vote!

It's election day! Make your voice heard! Get out and vote!

Yippee for me!

Now available for sale!

I just found out that one of my designs ("Paris") in the "Around the World Holiday Card Challenge" was chosen as an editor's pick. Yay! And that means again, they will be available for sale (in two colorways!) at Minted the holiday season.

Check out all the design submissions at Minted.com.

I have so much fun designing for these Minted challenges! It's help me push my Illustrator skills too. This one was particularly challenging because we were asked to design a holiday card inspired by a specific geographic location. Sounds easy right? But it's really difficult to design a card, let's say for San Francisco, and not have it be cliche´. Well, I think I succeded in that (mostly).


photo: Minted

Hooray for me!

Just tooting my own horn a little bit here! But I'm excited to announce that two of my designs in the Minted.com Fabulous Thank You Card Challenge were "Editor's Picks". Which means they will picked up by Minted and sold on their website sometime in the near futute. Both designs ("Wrapped" and "Mod Lattice") will be available in two swanky colorways! Check em out!

spring cleaning

My studio/office has been in dire need of a reorganizing/clean-up for months. Finally, business has slowed a bit so that I have time to do this. I have a bunch of stuff to sell. Stuff I don't need anymore or use - but could be of use to someone? I've set up a flickr.com photostream with all the photos and info. Please take a look and if you are interested just send me an e-mail.

SALE PHOTOS on FLICKR.COM

l e t t e r p r e s s !

I am so thrilled to announce that we have letterpress wedding invitations available on our website now! A few of the designs are updated versions of our tried and true BUT we also have some very chic, new designs just for letterpress. Shown above are Tea Garden and Lattice. We will be using Crane's Lettra paper which is a gorgeous paper made just for letterpress. Unfortunately, we do not have any samples yet - they're just so expensive - soon though. It's been a lot of hard work so we're tired but happy. Lol, I sound like I just gave birth ; ) Anyway, please take a look and let us know what you think!

Save Polaroid!

In a age of instant graitification, how is it that we losing one of the most interesting forms of modern photography? With Polaroid there is no retouch, no Photoshop. It is often blurry, sometimes ugly, mostly stunning, it is compelling for it's honesty. We are going to lose it soon. Polaroid has announced that it will stop making instant films this year. If you love photography and in particular instant photography then you need to take action. Please visit the website www.savepolaroid.com to find out more.

yum!

You know how they say you shouldn't go to the grocery store when you are hungry? Well they need to say the same thing about blogging! I came across these cupcakes from Whipped Bakeshop in Philadelphia. Don't these just look scrumptious! I guess it's obvious I have a little "problem" with chocolate, huh? And I've always been fond of the idea of doing cupcakes instead of a wedding cake. First shown are chocolate cupcakes filled with marshmallow fluff, topped with rich bittersweet ganache, graham cracker crumbs, toasted marshmallows and mini Hershey bars. Yum! The pink cupcakes are chocolate with handmade chocolate scribbles atop tinted vanilla buttercream. Again, yum!

Photos: Whipped Bakeshop

stamp this!

Every now and then I take a gander at the stamps that the USPS has to offer. I'm one of those people that thinks it's important to coordinate stamp to envelope (and occasion). It's kind of like accessory shopping for your envelopes. Hey, I'm a designer what'd you expect! So there's no reason to settle for the ol' stars and stripes or wedding heart stamps these days. Anywho, I saw a couple of cute designs that I thought I'd share with you . . .

Even the postcard stamps are stylish! Wouldn't you love to get a postcard from Hawaii with one of these cuties? Um, hello? . . . wouldn't you love to send a postcard from Hawaii!

Ah shucks

I was recently mentioned on Tart Workshop's blog for my use of their Henparty Serif font. Many thanks for the kind words! I am a big fan of Crystal Kluge's work so when I saw that her beautiful calligraphy would be available in font form, I was delighted! Henparty has many applications but in this instance it was used for a child's birthday party invitation. And it was pretty darn sweet (if I do say so myself)! Thanks again! I look forward to more Tart Workshop fonts!

updos with a twist

Try one of these lovely updos from The Knot for your wedding. The updo is a classic and timeless style that looks stunning on just about everyone, if done right. Don't use too much hairspray and take it easy on the backcombing.

my grandmother c.1969

This weekend I found a fabulous photo of my grandmother that I just had to share!

lovely dresses

I was surfing the web looking at wedding gowns recently and found some real winners. Check out this stunning gown by Christos Bridal (left). It really is exquisite and just screams elegance! This would be perfect with a classic bouquet of white roses. Our Classic Monogram wedding invitation would be a wonderful compliment. Also, I saw this gorgeous J. Crew gown (below) and absolutely fell in love. It is so sleek, sexy, and modern but with a touch of 1940's glamour! This dress could be worn by the modern or vintage-inspired bride.  
Also, I saw this super chic J. Crew bridesmaid's dress. It's so cute, actually looks comfortable, and could be worn post-wedding. It comes in a bunch of colors too. Perfect for a summer wedding!


photos:
JCrew.Com
ChristosBridal.Com

Lattice is here!

As I mentioned earlier, I was inspired to design an invitation using Poppy as the main color component. Lattice is the wonderful result! Hope you like it!

orange crush!

Inspiration . . . I have been seeing a lot of orange recently - and I love it! A bright orange like our Poppy Colorscope goes so well with just about any theme. It can be rustic if paired with Chocolate. Or it can be fun and whimsical when paired with Chartreuse or Blossom. If you really want to be chic, put it with crisp white or industrial grey. Check out these orange Dahlias too! I LOVE Dahlias (hey, it's my daughter's middle name). Hmmm, I feel a Poppy orange invitation brewing . . . stay tuned.




These drink stirers caught my eye for their pop of bright orange color and sleek modern style. Also, LOVE this J.Crew Mirabelle dress in this "Orange Peel" color. Why didn't they make bridesmaids and wedding dresses when I got married!!!

photos:
Brides.Com
JCrew.Com

keeping busy!

Well, the busy wedding season is upon us. I don’t think I’ll ever get used to the seasonal nature of this business. I really shouldn’t even be sitting here writing this - but I am. I need a break and the little one is napping! (In case you don’t know, I have a seven month old, gorgeous baby girl.) I’ve been trying to figure out what the “trends” are this season. So far I don’t see any except that they are the same as last season. Seems like large floral motifs are hot (again). Our Bloom design is a bestseller!



But right now I am loving our Daisy wedding invitation, it’s a new design we added recently. We used Curry Colorscope paper as a backing, which I love because it’s not your typical daisy yellow.