renee rodriguez designs

bubble, bubble, toil and trouble...

Well my friends, after a week of bizarre and mysterious events, I am ready for a little elixir (or two). 

The trouble began as I tried to send a client a pdf when my computer screen froze - hmmmm... so I rebooted! One would think that rebooting should solve the problem for my brand new, sparkling stainless and not to mention beautiful MacBook Pro - um - no.

So, after toiling away over the phone with AppleCare it was decided that my hard drive was corrupt - I almost fainted! After the shocking news and my oh-so-sympathetic tech support guy listening to me sob hysterically into the phone - he timidly asked "don't you back up your files"?  Well, immediately the darkness cleared I remembered that I have a Time Capsule that will back up all my files -  yay!  So, I dried my tears, bid farewell to the tech-support guy and sped off the the Apple store.

Soooooo.....

I arrived 30 minutes early for my appointment with a Genius - love that a Genius will solve my computer problems - now if there was only a Genius to solve my other problems, life would be perfect.

Anyway, he did his Genius thing and confirmed that my hard drive was indeed corrupt and whisked my lovely little laptop away to a very mysterious chamber in the back of the Apple store where other Geniuses milled about in t-shirts and ripped jeans. He said all would be well and he would call me in the morning when it was ready. That was it, so I left the Apple store feeling a bit unsettled and walked back to my car and drove home.

Now, as I sit here patiently waiting for a call from Boy Genius, I decided to write this post on my old and extremely unreliable, dusty, creaky 7 year old Mac - holding my breath with each word that I type that it won't crash.  

Because, I wanted to wish you....

have fun and eat candy!

xo

renee

Meet Olive + A Fabulous Give Away!

So who is Olive?

Well she is a model, not just any model, she is Olive the dog model.  And, I have become completely smitten (I hate that word, but it seems to define my feelings for Olive) and wanted to share a bit of her portfolio with you.

 

...a sultry look

...lovely

all in a day's work.

 
By now you might have deducted that Olive is the cover girl for the fabulous Paper + Craft, craft book.  Also, you are probably wondering why I have decided to give away a copy of this fabu book. Well, I am embarrassed to admit that In one of my lame brain mommy moments I accidentally order two.  Worse, I was just too lazy to return it - just being real. Then I came up with the idea to host a little give away on my blog.

Now, if you are a interested in getting on the craft train and do not own this wonderful book chocked full of charming gifts and accessories to make from paper, then post a comment. Maybe it is your lucky day!

I will draw a name out of the virtual hat next Thursday (I will keep reminding you, I promise) If you post the link on your blog and let me know,  you will be entered twice. And if you "like" me on FB, well I will throw your name in the hat one more time for good measure (just let me know on FB)

Now, one more thing - you must check out the masterminds behind the book and the photography: visit Paper + Cup here and visit Randi Brookman Harris here. 

Good luck!

 

 

Put on your dancing shoes - it is Friday!

It is Friday at last  and I just love Friday; I work at home in my sweats, drink too much coffee and eat way too many snacks (the sweats give me a false sense of skinny). And enjoy the quiet of sitting at my desk doing what I love to do.

The big event of the weekend is Olivia's walk-a-thon fundraiser for her school. My little fundraiser has already raised close to $200 (thanks to all Dad's clients) We will be hitting the pavement around 12:00 and hope to walk for a couple of hours (yikes) So we will see how those six year legs do.

 Next week is Halloween week, so make sure you drop by for a giveaway, or two (or three) you don't want to miss what I have in store for you my lovely readers.

So, put on your favorite dancing shoes and have a blast this weekend!

xo

 

photo: stylemepretty.com

 

 

Beautiful Flowers For A Beautiful Wednesday.

The week is slipping by and I can't believe that Wednesday is already here. Monday and Tuesday seem like a blur of meetings, emails, phone calls, adding more to my "to do" list and crossing off less.

I am sitting at my desk and looking out the window at my garden. The sun is shining and the fall colors are so beautiful. I am taking a very deep breath - Ahhhhh.... And have decided that I will get done what I can get done - and that is okay with me. 

So here is to ignoring a few things on my list and enjoying this beautiful and happy day of the week.

photo: maryruffle

To A Lovely Weekend!

Wishing you a beautiful and happy weekend!

Couples Shower - Part 2!

Here is the final design for the couple's baby shower invitation that I wrote about last week. The artwork can be seen here.

The two piece invitation was embellished with a little paper blossom and crystal then joined together with a mini aqua brad.

Instead of a traditional envelope, we decided on the lime green boxed mailer.

Custom postage stamps (found at zazzle.com) and a wrap address label was a delightful surprise to the shower guests.

Have a Happy Tuesday!

 

 

{the bride looked as if she stepped out of a fairy tale}

This week I happened across the most beautiful and enchanting blog, Cherry Blossom Girl.  Pages and pages of exciting fashion, jewels, shoes, and of course all with that certain French glamour that one can only find in France The author is a lovely French fashion designer- how perfect!

Below is a little glimpse into her wedding day.

... a true fairy tale bride.

happy weekend.

xo

renee

cherry blossom girl

Inspired by Pin Up Girls From The Past

Earlier this year I wrote a post about a fabulous new client who loved my "girly" style. Meet Karla Bravo, a talented photographer living in "Oh-So-Beautiful" Hawaii. 

Her project parameters: Create a sexy, girly, Alberto Vargas inspired,  illustration for her Boudoir Woman Photography website and new logo design for her Karla Bravo Photography website.  

Absolutely no arm twisting need here - no sir!

I started with this rough ( very rough) sketch and then scanned it into illustrator.

I wanted to design a girl who would be reminiscent of the Vargas style - soft, romantic sexy - yet a bit more modern.  After creating  a couple of options, color ways and two different little "poofs" for her girl to pose, Karla decided that she wanted to use both - who can blame her - I love both poofs too!

Next on the agenda:  create a logo for her Portrait and Wedding site which could also be used for her Boudoir Site as well. She wanted to incorporate soft, graceful vines and blossoms that would twist in and out the the capital "B" and design two color palettes so she could use the logo on both sites and stay consistent with her brand.

 

For her business card, she selected one of her signature portraits to complete the look of the double sided business card. The card was finished off with rounded corners and looks absolutely gorgeous!

Please stop by and see how she incorporated her new designs into her site.  Not only is she a very talented artist, she was a dream to work with as well.

 Karla Bravo Photography!

 

 

Hello.... did you hear?

My little old blog is having a birthday!  

Can you believe it?  One year ago I joined the ranks of many and took the plunge into the blog-o-sphere, thinking to myself, is anyone really going to read this? Then I called my mom, sister, brother, niece, best friend, mother-in-law... and forced them to subscribe to my blog. (you have to start somewhere:)

It has been an absolutely wonderful experience.  "I have met so many wonderful, talented, creative, imaginative, glamourous and fabulous folks - from all over the world! From my first nerve wracking post to giving everyone the inside scoop about my crazy and insane garage sale, I am completely committed!

Now, it would not be a party without presents, right?

Well, I am going to be giving away some fun and fabulous little goodies through out the month, so make sure you are stopping by to see what I have in the works!  It is my way of saying a big fat 'THANK YOU!  I really, really appreciate it, more than you know. And, when you leave a comment, well that is like eating cake - and I just love cake!

So here is to another year!

xo

photo credits: blue magnolia