!

We had to celebrate Neal's birthday early today... since the only thing he wanted was to be able to watch the Pat's game on TV :) We take our sports seriously here in New England...when we left Burton's @ 5:00 there was hardly anyone left in the restaurant.

We headed to The Derby Shoppes to buy The Penguin Home Soda Maker at Williams Sonoma for his birthday and then to have dinner at Burton's. Have you heard of "The Penguin"?  It's a godsend for our family since we drink Poland Springs Sparkling Water by the case. You basically eliminate the lugging, storage and disposal associated with store-bought soda and sparkling water. Terrific for the environment. Anyway, after they {the good folks at Williams Sonoma} did a demonstration, and got my kids all hyped up for it, they realized they did not have any left in the store :( Total buzzkill. They have one down in Mashpee, but I'm not too keen on having to drive 45 minutes there and 45 minutes back just to get this thing. Kinda goes against the whole "reducing your carbon footprint" concept of the product, huh?

So, I'm trying to see if anyone else carries this product locally. Companies can't ship it because of the bottled CO2. Once I get my hands on it, I'll give it a review :) Happy Sunday. Happy Birthday to my husband, and Go Pats!

1.11.11

Is it just me that gets excited about dates like this? The date occured to me on my morning walk with Montana. (in the freezing 24 degree weather) He wasn't all that impressed. Regardless, I told him to make a wish. He just sped up. Me?  I'm making wishes left and right...hoping one of them will come true :)

It's been awhile since I've been in this space. One of my 2011 "things to do" is keep my blog up to date. Keeping a blog is a good memory keeper and I'm disapointed that I let 2010 pass by without a lot of entries. 2010 was a good year! I want to remember so many things. Unfortunatly, most of my memories are tucked into my little brain... and let me tell you, that is not the most secure place for them :)

I am determined to take more photos + write more entries so I'll remember things better. I want to create some new artwork, maybe take an art class or two. I want to repaint the interior of our house. Take down some walls, pull up the floor in the kitchen. Seriously. I have big plans for 2011... but for some reason, all I want to do today is go buy dog bones and treats for Montana :)

 

Clair Hair

Not sure if it was the sand, the wind, or the coconut suntan lotion, but here is Davis, in her full, "clair hair" glory. For those of you LOST impaired, the "clair hair" reference is to a character on the TV show, who went insane on the island. Clair's hair represented her lunacy + it became her signature :) It's quickly becoming Davis's too :)

Whenever we get back from the beach/pool or any activity, Davis refuses to let me comb her hair, hence she ends up with major "clair hair". She looks nutso. But an adorable nutso :)

I really love the upper righthand photo of her... so I cropped it.
Love the energy + her expression. Priceless.

On the Mark?

Working on a logo for a yoga clothing line, marketed to both women + men. Audience 16-65 in age. Pretty broad based. It wasn't till after phase 1 {where I do a lot of conceptual work} that the client mentioned he didn't want the mark to be, well, "too yoga-looking". Figures. He then changed his mind again during phase 2 :) Yoga-looking was ok.

Here are a couple of contenders. 

I started out working with an eclipse-amoeba shape and played with it. Hence #9... the two eclipses formed an "s" and resembled the "ying + yang" mark. {Oh the name starts with an "S"}

#2 + #3 I incorporated with the letter "i" in the name... you know, replacing the dot over the "i".

I thought something simple + clean would work best. I wanted to show movement without being so literal. I love when a couple of shapes can evoke a feeling + attitude.

Curious, is there is one mark that you are drawn to?

Teacher's End of the Year Gifts

Being the "pod" parent for Davis's class I was in charge of the end of the year teacher's gift. {fun!} Seeing that we all loved, loved, loved Kassandra + Judy { their teacher + her assistant} I had no problem collecting monies for a nice gift. I thought of a charm bracelet – thinking each year their classroom could give them a charm, and at the end of their teaching career they would have this beautiful memento of their school days. Way better than a, "world's best teacher" mug, right?

