Best-of Real Wedding Invitations – Mike + Emma

When I think of unique or non-traditional invitation designs, Mike and Emma’s invitations are usually the first that come to mind. Mike and Emma were married in her parent’s home in New York City and really took advantage of having a small wedding in their invitation design:

Mfd-portrait-typewriter-wedding-invitation

Mike and Emma commissioned a friend to create a portrait of them that served as the artwork for the main invitation.  Within the full invitation suite they enclosed a completely personalized hand-written letter (typed on a typewriter, naturally) to each guest, a matching rsvp card, and a passage from Jane Austen’s Emma, which a friend later read during the wedding ceremony:

Mfd-portrait-typewriter-wedding-invitatation-rsvp

Mfd-portrait-typewriter-emma-ceremony-reading

Friends or family who Mike and Emma were unable to invite to the wedding all received a wedding announcement with the portrait from the main invitation:

Mfd-portrait-typewriter-wedding-announcement

And how cute are these buttons of Mike and Emma?

Mfd-portrait-typewriter-wedding-invitation-buttons

Check out the original post right here.

{image credits: michael fusco design}

Best-of Real Wedding Invitations – Julia Rothman

When I was going through my archives looking for favorite invitations to feature, I knew that the gorgeous wedding invitations by Julia Rothman would definitely be in the mix.  I first featured Julia’s invitations waaaay back here in October 2008, and Julia was kind enough to share the creative process that led to her beautiful wedding invitations:

Julia-Rothman-Illustrated-Letterpress-Invitations

Julia illustrated and hand-lettered her wedding invitations, which were then letterpress printed by a friend as a wedding gift.  I love the organic feel of Julia’s illustrations — not to mention the fantastic banner for the invitation text.  Oh, and since I’m featuring her invitations, how amazing are her illustrated table number signs?

Check out my original post on Julia’s invitations right here.

{image credits: top photo by jen causey, all other photos by julia rothman}

{happy weekend!}

Well, hello Friday!  I can't believe that this is the last weekend before Thanksgiving!  Next week I'm heading down to my mom's house in Florida – the first time I've been home in more than 3 years, and the first Thanksgiving that I'll be spending with my mom since meeting my husband.  See, my dad lives just outside of New York City and my husband's family lives in upstate New York, so we mostly end up splitting our holidays between those two sides of the family.  Now, for this year's Thanksgiving holiday, I'm really looking forward to nice weather and sunshine instead of snow!  But in the meantime…

Blue-tights-camera 

…here are a few favorites from the week:

I'll be here on Monday and Tuesday of next week, and then for the rest of the week I'll be re-running some of my favorite past invitation and save the date features.  So don't forget to stop by next week!

{image credits: cassia via mary ruffle}

2010 Calendar Round-Up, Part 3

It’s finally here!  The final mega-installment of my 2010 calendar round-up has arrived, although I’ll continue to post some calendars individually as they are released over the next few weeks.  This installment ended up being pretty heavy on illustration, and I made sure to include some calendars with writing space in response to some of the feedback on earlier posts.  Enjoy!

So first up, an eco-friendly screen printed tear-away calendar from one of my favorite design duos — Two Trick Pony:

Two-Trick-Pony-2010-Screenprint-calendar
{two trick pony}

And for those of you looking for a calendar that allows you to write notes or mark birthdays, try this botanical calendar from Amy Marcella:

Amy-Marcella-Botanical-Calendar
{amy marcella}

This year’s calendar from Mibo also has a little space for notes next to each day of the month, as well as a 12-month at-a-glance calendar, both available as printable downloads:

Mibo-Calendar-12-month

{mibo}

Beautiful illustrations in this limited edition wall calendar from Red Prairie Press:

Red-Prairie-Press-Wall-Calendar
{red prairie press}

 

Pearl & Marmalade released their first calendar this year, which includes some favorite design elements from their stationery collection as well as new illustrations:

Pearl-Marmalade-2010-Calendar
{pearl & marmalade}

 

