I've said it before, the USPS has been killing it lately with new stamp releases. They recently released a handful of new stamps. Shopping the USPS store makes it super easy to stock up on stamps so you always have some handy for sending cards. Plus, you get to avoid waiting in line at the post office. My new favorites are below!
My new gold foil stamped hearts card inspired me to search out other fun gold finds. Here's a round-up of some shiny metallic products I would love to have in my home and closet!
1. Happy Cactus Gold Foil Hearts Card
2. Mini Vase in Metallic from Leif
3. Aurelie Bidermann Heart Ring
4. Jonathan Adler Elephant Ring Bowl
Inspired by our new Painted Jungle card, I'm feeling some major tropical vibes. Here's some favorite products to get you in the beach mood. Now where's my piña colada?
2. Happy Cactus Designs Painted Jungle Card
3. Kate Spade Pineapple Earrings
I couldn't be more thrilled to add a new foil stamped card to my collection.
This new card features dozens of hand-drawn hearts press in bright and shiny gold foil. What I love most about this card (besides the dazzling foil) is that it's a great card to have on hand for all types of occasions - from a quick love note to your significant other to a congratulations card for a newly engaged couple to a just because note to your bestie. Who would you send it to?
The majority of my cards begin as black ink drawings. As I've mentioned before, I digitize my drawings and then use various computer programs (Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop are my preferred favorites) to layout card designs and color the work. For the brand new spring and summer collection of cards, I developed a cohesive color palette that I used throughout the designs (with the exception of the hand-painted gouache cards - more on those here).
I sought out bright, bold colors that were warm, optimistic, and cheery - three words I love to associate with the warmer seasons. Here's the palette I worked with!
One of my favorite mini-collections within the new release of products is a group of cards featuring original paintings I did using gouache. Prior to this collection, all of my designs were done with ink.
As I started thinking about some new designs, I felt that many of my new ideas could best be translated via a new medium - gouache paint. I really enjoyed using gouache and experimenting with colors and texture.
Moving forward, I'm looking forward to using both mediums as I create new products. Here's some behind the scenes looks at the painting process!
One consistent inspiration behind the new stationery collection for spring and summer has been travels I have taken over the past year. Happy Cactus Designs' newest products for 2015 were heavily inspired by the great outdoors - drives through the Texas Hill Country, hikes along the Hawaiian coastline, and treks through Colorado's alpine meadows in full bloom. I always find myself feeling creatively refreshed after taking a trip and bursting at the seams to sketch all that I have seen and experienced.
I thought I'd share some favorite snapshots from these journeys that made such a huge impact of the development of the new collection.
Just a brief note to mention that Happy Cactus Designs will not be showing at the National Stationery Show this year. While I've greatly appreciated my previous experiences exhibiting at the industry's largest tradeshow (read more about past years here), I decided that it would be best for me personally and professionally to take this year off. I will so miss seeing many of my paper pals in person, but cannot wait to (virtually) see what they present.
Sneak peek of a new foil card coming soon!
That said, I'm extremely excited about some new releases that will be coming to the shop soon. We've begun shipping orders of the new collection to stores around the country as well. If you are a retailer interested in receiving a catalog, check out the wholesale page of our website and get in touch with me!
We've recently retired a handful of different designs and want to share the remaining inventory with you at a great price!
Birthday bundles feature 5 birthday cards for only $5!
Each thank you or patterned note card bundle features 10 hand-picked note cards for only $10 (that's $1 a card!). Each pack is different and the cards pictured above are only examples of what may be in your grab bag.
Shop the grab bags here.
Graduation season is upon us. As new graduates from high school, college, and beyond enter the next stages of their lives, why not mark the occasion with a card and meaningful note. Here's some picks from the shop.
Congratulations Gold Foil Stamped Fireworks
Mother's Day is coming up soon (May 10!!) and I'm happy to share some different card options from Happy Cactus to send to your sweet mom! All of the cards feature hand-lettering and hand-illustrated designs. You can find all of the cards in the Mother's Day section of the shop!
You're the Best Mom Ever Lavender Flowers
