09/10/2019

Dusty Blue and Pink Wedding Invitations on Handmade Paper

It’s September, which means the days of cool weather and fall foliage are just around the corner. I’m loving these dusty blue and pink wedding invitations on handmade paper by Lauren Clements of LineAve Calligraphy for a fall wedding â€“ or a wedding any time of year, really. Lauren’s beautiful calligraphy and illustrations are absolutely beautiful against that gorgeous handmade paper by Farmette Press. And those Louisiana themed vintage postage stamps are the perfect finishing touch!

From Lauren: I loved designing my own wedding stationery! The invitation suite is letterpress printed on handmade paper in blue, pink, and cream tones. The design also incorporated a minimal line drawing of the church with some greenery accents. I used vintage stamps in a Louisiana theme to tell a story.

Our wedding ceremony took place at St. John Berchmanâ€™s Cathedral in Shreveport, Louisiana with aisles lined with fresh pomegranates and olive branches. The detail-packed outdoor reception was set on the lot of our future home.

The idea was a small, rustic, European-styled seated and plated dinner under the oak tree with 90 guests. The forecast called for a 90% chance of rain, and it wasnâ€™t wrong. The tent that was supposed to cover a small seating area was enlarged to cover the entire event, and not an ounce of detail was lost. It was truly an inspirational ending to the dreaded â€œwhat do I do if it rains on my outdoor wedding?â€ question that I googled for 2 weeks straight. Guests kicked off their shoes and had the best celebration in mud up to their ankles. The photos turned out absolutely beautiful despite the FLOOD. Quality vendors are so important from hair that frizzes gracefully, to makeup that stays put, hot food that is served in a downpour, and of course, THE TENT that single-handedly saved the day.

As a stationer and calligrapher, I obsesses over detail. I designed and created my own save-the-dates, invitation suite, seating chart, and endless â€œday ofâ€ details like programs, menus, favor tags, flower cones, corn hole boards and bean bags, custom ice cream signs that incorporated our dogs, and cocktail napkins. The gate to the property and the Catholic church we were married in were both incorporated into the wedding stationery, adding a personal and special touch to the invitation suite and day-of stationery.

Thanks Lauren!

Calligraphy and Design: Lauren Roberts Clements of LineAveCalligraphy

Handmade Paper and Letterpress Printing: Farmette Press

Photo Credits: Laura Caraway Photography

03/20/2019

OSBP at Home: Urban Backyard Inspiration

It’s Spring â€“ yay! The magnolia trees and daffodils are finally blooming, which is definitely the beginning of my favorite season of the year. The last time I shared a peek at our backyard, I showed you a few of the improvements we’ve made over the years, like adding a pergola and removing a scary weird staircase that goes up to the storage space above our garage. Well, now I’m ready to address some of the other parts of our little urban backyard â€“ so I thought I’d share some of my inspiration before we get underway!

Image sources â€“ all from my Pinterest garden board: Horizontal Fence | Deuce Cities Henhouse // Fire pit patio | 100 Layer Cake // Rose Arbor // Jasmine wire trellis | Andrew Renn Design via Houzz // Natural Wood Arch // Pink barn door | Castle & Cubby // Graphic Garden | The Guardian

Our backyard is more like a back patio â€“ long and narrow and mostly covered with pavers. On the right side, we have a small planting area with a crepe myrtle, some lilacs, peonies, and a rotation of annuals that I refresh each year. On the left (southern) side, we have a fence that we share with our neighbor that needs to be replaced. The posts are still in good shape, it’s just the pre-fab sections in between that are rotting and falling apart. So we’re hoping to keep the existing posts and DIY a new fence by replace the rotting section with horizontal boards. We have some jasmine, climbing roses, and autumn clematis vines growing on that side, so we’re hoping to space some of the planks out a bit to allow for space for the vines to grow, similar to this fence from Deuce Cities Henhouse.

Since we don’t have a lot of planting space along the southern fence, I’d also love to build narrow planters running along the bottom of the fence where we could grow herbs and veggies. Andrew likes to have lots of mint for cocktails, but mint is super aggressive and invasive if grown in a garden, so I like to keep that in a separate bed. I’d also love to have more room for strawberries, watermelons, cucumbers, Right now we grow a few of these things in containers, but it feels a bit cluttered.

We also have a brick garage, so I’d love to do some sort of trellis system along the wall (wire? wood?) for the vines, with an arbor to connect the fence to the garage for the climbing roses to grow over. And maybe a barn door to be able to close the garage when we have company over? Right now it’s just kind of a gaping hole and feels kind of weird. Wouldn’t a pink barn door be SO cute?? The brick is white, and I love the idea of a pop of pink against the white brick.

So that’s pretty much what I’m thinking about these days! Are you planning any outdoor home improvement projects this year? Or have any fence tips to share with us? I’m all ears! You can also follow along on my Pinterest garden board right here!

03/18/2019

Eclectic Vellum Baby Shower Invitations

Anyone planning a baby shower? You’re going to love these eclectic vellum baby shower invitations from Lauren of Blue Eye Brown Eye! Lauren made these invitations for her best friend’s baby shower, incorporating the mama-to-be’s creative style into the invitation design with a fun vellum overlay, modern calligraphy, and a gold tassel to tie everything together (literally!). So sweet!

