February 10, 2014
Every so often, a design idea gets stuck in my head. I sketch the design, lay it out as a card, and then sit on it. That's the case with the Congratulations Banners card. I think I first drew out this design idea over a year ago, and could never pull it together...until now!
It features colorful hand-drawn banners and flags with hand-lettered words. I think it makes a great graduation card, but would be perfect for anyone celebrating a special achievement. Shop it here.
February 04, 2014
When brainstorming card ideas for the early 2014 greeting card release, I was hoping to create cards for categories where I was missing cards. I knew I wanted to design a sympathy card. While the Thinking of You Lavender card is a popular seller, I realized I really need a sympathy card that could be used for a variety of occasions. The So Sorry card fills that gap.
Sending a card to a friend or family member when he or she has suffered a loss or experienced a hard time can be so meaningful to the recipient. I hand-lettered "So Sorry" in a dark navy script and surrounded the lettering with light blue hand-drawn flowers. I think it's always a good idea to have one of these cards on hand so you can send it off to someone in need at a moment's notice. You can find the card in the shop here.
January 28, 2014
It may be below freezing here in Austin, but I have springtime on my mind. More specifically, spring weddings. As part of my early 2014 new product release, I introduced two new wedding cards.
First, the Happy Wedding Date Dotted Heart card features my own hand-lettering and hand-drawn dots. I love the turquoise green and pink palette.
Next, the Wedding Bouquet card has instantly become my new favorite. The idea for this card - a bride holding a large bouquet of flowers - was stuck in the back of my head, and it was such a relief to finally get it out on paper!
I think it makes a great card for a wedding or bridal shower. I chose a soft pastel palette for the flowers and used a light pink background to help the body stand out. On Instagram I shared the original bouquet ink drawing alongside the final product.
You can shop both wedding cards here.
January 22, 2014
The minute I shared a glimpse of my new I'm Bananas for You card on social media, I could tell it was going to be a card people liked and responded well too. I sent out samples to different retailers, and Emily from Clementine in Middlebury, Vermont, gave me some great feedback: that this would be perfect as a mini Valentine that kids could give to their classmates and buddies. I shared some brainstorming ideas for other card designs I had with her and embarked on developing a set of little cards.
I rounded out the collection with You're My Main Squeeze, You're The Apple of My Eye, and We Make a Great Pear featuring simple and modern hand-drawn fruit patterns.
I love this little set and think they are perfect for kids and adults alike - whether you are giving them to your classmates with a box of Sweethearts (my favorite!) or to your coworkers.
Each card measures 2.5" x 3.5" and is printed on 100% cotton tree-free paper. The backs are blank, leaving you space to write your own little love note. They are paired with tiny white envelopes, too. Find them in the shop here.
January 17, 2014
I shared my favorite best-selling Valentine's Day in Part 1. Here in Part 2, I'm excited to share my latest releases for Valentine's Day with you!
I'm Crazy For You Foxes: I drew these sweet little foxes and the sentiment just paired so well with it. I also love the minty green and white heart background.
I'm Bananas for You: While brainstorming new designs, I had a list of sweet love sentiments and I kept coming back to this one. I created a simple banana pattern using a thick brush pen. The hand-lettering is bold and declarative.
Hubba Hubba: This design always reminded of this clip from The Simpsons. I experimented with a new fat brush pen to create thick letters, and then created an XO pattern to add some depth to the design.
Be My Valentine: While many of my designs are pattern-driven and intricate, I wanted to design a card that was simple, yet bold in its declaration. I like the mix of simple cursive letters with thicker capitalized letters.
My Sweet Valentine: Sometimes the smallest doodle in my sketchbook becomes the basis for a card's primarily design element. I sketched a simple heart with tear drop shapes extending from it and knew it would make a great border.
Shop all of our Valentine's, love, and friendship cards here.
January 08, 2014
One of the projects I tackled over the holidays was to edit and revamp my wholesale catalog. (For more background on creating a wholesale stationery catalog, visit this post.)
