Write Around Portland had their gala fundraiser, (XYZ) a few weeks ago at DWR. We were excited to design the invite again this year! The invite was built from many parts; a perforated card + rsvp, the return envelope and a belly band to hold it all together. The invitation was mailed in a clear plastic envelope. XYZ centers around word games and we used classic games as a point of inspiration on the invite.

The belly band

The invite

The invite with perfed rsvp ticket postcard. This project is always a pleasure to work on, I love the way it turned out!

Congratulations to K + Z on their big day over the weekend! I created a custom minimal invitation for them over the summer.

In the original suite we did not include a rsvp postcard, this was added and fit the shapes of the suite nicely.

Clare printed on a cranes cotton felted paper. I’m growing weary of lettra, this was a nice change and heavy weight without too much bulk on press.

I’ve been horribly sick for the past week and have been out of the studio getting some rest. I’m slowing coming back!

Here’s another special detail from E+Ms invite. We blind embossed the return envelope liners, the most special liners ever!

We just completed a beautiful custom invitation for the lovely E+M. Before I take the beauty shots of the entire invite I’d like to share one of my favorite details. We created a monogram to tie the invite together and this custom wax seal; sealed the inner envelope. It was fun to use once we got used to the wax and temperature, I just want to stamp everything!

For a special wedding suite we have been working on, we have had to do research on wax seals. Wax seals, surprisingly, come in many forms–the original sealing wax with a wick, wax sticks that you can apply with a glue gun, and wax seal stickers (not a preferred option, but it does exist). At first, we were a little skeptical about the glue gun wax, but it is the most widely available in town, and it comes in so many different colors that we decided to give it a try. Some of the colors came across too plastic-like for our needs, but we finally found one that worked. It will go perfectly with our custom stamp (the stamp below is one we use for testing, not our design)!

Hello there! The past few weeks have been hectic, as Christy and I completed several projects before we left for the holidays, whew. I’m traveling right now and have some time to take naps, visit family + friends, and obsess about all the exciting things to come in 2010.

I’d like to end the year on this blog with a post about a custom wedding project I am creating for the wonderful E + M. These suites are a part of the invitation concepts I presented to them.

The suite above is an invitation concept; an idea that can be built upon and perfected in collaboration with the couple. There are several details that I evaluate to create a custom invitation: typography, colors, papers, sizes, formats, folding, illustrations, and wording. These things come together in the design to create a complete idea.

The invitation is printed on rice paper (one of my favorite materials to print on). It’s fragile quality and translucency makes a unique canvas to print on.

The paper is folded in half with the top half printed with words and the bottom half with a pattern. This creates a muted patterned effect that does not take away from the words.

The same type of technique as the rice paper invitation is used on this newsprint screen printed version that is folded down to create a booklet.

The words are printed backwards so that they read right once folded. The lettering is by the very talented Krista Messer! I’m keeping their final selected invitation a surprise as I continue to refine and perfect all the details, see a sneak peek below :)

Partnering with a designer on your invitation or reception items is a great way to truly customize and capture the feeling of your union. The design process is an exciting one!

Yes, the show invitations get their spotlight too, I’m completely loving this. How I hope to design a show invite one day!

Thanks for finding us! I’m happy to announce the launch of my new site (it’s not yet official as we tweak a few things) but it is LIVE! My blog, wedding site, and studio site have been combined into this single spot; it feels great to live in one place online.

This online notebook will be very similar to my previous blog with more focused content. “What I’m thinking”, “What I’m doing”, and “Where I’m going” will be three recurring themes to tie all the content together. I’ll be partnering with a few talented folks to roll out thoughtful content to share each week.

Thanks for visiting, come back soon!

I almost forgot, the pic above is a slice of the mood board I developed for the site.

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