The beautiful stationery from Meg of Moglea was one of my favorites from last year’s National Stationery Show – from her letterpress letter sets to calendars to greeting cards. I can’t wait to see what Meg does for this year’s show! I love the combination of hand lettering, illustration, and vibrant ink colors. Meg also creates some incredibly beautiful patterns – just look at those envelope liners!
 
 
Lots more over at Moglea!
Photo Credits: Moglea
As a new mom, I was in tears when Jackie from Believe Notes shared the story of new mom Karen and her twin girls – Emma Claire and Gabriella Hope – born 16 weeks premature last summer. Gabriella sadly passed away a couple hours after birth, but her sister Emma fought and grew stronger each day. Emma finally came home after six months in the NICU and her parents decided to send announcements to friends and family. I’m honored to share Karen’s story and Emma’s announcements today.
From Emma’s mom, Karen:Â Emma Claire and her identical twin sister, Gabriella Hope, were born 16 weeks premature at 24 weeks gestation on Friday, July 13th, 2012. Gabriella’s lungs were too immature to survive and she passed away 2 hours after she was born in our arms. We were told it was not likely that Emma would make it, but she continued to defy all odds with each day she spent in the NICU. After 6 months in the NICU, Emma came home on January 11th, 2013. Since we were so consumed with having her in the hospital when she was first born, we didn’t get a chance to send out birth announcements. When she started getting close to coming home, we decided we would send out a coming home announcement.
It was important to us that the announcement illustrated how far she had come in her first 6 months so we knew we wanted to include her birth stats as well as her coming home stats. Jackie took our ideas and created the perfect announcement to celebrate our brave little girl!
Thanks so much Karen and Jackie, and big hugs to sweet Emma Claire!
Photo Credits: Believe Notes
In the interest of keeping desks and bags neat and tidy, I thought it would be a good idea to look into pencil cases. For the longest time, the only image that popped into my head when I heard “pencil case” were those little zip pouches from my childhood. (I distinctly remember they were very plaid.) Luckily, there’s much more out there now. I’ve put together a round up of pencil cases that ranges from cute clutches to lovely leather pouches. – Julie
No. 1 AntennaShop Pen Clutch from The Hach Shop; No. 2 Standard Leather Pencil Case from MochiThings; No. 3 Small pencil case from Wood Wood; No. 4 Hand-stitched leather pencil case by Zenok Leather; No. 5 The Basic Felt Roll Case from Kawaii Stationery; No. 6 Homework pencil box from Present&Correct
{images via their respective sources}
Neon has been the “in” thing for a while…but using it as inspiration for your wedding is definitely not for the faint of heart. We put together a fun and punchy neon save the date design that is perfect for spring. By mixing in kraft paper and black, we were able to tame the neon and make it quite modern. – Bailey and Emma of Antiquaria
Step One: For this save the date, we are using a circular card. It may be a bit trickier to eyeball the placement of the stamp, so measuring out center is a good idea. First you’ll want to trace the circle card on a piece of scrap paper and then mark the center. Mark perpendicular lines through the center. Next you will measure and mark center of stamp and line it up on the circle template guide.
Step Two: We were so excited to find this awesome neon pink embossing powder! Place your circular card on a stable and firm surface. Ink your save the date stamp (we used our Mod Wreath Save the Date stamp) and center the stamp over your card. When ready, press the stamp down with moderate pressure to make the print. Lift the stamp off and quickly move on to adding your embossing powder. For more information about inking your stamp or making prints, please watch this video that shows the process in more detail.
Once you’ve made your print, immediately cover it with embossing powder by sprinkling it across the paper. Shift the powder around until you have covered the entire image. Now, you will pour the excess powder off of the card onto a scrap piece of paper so that you can reuse it for future prints. Heat set the print, using an Embossing Heat Tool. You will be able to see the powder melt into an opaque and solid color when it’s done.
Note:Â One key thing about embossing is that it is wise to try to closely match your ink color with your powder color. By doing this, you will get much more crisp and opaque results.
Step Three: Adding a liner is one fun way that you can add some pattern to your save the date. For this liner, we just stamped our Small Leaves pattern stamp in black on a kraft paper liner. To make the liner, trace the template onto your kraft paper and cut it out with scissors. To install, simply use stick glue or double sided tape to adhere them into your envelope.
Step Four: It’s wise to include a website card with your save the dates so that guests can access all of the travel information and wedding details that they will need in order to make plans to attend your nuptials. For this card, we simply stamped our (Art Deco Website Card stamp) on a cream business card in black, diagonally.
Step Five: Putting it all together: First, we embossed a return address stamp (we used our Mod Banner Return Address stamp) on the back flap of our outer envelope to coordinate with the save the date design. We also embossed our Cross My Heart Initials monogram stamp on the back flap of an adorable polka dot craft envelope that will hold the website card.
Now all that’s left is to address the save the dates, adhere postage (we used Verde Studio’s vintage stamps), add some fun neon washi tape and send them on their way!
Materials
Mod Wreath Save the Date stamp (circular option)
Mod Banner Return Address stamp
Cross my Heart Initials Monogram stamp
5 1/2 Circular Card in Luxe Cream
5 3/4 Square Envelope in Luxe Cream
Business Card in Luxe Cream
Small Polka Dot Kraft Envelope from Martha Stewart
Stamp Pad in black and peony
Kraft Paper (text weight)
Double sided tape
Scissors
Pencil
Postage Stamps from Verde Studio
Photo Credits: Antiquaria
These save the dates from Jill of Lemon Tree Paper Co. are so fun and cheerful – just as they should be! Jill created these modern sticker save the dates for a couple planning a spring barn wedding. I love the way Jill incorporated texture into the save the dates by using washi tape and a glassine envelope. Cute!
From Jill: Brooke has impeccable taste and loved the idea of a barn wedding, but didn’t want the usual burlap/lace/rustic feel. She wanted something more updated and fresh, using pretty neutrals for her colors and infusing modern elements into her wedding details. We wanted to create something fun and energetic without being overly casual for her save the dates.
She wanted a memorable save the date, so we developed the idea of using large stickers for her guests to use to mark their calendars. Rather than simply taping the stickers on, we used the stickers as an opportunity to layer some texture into the piece with a glassine envelope and washi tape to kick up the patterns and create something that felt energetic, but still elegant.
We printed her stickers through Moo and I took care of the other details! I couldn’t be happier with how they turned out.
Thanks Jill!
Check out the Designer Rolodex for more talÂented wedÂding inviÂtaÂtion designÂers and the save the date gallery for more beauÂtiÂful cusÂtom save the dates!
Photo Credits: Lemon Tree Paper Co.