Desi Design Diva

I’d like to wish all of you a holly jolly Christmas! This year I decided to create a bookmark style card.  This is a nice option because the printing price is low for the amount of cards received, so I had plenty to go around!  I love that it also doubles as a gift tag, just punch a hole in the top and attach to a gift with ribbon. Happy Holidays!

  It was such a pleasure to create this beautiful invitation suite for Vikki’s baby shower. The color palette of steel blue, sparkling silver, and warm ivory set the perfect tone for this festive winter celebration. I love a unique shower invitation, and this one will definitely stand out as a wonderful blend of soft, elegant classic style with the owls adding a mix of whimsical delight. It was so fun to design and what a beautiful ensemble for guests to open!   I especially love the subtle tie into the book baby shower theme, where I added Chapter 1 banners. I hope this is the beginning of an amazing novel for the lovely parents-to-be! Thank you for giving me the opportunity to create this Baby Shower Invitation as a memento of your special day! 

Hi everyone! It’s been awhile since my last post. I’ve been very busy with work, but I do have a couple new designs to show today. I recently met Stephanie and Tiffany who have adorable little boys celebrating big birthdays. My Yo Gabba Gabba party favor CD labels worked perfectly with their themes. I was happy to create these scenes of MC and Yoshy dancing with her favorite TV show characters. It is so adorable and is sure to be enjoyed by family & friends many times over! Happy Birthday to these very cool boys!

Just in time for the beautiful fall leaves in northeast Ohio! Book your 45 minute photo session between now and Nov 15 to take advantage of this special package offer including 15 images on a CD, 2 - 8" x 10" photos, 3 - 5" x 7" photos, and 1 pages of 8 wallets. Location of your choice in Cleveland-Akron area. Just in time for Christmas!!

It was so wonderful to meet Shirley all the way from Washington. Her adorable little boy is turning the big 1.  She loved the Safari invitations featured on my blog and wondered if she could order them in time for her little man’s big birthday celebration. These safari invitations were inspired by all things travel – passports, boarding passes – and of course cute animals! It was printed on pure white semi gloss cardstock with a glossy coating on the side that featured the little guy’s photo. Just look at that big smile! I think this will remain on display at his friends and family’s houses long after the party has ended! Thank you Shirley!

A great way to give your shower guests something unique to say thanks is with personalized Tea bags.  I created this adorable label for Mary’s baby shower favors using her nursery colors. I think it came out really cute and worked perfectly with her shower décor. Tea Bag Labels come in quantities of 50 and cost just $32. They are great for Baby Showers, Bridal Showers and many more special occasions.

Showers and go by so quickly that photography is essential to help capture the elements of your special day. I recently got to photograph Mary’s Baby Shower. I took photos of the décor, all of the guest tables, the gift opening, and posed family portraits afterward. It was a great day and I’m excited to share a sneak peek of just a few of the images with you.

   Monogrammed aisle runners immediately grab guests’ attention when arriving at your ceremony by adding so much glamour and style to the wedding aisle. They say the magic is all in the details – and this is a gorgeous detail every diva should incorporate into her special day!    This summer I had the pleasure of working with a beautiful couple, Latrice and Matthew, on this fabulous hand drawn aisle runner.  The monogram incorporated luscious red and a fresh pop of coral.  I absolutely love how it turned out and hope it added a little extra magic to their perfect day. Thanks so much and congratulations to Latrice & Matthew!

I just came home from a relaxing family vacation to Isle of Palms, South Carolina.  When I wasn’t playing in the ocean or soaking up the sun, I was seeking out spots to take photos. I’d like to start this post off with a laugh, so here you go – our family photo: Unfortunately a lot of photos that have me in them come out like this, but when I’m behind the lens a little magic happens. The kids take direction, and I’m able to capture some special moments. Here’s a few of my favorite photos from our trip: And it wouldn’t be a vacation post without a few beach photos. Ahh….. Oh and getting that family photo? Never really happened. Here’s another one, and I kind of like it. It shows who we really are. Which to me, is what a family vacation is all about.

I spent a wonderful afternoon with an adorable family this week. It was such a joy to photograph their baby  – he’s quite the little model at 8 months old! Here are some of my favorites from our session. A big Thanks to Julie & Mark for inviting me to capture your special family moments! 

I’m really excited to show this fabulous Baby Shower Invitation! It was custom designed for my sister-in-law, who is expecting a little princess baby girl in August.   Her nursery décor is based around the CoCaLo Jacana collection. I illustrated a diva caricature of the mom to be in her fabulous nursery. I think everything about this invitation from the illustrations to the typography and pearlized shimmer cardstock are just divine!      It was a pleasure to create this customized invitation for Mary. Thank you so much! I look forward to celebrating with you at your Baby Shower!

