IN THE STUDIO // CLOVER & BEE

I am thrilled to be a monthly contributor to Clover and Bee blog, C & B Daily. Do you know Clover and Bee? If you don't and you live in the Midwest, you should. Their mission:

In love with good living and the local, Clover & Bee is dedicated to helping couples
design their Midwest weddings in the most style-conscious way.

Because, hey did you know that Midwesterners can be stylish too {sorry about the sarcasm}? Rebecca at Clover & Bee has put together a wonderful Best of Midwest Wedding Guide. This, with the blog, is practical and inspiring. The perfect helping hand for you and you upcoming wedding.

This month I put together a Holiday Paper Guide filled with cards and paper gifts. Here are the the three installations of the article. I'm really looking forward to talking paper and weddings in the months to come at Clover & Bee.

Introduction
Paper Guide: Part I
Paper Guide: Part II

IN THE STUDIO // INDEPENDENT WEDDING FAIR

I am very excited to be a part of the upcoming Something New: Independent Wedding Fair this February at the very chic Five Event Center in Minneapolis. Are you looking for local and independent vendors to help you with your wedding? Do you know someone who is? Do you want your wedding to stand out in a way that only a passionate professional who cares deeply about what they do can help you with? Do you know someone who wants this for their wedding? This will be the fair to attend. In the coming months I will feature other vendors and news from the fair.

Go here to get your tickets.

SHOP // MERINGUE RINGS {REAL & NOT-SO-REAL}

When I saw this post on Poppytalk I got so excited because I thought is was just a sweetly distinctive idea for a favor at a wedding. Meringue rings! Why had no one thought of this before? They would look stunning either on a place setting or on a long table, glorious in their white repetition. And then I actually read the post and found out that these are silicone and really are rings to be worn on a finger, not gluttonously devoured at first site. I will admit my mild disappointment, but then I realized that there are lots of great bakeries out there that could make the real thing for you and your lovely wedding {or maybe you're just that talented and could pull it off yourself}. What great inspiration for wedding favors. Now get on the phone, find out what local bakery will do them for you and report back. :)

The rings themselves are from German designer Tanja Hartmann and are available here.

INSPIRATION FILE // MARGARET KILGALLEN

I have always wanted to try my hand at hand lettering and Margaret Kilgallen's work is perfect inspiration. So off to take yet another look at the REDCAT Gallery's exhibition catalog of their 2005 exhibit In the Sweet Bye & Bye. From the REDCAT web site :

“Margaret Kilgallen: In the Sweet Bye & Bye presents works by the influential Bay Area painter. Kilgallen’s unique re-sourcing of sweetly familiar and non-hierarchical everyday places, markings and people was in large part inspired by the wandering culture of immigrants, railway workers and dreamers. She was especially interested in evidence of a maker’s hand—in seeing traces of the maker in her work.”

That, in a nut shell, is why I love, love, love her work – the importance of both the everyday and the hand! If you want to see more images from the exhibit go to Flickr where sketchypad.annex has a great photo set from the exhibition itself. It will give you a taste of her work and make you order the book as quickly as I did.

Margaret Kilgallen: In the Sweet Bye & Bye at The Curiosity Shoppe.

IN THE STUDIO // HOLIDAY CARDS A-PLENTY

I have been so very busy with custom printed holiday and Christmas cards lately. This makes me very happy. Here are some of my offerings, all of which are available at my Etsy shop. The card above can be bought as is, with the simple greeting "May your days be merry and bright." {a 6 pack is $14 or if you buy 30 or more cards they are $2 a piece} or you may have your own custom message letterpress printed at the bottom {50 for $95}. Both are printing on 100% cotton paper and include white envelopes and self adhesive photo corners for you to mount your own photo to the card. This has been my single most popular card so far this season. For the custom card I need 3 weeks from final approval of artwork to shipping the cards so now's the time to order if you want them out before Christmas.

The rest of the cards below can be bought blank inside or you may customize these as well. With these I offer digital personalization and letterpress personalization. Contact me if you are interested {there's a link to contact me on the right side bar} in either type of personalization.

INSPIRATION FILE // FALL LEAF ROSES

Love this for a fall wedding. Great for your bouquet, boutineers, centerpieces, favors, your hair. There are really so many uses for something like this. Find the directions at iDIY.

INSPIRATION FILE // VERY FALL COLOR

Another 100 Layer Cake color board. Not only are the colors fabulous together but check out the dress, the eyes and especially the hand written stationery. Lovely.

IN THE STUDIO // PAPER TOYS & GIFTS

With Christmas and the holidays coming up very quickly, I've been thinking about paper gifts as well as cards. Top is a thaumatrope which is a Victorian spinner toy. It will be available in the shop in October. Bottom is a cd sleeve complete with blank cd, ready for you to burn your tunage to. Available here, oh and here is another one.

SHOP // ADRIFT DESIGNS

Though I'm not a big gold person normally, I just adore this ring. It just looks like it wants to be worn for a really long time, forever, in fact. Comfy, warm, inviting...just like your to-be-wed. Find it here.

