On Friday I went around to every calendar hanging in the studio and turned them to reveal the bright and brilliant Golden Cherry Blossom. All of our 2010 Calendar formats feature this cheerful bloom for the month of May. The bold yellow stands out like a school bus or backhoe, like caution tape or a road sign; WARNING: Spring is here! You might miss it if you blink!
A fickle and finicky Chicago spring is all I have even known. Will we have seven weeks of spring? Seven days? Seven minutes? So when it comes to choosing an image for the month that usually means spring in my fair city – I go for something rejuvinating and fresh, so that no matter the weather (we have had snow in May) I can glance to my calendar for eternal Spring.
I drew this image almost 9 years ago and it keeps making its way back into the line, taking on different color stories like a clever chameleon. The cherry blossom is equally flexible in the symbolism it holds across different cultures. Generally it is the ethereal beauty of these fleeting blossoms that hint at the fragile nature of life that makes them a compelling and powerful image. And so perfect in acknowledging weddings, babies, anniversaries and the countless other celebrations that come and go too quickly, but are long remembered.
Pictured above are blossoms from a Cornelian Cherry Tree – which is not a cherry tree at all and in fact a dogwood – but I was excited to find it none the less. Some how it made our Golden Cherry Blossom a bit more legit.
MAY GIVEAWAY
As I mentioned a few weeks ago – May is a BIG BIG birthday month in my family and at Snow & Graham – kicked off just yesterday with Erin’s and right up until the 28th with Cecily’s. In between there are at least a dozen more — -as my brother says “May is an expensive month.” Maybe you know a few people born in May? If you do, is there one that deserves something extra special? Leave a comment below and one winner will be chosen, next Monday, May 10th. We will send the winner a Golden Cherry Blossom noteBLOCK, and their favorite May birthday one, too!
UPDATE: Congratulations to Julie J. and her Mother-In-Law, Lynn!
images from cold climate gardening, garden blog, accornbuds yarn
Tags: design inspiration, flowers, giveaway, Snow & Graham
my aunt’s birthday is in may. her and her husband never had children, but has always treated my brothers and me like her own. i think she deserves something extra special for that!
I was super excited when I flipped my calendar (a day or two late since April’s was so pretty as well!). Since I live in DC cherry blossoms are extra special to me
May is actually one of the least birthday months for me. Now July and August, those are my “every day’s a birthday” months! One of my good friends has her birthday on Memorial Day and I think this gorgeous noteblock would be one of the few things that could top a day off of work!
My friend the vetrinarian nurse has her birthday tomorrow. She’s a hard worker and a great person.
My cousin, Caroline, will celebrate her birthday on the 19th. She just completed her junior year of college and surely deserves some birht cheer!
I’m loving May on my desktop calendar!
My grandma, mom and sister’s birthdays are all in May. A very special month for our family.
I was so excited to flip to May in my wall calendar at work. I love that canary yellow color AND cherry blossoms, so it was such a great surprise.
May is a ‘month’ of moms for me. My mom and grandmother both had birthdays in May and typically my mom’s fell on Mother’s Day. So while they’ve both passed away, I still think of them dearly on their special dates.
love the gorgeous yellow of the golden cherry blossoms, what a great way to brighten up a desk. My brother and my dad have birthdays in May, as well as my parents anniversary so I can second the May is an expensive month mantra. While I’m not sure they would appreciate this beautiful stationary I know my mother would and it just so happens Mother’s Day is in May too! My mother is a teacher for 6th and 7th grade math and I know she would love to have this noteBLOCK on her desk. kids don’t always appreciate their teachers like they should at that age, but I certainly appreciate my mom and everything she has taught me!
Erin and I have been good friends since 7th grade. She is a photographer–very creative, inspiring, and artistic. Just like these golden blossoms! Her birthday is May 26.
may is a big month in our family too. my birthday is may 1st, our anniversary is may 5th, and this weekend i get to celebrate my first mother’s day with my almost 7month old baby boy. my husband is calling this week “the gauntlet” of gift giving.
May IS indeed an expensive month for me! I don’t skimp on the mother’s day OR birthday cards for two dear childhood friends, long-time friends, close friends, close relatives, and now babies. But, most importantly, the LOVE of my life, who is exactly nine months younger than me, on the twenty-first. Come to think of it August is an expensive month too!
