12/11/2012

Seasonal Stationery: 2012 Holiday Cards, Part 6

With only two weeks to go until Christmas, we’ve got time for just one more peek into the 2012 holiday card round up! If you haven’t already, now is the time to finalize your address lists, place your orders, and start addressing and stamping. Happy mailing!

1. Satsuma Press; 2. Scout’s Honor Co.; 3. Hartland Brooklyn; 4. Yours Is The Earth; 5. Shanna Murray; 6. Farewell Paperie

7. Prickle Press; 8. Inclosed Studio; 9. Julie Song Ink; 10. Thimble Press; 11. Sarah + Bendrix; 12. Banquet Atelier and Workshop

Check out the fullÂ holiday card round up right here!

{images via their respective sources}

12/10/2012

James + Arija’s Modern Seaside Wedding Invitations

This next set of wedding invitations (and save the dates!) comes to us all the way from England! Athena from Meticulous Ink was given the happy task of designing the wedding stationery for her good friends Arija and James. Athena combined James’s minimalist style with Arija’s rustic sensibility into a beautiful seaside-inspired invitation suite, complete with a blind impression shell motif, modern chevron pattern, and a natural color palette.

From Athena:Â ‘Picnic Finest with a seaside twist’ was the description that Arija gave me when we began work on the stationery suite for her big day. Both Arija and her husband James are both very creative people, though James is very minimalist and Arija much more into rustic chic, so I knew this would be a challenge.

Once we had the save the dates completed I knew the invitation would be an easy continuation in style â€“ a lovely clean sans serif typeface juxtaposed with rough Carpenter Script, letterpress printed on beautiful 100% cotton card with rustic manilla brown envelopes and printed chevron lining in a pretty dusty turquoise. The save the dates also feature a blind deboss shell motif.

For the main invitations, the chevron pattern was letterpress printed onto extra thick cotton paper.Â The invitations then seemed to grow and grow, and included letterpress printing throughout â€“ information card, gift list, reply card and envelope, and a flat printedÂ hand drawn map.

We also printed a mini invitation for the selected few asked to stay and camp for the night, printed in gold foil and with a little illustration at the top. All of which was enclosed in a kraft paper origami folder, complete with letterpress printed cover label and black and white striped ribbon. The completed look is eclectic, chic and simple, with a few quirky twists here and there.

Thanks Athena!

Check out theÂ Designer RolodexÂ for more talÂentedÂ wedÂding inviÂtaÂtion designÂersÂ andÂ theÂ real inviÂtaÂtions galleryÂ for moreÂ wedding invitation ideas!

Photo Credits:Â Benkin Photography

12/10/2012

Anthony + Casey’s Nature-Inspired Watercolor Wedding Invitations

Happy Monday everyone! We’re starting the week with two absolutely gorgeous wedding invitation suites. First up, this lovely nature-inspired wedding invitation from Laura McGlynn of Make Merry! Laura worked with this eco-conscious couple (the bride is a marine biologist!) and their wedding planner, Desiree Dawn Events, to create a stunning invitation that mixes watercolor and letterpress in desaturated tones of blue, green, and gray. So pretty!

From Laura:Â Anthony and Casey were both born and raised in Florida; Casey is a marine biologist and both are eco-conscious. Casey wanted a rustic but elegant wedding, and we built our inspiration around the couple’s love of Florida’s waters, their support of mangrove conservation, and their outdoor wedding venue (beautifully situated on the banks of the Loxahatchee River in Tequesta, Florida).

We settled on the elements of watercolor and mangrove, and colors drawn from nature â€“ water, driftwood, and greenery. The couple wanted to make sure to keep a balance of masculine (the colors) and feminine (the flowing script and the soft watercolors) to represent them both.Â To keep it elegant and subtle, we went with a blind deboss of the mangrove on the invitation card, with the text letterpress printed in a dark taupe color. I designed a watercolor print in desaturated hues of blue, green and gray and used that to back the invitation.

The RSVP postcard features a dark taupe rendition of the mangrove tree.Â We kept the Welcome Party invitation simple and affordable in one color letterpress,Â adding a little mangrove seedling; the bride mentioned afterwards that the seedling was likeÂ their relationship: one more day as a seedlingÂ (the party was the night before the wedding)Â until they become a full-grown tree in marriage. Isn’t that so sweet? My favorite piece just might be the envelope, with the bride’s adorably perfect last name and the soft watercolor splatters in blue, green, and gray.

Thanks Laura!

Design: Make Merry!

Letterpress Printing: Boxcar Press

Check out theÂ Designer RolodexÂ for more talÂentedÂ wedÂding inviÂtaÂtion designÂersÂ andÂ theÂ real inviÂtaÂtions galleryÂ for moreÂ wedding invitation ideas!

Photo Credits:Â Shea Christine Photography

12/07/2012

{happy weekend!}

Happy Friday everyone! We’re hoping to get our Christmas tree this weekend, and I can’t wait to see Sophie’s reaction to all the twinkling lights and ornaments! Decorating the tree is my very favorite holiday tradition, one that I can’t wait to share with Sophie once she’s a bit older. I’m also taking bets as to which of our cats will be the first to climb (and get stuck in) the tree. Ah, the holidays! But in the meantime…

Top Row: Newly acquired prints by Bowerbox and Gilah Press from last weekend’s Holiday Heap in Baltimore. Bottom Row: Pink peonies making me very happy (left); Sophie’s first ornament from Paloma’s Nest (right). All photos by me via Instagram.

…a few links for your weekend: