New Giveaway! Paper Lovely

If you missed out on the giveaways last week, don’t worry, because we have one more giveaway this month – this time from Kim at Paper Lovely!  Kim is celebrating the one year anniversary of Paper Lovely, and she’s decided to bring the celebration over here with a giveaway!

personalized letterpress stationery

personalized letterpress note cards

Kim is generously offering a set of personalized letterpress note cards (the same ones you see above) to one lucky reader!  Thanks Kim!

So here are the rules: Leave a comment below letting us know about an important anniversary in your life and how you commemorated that anniversary.  Kim is also offering readers the opportunity to enter twice by spreading the news via twitter!  So if you tweet about the giveaway, come back here and leave a second comment with a link to your tweet for a second chance to win!You’ll have until 11:59 p.m. EST on Friday, June 11 to enter — we’ll announce a winner on Monday!  Bonne chance!

Update: Congrats to Laura – the winner of custom note cards from Paper Lovely!  And  a huge thanks to Kim from Paper Lovely for sponsoring this giveaway!

{image credits: Paper Lovely}

Christine + Jason’s Polka Dot and Floral Wedding invitations

At the National Stationery Show last month, I got to talking with Christine from Flora and Fauna Press (you can see her NSS booth here) about the invitations from her wedding last year, and I made her promise to send over photos.  Well, they’ve arrived, and I think you’re going to love them as much as I do!  The design was inspired by the wedding venue – a ranch in southern California – and the swiss dot fabric that Christine used in her wedding dress.   Here she is, looking absolutely lovely:

swiss dot wedding dress

From Christine:  The overall invitation design was mostly inspired by the ranch where we were married.  I wanted a vintage country feel, while keeping it whimsical and fun.

california ranch wedding letterpress save the date

I decided to use polka dots after my dress designer suggested incorporating swiss dot fabric, since I thought it would be fun to tie that element into the wedding stationery.

swiss dot letterpress wedding invitations

swiss dot letterpress wedding invitations

california ranch wedding map directions

I used different size dots and a variety of stripes so the invitation suite didn’t get too “matchy”.

polka dot and striped wedding table numbers and placecards

wedding cupcakes and roses

Since I knew I needed papers to make cupcake flags and bunting, I matched my orange and green accent colors to French Papers “Pop-tone” swatches.

Gorgeous!  I love the crisp black and white with bright pops of color – Christine even created matching black and white letterpress bags for the candy buffet at the reception – not to mention the adorable mix of polka dots and stripes.  A huge thanks to Christine for sharing the photos from her wedding, and you can check out more wedding invitations from Flora and Fauna Press right here!

{image credits: christine brandt}

Burlap + Twine Invitations

I love seeing different materials incorporated into invitations, whether for weddings, showers, or birthday parties.  So when I received an e-mail from a reader (Hi Brandi!) seeking inspiration for a Huck Finn/Tom Sawyer party, the first thing that popped into my head was burlap!  I wasn’t able to find any photos of invitations printed directly onto burlap, but here are a few images incorporating burlap and twine as lovely accent materials:

burlap wedding invitation
{image by Brandon Kidd via Once Wed}

The wedding invitation above by D*lsh Design for photographer Brandon Kidd features a band of burlap tied around kraft and cotton paper invitation elements. 

burlap envelope wedding invitations
{cevd}

Christine mailed her own wedding invitations (above) in a dark green burlap envelope – such a great idea!

 

twine wedding invitations

twine wedding invitations
{bird and banner}

Love the use of twine in the above invitation suite by Bird and Banner…

 

cotton and burlap invitations
{xowyo}

I could totally see these cotton handkerchief invitations from XOWYO being mailed in a burlap inner envelope, or attached to burlap backing.

 

burlap fabric fall rustic wedding decor
{erica turner via ruffled}

Hand-stamped burlap accents for a rustic fall wedding.

 

fabric invitation and menu pocket
{gertrude and mabel photography via chewing the cud}

I love fabric pockets for invitations and ceremony programs – burlap could easily be substituted for cotton in these ceremony program pockets from Chewing the Cud for a more rustic feel.

Have any of you used burlap or twine in your invitations?  If so, I’d love to see photos!

{images from their respective sources}

Giveaway Winners!

It was so wonderful to host two fantastic giveaways last week – and I’m even more thrilled to finally announce the winners!  Both winners were selected randomly using random.org, and the two lucky readers are…

Yay!  Laurel chose the “Ava” design from Gwyneth Paige for her calling cards, and Greg chose the “Tahoe” invitation suite from Hello!Lucky for his December 2010 wedding right here in DC!  A big congratulations to both Laurel and Greg – and a huge thank you to both everyone who entered the contest and to Gwyneth Paige and Hello!Lucky for sponsoring these two giveaways!

Hand Painted Watercolor Vintage Garden Rose Invitation Suite

Summer is officially here in DC – and while I could definitely do without the muggy heat and humidity, summer brings roses, and this year there are tons of them in our neighborhood!  So when Courtney sent over this vintage-inspired garden rose wedding invitation suite that she created for a recent bride, I couldn’t think of anything more perfect for early summer:

vintage garden rose invitations

From Courtney: I created this for one of my brides, Sarah, for her California vintage inspired wedding.  I hand painted each one individually in various shades of pinks with touches of lavender, browns, and golden yellows – making sure to paint each one just a little different from the one before!

vintage garden rose invitations

vintage garden rose invitations

vintage garden rose invitations

Thanks Courtney!  To check out more of Courtney’s lovely watercolor hand-painted invitations and stationery, you can click right here.

{image credits: courtney khail stationery}