Press – Momental in Ceremony Magazine

Getting an email from Karen Tran about her next photo shoot project is always a thrill as it is guaranteed to be a exciting experience.   Recently our newest Vintage Pattern, lacy leaves, was featured in this “Purple Reigns” shoot exclusively for Ceremony Magazine.  The intricate, romantic quality of the pattern was a perfect contrast to the bold sequined, magenta loveliness Karen envisioned.

Here is a look at some photos taken before the pieces left the studio.  An invitation was created for the look, just in case, but not captured for the shoot.  A tiny round rhinestone buckle adorned the top third of the invite with the Lacy Leaves pressed into the lower third.

As you know, I cannot seem to get enough of shimmer finishes-not overdone, glittery, but subtle shimmer sheen.  I love the look of sheer shimmer inks hand painted onto shimmering white cardstock.  The effect is a glistening, crystalline finish that is light and airy while still dramatic and sophisticated.

A huge thanks to Karen for including me yet again!  I cannot wait for some of our upcoming projects as I feel blessed to have such a creative kindred spirit.

Press-Elizabeth Messina, Janie Medley, Momental and friends in Bride and Bloom Part II

Today is a look behind the scenes at the stationery pieces created for the Bride and Bloom shoot featuring Elizabeth Messina, Merriment Events and Janie Medley.  I mentioned in yesterday’s post that the request was for a non-flower centered design that was clean and unfussy.

A look at the collection photographed by yours truly.

You can imagine my shock when I learned our looks were on two pages!  The shot above features Janie’s gorgeous bouquet as seen on pg 131.

The half circles seen on each piece were individually hand painted, freehand.  No guides or template used here, just a decisive stroke using the perfect shaped brush.

The opaque gouache used to paint the half circles has such a pretty milky quality.  I love how the brushstrokes are seen here and there making it quite obvious these pieces were hand painted with love.  A simple scalloped edge on the table number gives the perfect dose of sweet to the look.

I am continually amazed when artists are brought together by a common vision to produce work that is both inspired and harmonious.  A big thank you to Courtney, Janie and Elizabeth for trusting my work to embellish your vision.  Collaboration for me is key in this industry and I am honored to be named alongside such talent.  Of course a big thank you goes to Leila and team at Be Inspired PR.  Your dedication to my work and brand vision is truly priceless.

Press – Elizabeth Messina, Janie Medley, Momental and friends in Bride and Bloom Part I

Many years ago after meeting a client in Barnes and Noble (before I had a studio outside of my home), I picked up a magazine.  The name was Bride and Bloom and I remember being drawn in distinctly because of the watercolor droplets as part of the gorgeous cover.  From the first page, I was lured into a world of tabletop design, real weddings and color palettes all with a distinct artistic edge.  From that very moment on I made it one of my goals, or should I say dreams to one day have my hand painted stationery designs featured in Bride and Bloom.  My dream has come true.

A look at the cover that inspired my dream!

Last October I received a late night email from Leila letting me know that I had the opportunity to collaborate with none other than the amazing photographer,  Elizabeth Messina and Janie Medley of JM Flora and The Bride’s Cafe.  My scream most likely reached octives only animals could hear as I lept from my chair and ran to exclaim the big news to the hubby.  The rest as they say is history.

The design direction from Janie plus a detail of an inspiration board she shared:

“eclectic…..chic…organic….i would prefer not to have the flower motif on the stationery…just something with nice clean lines.”

I went to work on menus, place cards, chair signs and a sweet table number. As I have mentioned before, planning enough time is key when preparing pieces for photography as no detail goes unnoticed by the camera!  Admittedly, the request to refrain from using a floral motif on the pieces was quite intimidating.   After sitting at the painting table  in the studio, experimenting with various concepts, from painted striped, hand drawn border and various other ideas, I finally came to the idea of painted dots.  I loved the look of the sheer white half circles painted with white acrylic, encased with sage green and chocolate hand painted dots.  The look in the end had a certain understated whimsy.

In my opinion, the touch of crimson present in Janie’s lush and romantic bouquet takes this neutral palette to another level entirely.

How about these sweet little menu stands, so perfect fom A Remark You Made. This particular shot really shows the texture I achieved with the painted dots.  Also, Steph’s suggestion of a vellum layer could not have been more perfect.  The layering of papers reminded me of the way a birch tree’s bark peels revealing the lovely smooth wood below.

From Janie:White hydrangea, Belles of Ireland, White Snowberries, white Ranunculus and Burgundy Dahlias

Check back tomorrow for a behind the scenes look at the pieces before they left the studio.  Until then check out Elizabeth’s post on Kiss the Groom!

A Celebration with some Momental Favorites!

What a better reason to host a giveaway, than in celebration, right?  As you might know it has been a fabulous two weeks here at The Momental Studio.  We are feeling quite blessed and would like to share the love!  I have put together a basket full of Momental favorites for the winner of this giveaway to be announced next Tuesday, January 19th at 12pm est!

So, you might be wondering, what is a Momental Favorite? The giveaway basket includes a few items I love to surround myself everyday with for one reason or another.  The Southern Weddings magazine is an example of true art in publishing and every page is more beautiful than the previous.  After requesting Paloma’s Nest Paper Mache hearts for a recent photo shoot, I  simply could not return them, as I smile each time I look!   Danielle and Company pure oats glycerin soap and pure vanilla lip balm are basic staples for pure comfort – love her stuff!  Moleskine journals and Shaprie black pens are my artistic staples.  I purchase the Sharpies in bulk for sketching and always carry a Moleskine journal with me to capture sudden ideas or an unexpected need to sketch!  Next up is something I am pretty sure I cannot live without – music!  So, to the winner, you will also enjoy a $15.00 Itunes giftcard!  Last but not least is a little suprise directly from the studio, created just for you!

