5for1 = DONE

Way back in June, I think, three of us sat-down to start brainstorming about how to respond to the tornado that hit Joplin, MO in late May.  We ended up focusing on the schools, and what was GOING to be a beertime (specifically w/in our firm) spread to a Chicago design community-wide poster competition and fundraising happy hour.  Phew.

I'm proud to say that our goal to raise $1000... then $5000... has been blown away.  We received confirmation that the school system down there received our $10,386, along with buttons and a cumulative book.  I'm glad it's done, thrilled we could help, and already slightly (very slightly) miss the constant cranking-out of graphics, projects, ideas, and next steps for this project.  I worked with a couple girls from the office and I think it's fair to say that we managed a pretty large impact for three girls working on our own time to recruit donations and artwork from around the country.

See below - the final 'package' we sent down to Joplin:

Price - Round 3 :)

When Meagen worked for Price Elementary School in 2009 she asked if I could help with their yearbook cover.  I was "summering in Ohio" (laid-off and looking..) and welcomed any chance at creativity.  It was a bit of a challenge, sketching and drawing everything, in grayscale, without a scanner or wacom tablet or any other design luxury.  

Then again the next year I tried to help - this time with color!!!  Oooooooh :)  Well, she doesn't work there anymore but I am thankful for the opportunity to get to work on it again - my skillz (I'm not cool enough to pull that off... skills.) got some more practice with digital sketching.  AND, I'm learning more and more how to draw panthers - youth panthers, to be exact.

Big Surprise.

Did you expect me to actually post something interesting or fun?  That would require DOING something interesting or fun... no dice.  Another weekend spent studying another chapter for this mother-loving exam.  

Exciting life of...

Pardon my lack of sketches again... there's always an excuse, but between work-work (which I don't really feel is appropriate to blog about..) and competition projects (which I can tell you ALL about... December 2nd..), and STUDYING, my life doesn't have much worth sharing right now.  What a sad statement - eesh.  I don't mean to get all teenage-drama on you.... you know what I mean.

ps: oh, the irony in using so much paper to study for an exam on green materials / building...

World Peace :)

I won't give away much, but for a new project a few of us are working on we played around with felt and the laser cutter yesterday - it is going to be AWESOME.

Cooking up Change

I've been meaning to post SOMETHING about this for quite a while and just kept getting distracted.  Cary and I worked on the event signage, pictograms, program layout, and journey map - and basically any other collateral used at the event - for the annual cook-off by the Healthy Schools Campaign, called "Cooking up Change!"  We started our involvement in August and on November 4th attended the event - it was probably the shortest signage timeline I've ever worked on, but so fun and light-hearted.  Of course, among everything else, we both forgot cameras that night and had to borrow one from work - either we didn't know how to use it, or it just wasn't up to par :) but the images came out pretty rough.. we're hoping to be able to use some a photographer might have caught that night.

Anyways, here's a small sample from the night... a link to a facebook album soon to come!

HWWOW

I don't know how many times I've written a post apologizing for being MIA for a while, but this one is for real.  I know my creativity has been absent for quite some time... and I really am sorry!  This has been a really tough month (year!).  On October 10 my granddad passed away.  My impression of hearing someone say they lost a grandparent has totally changed.  It used to be like, "well that's expected, but sorry."  I'll admit I still think that my granddad was unlike anyone else, so considering other peoples' situations to be the same is nearly impossible.  In my arrogant, family-centric head, my first thought is, "losing a grandparent is tough, but losing MY granddad is different - it's awful." 

I'm not going to start listing adjectives about how great and sarcastic he was because it seems a little shallow, but believe you me - he was awesome. 

That said, that kick-started one of my worst weeks ever and I have been slowly trying to pull it together.  I promise I AM doing creative things with my days, but some of it is confidential and as for the rest, I'm always a little unsure about what in-progress work is appropriate to post.  For now, you'll have to settle for an old drawing of the big guy :)

From kelleybozarth.com

Sometimes you've gotta splurge..

Am I on a severe budget?  Yes.  But a friend of mine once pointed out that goals and determination only go so far if you're not happy along the way.  This is something fairly materialistic, but something I've wanted for a couple of years : a new duvet.  I've had a white and gray duvet with this weird blotchy design from EQ3 for almost four years - yuck.  The white isn't so white, the design was never really "me" and I've been looking for a long time for a replacement.  FINALLY, looking at the Crate+Barrel outlet I found this gem - ironically later realized it's the same one Nicole of Making it Lovely just purchased for her home!  I'm so excited about this new splash of color in my boring, empty bedroom.

A bird's closet.

My friend Katie asked me to help her with a poster for her improv group's upcoming show - "a bird's closet."  I think it's kind of cool that there are 5 girls, 5 guys, they are in level 5 at the conservatory program, tickets are $5... are you seeing a theme here? :)

From kelleybozarth.com

ps: i've been working on some pretty heavy files at work = lots of time waiting for the computer to finish thinking.  in that time, among mini photo-shoots for a dwight bobble-head, i've been SKETCHING.  stay-tuned for random thoughts put onto paper :)

Why not?

I got an email about an amateur photography contest... now, I'm no photographer, but I like to take a picture here and there.  Why not give it a shot, right?  I entered this baby into the contest - never know what will happen!  If you think it's worth anything it'd be so nice of you to vote - it's free!  Your call :)

Vote here!

