FREE Printable Valentine's Day Card

I'm not opposed to spending $6 on a beautiful letterpress Valentine's Day card, (like this lovely one from Ink Meets Paper) but my Valentine does not appreciate such things and, beautiful hand-crafted card or not, it will be headed for the garbage about 30 seconds after he opens it.  He's just not a card guy.  So, I've made my own for the past few years and share them with my darling readers with the hopes that *maybe* someone keeps theirs, or if not, at least you don't feel guilty when it's tossed in the trash since it's FREE! Here is this year's card -

You can download the free printable, with (super easy) directions, HERE, no strings attached* :)  You can also grab last year's free printable card here.

Enjoy!

*Copyright ChelseyEmery | 2015.  These designs are for PERSONAL use only and may not be used commercially or resold under any circumstances.  Illustration by Blue Ink Studio.

On My Mind : Copycats

I've been surrounded by talk of copycats lately - designs that are too 'inspired-by' and designers that didn't even bother to change the names used in the original design.

One member of a Facebook group I belong to explained that she was a relatively new designer, and asked for sources & suppliers to help her make invitations for her client who really liked a specific invitation from another designer but (I suspect) didn't want to pay the price the designer was asking.  The chosen invitations were gorgeous and very unique.  I (along with a number of others) suggested that if her client likes these specific invitations she should give the original designer the credit she deserves and order directly from her.  The young designer noted her agreement with the suggestion but added that it was what her client was looking for and that "as Designers, we don't have to agree, we just have to serve the client".  I could not disagree with this statement more.  As Professionals it is as much our job to educate the client as it is to simply serve them.  Often this involves telling clients that no, I cannot recreate XYZ design for them and that to do so would violate the copyright of the original designer.

I'm not suggesting I'm the perfect model of integrity - like many young designers I created a design or two that were much too inspired at the start of my business.  Although embarrassed, I'm also grateful for the experience and I hardly think I'm alone in that error.  It is something I see often with younger designers, and most (like I) were unknowing of the offense and choose to learn & grow from the situation.  I have no issues with these single-time offenders, they are often ashamed and remove the offending design immediately, with a resolve to create original work in the future.   Not everyone, however, is so honest.  When I see 'designers' who continue to recreate the work of others in an attempt to pass it off as their own, knowing full well that what they are doing is wrong and unethical, I get incredibly saddened by their dishonesty.

The design world, especially a niche like invitation design, is much smaller than you can imagine and there are eyes everywhere.  Yes, the original creator might not happen across your 'inspired' design, but chances are good that one of their 200 designer friends will.  So lets all agree to create new ideas and to be a voice, not an echo.

If you'd like a 5x7 copy of the print shown above you can download it here for free.

Free Printable Oscar Ballot - DIY

Head over to Style Me Pretty to download these free printable Oscar Ballots I created to use for tonight's big show!  Check out the full feature with many more DIY's and gorgeous inspiration courtesy of Ruth Eileen Photography and Poppy Loves Weddings.  This is the first post in a 3-part series so make sure to check out the additional posts throughout the day leading up to the show! The Ballot itself can be downloaded HERE and the Ballot Bag HERE!

Enjoy!