Reason to Give

I just wanted to share some really good news........a few months ago I met with Natasha Bansfield owner of Natasha Bansfield Events and Bella Sera Bridal owners Heidi Nicholson and Lisa Almeida. It was a rainy Friday in July in what was suppose to be just a meeting about networking turned into something far greater than any of us could have imagine. That afternoon Reason to Give was born in just four short months we are ready to launch our first project.......a North Shore Wedding Giveaway to a deserving couple!

In a time when there are a lot of people struggling as well as businesses what better way to bring everyone together than with a wedding. One of the most incredible moments of this project was to see the number of vendors that jumped on board at the very early stages simply because they too had a Reason to Give.

If you yourself have a Reason to Give, you can do it by sharing this news with your friends and family. You can go onto facebook and become a member of reason2give or maybe you know someone that deserves a free wedding, you can nominate them starting November 1st just go to www.reason2give.org!

Nourish Your Soul

"Change your life, one moment at a time"
I have known Susan Cabana now for ten years and to me she defines that quote. She is a wonderful friend, mother a now Wellness Consultant. When I first started my business Susan became a quick supporter and as I have said before I have always felt it is an honor when someone chooses me to design for one of their memorable life moments, and when it comes to Susan's at this point I have lost count on how many I have been a part of. So when she called me to tell me about her new venture and asked if I would design a logo for it, I was completely honored, it was another memorable life moment and I was chosen to be a part of it. I love how the logo turned out I think every part of it works and because I have been doing the designing I can say first hand how extremely educated Susan is when it comes to wellness. It really is about changing your life one moment at a time, so if you are looking to start the new year off with improving the health of yourself, family or friends, I would check out her website, its under my favorite links to the left of the page. Susan also offers informational parties at her home. I am going to one next Wednesday and are so excited, she is going to talk about ways to nourish your soul and make some of her yummy recipes for all of us to try. I will report back and let you know!

Dancing Doodlebugs

Rosemary Graham has this incredible line of custom children's clothes and accessories. She is extremely talented and called me one afternoon because she was in need of a logo. My first love was the name Dancing Doodlebugs how perfect is that, my second love was the quality of her product. When she came over to discuss the design of her logo she brought some of her samples....beautiful stylish fabrics mixed with her perfect sewing skills I could see she had a solid product and know she will do extremely well.
So come this Holiday Season try and remember your small local business owners like Rosemary, she will put far more care and effort into making you a special gift than anything you would find at a mall. Click the photo to enlarge and see Dancing Doodlebugs contact information.

NEW Personalized custom plates and bowls.

In an effort to always offer more.......BeeCustom Designs is now offering personalized melamine plates and bowls. These are great gift to give for teachers, birthdays, new babies ect. Any of my artwork can be put on a plate or a bowl and personalized with a name, special date, or saying. I have a ton of artwork, fonts, color schemes and obviously can't display everything therefore if you have something in mind just shoot me an email to beecustom@verizon.net.

Plates-24.00
Bowls-18.00

Also availabe custom bookmarks, luggage/backpack tags, checkbook covers, and paperweights.......I will post images soon. If you can't wait just send me an email and I will get pricing and a sample over for you to view.

All plates are dishwasher safe but can not be put in the microwave.

LOOK whats NEW in HOLIDAY CARDS!

Hello, well I realize it has been a while since I posted any new designs....it was a long summer but as Fall approaches I have plenty of new things to share. In the past I have always offered Custom Holiday Cards and love taking a clients photo and creating a one-of-a-kind design but I know some people need fast and simple therefore this year I am offering Custom Digital Holiday Cards, it's fast and simple. Simply choose one of the five designs offered and I will customize that design with your family name and photo...you won't even have to leave your home.

Card Price-1.50 per card includes white envelope

Minimum order-30 to start then sold by the 10's

Card size-5x7 vertical or 7x5 horizontal(as shown in samples)

Card stock-High quality photo paper with a luster finish

Photos-please send all photos as jpegs or tifs with a resolution of 300 dpi.
If you need your photo converted to black and white there is no charge.

Upgrades:coordinating colored envelopes offered with each design +5.00 per ten

Shipping-free local drop off or orders can ship ground for a flat fee of 6.00.

Proofs-once photo is received and design is chosen you will get an electronic pdf proof via email.

Please email me with any questions you may have beecustom@verizon.net

NOTE: All photos in sample are courtesy Angie Rahilly
978-621-4880 angierahilly@gmail.com
http://web.me.com/angierahilly

Roller Skating.....for BOYS!

