Introducing the Elysa Birth Announcement

It seems fitting that our first birth announcement would be for our beautiful niece Elysa. Working with the same guidelines as their family Christmas card, we knew we wanted a flat card with rounded corners, matte finish and several photos of Baby Elysa with her big sister Eliza. Pink was the obvious color choice. The exact colors came from the girls' shirts and Elysa's hair bow. Big white polka dots and some hand-drawn ribbons add some whimsy, while the big photo polka dot on the back of the card captures the true joy that exists in Eliza -- she loves her baby sister so much. We'll be back on Friday with one more Gerald and Joan project to cap off our first year!

Happy New Year, everyone!

Sugar Plum Christmas Cards

December -- the entire year actually -- has been a blur. As we try to make sense of the very first year of Gerald & Joan, we wanted to share a few of our latest projects. This Christmas card was custom designed for my sister-in-law's family. She wanted a flat card with rounded corners, matte finish and a family photo on the front. Beyond that, she didn't have any requests. I hand-drew the "Merry and Bright," and then added the red, green and white "sugar plums" across the front and back. We added just the tiniest filter to the photo to enhance the warm glow of the photo. Everything about this project says happy and blessed -- which is exactly how they are in real life. We were really pleased with the results.

We'll be back on Wednesday with their youngest daughter's birth announcements! :)

Vintage Doily Wedding Programs

I recently had the privilege of designing the programs for my brother-in-law's wedding. Like his brother and I, he and his bride are old souls. They told me that their wedding would mix family heirlooms and natural details, so I decided to incorporate a vintage handkerchief, hand-drawn doilies and the little love birds to create a custom program for their special day. The bride added that she loved the look of the block format design with a mix of fonts, so we added that to finish off the rustic, vintage-inspired piece. They were really pleased with the result!

Interested in our design work? Contact us here for more information about this program and other design work.

CYBER MONDAY SHOP SALE

In honor of Cyber Monday, Gerald and Joan is proud to announce our first shop sale! Through tomorrow, receive a 10 percent discount on any Gerald and Joan shop purchase when you enter the code THANKFUL. Visit our online shop here.

This holiday season we are so thankful for this little business that allows me to spend more time with my family, friends and favorite things. After taking off three days last week, today I'm headed to volunteer at my former employer with my mom, and on Friday, I'm headed to our hometown to help my mother-in-law and sister-in-law decorate the rehearsal dinner venue for my brother-in-law's wedding.

What job gives you that sort of flexibility? I'm so very thankful for Gerald and Joan!