A Summer Fête

Every once in a while I design an invitation that I absolutely fall in love with. Here is my most recent one, and I can say that I emphatically love this design. I'm not sure why, I think it's the colors and graphic pattern of the paisley— Anyhow, this just screams rooftop cocktails with paper lanterns to me. But, if you don't have rooftop terrace accessible, outdoor cocktails in almost any setting would work, too.

Here is the invitation setting the tone with color and mood:

To keep the mood light and festive, how about serving these colorful cocktails—

And for decor, you can't go wrong with these pretty paper lanterns.

For the table settings, I love these origami votive wraps.

To keep things simple in the way of food, keep things easy by having alot (quantity-wise) of a few make-ahead items, rather than getting too complex with multiple appetizers. Stick with things that don't need to be grilled or cooked, such as fruit skewers, cheese and crackers, etc. For more menu suggestions and tips, click here.

Doesn't this make you want to get out the tiki torches and invite a few friends over?

Where is the time going??

Well, if I have any readers left out there since there has been nothing to read as of late, I sincerely apologize for my horrible blogging lately. I can't believe it's been 3 weeks since my last post, it feels like it was just yesterday—

To fill you in, things have been hectic here with my new studio office renovation (which now is complete, thankfully!), moving the ridiculous amounts of stuff that I have into this new space, and getting it all pretty and organized thanks to the relentless and tireless efforts of my multi-talented and positively wonderful mother (and hell-bent to finish a project so she can see the end result before getting back on a plane home) who came in for the weekend to help me. We worked into the wee-hours of the morning for 3 days, and managed to get the studio 95% done, the other unfinished side of the basement completely organized and cleaned out & up, and still managed to have some fun with my son and puppy while my husband had his own fun on a trip with his brother to New Orleans for JazzFest. I joked with Mom that she will start telling her friends that she's going on a mission trip rather than visiting her daughter next time she comes!

I am almost finished putting the space together, however, and promise to do a post complete with pictures in the next few days since all of the pattern and color inspire me! I've also been inspired to do several other posts and have a list of ideas to share with you forming so hopefully I'll get back into the routine very soon! Between lack of sleep, being very pregnant, two (well, soon to be two) new rooms in the house, and a few other things I am bubbling over with new ideas of things I want to try and will share with you. Taking inventory of all of my paper samples, swatchbooks, and wedding magazines inspired me as well!

Ok, enough rambling for now— I have 2 of 3 jobs packaged up and ready for UPS and need to finish the 3rd before naptime (for my 2 yr old and puppy!) is over!

Thanks again for your patience and I promise for better posts soon!

I still love animal prints...

I'm wearing my Old Navy zebra ballet flats for the first time today (even though I got them back in the winter) and it reminded me how much I love animal prints. There are tons of ways to use them now in non-traditional colors that make them definitely fun, and add a little twist. It also reminded me of a few things I've done in the past. I could probably go on with  million samples and ideas on the subject, but my 2 yr old is already calling for me to come and get him from his room so time is of the essence, and I'll make this quick—

The shoes:

Stationery for a younger girl (I think this would be cute with a monogram, too, for adults):

A first birthday party (this is from a couple of years ago, so I think I would change it up a bit now, but I still like the general idea):

And a moving announcement (Fort Worth is also know as "Cow Town"):

OK, the soft morning jibberish is now closer to yelling which is causing the dog to start barking—  Apparently my quiet time is over, so that's all for this post....

Yes, I'm still alive!

I whole-heartedly apologize for the lack of posting in recent weeks. I can't believe it's actually been 3 weeks since my last post! I would ask, where has the time gone? but I know exactly where! I have been crazy-busy with work! (and a two-year old, and a puppy, and being exhausted from being 7 months pregnant, and having my best college friends in town, and traveling for a long Easter weekend...) but mainly work!

I think the chaos started a few weeks ago when in the same week I was fortunate enough to gain an incredible (and well-known!) new client (but I will resist in bragging about who) and I also was awarded another project from one of my favorite clients, the Smithsonian American Art Museum, for an upcoming exhibit opening with some incredible lenders (read: more famous people) that are involved with the Opening and invitation approval. So, after I shed a few holy-sh*t-I'm-so-overwhelmed-that-famous-people-will-be-judging-my-work tears, I pulled it together and got back to work. In the last few weeks I have crossed a ton of jobs off my list, which is always SO satisfying:

• 2 large weddings (and programs, welcome booklets, dinner menus, placecards, and a few other things to go along with them...)
• birth announcements
• 2 baby shower invitations
• a wedding save-the-date
• a pre-wedding BBQ invitation
• a bridesmaids' poolside luncheon invitation
• a Garden Day party invitation
• a rehearsal dinner invitation, menus & placecards

and that's not even including my corporate clients, with the exhibit opening invite, a print ad, a brochure and a few other things... Goodness! No wonder I haven't posted in a few weeks!