Hello everyone Happy June, maybe at some point the sun might shine. If you read my previous blog about the Roller Skate I designed for my friend Tammy's daughter you know that I do my best designing when there is a request. Merri's party was such a fun time for the kids that she is now doing a roller skating party for her son Nicholas's 7th birthday. I have know him since birth, therefore I knew a hot pink glittered roller skate like I did for his sister would not fly. My thoughts were to use an inline skate, there was just one problem....I had to make it first. I wasn't sure if I would be able to pull it off but as you can see from the sample above....I think it worked out great so much so that I now have it in girly colors that can of course be glittered.
If you have planned a party for a child we all know that after you have picked a place, ordered the cake and invitations it is now onto the dreaded party favor. Tammy called last week she had received a candy bar in her mailbox that was wrapped in a party invitation. She immediately thought what a fun idea for a party favor, I mean what kid doesn't like a candy bar plus it's great for us parents, now we don't have to pick up the destroyed favor bag we all seem to find from the car ride home. Her idea was to see if I could make a custom wrapper we could put around the candy bar that matched the party invitation with a message thanking everyone for coming.....like I said my best designs come from someones vision, luckily for me Tammy has great vision. The picture above was the result and it came out so great that I am offering it as a part of my custom line. Sky is the limit....I can design a custom wrapper for any candy on the market. So to my friend Tammy....your vision keeps me designing and employed, to Nicholas Happy 7th Birthday, I am sorry I won't be there to witness all the fun.

Paw's in the Park cont.....

You might have seen my previous post about donating invitations for Paws in the Park a great event put on by Natasha Bansfield Events. It raised over 3000.00 dollars for the Northeast Animal Shelter in Salem. You could not have asked for a better day and even though my family no longer has a dog the Northeast Animal Shelter so graciously lent me and my kids "Rockie" for the walk. Although he was a little nervous and yes very camera shy we were so happy to been given such an honor.
Angie Rahilly is a photographer out of Peabody who just happen to photograph my niece and nephew. I saw her work and thought it was fabulous, I was able to put her in touch with Natasha and was thrilled when Angie told me she would be photographing the event. She took photos of everyone with their dogs as well as all the great moments of the day and if that wasn't enough she has given everyone permission to download the photos and print what they like. Her photo's really capture just how much an owner loves their dog. Whether you are a cat person or a dog person, animals bring unconditional love in a world that sometimes can be so harsh.
In a time when businesses and people are really struggling it was so heartwarming to see how many donated their time, products and services to such a great cause. To see all the photos from this event just click the title of this blog and it will take you directly to Angie Rahilly's website and to learn more about Natasha Bansfield Events you can go to my previous blog about the invitation, if you click the title it will take you to her site.

WEBKINZ PARTY

Alright, I think it is fair to say if you have children over the age of five you know what a Webkinz is. I received an email from a really good client of mine. It read "I need a party invitation for my daughters birthday party...the theme is Webkinz ( I know I tried to talk her out of it)" It's funny because there are tons of ideas on the market for just about any kind of party you could think of but when it comes to Webkinz's there is not much. My client decided to give each child a Webkinz as the party favor.....Rachael chose the panda. So my instructions were pink, yellow and panda. I built the panda bear knowing I would be using hot pink glitter. I chose a square envelofold card in this really cool card stock called duplex which means the outside color was watermelon and the inside kiwi the design was finished off with a custom button that had a hot pink paw print. The whole design was completed with matching thank you notes and glittered address labels. I just think this panda is so cute!

SHOP LOCAL

This was an unexpected opportunity for me. Late on a Friday in April Liz of Mason and Madison had asked if I might be able to create a design for The First Annual Shop Local Event being held in our town of Middleton that she could present to the Board of Trade....of course I said yes! With just a few minor changes the board was pleased and decided to use my design.
I was extremely excited to see my design printed and hung in local stores around town and so look forward to participating in future events.

Let's talk SUMMER!!!!

I LOVE living in New England my favorite season is the fall, I would also say spring but if you are from this area you know we only get one day of spring before it is 90+. I think everyone can agree that this past winter was pretty tough....add in our scary economy and you basically have a recipe for depression. Around late February I emailed my friend Laurie Durkin owner of Noteworthy Papers in New London New Hampshire to ask if she had any shows lined up for the spring? Her reply was immediate she wanted to have a joint venture between us at her studio to celebrate summer. Of course I wanted to do the invites, and she agreed her only request was that the design be bright and cheery something that would make people want to come out and start living again. Above are the results and I just LOVE it! When I look at this invite it gives me hope that things are going to get better really soon. However, should sooner turn into later feel free to look at this invite and think COCKTAILS!

