HAPPY HOLIDAYS

It is almost time for Santa to arrive so I wanted to show you some of the custom holiday cards that I designed this season.

One of my favorite things to do is open gifts, and I wanted to create a card that emulated just that.  This was the Keuter Card 2011.

I love me some Chevron, and what better way to display it on a holiday card for my client.  

And last but not least, one of my clients wanted to combine their baby announcement with their holiday card.  It turned out almost as cute as those little girls.

ALL ABOARD!

I have a love for all things vintage.  I love vintage jewelry, vintage clothing, vintage furniture, and lastly I absolutely love vintage typography.  I pull almost all of my inspiration from old labels and art.  One of my favorite things to do is mesh modern touches to old world typography in my graphic artwork.

For this train themed 1st birthday party, my client couldn't decide which route she wanted to take for decor and inspiration.  She loves things both vintage inspired and modern inspired.  So I designed an invitation of what I love to do best, vintage inspired with a modern twist.

NAUTICAL BIRTHDAY BASH

A couple of weeks ago my sweet little girl turned two.  After receiving a ridiculously adorable sailor outfit from my parents, I only thought it would be fitting to throw a nautical inspired birthday party.   A month prior to the party we had Chloe pose for Cutie Photootie in her new outfit.  The pictures came out amazing and one in particular was used in the invitation.

The invitation was placed in a hand-sewn seersucker sack that included a striped grosgrain and a label to match the invitation.

So given the fact that I had to plan the party in 3 weeks and I had a lot of DIY projects, I called on my good friend Christina to help out and to give her creative input.  I couldn't be happier with the way that everything turned out.

Now enough with all the small talk...here are the pictures.

We created a "dock-like" entryway.

As you walked into the back porch, there were nautical graphic prints hung from the trellis.

And there was an outside table that was embellished with this nautical centerpiece. 

Since this was a dessert party.  We went all out on the dessert table.

The Chloe sign was made out of rope which was mounted on top of a pink sheer fabric so that it would pop off the navy background fabric.

All the of dessert table cards were made to look like mini medallions and adhered to a tented card.

 The banners were inspired by nautical signal flags.

Of course the drink table used many of the details from the dessert table so that it sat together cohesively.

One of my favorite things from the party were these adorable cupcake toppers made by Showstopper Toppers.

The cake definitely was our pride and joy.  Christina slaved over icing the cake and I labored over the baking and getting the gradation of the color correct.  After one tester we hit the hammer on the nail...Perfecto!

The kids had a special table of which personal coloring mats were laid out for them.   

And along with their personalized take-home placemats they also received personalized favor bags.  Each bag contained Chloe's favorite things (gold fish, crayons, and a coloring book filled with Elmo and Yo Gabba Gabba coloring pages.)

The party was a hit and Chloe had a blast.  Can't wait to plan her next birthday party.  Ideas are already brewing!

HOLIDAY CARDS NOW AVAILABLE

As the holidays approach it's now time to think about all your friends and family that you want to send a special greeting to.

I have 6 templates available to choose from.  All colors from the templates can be customized so that your photo sits cohesively with the design .  If you don't see something you like, please contact me at ericakeuterdesigns@gmail.com, and I can design something just for you.

Pricing for Printed Holiday Cards using the templates (Including white envelopes)

Quantity of 10-15 = $2.59

Quantity of 20 = $2.39

Quantity of 25-45 = $2.19

Quantity of 50-65 = $1.99

Quantity of 75 (+) = $1.79

Pricing for DIY Holiday Cards using the templates

$15

Pricing for Custom Holiday Cards

Quantity of 10-24 = $3.15

Quantity of 25-45 = $2.99

Quantity of 50-65 = $2.79

Quantity of 75 (+) = $2.59

Pricing for DIY Custom Holiday Cards

$25

A WINE-TASTING BACHELORETTE INVITATION

One thing I truly love about my job is the constant need for pushing myself to be creative.  For this invite, I wanted to create a memorable invitation to go with the fun event that my client is throwing.  The theme of the party is Wine, Diamonds, Pearls and Girls.  I liked the idea of having the invitation look like it was a coaster, so that is exactly what we did.  The front of the invite had a "wine stain" and a cute friendship quote and the back of the invite had all the details.  Thank you Tessa for the opportunity to design such a fun piece, and CONGRATS to the bachelorette Alison!

