Jessica + George’s Travel-Inspired Maine Wedding Invitations

Ummm… how did an entire year go by without featuring one of the gorgeous wedding invitations from Sarah of Parrott Design Studio?!?! Luckily, we’re remedying this situation today, with a travel-inspired invitation suite for a couple with a fondness for Maine. The invitation suite features cute lobster details (naturally), white engraved text on navy envelopes, and fun airmail details on the rsvp postcard. So pretty!

Travel-Inspired Maine Wedding Invitations by Parrott Design Studio (11)

From Sarah: This custom designed invitation suite was created for a fun couple getting married at Bowdoin College with a passion for travel and love of Maine. They wanted a design that reflected who they are and what they love, and that all started with Maine. Jessy and George met at Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine.  In 2012, George proposed on Bailey Island, Maine, one of their favorite spots. Over the past eight years they have traveled to 21 different countries together. And they visited another 12 on their honeymoon!

Travel-Inspired Maine Wedding Invitations by Parrott Design Studio (10)

I used a mix of typography throughout the suite to play up the fun, laid-back vibe Jessy and George wanted to create for the guests, most of which were traveling from all over the world to be in Maine to celebrate with them.

Travel-Inspired Maine Wedding Invitations by Parrott Design Studio (2)

We had fun with the map and included both their ceremony and reception sites, along with the spot where George proposed. Helpful bits of information like transportation and their wedding website were included as well.

Travel-Inspired Maine Wedding Invitations by Parrott Design Studio (7)

The invitation and map were letterpress printed by hand on our antique press (1898) in navy blue and red inks on thick 134# cotton paper in light pink.  The RSVP postcard and mini cocktail invite were digitally printed.

Travel-Inspired Maine Wedding Invitations by Parrott Design Studio (5)

Travel-Inspired Maine Wedding Invitations by Parrott Design Studio (9)

The first thing Jessy knew she wanted was a vintage-style postcard for the RSVP.  She chose a lobster one from my collection and we began to design the suite around it.  We used two small lobsters and heart throughout the suite printed in a bright pop of red.

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Travel-Inspired Maine Wedding Invitations by Parrott Design Studio (1)

The outer envelope and belly band were engraved with white ink on navy blue. To finish the suite we had custom stamps made by Zazzle featuring the lobster image and another vintage image of Portland Head Light.

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Thanks Sarah!

Parrott Design Studio is a member of the Designer Rolodex – you can see more of Sarah’s beautiful work right here or visit the real invi­ta­tions gallery for more wedding invitation ideas!

Photo Credits: Parrott Design Studio

*Parrott Design Studio is one of my fab­u­lous spon­sors; for more on my edi­to­r­ial poli­cies please click here.

Bid adieu to Ladyfingers Letterpress with a Stationery Giveaway!

This giveaway is now closed. Thanks to all who entered!

Dear Diary. Day 5 of blogging on OSBP. Energy levels good. Eyeballs a little dry from staring at the internet for so long. Not enough ice cream. But spirits are high. Psyched to read the comments and make new friends. Sad that this is our last day guest blogging. Been a good go. Wondering if Nole will ask us to come back? Note to self: send a Thank You card.

Well, it’s been fun, guys! To celebrate all of the good times we’ve spent together for the past five days, we’re doing a Very Special Stationery Giveaway. See, although we’ve been all chatty about custom wedding invitations, that’s not all we do! This past May, we had our first ever booth at the National Stationery Show where we debuted our brand new line of social stationery! We had a blast meeting our favorite stationer friends, shops, printers and designers and were psyched with the response to our work. You can now find our work in over 50 stores across the country (and the world!) – but also on our newly redesigned online shop! Before we get going with the giveaway details, we’d like to share with you a recap of some of our best sellers from NSS 2013. â€“Arley-Rose and Morgan of Ladyfingers Letterpress

Letterpress Greeting Cards and Stationery by Ladyfingers Letterpress via Oh So Beautiful Paper (1) Letterpress Greeting Cards and Stationery by Ladyfingers Letterpress via Oh So Beautiful Paper (8)

