09/27/2012

Letterpress Halloween Party Invitations

Can you believe October is rolling into town next week? Since Halloween happens to be one of my favorite holidays, that means it’s time to start preparing for those big Halloween bashes. These letterpress fill-in party invitations from Isabel at 9th Letter Press are the perfect mix of whimsical and spooky, just how Halloween should be. I’m confident all the kids in the neighborhood will be running to your house for candy, pumpkin carving and more if you invite them with one of these!

From Isabel: Halloween is my favorite holiday for many, many reasons but largely because of the mound of candy corn available on practically every corner. That being said, as soon as pumpkin spice lattes became available at any Starbucks near you, I know it’s time to start thinking about Halloween. These two invitations were my favorite of the batch I had drawn up â€” possibly because I’ve dressed up as both on previous Halloweens. I hand illustrated + lettered each invite and when I’m satisfied with the design, it then gets hand fed to our 118 year old letterpress, one by one.

Thanks so much Isabel!

These invitations are available in packages of ten in 9th Letter Press’ Shop.

Photo Credits: 9th Letter Press

09/27/2012

Krysta + Brian’s Pattern Filled Wedding Invitations

Annemarie from Scout’s Honor Co. here again… I had so much fun creating these wedding invitations and day of paper goods for Krysta + Brian. This Ohio wedding was held outdoors next to a log cabin and was meant to feel like one big backyard dinner party. The couple incorporated tons of handmade elements and wanted the paper goods to be filled with color, pattern, and chalkboard lettering. To pull off their vision, I hand-lettered the main invitation and menus using white charcoal pencils on black paper, then scanned them into Photoshop for the final layout. The patterns were hand-drawn and layered over watercolor backgrounds. I really enjoyed working in the red/coral/black/white palette and especially love that K + B chose two envelope colors for the main invites (why not?!).

Wedding invitation (front + back), invitation envelopes

Response post cards (front)

Wedding Invitation (front + back)

Programs (front + back)

Menus

For photos of Krysta + Brian’s wedding (and tons of DIY ideas), check out their feature on Ruffled!

Design by Scout’s Honor Co.

Photo Credits:Â Scout’s Honor Co.

09/26/2012

Wedding Stationery Inspiration: Seating Charts

I am a sucker for tiny wedding details, which is probably why I love escort cards so much. But sometimes a bigger statement is in order, and that’s where a seating chart can come in. Often a budget saving option for weddings, a seating chart encompasses all your table assignments in one larger sign, banner or other creative element! You can really have fun incorporating your color scheme, style or stationery elements with these pieces and I’ve rounded up a bunch that covers a whole array of options! Which is your favorite? I’m madly in love with the constellation take on this idea! â€” Kelly

Photo by welovepictures (left), Photo by Untamed Heart Photography via Brooklyn Bride (right)

Seating Chart by Melangerie

Photo by Gia Canali, Seating Chart by Because We Can via Martha Stewart Weddings (left), Photo by Caught the Light, Seating Chart Banner by Hello!Lucky via Martha Stewart Weddings (right)

Calligraphy by Neither Snow, Seating Chart by Mr. Boddington’s Studio

Photo by Depict Photography via Rock n Roll Bride (left), Photo by The Photography Shoppe, Seating Chart by Mi Mi Design via Style Me Pretty (right)

Seating Chart by Akimbo

Photo by Katherine Elizabeth Photography via Ruffled (left), Photo by Brandon Chesbro, Seating Chart by Southhall Eden via 100 Layer Cake (right)

Photo by Kurt Boomer Photo, Seating Cards by The Pomegranate Basket via Wedding Chicks

{images via their respective sources}

09/25/2012

Black + White Bridal Shower Invitations

Annemarie from Scout’s Honor Co. here! When designing these bridal shower invitations for a client, Â I was excited to work in the requested palette of black and white â€” with hits of gold. To keep costs down, we opted to print the cards digitally with black ink only and use accents to incorporate the gold (vs. printing with metallic gold ink which requires a more expensive method of printing). This is a great route to take for events with smaller guest lists. The design was hand-lettered and printed as a 2-sided card, with all of the pertinent details on the back. The gold accents included black/gold metallic baker’s twine (to tie around each invite), striped washi tapeÂ (to seal the envelopes),Â and gold pens (to address the envelopes).

Design by Scout’s Honor Co.

Photo Credits:Â Scout’s Honor Co.

09/24/2012

DIY Tutorial: Palm Springs Mod Watercolor Save the Date

Watercolor is one of our favorite DIY techniques to use when putting together a design. The innate softness of the medium naturally lends itself to weddings. Â This week, we combined a soft and airy watercolor pattern with one of our more modern hand lettered save the date stamps, printed in black, to achieve a wonderfully retro suite. We’re just loving the combo of chalky pastels combined with inky black… we hope you do too! Â As a special bonus to our readers, the watercolor artwork we created for this DIY will be available to download on the Antiquaria Blog. â€“Â Bailey and Emma of Antiquaria

This save the date suite embodies the retro vibes of Palm Springs! Plus…it’s easy to do!

Step One: On an A2 card (you’ll want to use either watercolor paper or this set of precut cards in Luxe White), paint organic lines in varying shades of turquoise, aqua, yellow ochre and ballet pink. For the best and most natural results, hold your paint brush loosely and paint the lines off of the edges of the card. Let the paint dry.

Step Two: After you have prepared all of your cards (you’ll want to make some extras), stamp your save the date (we used our Art Deco Save the Date Stamp) toward the top center of the card in black ink. Press firmly across all of the stamp to make certain you get an even print. The acrylic mount really helps you see exactly where you are positioning your stamp within the design. Let the print dry.

Step Three: For the website card, we added more retro vibes by printing our stamp (we used our Art Deco Website Card Stamp) on 8.5″x11″ turquoise card stock and cutting out the text in organic shapes, as shown above. We love that each one is different!!

Step Four: We finished the suite off by using a black envelope with the return address (we used our Art Deco Return Address Stamp) printed in turquoise ink.

Materials

Rubber Stamps:

Art Deco Save the Date

Art Deco Website Card

Art Deco Return Address

Other Materials:

Stamp PadÂ in black and turquoise

A2 cards â€“Â these Â in Luxe White or cut down watercolor paper to, 4.25″x5.5″

A2 envelopesÂ in black

Watercolor paints

Paint brush

AntiÂquaria is a memÂber of theÂ Designer RolodexÂ â€“ you can see more of their beauÂtiÂful workÂ right hereÂ or visit the real wedding invitations gallery for moreÂ wedding invitation ideas!

Photo Credits:Â Antiquaria