I’ve been creating the paper elements for my sister Melanie’s upcoming wedding. She’s a bookworm, so I decided she needed library themed shower invitations. When I began Googling library theme ideas I discovered the most amazing wedding invitations. Diana, of Our.City.Lights, and her husband, a librarian, designed this fun and oh-so-fabulous library themed invitation suite for their own wedding.
As a stationer, I pride myself on my originality, but I knew I would never be able to top Diana’s clever design. Thankfully I wasn’t creating it for a client. This gave me the freedom to use Diana’s idea for my own DIY project, not as a design I would claim as my own or sell. I did my own take on the presentation, but the actual invitation is extremely close to hers.
I wanted Mel’s shower guests to share a piece of the themselves with her as she begins her happily ever after with her true love, Adam. On the invitation I asked each guest to return the book, a Moleskine Journal, to the shower with a personal note, recipe, drawing or photo for the bride to be. Inside the journal I created a library pocket for the invitation. Each book and invitation was wrapped with the green Divine Twine we used for Melanie & Adam’s wedding invitation and a personalized gift tag adorning the a purple graphic from the invitation.
Now we just wait to read the wisdom and memories everyone shares with Melanie.
This week I had a custom design request for a soon-to-be seven year old boy who loves to cook. This was a request near and dear to my heart because Jack, my soon-to-be seven year old, also loves to cook. The birthday boy is planning to celebrate by baking and decorating cookies with friends. I drew the whisk using my Wacom tablet. I was pleased with the bold look and wanted to balance it with a strong, chunky font. Great for a little boy. Great for a fun design. I used a recipe card format with Luna, a favorite handwriting font, to add a bit of whimsy.
If you are interested in ordering this design, it is available in your choice of nine colors in my Etsy Shop. It will be available on my website next week.
A few weeks ago I posted about wedding invitations I was creating for my sister and her fiance. I shared my inspirations for the invitation suite, but had to keep everything top secret until they went out in the mail. Well, they’ve safely arrived in the mailboxes of friends and family and I can share the final design with you.
The design was a group effort by my mom, my sister and myself. Melanie (my sis) drew the silhouette (which looks exactly like them), my mom came up with the text and the chapter concept, and I created the pattern, layout and production. Together I think we created a prefect invitation suite for the happy couple as they begin their happily ever after.
If you are interested in custom wedding design, please contact me for all the juicy details.
Last week I received a request from a local bride-to-be who needed to rush order wedding invitations for her upcoming Valentine’s Day wedding. She had chosen the cake, knew she liked vibrant colors and scrolls, and, well, was getting married on that iconic day of love. Traditionally, I like to spend several days to a week working on a custom design to play with my ideas, the wishes of the bride and groom and doing print trials, but this needed to be done on the double with papers I had in stock.
Above is the final invitation inspired by the wedding cake and designed, printed and delivered in record time. Congratulations Lori & Brian,* wishing you a joyful happily ever after!
*Last names and contact information has been changed for client privacy.
Our Valentine’s Day greetings are available in our Etsy Shop. Same day shipping for orders placed by noon PST now through Wednesday, February 10th.
Yesterday I introduced you to my sister and her upcoming wedding. I can’t share the invitation just yet, but I can show you the Save the Date sent out last month.
Melanie had received a gift certificate from her fabulous sister to a local fine arts supply store. She used it to explore the world of wood block printing. Together with her fiancé, she created a print to be used on the invitation. She scanned her work and emailed it to me. Above is the result of our collaboration, printed on luxurious 260 gsm stone grey paper with a soft deckled edge. The ink is a black eco-friendly wax ink.
If you are interested in custom wedding design, please visit our website or contact me for more information.
I’ve had a rough few weeks. Overwhelmed by the holidays; trouble juggling work and family and home and sicknesses and all the little things. So I decided to take a few steps back and do something for myself. Not for a deadline or for a client, not for kids, not for the house, but something that I would enjoy.
This weekend I designed some stationery for myself to help me bridge the stress of work with the joy of work. Using decadent Arturo paper and envelopes left over from a recent wedding design, I made this simple and fun thank you note.
I’ve never used envelope liners in my work, but I plan to use them for a very important upcoming wedding suite and I needed to do a trial run. Not too shabby, eh?
Today’s featured design is the greeting I created for my own family. My goal was to create a card to showcase our kids and give the recipient the excitement and anticipation of an unexpected gift.
I mounted a 4×6 photo on a metallic red matte, wrapped a belly band and sealed it with a tag which reads: Wishing you bountiful gifts of joy and adventure. The belly band and tag slide off to reveal the photo. If the recipient chooses to toss the tag, I’ve printed a simple greeting and family signature on the back of the card.
We are taking orders for holiday photo cards through Tuesday, December 15. To view samples, please visit our website or contact me anytime.
As many of you know, we had a minor catastrophe last week. The “logic board”, also know as the motherboard, of our computer died. It didn’t just get sick, it died. Thankfully Apple was able to replace it without losing any data, but we were without a computer for seven days. I am so relieved to have it back. It feels like someone reattached my arm.
I’m woefully behind on my weekly Holiday Photo Card Feature. Over the next few days, I will play some catch up, beginning with a moving announcement I created for my mom.
After 39 years of marriage, my parents have finally moved into their dream home. They wanted to announce their move with a holiday card. My mom, an amazing amateur photographer, shot a spectacular photograph through the gate in their front yard. It features the beautiful wrought iron heart that graces the entrance to their new home and their breathtaking view of Mt. Rose. The design is tied together with my mom’s graceful verse:
While settling into our new home
We pause to wish you a Very Merry Christmas
May all your dreams come true
The card is a simple flat card made from shimmering metallic silver cover stock with a matching silver envelope. The photo was processed through a professional photo lab, then hand mounted onto the greeting.
If you are interested in more information about custom holiday design for winter greetings or photo cards, please visit our website or contact me anytime.
As a small, family owned business we love to create the perfect card for every client. We welcome customizations of our holiday greetings.
I have a wonderful client who has six beautiful children. They are an adorable group, but we wanted to let each child shine as an individual. The mom loved our Nativity Photo Card and the gold/red color combination used in our O, Christmas Tree Greeting Cards. My challenge what to combine 7 photos into a single holiday card.
Here is the final product. It’s a clean and playful card that celebrates a beautiful family and the true meaning of the holiday season. The front of the card showcases a group photo, the nativity graphic and a traditional holiday greeting with the family’s signature. On the back of the card I mounted a long photo montage featuring a close up of each child. Below the photo is the beloved and poignant text from Dr. Suess’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas. It reads:
And the Grinch, with his Grinch-feet ice cold in the snow, stood puzzling and puzzling, how could it be so?
It came without ribbons. It came without tags. It came without packages, boxes or bags.
And he puzzled and puzzled ’till his puzzler was sore. Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn’t before.
What if Christmas, he thought, doesn’t come from a store? What if Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more?
The greeting measures 9.25 x 4 inches, is printed on 105# gold cover stock and mounted on a metallic red matte. It is paired with metallic red envelopes printed with a return address. The photos were professionally processed and hand mounted on the greeting.
While browsing our website, if you see a design, layout, graphic or color combination you just love, please don’t hesitate to contact me about creating a customized version. I love a challenge!
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