Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!

I hope you all are having a peaceful holiday today with family and friends. Another year has flown by and 2011 is right around the corner! It's hard to believe this was the fourth year of being my own boss and running my own business. I've met some really great people and gotten to work on some fun projects over this past year. Last summer I met Willi Galloway from one of my favorite gardening/food blogs DigginFood. She asked me I was interested in partnering with her on a project we could both share on our blogs—desktop wallpapers with a calendar for each month of 2011. I happily agreed and starting thinking about themes, imagery and eventually landed on the idea of modern homesteading. It works with the things she blogs about plus I thought chickens and goats would be fun to draw.

So here is my gift to you, my loyal blog readers (hi Dad) and anyone looking to brighten their desktop with some colorful images. January starts off with little birds at the feeder which I enjoy seeing in my own backyard every day. There are three sizes to choose from—just select which one fits your monitor and click on the link to automatically download the file.

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I decided to take the images I created for the desktop wallpaper and create a set of 12 notecards with envelopes and stickers. I'm really happy with how they turned out! If you would like to purchase a set which comes in a cute cotton drawstring bag, please visit my Etsy shop.

Happy Holidays!

I've been crafting up some winter decorations, trying to only use things from my garden and neighbors' yards rather than buying them. In case this is the last blog entry I get to for 2010, happy holidays everyone!

2011 Sneak Peek

I've been working really hard on my 2011 mailer which is something I send out to my clients as a thank you and also to folks I would love to partner with in the coming year. This mailer is a little bit different than the calendars I've done over the past two years. Here's a sneak peek of one of the images that hopefully will boost your holiday spirit. I love making wreaths and decorations with things found in my yard—it's so much cheaper and just as pretty than store bought. Happy holidays!

Branding for Tilia Natural Health

Wow, I've been away from my blog for sometime now! The end of the summer and fall is always a busy time for me as my clients try to wrap projects up before the end of the year. I've been working on the fall magazine and annual report for the Museum of Science in Boston, some fun projects for LaLicious including package design for a new scent, redesigned the newsletter for The Meridian School and many other miscellaneous things. I've been working hard on my 2011 mailer which will be a little different than the past couple of years—more details to come!

Besides all of that, one big project I'm really happy to share is the identity and branding I developed for Tilia Natural Health, a new naturopathic clinic in Seattle that opened it's doors in October. In the information gathering phase, I put together some image boards (see previous entry) which helped drive the look and feel of the branding. Some of the key words the brand needed to convey were: caring, professional, sustainable, creative, modern, bold, confident, friendly, attentive and approachable.

Tilia is a type of tree whose flowers and leaves are used medicinally—if you visit the office you will be welcomed with a hot cup of Tilia tea. I knew that the plant should be heavily featured in the branding while keeping it fresh and modern. I drew all of the pieces of the plant by hand and used them create the pattern which is used on the back of the business card, letterhead footer, notecard and postcards.

The application of the Tilia brand was applied to the new space (which was a complete remodel) by the talented Laura Zeck of Zinc Interior Concepts. She did a great job taking the brand elements and translating it to a warm, welcoming and modern space that totally matched my vision.

August Update

Where did July go? I can't believe I haven't updated my blog since June—I blame it on the fact that we get about three months of beautiful, sunny weather here in Seattle so when I'm not working I'm outside in my garden soaking it all in. I've been working on the branding for a Seattle based naturopathic physician. I always start with a brainstorming session and create an image board—I'm old school like that, but it's a great way to learn what appeals to my client visually, which in turn streamlines the design process. More to come as the project progreses!

Seattle Animal Shelter Awareness Campaign

Last fall I was asked to be on the team to create an Awareness Campaign for the Seattle Animal Shelter. In addition to the dedicated folks and volunteers for the shelter, I've worked with Cindy Chischilly of White Canyon Design and Emily Rieman of Best Friend Photography—two huge animal lovers themselves. We designed a series of six ads which run on Seattle bus tails and interiors to educate the public on important issues: animal cruelty, spay/neuter, adoption, licensing, finding your lost pet and public safety. Currently the fourth ad, Find Me (pictured above), can be seen running on the busses so keep your eyes open. The final two are currently underworks and will launch later in the year.

The animals featured in the ads were all photographed specifically for the ads and their inspiring stories can be found on the shelter's website.

Georgetown Garden Walk: Sunday July 11th!