Letterpress Greeting Cards and Stationery by Ladyfingers Letterpress via Oh So Beautiful Paper (2) Letterpress Greeting Cards and Stationery by Ladyfingers Letterpress via Oh So Beautiful Paper (6)

Letterpress Greeting Cards and Stationery by Ladyfingers Letterpress via Oh So Beautiful Paper (7)

Letterpress Greeting Cards and Stationery by Ladyfingers Letterpress via Oh So Beautiful Paper (4) Letterpress Greeting Cards and Stationery by Ladyfingers Letterpress via Oh So Beautiful Paper (9)

Letterpress Greeting Cards and Stationery by Ladyfingers Letterpress via Oh So Beautiful Paper (5) Letterpress Greeting Cards and Stationery by Ladyfingers Letterpress via Oh So Beautiful Paper (3)

Now for the info you’ve all been waiting for! To enter our giveaway, visit the Ladyfingers Letterpress online shop and browse the collection of social stationery. Select your 3 favorite single cards, flat or folded. Then come back here and leave a comment with your selection! You’ll have until 11:59 p.m. EST on Tuesday, July 23rd to enter the giveaway. One winner will be selected randomly and notified via email.
 
*This giveaway is courtesy of Ladyfingers Letterpress. Giveaway only valid for mailing addresses within the United States. Official sweepstakes rules here.

Rainbow Rolls, Split Fountains, and Flats, Oh My!

Well, hello again! You may think that we here at Ladyfingers Letterpress love repetition – because well, we’re printmakers and we are in the business of making multiples, after all, but that doesn’t mean we don’t love a good challenge! We started our business because we love to make unique, one-of-a-kind things, so we continue to – pardon the pun – push the envelope and experiment with ways to make awesome things… AWESOMER. –Arley-Rose and Morgan of Ladyfingers Letterpress

We’re huge fans of color and are always looking for ways to bring in more pop into our designs. We like to pull a good book off the shelf sometimes for technical ideas and design inspiration. One of the most historic printing techniques is called Bokashi, which was employed by Japanese woodblock printers and features large flats of more than one color, mixed by hand and applied by hand to woodblocks.

Bokashi and Rainbow Roll Examples
A resurgence of this idea can be seen in 1970s screenprinted and letterpressed rock posters, which feature a colorful technique that is known as a “Rainbow Roll” or “Split Fountain.” This method is achieved by inking the roller on a press with multiple colors and as the roller spins, the colors naturally blend together. Note that this can only be done on cylinder presses like a Vandercook or Heidelberg.

Split Fountain by Ladyfingers Letterpress

Below are some of our most recent forays into printing flats of Rainbow Rolls! Also, see yesterday’s post with Jeremy and Joe’s fabulous Mexican Broadside invitation!

Jessie and Alex’s Southwest Cloudburst:

Jessie and Alex

Jessie and Alex

Jessie and Alex

Mary and Chris’s Colorful Wine Country Invitation:

Mary and Chris

Mary and Chris

Mary and Chris

Colton Almquist’s Vibrant Sunscape Birth Announcement:

Colton Almquist

Colton Almquist

Colton Almquist

Colton Almquist

Ladyfingers Letterpress is a member of the Designer Rolodex – check out more of their beautiful work right here or visit the real invi­ta­tions gallery for more wedding invitation ideas!

Photo Credits: Ladyfingers Letterpress

Happy and Gay Letterpress Wedding Invitations

We’re back! Ladyfingers Letterpress here, reporting today on a subject very near and dear to us. As some of you may already know, our company is owned and operated by two ladies, Arley-Rose and Morgan, who wed in Massachusetts in 2011. We have always taken marriage equality very seriously, making donations to equality efforts for every invitation suite ordered since we started our business in 2011. On June 26, the Supreme Court voted DOMA as unconstitutional and gave same-sex couples access to 1138 rights that were previously denied to them. We’ve always proudly worked with same-sex couples and are excited to share some of our favorite invitations with you today. –Arley-Rose and Morgan of Ladyfingers Letterpress

Jeremy and Joe’s Mexican Fiesta Wedding

Jeremy and Joe's Mexican Fiesta Wedding

These guys are good friends of ours – Jeremy is a talented type designer (I designed a typeface thanks to him!) and Joe is an amazing playwright. They selected a hidden gem in Mexico to wed and wanted an invitation suite to reflect the culture and fun their guests are about to have. They sent us colorful and vibrant images of Mexican hand-lettering that appears on storefronts and signage, as well as old broadsides that advertise Mexican wrestling matches.

