Two Years And Counting

I've had my Etsy shop, Wonderland Papers, for two years now.

It all started when I was given the opportunity to create the invitation suite for my brother and his soon to be wife. Along with designing their invitation I created a wedding map for them:

And then Wonderland Papers was born.

They say that necessity is the mother of invention. And that was the case for me when I first started my shop. We had just moved to St. Louis and the job market was (and still is) less then accommodating.


And then I got my first "real" client


I really enjoy being able to create art "old school" style, with a paper and pencil, and then being able to use the modern technology and design skills that I have to spice things up and make it functional.

I have had a variety of clients with stories to tell in a variety of locations. I've had clients in Canada, Ireland, Washington D.C. (the most popular location so far) Texas, California and New York. I love helping my clients to tell their story. Or to tell the story of someone that they love and are giving to them as a gift.

Like the memory map that I made for my parents for their 31 anniversary:



Or when I have couples that have interesting history and cultural backgrounds:




Or clients that live in a really cool city:


Or a great destination wedding :


Or a wedding in a gorgeous location:


My business is still growing and I put a lot of time and effort to make it mine. I had a long history of starting things and not finishing them before I started my Etsy shop. Ice skating lessons, dance lessons, baton twirling lessons and numerous ideas that I started but never really saw through. Coming up with an idea is the EASY part. Sustaining that idea and learning how to let it grow is the hard part. It's also the constant part that you have to re evaluate over and over again. The reward to the hard work comes when I hear about how I was able to create what my client was visualizing, when I surpass their expectations and when a couple has a part of their wedding planning complete with one of my designs.

I'm always trying to do more, be more with my design business and I look forward to the next anniversary and every new idea and spark that comes along the way.

Thanks for coming along for the ride with me :)

"Everybody draws, I just never stopped when the teachers told me to." - Tim Burton