Hot Air Balloon Baby Shower Invitations

Ooooh, surprise baby shower invitations! So fun. Anastasia Marie Cards & Stationery created these colorful baby shower invitations using inspiration from the soon-to-be nursery. Too cute, and I’m loving the gold heart stickers on the kraft envelopes!

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From Anastasia: These baby shower invitations featured an array of hot air balloons with peach, yellow, blue, and touches of pink as the color theme. Printed on smooth white paper, they were then paired with kraft envelopes and gold heart stickers. The idea was created by the papa-to-be from his wife’s nursery inspiration. How adorable is that!?

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Thanks Anastasia!

Photo Credits: Anastasia Marie Cards & Stationery

Stationery Inspiration: Mixing Vintage Postage

I’m a big big fan of using vintage postage stamps on everything from wedding invitations to baby announcements. So when Cara from Underwood Letterpress and Anne Robin Calligraphy sent over a few tips for mixing vintage postage to create little art collections on your envelopes, I couldn’t resist! These envelopes definitely make an impression and, especially when combined with stunning calligraphy, are a beautiful keepsake for the recipients!

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From Cara of Underwood Letterpress: Your wedding invitation sets the tone for your special event. The vintage postage on these envelopes takes first impressions to the next level by mixing genre, color and technique. Here are a few tips for ways to turn your outer envelope in to a piece of art that will leave a lasting impression!

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Don’t Be Afraid of Color!
Pops of color are essential to any design palette. Go bold with these fun and out there envelope designs. Mixing traditional design with Pop Art never looked so good. Each of these fabulous postage collages in the “In Love” line come with an eclectic mix of vintage postage plus a special Love stamp to celebrate the occasion!

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Tone on Tone
Tone on tone is all the rage this season and there is no better way to maximize your wedding colors than by using multiple shades of your favorite hues. Check out these vintage postage collages with purple tones, blues and greens. Your guests might just decide to put these envelopes in a frame.

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Mix Your Mediums
Try mixing techniques on your envelopes with this beautiful watercolor calligraphy design. The watercolor adds a whimsical touch while the modern address provides the perfect amount of juxtaposition.

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Vintage Postage: Underwood Letterpress

Calligraphy: Anne Robin

Photography: Stephanie Collins Photography

Ariel’s DIY “I Love Lucy” Baby Shower Invitations

Seattle-based designer and photographer Ariel Nay is expecting her first child – a baby girl! – this spring. The proud parents have already decided to name their daughter Lucy, so an “I Love Lucy” themed baby shower seemed like the perfect fit. Ariel DIY’d the invitations using some sparkly cardstock, a couple of rubber stamps, and a whole lot of love.

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From Ariel: My fiancé and I are expecting our first child this March and recently had her baby shower. We’ve already named her Lucy Mae Lewis and felt an ‘I Love Lucy’ Baby Shower was more than appropriate.

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While I would have loved to have it all professionally printed, I took my small budget and made most of it by hand. After reflecting on the original ‘I Love Lucy’ logo, I wanted to give it a more delicate typographic update. Using the typeface Nelly Script, I designed the ‘I Love Lucy’ and ‘Lucy Mae Lewis’ and had them made into stamps using Simon Stamps. I purchased shimmering red and gold cardstock at Michaels and had the invitation text printed on white cardstock at Staples.

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Then, I used a spray mount to adhere the black and white printed text to the shimmering red paper, cut the hearts by hand and stamped the script type on the front and back. For the smaller gold hearts, I used a heart die-cutter and gold paper clips to attach the heart and Diaper Raffle note to the invitation.

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In total, I kept right with my $100 budget that made me 35 invitations and the entire project took about 12-15 hours. I would still say hiring a professional printer is an excellent option as they can produce results you just can’t mimic, but it also felt good to make most of this special project with my own two hands.

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The envelopes we ordered from Envelope Mall, the addresses were handwritten, Johnny Cash forever mailing stamps were used as they seemed to fit the era, and lastly, each letter sealed with a self-made, lipstick kiss.

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Thanks so much Ariel – and congrats!

Photo Credits: Ariel Nay

Chrystal + Brendan’s Magnolia Bloom New Orleans Wedding Invitations

I’ve never been to New Orleans, but between the food and the music I’d love to visit one day! Monique from Metal Doily Press sent over these invitations created for a wedding in New Orleans and incorporating several iconic images from the Crescent City. Printed in bright teal and cool gray, the invitations feature a classic magnolia bloom throughout the suite, from the save the dates to post-wedding thank you cards!

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From Monique: Chrystal and Brendan wanted to welcome their guests to New Orleans before they even set foot in Louisiana by hinting at elements of their big day in their wedding invitation suite.

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The save the dates provided the first opportunity for Chrystal and Brendan to combine their different creative thoughts into one project. They started with the vintage postcard concept and worked out from there. The popular Big Easy phrase “Laissez les bons temps rouler!” captured the intended spirit and required prominent placement on the front. Chrystal’s choice of a magnolia in bloom was also a running theme that started on this collaboration. The fonts were meant to join the jazz character of the city and the vintage theme.

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On the main invitation, Chrystal had a clear vision of the focal point being the gorgeous magnolia flower. The couple enjoyed the idea of having it appear as both an ampersand between their names and as a contrast to the text. Letterpress printing the two color invitation brought out the tactile details of the illustration. The romantic Heraldica font presented their names in a stylistic contrast to the use of Copperplate below. I printed in teal and cool gray on Cranes Lettra 110 lb stock in Pearl White.

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The letterpress printed single color thank you cards were designed to be as bold and sincere as possible. It combined the magnolia bloom again with the Heraldica font in teal. Brendan loved the font. Chrystal loved the color.

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Thanks Monique!

Metal Doily Press is a member of the Designer Rolodex – you can see more of their beautiful work right here or visit the real invi­ta­tions gallery for more wedding invitation ideas!

Photo Credits: Bobby Lee Photography