I'm torn...

Welcome to the weekend! It's going to be a nice one! For some strange reason, though, I feel like the hot summer days are dwindling down. Surprising to myself, I'm okay with that. I feel an urge to pull out the spicey candles and start wearing socks again!

So, I picked up my new business cards yesterday from UPS—since the substitute driver wasn't able to find our house. The one thing that I dreaded to have happen—happened. I should have went with my gut. The clothespin sketch on the front of the card is too light. At first glance, the card looks plain and unintentionally off center. Second glance, it looks okay. I'm torn whether I should reprint the cards OR if I should hurry and hand out the 250 cards in order to get new ones printed. I feel that every time I hand out this card, I'm going to be quick to say "I'm so bummed that I didn't darken the clothespin." —not my idea of confidence or my idea of good design! Other than that small issue, I love the look of the card.

A ladybug tattoo

I think some form of face paint is a must in every home that hear's the sound of children. They love picking out something to paint and love watching it come to life. It's also fun and quite relaxing to be the painter.

Last summer, I painted more ladybug and butterfly tattoos than I could count. This summer—I've forgotten. Miss Kamryn pulled out her face painting book the other night that I had gotten as a child and we both looked at each other as if saying, "What the heck. Did you know this was hiding there?" So tonight, we'll wet our palette and begin painting ladybugs. I look forward to it.

The book we have is called Face Painting by Inc. Klutz and Thomas Heinser. You can find it here.

First Letter Writing

There is nothing like receiving a friendly letter in the mailbox, don't you think? Letters have been dropped in the mail to different people in my family all my life and I think it's so valuable, especially when a quick email is much more simple. I wanted to put together some simple stationery for Kamryn to start her own letter writing. Since she's working on writing her name, I thought some follow-the-dot stationery would be perfect. Maybe, for right now, there will be more pictures that fill the page than anything, but over time that will change!

Presenting the (a LaNE design) business identity!

I hope your weekend was blissful!

We were camping with some of our family on Saturday night near the Needles Highway in the Black Hills, which was a fantastic location. Even though we really did have a good time, we should have brought mud boots rather than hiking boots because it was very wet and rainy!


So, now you see it—the new identity of (a LaNE design). I'm particularly excited about showing these few pieces of my own business for two reasons. (1) I'm elated with the overall design and how it came to this place. (2) It's good assistance in introducing myself, my business and my blog to you.

(a LaNE design) was born while I was in art school. I was extremely interested in paper (still am) and I chose a beautiful German paper by Gmund (Havanna, 100g Cohiba) to display my newly created business identity. I was crazy about it and quite confident when handing a business card to someone—sometimes a little let down when they didn't respond with an, "ooo, nice paper!" ha!

Then recently, I realized that my taste and style had changed...or grown. I wasn't crazy about the black ink printed on my favorite craft colored Gmund paper anymore. Knowing that (a LaNE design) would now be getting a makeover, I was eager to see how I would let it play out. I couldn't force anything. The colors and look had to come on their own, and—they did! I hadn't realized how crazy I am about the way red and light blue work together until buying fabric for a small tablecoth. They're so comfortable and light and they kind of have their own style!

When pondering the use of imagery in the identity, it came quite easily after a period of time. I landed on a small drawing of a clothesline in my sketchbook and it struck me just the right way. So, it came to life, along with a complimenting clothespin. They portray something simple and airy and hold a certain sense of nakedness, don't you think?

I chose not to print an 8.5 x 11 letterhead (only print as I need it) since I don't go through much of it. Instead, I'm printing 5x7 miniature letterhead to use as correspondence for my customers and potential customers. I like the look of an address label on any envelope and it's also, quick and easy to use. Finally, a double-sided business card, which I'm debating on rounded corners to soften it up a bit. There you have it! Still a work in progress, I'm sure, so I would love to hear your comments!

With my heart in my hand...

"With my heart in my hand, I give this to you, all that I am in all that I do. The bond that we share, forever will stand. I give you this gift—my heart in my hand."

These words, along with a simple sketch that I drew of a heart in a hand were the theme of our wedding just five years ago. I meant to post this yesterday, since our anniversary was then, but I needed to enjoy as my husband cooked supper from start to finish and had to shut off my computer. One could understand that, right?!?

Happy—now belated—anniversary to my husband! All my love.

69th Sturgis Motorcycle Rally

The roads around western South Dakota are hearing the constant rumble of motorcycles this week as it marks the 69th anniversary of the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally. My husband and I took our three year old daughter to Sturgis yesterday evening. It's fun to walk up and down the main drag and look at all the bikes. Quite a site, really. I can't resist from sharing my favorite shot of the evening...

And a couple others, as well, eventhough they don't come close to showing the magnitude of motorcycles that line the streets and highways.

One more quick thing...

I somehow stumbled on this fantastic "Vintage Caravan" from Happy Loves Rosie. I love it for how pretty it is and how inviting it looks, but I love it even more for it's inspiration! Something similar to this caravan sits at my parents' place and has had only the smallest bit of TLC in many, many years. Until now. I can't wait!

Oh, HELLO!

...and welcome! I am so pleased that you stopped by!

I have had a burning desire this morning to "lay it on the line" and make a first ever blog post. I've been thinking and planning my blog for months now and haven't quite been able to take the plunge. What has made it so intimidating for me? I'm not real sure, but lately, I've been coming back to a recent one-liner that I read, "When in doubt, take the next small step." So, here we go! I'll be back soon to introduce myself a little. Until then....

(okay....that wasn't so bad!)