01/08/2010

{happy weekend!}

Happy Friday everyone! Are you looking forward to something fun this weekend? I seem to have come down with a cold this week, so I'm just looking forward to recuperating, and of course packing for our upcoming move. I usually hate packing, but I think I'm so excited about moving to our new space that this time I'm actually having fun packing and getting rid of clutter that we've accumulated during the last 4 years in our current apartment. I've got a long to-do list before Monday, but in the meantime…

Here are a few links for your weekend reading pleasure:

I can't stop staring at these gorgeous wedding dresses by Elizabeth Dye, via With This Ring…
Sweet + simple wedding invitations
The cutest "just married" sign I've seen in a long, long time
In keeping with my decorating theme, I'm totally obsessed with industrial pendant lamps
The most lovely tattoo ever — even if you don't really like tattoos…
Need inspiration? Check out this amazing hand lettering

That's it for me this week! But before I run off for the weekend, I also wanted to mention an amazing conference coming up at the end of the month in Salt Lake City — the Altitude Design Summit!

So many of my favorite bloggers are scheduled to speak at the conference — and so many more will be attending. I can't wait! If you're interested in attending, you can check out the details right here.

{pink bicycle photo via flickr}

01/06/2010

Today I love… bathroom inspiration edition

If you follow me on twitter, you may know that my husband and I are moving to a new apartment at the end of the month. And while packing and moving is stressful, we’re looking forward to more space, a better kitchen, and some cool new design features (skylights! in the dining room and bathroom!). Plus, I’m looking forward to the best thing about moving to a new space â€” decorating! Right now, like Katy, I’ve got bathrooms on the brain…

{desire to inspire, apartment therapy}

We’re still renting, so we won’t be making any significant changes, but luckily we’ve already got lots of nice elements to work with, like a black and white tile floor, stand-alone bathtub, and the aforementioned skylight. I’ve already got our new shower curtain picked out, but I’m thinking about additional storage options for narrow spaces and artwork for the walls. I’m also thinking about painting the walls a light, calm shade, like this pale pink or soft blue:

{domino via sfgirlbybay, house of turquoise}

I promise to share photos of our new space once we move in, but in the meantime, if any of you have additional bathroom inspiration to share, let me know in the comments!

{image credits: as listed below each photo}

12/31/2009

{happy new year!}

Happy (almost) New Year everyone! I'm signing off for the weekend, but just wanted to wish you all a wonderful, warm, and safe New Year's Eve and fabulous 2010! I also wanted to take a moment to send out a few thank you notes. First, to all of my dear readers, for stopping by here everyday, for sending me your invitations and commenting on posts – you all make my day so much better! Second, to all the designers, stationers, calligraphers, and artists that I've had the priviledge of getting to know over the past year, for allowing me to share your beautiful work. And finally, I also have to thank all of my amazing sponsors for making so much of what I do on this blog possible!

I'll be back here next week, and I've got big plans and exciting changes for 2010 that I can't wait to start sharing with all of you! In the meantime, if you're looking for inspiration, I've been updating my tumblr page like crazy this week – check it out right here. Happy 2010 everyone!

{image credits: little black umbrella}

12/31/2009

Jefferson + Sarah’s Amazing Woodgrain Wedding Invitations

These invitations are another of my favorites from 2009 â€” the mix of woodgrain details and amazing typography just blow me away every time. Â I first saw Jefferson and Sarah’s autumn Nashville wedding invitations on the Studio on Fire blog back in November, but when the designer (and groom!) Jefferson Perky sent over his take, I couldn’t resist sharing his perspective!

From Jefferson: This invitation package was design for my own wedding. The idea was to create the feel of an elegant fall wedding with a hint of whimsy. Â The growth of tree metaphor was carried out through the entire suite, from the Save the Date through the thank you cards.

Everything but the envelopes was printed in a single color (black) on the same sheet and trimmed from there (a great cost saving technique). Â Although I decided early on in the design process that the invitations would be letterpress printed, I still wanted to maintain a good range of value in the greyscale imagery. Â So first we had the paper digitally printed to get the woodgrain imagery the way we wanted it before letterpress printing the text of the invitation.

The mix of digital and letterpress printing on soft cotton Lettra paper both allowed for the gradient detail in the tree rings and created subtle tactile differences in the invitation suite.

My wife teared up when they came back from the printer and we started assembly. Â Happy tears. (Ed note: awwww… how sweet!)

You can read more about these invitations over on Beast Pieces, and check out the Perky Bros website for lots of cool business collateral and print designs. Â Thanks Jefferson!

{image credits: Studio on Fire and Perky Bros}

12/29/2009

Simple Blind Emboss Wedding Invitations

I love the quiet during the week between Christmas and New Year’s â€“ it’s the perfect time to look back on the year that was before starting the new year.

This week I’ve been spending quite a bit of time going through my archives and trying to get myself as organized as possible before 2010, and I came across these beautiful blind emboss wedding invitations printed by Studio on Fire:

Designed by Aya Ikegaya for a summer wedding, the serene white and soft gray color paletteÂ would alsoÂ perfect for a winter wedding.Â The main invitation is actually the embossed text on the outer sleeve with letterpress enclosures on the inside, including a map and accommodation information:

Studio on Fire also gives aÂ wonderfully conciseÂ explanation of the different printing methods for embossing and letterpress, which you can check out along with a fewÂ additional photos right here.

{image credits: studio on fire}