10 Things I Can't Design Without
Note: I had originally desired to post this blog on Thursday, March 12, but I had a HUGE multiple project deadline that captured my attention for the most part of the day. Luckily, I'm into grace, so no biggie! Here it is!
There are some things in life you just can't simply do without. You know - food, air, water, ice cream... just me? Okay. Well, there are some things I simply cannot do without when it comes to designing. It's another question I get like the "How did you get here?" infamous question! This question is "How do you do what you do?" Well, my dears, let me tell you!
1. My Laptop
My laptop is my baby, my everything, my precious (but not in that creepy LOTR Gollum way)! It's how I design. So, that makes it numero uno in my book!
2. Adobe Creative Cloud
Other than #1, I cannot do a single thing without the Adobe Creative Cloud. Seriously. If something were to happen with it, I wouldn't be able to do anything for my lovely clients. Actually -- the only thing I would be able to do is calligraphy, BUT there go my nifty digital proofs! The Creative Cloud is amaaaaaazing and everyone should learn how to use it!
3. My Favorite Calligraphy Pen
I'd say I have a favorite nib too, but you just need different nibs for different styles, so I'm not going name favorites. But, I DO have a favorite calligraphy pen holder thing! She's a beaut. Her name is Molly. I just came up with that right now! I got her from a letterpress shop in Portland called Oblation Papers & Press last spring when Mr. Architect and I vacationed for our wedding anniversary! She's purdy and a light wooden color and she fits perfectly into my miniature hand. (My hands look tiny I think.)
4. Le Pens
I'm not going to drag a nib and a bottle of ink in my purse everywhere I go, so the next best thing is a good, quality, inky, pigmenty, modern and slim pen! I use it for all my note-taking and even some sketching if I need color to differentiate between stuff. Le Pens are the best, and they come in every color you'll ever need! Just don't leave them uncapped in your expensive designer purse... you'll regret it. *Takes a moment of silence for the passing of a beautiful purse named Maple*
5. My Tools!
I had to lump these little dudes in one number because they're just too numerous to count for separate things! Plus, I always use them together. They are my #2 X-Acto knife (it actually belonged to my husband when he was in architecture school), my 12 inch straight edge (also my husband's), my pink cutting mat (all mine!), and my folding bone. These guys are ESSENTIAL to my craft.
6. A Clean, Neat, Organized, and Dust-Free Work Space
I know OCD is a real thing, and one of these days it'd be interesting to see if there's an inkling in me, but I cannot get a Single. Thing. Done. if my desk is not in somewhat of an order. It's important to me that when I design, I have a clean slate -- not only in my sketchbook and notebook, but also in my mind and on my desk. I also can't sleep if I leave my desk in a mess (it currently resides in the bedroom), either. It's like trying to drive 60 MPH when everyone is going 20 MPH on the freeway. You just can't!
7. My Songbird Aqua Notebook, Client Binder, and Sketchbook
Ahhh, the trifecta of books. I'm so picky about paper (haha, duh), and I nailed the prettiest, smoothest, and most travel-friendly notebook for my 2015 client notes. It's great AND refillable! In fact, let me take you to it here. It comes in gold, too! My client binder is my home base -- I have official notes and details on all my clients' needs and I refer to this every day. Lastly, my sketchbook is where I get out those first designs out from my head and onto the paper. You can't do *everything* digitally!
8. Noise Distraction
I'm generally a keep-to-herself kind of girl (I used to be shy... I might still be a little shy... just a bit!), so I really enjoy working from home in my little pseudo studio. But on the occasion, I do like to have some sort of noise distraction in the background to keep me from starting into my laptop and external monitor screens for hours on end! Usually, the noise is either some tunes on Spotify (the 90 Sweet 90s Hits are great! As are my husband's playlists!), or some show on Netflix or Amazon Prime (i.e., Gilmore Girls right now!)
9. Four Calendars
Okay, okay, this one is a silly one. But I just looked around my space and saw that I indeed look at four calendars every day! When designing, I take into consideration so many things, and one of them is time -- how much time do I have? What am I doing that day? What time of year is this design for? So it makes the list! The first calendar is a giant calendar on my wall that I use for quick reference writing down big events, client weddings and industry events. The second is a year-at-a-glance calendar (thanks, Emily Ley!), the third is my Emily Ley Simplified Planner (she's amazing), and lastly is my Google calendar. FUN!
10. Mr. Architect
Mr. Architect (my husband) shouldn't be last on this list as he IS the most important thing in my life when it comes to design and every other part of my life! He's my inspiration, he's my problem solver, he's my level head, he's my fix-it guy, he's my silly, he's my support, he's my comfort, he's my cheerleader, he's my smartie, and he's my love. I couldn't be here without him!