MONKENZIE'S BIRTHDAY INVITES

I truly love doing little baby birthday invites.  Maybe because the event resonates with me since I too have a little toddler, but also because maybe it brings out my inner child.  Kenzie's mom sent me an inspiration picture of what she liked, and we took that idea and updated it with a little modern twist.    I couldn't be happier with how they turned out, and I can't wait to see pictures from her first birthday!

PURPLE ORCHID WEDDING INVITES

I can not believe how much I have been slacking on writing blog entries!  I have so much amazing stuff that I want to show everyone, but haven't found the time to do it.  I have been traveling all month from San Diego to Cincinnati for weddings.  But I do love me some weddings, makes me want to do it all over again :)

At the beginning of the month, I had the opportunity of working on a client's wedding invitation in which her only criteria was make it pretty and purple.  I'm pretty sure I hit her every need because they came out fabulous!!  The invitation was set into a metallic amethyst pocket-fold and mounted to violet cardstock and wrapped with a violet ribbon.  I included water-color on the orchids to give it that Erica Keuter Designs personal touch.

TWO YEARS AND GOING STRONG!

Today I am celebrating two years of wedded bliss to the most amazing man.  Happy Anniversary Rick!!

I am not sure that many know our story, but two years ago we got married at the courthouse in California and the following year our parents threw us a wedding in Cincinnati.  The wedding last year took place at St. Louis in downtown Cincinnati and our reception followed at The Cincinnati Club.  Our Cincinnati wedding was featured on StyleMePretty.  (Just click on the link and it will take you to our wedding.)  Because I truly enjoyed working on all the stationery for our wedding, Erica Keuter Designs spawned shortly after.

This year we decided that for our anniversary, we want to begin the tradition to give each other "traditional" gifts.  For example, year one the traditional gift is paper and year two the traditional gift is cotton.  One of the main reasons why we decided to do this was so we can remember what we got each other.  So with this being said, this year I decorated a mini "cotton" tote for Rick, and added a little special something in the bag.  I was super happy with how it came out, and I had to show everyone.

A WEEKEND TO REMEMBER

Over Labor Day weekend,  I had one of the most epic weekends EVER!  My best friend tied the knot, and it was a weekend of celebration with all of our closest friends in the destination city of San Diego.  Although the wedding was on Sunday, the party started Friday for most.

Brian Sullivan, who was one of the groomsmen, from b7Creative documented the whole weekend of fun.  His work is amazing, and I without a doubt had to show you his pictures from the wedding day!!

Lisa's wedding dress was so beautiful and perfect for a sunny day wedding.

I was envious of her Jimmy Choo shoes.  So FABULOUS!!

Me and the bride getting ready at 4AM!!!

Picture taken after the wedding down at the beach.  The bride was stunning and the groom was a knock-out!

And this picture just sums up the whole weekend!  

Of course there is another reason for this post other than to promote the talented photographer and to show you how much fun we had.... I had to show you the wedding stationery as well.  All of the paperwork was a direct spin-off from the original design of the invitation, which was published in an earlier post.  And I can't explain how well it worked with all the wedding decor.  

The signature drink names were inspired by the occupation of the bride and groom.   Can you guess their occupation?

The table numbers meshed so well with the centerpiece arrangements.

These cupcakes were so yummy!!! 

We picked four patterns that complimented the decor, and used them on the escort cards.  It was a fun way to make it visually appealing.

The program used all of the elements from the invite, and sat perfectly with everything.

The bride and groom had their guest sign a champagne bottle. Super cute idea!

Needless to say, all of our friends had so much fun this weekend.  I feel blessed to be part of the wedding, and I wish the couple a long life of happiness and love.