I may be back from what has been the longest bloggy vacay ever for me. I've had lots of sweet people ask what's happened to me, and I've also had lots of sweet people ask what in the world is up with this Pearl and Rose Designs stuff, so here comes an explanation of what I've been up to lately (in addition to wrangling twins, of course)!
Sometime back in the fall, Melissa needed some special name tags made for an event at work. Knowing my love for all things lettery and papery, she came to me. So basically I cranked out some name tags and got paid for it, which got me thinking about all the times JT, who works at RSVP, has told me I should bring some handwriting samples up to the shop. One day during a particularly productive nap time, I played around with letterings and envelopes until I had quite a little collection to tote up to RSVP. (Chris posted pictures on Facebook, so that's what that was if you saw it and wondered.) When I finally made it up to RSVP, I was blown away by everyone's reactions! These precious people honestly believed they could bring me some business! :)
That very afternoon I received a phone call from JT letting me know that I had my first client from their store. A lady who also works at the shop wanted me to create a hand-drawn custom map for her son's wedding in Fort Worth. Could I do that? I really had no idea what they had in mind, so I asked JT to send some examples of custom maps to me. When I saw what was out there, I let them know I'd give it a whirl and see what I could do. They sent me a list of everything they wanted on the map, and this is what I came up with:
In addition to framing the original, the bride also used the map design on these cute little books that came along with gift baskets they gave to special out-of-town guests:
Well when that map was finished, another girl at the store decided to order a map as a birthday gift for her husband. Here is that finished product:
While I was working on that map, another order came in for a wedding in Fort Smith, AR:
(ARGH! By the way, the colors look MUCH better in person... this is what happens when you take pictures with your iPhone!)
Currently I'm working on a Memphis map that will be given as a gift to a husband from his wife, and I'm also working on addressing an order of envelopes for wedding save-the-dates for another client. When I finish these projects, I have a few more lined up too! Whew!
This has all been quite the unexpected whirlwind of a blessing, and I have truly been loving having this type of creative outlet. I had really been missing getting to draw, and this is giving me a fabulous excuse to do so again. I also love that I'm getting to create pieces that are so meaningful and special to my clients. I am beyond thankful for this opportunity!
However, all of this means that what I refer to as my "productive free time" -- naptimes and nighttimes when I actually feel like being, ahem, productive in some non-cleaning, non-housework kind of way -- has been going straight toward cranking out these creations. I'd still like to keep up my blog as I can, but there are only so many hours in a day, yada, yada, yada. Oh, and blogging doesn't pay. Monetarily anyway. So there you go. :)
Oh! I'm calling my little business Pearl & Rose Designs, after Tamsie Pearl and Evangelyn Rose, of course! Please like my page on Facebook whenever I get around to creating one, and if you know of anyone who needs anything like what I can do, please send them my way! :) Right now, the best way to contact me is either via Facebook message or at shelby dot vafinis at gmail dot com.
