Stelie Designs

It was time again for little Miss Avery to get a haircut. She and Paxton started evening swim lessons earlier this month and now that my baby bump is quite large Daddy does all the bathing which is in the evening of course. Not only was her hair long it is sooooooo thick and takes forever to dry. She's not so fond of the hair dryer either. So here is her super cute haircut. We think she's a cutie pie not matter how her hair looks.

I was asked to create graduation announcements for this wonderful jewelry & handbag designer's business partner and daughter. I have one of their bracelets which I just LOVE. I get so many compliments every time I wear it. You should check out their selections at all 3 of their shops. I am quite happy with how these turned out. Thankfully Vanessa and her Mom thought the same thing too.

Introducing another new Wedding Invitation Design for the 2009 Collection! Simple. Fun. Bold. Modern.

I LOVE being tasked with creating something I don't currently have in my line. It's so fulfilling and thrilling! A bride loved the style of the Olive wedding invitation but doesn't want owls. She wants penguins, her future husbands favorite animal. {Just like my sweet little A's favorite animal.} She asked if I could design a penguin, of course I said! Here is a small sneak peak at my new penguin. I'm also working on designing the New York city skyline for another wedding coming up this fall. I can't wait to get it going! Plus, something fun for baby announcements for a client not me. What will you ask me to create? I can do pretty much anything so bring it on!

What happens when it's Friday, in the 70's with lots of sunshine and little wind? Play in the water of course! I lounged in a chair with my feet up (to alleviate swelling) watching my kids have a blast kicking up the water, while I chatted with my parents. Surprisingly, I sunburned my arms on April 24 in Minnesota no less! How does that happen? Sunscreen on kids, no sunscreen on me while sitting out for under 2 hours. I did manage to get out of my chair and put my feet in the cold water. I looked down and this is all I could see. A big belly full of two growing babies. Feet? What feet?

In February, I was asked to revise a logo and create a new business card design for a wonderful person and local realtor. Before After If you are moving or looking for a home in the Twin City area please see Toni, she would be more than happy to help you. Original logo New tweaked logo Looking for your own logo design or business card design, contact me at steliedesigns@yahoo.com

It's important to thank each of your guests for their generous wedding gifts so don't forget matching thank you cards. I do offer matching thank you to go with all my wedding invitations, just ask.

Introducing the Aspen Wedding invitation. The simple tree is delighted with bold yellow circles of color giving it that fresh modern look. The yellow and brown text are printed on 80# recycled cardstock in a smooth finish with rounded corners. Yellow is a hot color wedding color trend, but as always this can be customized to fit any event.

I couldn't ask for a better day today to celebrate the Earth. The sun is shining brightly, my hasta's are popping up, the grass is getting green and spring is finally really here. Stelie Designs thinks about our planet earth and the environment all the time. I use 100% post consumer recycled white and natural papers & envelopes. They are made from a company that is FSC certified, works to be carbon neutral, processes chlorine free, and uses solar, hydro, and wind power at their mills. My printer doesn't emmit off gases, the ink uses very little packaging which is then recycled. I use biodegrable cello sleeves and recycle all scraps, paper, etc. On the home front, I use homemade cleaning and laundry products, recycle, wash full loads of laundry on cold wash cycle, paint as much as I can with low VOC paints, reuse what I can, buy organic and local when possible, teach my kids to turn off the lights and to not waste water. While there is so much more I would like ...

Kick & Faffer are scheduled to enter this world Thursday, July 9! 11 weeks from Thursday. Now, I need to work on the long list of to do's to get their room together and organized, oh and get them some real names. I think we have Kick's name picked out but Faffer is another story. Boy names are hard, I LOVED the name Paxton instantly but haven't felt that way about another boy name. So.......I'm looking for any suggestions of a boy name that isn't too common but not too off the wall either and that flows with Paxton & Avery.

Introducing the new 3Square Wedding invitation. The 3 square in a square is simply modern with a pop of bold color. Red and purple is a hot wedding color trend so I thought I'd give it a whirl along with black text and enjoy how it turned out. These are printed on natural or white recycled cardstock with a smooth finish. As always the colors can be customized to fit your event. You can find it in my shop here .