So that's it, boys and girls! 10 Things I Cannot Design Without! What are sort of the things you'd be lost without for your profession or passion?
Until next time!
xoxo,
Rosie
PS: Don't forget my first ever giveaway! Details here: www.songbirdpaperie.com/blog/2015/3/11/giveaway-wednesday
Giveaway Wednesday!
Hooray! It's Songbird Paperie's very first Giveaway Wednesday! Once a month I will be hosting a giveaway here on the blog and I am SO excited to present this huge giveaway celebrating the coming of spring, which is NEXT WEEK! Woooo!
Here is what is included in this fabulous Spring Forward giveaway:
- One tabletop-sized chalkboard hand lettered by Songbird Paperie with your quote of choice, or choose the quote that is displayed in the photo! (Thanks to one of my favorite bands, Ghost Ship, for writing an amazing song, where this lyric is from!)
- One bubbly thank you card with a mint envelope
- One set of 5 personalized stationery cards and envelopes, with your choice of gold (shown) or sunshine yellow envelopes (pinwheel not included)
- One springy happy birthday card with a coral envelope
Here are the rules in order to qualify for a chance to win these lovely items!
- Must be a resident of USA
- Like Songbird Paperie on Facebook
- Follow Songbird Paperie on Instagram
- Comment here on this blog post, telling me your favorite thing about springtime!
Easy peasy, right?! I'm looking forward to hearing what everyone enjoys about springtime, one of my favorite times of the year. Even if I hear from just five of you wonderful people, I'll consider this a success! (Gotta start with small goals when it's your first giveaway!)
Deadline for this giveaway is guess when? SPRING EQUINOX! Friday, March 20th, at 9PM PDT.
I will contact the winner on Monday, March 23rd to get your name, giveaway details, and shipping address!
Ready, set, GO!
xoxo,
Rosie
The Citrus Countryside: Weddings in Woodinville 2015 (And you should totally check me out on Style Me Pretty's Little Black Book!)
Weddings weddings weddings! My life is all about weddings these days and I LOVE IT! I mean, don't get me wrong, I know it's quite the stressful task in planning your dream wedding, but when you're on the other side, somehow the magic multiplies over and over again, and it's fantastic!
OH! YEAH! That other part of the blog title. EXCITING NEWS! Earlier this year I got chosen to be in Style Me Pretty's Little Black Book! //insert happy dance// Late last night my page got posted and I added some photos to my gallery (more to come soon) and WOOHOO! I'm there!!! I'm listed for Calligraphy, which is TOTALLY amazing because I could seriously calligraphy (yes I'm using it as a verb) all day long and write on chalkboards all day long! Yay!!!!!
Back to weddings! So, Weddings in Woodinville was this past January and it was so much fun! Quick explanation: There are wedding shows (i.e., in a convention center) and there are wedding tours (i.e., Weddings in Woodinville!). These tours have different venues and the lucky guests get shuttled around and visit with every single wedding vendor they would need for their special day! There are themes and food and invites and everything and it is amazingly inspiring! Check out some of my favorite photos from Woodinville Whiskey Co., my venue...
Of course. A chalkboard. :o) A gilded one at that!
Our welcome table! If you can't tell by now, our theme was "The Citrus Countryside". Yummy and so sweet! Miss Holly Patton of Perfectly Posh Events, our talented wedding planner, came up with this GORGEOUS theme!
The "ceremony programs" for the event resembled citrus-flavored Popsicles! So cute, right?! I loved making these and thank you to all my lovely lady friends who helped me assemble all 300 of them!
Everything paper and lettered was by Songbird Paperie! So, if you see something you like, let me know! :o)
Don't these drinks sound AMAZING?! Yeah I think so too!
This was one of my favorite pieces -- the citrus chandelier! One of my best buds, Rachel of Butter & Bloom, did it! She's an amazing florist!
This was quite possibly my most favorite invitation design in the history of invitation design! The colors and the fonts are so so so happy!!
Heehee -- there's me! I didn't know the picture was being taken at the time, so my little face is a little serious.
A macaron tower!!!! Gosh I wanted to eat those babies so bad... dang nut allergies! Thanks Kara (from The Sweet Side) for making such beautifully tantalizing treats!
Ummmm how adorbs is this place card and favor combo?! The place card is a parchment-wrapped clementine with a custom die-cut leaf and the guests's name written in shimmery gold calligraphy! The favor is a teeny jar of lemon-orange marmalade tied with rustic twine and a custom die-cut lemon and "love is sweet" written in shimmery gold calligraphy!
Flowers!!! And seriously, Kimberly from Alante Photography is so talented!!!
This duo was so good!!! She is such a gifted violinist and he is such a smooth guitar player! I loved listening to these play all day, AND it inspired me to start practicing violin more often!