I’m so excited to announce that Design Design is expanding to now offer photography! It has been a dream of mine to diversify the business by offering photography services in addition to invitation/announcement stationery design, and I’m happy to be making it a reality. One of the greatest things about obtaining my BFA in Graphic Design from the Cleveland Institute of Art is that they encourage crossing mediums. In addition to design, I was able to study drawing, painting, fibers, and photography. At that time, the photography was black & white film that I developed myself in the dark room. I loved the experience and found it very creative and rewarding. During the past ten years that I have worked as a Graphic Designer, I have worked with several photographers, styled and art directed hundreds of photo shoots, and edited countless photos for print and web. Editing has ranged from minor cosmetic to major changes – like totally changing a room! Now it’s my turn to ...

It was such a pleasure to create this beautiful invitation for Carrie to Brynn’s Baptism. My goal was to create a design that was soft & elegant – mixing classical charm with modern diva style.   The invitation is 2-sided, featuring Brynn’s gorgeous photo, monogram and date of the special event on one side - and the details on the other.   The shimmer cardstock selection celebrates all things girly! I am very happy with how this gorgeous invitation came out! Congratulations to the proud parents, Carrie & Dennis! Thank you for giving me the opportunity to create this Baptism Invitation as a momento of your special day! 

Happy second birthday to Kennedy! This little Diva loves Yo Gabba Gabba, and I was thrilled when her stylish mom Celeste asked me to design her party favor CD label. On the popular tv show Yo Gabba Gabba, they feature kids dancing and a voiceover says “My name is ____. I like to dance!” and the child's name pops up in a futuristic digital typeface.   I thought this concept would translate perfectly into a CD favor! I was happy to create this scene of Kennedy dancing with her favorite TV show characters. It is so adorable and is sure to be enjoyed by her friends many times over! Happy Birthday dancing diva!

It was such a delight to meet Jennifer. Her adorable little boy is turning the big 1.   She loved the Safari invitations featured on my blog and wondered if she could order them in time for her little boy’s big birthday celebration. I am happy to say that it was designed, printed and arrived at her house all in just one week. These safari invitations were inspired by all things travel – passports, boarding passes – and of course cute animals! It was printed on pure white semi gloss cardstock with a glossy coating on the side that featured the little cutie pie’s photo. I think the end result is absolutely adorable, and will remain on display long after the party has ended! Thank you Jennifer!

It’s Birthday Season in my house! I had so much fun designing invitations for my little one’s birthdays this year. Gabi liked the idea of a Barbie inspired party theme, but I decided to take it one step further and make her the Barbie character! I drew a fun caricature of her and placed it into a pink sequins filled setting – perfect for my little diva! Jake wanted an animal theme, so I made him Safari ticket inspired invitations. I used the bookmark size format to resemble a ticket. This is great for a child's birthday party and this format is actually very affordable printing (I charge $60 for 50 bookmark size invitations.) I think it came out really fun & cute! What themes are you looking into for your little one’s parties? Let me know if I can help with invitations to set your tone.

It was such an honor to be able to create a beautiful birth announcement for Carrie’s new arrival. I am very proud of how this came out – so elegant and sophisticated with a pop of fresh color! I was thrilled when Carrie mentioned that she was thinking of a Green & Purple color scheme – it’s so invigorating and fun for spring! Plus it also ties in perfectly with the family’s Irish heritage, which is a wonderful feature for a keepsake like a birth announcement. The announcement is 2-sided, which allows us to showcase more of her adorable photos! It was printed on pearlized cardstock with a high-shine gloss coating added to the photo side – I just adore the level of style and glamorous layers of shine & shimmer the paper choice added to the elegant design. Congratulations to the proud parents, Carrie & Dennis! Thank you for giving me the opportunity to create her Birth Announcement! It is sure to become a wonderful keepsake.

     Nicole is a fabulous friend of mine and I was jumping up and down cheering when she told me that she was expecting a baby. Then I felt so honored that she chose me to design her Baby Shower Invitations!      Her theme is rainforest and her décor is based around the Fisher Price Rainforest collection. I illustrated a caricature of Nicole (complete with a cute purse, because that is Nicole!) and placed her into a setting of the animals and rainforest from her theme. I think the illustrations came out pretty adorable! The text that was added compliments the scene and gives it a storybook feel (perfect, because she is requesting books in place of cards!)      It was a delight to create this customized invitation for Nicole. Thank you so much! I look forward to celebrating with you at your Baby Shower!

   I was so honored to receive a message from the gorgeous Briana all the way from Little Rock, Arkansas. She and her baby shower hostesses saw the "A Star is Arriving" Baby Shower Invitation that I designed for Michelle on my blog and thought it would work perfectly with their theme.    It was a pleasure to get to know her and learn about the fabulous baby shower her hostesses were planning. I illustrated a caricature that matched perfectly with Briana’s likeness and captured her fashionista sense of style. The customized invitation is perfect for a glamorous diva! Thank you Briana! Have a wonderful day at your baby shower!