Watercolor Bicycle Wedding Invitations

I love pretty much everything the ladies of Bird and Banner create.  And as if we needed any more proof that Erin and Nicole are complete creative geniuses, check out these awesome watercolor bicycle wedding invitations that they created for a wedding last year:

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I absolutely adore the charming hand-lettering on the main invitation — not to mention the gorgeous vintage map enclosure.  Bird and Banner also created the escort cards, which you can see right here!

 

{image credits: bird and banner, via you are my fave}

Kristy + Adam’s Unique Watercolor Vow Renewal Invitations

Last year, I featured the stunningly gorgeous hand-painted letterpress Save the Dates for the 10-year vow renewal of Kristy Rice from Momental Designs.  Today, I’m thrilled that Kristy is back with her equally beautiful watercolor wedding invitations — with a design inspired by the majesty of Zion National Park, where Kristy’s vow renewal will take place:

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From Kristy: The save the date design was meant to introduce our guests to the beauty of Zion National Park in Utah but the invitations were meant to immerse them!

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After many, many trips to Zion I have developed a serious collection of watercolor sketches and paintings.  A full color watercolor painting worked into the actual invitation layout seemed the perfect option.

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The particular painting chosen for the invitation was created on one very sunny October day at a quiet spot near the crystal waters of the Virgin River.

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I sat on the cool rocks near the water and proceeded to paint for nearly 3 hours, leaving with a detailed and expressive painting and also a bit of a sunburn!

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After each invitation was reproduced, shimmering copper and cobalt blue hand painted strokes of color were added to each individual card.  I wanted to give our guests a sense of how the water reflects light on the towering rocks and dances shadows in every direction.

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The calligraphy for the names and addresses on the outer envelopes, as well as our names on the main invitation, was done by the talented Betsy Dunlap.  I used the print ready image that Betsy created for our save the dates everywhere I could, from the invitation to the rsvp response and outer envelope backflap.

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Size and scale were important in this design since the redrock landscape of Zion is so towering and massive.  The finished invite measured nearly 6.5 x 9.5 inches!

You can check out Kristy’s letterpress save the dates right here, and you can see lots more of her beautiful work over on Momental Designs.  Thank you so much Kristy!

{image credits: kristy rice}

Watercolor + Anemone Wedding Invitations

I seriously love everything about David and Cheri’s wedding invitations — from the watercolor details to the anemone illustration to the small emblems repeated throughout the invitation suite:

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I had seen the photos from this handmade wedding a while back, but loved looking through them again and noticing all the little ways that the wedding invitations served as a preview of the beauty and fun to come on the big day!  Check out more invitation and wedding photos here and here.

{image credits: david rager, via bird and banner}

2010 Calendar Round-Up, Part 4

It seems like every time I do one more little calendar round-up, a new calendar pops up that I just have to find a way to include!  But since we’re get closer and closer to 2010, this time I really think this might be the last big batch of 2010 calendars.  Enjoy!

First up, an amazing seasonal calendar from Papered Together featuring totally cool academic- and science-inspired design details — from astronomy to anatomy — and quotes from notable personalities like Buckminster Fuller, Norman Borlaug, Aldous Huxley, and Edwin
Hubble:

Papered-Together-2010-Calendar{papered together}

I’ve been patiently waiting for the 2010 collaborative calendar from Lena Corwin and Caitlin Mociun — and it’s finally here!  The calendar features paper-cut designs inspired by the four elements and screen printed in four colors:

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{corwin + mociun}

Krissy found this fantastic post-it inspired calendar from Fedrigoni UK, which features laser-cut pop-up numbers for each day of the year (love that idea!):

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{fedrigoni uk}

This lovely mason jar calendar from Brown Parcel Press is printed from a single hand-carved wood block onto a large (12.5 x 19″) sheet of recycled paper:

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{brown parcel press}

As if the totally adorable critters and pattern desk calendars weren’t enough, Night Owl Paper Goods went and released a double-sided hanging calendar, printed as always on beautiful wood veneer:

