renee rodriguez designs

{a little getaway}

One of my close friends invited our family to share their cottage by the beach for the weekend. Yipppeeee!!!!  About 4.5 hours Northwest of Ann Arbor is a super cute and trendy little town called Douglas.  They have beautiful little shops where I am sure I will be tempted to pull out the old Visa and wonderful restaurants and cafes to grab a bite and relax. Ahhhh, the magic word - relax...... 

I plan on pulling out the old bathing suit - brave - and finding a comfy spot on the beach to read a book that has nothing to do with marketing, social networking, tweeting, or making a six figure salary with my blog (can't believe I just admitted to buying a book about making six figures with my blog).

 

Now, whether or not I will actually get through the first two chapters of the book remains to be seen. I'm sure Olivia will need to have snacks, have something to drink, go to the bathroom, be too hot, be too cold, well you get the picture.

 

Regardless of how many potty trips we will probably have to make, I am so happy to have time away with my wonderful family and friends.. It should be fun, fun, fun!!!

 

Even if I only get to page 68. By the way, the book I am going to read is The Help, heard that it is fab-u-lous!

Have a wonderful, wonderful weekend!!!

 photos

 

Not Sooooo Girly!

I'm the first one to admit that my style of design is extremely girly, however, I often wonder if I can do anything else and remain true to my design aesthetic. Is it possible for me to use a color palette that does not include some shade of pink? Hmmm..... Let us see!

Recently I purchased a great little book entitled "V & A Pattern - The Fifties". An illustrated pattern book from the Victoria and Albert Museum's textile and wallpaper collections. The patterns are representative of the some of the most inventive artists and designers of the 1950's. (there is a CD to download the patterns for personal use). 

I was drawn to the image below -  I love how the arrows lead your eye around the pattern, the organic shapes, the alternating repeat in the design and the wonderful color pallet. This textile pattern was designed by J.Feldman & David Whitehead in 1954 and made into a spun rayon. I think it would look quite fantastic on pillows, dining room chairs,  or maybe even an accent chair.

Okay - so now the challenge is on!

I selected the colors directly from the swatch above and then created a couple of shapes inspired by the design.

 

Created a few patterns

 

 

 

I kinda like it! 

 
 

Amazing - no pink! What do you think?

 

Think Happy Today!

 

photos: mary ruffles

About Me? Really?

There are many challenging tasks when you set out to launch any business, but what I seem to find excruciating is writing about myself, whether it is my FaceBook profile or the About Me page for my website,  I often find myself frozen as I stare at the computer screen and decide that it would be much easy to clean out my creepy basement.

When I visit other blogs and websites I get the feeling that it is quite effortless to most  - so many smart, witty and well crafted prose that gives the readers a glimpse into who the person really is - not to mention so many cute and chic photos.

   

What do people really want to know about me? 

Do they want to know the "real me" who loves daydreaming of owning a pair of Christian Louboutin shoes, but actually shops at DSW?  Or the fact that I feel quite good about myself when I wear my Spanx Power Panty, even though I get a bit light headed after about an hour. Or that I am a Marketing Director by day and really love what I'm doing, but still have a burning desire express myself as an artist?  I also wonder if any one is the least bit interested in the fact that I can polish off a pound of red Twizzlers in about 15 minutes, and that I haven't read the Twilight series? Or that I have the most beautiful fantasy of living in a fabulous apartment in Paris? 

Hmmmm... So you see my problem! How real is real?

So after months of analysis paralysis and sleepless nights I feel fairly satisfied with my approach - leaving out the part about my Power Panty of course. 

By blending together a nice mix about my family, education and what I love about creating invitations and stationery, I feel that it is a nice representation of who I am as a person. 

If you are interested in reading about me visit my website here. I am still having a few technical difficulties with my blog and will hopefully have a better about me page in the future.

   

I still need to figure out a cute & chic picture - another angst ridden post I'm sure!

photo: carl bengtsson, photo: 2 & 3: this is glamorous

A Star Is Born!

Yesterday was the highly anticipated Spring Ballet Performance for Olivia. Family and friends filled the front row at the local high school theater and patiently awaited for our little Lilac Fairy Princess.

