Cardgirl DIY and Invitations

Nessa Sander, the owner and creative force behind Cardgirl Invitations, e-mailed me last week to let me know about her new DIY stationery website called Cardgirl DIY:

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Cardgirl DIY is full of tips and tutorials on all the paper elements that go into wedding invitations, and is a great resource for couples without previous stationery experience who are either trying to DIY their invitations or even just work with a stationer for the first time.

And while you're exploring Cardgirl DIY, you should click on over to Cardgirl Invitations and check out Nessa's invitation portfolio.  Here are a few of my favorites…

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{all photos via Cardgirl Invitations – thanks Nessa!}

Weekly Link Round-Up

Hi Everyone!  Sorry to be a bit late in posting — my husband and I took a quick excursion up to Baltimore on Saturday afternoon before the Decemberists show at Rams Head Live (so good, as always).  But before I get to this week’s round up, I just want to say a huge “thank you!” to Holly from decor8 for linking to my blog this week.  Decor8 is one of my hands-down favorite blogs and I’m honored just even to have been mentioned.  And to any of you visiting my site from decor8, welcome!

So, now onto the weekly round-up:

That’s it for this week! I hope everyone is having a wonderful weekend so far, and I’ll be back on Monday with more lovely paper goods — as well as an exclusive discount that I can’t wait to share with all of you!

Programs for Natalie

A few months ago, my very first client for custom wedding programs was Natalie.  She'd seen pictures from our wedding and loved our programs, so she sent me an e-mail to ask if I could do something similar for her wedding.  

Of course I was happy to oblige, and our little custom project eventually came to include "reserved" cards for the ceremony, table numbers, a few signs, and place cards in addition to the programs.  I had so much fun working on this project, and the best part was getting to know Natalie during the process!  Natalie and Matt had an absolutely beautiful wedding in California, and here are a few shots of my work in action at her wedding:


{signs explaning the Jewish tradition of yarmulkes}


{the ceremony programs, placed in each guest chair for the ceremony}


{place cards ready for the reception}

And here are a few pictures that I took on my own:


{the front cover of the programs}


{the inside of the first page}


{the inside of the second page}


{the back cover}


{the "reserved" seating card for the ceremony}


{the menus for the reception}

The programs and reserved cards were printed on cream card stock with navy and charcoal gray ink, while the menus, place cards, table numbers, and signs (like the one for the yarmulkes) were printed on white card stock. Check out my flickr site for more detail shots of the programs and menus – and definitely head on over to Natalie's lovely wedding recap for more gorgeous photos from her wedding!

{top photos via Natalie's wedding recap, all other photos by me}

Modern Preppy Letterpress Wedding Invitations

I’m so glad that Martha Stewart has created an online database for the amazing real weddings featured in the magazine over the years.  The wedding of Tasha and DW Gibson, particularly the wedding stationery, is one of my all-time favorites.  It’s even more amazing when you consider that they planned the wedding in only five months:

Invite - MSWeddings

I adore the fold-out layout of this invitation and subtle use of pattern.  According to MS Weddings, “the bride wanted her wedding to feel like a garden in sunshine, so the invitation and itinerary (with perforated RSVP card) were letterpressed in moss green and golden yellow ink.”

Programs - MS Weddings
I love the use of detail – the scallop edge and ribbon are just too cute…

PlaceCards - MS Weddings

For those of you looking for escort card or place card ideas, this is a great one!  And even if typewriter keys aren’t your thing, you could easily use vintage buttons or another small object and type or hand-write the table number assignment at the end of the paper.

Check out the Designer Rolodex for more tal­ented wed­ding invi­ta­tion design­ers and the real invi­ta­tions gallery for more wedding invitation ideas!

{All images via Martha Stewart Weddings.  For more photos from this wedding, click here for the full slideshow.}

Something beautiful…

I'm finding it a bit difficult to concentrate on anything tonight – and depending on how things go tonight may continue through tomorrow.  So for now, I'll leave you with some beautiful calligraphy by Maria Thomas – whose lovely work was featured in this morning's inspiration board over at Snippet & Ink:

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{images via Maria Thomas for Checkerboard, and you can see more of Maria's work here}