Colorful Envelopes

A bold statement of color with the help of invitation envelopes! This invitation suite features the use of red and orange envelopes for the invitation and the reply card. Also featured is an envelope liner.

Inspired by Gerber daisies, flourishes, red or orange? Here are some great wedding finds complimenting this look:



Featured finds:
Flower girl basket
Hair piece
Gerber pail
Gerber bouquet

Inspired by Purple

Purple- the color of purpose, good judgment and today's inspiration.

This invitation suite features an A7 envelopment with a pocket that holds the rsvp card and envelope. Held closed by a wrap band featuring the sparrow motif and the delicate pattern featured on this invitation through out the background. My favorite detail of this suite? I love the pattern on the paper that repeats on the background of the wrap band, the invitation and the envelope liner. Envelope liners are wonderful, they are a slight tease of what is to come inside. Along with this invitation, I've featured an inspiration board relating to the sparrow motif.



Here is where you can find the products featured:
Hair pins
Cake Topper
Centerpiece
Kisses

Pretty Peacock

Do peacocks catch your eye? It is fun anticipating the rise of their feathers if they are not already beautifully displayed. Wouldn't that be a great emotion to have at your wedding? Your guests anticipating the surprise of little details in your perfectly planned wedding! Here is a collection of peacock inspired wedding details along with one of my designs inspired by all things peacock.

Links to the products displayed: earrings, dress belt, hair piece, Guest book, invitations

Handmade papers you'll love

My husband David and I were enjoying dinner and chatting about our day. Out of no where I excitingly popped up to grab a new swatch book of amazing paper samples I had received. I was so excited about the new line and couldn't wait to show it off. Naturally, I got a blank stare with my husband's comment... only you! Yes, who else would get so excited about paper and want to share it at dinner in conversation? Yours truly.

Handmade paper is gorgeous. It takes the experience of an invitation to the next level. Textures to feel, layers to incorporate, the unique cut of each piece since it is handmade.

Love, love, love!

Here are some examples of the many handmade paper options available. There are several in many colors and patterns. This makes a great match to a leaf embellishment or a monogram stamp too!

A design with legs

I get excited when I talk with a bride who really understands and sees the potential of customizing a design for her wedding. A design with legs... Not only can invitations pack a powerful punch but so can some other neat details you may not have thought of. The small things can really make a big impact.

Here are some ideas on how you can use your custom design across your whole wedding:

Wine labels printed with your monogram
Aisle runner
Drink coasters
Table signs
Guest book
Cocktail napkins
Glass ball ornaments
Table runner using printed material with the pattern from your invitation
Area signs
Custom menus
Pull elements of your invitation into your cake design


And don't forget the thank you cards. I love the idea of using an image from your wedding for your thank you card and including a link of where they can view the rest of your photographs. So often, guests are apart of your big day but don't get to see all your beautiful wedding shots.

Happy planning!

Where does my inspiration come from?

My creative inspiration comes from many places. For years, I've clipped and saved things that I love, things that have bold or unique patterns and colors. Things that are well thought out, beautiful fonts, clever home displays and textiles. Inspiration rarely comes from purely the wedding industry. Often times for me, it is coming from magazines I read, mailings I subscribe to, restaurants I visit or print pieces that pass in front of me. You may be surprised to hear that my husband provides me with great insight on a project too! He will be looking over my shoulder and pipe in with a comment or suggestion and he seems to always have the best ideas! For this and many more reasons, I don't know what I'd do without him!

I created a book to hold this eye candy. Since I started this, I've made a couple of these books. I treasure them. It is so enjoyable for me to flip through them when I am stuck or needing a buzz of inspiration. I've also saved meaningful quotes and articles.

I put together a sampling of pages from my inspiration books and show how the inspiration was applied to a design along with how it was used.

Have you ever heard of the bouquet that will never die?

Through my love for paper, I present to you inspiring images of paper flowers and bouquets!

I admire the artists that created these bouquets. Yes, I called them artists, not crafters and for a reason! I get these craft spurts in me now and again and I once attempted making paper flowers. I was so excited about them, I went out and got all the recommended tools and was set to make a few paper flowers for my desk. Once I started, I couldn't wait to be done! It was so much harder than I guessed it would be. I ended up making 2 and decided that was plenty. I kept one and I gifted one to a friend with an explanation of just how hard I worked to create that one orange paper flower. It is still alive and in perfect bloom on her desk today!

The tissue paper flowers I created for my display at the Tacoma Wedding Expo were fun to make and not as tough.

Christa's Truly Custom Wedding

The best thing about designing your own invitations is that the custom design can be translated into so many details of your wedding. When it is all pulled together, it really can make a powerful statement! One of the brides I've recently worked with takes the cake on this one!

I worked on designing an invitation that spoke to the couple's love for nature, outdoors and their wedding colors of brown and green. I pulled inspiration from a collection of things Christa, the bride, sent me that she loved. That is always so helpful to really discover what a bride is after is to see a collection of things that have inspired their wedding theme. In the end, we were all very in love with how this turned out. This design also happened to be one of the crowd favorites at the recent Tacoma Wedding Expo in March.

Here is Christa's invitation I designed along with a custom thank you card to match:

The backside of this invitation had the bark pattern printed across the entire backside with the hearts flowing through the pattern. A sweet little surprise for the recipient to enjoy.

Now this is where the bride really had fun with her custom design and I couldn't be more excited about it myself! Here are some pictures of how the theme of her invitation ran through her entire wedding. I hope this inspires you as you are thinking of your invitations. The possibilities can keep going and going!

Christa worked the design into programs, her cake and also an adorable guest book. Check out these pictures provided by Jeff Marsh Studios!

The cake is by Kelli's Creations

Love this. Congratulations Christa, enjoy your newlywed status!

Christa also took some time to share some very kind words about her experience working with me through this process and I am honored to share that with you:
(Click image to enlarge)

Simple Invitation Tips

Over the years of working with brides I've learned there are few things that will make invitations a little simpler once you get started.

Invitations are such an important part of a wedding and require all ducks to be in a row before putting the seal of approval on the details that will print on your beautiful invitations. Some brides are surprised at how stressful completing invitations and coordinates can be. So, here it is, a few things that will make your invitations a little easier!

• Wording is tricky. Everyone's family is different and sometimes quite complicated. There is a nifty site I've sent many brides to for help in this arena. Check out www.verseit.com. (Once on site, click "verse it" on the upper right.) This site will prompt you for details and then provide you with options specific to your needs. Use this as a base to customize your own or replace the blanks with your information.
  
  
• Gathering addresses can take time. If you do a good job of this when you gather names for you save the dates, it will save you a lot of time when you start sending your wedding invitations and thank you cards. Even years after my wedding, I still refer to the same address book I used to send my Christmas cards. Call me old fashioned, but I do still love an actual address book.
  
  
• Consider sending a postcard reply card in place of a reply card and envelope. This is a nice way to save cost on envelopes and a bit in postage but also is less of a hassle when they start to arrive back in your mail box. Depending on how traditional your wedding is, a reply card and envelope still might be best.
  
  
• Last tip I share often is that you can start addressing those envelopes early. This way when your fabulous invitations arrive, you'll be ready to stuff and send. We can arrange to print your envelopes early if you'd like the return address printed to help you start addressing ahead of time.

Any other tips to share that you found helpful? I'd love to hear them :)