Lending a PAW

I am so excited about this recent invitation design. I have always operated based on word of mouth...which sometimes can take time for potential clients to find you but I have found another great way to advertise.......DONATION! I have always been big on giving, so for me it could not have worked out better.
Paws in the Park is a great event supporting the Northeast Animal Shelter in Salem. The event is being run by a fabulous lady named Natasha Bansfield who is an event planner out of Peabody. Our paths crossed a few months ago through mutual friends. It could not have worked out better, in our first meeting she told me about this event and I jumped at the chance to donate a really over the top invite to such a great cause. This past December we had to put down our very sick bully name Hercules and even though I complained about all his dog hair I miss him dearly. Hopefully in the near future I will find myself at the Northeast Animal Shelter picking out a new family member to bring home.
This event already had a great logo designed by someone else, so my challenge was to create an invitation that worked with an existing logo but still reflected my design style. What you see above was the result and I could not have been happier to lend my paw to such a well deserved organization.

NOTE: If you the click the title to this blog it will take you to the site for more information about this great upcoming event.

Laurie Durkin of Noteworthy Papers

I met Laurie Durkin of Noteworthy Papers through a mutual friend. She has this incredible Stationery Studio in New London New Hampshire that houses some of the top Designers of Invitations, Stationery and Gifts galore. So I was beyond exited when she wanted to meet with me to see my product. From my first meeting with Laurie in her fabulous Design Studio I knew two things. The first was that she would be great to work with because she possessed the same passion for design as I do. The second was that my custom designs had just found the perfect vacation home in her one of a kind Design Studio.
Laurie emailed me the other day wondering if I could design her a full color ad for the summer issue of Kearsarge Magazine. Of course I said yes, because I love opportunities that allow me to design for different media's. I was really touched that out of all the really well known designers she has access too, that she chose me. Laurie told me three things that this ad needed to be "Nicole Fun", Nicole Creative", and "Nicole Memorable". Her level of confidence in me is what gives me the drive to be a better designer. So to you Laurie I thank you because working with you is always FUN, always CREATIVE and above all always MEMORABLE!

NOTE:click picture to enlarge. click title to go directly to Noteworthy Paper's website.

The GIRLS of MASON and MADISON

The title of this blog almost sounds like a TV reality show! It may not be TV but it is definitely reality. The photo above will be featured in the next issue of North Shore Magazine which to me is pretty exceptional. All the girls featured in the photo above are among the first of local artisans that are featured at Mason and Madison. I can't speak for everyone but being a part of Mason and Madison has allowed me to meet and work with some fabulous girls!

Photo by Richter Colella Studios (from left to right)

Donna Egan(All Around Active), Nicole Mitsakis(BeeCustom Designs)
Jane Booras(Hamilton Gardens and Beautiful Baubles),
Kim Ellen Kloss(MeTooCharms) Kay Fraser(Ear Candy by Kay),
Heidi Donovan(BeStrongBeTrueBeYou) Teresa Capela(Teresa's Creations),
Donna Cabral(The Bow Fairy)

CENTER Liz White-owner of Mason and Madison above Liz
Pam Newman(The Bead Lady)

MISSING from photo Rachael Kloss(Dragonfly Photography)

Grand Opening Invitation

I work mainly through word of mouth, so I use my Invitations as advertisement. What better way to introduce myself to Liz's customers than through a fabulous invite to her Grand Opening. Liz really left the design up to me but I knew I wanted it to reflect the look of her store. There is nothing more classic than black, mixed with the signature blue of Mason and Madison. I wanted a pop of glitter somewhere but did not want it to over power the design. I started with a vertical gated card in Black Linen, the wording was printed on White Dove that had just a hint of texture and shimmer. To close the card I used a sash in Hydrangea which also had texture and finished it with a custom square button with Liz's "M" that was glittered. For the envelope I chose Black Linen mixed with a custom envelope Liner in Hydrangea. On the back of the envelope was a square return address label and for the front I had a custom address label. It is not always easy to photograph paper with texture or shimmery so above is a computer generated sample. I was able to photograph the custom glittered button. However, I always tell everyone it is best to see my samples in person to appreciate the quality of card stock and sparkle of the glitter.
Liz was so happy with the end result and I was happy with the amount of people that called or email just to tell her how special it was.