Off to the jewelry store I went, where I decided on Pandora Bracelets. I was able to get them a bracelet and three charms. Davis wanted to give them a charm just from our family, so she picked out a ladybug charm.

My favorite part of gift giving? Wrapping. I made origami boxes from wrapping paper, had Davis draw me a flower + a ladybug and I made special cards for them. Pretty ribbon + some sand dollars topped them off. They came out lovely. Both Kassandra + Judy loved the bracelets almost as much as they love our kids :)

Summertime

Ice coffees, days at the beach, dinner at the beach, pool parties, sand, staying up late, sleeping late, sand, margaritas, mike's kick ass lemonade, late nights laughing, no routine, catching up with friends, chips + salsa for dinner, soft serve ice cream, sand, baseball games, lobster, shrimp, sailing, wine, blueberry picking, movies, library days, farmers markets, sand, day trips, road trips, Maine, sun, swimming lessons, sunscreen, singing, and oh yea, sand :)

We're three weeks into Summer vacation...how did that happen?

I'm going to do my best to get back to this space on a regular basis. I have miss you all! Hope you are enjoying all that summertime brings :)

Big Apple Circus

When we were visiting Faneuil Hall a few weeks ago, we saw that the Big Apple Circus was in town. We decided to take the kids later that week. I am so glad we did. What a great show. We had a blast. Our seats were front and center. We were so entertained. Surprisingly, both Davis and I were loving Bello the clown. I guess he's not your typical, creepy, freaky clown. Boy, is that guy is talented. If you get the chance, GO. The big tent is here, in Boston, till May 16th.

Slow Down

 

A few photos from Easter.  

Is it me... or does this year seem to be flying by? Next week, it's May. Good grief. Let's slow it down :)

I've been busy with work, family and prepping my gardens. The kids are on vacation this week and since Neal is working on a huge contract we can't take time off. Which is fine by me. I'm enjoying the down time.

My sister Renée bought a pug a few days ago. That would be Gracie in the photos above. Cute huh? We have babysat her a couple of times. The kids LOVE her. Montana, my yellow lab, not so much. It just confirmed what I thought...bringing another dog into our home would be unfair to Montana. He had no tolerance for Gracie, which I found pretty amusing. Unlike me, who wants time to slow down, you could tell Montana was thinking, grow up pup, and then, maybe we'll play :)

Have a Heart!

How fun are these?

I saw this idea in a magazine a few years ago and I've been itching to make them ever since. I get such a kick out of making stuff like this :)

It's not too late to make these... it is easy + does not take long to do.

1. Have your kids pose for you. Keep in mind the shape of their arms/hands.
2. Next, download the photos to your computer. If you have Photoshop or an image editor, clean, sharpen and brighten the photos.
3. I prefer to work in a vector-based program when I'm dealing with type. {photoshop is pixel-based... so type is never crisp} So I opened up InDesign + created a 4 x 6 document. I decided to make life easy for myself and bought glossy 4 x 6 photo paper to print on. You could always create 2 up on an 8.5 x 11 sheet. Place the photos into your document. Crop and adjust the photo.
4. Next, I added the text, keeping in mind where the lollipop sticks would be.
5. I then printed out over 50 photos.
6. You can buy any kind of pop to use, but earlier in the week the kids and I made homemade dark chocolate lollipops. {when I say the kids helped, I mean, they taste-tested)
7. Using my exacto knife, I placed 2 cuts above + below the kids hands.
8. I then pushed the lollipop stick into the slits - no need for glue or tape if you are using heavy stock.
You might need tape if you are using thin paper.
9. Double check your list of names... you are done :)

I'm heading into School to set up the Valentine's celebration for Davis's class. I made heart shaped sugar cookies for a class treat. I dipped one side into dark chocolate and then sprinkled some coloured jimmies on top. For William's class treat, I went a little healthier... I bought a box of crackers + a huge block of cheddar cheese. I then used a little heart shaped cutter to form heart shaped cheese pieces. Davis is wearing her red tutu. Looking tres chic. I wish I could pull this look off :)