Friday, September 24, 2010

Down on the FARM!!!!!

As you know I never create generic samples, so I was super excited when Catarina called needing invitations for her son Nico's first birthday. The theme was Down on the FARM.......OMG I have been dying to design for a fall themed birthday. Her only request was that there had to be a pumpkin somewhere because he was their "little pumpkin" and the kids would also be picking and decorating pumpkins. Catarina chose Smolak Farms in North Andover for the party venue, which was perfect!

When designing for any invitation I do a lot of research but because I've been waiting to do a farm theme invite I had a head start. My idea was to create a barn like feel, which is why I chose a gated card style in shimmery red. The gates opening give a realistic look of barn doors. Next up was the artwork, I first made the barn and added a window at the top for the pumpkin to sit in but wasn't happy with how it looked. Feeling the window needed something with more substance I created a rooster and had it sit on layers of hay that hung out of the window. The rooster was finished with red glitter and the hay with clear glitter.........now it was PERFECT!





The barn artwork was printed on linen white with a backing card of french roast by mounting it to the gates on the front of the card really sets the tone before you even read the invite. The main invitation was printed on linen white using a mix of western and whimsical fonts. The glittered pumpkin found a perfect home on the interior of the invite adding a nice balance. The main barn artwork was also used on the thank you notes and favor tags.



The pumpkin artwork work was used as an accent to the return address printing on all the envelopes. Catarina like the barn so much that we put it on a plate and bowl set personalized with Nico's name which he could use on the day of his party for cake and ice cream. I was thrilled with how this invitation turned out but was even happier that Catarina LOVED IT!