Two!

When my son started mommy and me at his preschool I was faced with the inevitable responsibility of being the ‘mommy’ and attending class with him two days a week for two hours. It is a hefty time commitment spent with ten or so other mothers, and their toddlers. Due to the length of the class, and the format (mothers share war stories while toddlers play ((AND  fight over toys, pull hair, push, cry)) you learn a whole lot about the other women you spend this time with. I won the jackpot in Isaac’s mommy and me and met a couple mothers who have grown to become amongst my closest friends and dearest allies. Our children have grown up together and still remain close friends. Currently in their last year of preschool, I know Isaac often talks about what it will be like without these friends at school with him next year.

Now we have seconds, and are in mommy and me together – A  G  A  I  N. Very soon these little guys will be headed off to preschool on their own. As each of them turn two I am reminded of how quickly time has passed, and how big these littles actually are. One of the mothers I mentioned above, and the best friend a girl could ask for, approached me about designing an invitation for her son second birthday party. She is very good with big ideas. She very often knows what she wants, and only needs help executing as a means of making her vision a reality. Her son loves building, stacking, putting things in, taking them out… this led her to the idea of having a ‘building’ themed party. She was clear about not wanting a construction theme, but rather one that centered on architecture and engineering. If there was any invitation I could get excited about it was this one. A fantastic marriage of my architectural experience, and love for graphic design.

You never want to disappoint your friends, and I really wanted to do something special for this little guy. I have known this sweet boy from the day he was born, and my daughter adores him. They too will continue to be in class together, and share the same special relationship their older siblings already do. I wanted to design something special for him.

The invitations were designed in AutoCAD, the same program I would use to do the construction documents on any architectural project. I wanted them to feel authentic and as close to an actual working drawing as possible.

(screen shot out of AutoCAD)

I decided to use the traditional blue print in the envelope to add color, and a modern half size black and white line drawing as the invitation. The envelopes were custom designed, each cut and pasted together with the recipients name printed directly onto the front. I thought it would be fun for his friends to unfold something that was larger in scale, and I knew by increasing the size of the drawing it would allow for more room to add information. I recycled old file folders, and made closure sleeves to nest the drawings in. The were sealed with a simple paper clip.

Each of these invites were made with love and care. The process was truly collaborative. I always appreciate this friend’s ideas. They are little gold seeds that leave me feeling inspired and excited. Its always a fun day when she asks me to meet her at Blue Dog for a post yoga brew, and starts with… ‘I have an idea’….