carrie & adam's invitation set

The following is an invitation set that I recently created for Carrie and Adam, a lovely Brooklyn-based couple who are getting married in Michigan this Fall. The set was inspired by their rustic wedding location, colors (hues of aqua, red, orange, and yellow), and various folk art...

full invitation set (save the date, invitation, response card, envelopes and custom calligraphy)

front and back of the main invitation card

front of the save the date postcard

photos from the trip pt. 2

(L) Hydrangeas at the Montreal Botanical Gardens (R) a hike to the Hudson RiverRoses at the Montreal Botanical Gardens(L) Dhalias at the Montreal Botanical Gardens (R) Quebec City

Quebec City

all photos were taken on film with my favorite camera, my Minolta SRT 201 made in the 60's. It was my first real camera that my dad gave me when I was 14.

back home! photos from the trip pt. 1

Nathan and I arrived back in Florida to the heat and a pile of work but after being gone for two weeks we were ready to come back. It was a wonderful and relaxing trip filled with lots of hikes, fresh air, good food, a trip to Canada, and time with family. Here are a few photos from the trip... I'll post more tomorrow along with a new invitation set.

The cabin sign that I hand painted and carved for my parents

The cabin

(L) the dirt road leading to the cabin (R) wildflowers that I picked around the house

Nathan atop Pok-O-Moonshine Mountain

bull bucking at a rodeo in Lake George, NY

and we're off...

After about a week and a half of 14+ hour work days to prepare, Nathan and I are off to to the Adirondack Mountains in upstate NY. We're heading up to my parent's cabin for some much needed relaxation and fresh air with family and friends as well as an anniversary trip up to Montreal and Quebec. 

I won't have much access to internet but I'll see if I can squeeze in a few posts. If not, I will be back in two weeks!

photos by me.

new invitation: Jennie & Ryan

a new hand painted invitation hot off the press for Jennie & Ryan who are getting married at the amazing LA venue, The Smog Shoppe. 

one year

Nathan and I were married one year ago today! I can't believe it's already been that long.. at the same time it's hard to imagine life before we were together. 

images by Belathée. See more photos from our wedding on Once Wed.

orlando wedding meetup

I had so much fun this morning meeting together with a few wonderful ladies in the wedding field (designers, a photographer, book binder, and calligrapher) in the Orlando area. We gathered at my studio to mingle, chat, share resources and take a tour of the mama's sauce print shoppe next door. Nick was kind enough to show everyone how the letterpress works by printing off little take home postcards that I designed.

It's so valuable to get together with other people in your field and have an air of togetherness and support rather than competition. Everyone was so sweet and I think we all agreed by the end of the morning that we'll have to do another meetup soon.

The ladies that were there:

Orange Blossom Ink

Trisha Hay Design

Boombox Bindery 

Ashley Brooke Designs

Anavi Ink

Studio222 Photography

Grace Edmands Calligraphy

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Happy Friday! So sorry for the little posts this week as I've been working like crazy to get some projects finished up before I go out of town. So it goes..

custom thank you cards

Custom thank you cards for Ashley & Grant made to match their invitation set.  The couple is in town visiting family so it was lovely to finally meet Ashley this morning when she came to the studio to pick these up.

monday finds: fashion photos

Lovely set of fashion photos on Flickr to use as inspiration. These few of model Karen Elson are my favorite. The top right is by Tim Walker for British Vogue and the other three are from one of my all time favorite spreads in Vogue. If I could pull off wearing that yellow hat I totally would.

For fun I also pulled a color palette from the photos because these are some of my favorite spring/summer colors together.

a little interview

there's a little interview with me up over at Evie S.  Check it out if you want to find out my deepest darkest secrets.

new DIY post at Once Wed!

I have a new DIY post up over at Once Wed today. Check it out!

The projects I'm doing over there are all wedding related but I think this banner would also be cute for a birthday party or even an upcoming 4th of July picnic with red white and blue paper and stars and stripes punched out.

eye candy

pretty vintage posters is all I've got for a busy day here in the studio...  I should be posting some pictures of new work soon and stay tuned for a link to a new DIY project tomorrow.

studio move: exterior work

The work has begun on the exterior of the studio/shop! I made a little photoshop mockup of the front before it was painted (bottom left picture) to make sure I liked the color I picked and to decide the awning color. I would love to take that awning down and just paint lettering on the wall but I don't think the landlord would be down and I need to block some of the Florida sun and rain. I only had a limited amount of awning colors to choose from as I'm going for the cheapest option (a recover in the same material) but I picked a neutral beige color. This basic awning switch from the gross teal is still setting me back $480. eek. That's one of those expenses that just hurts.

The brown was painted on the walls yesterday and the awning should be replaced in a few weeks. I'm also planning on getting some plants for the front (like those photoshopped ones I threw in? ha), putting up a vintage light over the door, affixing some nice street numbers to the wall, and then I've got to design the lettering for the sign.

Other than the cosmetic fixes I still need to make enough product to sell in this little shop, register to be able to accept sales tax, and get some sort of merchant solution thing so I can swipe & accept credit cards (plus still get that fire inspection and the business license). I feel like my to do list keeps getting longer...

bambi illustrations by mirko hanák

I love these illustrations by Mirko Hanák for a 1967 publication of "Bambi - A Life in the Woods" by Felix Salten. They remind me that I need to get out my sketch book and do some quick & loose drawings. Looking at these makes me feel like I've been a little too "refined" lately...

via Drawn!. images via this flickr set (click for lots more from the book).

studio move: update

As of a week ago I began working out of the new studio space! It still needs a lot of work before I unlock that front door but I'm loving the workspace. It's so nice to get up and get out of the house everyday, be around other people and have such a large space to spread out and get things done. I am also in love with the coffee shop around the corner that let's you pay $50 for unlimited coffee for an entire year. yes please.