the tina birthday party postcard

First off, today is my dad's 65th birthday. Happy Birthday, Dad! 

I recently designed this birthday party postcard for my boss, and I thought it would be fun to share the finished pro here. It's simple and would work for any family member's birthday - young, old, boy or girl. I love versatile invitations. As my great grandmother's favorite color was blue, I decided to name this party invitation after her. You can read more about her life here, here and here.

This design can be customized for non-birthday events, and the colors can be changed to match your party theme.

For more information about the Tina birthday party postcard, please click here.

vintage summer garden

I love the muted colors of these early 1970s photographs of my great-grandmother's garden. Photoshop has some awesome filters, but nothing is quite like the real thing. These photos feel like a summer garden should feel....warm and soft with flowers and trees everywhere. Add in palm trees and the most breath-taking views imaginable, and you have summertime perfection.

winning awards and big thank yous

Last year Gerald & Joan was honored when our friends at Habitat for Humanity of Greater Memphis recruited us to design their 30th anniversary photo book. In addition to being a really fun and rewarding project, it inspired us to add nonprofit branding and photo preservation/archiving to our services. Nonprofit branding has been a personal passion for years, so it wasn't a big shock that we felt compelled to incorporate it into G&J. Photo preservation proved to be more of a surprise, and it has played a huge role in our overall branding and overarching goals for the studio.

We were extremely happy with the way the project turned out, but when Habitat approached us about submitting it in the PRSA (Public Relations Society of America) Memphis VOX Awards, we were blown away by the gesture. A joint nomination from Habitat and Gerald & Joan -- how cool is that? It was the ultimate confidence booster. Another feel-good moment came when we accepted our PRSA Gold Award together. Those two moments might rank as our two proudest G&J moments to date. We are so grateful to Habitat for allowing us to be a part of such a special project and for nominating us for an award. We will never forget it, and we can't wait to see the certificate hanging in the studio!

summer memories

Happy Friday, everyone. I hope you had a great Memorial Day weekend and a good week. We've had some family concerns around here the past few weeks, and they have forced blogging to take a back seat. If you are the praying kind, please keep our family in your prayers. 

Today I wanted to continue the summer vacation series by sharing some photos of my grandparents, Joan and Sid, that were taken in the late 1970s. Sadly Sid lost his battle to liver cancer in 1984 at age 50. Ironically Joan would pass away from the same disease 19 years later. Despite their blissful life being cut short, they were the perfect example of a couple who loved a lifetime. They lived each day to the fullest and made every moment count. Their home was a happy place, and they enjoyed traveling, camping and boating. They knew how to have fun. 

Their story can teach the rest of us a great lesson -- have adventures, enjoy every day, stop and smell the roses and laugh....You get the picture. 

You'll notice their dog Pookie on the left side of the above photo. I will always remember my grandma and their yard like this. I often wonder what would we do without photos to remind us of special people and places. They continue to keep them in our hearts and minds decades after they're gone. I am so grateful for these precious memories.