I have to share with all of you this blog . It is really inspiring in creativity and beauty. This is my favorite entry. It can mean many things. I think we all experience the journey to becoming a butterfly, ones true self. Jodi happens to be a friend of mine too. She and I used to work for different interior design consulting firms and then together on the same team in the corporate world and now she is joining the really love what you do work force while raising her young son. We spent Wednesday collaborating/celebrating. She helped me with some production work and I helped her turn her logo design sketches into reality. We laughed about how my current co-workers (P&A) are so distracting, yet I still manage to get work done! So true, all while I was trying to draw her logo on the computer seeing if she wanted this or that, I had Paxton on my back talking, hugging, and being silly. At least Avery fell asleep on the couch.

The EtsyGreetings Mother's Day promotion is up and running. We have over 50 shops participating, which means a wide range of cards perfect for every Mom! Who wouldn't love a wonderfully creative and unique Mother's Day card handmade by a person and not manufactured in a warehouse? I know I would. hint...hint...hint... All participating shops are offering some sort of FREE SHIPPING option. I am offering free shipping with the purchase of 2 items. You can buy this card and this gift for a special Mom. You can also go here to find over 200 cards to choose from. So many styles how will one ever choose? *{The Etsy Greetings avatar was created by the talented Amy over at Bean Sprout Studio .}

The Gracelyn is simply modern and fun. [I couldn't decide which option I liked better, so I'm showing both.] These are made with circles in teal and chartreuse and the main text is black. These are printed on 80# recycled white cardstock in a smooth finish. Rounded corners finish off the ensemble. Also paired with matching recycled white envelopes. These would also work for birthday party invitations, dinner party invitations, bridal shower, or baby announcement.

I finished these two wedding invitations early last month for two different wonderful couples.

Introducing the new Heart Tree Wedding invitation. The tree and heart are an original Stelie Designs drawing. I created the tree last fall for a reception place card option. I really like how it turned out, so I added a heart and used it for a shower invite option and knew I wanted it to be a wedding invitation design too. Now 5 months later it's complete. These are printed on natural or white recycled cardstock with rounded corners. The colors are brown and fuscia but can be customized to any color to fit your event.

Happy Easter from the Giesen-Kath family! We had our Easter Egg hunt at 6:00 this morning. The Easter bunny hid eggs inside and outside. The kids were so excited! Below, the egg didn't make noise when Avery shook it so she thought there wasn't anything in it. Imagine her surprise when she found a $1 bill.

I am super excited!! It's sunny and 60 degrees! If that isn't enough...I also created 4 NEW wedding invitation designs to add to my 2009 collection. {the Heart Tree, the 3Square, the Aspen, & the Gracelyn} I cannot wait to photograph and post them. I LOVE how they turned out! Be on the look out next week. [it's amazing what can be accomplished when I have a morning all to myself.]

Are you finally here? Today we are enjoying 50 degree weather, we ran to my Dr. [ everything looks good] and Target in lighter weight coats. So refreshing...especially from last weeks snow fall. While you wait for me to download more Stelie pictures, I thought I'd post a fun pic of P&A from their actual b-day March 11. We went to the Disney store at the Mall of America and they each picked out 2 WALL-E toys with their birthday money, oh and Underwater Adventure, lunch, & a small merry go round. It's good to be 4! in front of a Lego Lands dinosaur of course it was getting late so no time for the real Nickelodean Adventure rides

Mother's Day will be upon us soon. I am leading the EtsyGreetings Mother's Day Promotion this year which will start next week. Stay tuned for details, you won't want to miss.

Table numbers and place cards! That is how guests find their way for dinner receptions. I designed wedding save the dates for this sweet couple last year, bridal shower invites earlier this year, and now table number and place cards. These are like these but in cream and dark chocolate brown layers. (Sounds like a yummy cake doesn't it?)

I created the above wedding invitations for a wonderful couple this past fall. I've known the bride for many years and was so thrilled she asked me to create her custom Mexican wedding invites. They are getting married in a couple weeks, so exciting. I also created her local wedding reception invites last month. (I need to take photos and to post those.) I created matching place cards for the reception dinner in Mexico. I love how fun and modern they look. Perfect as the sun goes down on the water. The place cards are also perfect for a summer dinner party.

A little peak at wedding invitations I'm working on. These are the willow wedding invitations in chocolate brown and green text printed on smooth white cardstock. Completed with a chocolate brown wrap and green satin bow. I just love how they look. The most rewarding is seeing how each original invitation transforms to fit the individual style of each couple.

It's been quite a while since my last post. Well for the first time, I think ever, our home was plagued with the flu bug. Monday evening Mr. P got it then Thursday Miss A & I became the lucky recipients. I have posts almost ready to go so stay tuned.