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{night owl paper goods}

This beautiful twelve-month calendar from Pawling Print Studio features simple patterns and minimalist shapes from their geometric series of stationery, textiles and prints:

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{pawling print studio}

Also in the over-achiever category for this holiday season, Lynn from Satsuma Press recently released two gorgeous perpetual calendars — one featuring beautiful Japanese washi paper, and the other with her signature letterpress illustrations:

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{satsuma press}

I’m pretty sure I’m in love with this four-color screen printed calendar from Jen Skelley, featuring a too-cute-for-words hand-illustrated owl:

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{jen skelley}

Wow.  If you’re a fan of letterpress, you’re going to love this brand-new calendar from Sesame Letterpress!  Printed on a single 9.5 x 12″ sheet of super-thick (220#) with silver painted (aka gilded) edges, and available in either green or persimmon orange:

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{sesame letterpress}

This limited-edition poster-style feather calendar from The Wild Unknown is printed using two different methods — screen printing for the calendar text, followed by watercolor painting for the feathers — resulting in a completely unique print for each calendar.  The smaller hanging calendars are also quite lovely:

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{the wild unknown}

Also for the letterpress enthusiast, this twelve-month calendar from Meadowlark Creative features two-color prints for each month, which can be trimmed down and kept as artwork at the end of each month:

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{meadowlark creative}

And, last up for today at least, this hanging calendar from the Genesee Center for the Arts and Education in Rochester, New York features a collaborative effort from 12 different artists who work out of the Genesee Book Arts Center, including Rachael of Pistachio Press and Amy of Green Girl Press.  Each month features a slightly different technique of letterpress printing — from using linoleum plates to photopolymer, and from creating deep impressions in the paper to a slight kiss using vintage wood type:

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{genesee center for the arts}

{images from their respective sources}

Kristy + Adam’s Hand-Painted Letterpress Save the Dates

Before we jump back into holiday cards, I just have to share these amazing hand-painted watercolor letterpress Save the Dates created by Kristy at Momental Designs for her upcoming 10-year vow renewal ceremony.  The pop of watercolor detail works so well with the letterpress impressions on thick cotton paper – and Kristy was kind enough to send over the background behind her design.

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From Kristy: Hand-painted details and original artwork are my passion.  While planning my own renewal celebration I knew letterpress had to be included but of course wanted to incorporate my signature hand-painted look.  Thus, hand-painted letterpress was born!  I simply love the very visceral, textured nature of letterpress.  When combined with juicy, romantic watercolor brushstrokes, letterpress, in my opinion is transformed to a whole new level.  The intimate touch of the pressed image first makes an impression but then the washy, romantic quality of the watercolor gives the perfect finish.

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Choice of materials were extremely important for this project.  I wanted to mimic the many natural occurring textures so obvious in Zion National Park, where are renewal ceremony is taking place.  From Crane’s roughly textured cotton stock to the champagne silk ribbon and cobalt blue envelopes, every detail needed to be reminiscent of the crystal clear river, intense blue skies and towering red rock landscape of Zion.  So many of our guests have never traveled to this magical place.  The goal was to translate the Zion experience on paper in hopes of creating great anticipation of the adventure to come!

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Original illustration didn’t stop at the save the date cover!  Each page features one of my sketches with watercolor details added throughout.  At the center of the booklet is a hand-drawn map which is not only functional but seems to unify the look overall.  Envelope liners are reproductions of vintage topographical maps.  I just love the rich orange and blue colors — nothing needed to be altered!

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Betsy Dunlap created a printable file with the calligraphy for my envelope backflap.  This was a great budget option I would add — it certainly doesn’t hurt to save when you can!  I am saving patiently to have Betsy pen all the invitation outer envelopes!  When I first contacted Betsy I proclaimed that this particular lettering style was simply perfect as it really mimicked the red rock landscape of Zion!  Thank you Betsy for your artistry!

Thanks so much Kristy!  You can read more about Kristy’s design process right here and see some of her other recent projects here.

{image credits: Momental Designs}