Hello party animals. With Halloween just a few weeks away, who is going to dig in deep and throw a ghoulish October 31st bash? It's always been on my bucket list to host an off the pirates hook Halloween party. I'm still debating if this is the year to invite lots of spooks and witches into my home. I, however, started to think about my boogie down affair and the design of the invitations.

An invitation sets the tone for any party. The way the invitation looks and what it communicates can create a level excitement that a verbal invite can't. A lot of thinking goes into an invite from the copy, to the design to the way an invitation is delivered. An good invitation is a simple way to communicate an event but a great invitation taps into emotions and creates a sense of anticipation.

Today's project is to create an invitation for your next Halloween party. What kind of party will you throw? Will it be a "Witches & Stitches", "Boos & Brews" or "A Spooktacular Event?" As you dream up your spooky festivity and sketch your invite, here is what my party invite might look like and it's free for download.

I'm headed to dig up a monster or two for tomorrow's project. See you then vamps and vampires!

Day 156 - Oh hey. I'm just here sitting at my desk dreaming of the beach. Who doesn't love a day of sand, surf and sun? Not to mention our hair looks amazing after a day at the beach. For some reason, the salty ocean air paired with the blazing rays of the sun makes tresses glorious. After consulting with the all mighty Google, I have found a DIY sea salt spray recipe to recreate the beach waves that create beloved mermaid hair. Go ahead and try this recipe. It made my hair feel like a great day at the beach.

Mermaid Waves Sea Salt Spray (original recipe found on Huffpost Style)

You will need:

• A plastic spray bottle
• 1 tablespoon of sea salt
• 1 tablespoon of melted organic coconut oil
• 1 tablespoon of leave-in hair conditioner
• 1 cup of warm water

Step 1: Pour the warm water and sea salt into the spray bottle. Give it a generous shake until salt dissolves.

Step 2: Combine the melted coconut oil and leave-in conditioner into a separate bowl, then add the mixture to your spray bottle.

Step 3:  Shake the bottle again. Homemade sea salt spray done. Apply to towel-dried hair and wait for the mermaid wave to appear.

However, today's project is to think about how you might design a logo for your newly created sea salt spray. What do you need the logo design to communicate? What color pallet would work best for this product? What is the name you would give to the product? Packaging is the last ten seconds of marketing. How would you use those last ten seconds to influence people and sell your product? Think about the voice of the brand you create today.

I'm going to get back to dreaming about the beach. Drop me a line and let me know how your ideas spray out. I'll see you tomorrow, great hair and all!

Day 101 - Hey everybody! Welcome to Sunday. I hope everyone is getting up late, strolling to brunch and making plans to snooze on the couch. Sunday's are made for kicking back, drinking some brewskis and having a day off. Sunday's are also good for preparing for the week ahead. For me this week is going to be stressful and I have found myself saying the word "can't" a lot today.

Who else hates the word "can't" as much as I do? It's a terrible word. It's negative and self defeating right out of the gate. There is no sugar coating "can't." In most cases, it's pure apathy. It's destruction of hope. For example, let's take a look at the "can't" ideas circling in my head today. Maybe these will sound familiar. 

• "I burnt the meal. I can't cook."
• "I forgot to lock the car door. I can't remember anything."
• "I didn't drop off the UPS packages. I can't get things done."
• "I wanted to call my friend. I can't be there for anyone."
• "I bought the wrong frame size. I can't do math."
• "I tried to karaoke. I can't sing."
• "I bought ice cream today. I can't eat ice cream"  (Ok. This one is a downright ridiculous lie. Of course I bought ice cream and of course I can eat it. I was just seeing if you were still paying attention.)

Here is the epiphany I had today. Try adding the word "yet" to any sentence containing "can't."  I love the word "yet." It has such hope and promise. The word "yet" is like an over optimistic, cheek pinching Aunt. It's hard not to love her because of her zeal, promise and enthusiasm. Not sold yet? Let's look how "yet" changes the tone of the sentences above.

• "I burnt the meal. I can't cook, yet."
• "I forgot to lock the car door. I can't remember anything, yet"
• "I didn't drop off the UPS packages. I can't get things done, yet."
• "I wanted to call my friend. I can't be there for anyone, yet."
• "I bought the wrong frame size. I can't do math, yet."
• "I tried to karaoke. I can't sing, yet."
• "I bought ice cream today. I can't eat it all, yet." (See, it even works with this one.)

Pull out your note book and write down three (3) can't sentences that apply to you. Then write down the sentences again and add the word "yet." The word "yet" creates a different feeling right?

Next time I feel myself using "can't", I am going to pull out my secret weapon, "yet." That's all I have today. I'm going to break for a few brewskis and zone out on some boob tube. See you tomorrow everybody.

Day 80 - Hey! It's Sunday. Lazy day maybe? Lately, there has been more crazy and less lazy over here and it makes me wonder if life will ever slow down. Next up on the never ending list of stuff-to-do is planning for a little ones birthday party. If I haven't mentioned before, birthday's are big at our house. Let's just say, it's not a party at our house until a someone falls asleep with chocolate all over their face and with a broken DIY piñata in their arms. In other words, it gets crazy fun here.

The Initial Rough Sketch.

The craziness starts with the planning. I can't help myself. I have a terrible compulsion to DIY everything. I'll blame my parents and the epic "Pink Flamingo" party they threw in '83. Are there photos of said party? Heck no. They all have been burned. However, if the internet had been fully around in '83 the "Pink Flamingo" party would have broken Pinterest. It was DIY at it's best. 

The Revised Electronic Artwork.

Let's get back to today's project. As I get into DIY throw down mode, let's dedicate today's project to party and invitation design.

The Color Version.

The invitation starts the party. It gives life to the party. It gives color to the party and not to mention the theme! Today, let's practice invitation design and go fish for a great party theme.

Pick an object and make a quick drawing in your note book of the object. Maybe it's a cupcake, hot dog or fish. The object doesn't matter. The next step is to draw the same object again in a very different way. Maybe it's bigger? Maybe its turned? Maybe only half of the object is visible. Now, draw the same object for a third time in yet again in a different way. Now imagine the colors and fonts might work with the theme?

To give you an example, we are having a "Go Fish" party. There were a few iterations to the invitation illustrations before one was selected by the birthday boy. 

What do you think? Funny how slight changes to scale and cropping make the start of the invitation designs so different. I have to get back to making a cardboard row boat for the party but let me know how your next party turns out and stay tuned. There will be more posts and creating for the upcoming party. Signing off till tomorrow.