Shasta S.

Rachel C.

Sarah W.

I can already see your design coming to life!

Papers, Custom Illustration Wedding Invitation, Great Fosters Venue

Carlo O.

Behind the Scenes – Holiday Hydrangeas on The Brides Cafe

I could not be more excited that it is now officially appropriate to go Holiday wild!  To be honest, we’ve been listening to Holiday tunes at the studio for the last two weeks!  Imagine my thrill when the talented Janie from The Brides Cafe surprised me with this savvy Holiday shoot last week!  From time to time I send Janie stationery pieces, rarely knowing exactly how she plans to use them.  But oh the thrill of delicious surprise…

You may recognize the stationery pieces from a project with Bride and Bloom Magazine but we love seeing them again!  Read more here about the painted dots on each.  We adore this whimsical and modern painting technique!  More on the design from Janie:

“…my mother loved this time of the year and she so enjoyed all the planning and decorating….hydrangeas were one of her favorite flowers and I couldn’t resist these lovelies when I spotted them in our local Whole Foods a few weeks ago.  The great thing about hydrangeas is that you can purchase about five stems and truly decorate your dining table….their fluffy heads are perfect for the holiday table and I paired them up with lots of silver vessels and mercury votives…..and to accent the red in these antique hydrangeas, I added pomegranates…..and yes, that’s an “old silver tray” of my mom’s in the middle of the table holding the votives and the pomegranates…..so simple…sweet…and elegant.”

Big hugs to Janie for including some of my favorite stationery pieces and Amelia Johnson for capturing every moment so beautifully.

Engage!11 Grand Cayman – An Evolving Color Palette and The Sketches Part III

Today I am thrilled to feature the images of one of my favorite people in this industry.  Donna Von Bruening shoots clean, classic images that truly can be admired for lifetimes.  We love her… period.

When planning began for Engage!11 I was honored to contribute opinions on color concept.  Of course big ideas got me into big trouble…The good kind of trouble though, the kind we thrive on.  So the thought was to evolve color over three days and along with it the stationery palette as well.  So began the adventure of creating color appropriate pieces for a three day conference for over 260 highy creative and savvy attendees.  No small task.

Heather and Susan from Gifts for the Good Life created a catchy graphic pattern that the entire event’s look was based upon.  Details of waves, coral,  sand-dollars, turtle and nautilus shells repeated… Towels and room keys to coasters and water bottles were branded with expert flair.

Day one was all about sandy tones of gold, ivory, tan and cream.  Touches of green and purple appeared to tell of what was to come…  Each guests received a custom namecard featuring our contrast painted pattern of sand-dollars and nautilus shells.

Day two was green galore!  Moments of tan, white and purple accented throughout.  Custom namecards featured a painstakingly painted coral pattern in white shimmer inks against Envelopments’ Wicked shimmer stock.

Day three turned up the volume on color and drama.  Vibrant purples were front and center with accents of tan and gold.  Jute textures made an appearance on each namecard with a washy watercolor painted collection of sketched starfish.  We loved how each tone of purple faded into the next… The lovely Jo-Anne Brown of Celebrations posing amidst her stage design!

A huge thanks to Envelopments, Two Paper Dolls and the Momental Girls for making all this magic happen!

I couldn’t possibly end and Engage post without, you guessed it, SKETCHES!!  The media panel consisted of Rebecca Crumley of The Knot, Shira Savada of Martha Stewart Weddings, Harmony Walton of the new Jete Fete, Jill Meister and Angela Desveaux of WedLuxe… Fun, fun!!!

Nikki C.