New Years Cards

Can you believe it's April and I'm designing New Year's Cards for 2016 already?! I just moved cross-country (from Cali to Philly) and haven't even settled in yet, so I was really not ready for the holiday design season! But, I did find some last-minute inspiration and came up with a few entries to submit to Minted's New Year's challenge. Voting is now open for this contest until Monday, May 4th at 10am (Pacific Time). You can help me out by rating my designs on the gallery challenge page or just click on the links below. :)

 Best Year Ever! by Hooray Creative for minted.com

Newly Wedded by Hooray Creative for minted.com

Geometric Year by Hooray Creative for minted.com

Wall Paint by Hooray Creative for minted.com

 Stripes Forever by Hooray Creative for minted.com

3 Cheers! by Hooray Creative for minted.com

Condensed Type by Hooray Creative for minted.com

Customers, fans and designers all vote in the challenge and by participating, you too can help Minted decide what to sell in their 2016 New Year's Card assortment. Please vote on my designs and rate some of the other entries in the competition as well. Thanks for checking out my work! :)

Minted x West Elm 3rd Art Challenge Entries

Life has been hectic lately, but I didn't let that stop me from participating in the Three Cheers! Minted x West Elm's 3rd Art Challenge. There was an impressive 5221 submissions this time around! I scrambled, but I still squeezed in a few new art prints. Since this is an important design challenge with big rewards for a lucky few, if you have a minute to spare, please help a girl out and vote for my entries! Click on the image links below or find my art starting on this page right here. Help Minted and West Elm curate their next art collection and rate your favorites on scale of 1-5! Thanks for checking out my work!!  

Loft art print by Hooray Creative

From Sea to Shinging Sea art print by Hooray Creative

Black Brush Study No. 1 art print by Hooray Creative

Black Brush Study No. 2 art print by Hooray Creative

  Voting closes on Wednesday, February 11 at 10am PT  

Save the Date Cards for Minted

Things have been really busy in my little corner of the world, but I was determined to set aside 2 days to focus solely on designing cards for Minted's One True Love Save the Date Challenge. So, not as much time as I would have liked, but hoping a couple of these entries resonate with fans and customers. Voting for this contest is open until Friday, September 26 at 9am PT and you can start rating my designs on this challenge page or just click on the links below. (You can also blind vote on this page right here).  Please try and rate 50 designs or more in the challenge to keep voting fair for all. As always, thanks for checking out my work!

 

FYI: Some designs are intended to be stamped with real gold, silver or rose gold foil.

Holiday Ornament Card Challenge

It's Christmas in July over here in my little corner of the stationery world! I whipped up a small bunch of holiday ornament cards (photo and non-photo) for Minted's latest design challenge. Voting is now open for this contest and I could use your help! Start rating my designs on the challenge page or click on the links below. Customers, fans and designers all vote in the challenge and by participating, you too can help Minted decide what to sell in their 2014 holiday assortment. So, check out my work, vote and please rate some of the other designs in the competition as well. Thanks! :)

Vintage Swirl by hooray creative

Pine Branch Pattern by hooray creative

Bold Peace Love Joy by hooray creative

Deco Frame by hooray creative

Our First Noel by hooray creative

First Snow by hooray creative

Two Become One by hooray creative

Double Merry by hooray creative

Winter Wash by hooray creative

Golden Wreath by hooray creative

Holiday Stripes by hooray creative

Be Joyful by hooray creative

Brushed Peace Love Joy by hooray creative

 4 Corners by hooray creative

Non-photo Holiday Card Entries

I entered several designs into Minted's Good Tidings Non-photo Holiday Card Challenge! There's still time to vote on entries and help the folks over at Minted decide what to include in this year's holiday card assortment. Check out my designs below or get voting on this challenge page right here. As always, thanks for checking out my work! :)

Merry and Gold

Wonderful Time of Year

Pine and Berry

Elegant Wreath

Flurries

Holly Berry Joy

Corporate Holiday Card Entries

I entered a few designs into Minted's Office Wonderland Corporate Holiday Card Challenge. Take a look at my submissions! :)

