DIY Chevron Kitchen Pegboard

Recently saw a DIY pegboard on pinterest and I knew I had to have one! This is the perfect combination of form and function! While this serves as a visual centerpiece in the kitchen it also serves an important function in organizing your pots and pans! While painting a chevron is usually very tricky the fact that a pegboard has all these evenly spaces holes makes it much easier! All you have to do is count up and over and apply your painters tape.

Carrie's Closet Business Card- New and Improved!

 

I was so excited to get back in touch with Carrie of Carrie's Closet! This is one of the first projects we worked on together. I came up with the idea of giving the card a little more modern and unique look by embossing the logo. Carrie was thrilled with the idea and I was thrilled with the results! I love it! This is a card you won't throw out!

DIY CMYK Engagement Thank You Cards

To celebrate my 5th wedding anniversary, I thought I would blog about some of the various DIY projects. This one is the engagement thank you cards we sent out. Call me a design dork- Yes my wedding colors were CMYK! Besides them being the print colors, they are just really pretty together! So since they are printing colors what better way to showcase them then with a stamp?! I found a pretty thank you stamp and stamped them slightly offset from each other, making sure black was last. Then on the envelope I repeated the same concept with a cute engagement ring stamp.

Carrie's Personal Business Card

Great clients don't come bye that often. I met Carrie when I was fresh out of college and it has been a great partnership ever since!

Butterfly Baby Shower Invitation

This is a project I just finished, a Butterfly Baby Shower invitation. Apparently butterfly inspired showers are really popular now. When google-ing it several invitations were found. Anyways I was going for a very pretty and girly look that was simple and elegant. The color palette was pink and purple.

The Evolution of NY Foodgasm's Logo

This takes a lot of courage of me: to post the very beginning phase until the end. I am almost embarrassed of the first couple. EEK! What a difference. Ohhhh did I mention this was in the works for like 3 months. Why is that---I am my worst client!

Branding my NY Foodgasm Blog

Totally psyched that I finally came up with a good direction for the branding of my food blog NY FOODGASM. It is a big relief! But I am hoping people can tell what I am trying to communicate. What do you see in this logo?

It's intention is to communicate food and sex in a fun way. To do this I created a logo that looks like a neon XXX peep show sign to visualize both sex and NY. I also used a font the reminded me of license plates and signs in NY.

Not final quite yet, now I need to complete a layout for this bad boy! Stay tuned!

Also---let me know what you think! I would love any comments at all!

Design Ideas for a Company Running Team T-shirt

It is always good to stay fresh and creative. That is why I didn't think twice before accepting the challenge of designing a company running team t-shirt. This could have turned out better (there are some things I would still like to tweak), but it was due and I wanted to at least submit something. It gave me the chance to get the creativity flowing again. Creativity is a river in that it does flow continuously (if it's in your nature), but to be able to manipulate it at will is a skill that designers must build. It is a skill that I must always keep sharp.

Words to live by!

I recently created this for my other blog on weight loss. Good words to live bye though!  The most successful people failed MANY times in their careers before they saw any signs of hope. It is only through these failures they found their way to success, that is what I hope for myself!

More Baby Onesies

"Boobies: Breakfast of Champions"

A new tradition has been born: When a friend is expecting I design them fun custom onesies.  These were for my good friends from college Megan.  All onesies are special and distinct to the couple.  Since she will breastfeed, I made the "Boobies: Breakfast of Champions".  She also happens to be an amazing photographer so I created the "Mamarazzi" design.  Her husband used to have a handlebar mustache and is a chef, so "Mustache in Training" and "Sous Chef" are dedicated to him.  Lastly in honor of their dog I created "My Loyal Companion".

If you would like to commission me to make custom onesies contact me.

"Mustache in Training"

"Mamarazzi"

"My Loyal Companion"

"Sous Chef"

Colorful Wood Pallet Vegetable Garden

Why not garden in style?! Using wood pallets you can find anywhere, adding some paint and filling with soil you have an instant raised garden bed with attitude! Why not have a garden that reflects you, all while having the organization of the built in vertical broad. Don't you just love it when form and function coexist so beautifully? I came across this on pinterest and just had to try it! With some elbow grease and dedication you got yourself a garden....now just don't forget to water it!

