News

The Baby-Q Trend
Mar 06, 2018
Written by Sarine Badelian
Filed under baby, baby bump, baby events, baby news, Baby Q, baby shower, baby shower ideas, backyard, bbq, casual, celebration, co-ed baby shower, Creative, dad, daddy, daddy to be, design, imperfect, invitation, invite, kidstuff, Lettering, mama to be, mommy, mum, parental, parenting, parenting blog, parents, rustic, Stationery, working mama

The Baby-Q Trend

I've never been a big fan of baby showers. Just the idea of a whole group of ladies getting together to play silly games (chocolate squished in a diaper anyone? Who even came up with that?), and the whole 'ooh - ahhs' over the baby related gifts which many find mandatory to open during the actual event, always felt a little awkward to me. I guess not having gone through pregnancy previously, it was never an invite I looked forward to receiving.

When we found out we were having a baby, my views on this, well on a lot of things changed. Falling pregnant is sometimes a hard and bumpy road and getting to that point is a highly emotional and relationship-testing triumph that should be celebrated. So if a baby shower is the way you want to celebrate, who am I to judge? Bring on the finger food and confetti!!!

Personally, having gone through this journey with an incredibly attentive partner by my side, I could not see myself celebrating this new life form without the man who helped create her... so we decided to ditch the baby shower idea and go with a co-ed baby-q instead.

We decided to have a casual Sunday bbq to which we invited our closest friends (including partners and kids) as a nice way to catch up before our lives turn upside down and we run our schedules around a baby human. I didn't want a registry, it wasn't about gifts (although our guests still generously showered us with them), it was just about spending time together, and although it was a hot one not ideal for a backyard event, it was a special day we will cherish and remember.

Busy with client work, I ran a little behind with our invites but from the first draft I knew I wanted to completely hand letter the design, even if it did turn out a bit rough. I started with quick sketches on paper, using a variety of styles, before redrawing them on a dot grid page to try and get the straight edges on both sides (process sketches below):

Once it was inked and digitised, I chose to have them printed with white ink on buffalo board to stray away from it looking too baby-ish and also keep the casual vibe of the day.

The finished print:

Sometimes it's good not to dwell too much on the imperfections... you might actually really like the end result!!

xoxo

2018... off to a very good start
Feb 26, 2018
Written by Sarine Badelian
Filed under 2018 news, adventure, babies, baby, baby girl, baby news, baby stuff, birth, booties, daddy, frankies girl 2018, frankiesgirldesigns, girl, goals, life, life changes, mama-to-be, new adventure, organise, parenthood, women in business, working mums

2018... off to a very good start

Yes. I know, it's already the end of February and this is my first blog post for the year. It has been a bit of a slow start work wise, but personally there's been lots going on around the Frankie's Girl studio. About a month ago, we announced something very special to our instagram followers... we are having our first child this May and are super duper excited!! It will mean a bit of a break from wedding and custom work however we are continuing to grow our product range organically by being a bit more organised throughout all our processes (well hoping to be anyway).

In case you missed it here is the little tribute I wrote to our growing babe:

To the little feet that will be filling these shoes... the world might not always meet your expectations but I promise you that you will never go through life alone, you will be nurtured, protected, encouraged, be loved beyond measure, for you will be perfect just as you are. 2017 was a year of major business and personal events for us. After celebrating 10 years of marriage (yay we made it!!), we took a big leap of faith in May by travelling to New York to participate in our first trade show. This May we will be experiencing adventures of a different kind... there will be a new ‘Frankie’s Girl’ in town who will change the course of life as we know it. We are truly blessed and excited to be welcoming our greatest creation to date, a baby girl.

To our tiny principessa, I would say I’m ready to fall in love again but that wouldn’t be true, because I loved you from the first moment I heard your beating heart, before even meeting you. You have already taught me so much about patience and putting complete trust not only in the timing of the universe but also in my body as it alters to accommodate you, you have turned me into an emotional wreck, completely thrown out my work schedule, rendered me breathless and made me believe in hope. If good things take time, you were definitely worth the wait! Counting down the next few months until we can hold you in our arms, guide you and show you all the wonders that life has to offer.

We will be keeping you updated with new work, new products and any other developments that will make an impact to our wonderful customers. As always, thank you for your support and following along. 2018 is definitely going to be a special one.

xoxo