From Lauren: When given the opportunity to design my best friend’s baby shower invitations, I took the opportunity to fulfill my design fantasies for her and make them as special (and extra) as possible. Anna loves eclectic design and is a true creative herself, so I wanted the invitation to feel like it was an extension of her spirit. Anna’s personal and home style is layered, so I brought that idea into this suite. I’d been toying with the idea of layering printed vellum over an invitation, so this was the perfect opportunity to try it out. I love how the text peeps through the vellum and the brushstrokes, creating dimension and visual interest.

Without making them too “baby,” I snuck in a little pink in the abstract vellum overlay and kept everything else gender neutral with gray letterpress printing and a pop of gold. The gold tassel is a nod to all of Anna’s amazing travels â€“ she often brings me back a decorative pom pom or tassel from places like Peru or Mexico, so the tassel was my homage to her.

A little die cut “oh baby” letterpress tag was a sweet little detail I wanted to incorporate into the invitation. Saint Signora makes this amazing, barely there thin twine that I am obsessed with. It was the perfect finishing touch to wrap around the layered invitation and tie together with the tassel and “oh baby” tag.

Once dropped in the mail, I couldn’t wait for Anna and her husband Amir to see them. They’re two of my most favorite people in the world and making these for them was such a joy. If only y’all could have been at the baby shower itself…it was one for the ages!

Thanks Lauren!

Invitation Design: Blue Eye Brown Eye

Letterpress Printing: Elefant Press

Vellum Printing: Simply Mox

Gold Tassels: Absolut Supplies

Black Twine: Saint Signora

Photo Credit: Michele Equitz

02/11/2019

Navy and Leather Bachelor Party Invitations

These navy and leather bachelor party invitations by Kristin of Lustre Theory are a fun way to start the week! Beautiful deep blue and copper envelopes with calligraphy by Seniman Calligraphy, vintage postage stamps, and yes, plenty of leather details throughout the suite. Leather is such a fun way to add some texture to wedding invitations and party invitations, especially when paired with such beautiful jewel tones!

From Kristin: I designed this unique stationery suite for an editorial shoot coordinated by A Lively Affair in Norfolk, Virginia. The shoot was inspired by the idea of an upscale fall bachelor party incorporating textures of leather, wood, and metal. The cigar and magnolia leaves, along with the leather pieces, help add the perfect southern touches.

The invitation design was inspired by all the different textures mentioned above, from the leather outer envelope to the copper textured liner and dark navy inner envelope. Itâ€™s not often I get to design a stationery suite geared towards a primarily male event, which made this one extra exciting. I wanted the invitation design to have old southern charm combined with classic elegance. The beautiful envelope calligraphy by Seniman Calligraphy is the perfect contrast to the typography selections in the square invitation and rsvp card. We added vintage postage stamps to carry the color palette through to the envelope and add a touch of whimsical, outdoorsy artwork.

The invitations and RSVP card are letterpress printed in dark navy blue ink. Both are finished with a metallic copper edging process and pressed on extra thick white cotton paper. It was important that the invitation card and rsvp card have a strong typographical presence but an overall simple design layout. The leather pieces are all handmade to specification by HJ Leather Arts, a local craftsman in Norfolk. They include an outer main envelope, an invitation band and an event place card.

Thanks Kristin!

Invitation Design: Lustre Theory

Envelopes: Cards & Pockets

Calligraphy: Seniman Calligraphy

Letterpress Printing: Fino Print

Leather pieces: HJ Leather Arts

Photo Credits: Angela Elise Photography

01/28/2019

Organic Tropical Wedding Invitations on Handmade Paper

Did you ever think you would hear the words organic and tropical together in an invitation suite? Well, today’s the day! Shana from Iris & Marie Letterpress sent over these beautiful organic tropical wedding invitations on handmade paper, inspired in large part by the texture of the Spanish moss at the wedding venue. The entire suite was printed on gorgeous handmade paper from Farmette Press â€“ I just can’t get over those natural deckled edges! â€“ in the most beautiful shades of blue and peach. So dreamy.

From Shana: These organic tropical wedding invitations started out with a little flamingo and some handmade paper, and from there the rest just fell into place! I was inspired by the Spanish moss texture at the venue and brought that into the suite using Farmette Press handmade paper. Loren’s paper is very textural, not perfect, and very organic looking â€“ exactly how Spanish moss feels to me.

Also inspired by the coast, we added a hand drawn little flamingo friend to the invitation along with custom spot calligraphy by Paulene at Leen Machine Calligraphy. Paulene’s calligraphy added another element of texture with the hand written look that the lines have. The color palette is very spring-y and beachy with all the shades of blue and bits of peachy neutrals.

We wanted to keep the colors lush, but still spring-like for the Savannah wedding. The overall suite has a rustic vintage feel with layers of organic textures throughout the suite, including the twine used to tie the suite together and keep everything in place. The calligraphy and text layout reminds me of script from an old document and the twine lends itself to that as well.

While there is a lot of texture going on, the overall design is pretty minimal. I kept the text small and to a minimum to let the paper speak for itself. The design is centered in the middle of the invitation to let the edges flow around the words and act as a frame. The leaves on the back envelope flap give the invitation a “fan me with your tropical leaves” vibe and, in my personal opinion, makes it all a little more regal. I absolutely love how these organic tropical wedding invitations came together â€“ from the speckles in the handmade paper to the Spanish moss to the bride’s gorgeous red hair!