INSPIRATION FILE // VINTAGE POSTCARDS

Vintage postcard inspiration is on the menu today. I love the idea of incorporating vintage postcards into wedding stationery whether that is just in concept as above (from The Wedding Style Guide), or actually using postcards as reply cards as below (see Etsy story here), it brings a sense of time and history to a wedding.

SHOP // AMBER SKY

If you are the vintage bride type this necklace is for you. It's new yet it looks old and it's blue. You're almost set. You can find this one at the Amber Sky Etsy shop. Really, you couldn't go wrong with any piece in the shop.

INSPIRATION FILE // ICE CREAM BUFFET

Though this wasn't meant as a wedding dessert idea, I have always thought a dessert buffet would be just perfect for a wedding whether it's ice cream, cakes, cookies...heck, all of the above. Add to that the endless stationery inspirations that could come from it. Find more details here. Just lovely.

IN THE STUDIO // BAD BLOGGER

I was on such a roll with this lovely blog and then one long weekend later {oh yeah, and the Minnesota State Fair} all my consistent posting is *poof* gone. But I'm back on track now and ready to share what's going on in the studio right now: a couple of new mini card designs. Both available in my Etsy shop, here and here. Back next week with a bunch of new ideas for inspiration and shopping. Have a great weekend.

SHOP // MAKING THE KIDDOS FEEL SPECIAL

Today is my son's first birthday. I just had to get him a special party hat to wear for the countless pictures that will be taken of him today, so I got him the crown in the photo above. He looks so sweet in it. I was thinking however, that these would be great gifts for any kids in your bridal party or for kid guests to wear at the reception. They would make an older kid feel special and may entice him or her to behave while mom and dad have one more dance before hitting the road.

Available at Nifty Kids Stuff.

INSPIRATION FILE // THE TEXTILE BLOG

The Textile Blog is a great place to go if you're looking for design inspiration for you wedding, for your home or just for procrastination.

From the blog:
This blog concentrates on the history of textiles. It includes printed, woven and knitted textiles, as well as wallpaper, carpet, rug, tapestry, quilting and embroidery design. It also includes a culturally diverse approach to the history of textile design across the globe.

IN THE STUDIO // JUST IN TIME FOR SCHOOL

Admittedly these are probably better for that college age student in your life or for yourself to protect against that lunch nabbing co-worker. In any case they're pretty funny and available here.

SHOP // PEACOCK HEAD PIECE

This peacock head piece by Portabello is so lovely for a fall wedding and for that fun evening out with the girls or to wear for your first anniversary. I love wedding accessories that have future function and are not too precious to wear again after the wedding. They are nice reminders of your day without screaming W-E-D-D-I-N-G! Get it here.

INSPIRATION FILE // LOUISE FILI LTD.

Louise Fili is a giant in the world of graphic design. I have long been an admirer of her work and thought I should share some of my favorites with you today. I wish I had even half the creativity she has in her little finger. Such beautiful work and SO inspiring for weddings. Enjoy!

IN THE STUDIO // GONE FISHIN' EDITION

I'm taking a day to smell the roses. Here's a little bit of inspiration found via Classic Bride. It's a great way to have a guest book but actually do something with it after the wedding. Very nice.Have a great weekend y'all!

SHOP // RINGS

These rings come from Elizabeth Scott Botanical Jewelry. I adore the organic shapes, the delicate qualities and, most of all, the non-wedding ring-y appearance of all of these. They don't smack you in the face saying "Hey, look at me! I'm big! I'm expensive! I am a wedding ring. ". Rather they claim a subtle awesomeness that says it's wearer appreciates the unique and the handmade.

INSPIRATION FILE // GRANDPA GEORGE

I am finally redesigning my web site – correction – I am having professionals redesign my website. Which, after meeting Grandpa George on Saturday, I am even more excited about than I was before meeting them, especially because I walked away with this little "Easter egg" of inspiration. It's a series of film clips run together without sound of things that inspire the folks at Grandpa George. What is even better is that it is different every time you visit. It's not difficult to find, but you do have to look for it. Below is the Grandpa George home page. See the vertical bar on the right {on the actual page it is animated}? Click on it and you've got an endless stream of inspiration for your any creative project...yes, even your wedding.

More on the web site and what we're doing for Grandpa George in the weeks {months?} to come.

SHOP // ME & MATILDA

Wedding party ties from Me & Matilda are simple perfection. I love the thought of these at a casual wedding or maybe a fancy wedding with a quirky and casual guy who wants to stand out just a little next to his bride. These are great and not too dressy for a day at the office. They also offer ring bearer pillows and the cutest bow ties for big and little guys alike.

INSPIRATION FILE // VINTAGE CANDY WRAPPERS

Put the word vintage in front of any of the following words and I'm hooked: italian, french, packaging. Here we have all three. I'm obviously feeling a bit art nouveau today. Here are three wrappers that would be beautiful inspirations for wedding stationery from the typography to the pattern design to the illustrations. So much to be inspired from. Here are the links:
French candy labels, Leone, Hersheys.