Oh So Beautiful Paper

These adorable baby shower invitations come to us from Michele of Smitten Owl, a letterpress and design studio in New York City.  When it came time to the invitations for their baby shower, Michele and her husband Greg were inspired by their grand new adventure, incorporating hot air balloons into a two-color letterpress design.  So sweet!

From Michele: When my husband and I found out we were having a baby, among the many thoughts running through my head was “away we go!”  This inspired our hot air balloon and animal family design.  The two birds sitting on top of the center balloon were repurposed from our wedding invitations.  Our family was so excited to see the little “Greg and Michele” birds again!

The invitation includes a two-piece letterpress suite with a digital print registry card and custom envelope liners.  The announcement card and invitation are two-color letterpress printed on 220lb Reich Savoy.  In an effort to reduce the number of plates needed but still keep the design dynamic we added hash marks to the main balloons.  This also added a beautiful texture to the two color design.

Thanks Michele – and congratulations!

Photo Credits: Bia Sampaio

Lindsay from McMillian + Furlow sent over these super fun bar crawl invitations that she designed to help celebrate a friend’s return to the United States from a teaching stint overseas.  Lindsay wanted the invitations to feel jubilant and playful, so she drew inspiration from vintage circus posters, incorporating a very American red and blue color palette along with fun wood type-inspired fonts.  So cool!

From Lindsay: I decided to go with a circus themed bar crawl, and found a ton of inspiration in vintage Barnum and Bailey posters, raffle tickets and the beloved classic popcorn bag.  Along with the red and blue, I love how the design feels very American, which is appropriate for this particular celebration.

I’m always trying to find any excuse to use some of my favorite wood type fonts, and this project was no exception.  The combination of bold color, playful typography and circus-inspired illustration all contribute to the success of this festive design.  The invitations were printed digitally on a thick glossy paper and mailed in bright yellow envelopes.  With all this hype it’s bound to be a exceptionally good time!

Thanks Lindsay!

Photo Credits: McMillian and Furlow

You might remember Anastasia’s bright and colorful Kate Spade-inspired birthday party invitations from last year, and today Anastasia is back to share the invitations for this year’s birthday party!  I love the simple inspiration behind these invitations: Anastasia simply dipped into her personal paint supply and let a few drips run down a trimmed sheet of paper!  Anastasia printed all the relevant details on a yellow belly band, using kraft paper tape to secure the two pieces.

From Anastasia: I found some super thick paper that I had lying around and picked out four colors of paint (sunny yellow, ocean blue, pink, and metallic gold) from my craft box.  I squeezed the paint onto the trimmed thick paper, letting the excess roll down the invitation.  All the party info was printed on yellow paper and trimmed just so I could wrap it around the invitation.

I secured the yellow strip with super sticky kraft tape on the back.  I also added puff tape underneath the front portion of the strip to give it a bit of lift.

So fun!  Thanks Anastasia – and happy birthday!

Photo Credits: Anastasia Marie

I’m used to gushing over the beautiful wedding invitations from the ladies of Lettered Olive, but today they’re sharing something a bit different – NASCAR invitations!  These gorgeous mixed media invitations were created for a celebratory party for the NASCAR Sprint Cup.  Inspired by the industrial event space in Chicago, these invitations combine wood, etched metal, and beautiful metallic foils.

From Christine at Lettered Olive: We recently worked with NASCAR to create an invitation for a celebratory evening kicking off the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup.  This event was at a fabulous space in Chicago called Salvage One.  The space is industrial, with wood beams, brick walls, and exposed metal.  We just loved the space and found it so inspiring!  So we created the invitation for a “Legendary” evening (the dinner entertainment was John Legend!).

The invitation was metallic blue and silver foil on wood, backed with etched metal.  The great thing about this job is that it allowed us to get in touch with our “masculine side” – this invitation was all about clean lines, the mixed materials, and total sophistication.  To add another luxe element to the invitation, we foil stamped the envelope and created a teal velvet envelope flap to mimic the amazing vintage velvet sofas at the venue.

So amazing!  Thanks ladies!

Lettered Olive is a mem­ber of the Designer Rolodex – you can see more of their beau­ti­ful work right here!

Photo Credits: Melanie Mauer for Lettered Olive

p.s. I have an awesome giveaway coming up a bit later, so check back soon!