NOTE:CLICK ON PICTURES TO ENLARGE IMAGES

EAT CAKE of NEWBURYPORT

I must say I am a huge fan of cupcakes and cakes. I still remember my wedding cake and how much I loved picking it out. Like most brides who look back on their wedding day and think of all the things they might have changed my cake was not one of them. So when Liz asked me if I could do some glittered goodies to compliment the cupcakes from EAT CAKE for her grand opening.......I ran with it. When I design I always work from inspiration, so Liz gave me the ingredients of what would be served but for the vision I went to EAT CAKE'S website...OMG I could not have asked for more inspiration, honestly if I could bake I would be a cake designer and take all my artwork and make them into cakes......much easier said than done! I have plenty of cupcake designs but I wanted my designs to compliment Hilary's designs and I wanted people to notice how the signs matched almost to the sprinkle. Above was the result, I even added an "EAT CAKE" sign using hot pink and brown glitter so the name would sparkle. I guess I have two people to thank now...Liz for allowing me to create the signs and to Hilary your cake creations inspire me to be a better designer!

MORE Notepad options..........

Everyone seemed to LOVE the notepads that I decided to come up with more options. You can pick a color scheme, then a piece of artwork or a monogram. The notepads are also available without the "school text" shown. If you want you can just have the monogram up in the corner and your name printed in the bottom right corner. If you choose a piece of artwork then your name would be centered at the top. They are sold in packs of two and of course you can have "Custom" ones designed which are great for favors or events. I am always looking for new inspiration so if you think of something you would want for a notepad design send me an email beecustom@verizon.net. If I end up using it when it is printed you will get the first sample.....FREE!

I couldn't just stop at one....

After I finished Tammy's notepad design....I was thinking what about the Mom that would like a design that was classic....there is nothing more classic than a Monogram. So based on Tammy's vision I went to work creating a different design that someone could put the letter of their last name or first on the notepad instead of artwork. When I make a sample I hate to waste so I always create it with someone in mind who will be able to use it....and the lucky winner was Liz White! I recently had been doing some design work for Liz and new what her signature colors where. Above is the end result....simple, classic yet timeless.

A Notepad for TAMMY

When I started BeeCustom Designs I had two customers one of them was Tammy but way before she was my customer she was my friend. She came to me the other day because she was in need of a custom notepad that was simplified so she could send in a quick note when making changes to her kids schedules. She had this product she had boughten somewhere else but it just wasn't working for her. So we started with color...she's a hot pink and apple green kind of gal and of course we needed a piece of fun artwork....she went with the hot pink stiletto shoe. The sample above is the end result! Thank you Tammy for not only being a good customer but a great friend!

Heidi Donovan's "Be Strong Be True Be You"

I met this fabulous business woman through Liz White. Heidi is the owner of a really incredible company called "BE STRONG BE TRUE BE YOU" Her shirts have wearable messages of inspiration and fun and promote "AUTHENTIC SELF" and she is one of the local artisans displaying at Mason and Madison. Heidi came to me with such passion and love for her product but was in need of some branding....I was thrilled when she like my designs enough to ask me to create a new logo for her. One meeting and a few samples later we had a winner.
I was completely honored when Heidi asked me to design an anchor for a new shirt design she was thinking of. From the beginning I have always believed that my best designs are created from the inspiration and vision of a clients request. It is an unbelievable feeling as a designer to see a piece of your artwork on a shirt and it's even better when the owner of the company picks that shirt to represent herself and her company at the recent Grand Opening of Mason and Madison. So to my new friend and INSPIRATIONAL GURU HEIDI I look forward to many future projects.

Mason and Madison

I have always felt that some of the best opportunities are discovered in the most unlikely places.....for example a school bus! I only recently met Liz White the owner of Mason and Madison because our sons are friends but it wasn't until we chaperoned a field trip together that we discovered...both of us operate "Custom" businesses, hers being Gifts with Style mine being Invitations and Stationery. One meeting and a few conversations later Liz welcomed me aboard as the Invitation and Stationery Consultant for Mason and Madison. Being able to keep control over my designs while expanding my client base means the world to me. So as the Grand Opening approaches I want to extend a heartfelt THANK YOU to Liz for allowing me the opportunity to design not only for her but for her customers! To think it all started on a school bus....who knew.

Just some thoughts....

Over the last two years that I have been growing my business, I have had the pleasure of working with some great women and have learned a lot. I have discovered that the reason I chose the name BeeCustom Designs was because I wanted it to "BE CUSTOM"....but by doing so it also means I do not have a product that will fit on every shelf of every Stationery Store across our fifty states. I will admit it took some time to be ok with that option. So I continue to operate word of mouth which sometimes can be slow but in turn it allows me to keep full control over my designs and the people I work with.... and at the end of the day that is exactly how I want it.