Winter Dip Dye business holiday card by Hooray Creative

Happy Infographic business holiday card by Hooray Creative

Confetti Welcome business holiday card by Hooray Creative

Retro Snow business holiday card by Hooray Creative

Elegant Garland business holiday card by Hooray Creative

Hello 2015 business holiday card by Hooray Creative

Vintage Bottle Cap business holiday card by Hooray Creative

Minted Holiday Challenge 2014

Minted's highly-anticipated holiday photo card challenge is here! Every year, Minted hosts a mammoth competition in search of the best and freshest holiday photo card designs. Independent designers participate from all over the world. There are an astounding 4108 entries this year! So, yes, the stakes are high!! I submitted 31 designs this year. It was a bit of a mad dash to the finish line since I was really pressed for time, but hopefully I've got a winner in here somewhere. ;) Of course, you can help improve my chances by taking a few minutes to vote on my entries! Voting is open until Tuesday, May 27th at 9am and my designs can be found at the image links below or look for Hooray Creative starting on this page, right here. You can rate designs on a scale of 1-5 and Minted sells many of the high-scoring designs. Be sure to vote on at least 50 designs to qualify for $10 off your next $100+ Minted order. Thank you all so much! :)

Very Merry Flourish holiday photo card by hooray creative

Seasonal Frame holiday photo card by hooray creative

Minimal Gallery holiday photo card by hooray creative

Very Merry Type holiday photo card by hooray creative

Painted Pine Frame holiday photo card by hooray creative

Happy Everything! holiday photo card by hooray creative

Be Merry Script holiday photo card by hooray creative

Best Ever. holiday photo card by hooray creative

Oh, Hello 2015 new year photo card by hooray creative

preppy peacejoylove holiday photo card by hooray creativ

Mostly Merry! holiday photo card by hooray creative

Married and Merry holiday photo card by hooray creative

Festive Floral holiday photo card by hooray creative

Triple Warm Wishes holiday photo card by hooray creative

Holiday Flurries holiday photo card by hooray creative

Peace Tree holiday photo card by hooray creative

Botanical Joy holiday photo card by hooray creative

Naughty or Nice? holiday photo card by hooray creative

Snowy and Bright holiday photo card by hooray creative

Feliz Navidad! holiday photo card by hooray creative

Confetti Chic holiday photo card by hooray creative

Making Spirits Bright! holiday photo card by hooray creative

The Biggest Joy holiday photo card by hooray creative

Candy Cane Stripes holiday photo card by hooray creative

Photo Wall holiday photo card by hooray creative

Joyful Stamp holiday photo card by hooray creative

Christmas Gram holiday photo card by hooray creative

Believe in the Season holiday photo card by hooray creative

Kraft and Cane holiday photo card by hooray creative

Very Merry Christmas holiday photo card by hooray creative

Bright Holiday holiday photo card by hooray creative

Gettin' Hitched Wedding Invite

Thanks to Minted for the special prize in the Fall in Love Wedding Challenge! I took home the Whimsical Award for the best whimsical or humorous design for "Gettin' Hitched". I also had 2 other runners up. :) You can see the entire suite below, available in 3 colorways. You can purchase the invitation or matching accessories at minted.com. Check out the rest of the special prize winners right here.

Charming Rustic Wedding Inspiration

Minted has lot of new wedding invitations available for sale and I'm glad to have some of my designs included in such a beautiful assortment. I'm personally fond of my "Rustic Charm" design so I made this mood board to inspire brides who might be planning a rustic or woodland wedding. Check out the rest of Minted’s wedding collection right here! :)

Charming Rustic Wedding board by Hooray Creative. See more Minted

Rustic Charm Wedding Invite by Hooray Creative at minted.com

Photo Collage Art Prints

I've had a really busy month, but I squeezed in a day of design for Minted's Photo Collage Art Challenge. Minted's photo art prints allow for maximum personalization and make great keepsake gifts. Voting is now open for this challenge, so click on the image links below to rate 3 of my entries. Please vote on some of the other photo art prints right here and tell Minted what to sell! :)

Lovebirds Plus 1  by Hooray Creative for minted.com

Wedding Moments by Hooray Creative for minted.com

All in a Row Snapshot Mix by Hooray Creative for minted.com

Happy Love Day

Happy Valentine's Day!  Just wanted to share a quick peek at the card I designed and mailed out to friends and family. I had lots of fun with type and lettering with this design and printed a batch of these on double thick cotton stock.

XOXO, Kristy

Free Printable Kids Valentines

Valentine's day is just around the corner! If you have yet to pick up valentine cards for your kids to hand out in school, then you're in luck because I'm sharing a new free printable! These cute classroom valentines were a mini-collaboration and labor of love between me and my honey.  My boyfriend draws and does "cute" better than I, so he was happy to sketch out these adorable robots. I  added color, texture and type to make these sweet cards. Great for both robot-loving boys and girls. Enjoy!