The Haiti Poster Project

I don't normally post work from other people on here - once you open the door of "I really like..." its hard to figure out where you close it.  However... in that this is for a good cause and I really DO like some of these, take a look at the Haiti Poster Project.  Some really great designs - I am thinking of buying one to hang in mi casa.

Meagen's Bridal Shower!!

One quick post at the end of a long day and before another long day - wrapping up some of the details from Memorial Day Weekend... Like I said, we threw Meagen her Bachelorette Party and a Bridal Shower.  I posted the invitation to the shower before, but here are some of the details from the shower decor.  I had to (more or less) make everything ahead of time from Chicago with the intention of it transporting to Cleveland and being able to be set-up within about an hour.  My mom took care of food and most of the set-up, but I bought table cloths, a runner, candle holders, picture frames,  and matching napkins / plates / cups / forks / knives / spoons.  I pre-made tissue paper poms to jazz up the deck and just unfolded the layers in Cleveland, and used metal garden stakes wrapped with ribbon for centerpieces.  I tied pink and orange ribbon around check $1 frames from IKEA, filled with baby pictures of Meagen, to go around on smaller tables, and I used spice jars (4/$3) from IKEA filled with Skittles and tied with raffia (sp?) as favors.  I also pre-ordered cupcakes and pre-made little flags with paper, glue and toothpicks, for each of the cupcakes as decoration.  It was awesome, super easy, really simple, and (thanks to the weather) a really, really pretty shower!

My New Baby.

Somewhere between Labor Day and New Years, I broke my camera.  I cracked the screen somehow, I'm sure accidentally checking it in some luggage.  That meant that even though I was a 25 year old girl using her camera primarily to take pictures of pretty things and funny friends, I had to look like I took myself seriously enough to exclusively use the tiny viewfinder.  Let me tell you somethin - I'm lazy.  I'm not about squinting and trying to use a .5" screen when there's a 3" version right beneath that.  Please.

Either way, my mom knew how devastated I was to lose my camera - the thing I hide behind at family events... and helped me get a new one.  It is FAN-CY.  Its a lot like the old one, but Nikon instead of Sony... 10.1 megapixels instead of 5... 26x zoom instead of 12x... Bigger screen... and this time I plan to NOT lose the lens cap!  Cheers to new beginnings :)

Bridal Shower Invites

Now that Meagen received it, I can post the final design for another project I've had going... invites to her bridal shower I'll be throwing with her other bridesmaids!  I'm not sure how clearly this will post - I'm having some technical difficulties with image hosting and quality (ugh.) but hopefully you get the picture...  These went out recently and have started landing in the 30 mailboxes they're heading towards.  I can't wait for the wedding, shower and bach. party! 

FRONT :

BACK :

THE FINAL RESULT!

From kelleybozarth.com

Invitations!

I've been having lots of fun lately, with visits home, visitors from the south, making plans and seeing plans actually come to life!  Katie and Eric were here this weekend and after watching me drool all over the sailors in Great Lakes, IL, they went home to see their (very-much-missed) little boy who is now walking all over the place!  Time flies.

I'm working on plans for Meagen's bachelorette party and bridal shower, trying my best to keep my mouth shut about plans for at least the first of those two as we'd like to surprise her with her last celebration of freedom :)  Problem : I'm terrible with secrets, especially with Meagen.  Wish me luck... 

Its been so much fun planning this stuff with her bridesmaids - some I know better than others.  I don't know Cleveland very well, as I haven't lived there since high school (and didn't exactly get out much at that point..).  They've been a huge help in finding the right venues for our lovely bride-to-be!

I sent out the invitations to the bachelorette party last week and will be sending out the shower invites today - so excited that this is all coming together!  Please pardon the blurred photo of the invites - as mentioned, TOP SECRET FROM THE BRIDE! :)

From kelleybozarth.com

Why You Can't Work at Work

I know I haven't posted a sketch or anything for quite a while - I'm working on wrapping some things up to post on here, I promise.  However... please watch this video.  Its one of those that will leave you screaming, "TOTALLY!!!"

Live in Dublin!

In honor of St. Patty's Day, a video from one of our favorite nights in Ireland :)

Heather @ Mannington

My friend / sorority sister / peer in the design world has entered a carpet design competition at Mannington.  She's one of the more talented / creatively out-of-the-box people I know, and last year she made it to the finals, showing her work at Neocon here in Chicago.  If anyone was made for a competition like this, it's Heather... Check out her work, and if you're so inclined vote for her (x10)!  I think she said today is the last day to vote, so get a move on.

Day in the Life

I've said before that the primary function of this blog is for sketches (mine, your's, whoever's) but this video is so amazing I have to share.

"This video features a day in the life of a woman working in the London's Square Mile solely through infographics; this includes labelled close-ups of everyday objects, product lifecycles, schematic diagrams, charts and is generally illustrated in a simple isometric visual style."

Resolution Generator

I think I might have mentioned this before, either on here, to a friend, or in a facebook link, but please look at the New Year's Resolution Generator here.  Yes, I made resolutions independent of a website.  Some of those I've had to postpone until further in the decade, though... so I'm on the hunt for FUN resolutions. 

The first time I clicked on this website today, this is what I got.  I didn't keep refreshing until something fun came-up... it's a sign :)

While we're posting fun links, please keep an eye on BMD Love Blog by Bruce Mau Design.  The quotes and design pieces they feature are wonderful and I had to cut myself off yesterday so that I wouldn't spend hours going through everything they've ever shared here.  This one, captured from their blog?  My new motto.  Thanks, Bruce.