{happy weekend!}

Happy Weekend everyone!  Even though I’m still dragging a bit today, I had the best time in New York yesterday – getting to catch up with some of my favorite blog buddies and meeting so many new people at a blogger’s get-together organized by the Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia team!  And even though it’s been a wonderful week, I’m beyond excited for this weekend to get started – my husband and I are going to see Arcade Fire tonight!  But in the meantime…

…a few links for your weekend!

And in case you missed it, a few favorite posts from this week:

That’s it for me this week!  I hope you all have a wonderful weekend, and I’ll see you all back here on Monday – when I’ll announce the winner of the Envelopments giveaway!

{image source}

Summer Cloud Wedding Invitations

With the summer heatwave beating down on the East Coast this week, I’ve been dreaming about an escape to the beach (or the mountains, really anywhere with a breeze and cooler temperatures).  These dreamy cloud invitations from Moontree Letterpress remind me of breezy afternoons on the beach, just watching the clouds roll by in the sky:

summer-cloud-letterpress-wedding-invitations

summer-cloud-letterpress-wedding-invitations

So, so beautiful.

{image credits: moontree letterpress}

Kids Party Invitations

A couple of weeks ago I received a reader request for inspiration for kids party invitations, so I put out a request on twitter and asked around, and I thought I’d share a round-up of what I found!

Lori from Paper and Thread Studio created these two invitations for a first and second birthday party, incorporating fabric and stitching as playful details:

sock-monkey-kids-party-invitations

These “subtle sock monkey” invitations were created for the 1st birthday of a photographer’s son.  We created flat “buttons” using chipboard and sock monkey fabric and stitched those, together with the birthday boy’s picture, along the top of the invitation.  The script font was chosen to match the Curious George books.  Finally, the envelopes are lined using an image of the knit pattern from an actual sock monkey.

elmo-kids-birthday-party-invitation

These invitations were created for a girl’s second birthday party.  Elmo is cut out of fabric and applied to the top of the invitation, along with the stitching.

I absolutely adore these kids party invitations photographed by Nicole Hill Gerulat for One Charming Party:

glam-girls-party-invitation

beach-kids-party-invitation

art-kids-party-invitations

I absolutely love the art party invitations in the third photo – so creative!

Cassandre from Fete Festa Fiesta created these pop-up invitations for her daughter’s 9th birthday party, using paper from Envelopments:

surfing-kids-party-invitation

Naushin from Love, Paper & Ink created these invitations for a robots and monkeys-themed first birthday party:

robot-kids-party-invitation

Nyle is the son of one of my best friends.  The invitation was designed according to the theme of his party – Robots and Monkeys – and as a digitally-printed postcard for easy mailing.  I also designed coordinating “Oo-oo! Beep beep!” stickers for the loot bags handed out at the end of the day.

For her daughter’s first birthday party, photographer Kallie Buckmaster went with an owl theme for the invitation design:

owl-girl-birthday-party-invitation

Check out more photos from the party here! Found via The Sweetest Occasion via Party Perfect.

And one more for this round-up, lovely letterpress invitations from Cartoules Letterpress for a first birthday pool party!

letterpress-kids-birthday-party-invitation

Do you have fun and creative kids party invitations that you’d like to share?  I’d love to see photos – just shoot me an e-mail right here!

{image credits: 1-2 paper thread studio, 3-5 nicole hill gerulat, 6 fete festa fiesta, 7 paper, love & ink, 8 kallie buckmaster, 9 cartoules letterpress}

Bedroom Inspiration

I’m slowly working my way through my apartment, decorating room by room.  And since the living room and office are all mostly done (although I’m still on the hunt for the perfect desk for the office), I’m now starting to focus on the bedroom – and I’ve pulled a few of my favorite bedroom images (all from my tumblr page) to help figure out my next steps.


{house beautiful}

The room itself is pretty tiny, just enough room for our bed and a couple of dressers.  We have three windows, so the room gets plenty of light during the day, and we installed bamboo blinds like the ones above.


{left: alvhem makleri via desire to inspire; right: rita konig’s bedroom from t magazine}

Since the room isn’t very big, I’m focused on trying to make the space cozy and peaceful without being dark.  The walls were already painted a light beige color when we moved in, which in the absence of any other interesting features or architectural details feels a bit flat.  I really like the idea of at least one wall with some pattern, and I love (love, love) the soft floral details in the wallpaper from Rita Konig’s bedroom above.


{living etc.}

Or maybe just a bit of shimmer on one accent wall?  Perhaps on the wall behind the bed…


{light locations via desire to inspire}


{design sponge}

I love how the two bedrooms above still have masculine elements even with the floral and toile wallpaper.  Neither is quite what I have in mind, but I really like the darker accents incorporated into each room.


{laura resen via decorology via mary ruffle}

Sigh… my dream summer bedroom.  Preferably somewhere close to a beach!

{all images from their respective sources}

Modern Geometric Pattern Wedding Invitation

I thought I’d take a quick break from NSS previews this morning to share a gorgeous wedding invitation from Dauphine Press!  Created for a July wedding, this invitation suite features bold pops of color and beautiful pattern details inspired by quilts made by the bride’s grandmother!

Dauphine-Yellow-Blue-Modern-Wedding-Invitation

The design team at Dauphine Press set out to create a beautiful wedding invitation that balanced modern and feminine design elements, including a custom vine motif and crisp geometric pattern.  They also chose to orient the invitation card horizontally instead of vertically for a less traditional approach.

Dauphine-Yellow-Blue-Modern-Wedding-Invitation-Suite

The overall suite includes a mix of traditional and contemporary elements. Dauphine Press included inner and outer envelopes and center-aligned typography to represent the traditional church ceremony, while also adding pops of color and pattern details.  The unexpected little details and the color palette made the design a perfect reflection of the couples’ warm and sunny personalities.

Dauphine-Yellow-Blue-Modern-Wedding-Invitation2

The color palette for the invitation suite incorporated the groom’s favorite color, blue, with contrasting shades of yellow.  The combination of light turquoise and bright yellow reminded the bride of summers spent at the beach or by the pool — perfect for a July wedding!

Dauphine-Yellow-Blue-Modern-Wedding-Invitation-Envelope

The geometric circular pattern used on both the back of the Save the Dates as well as the invitation envelope liners was inspired by one of the bride’s grandmother’s patterned quilts!

Dauphine-Yellow-Blue-Modern-Wedding-Save-the-Date-Geometric-Pattern

From the bride, Sarah: One of my Grandmother’s wedding quilts influenced the design. Having so many of her quilts in my life, I felt an instant connection to the pattern.  I love how the clean geometric lines can also play into a stylized floral design, though while I love floral patterns, I wanted something that resonated with both James and me.

Dauphine-Yellow-Blue-Modern-Wedding-Save-the-Date

{image credits: dauphine press}