Well Said – A Sunny Sentiment

Short and sweet this week. I just adore this quote!

This sweet design was created for Jody and Randy. I combined happy shades of yellow with my whimsical watercolor tree with sheer shimmer hand-painted details. Does anyone feel like lemonade??

An Artful Life – Something different for the season…

Adam and I throw a Holiday bash every year and this year’s festivities are coming up on December 19th. I have a few rules for the party, it must been fun, we must eat well, it must be pretty and there must always be an element of surprise. This year we came up with a crazy idea to #1 surprise all our guests and #2 accomplish the difficult task of finding meaningful gifts for everyone.

I called upon my friend Shane East, a local wedding photographer originally from San Diego, to spend the evening with us and our guests on the 19th. Shane will be capturing all the warm fuzzy moments throughout the evening as well as offering families and friends the opportunity to pose for shots in front of the fireplace or tree.

In addition to giving up a Friday evening right before the Holiday, Shane has also agreed to process photos before Christmas Eve for our gift giving pleasure. I am so anxious to see the faces of our loved ones as they open what I believe will be the best gift Adam and I have ever given – the gift of a captured moment, memories.

In preparation I offered to gather inspiration photos so Shane can get a sense of the type of shots I love. Since I spend time on many photographer blogs it was only natural for me to gravitate there for inspiration. Here are some favorites:

This is one of my favorite shots of Shane’s. I love that it is posed but with an artistic eye for composition. I think this was posed – tell me if I am wrong Shane!

Photos courtesy Shane East Weddings

I hope to capture some precious kid moments like this one above – priceless!

I adore shots like this that capture the environment, the setting of the event, so much can be seen and felt in these detail shots.

Photos courtesy of DVB Photographers

I am big fan of the hugging shots. There is so much real emotion captured. Nothing posed, just fresh and real. The first half hour of our parties are spent giving lots of hugs, handshakes and kisses, can’t wait to capture this!

The shot above is soooo amazing. Love the focus on her expression while still having a sense of the surrounding emotion.

Photos courtesy Laura Novak Photography

The kids, the pup, too cute – love the joy captured here. Slightly posed but still so spirited!

My absolute favorite. For me, the perfect family portrait! I adore Amelia Lyon’s work – such a sense of history in each shot.

Photos courtesy Amelia Lyon

Another lovely environment shot.

Photos courtesy of Merge Weddings

Just found these two gems today. I commented on Rachel’s blog and said these shots make me want to have kids!!!

Do you have any favorite photographers or specific shots – family or wedding? I would love to hear from you!

Kristy Says you can tie the perfect knot!

Many of my clients incorporate a simple knot into their invitation designs. A expertly tied knot can give the invitation a clean, classic look or keep all enclosures neat and tidy within the envelope.

This is a much requested DIY at the studio. Tying the Perfect knot is not as easy as it may seem. Depending on the material and width of the ribbon, without these specific steps you could be in for an interesting time.

Follow these steps carefully and I promise you will (after a few tries) be tying your perfect knot!

1. Wrap ribbon length around item you are tying, pull tight and cross the right side over top of the left.

2. Continue to tuck right side over and behind the left.

3. Pull tightly and place your left middle finger on top of the intersection.

4 Now the left side will cross over and behind the right side.

5. Keep middle finger on intersection as you tighten your knot. This will ensure you maintain a tight finish. As you tighten slowly remove your middle finger while at the same time ensuring you tug each ribbon end straight.

6. Don’t tighten knot while ribbon ends are at an angle, you will then have a knot that is at an angle!

7. Trim know ends to desired length. Use very new or freshly sharpened scissors.

8. There you have it – a perfect knot. Trust me, the first one you try feels very awkward, but you will find your rhythm after a few!

Amy and Damien 08.29.08

In Amy’s Words…

Tell us about the one thing you would not change about your wedding, and what is the one thing you would change if you could?

I honestly don’t think I would change anything. I put myself in the mind set that the only thing that mattered that day was how much we loved each other. The little things that went wrong were irrelevant to me. So, I can’t honestly say I would change a thing and everything in our eyes was perfect!

Have you done anything interesting with your wedding stationery since your wedding day ?

I’ve placed my invitation in a frame with our picture, and our program, an escort card,
table number, and invitation in our wedding scrap book! It looks great!

What was the guest reaction to your stationery choices?

Our guests loved the stationery. I can’t even count the number of compliments we received from them throughout the whole wedding process. 30-35 people JUST in the receiving line commented on how beautiful, unique, and classy our stationery was! It made me feel great! I loved everything about them, and I wouldn’t trade our decisions for the world!

What is your favorite memory from the day?

My favorite memory would have to be seeing his face as I turned the corner to walk down the aisle. He mouthed the words “I love you” while I was walking down! It was simply incredible!

Photography by Mary Grace Mailen Photography

Flowers by John Mackey

Amy and family – you were such a pleasure to work with and I appreciate your trust in me to vision and create your stationery. I am honored to have been a small part of your day!

B&W inspired by Liancarlo

During Bridal Market week I poured over The Bride’s Guide by Darcy Miller for her take on the new bridal designs. I fell in love with the dress below by Liancarlo. I adore the cascading petals – there is such a sense of graceful movement.

I couldn’t resist adding a bit of sparkle!

Well Said – Sandi and Bill

When I first spoke to Sandi I was immediately enchanted by her energy. She was married a second time to the love of her life this past September. She called one afternoon and gave me complete creative control of her invitation design – she simply required that it be “fabulous”.

We experimented with artwork and paper choice, combined unexpected elements to capture a look that was as elegant and dripping with personality. Sandi mentioned to me that she would love a quote included in her design, but nothing to frilly or traditional. After searching for days I find this lonely little quote that seemed to speak perfectly of this dynamic couple.

“The good life is inspired by love and guided by knowledge”

Welcome to My Artful Life!

My life as a stationery designer is a crazy, whirlwind one. From one day to the next I can never predict what I might be involved in. From creating original watercolor illustrations to troubleshooting a bug on my blog, I am always trying something new. I however, never stray from the heart of my passion which is the artwork.

I live and breathe my inspirations. I adore color and pattern and am always looking for unconventional combinations of both. I can get lost in the creation of a new painting, perfecting each brush stroke to speak of my connection with the subject. I am not a realist in my work I instead infuse each brush stroke and color wash with the emotion I draw from my subject matter.

The home I share with Adam, the hubby, our 3 pups and one fat cat is another creative space in which I can experiment, much like the Momental Studio. Nearly four years ago Adam and I moved back to our beloved hometown from Upstate New York. We arrived here with a hunger for renewed space and re-connection with family and friends. Our first mission was to to build the house of our dreams (cliche, I know but true) and so we did.

Form verses function, artist verses engineer was (and still is) the ever evident dichotomy of our lives. Adam and I together designed every aspect of the space. From the dining room built around our massive table and chair collection to our DIY hardwood floor installation – we embarked on a labor of love, sweat and tears (mostly love and sweat) and it was sooo worth it!

So many of our friends and family members pitched in – we needed to paint the entire house in 6 days including all my special touches – so we could never have done it without the help!

Move in was tricky – April 15th 2005, rainy, muddy. Adam was so worried about the floors – it took us 2 weeks straight to finish the install.

As this is my first post in “An Artful Life” I want to share some photos from the very beginning of our homebuilding adventure. Each Tuesday I will post more “finished” shots of this house we call sanctuary and retreat. I will share with you my artful life beyond the studio. You will have a chance to see what inspires me, witness my crazy decorating ideas. A little glimpse of whats to come…I am just itching to trim my 5 themed Christmas trees, including a bathroom tree! Stay tuned!