 

 

 
Finally the moment arrives! I  nudge my snoozing husband as our little princess walks on stage with her class, we hold our breath in anticipation.  They all looked so beautiful in their glittery lilac costumes, perfect little buns, "real" tiaras  and a sparkling fairy wands.  The room is silent as the lights dim and all the little princess are in their places waiting for the music to begin and then.. Olivia scratches her butt - yep thats my girl!  A recital I will hold close to my heart for all time.

 

Oh you know that I am buying that $45.oo video now!  
 

Have A Beautiful Weekend.

Do you have any big weekend plans? Our weekend is pretty exciting, Olivia will be performing in her ballet recital as a lovely fairy princess! We will be filling the front row of the theater with friends and family for Olivia's two minute and thirty four seconds of fame! 

   

 

Wishing you a lovely weekend!

photo: mary ruffles tumblr
 

Mini Gift Wrap - Free From Me to You!

I created this cute little floral pattern to wrap a Mother's Day gift for my mom - she loved the paper almost as much as her gift.  

I started with a sketch of the small white flower, scanned it and then created a vector image in Adobe Illustrator. Afterwards, I add the small yellow circle, created a pattern swatch and then hit print! 

 

If you would like to download this free design click here: Download Lemon Gift Wrap

 

Print on 8.5 X 11 regular stock, to make the label I printed on card stock and punched out the circle with a 2" round punch.

 Just a reminder: for your personal use only - all artwork is copywritten by renee rodriguez designs - thanks :)

Creating My Brand Identity

According to all marketing experts when creating a brand it is important to use an image that will reflect the company's personality. As I build my business, I want to make sure I have an image that will be true to who I am and true to my business - easier said than done - right?

The purpose behind my company is to create designs and stationery that are beautiful, fun, colorful, fashionable and modern. I want to keep alive the tradition of the hand written note and celebrate life's beautiful moments - I know that I'm not alone in my love of beautiful paper, packaging and celebration!

So, now that brings me to my brand. Below is my first business card design, while I do love this girl, I don't feel it exactly reflects who I am - I certainly don't have flowers floating around my head or butterflies following me, and only on occasion will I tilt my head to the side and smile ever so sweetly. However, I do love her houndstooth dress and flower brooch! I'm sure I will find a place for her, but not on my business card.

Now on to my swanky little party girl. While I do love, love, love this girl I don't really stand around sipping cosmos in a little black dress while wearing fabulous mules with little poofs on the toes - well maybe on the occasional girls night - a little too Carrie Bradshaw for my brand.

So, I guess it is no to her.

 

Now, about six months ago when I started my blog I decided to use the girl below because I think she is so darn cute and fun.  I Love her bouncy hair (no I don't have great bouncy hair) love her fabulous sunglasses, her cute little outfit and the fact that she cares about the environment (note flowers;) but most of all, I love how she walks with purpose while wearing cute shoes!

Ah ha! 

 
She is the one!!!

Since I love the houndstooth pattern that I created in the first image, I want to incorporate that in my business card as well. The result is a two-sided card - the image below is a bit small and light, but I think you can get the idea.

 

Well, there you have it decision 1 out of 100,000 made and one step closer to finishing my business plan - what do you think?

 
 

And The Winner Is.....

Twenty one total entries for the personalized stationery giveaway here and on Facebook.

And the winner is.....

The very lovely Kelle Barnard!!!  CONGRATULATIONS!!!  Kelle, just go to my website and take a look at the designs and I will customize your new notecards!

Remember that I promised a surprise if you entered the giveaway? Still true! I have little something for you too, so email me at [email protected] with your address and in about a week there will be something lovely waiting in your mailbox.

Have a beautiful weekend everyone!

photo: lait framboise

An Enchanted Weekend!

Please indulge me a bit today as I share a little from our absolutely enchanting experience in the Magic Kingdom. 

 

 

 

 

After standing in line for thirty minutes Olivia was able meet the head mouse and his girl!

 

At the end of the day Marc and I looked at each other and said: " Wow, we just took our daughter to Disney World"! 

And we all lived....

 
 
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