A Peep of Springtime

Hello! I am betting some people in this country are already counting down the days till spring. The weather is all over the board, some people snowed in every day, while we here in the Sunshine State are looking at high 70's every day. Maybe that's why I am still thinking in pretty, happy, bright colors. Yes, I love my burgundy nail polish and black scarves -- which a futile attempt at making it feel just a little more like Christmas-time to me -- but for some reason, today, I was thinking a lot about a very pretty bright fern color.

Very clean, modern, but definitely a little taste of springtime. :) The flourishes are a little less swirly and fancy, but fresh. Not 100% in love with the sans serif font and size yet... this is probably more of a prototype. See a trend with my love of ovals? (Observe the logo.)

Anyways, I hope your weather is treating you right and that you can love on whatever colors you want no matter the season!

- Lara

Melon-licious

Good afternoon, y'all! Life has been busy like a bee for me, lately. I can't believe my last fall semester is winding down already... in two weeks I will be driving home for my Thanksgiving holiday! My boo is coming down to hang with my family that whole week, which I am a little more than pumped about. :o) (Clown nose smiley face is so cute!)

In between writing research papers, doing odd jobs of the campus ministry variety, and the other things going on in these parts, I still like fiddling around on the computer in my spare time. Because I can't do something normal like read a book or watch a movie, I guess.

Maybe the pretty melon color and neutral gray combo will go out of style soon, I don't know, but at the moment I think it's just lovely! I am a little unsure of the font combination at this moment but for now, I feel like this is cute. This kind of style would suit a chic springtime feel for sure.

Anyways, there is not much to say today. I hope your Monday started off the week as good as a Monday can!

- Lara

Save the Date #2: A Little Bit of Curl

I lied. I flagrantly lied. I'm just on a roll, and there's no stopping me! Thank you, professors, for giving me a week of from some paper being due. :) I appreciate it! It lets me get my juices flowing and play with some colors!

When you find a gorgeous font, you look for ways to use it and make it work. It is just too pretty to leave lying on an invisible shelf inside of your computer. What, you didn't know that's how computers are organized beneath all that plastic??

This is one such case. It was too swirly and perfect. It needed some air. It needed life, people. I admire typeface artists so much for somehow creating these masterpieces that we take for granted, as if there was a "big bang" creation of all the fonts in the world. Someone designed that Verdana you use all the time, or cute little Trebuchet. Even Arial! (That guy must have made BANK.) Next time you are like, "Wow, those letters look cool," when you're looking at a magazine or an invitation, appreciate the person who made it! They do good work!

Anyways, that was kind of irrelevant.

See what I mean?! You know exactly which line of text I am talking about. Mmmm. So delightfully full of swoops and curves. Yes, my beauty, you had to come out and strut your stuff somewhere. Even if it is an imaginary Save the Date card. Maybe someday, I will have the chance to print you on paper -- what a glorious day that will be!

Keep it classy, friends!

- Lara

Experiment #1: Save the Date

So, as I have already mentioned, I am not a professional graphic designer. I haven't taken one class at my university (since they are only offered at the other campus), except for a little "don't you wish you could afford this!" session Adobe put on for their Creative Suite 5.5. My disclaimer is that I will not pretend to be super good at any of it. I just think it's fun and sometimes I feel like what I make turns out okay. :)

I am turning into such a girly-girl these days. Growing up, I avoided pink as much as possible. I was very selective about frills and bows that appeared on my person at any given time. As a teen, I prided myself a lot more on my excellence in school than I did in doing my makeup or flirting with boys, although on the inside, I secretly wanted to be into those kinds of things but was just too concerned with being taken seriously. But when I started to follow Christ (read about it here!), I was a lot more comfortable in my own skin and began to let the real me come out and play. I felt the freedom to bake cupcakes and wear glittery eyeshadow! Because it didn't matter to me as much anymore that people look at me and be impressed by how smart or talented I was, I sure had a lot more fun being the girl that God made me to be!

All of that is to say that now, out of seemingly nowhere, I am really having more fun with wedding stuff. Part of it probably has to do with the fact that I am finally in a serious relationship with the most AWESOME man in the history of the world, Darin, who I could talk about for hours if I wasn't overly conscious of sounding like that girl. (You know what kind of girl I am talking about.) Now, wedding things just don't seem that unrealistic and far-off anymore, and there is so much fun to be had when a couple has a chance to let their personalities show off!

This is my very first try at a fancy "save the date" card. And by fancy, I mean not-too-fancy; it has a pretty modern feel and nice summer colors. It's more along the lines of what I would pick if I were planning a wedding... which isn't looking too far off, so I'm not a psycho yet, right? ;)

I just adore lemony yellow! It's a happy, laid-back color that says, "You can relax and have a good time at this wedding. Bridesmaids, your dresses will not be expensive. Enjoy your mojitos during the reception." Not that there's anything wrong with super classy, fancy weddings, but for some people, they like the simplicity of keeping it in a "yellow" state of mind.

Anyways, friends, have a fresh and fun day, and be true to yourself!

- Lara