Jeremy and Joe's Mexican Fiesta Wedding

After some deliberation, they decided they wanted to create an invitation that resembled a wrestling match featuring Lucy, their “El Bulldog Francés” as the headliner. We letterpress printed a full bleed rainbow roll flat, with a black letterpress layer on top. The invitations were two sided, with a step-by-step story illustrating the exciting journey that lies ahead to their destination wedding.

Jeremy and Joe's Mexican Fiesta Wedding

Jeremy and Joe's Mexican Fiesta Wedding

The invitations were then rolled and sealed with a red sleeve with the words “Vamos a Celebrar!” letterpress printed on it. What did we do with the invitations next? Well, hide them inside a piñata, of course! The “miñatas” were then placed in a box and shipped off to their small list of friends and family!

Lauren & LaQuet’s Interactive Invite

Lauren & LaQuet's Interactive Invite

When we were first approached by these fabulous and outgoing ladies, we knew their invitations would be totally fun. LaQuet is a Broadway star and Lauren is a TV producer, so naturally their invitations would have to reflect some element of performance! Their wedding website was amazing, with videos of them speaking to the viewer on nearly every page. When they received their save the dates, they recorded their reactions and sent them to us. So adorable!

Lauren & LaQuet's Interactive Invite

Their save the dates were designed to resemble old Motown and ’60s Soul posters, featuring a three-color letterpress print on an oversize poster and shipped in a large kraft paper envelope.

Lauren & LaQuet's Interactive Invite

Lauren & LaQuet's Interactive Invite

For their invitations, we created illustrations of the couple and letterpress printed them on kraft paper. The ladies were then laser cut and placed through a slit in the invite, which was designed to look like an old school record player. The result was an irresistible urge to make the ladies dance together, getting this party started early!

Liz & Janis’s Cuban Social Club Invitations

This was another friend couple of ours, so naturally we were psyched to help them out with a set of invitations! Their wedding took place at an amazing Cuban restaurant in Brooklyn, so we aimed to create a suite that reflected their artsy taste, their love of travel and the Cuban flair of their venue. We used a brush lettering for their script and paired the letterpress chip board invites with actual maps that were torn out of an atlas and individually die cut into an envelope shape.

Liz and Janis's Cuban Revolution

We created two sets of invites for them since their wedding had two rounds of guests: An earlier crowd who would enjoy the ceremony and dinner, and a rowdier bunch arriving later for dancing, revelry and drinks.

Liz and Janis's Cuban Revolution

Liz and Janis's Cuban Revolution

Ladyfingers Letterpress is a member of the Designer Rolodex – check out more of their beautiful work right here or visit the real invi­ta­tions gallery for more wedding invitation ideas!

Photo Credits: Ladyfingers Letterpress

9TH LETTER PRESS: Jessie + Andrew’s Rustic Wedding Invitations

My sweet friend Jessie got hitched this past spring to the love of her life and she put me in charge of her wedding invitations! I was not only super honored to be a part of her big day but also excited to help her come up with a custom design for her paper goods. Jessie decided she wanted to get married outside, surrounded by trees and on a honey farm. For her wedding invitations, I drew her a large tree with little twinkling lights hanging from the branches. Jessie wanted a map too, and I probably had way too much fun drawing a cow and a peach stand than any person should, but there you have it. –Isabel of 9th Letter Press

letter press wedding invitation

letterpress wedding bundle

letter press wedding map

And here is the lovely couple in all of their married glory.

Wedding photo of Jessie and Andrew

p.s. 9th Letter Press is a member of the Designer Rolodex – you can see more of their beautiful wedding invitation work right here!

Photo Credits: 9th Letter Press Team & By The Robinsons