This is my special birth month, or that’s what I like to call it, celebrating as many days as I can. My birthday is May 26th and I would love to add this to my studio. I bought the wall calendar for a friend… I fell in love with all the months, so beautiful. I made a major career change last fall to leave the agency world and pursue my new venture… Monkey Mind Design. It was the hardest thing I’ve ever decided to do, leave the big paycheck to follow my dream. But six months later I couldn’t be happier… love having creative freedom again, it’s given me that spark I had been missing for years. From one artist to another… I would love to have some of your inspiring work. -Anita
Today, May 3rd, is one of my most special friend’s birthdays. Andrea is brave and inspiring and always has words of wisdom for me. She makes me laugh (or cries with me) when things are rough. I recently moved away from her and I miss her like crazy! She appreciates beauty, so a little something from S&G would be a big delight.
my friend May was born May 1st!
My baby girl will be 1 on May 30th! I have always loved May and now I love it even more because it’s when our darling little girl made us a family!
my daughter is graduating from college in may with two degrees, one in elementary education and one in music. she is such a bright, cheerful, vivacious young woman. cherry blossoms certainly would be a wonderful representation of her personality and spirit.
Oh, my goodness, May is full of fun and birthdays, I just can’t believe it. We even have a new nephew-in-law to help fill out May. I love it, a new card and/or present every week to think about, contemplate, and finally pass along as a beautiful surprise, just as butifully surprising as those fabulous people are in my life.
needing a little pick-me-up cheerfulness. i reckon this lovelyness could do the trick!
Not only are both my parents born in May, but this time tomorrow, I will be meeting my beautiful baby nephew for the first time! May will be a beautiful month for such a beautiful addition to our family.
May is indeed a beautiful month. Spring is in full bloom with flowers from April showers, college students graduate and start new chapters in their lives, and we pour love upon our mothers… and my mother is one of them. She absolutely deserves everything special. She’s currently caring for her ailing mother (my grandmother) and I know this “cheery cheery” (as she would say) noteBLOCK would certainly make her day. I can hear her now…”Awwww, it makes me smile every time I see it.”
This is the perfect Mother’s Day gift…. for me!!! Its about time I get a treat
I love all of the Snow & Graham designs and have had a calendar for the last several years, but I especially love this one, plus I make more notes and lists on bits of paper than anyone should really, so this is a truly perfect gift for me!
This print is so bright and cheerful! Great image to kick off the summer months!
Gorgeous! My sister’s birthday is this month.
I was so happy when I turned my calendar to the month of May. The blossoms are so bright and cheery, it is my burst of sunshine I get daily while living in a not so spring/sunny month here in Portland, Oregon.
My dear, awesome, rock star mom’s birthday is in May. She’s going to be a first-time grandma come September (which yes, means I’m going to be a first-time mom in the not-to-distant future!)
The birthdays of my father, uncle, grandmother and beloved cousin all fall in the month of May. What I’m most excited about is wrapping their gifts with all the beautiful S & G paper I have stockpiled!
My friend’s birthday is on May 10th!
Just yesterday, May 3, did I remember to turn the calendars (where did April go?). I have the wall calendar hanging in our Kitchen, and the cd/desk calendar in our office. I love how, whether big or small the yellow blossoms light up a room.
Happy Spring!
Ohhh! I’d love that for MY birthday. May is a big birthday month in my family as well…cousins on the 1st, 6th and 26th, me today, grandma on 7th, mom on 14th, niece on 11th. Whew! We always have a family cake and celebrate them all together. lol
My calendar – and most anything from Snow & Graham – brings a smile to my face every time I see it. Such a thing of beauty in my day!
Just like for so many of us, May is a busy birthday month in my family! I have the pleasure of sharing my birthday month with my mother-in-law, Lynn. A woman after my own heart, she delights in sending little notes and cards to all those she cares for and thinks about. She is truly a joy!
my nephew’s birthday is may 5, my bosses is may 8 and my oldest brother’s birthday is may 19. also my best friend’s anniversary and 1/2 birthday fall on may 4!
I always love the new designs that you have for spring! And I love that you pull your inspiration from nature. It is fun to follow the seasons with your designs!
My best friend of 11 years’ birthday is May 3. Coincidentally, it’s my half birthday (6 months after Nov 3). So we always celebrate both days! Twice the fun, right?! the pictures are beautiful, and it’s amazing how you were able to evoke similar colors and vibrancy in 2 dimensions!