This letterpress calendar from Pikku was one of my favorite items from the NSS in May for its clean lines and modern, minimalist design — and it’s beautifully mounted on a screen printed wood plank:

Pikku-Wood-Calendar
{pikku}

 

Another beautifully vibrant gocco and screen printed calendar from Modern Printed Matter — sadly this is going to be the last year that Anna will gocco print her calendar, so get your 2010 version here:

Modern-Printed-Matter-Calendar
{modern printed matter}

 

How cute is this printable post card calendar from Mufn Inc.?  Each month features hand-drawn illustrations and bright pops of color:

Mufn-Inc-Postcard-Calendar
{mufn inc.}

 

Also in the printable category, Sweetbeets has come out with two downloadable, printable calendar designs this year:

Sweetbeets-Printable-Calendar
{sweetbeets}

 

For those of you preferring a more vertical layout, how about this calendar from Saddle Stitch Studio:

Saddle-Stitch-Studio-Wall-Calendar
Saddle-Stitch-Studio-Wall-Calendar2
{saddle stitch studio}

 

Hand-drawn illustrations and hand-lettering in this letterpress calendar from One Canoe Two:

One-Canoe-Two-Calendar
{1canoe2}

 

Love the papercut details in this calendar from A Little Hut:

Alittlehut-2010calendar
{a little hut}

 

The 2010 limited edition calendar from Three Square Design features designs inspired by nature and graphic patterns printed on eco-friendly paper:

Three-Square-Design-Calendar
{three square design}


Residents of the Bay Area might like this letterpress calendar from Blue Cole:

Blue-Cole-SanFrancisco-Calendar2
{blue cole}


This perpetual calendar from Little Brown Pen will last indefinitely, and can easily do double duty as artwork:

Little-Brown-Pen-Perpetual-Calendar
{little brown pen}


I love the “Places I Have Never Been” theme of this calendar from JHill Design, available in both wall and desk versions:

JHill-2010-Calendar
{JHill Design}


Up Up Creative has a whole slew of calendars available for 2010, from a limited edition illustrated calendar to printable and take-along calendars.  Check ’em all out here:

Up-Up-2010-Desk-Calendar
{up up creative}


Finally, wouldn’t these food-inspired calendars by Claudia Pearson be so perfect as a kitchen calendar?  Claudia offers two versions, a hanging 12-month calendar and a poster-style calendar:

Claudia-Pearson-Illustrated-Wall-2010-Calendar
{claudia pearson}


Some super-cute and whimsical illustrations in this gocco-printed calendar from Crossbird:

Crossbird-Gocco-Calendar
{crossbird}


And last up for today, one of my new favorites for 2010, this seasonal fabric calendar from Beth Fioritto:

Beth-Fioritto
{beth fioritto}


For the first two installments of my calendar round-up, just click here and here.


{images from their respective sources}

2009 Holiday Cards, Part 4

Good morning everyone!  I hope you all had a lovely weekend.  I've got a few more holiday cards to share with you — so let's get going!  First up, Smock, with a huuuge eco-friendly holiday collection of both letterpress cards and wrapping paper:

Smock-Holiday-Cards-2009

Smock-Holiday-Cards-Poinsetta

Smock-Letterpress-Holiday-Cards
{smock}

I always love the holiday stationery from Satsuma Press — these letterpress cards printed in silver ink would be perfect as either holiday or New Year cards:

Satsuma-Press-Holiday-Cards

I also love Lynn's beautiful collaboration with Heather Moore of Skinny LaMinx — which includes both gift tags and soft blue and green letterpress cards:

Satsuma-Press-Holiday-Gift-Tags
{satsuma press}

Fugu Fugu Press has one of my favorite holiday collections this year, with this great mix of funny non-traditional letterpress holiday cards:

Fugu-Fugu-Press-Holiday-Card
{fugu fugu press}

For a more retro holiday look, check out these Santa gift tags from Miss Pickles Press:

Santa-Gift-Tags
{miss pickles press}

To check out more 2009 holiday cards, just click here.

{images from their respective sources}