What a lovely day this was! I hope you are inspired as much as I was on this day! This would make for such a fun spring or summer wedding, whether it be at a winery, a lodge, or even a whiskey distillery. :o)
xoxo,
Rosie
// Vendors Featured //
Wedding Planner: Perfectly Posh Events
Rentals: ABC Special Event Rentals by CORT
Photography: Alante Photography
Wine: Alexandria Nicole Cellars
Linens: BBJ Linens
Transportation: Butler Seattle-Valet, Transportation & Tours Specialists
Flowers: Butter & Bloom
Lighting: GreenLight Event Design
Music: Harold Belskus
Catering: The Hollywood Tavern
Tables: Seattle Farm Tables
Stationery: Songbird Paperie
Cake and Treats: The Sweet Side
Vintage Rentals: Vintage Ambiance
How Did I Get Here?!
Pictured: Me in my wedding dress on my wedding day! It's sort of the first day Songbird Paperie started, but I didn't know at the time! :o)
I get this question asked quite a bit: "How did you end up doing design/stationery/calligraphy/the stuff that you do?" I get SO excited when people ask that because my answer is unexpected, entertaining (to me at least!), and so much fun to tell! And I'd love to tell you too, because I know you're absolutely DYING to know. (Haha or not. That's okay too. Maybe. Just pretend for me, okay? Gratzi!)
Graphic design, stationery, and insanely perfect handwriting are three things that I have loved since I was little girl. I grew up in tech central (Silicon Valley, woot woot!) with a Dad in tech, so he always brought me home design software galore and other fun computer software to try out (like... one of the first first-person shooter computer games that was so fun to play... I totally look the type, right?!). So I'm self-taught in graphic design. I also loved to make cards and place cards, make my own fonts, and even practice writing with my non-dominant hand to perfect my lefty handwriting. You think after all those years doing those fun things, I'd go on to art school and get some sort of fine arts degree, right?
WRONG! I went to USC (Fight on, Trojans!) and got a degree in Neuroscience. Seriously. Neuroscience.
What I forgot to mention about my childhood is that in addition to the artsy side of life, I thoroughly enjoyed the science of life - weather, physiology, medicine, biology, and so on, which inspired me to want to be a pediatrician from the ripe old age of seven years young. (In addition to the next Mariah Carey. Renaissance woman!) Thus my pursuit of the world of neurons, pathways, and gray & white matter.
After realizing that I actually would not enjoy medical school (the cut-throat and unattractively over-competitiveness of my fellow pre-med students turned me off), I switched gears and made a beeline to a pre-physical therapy track. I enjoyed kinesiology, rehabilitation and physical fitness, so that was a no-brainier. What was a brain-scratcher, however, was the fact that even with getting the neuro degree, working as a physical therapy aide for 6 years, and getting great recommendations, after THREE (3!!!) consecutive years of applying to physical therapy school, I. Did. Not. Get. In.
Wouldn't that make you kind of upset ever so slightly? Yeah, I would have thought so for me too. But... by the time the third year of skinny envelopes filling my mailbox rolled around, I wasn't upset.
Quick BTW: I'm new at this blog thing. But it's exciting so I want to be so open and honest as I can -- or else, how can you be a good writer?
So, the not being upset: weird, right? Yeah I thought so too. So I prayed to God about it. Turns out, I had never prayed to God before about my career. Never. Ever. Even when I pray about everything else. So I said okay, God, then, I give this career business to you. Please help me figure this out! And so, because he's faithful, he did. And wow what a difference it made!
It turned out that the medical world was so far from God's plan for me. And oh did I try to make it my plan. I wanted the title, the salary, and all the recognition. (I was such a turd!) But I failed on my own. Enter God and BAM! New direction that was HIS direction, a direction that was his plan all along - be a graphic designer, calligrapher, stationer, and be a good one of those. I became happier, more joyful, more confident, and more reliant on God than ever before, which is really good! And I saw success and true joy in obedience when everywhere else I saw failure and misery.
Flowers make everything pretty! Image via Glitter Guide.
Do I regret my time at USC and studying neuroscience? Nope. Not a single day of it. God chooses to use our good and bad choices for his and our good, teaching us so much about his grace and mercy. My time at USC was the best time of my life (Fight on Trojan Marching Band!) and I met my wonderful husband. I still recreationally enjoy the world of neuro, and I was able to understand a scary neurological diagnosis and partially unsuccessful and damaging operation my mother went through during my college years, so I know that everything was worth it.
But I love design so much more. It's where I'm supposed to be and I love every minute of it. Thanks for hanging in there to read my story! I look forward to sharing with you tomorrow's blog, featuring some fun wedding inspiration photos from this year's Weddings in Woodinville! See you tomorrow!
xoxo,
Rosie