Tuesday, September 27, 2011

Merry-ment Down Under

This summer, Lainie contacted me all the way from Australia to design her invitations based on my Merry Monogram suite.  Lainie already had her monogram designed by someone else and just wanted it incorporated into the suite.

Based on the details Lainie provided about the wedding, I decided to print the set on my new luxe white felt paper to provide some warmth with texture. We decided to use kraft envelopes sealed with custom address wrappers to match the suite.  To finish it off, I used brown twine to tie custom tags with the couples name around the invitation suite.







She is also planning a sweet (ha) dessert bar for her brunch reception. So we designed matching tags for all the desserts. I love the bright and cheery color scheme of this invitation.  Reminds me that soon I'll be gearing up for all my spring brides!

Sunday, September 18, 2011

Save the Date Cartography

The engagement set the stage for Lisa and Mike's coastal inspired nuptials for next September. In May, Mike dropped down on one knee while sailing the Chesapeake with Lisa.  I was impressed that neither of them dropped the ring in the excitement!

I met with the couple in early August to discuss Save the Date cards.  When I sat down, Lisa, who is an avid sailor, immediately handed me the nautical coordinate's for their wedding's venue.  I knew then that this was going to be a really neat project.  Lisa and Mike are envisioning a coastal themed wedding chock full of buoys and nautical charts. They wanted an antique nautical map of the Chesapeake to set the stage in their Save the Dates.

I always do plenty of research for my custom designs, however, rarely do I log onto NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association) for design help.  NOAA houses an up to date library with all current US nautical charts.  I studied the cartography patterns for the Annapolis area and immediately got to work sketching.  Believe it or not, there is a fine line between an antique map and a pirate treasure map.  I was really avoiding the latter.


Font selection was key! I always love using Campbell in anything nautical.  And the incorporation of Burges Script really sets the stage for an elegant affair.  I decided to print on my new 110lb felt ecru to give the save the date a luxe and vintage feel.



In the end, I love how these came out. I hope the many out of town guests that Mike and Lisa have invited will be as excited to share in the coastal affair!


Thursday, September 15, 2011

JCrew Inspired Designs

One of my favorite parts of designing wedding stationery is when a bride comes to me with a design image and wants the idea carried through in their invitation.

Last May, Stephanie contacted me about creating a rehearsal dinner that mixed my "Lovie Lobster" invitation with the style of this JCrew ad:

I loved the antique look of this and the soft color scheme.  So I started with that.  Stephanie was thinking about incorporating a few nautical touches- crabs, anchor, lobsters, ect. One of the original designs was this one.  


So I went to work.  I think Stephanie and I hammered out about 15+ ideas and color schemes.  In the end, it came out very similar to the Lobster invitation.  I do love the typography we incorporated as well as the various shades of orange in the anchors. As I have found out, great designs often get reused and tweaked!
Custom Invitations with Matching Address Wrappers

Next up on the blog:  Save the Date Cartography

Thursday, September 1, 2011

Notecards Galore!

The Paperie has been slammed lately with a ton of fun and diverse projects.  In about a week, I received about 10 notecard orders.  It was a welcome change from the height of wedding season!

Designing stationery and notecards is a unique challenge.  When you send that special piece of correspondence usually to say "thank you", the stationery itself is as important as the note inside.  I work for hours on end (early Saturday mornings usually bring the most creativity) designing cards that are unique to each person.  

In the coming weeks, I hope to stock pile more notecard designs on the Etsy site. Most of the designs I plan on re-listing are ones that were custom made for clients.  So if nothing sparks your interest on the Etsy site, have no fear, Preppy Paperie will be able to design it! 

Here is a peak at some of our recent custom designs!







I liked this one so much, I made myself one!




Next Week on the blog: Jcrew inspired design