I've enjoyed doing it all and am posting a few of the invites so you can see what I've been up to. I promise to get back to regular posting soon! Thanks for reading and for being patient with me :)

Hippity, hoppity, Easter's on it's way...

Between Martha Stewart and Pottery Barn, I think I could go nuts decorating for Easter. Unfortunately, I am not hosting this year, so I won't get to put all of these great decorations to use, but I can still ooh and aah over the thought of it, right?

For those hosting Easter lunch or dinner for family or friends, here are some great images that I've found...

For the table top, I love the idea of fresh cut spring flowers and ceramic bunnies. If you want a more casual, rustic approach, think terracotta pots, galvanized tin and earthy materials like linen napkins tied with twine for napkin rings.

Table top inspiration from Pottery Barn 

Easter egg table runner 

Ceramic bunnies 

Galanized metal serving pieces 

Terracotta pots 

Birdsnest bowl 

My mom always did an Easter tree for us, with hanging egg and bunny ornaments, and I loved it. I have all of the ornaments now, and have yet to do a tree since I've had them in my possession. There's always next year, right? Pottery Barn now sells an Easter tree or for those of you that are the crafty type, directions on how to make your own can be found here.

But don't forget the kids on Easter, either. While an adult table can be fun to decorate, you could go crazy with a kids table. I would start with a paper table cloth and crayons in a small tin or terracotta pot. To balance out all of the candy, how about a basket of "bunny food"? You could use a grapevine or other nature-inspired basket that I'm sure you could find at Michaels , or line the above birdsnest planter with lettuce leaves and fill it with baby carrots, celery, broccoli, grape tomatoes and a light dip. You could even drip some gummy worms over the edges and bury a few in the vegetables to make it seem more garden-like. The below shots aren't for an Easter table per se, but it gives a good idea of what you could do with a paper flower and grass approach.

And for favors for the kiddos, I love these grass baskets and envelope bunnies.

And you really can't plan an affair like this and not send out an invitation, right?

Cupcakes + champagne

Last week I got an email from my friend Maggie over at Sweet William, announcing her new personalized cupcake bands from The Paper Menu. How adorable are these?

Knowing that she loves all things colorful, cute and monogrammed, I immediately forwarded the email to my sister who promptly responded that this confirmed her need to host a Cupcakes & Champagne party (two of her favorite things). With the opening of many cupcake boutiques around the country, I think most have caught on by now that cupcakes are not just for birthdays anymore. And it turns out that cupcakes & champagne is a popular combination that is very now with even the likes of Kenneth Cole and Kate Spade serving it at events including her holiday party in Nashville. The best part is, there's no need to fret over what to serve, the menu's all ready decided for you! Throw in some chocolate covered strawberries and you are set—

Here's an idea for the invitation:

You could go ultra-girly or modern chic with this party, whatever strikes your mood. Here are a few ideas for displaying the cupcakes as seen on Wedding Bells Online.

And another simple tablescape from Mango on an Apple:

Think lots of flavors, tent cards describing what's what and cake stands in varying heights. This last pic looks like it was from a larger event, but nonetheless it will give you an idea of how to set the scene.

What a simple idea for a girls' night out party, bridal shower or just something fun to do!

Yellow + A Spring Wedding = True Love

Let me preface this post by saying that I have been having technical difficulties with adding pictures for days now, so I apologize for it taking me all week to get this up! And of course the last one that I need to add and can't is the invitation. I'm going to go ahead and post since it's been all week and I can't seem to get this to work and I will add the invitation next week. Until then, I'll let your imagination run wild as to what type of invitation we could do. I'll give you a hint that this event screams letterpress on beautiful, soft Italian paper...

I feel like I'm seeing alot of yellow in weddings lately and I absolutely love it! While looking through my Martha Stewart Weddings 15th anniversary edition, I came across this perfect cake and I couldn't help thinking of all the fabulous things you could do with a mainly yellow color palette and an outdoor wedding.

So the cake inspired this invitation, but really I just wanted something to set the tone for an outdoor wedding with an old-fashioned glass lemonade jug. How can you resist this?

And you're wondering where you set a lemonade jug? This looks like the perfect spot to me:

The next pictures speak for themselves so I'll just post them as some inspirational eye candy:

Daisy hor d'oeurves toothpicks
Icy vodka in fruit
Packets of sunscreen for outdoor weddings
Raffia fans to cool the guests down
A beautiful outdoor setting as seen here
A more intimate table
Menu card set inside the plate
More yellow inspiration

And if the cake that inspired me is a bit modern for your taste, how about one of these?

 Lemon cake

Eyelet cake

I love the idea of an eyelet cake with these adorable eyelet bridesmaids dresses. Well, really an eyelet dress you could have all your bridesmaids wear.

 
And if the group is hesitant to wear yellow as most women are, how about eyelet in another color from my absolute favorite bridesmaid dress line, Aria Dress...

And for your grand exit: