In the late spring and summer, I took a few road trips through northern New Mexico, including visits to the towns of Abiquiu and Santa Fe as well as the reservations between Durango, Colorado and Albuquerque, New Mexico. I always find the landscape in this area so inspiring. I especially enjoyed visiting the Santa Fe Botanical Garden. These trips inspired me to create some new Desert Southwest inspired pieces of embroidery incorporating the colors, sights, and scenes I came across. Here are two new pieces available in my shop.
Cactus Grouping (2.5") on Pink Linen
Agave Plant and Mountains on Pink Linen
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I've created a handful of white embroidery designs on black linen and have been pleasantly surprised by their popularity! The previous pieces of artwork have all sold out and I've received a number of emails asking if I will be creating more...YES! I anticipate releasing some new black and white designs later in October.
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I'm excited to add a few new pieces of hand embroidered artwork to my online shop later this week. Each design features intricate white stitch work on black linen with a white mat and black frame. I love the tonal contrast! You can sign up for my newsletter to know when they are added to my shop!
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Despite my company name, it had been a few years since I had created any cactus embroidery designs. Within the past 6 months, though, I stitched a revamped and more detailed cactus series, designs that I'm really proud of.
I wanted to create very small groupings of different cacti, including prickly pear, organ pipe, saguaro, agave, and cholla, using only 1 to 2 strands of thread. By using fewer threads, it was possible to create very intricate details, including subtle variations in color and tiny needles and cactus flowers.
Much of my inspiration for this series came from a few trips to Arizona. The Desert Botanical Garden in Phoenix is one of the coolest places I've ever visited and I referred to the many photos I took there when brainstorming these new designs.
Desert Botanical Garden in Phoenix, Arizona
A number of these pieces have already sold, but there are a few framed designs available in my shop now. Click on the links below for more details.
Cactus Grouping on White Linen Hand Embroidered Art (in the shop)
This past spring I introduced new flat note sets that are perfect for thank you notes or quick letters. It was really fun to create designs for this collection.The Orange Tree design is one of my favorite motifs that I created.
It is sold as a set of 10 cards. You can find it in the shop here.
One of my favorite products that I developed and recently launched is the assorted set of cactus flat notes. While the designs are an obvious nod to my company's name, they were also greatly inspired by a few trips I have taken to Big Bend National Park, Terlingua, and other areas of West Texas.
Each card features a hand-drawn cactus design. Then, to further set these designs apart, each cactus is hand-finished with gold paint by yours truly. Each card is truly one of a kind. They are sold as an assorted set of 8 cards - 2 of each design. You can them in the shop here.
While flipping through fashion magazines this weekend, I came up a great spread in Elle about the growing black and white windowpane trend. I think these picks look quite nice next to Happy Cactus' "on-trend" black and white grid flat note card! Pick it up in the shop here.
One card that is always nice to have on hand is a general thinking of you card. I feel like it's hard to find non-cheesy cards in the sympathy or sending positive thoughts your way categories, so good thing I can design my own! My intention was to design a cheerful card that could hold many purposes - for someone going through a tough time, someone who has lost a family member, or someone who is ill.
This design started with a row of hand-drawn tulips. Compared to some of my other more detailed floral designs, I kept things very simple. I selected a color palette that was bold and uplifting - reds, blues, pinks, greens, and yellows. "Keeping you in my thoughts" was hand-lettered by me in a loose script.
You can find this card in the shop here.
One of my absolute favorite new products I recently launched is the Hydrangea Floral Notepad. The hand-drawn floral arch includes purple-blue hydrangeas, daisies, and roses interspersed with green leaves. The design was originally created as a custom piece of art for a client, and I'm thrilled to be able to share it in the shop now!
The 50-sheet notepad measures 4" x 6" inches and is great for jotting down lists or quick notes. You can find it in the shop here.
For stationery designers, the bulk of design work for seasonal cards happens six to nine months before the actual holiday. In other words, I spent a lot of March and April designing Christmas cards! Here's a peek behind the scenes of the creative process I took to design the Joy Dotted Ornament card.
I wanted to start sharing some of my new releases here on the blog with little backstories about each of the designs. Look for a number of posts over the upcoming weeks highlighting my new favorite products.
First up is the Painterly Lines Patterned Card. A lot of my work lately has gravitated towards geometric shapes and patterns. The lines were actually painted with black gouache before being scanned into my computer. I then used a color palette inspired by a dress from Chanel's Métiers d'Art 2013/14 collection.
Chanel's collection debuted in my hometown of Dallas last December. When I saw the outfit below, I immediately fell in love with the mix of coral pinks and cool blue-grays and knew I wanted to incorporate those colors into a card design.
You can shop the Painterly Lines card in the shop here.
I'm excited to share some new retailers that are now carrying Happy Cactus Designs products!
The Paper Lady is one of the leading stationery shops in Denver, Colorado. I can't get enough of that black and white awning paired with the turquoise paint.
Nest is a sweet shop in Dedham, Masschusetts (outside Boston). The shop is owned by five good friends - how fun that must be!
Le Village Marche is a beautiful store in Arlington, Virginia, with a curated selection of gifts and home decor. Having lived in the DC area for a few years, I'm excited my district friends now have a place nearby to shop!
I so appreciate working with all of Happy Cactus' retail partners. See if you can find Happy Cactus in a store near you here.
