I am thankful

As Thanksgiving nears, I think of the many things in my world that i have to be thankful for. My mother, who sends the most thoughtful packages that arrive at least every other month. they are basically like care packages you would get at camp! Yesterday we received Grandma Hannah'a Banana Bread. My husband, who cooks us nice meals to enjoy together - a change from the cheese + crackers + fruit that i usually eat when he isn't around. I'm also thankful to have his hands helping me out with the business this week. I'm thankful for family and friends we have in our lives that are surrounded by and also connected with thanks to cell phones, text messages, facebook, emails, myspace, flickr, blogging, and...did i miss anything? I'm thankful to be so busy that I have to remind myself to breathe! And I am thankful for my health as a couple of people near and dear are constantly in my thoughts as they are trying to heal. And I'm thankful for our 2 kitties, fattie + blackie, that just want to cuddle, eat + sleep. It's a beautiful life and there is so much to be thankful for. Below are a few pieces i've created this week to help promote the Secret Society Sale which is this coming Sunday, November 30. There will be 35 local artists participating and each will be donating 10% of their profits to the Oregon Food Bank, because no one should be hungry. Did you know that Oregon is the 3rd hungriest state in the nation? Check out the site for the full details.

Packaging Projects

This week, I've been working on packaging for a new product that my friend, Chef Bronwen, of Flavour Pals, is working on. I'll be posting about that tomorrow, but I wanted to share with you some of the packaging that I created for my mom and step-dad's company, Coffee City USA a few years ago. The first is a pillow box containing 4 different types of coffee. Each comes with a card attached that you can use to write a message. You can purchase them on their site. At one point, Hallmark carried one of the designs. Mom and Ray LOVE to collect coffee tins! So I wasn't surprised when they asked me to design a line of coffee tins to sell with their coffee inside. We also spotted 3 of the tins in a magazine once, being used as props on a shelf! I'll try to locate that to post. It was surprising and exciting to see even though no credit was given. Hallmark also carried one of the designs too.

New at Handmade Julz

There are 6 new pieces of art for you to choose from on the site!

Design Projects from the past 2 months

I've had lots of opportunity for designing lately and I absolutely love it! It makes me happy to be able to get back to creating artwork other than for my jewelry. Since returning from our honeymoon 2 months ago, I've worked on several projects that I wanted to share. The first pictures below were for a fundraiser for the communication design program that I studied in college. The event was called Block Party 2008 : Alumni Fundraiser. I received a 6x6 block of wood and was told that I could create anything I wanted with it. I made mine a Handmade Julz themed block. A calender is useful for everyone so I made one side into a calender. I took the artwork that I have used in my julz designs and used that for a different background for each month. The other side was covered with glass "julz" gems and then I filled the empty space with a gray grout. I was excited to find the perfectly sized wooden easel to hold the block. I often don't totally think my projects thru until I'm already into it, and after i made my mosaic side, the block was too heavy to stand on it's own. I painted the easel one of my favorites shades of blue to go along with one of my favorite shades of green - which together are the colors of Handmade Julz I'm helping put together a show at the end of this month with Jen of Knot Ugly and Michelle of Eclectikid. It's called the Secret Society Sale If you're in Portland, come check it out on November 30th! This is the postcard that I designed to help get the word out. And the poster design for the Secret Society Sale : Nov 30, 2008 Our friend Bronwen just started a catering business called Flavour Pals We were lucky enough to have her catering our wedding! She also provides personal chef services and teaches cooking classes. Below is the logo that I created for Flavour Pals I had the pleasure of working on a logo for Point Break Surf, a company that teaches surf lessons in Costa Rica. If only I would have been in Costa Rica while designing the logo! And a poster designed for Point Break Surf in Costa Rica I also had the honor of working on my friends Cara & Kelly's wedding invitation. It makes me happy to be able to work on things like this for a friend. The wedding, which was held last month in the hill country of austin, texas, took place in the evening in a space that was reminiscent of an italian villa. It was absolutely breathtaking. Below is the invitation that I created for them. A program for the ceremony was also created. This is the opening page of Cara & Kelly's Wedding Program The inside & back of Cara & Kelly's Wedding Program Thank yous were also designed to go along with Cara & Kelly's Wedding Invitation

Mrs. Julz Nally

Hello! I'm happy to be back to my blog, now as Mrs. Julz Nally! I haven't really started getting everything changed over to my new name - it's quite a process to start changing your name after you been known as that person for 31 years! For now, I wanted to share a few of the details from our lovely wedding - the happiest day of my life so far! The first picture below is the result of our first design collaboration together. We love the art of screen printing. So, how better to announce our wedding than with a genuine concert poster! They are one of our favorite design vehicles ever and a quick way to get a message across. We spent a good chunk of time putting together this concept and design and then sent if off to our good friends over at Cricket Press to have them printed. We also designed a piece that guests could bring along on the trip. The RSVP was a postcard that we designed and printed onto cardboard. We made weekend fun bags! Our friends & family received this wonderful coffee by Coffee City USA which each made a pot of brian's daily coffee and my daily coffee. Brian & I got hitched in the Mt. Hood National Forest! This beautiful photo was taken by our friend & photographer, Kim. Our friend Paul took this photo of the chandelier above our alter. I love cupcakes! Thank you Anne!