For the National Stationery Show this past May, I used my existing catalog and created a flyer with new products that could slip inside. This worked well at the time, but as I released more new products in August and early December, I could no longer justify having multiple inserts and knew it was time to revamp my catalog.
I didn't do this sooner for two reasons. First, I knew I'd be releasing a bunch of new cards at the very beginning of 2014 and wanted to wait so these could be included in the new catalog. Second, catalogs are quite expensive to print and I wanted to hold off as long as possible!
Here were my guidelines when revising my catalog:
- Maintain the catalog's existing format. My first catalog was very clear and easy to navigate. I received many compliments on it, remained happy with the existing layout, and knew I didn't need to reinvent the wheel.
- Eliminate slow sellers or tired designs. After two years in business, it's become quite obvious to me what designs sell well and what don't. There were a handful of older designs I really didn't like and I was very ready to remove them from the catalog!
- Make minor revisions to terms and ordering details.
- Add new products.
It was a tedious process, but not nearly as onerous as I thought it would be since I was building off of the skeleton of the existing catalog.
Since this is a relatively quiet time of year, I was able to quickly get these printed from my trusty local printer and ready to send off to retailers! If you are a retailer interested in receiving a catalog, please contact me at hello{at}happycactusdesigns.com to have one sent your way. You can also view the catalog digitally here.
October 10, 2013
Christmas will be here before you know it (75 days officially) and Happy Cactus Designs is excited to share the new collection of holiday and Christmas cards!
Some new holiday cards debuted at the National Stationery Show in May, and I released another batch of designs to retailers this summer. Now, I'm excited to share them with you! You can check out the entire collection, plus our best-selling favorites, here.
October 01, 2013
Believe it or not, Halloween will be here before we know it! I'm excited to share a Halloween card I designed this year. I hand-lettered "Trick or Treat" and drew some candy corns, one of my favorite Halloween candies. Since I was young, my aunt has sent me a Halloween card each year, and I can't wait to send her this one soon! You can shop the Halloween card here.
September 18, 2013
Over the next few weeks I'll be sharing more details about some of the newest cards in the fall collection. I couldn't help but start with my favorite card that I designed this summer - the Midnight Rose patterned note card.
I sketched out a simple floral motif of lined roses, leaves, vines, flowers, and dots this summer and arranged it into a repeating pattern.
Stepping outside of my comfort zone, I used a very dark blue background and loved how the design turned out; the motifs really pop off of the page. Turns out I was right on trend - moody, edgy florals are very "in" this season. You can shop the new Midnight Rose card in the shop here.
September 10, 2013
I'm excited to share the latest releases from Happy Cactus Designs with you! Once I returned from the Stationery Show and settled back into my normal routines, I got to work doodling, drawing, and brainstorming ideas for new cards. It was so nice to get back in the creative groove. One downside to all of the preparation for NSS is that there's little time for creative work, so it was wonderful to be able to just draw again.
What resulted was a new collection of cheerful and fun cards that I'm really proud of. I'm also quite excited about additional Christmas cards I developed. Designing holiday cards when it is 100 degrees outside is always a challenge! They will be available for sale soon (I feel like the holidays will be here before we know it!).
Retailers can view all of the new releases along with our existing collection in our catalog here, or contact us at hello{at}happycactusdesigns.com for a hard copy and sample.
August 26, 2013
I love receiving customer feedback and hearing what types of cards people are looking for. One request I heard many times over was for a general "thinking of you" card. For this card design, I reached back into my archives of doodles and drawings, and decided to use this drawing of a bunch of lavender. I associate lavender with calming and healing, so it was the perfect motif for this type of card. I paired the drawing with a light mint background and hand-lettered "Thinking of You" in a deep purple script. You can find it in the shop here.
August 22, 2013
A number of customers have asked me if I would make a card that could be used for a child's baptism or communion. This Floral Cross card is especially true to Happy Cactus' signature style - delicate hand-drawn flowers and a strong mix of colors (in this case, a palette of pastels). I love the sweetness of this card, and how it can be used for a number of different religious occasions - baptism, communion, confirmation, and Easter, to name a few. You can find it in the shop here.