04/20/2010

Tuesday Afternoon

I’m feeling a bit bummed out this afternoon – my husband left yesterday on an extended work trip and I miss him already! To help the next few pass by more quickly, my plan is to jump right back into our apartment organization/decorating process and try to get as much done before he comes home. Items on my list include painting, hanging a few shelves, getting rid of old and unnecessary paper files, and finally hanging the rest of our prints and photographs around the apartment.

{enormous champion via design sponge}

{emma mitchell via desire to inspire}

I love the idea of just taping small prints (using japanese washi tape) directly to the wall as a rotating inspiration board. Sadly we don’t have a mantle in our place, but I wish we did so I could balance some of our favorites along the top!

There’s one other thing that is helping to cheer me up – a new giveaway from one of my favorite wedding invitation studios! You’ll have to check back tomorrow morning for the details… but I can’t wait to share the surprise with you!

04/20/2010

Pink + Purple Baby Shower Invitations

Azusa, a freelance graphic designer in Los Angeles, sent over this nesting theme baby shower invitation set that she recently designed for a friend — and it's just way too adorable to not pass right along!

Azusa has also made the shower suite available as PDF templates in her etsy shop, One for You. The set includes invitations, mailing labels, baby quiz cards, drink tags, baby wish cards, favor tags, and of course thank you cards — and it comes in the original pink, as well as blue or yellow:

The flag-shaped drink tags are my favorite detail — so cute! Thanks Azusa!

{image credits: One for You}

04/16/2010

{happy weekend!}

Happy Friday everyone! So the big get-together is finally here, so I'm running off a bit early to get ready for our big meet-up. But in the meantime…

…a few links for your weekend!

Love this print by Amy Ruppel â€“ maybe she'll eventually do one for each state?
Graphic murals for inspiration
I love projects printed on unique materials — like dupioni silk!
Beautiful gray wedding invitations
Adding this letterpress poster from Studio on Fire to my wishlist…

That's it for me this week! I'll be back next week with a recap of the B List meet-up, more invitations, and… a BIG giveaway! But you'll have to check back on Monday for details, so I'll see you here again next week!

{image credits: kim ludy}

04/16/2010

Foil Stamp Wedding Invitations

Rachel from Jolie Jolie featured these utterly gorgeous black and white wedding invitations from a designer friend of hers â€” and I am completely smitten with the foil stamp details on the black reception/rsvp card:

Aside from the line-drawing heart on the vellum belly band (a nod to Deny’s proposal), the invitation is completely devoid of imagery, but makes a huge graphic impact through the contrasting typography â€” letterpress printed in blue ink on white paper for the main invitation and blue foiling on black paper for the reception card. Â I love it all!

{image credits: Manu Chau Photography via jolie jolie}

04/14/2010

Lilacs + Dogwoods

We took a quick trip down to Mount Vernon this past weekend. This is my favorite time of year to visit Mount Vernon â€” the entire estate is full of gorgeous lilacs, all of which were in bloom this past weekend:

If you’ve seen photos from my wedding, then you probably already know how much I love lilacs. I just about skipped from shrub to shrub trying to take in as much of the amazing lilac scent as possible. I love how the lilacs grow so big and wild at Mount Vernon â€” I just wished they bloomed all season long!

Mount Vernon overlooks the Potomac River, and even though it’s usually pretty crowded with tourists whenever we go down it always feels incredibly peaceful to sit on the lawn and look out at the river. On this trip we’re pretty sure we saw a pair of bald eagles flying above us! I tried to get a picture, but they were too far away.

I love the formal gardens and orchards around the estate. We bought annual passes, so we’re planning to make a few more trips over the summer and fall when the fruit trees, vegetables and herbs all start to produce and we can go visit the 4-acre working farm. This time we were there really just for the flowers â€” like these beautiful dogwoods:

{all images by me}