Designed with love by Hooray Creative. FOR PERSONAL USE ONLY.

DOWNLOAD PRINTABLE VALENTINES

Print on 8.5" x 11" high-quality paper. I used 100% white cotton stock that I had from Paper Source, which I fed through my inkjet printer on a borderless page setting. However, I also tried matte photo paper and some nice cream-colored watercolor paper, both of which worked great too. Trim with paper cutter or exacto knife, vertically and horizontally through the center. The trimmed cards measure 4.25" x 5.5".

Featured Valentine's Day Cards

So pleased to see some of my designs featured in Minted's web banners and marketing emails. Included in the images below are my Bold XOXO Valentinte's Day photo card, my Heart of Gold foil-pressed photo card and my Conversation Heart Classroom Valentines. Feel free to browse Minted's Valentine's Day gift shop for more photo cards, postcards, kids valentines, party decor, stationery and more!

Award-Winning Save the Dates

I received some good news recently. Two of my winning  save the date card designs for Minted received additional special prize awards! I'm so stoked since I'm always a runner-up and never a winner for these special prize categories. Thanks again to friends and fans who voted for my designs during the challenge. :)

"Sweet Embrace" is now exclusively available for sale at minted.com. My "Destination New York" save the date card should be available soon, hopefully within the next month. Check out the rest of the awesome winners on Minted's blog, Julep.

Valentine's Day Cards

I heart Valentine's Day! What's not to love about flowers, chocolate, romance and heart-shaped everything. Why not make this lovey-dovey holiday a little bit sweeter with personalized Valentine cards. Minted has a great assortment to choose from and I have a few designs for sale also! Send an individual greeting card to that special someone or if you missed out on Christmas cards this past holiday season, a Valentine's Day photo card is totally the way to go for sharing beautiful photos with friends and family. :)

Sending Love Valentine's Day photo card by Hooray Creative for minted.com

Conversation Heart  kids classroom valentines by Hooray Creative at minted.com

Gold and Silver Foil-Pressed Valentine's Day photo cards by Hooray Creative for minted.com

Browse the Minted Valentine's Day gift shop for more greeting cards, photo cards, postcards, social stationery, notebooks, wrapping paper, art prints, Valentine's Day party decor and more! Receive 10% off Valentine's Day Cards with code HEART10 through 1/29.

Birth Announcement Challenge

I am the proud mother of one very handsome, super adorable cat. :) But alas, Minted's current design challenge is all about human babies – beautiful, modern birth announcements to be exact. I know lots of new moms, so for inspiration, I just tried to imagine the kind of designs that they would want to use to announce the arrival of their newborn.  The goal was to keep the focus on the lovely photos with complimentary typography. I also threw in some luxurious gold/silver foil accents since Minted will be launching more foil-pressed birth announcements for 2014. Yay! I have 8 entries in Minted's Welcome Little One! Birth Announcement Challenge and I would really appreciate your vote! You can rate on my designs at the image links below or on this challenge page. Thanks so much!

Oh Boy! birth announcement by Hooray Creative for minted.com

Bundle of Joy  birth announcement by Hooray Creative for minted.com

All in a Name birth announcement by Hooray Creative for minted.com

Proudly Presents birth announcement by Hooray Creative for minted.com

Over the Moon! birth announcement by Hooray Creative for minted.com

Sweet Floral Border birth announcement by Hooray Creative for minted.com

Introducing birth announcement by Hooray Creative for minted.com

Think Pink birth announcement by Hooray Creative for minted.com

New Years Cards

HAPPY NEW YEAR!! It's not too late to order a new calendar for 2014 and if you want something extra special, I definitely recommend Minted's customizable photo calendars. I have 1 design for sale and it's available in 2 sizes (the standard retails for $29 & the grand is $39). I've order a Minted calendar for myself before and can vouch for the excellent quality. The paper is thick and luxurious and you can customize each calendar month with your own photos and text.

  Watercolor Brush Standard  and  Grand Calendars by Hooray Creative at minted.com

Also, I don't know about you, but the holiday season flew by for me this year! With so much to do in December, it can be tough to buy holiday cards well enough in advance to actually mail out in time for Christmas. If you procrastinated or missed out, you can still send a New Year's card! I have a few for sale on Minted.

Gilded Year in Review Minibook Card by Hooray Creative for Minted.com

Happy New Year card by Hooray Creative for Minted.com

Stacked New Year's Card by Hooray Creative for Minted.com

Noisemakers New Year's Cards by Hooray Creative for minted.com

Art Deco New Year's Card by Hooray Creative at Minted.com

Hand Drawn Holiday New Year's Card by Hooray Creative at minted.com

Ombre Sparkle New Year's Card by Hooray Creative at minted.com 

Or consider this: in lieu of your typical holiday or new year's cards, you could send a personalized Valentine's photo card! Valentine Cards are becoming more and more popular for those who just don't have time to get their family photos taken in advance or their Christmas cards ordered on time.

Bold XOXO Valentine's Photo Card by Hooray Creative at Minted.com

Garden Lights Rustic Wedding Invite

Hooray!! My Garden Lights rustic wedding invitation design is exclusively available for sale on Minted.com. Purchase the wedding invitation or matching accessories right here!

Resolutions for 2014

This past year has been a time of transition, with many ups and downs, but honestly, I'll remember it as the year I found new freedom and joy in working for myself and following my creative ambitions. A very special thank you to every single person who has supported me or my Hooray Creative brand this year. I'm really looking forward to a fresh start in 2014. I don't usually make a lot of resolutions because I rarely stick to them, but there is so much I want to do in 2014 – and I think the opportunities are finally there for the taking! Here's what I resolve to (try to) do in 2014:

1.  Continue to develop and legitimize my budding design business and brand – hopefully by leaps and bounds!

2.  Design my ass off. I'm eager to start designing new product lines, textiles and art prints.

3.  Continue to challenge myself as a stationery designer. Expand my presence on Minted if possible, add to my inventory on Zazzle, etc.

4.  Redesign this blog, and create a new and improved website/shop for myself. I've been putting this one off for awhile, but it MUST get done soon!

5. Take a few skillshare classes. Maybe handlettering, calligraphy, identity and branding. Refresh my coding skills.

6.  Find the time and a project to further develop myself as an artist. Paint, illustrate, conceptualize, create. Take a step away from my computer and do something with my hands again.

7.  Make new friends, reconnect with old ones, nurture relationships, network, keep in touch.

8.  Get out of the house more often. See California. Seek out inspiration everywhere.

9.  Take a vacation or a road trip this year – somewhere I've never been.

10.  Try to make it home to Buffalo for the holidays in 2014 or visit family in Denver or Florida.

11.  Figure out where I'm going to live and make a comfortable home office for myself. Not sure yet if that means a new apt in San Fran or a move back to NYC, but there will be change in 2014 I think.

12.  Spend quality time with my favorite person (I mean my boyfriend of nearly 9 years, of course) and our adorable cat.

13.  More singing, song-writing and recording. I am a musician as much as I am a designer. There is never quite enough time for the music as I busy myself with design work, but my bf and I swear this is the year things are going to happen. Keep an ear out for our music project and forthcoming EP. We call ourselves, Calm and the Storm.

14.  Make more YouTube videos! Get one to go viral!! A long shot perhaps. :)

15.  Learn to cook a few more dishes/recipes. Be more adventurous and try new foods and ingredients.

16.  Prioritize good mental health and well-being. Be happier, more positive. Forgive more. Regret less.

17.  This one's always a given: eat healthier, exercise, lose a few pounds, take better care of myself. I think I really mean it this year.

18.  Take a moment every now and then to relax and enjoy life. One of my absolute favorite quotes is:

“Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it."

- John Hughes, Ferris Bueller's Day Off 

Minted Business Card Challenge

I whipped up a small batch of designs to enter in Minted's First Impressions Business Card Challenge. Minted is introducing gold and silver foil-stamped business cards in 2014, so a few of my entries were designed specifically for that printing method. Awesome, right? So, of course, I would really appreciate your vote! You can rate on my designs at the image links below or on this challenge page. It would also be fantastic if you could rate some of the other entries on a scale of 1-5. By doing this, you keep the voting system fair and have a say in telling Minted what to sell. You can blind vote, right here! Thanks so much!

Name to Remember business cards by Hooray Creative

Get in Touch business cards by Hooray Creative

Pink Wash business cards by Hooray Creative

Gold Dip business cards by Hooray Creative

Gold Glamour business cards by Hooray Creative

Hand Krafted business cards by Hooray Creative

Chic Black and Gold business cards by Hooray Creative

In Style business cards by Hooray Creative

Skinny Type business cards by Hooray Creative

Simply Bold business cards by Hooray Creative