The Branding of a Vineyard: The Beauty of Croteaux

 Good Design is obvious, but the agony and hard work it took to get there is only known by another designer. While dining at Long Island Restaurant Week this year, my friend and I stumbled upon a real gem of a wine.  Croteaux Vinyards of Southold, NY specialize in Rose' wines. Cool concept in and of itself, but the branding is absolutely brilliant! They are French Rustic Chic with an Artsy Twist added in. With branding consistency is key and they had it covered head to toe!  From the decor to the dogs, this place was the complete package.
Walking in the rustic charm is there. The old barn complete with vintage timber is stunning as the centerpiece of the area. Old worn wooden benches covered in warn cloth seats adorned with Parisian and brightly patterned pillows along with aluminum painted chairs provide beautiful seating to further show the theme and branding.
The decor is not the only way they show off their unique brand. The young and hip staff were dressed in brightly colored spring dresses and they even had a french poodle! While there you can also dine on a cheese basket with french baguette. Best part:the cheese spread is the owner's recipe!
This place was an absolute blast! A very relaxing atmosphere with helpful staff and you can even meet the owner and her daughter (both very nice people).
A special thanks Christie Cotty-Owens for making plans to go!

 

Finding Creative Inspiration in the World Around You

This past weekend I took a trip to Sunken Meadow Beach, not too far from my home and had the pleasant surprise of sudden inspiration. I took a nice walk and hike along the cliffs and the shore. Soaking in the beauty and feeling of serenity that the beach always offers me. As all long island dwellers know, North Shore beaches are quite rocky, to the displeasure of your bare feet! As I normally do I was collecting all the unique rocks i could find and while talking about it with my husband, found my next project! Creating my own beads and charms for jewelry making projects! All I need to do is get me a rock tumbler and I am good to go! I can't wait to get started! Best part is, I got a plethora of free raw materials here on long island! 

Sometimes when you least expect it inspiration smacks you in the head and goes DUH! From what I learned it is mostly when we are relaxed and we are not seeking it.

Inspiration for Political Propaganda Project

Design is a powerful and useful tool, as is coercion.  By using effective visual communication while appealing to people's emotions you can control people's actions.  This is a prime example of this. Not only are these posters great examples of the graphic art of the time, they also reflect the culture. I love this, makes me realize to use whatever gifts I have for the greater good and not just for myself. The US government needed something of the American public (conservation of resources, materials and purchase of bonds): it was totally self-serving.  Good or bad, they were motivated to get what they needed and these posters, as well as many more, helped them achieve that. 

Like they say in Spiderman- "With great power, comes great responsibility."

Signs of the Times: Comparing and Contrasting The Vietnam War to The War on Terror Pt.2 Vietnam

 

Some of the work I am proudest of!  Well researched, political, fun and immediately understood!  As show in these pieces the social response during The Vietnam was greater, the protesters were more dedicated, but sometimes motivated by hedonism.

Signs of the Times: Comparing and Contrasting The Vietnam War to The War on Terror Pt.1

The below are examples of the signs I created that illustrated this generation's social response to The War on Terror. The Artist statement above explains it all. This is one of my favorite projects EVER! It combines humor, simplicity of design and packs a political punch, ENJOY!

Next up: the social response to The Vietman War...

Garden Design: Form meets Function and Ease- Wooden Pallot Garden Bed

 

Seriously the BEST idea for beginner gardeners like myself.  Using a wooden pallet (you can find them almost anywhere) to create a raised garden bed. Form meets function and ease oh so beautifully here.  Add you do is place the pallet on the dirt and fill it with more soil in all the rows, not only do you have a raised garden bed that is already assembled, BUT you also have a perfect vertical grid set up to plant your vegetables! This is my project for the weekend, but I always gotta put my own spin on it! I plan on painting mine to add a vivid splash of color and to contrast to the plants. Be on the lookout for a post this weekend of my own creation!

For further instructions and ideas click here

Jewelry Design: A sample of some of my first pieces

A chunky earthy turquoise necklace I made for a friend.

So graphic design is not my only interest, I have also really enjoyed jewelry making and design. Check out some of these pictures below. I hope to start once again, but now my dwelling has taken priority over that.

Double strand freshwater pearl bridal necklace

Close-up of the clasp for the Bridal necklace

Graduated Snowflake Obsidian necklace, I love!

Bracelet that matches the earthy necklace

Earrings I made for a bride

I Heart Typography

I made these freshman year at Alfred University: School of Art and Design.  I will never forget Mr. Troller my first design teacher, he insisted we learn to paste things up before we used computers and it was a valuable experience. He also had us create typographic compositions, while at first baffled by the idea of a design using typography alone, I soon realized the beauty of type by itself and as a design element.

Signs of the Times: Wilma as a Feminist

Using a road as a metaphor for the passage of time, I created these signs to signify an important part of history.  These signs explore the feminist era, that also happened to parallel with the time "The Flintstones" aired. By using a cartoon character you add humor and with humor you make the point get straight to the heart. While this takes a serious issue, it is sooooo much fun! Come on, Wilma was one bad-ass chick!