She's 50 and Fabulous!

This client was hosting a Birthday Party for her sister's 50th. She wanted glitter and liked the colors lime and blue, the rest was up to me. I am lucky enough to know the birthday girl therefore I knew she defined the term "Fifty and Fabulous" add a beautiful cake with polka-dots and you have a simple but so unique party invite.
I was thrilled when one of her friends who received the invite called and asked me to make a matching "Happy Birthday" card with the glittered cake on it and a heartfelt message from all her friends printed inside. Then after the party I received a call from the Birthday Girl herself, letting me know how much she loved her invitations and card. So much so that she ordered matching thank you notes with the now famous glittered cake. I have said this before...but I do consider it an honor to be a part of peoples life moments!

RACE CAR BIRTHDAY

A Birthday Party at a Race Track...isn't that what every little boy dreams of...yes but his mother dreams of a party invitation that perfectly matches the theme. So the request came in that a blue race car would be needed with a number 6 on it...oh and NO GLITTER please! I have two boys, therefore I can understand! I have know Nicholas since birth so it was easy to make him a race car, I was even able to find the perfect font that to me defined racing! I don't always get invited to the parties I design for but this one I did, it was a lot of fun! Kudos to you NICHOLAS!

OLIVIA'S MERMAID

Olivia defines the term girlgirl! There is no doubt in my mind that she was in fact Ariel from the Little Mermaid in her former life. I had tried in the past to make a mermaid....but it never was what I wanted or envisioned, not until my best friend Annette asked me to make a mermaid invitation for Olivia's third birthday. Now it was simple I had the vision and inspiration that was missing....all from a little girl barely three! LOTS OF LOVE to my girl OLIVIA....for giving me the inspiration to create!

IT'S FUN TO BE ONE

This specific client needed an invitation for her daughters first birthday....!
Luckily I saw this little girl often enough to know that glitter was a must, her invite needed to sparkle just like she did. I had no idea what to create for artwork, until I spotted one of my Lladro's.....I have a few of the clowns and one of my favorites sits on a ball, to me that clown represented everything about being ONE, so it is what I used as inspiration when creating "AVA'S CLOWN". The mom even had a cake custom made to match the clown. To this day that clown is one of my favorite pieces of artwork that I have made....THANK YOU AVA for inspiring me.

NOTE:clown is also available in a pastel color scheme of pink, green and purple.

Autumn in BOXFORD

This client was having a Cocktail Party for all her neighbors. It was in early autumn and she wanted to use colors that represented that. She had seen my shoes on another design and wanted to somehow use them. Keeping with the theme of autumn plus cocktails I decide to have three shoes one would have the orange glitter, the next burgundy glitter then the leopard print add a martini with an olive to complete the design. The invite was printed on a dove white card stock with a slight texture. The backing card was black coal dots that had a slight shimmer. The invite was mailed in a shimmery olive envelope with a coordinating address label that had a martini on it. This is a personal favorite of mine!

HAPPY 40th BIRTHDAY!

This client was planning a 40th Birthday Party for her husband. Obviously there would not be glitter involved in this design, which was nice for me because when designing for a guy, you usually take a different approach. I started with colors....navy and moss was the request. I used a long card with navy linen for the backing, white linen for the invite and a moss green envelope. Instead of using artwork, I decided a catchy phrase in a great font would create a stylish but masculine look.

Going to LONDON

It is not often that one gets a request to design an invitation for "Going Away to London Party" I was so excited to take on this project, and was given only one request, the colors had to be navy and red. Nothing says London like their signature red bus. I could not have been happier with the results, except after glittering 65 by hand I was thinking when I built the bus I should have put less windows! I love using glitter and red is one of my favorites. When I look back at this design it reminds me why I do custom....this is something you would never have found in a store!

Roller Skating Birthday Party

This invitation was made for a very special girl. She is one of my first clients and has inspired many pieces of artwork in my portfolio. How much fun is it to have a roller skating party when you are turning nine. The request was simple hot pink and green for the colors and of course a roller skate. After building the roller skate I thought how about a fabulous pair of matching tights add some hot pink glitter and we have a winner. Later we decided to also do hot pink and orange as well....that is what I love about custom why just send out one color scheme when you can have two. Custom address labels with matching roller skate completed the design.

To my FABULOUS girl Merri....thank you for inspiring another design
for me..........YOU ROCK!