So here is what you need to do to win! Take a moment to comment on this post and tell me what item, blog, magazine etc.  you cannot live without in wedding planning!

Remember, the winner will be chosen at random and announced next Tuesday, January 19th at 12pm est!

Press – Momental Designs in Inside Weddings!

I have been dying to share the news!!!   Months ago the lovely Leila emailed me to say that the Editor of Inside Weddings was loving my Shimmering Winter snowflake invitation set.  A request for a complete set was made and I went right to work!  The snowflake illustration was originally created for a client in Ireland about 2 years ago.  The whimsical style and understated feel of the snowflake artwork are the perfect “canvas” for lavish hand-painted details.

I reserved the good part of 2 days in the studio to create this collection.  Yes, that is right 2 days.  The camera notices everything to say the least so stationery created for photoshoots needs to be nothing short of perfect.

Steph created this gorgeous pattern for borders and envelope liners.   The palette was rich and dramatic in shades of aubergine, gold and champagne.

I especially love the textured ivory paper placed just underneath the invitation layer.  The hand painting on this wedding invitation is truly the focus.  Creamy white acrylic fills each snowflake “petal” while bright shimmering gold ink dots were hand-painted throughout.

The Pocketfold® closure is a simple artwork tag and aubergine cardstock wrap.  The snowflakes here are overlapped to give the feeling of falling snowflakes on a cold winter day.

Nothing says elegance (in my opinion) like a wide double faced satin ribbon knot.  The ceremony program for this collection, although not featured, was one of my favorites.  Shades of white and ivory alone create a clean, winter palette  while complimenting the collection’s other warm and dramatic hues.

A huge thank you to Leila at Be Inspired PR and team for truly believing in what we do here at Momental.  Also, thank you to The Momental Girls for their unending support and creative input!

Eco Beautiful Magazine is here!

The highly anticipated launch of the Eco Beautiful Magazine is here!  I had a quiet moment to browse the pages and was nothing short of blown away by the smart layout, design, content and artistry obvious on each and every page.  Eco Beautiful is the brainchild of Katie Martin, owner of Elegant and Simplicity Wedding Design Firm and one of the nation’s leading Eco-Friendly Wedding Planners.  Katie contacted me several months ago, educated me about this project and asked that I create something exclusive for Eco Beautiful.  I was honored.

Eco-conscious stationery at Momental Designs usually involves using  less paper verses just printing on our 100% tree free cardstocks.  Another important element in our green designs is the re-use of vintage materials such as reclaimed postage.    To lessen our carbon footprint, our Eco-Artistic wedding invitations and stationery rely heavily on completely hand-pressed and hand-painted artwork verses  subtle hand-painted details on a printed piece.

Here is a look at a gray version of the same invitation featured in Eco Beautiful.  My favorite detail is the painted envelope.

My favorites from the magazine would have to be the DIY photobooth spread by Stephanie Grimm  of Couture Parties.  I had the pleasure of meeting Stephanie  at Engage 09! The Encore in Las Vegas this past October and let me say she is just a warm and fun in person as she appears online!   A gorgeous 4 page spread dedicated to the lovely ladies of 100 Layer Cake was also a highlight while reading.  I was first introduced to their blog by my web designer Heidi from Spitfiregirl Designs last Spring.  Since then I have been continually inspired by 100 Layer Cake’s unique perspective on weddings.  It was a blast to gain a look into what inspires them!

After receiving my holiday gifts for family from Paloma’s Nest this year I am hooked to say the least.  Caroline’s exclusive piece created just for Eco Beautiful was no less obsession worthy than others  in her collection.  The quote she chose is the perfect nod to caring for our lives, hearts and earth which is obviously at the very core of Eco Beautiful’s mission.   “May your days together be good and long upon this earth.”

So pencil in an hour, grab a cup of coffee and prepare to be impressed.  The Eco Beautiful Magazine is everything it promised and more.

Hand-Painted, Watercolor Letterpress on Oh So Beautiful Paper

It has been a wild and exciting two weeks here at the Momental Studio.  We have brought on some amazing new clients whose projects were are really excited about.  Our ears are ringing like mad with the Style Me Pretty feature and wedding planner blogger features from last week.  Needless to say the Momental Girls and I are feeling quite blessed and grateful.  It means so much that this community of wedding friends and professionals are rallying around our work with such excitement.  Thank you, thank you.

Oh So Beautiful Paper is a blog I have been following for some time and to be honest it was always a dream come true to have my work featured last week.  When I received the email that Nole loved our hand-painted letterpress save the dates I was thrilled!  Head over to Oh So Beautiful Paper to check out the post but take a look here for some additional shots!

I had a blast with these envelopes from Envelopments®.  The texture and shimmering cobalt color really popped and so reminded of the vibrant blue skies in Utah.  How about those stamps?  The second time in history Zion was placed on a stamp and it coincides with our renewal – how cool!

Betsy Dunlap was available to take on my project and I was excited to find this lettering style that mimicked the Zion redrock landscape the hubby and I love so much!

I have always loved letterpress.  Combining our signature hand-painted invitation look with the texture of letterpress is a dream come true.    More and more brides are falling in love with the combintation of pressed artwork and individually painted strokes of color and we couldn’t be more excited!