I've had the pleasure of designing the materials for the annual Georgetown Garden Walk for the past four years. In 2007 we had the plucky strutting chicken who reappeared on a cozy nest of flowers for 2008. Last year it was a collaboration with my husband who had designed the Garden Walk materials for several years prior to me. For this year's concept I was thinking about everything that is going on below ground to make a successful garden. Who doesn't like worms? Those hard-working little compost makers, chugging along, eating up waste and churning out pure garden gold.

So mark your calendars for this awesome, free event and plan on checking out the 15th Annual Georgetown Garden Walk! For more information, contact Jon Dove at 206.763.9895. Free maps of the garden locations are available the day of the walk at the Bank of America parking lot, 1112 S. Bailey St.

A June Desktop Background for You

Between travel and work, May somehow disappeared on me. I've been busy catching up on projects, tending to my garden (slug patrol) and hoping that summer sticks around once and for all here in Seattle. I'll soon post some recent design projects I've been working on, but in the meantime here is a new desktop background for you. It's from my 2010 calendar and was one of my favorites.

Same directions as the last one—there are three sizes to choose from, just select which one fits your monitor and click on the link to automatically download the file. I hope you enjoy it! :)

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A Fresh Desktop Background

I've been thinking about making some desktop backgrounds for you to download and brighten your workspace. I thought about taking the designs from my 2010 calendar, but I figure some of you already have that so why not do something new? Continuing with my experiments with painting with walnut ink and my love of poppies (remember these?) I drew these the other day. Then I took them into Photoshop where I made them white, added some textures, color and text. I'm kind of in love with green right now—the bright, slightly chartreuse kind that is popping up all over my garden.

There are three sizes to choose from, just select which one fits your monitor and click on the link to automatically download the file. I hope you enjoy it.

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Securing a School's Legacy

Earlier this year I designed this piece for Bertschi School's capital campaign, 'Believe in Bertschi'. It consists of a brochure which opens up to reveal information about the campaign and a pocket which holds information sheets on the new science building and the endowment. It matches the look and feel of other pieces I've designed for the school which align with the Bertschi brand.

Painting with walnut ink

The other day I felt like trying something new with my sketching so instead of using a pen to draw I grabbed a bunch of brushes and some walnut ink. I like the way it layers like watercolor and the sepia tone is really nice. But what to draw? I remembered a yummy looking recipe I saw in my new issue of Sunset Magazine and thought that would be fun to try. I liked how the buns were all lined up in the pan with their little icing Xs on top—it made me think of a game of tic-tac-toe. Plus I could use write out some of the ingredients, that would be fun.

After I painted all of the pieces, I scanned them into Photoshop where I rearrange everything and added the color and fabric. I like the combination of the sepia walnut ink and the orange—I thought about adding more, but liked the simplicity of just using two colors.

Corbis Stock Illustrations

Corbis recently added some more of my illustrations to their Cherry collection. So if you're looking for the perfect petri dish, ice skates or gardening girl check out my selection which are available for purchase. Don't see what you're looking for? Then contact me about creating custom illustrations for you! :)

Spring Has Sprung

It's a little more than a week away until it's officially spring, but here in Seattle we've had record setting warm weather lately. Daffodils, crocus and cherry blossoms have been making an appearance for a couple of weeks already. So I'm going to pretend that it wasn't snowing today (what the heck?) and forge ahead with the belief that my veggie garden will soon be underway.

For this illustration, I sketched the lettering and a few elements, scanned them and then started refining it in the computer where I could play with color. Looking back at a previous spring illustration, it's funny to see some of the same elements pop up—gradation, bird, flowers—but I can see how my illustration style is evolving into a less fussy, more playful style. I hope you like it!

Georgetown Centennial Identity

2010 celebrates the 100th anniversary of the annexation of the Georgetown neighborhood by the city of Seattle—an important moment in the history of this colorful community. Over a period of several months I worked with the Georgetown Community Council to develop this identity which will be applied to materials for upcoming events, fundraising and marketing.

Some of the key words the identity needed to convey were: quirky, fun, historic, independent, gritty and enduring. It also needed to be timeless and evoke the personality of the neighborhood—a unique, rich historical past, along with spirited community activism.

I presented several options to choose from and in the end my favorite solution was chosen. The palette represents the brick of the neighborhood's buildings and the individual elements highlight some of the well known landmarks of the area.

Green Eyed Lady Illustration: In Print

I can't believe it's already February! I hope you all enjoyed Hot Tea Month and have flipped your calendar to settle into Embroidery Month. A couple of weeks ago I got an advanced copy of the February/March issue for Horticulture Magazine and was so happy to see my Green Eyed Lady illustration peering back at me. Pick up a copy, it's chocked full of great gardening advice!