Sam Allen Creates : January and February 2015
This blog has totally fallen to the wayside as I have been trying to maintain all these various projects. Monday Musings and Friday Footnotes have been non existent for some time but I hope to bring those back soon along with a monthly, or bi-monthly feature of the miscellaneous projects I've been working on. Between my friends and Etsy clients, there's a lot of random projects that cross my desk that don't really have a place in my Etsy listings quite yet as they are too unique or custom and then other smaller projects for friends that don't quite need a full blog post. Or of course, an Etsy project that when photographed, hide amongst the nearly 150 listings in my shop. Either way, I just wanted to share a few of the fun things I've had a chance to work on, through my shop and on the side. If I haven't said it a thousand times already, I love my work. Love love love it. January This was the most insane month of my life, work-wise. My full time job kept me quite busy with TONS of overtime working on a catalog so lots of early early mornings, late nights, and weekends were
Your New Friend Sam, Etsy Shop: Rubber Stamps for Shops
What I love most about shopping on Etsy are the personal relationships you develop with your customers and other shop owners. Each shop has a face to the name and although the shops create a market that span continents, it feels like a small little community! Since Christmas is coming ever so quickly, I thought I'd share about a few of my clients that bought stamps from me for their own Etsy shops, and real life shops! If you have a moment, or two, settle in with a nice cup of coffee and check them out! Maybe get some early holiday shopping done! Lacey Osojo of Hum Right Along www.etsy.com/shop/humrightalong I loved working with Lacey on her stamp! Plus I was so honored and smitten to read her blog post on her stamp! Like over the moon, can not believe my eyes in shock, happy! Since then we have been blogging and Instagram friends! So fun! Anyway, take a looksie around her shop
Your New Friend Sam, Etsy Shop: Wedding Vows Typography Art Printables and Prints
Earlier this year, just over 6 months ago actually, I posted about a new product I had added to my shop. You see, I thought I invented these things
Splish Splash, Amelia’s Under the Sea First Birthday Bash
Amelia's first birthday party was a few weeks ago now, and I have been so anxious to post photos from the event. Under the Sea Birthday Party Invitations Of course, we must start with the invitations. I have to say these are pretty much my most favorite invitations I've ever designed. From the hand drawn illustrations to the layers of color and texture
Matt and Amie’s Pregnancy Announcement Photos and Card Design
Last week, my best friend finally let the cat baby out of the bag! She's expecting her first little babe this December! Before she even found out that she was pregnant, she had told me that she had wanted to take these feet photos with their little pup (okay she's not that little now, remember these Christmas photos??) So of course I am so excited to meet my new little niece, or nephew. I'm already dreaming of the cuddles, photo shoots, Disneyland trips, and mini milestones all along the way. And of course, dreaming of the baby shower!! It feels like just yesterday that I was immersed in all things pink and cherry blossoms! Now, don't you worry, I'm sure I'll be posting all along the way
Custom Lettering and Design for Amie’s Shabby Chic Vintage DIY Wedding
Just a month after the wedding, I posted an in depth recap of that glorious day, when my best friend married the man of her dreams under the trees, amongst the hills of Temecula Valley. While this post shares my best friend's wedding on a whole, I wanted to share a few photos of the behind the scenes of parts I got to work on! To make it to that gorgeous day though, a lot of craft nights (and mornings, and days, and weekends) had to happen. Because she loves me, or my writing I should say, I got to hand letter on just about everything! From the invitations to the cake topper
New Etsy Shop Launched: Mama & Mia Boutique, Hand Knit Infinity Scarves + Giveaway!
I'm so excited to share this new shop with y'all! Over the past few months, Rachel has been racking my brain regarding all things Etsy so it's been fun seeing this come together! And just last weekend, her Etsy boutique went live! In her own words, Rachel describes her scarves: After having my darling daughter Amelia, I really felt inspired to start using my creative juices and get crafting. Since being fashionably dressed has always been a must for myself, Amelia now gets to share in that same joy! Scarves are a staple in my winter wardrobe for staying warm and cute so it only made sense that Amelia have her own as well! Voila! Mama & Mia, scarves for littles and their mamas and basically anyone else with a neck that needs a little lovin! The Mama & Mia scarf is handmade, hand knit, chunky infinity scarf, made from 80% acrylic and 20% wool yarn. A couple weeks ago, we got together to take some photographs of her infinity scarves product line. Little Mia napped as we shot all the Mama scarves and then woke up just in time to model the Mia scarves for us. Hope you enjoy the images as much as I
New Etsy Listing: Printable Photo Christmas Cards
Christmas is closing in on us yet again! I still can't believe this year has came and went so so fast. And what a year it was! One of the joys of Christmas that I always look forward to is receiving Christmas cards in the mail! Here are a few designs I helped my friends create last year along with our very own Christmas card design (for whatever reason they never made it on here last year!). Each of these 3 designs are listed in my Etsy shop so head on over there if any of these would suit your needs this year. All you have to do is provide me some photographs and your desired wording/verses and I can customize your card for you! You will then get a file back to order your cards through whatever service you'd like! I have a few to recommend too! P.S. Here's a sneak peek into the hand lettering of our 2013 card
Flourish, Calvary Chapel Canyon Hills Womens’ Luncheon
Another project completed with Jess, from J. Rose Photography, for our church
Once Upon a Time, Rachel’s Fairytale Baby Shower Invitations and Bookplate Stamp
Now that you've seen Rachel's maternity photos, the next glimpse into the shower would be the baby shower invitations! I drew inspiration from Mary Blair's work on the credits from Cinderella and then applied Rachel's nursery's color palette with its pinks, peaches, and mint greens. The "Once Upon A Time" mark was handwritten as well as Rachel's name, then a combination of two other typefaces, a modern serif and a medieval display text completed the invite. This really was a work of love, and definitely one of my favorite invitations yet! In addition to the invitation, I created a bookmark with Rachel's favorite verse, Jeremiah 29:11, as the shower favors. Along with a print to go along with it for the nursery as well. All of these pieces of the invitation can be bought in my Etsy shop: Your New Friend Sam. In addition to the invite pieces—and to go along with the storybook theme—I created a custom bookplate stamp for Amelia's baby books. Also available in my Etsy shop. So many fun projects were created and designed for Rachel's shower! I can not wait to show you rest of the photos from the day of