Sweet scallops

There's almost nothing sweeter than scalloped edges. And recently, for some reason unbeknownst to me, I've had lots of requests for stationery with this charming detail. This is a recent stationery order designed for a wedding coordinated by Seasons of Life Events.

Behold, the scalloped edge:

The menu cards were inspired by the bride + groom's invitation design with soft pink roses in each corner, names typeset in a slight arch, and the lovely scalloped edge...all the more impressive when stacked together.

The sweet, romantic style was carried over to their "I Spy" cards. Don't know what an "I Spy" card is? Well, it's only a fantastically fun way to get the ball rolling with those disposable cameras that you leave out on your guest tables! I may have cracked a smile or two (hundred) while designing these cards.

And a final piece designed for this sweet wedding (sans scallops)...a pretty little drink ticket.

Orange You Glad I Like Corny Titles?

This is a stationery set that I designed for a fun couple last year. Cymbidium orchids and a vibrant color scheme of Tiffany blue and tangerine meshed seamlessly to create an island feel for this destination wedding! The 2012 Pantone Color of the Year was, in fact, Tangerine Tango...so this stationery suite was not only fitting of the locale but most definitely in vogue.

The thing is, although we are well into 2013 (and Emerald Green should be reigning supreme this year), bright, vivid oranges and soft coral tones are still holding strong. Perhaps it's because the islands are full of natural beauty and vibrant colors, perhaps it's because orange, when used alone or paired with another color, screams FUN.

These are reception programs that I just produced for a wedding last weekend:

Truth be told, the inspiration behind the orange in this wedding was not the island's tropical flowers, but by the Chicago Bears team colors. With rich navy blue linen on their guest tables, the reception programs in their sweet little pockets provided a nice pop of color at each place setting.

And a bonus pic from one of their enclosure cards that was mailed with their invitations - we created a somewhat chic looking pattern from the Chicago Bears' logo:

Stump-endous

You've heard people say that a stump is a stump is a stump, right? No? Well, it doesn't matter because it's not true, especially if it's a super cute Heart Stump Wood Container by Shop Toast.

This is a (very) short story about how the adorable printed stump shown above came to be.

I designed wedding invitations for my recently married bride, Wendy (actually, she adopted the "newlywed" moniker only a couple of days ago!)

She loved the finished invitations! She was also equally in love with Shop Toast's wood containers and wanted to use them as her favors.

Light bulb moment ensued.

I communicated with the ever-accommodating Jeremy of Shop Toast about file format, artwork specs, what his favorite sushi places were, and we were good to go.

<< cue triumphant fanfare >>

Wendy was kind enough to gift me with a sample stump and I absolutely L-O-V-E it!

Easiest client/vendor/vendor collaboration I've ever had the pleasure of working on.

Congratulations Wendy and David!

Rockin' with Pat

Interesting self-discovery moment occurred in the car this morning.

I realized that I know every lyric to Pat Benatar's "Hit Me With Your Best Shot."

I may or may not have been listening to an "oldies" station on the radio.

In no way does this date me...at least that's what I keep telling myself.

That is all.

Emi Ink on Instagram

I'm "officially" on Instagram. With real pictures. That I'm purposefully posting. 

I actually signed up for my Instagram account ages ago, and unbeknownst to me I had posted a single, obscure photo of my TV. It was a random shot snapped from the comfort of my sofa; probably a test photo to see how my app worked. Apparently it worked so well, and so seamlessly, that I didn't even know that this raw, unfiltered, blurry-as-hell photo of my TV was exposed for all to see. Thank goodness that my assistants brought this to my attention, albeit months later, so I could delete it. Ahhh, the joys of technology and an inept user.

Anyway, I'm back and trying to post stuff daily. Since I was already in the habit of photographing anything and everything that I find even remotely inspiring, Instagram is surprisingly perfect match for me. Another little window into my world...at least until I pull the shades down!

That vintage island feel

A few months back I worked with a wonderful Aussie bride who was planning her destination wedding in Hawaii. She wanted her custom stationery to reflect the beautiful locale and we weaved images of palm trees throughout the printed pieces. About halfway through the design process, I found out that she had purchased a set of vintage-style Hawaiian postcards to use as table numbers...the only problem was, we had to figure out how to do it. She mailed the postcards to me and we decided to do a double-layered, double-sided card with the number printed in front, and the postcard image featured on the back. I rounded the corners on the printed table number cards to match the postcards, and voila! A successful collaboration between client and designer resulting in a beautiful and unique set of cards to adorn her tables!

Pretty and Pocket-Sized

I introduced this pocket-sized invitation at a wedding expo last year, and I've been pleasantly surprised at the amount of interest it's garnered since then! This accordion-fold layout with a perforated response postcard is not only compact and convenient, but it's a money-saver as well! The postage required for the response postcard is less than a regular 1-ounce stamp, and the overall weight of this 4.25" x 5.5" invitation is substantially less than its full-sized cousins (5" x 7", 4" x 9", 6" x 6", you get the picture). And custom designs are available!

First birthday fabulousness

While most of my Emi Ink world revolves around weddings, occasionally I'm able to squeeze in some design work for other milestone events. One of favorite non-wedding events? First birthdays.

I worked with a wonderful client last year who was planning a very special celebration for her daughter's first birthday. When this sweet mama shared some of the event photos with me, I gushed with excitement. Now I don't make it a habit of "gushing" but seeing how all the little details came together so perfectly was just amazing.

The "sweets" table!

Quite possibly the loveliest flowers ever?

Tented table number cards happy pink and yellow flowers

Table number card + floral centerpiece = perfect pair!

Guests were invited to write a special wish for the birthday girl

And wishes were hung from a tree

I dream my painting and I paint my dream...

Aside from working with great clients, one of the best perks of my job is working with awesome vendors! I had the honor of collaborating with the very talented Kristin Kato of A Cake Life and Naomi Lee of Les Saisons to create last month's display at The Wedding Cafe.

Our inspiration was an artist's studio, hence the paint-stained tarp that served as our table linen and paint cans, brushes and easels that completed the look.

(Photo by Kricia Morris Photography)

Some of my favorite elements from the display:

Seating charts displayed on an artist's easel (Photo by Kricia Morris Photography)

Invitation with ombre watercolor heart pattern (Photo by Kricia Morris Photography)

Watercolor escort cards (Photo by Kricia Morris Photography)

Hand-painted cake by A Cake Life (Photo by Kricia Morris Photography)

Each window's "art installation" was given a title (Photo by Kricia Morris Photography)

This particular quote struck a chord with all of us! (Photo by Kricia Morris Photography)

Gold painted cake with lovebirds by A Cake Life (Photo by Kricia Morris Photography)

The fringe! (Photo by Kricia Morris Photography)

The back story on "the fringe"... I had wanted to create this crepe paper fringe for a loooong time and was so happy to finally get the chance to bring it to life! My original plan was to create this stunning backdrop for my booth at the wedding expo. And after seeing how it looked hanging in The Wedding Cafe, I knew that a repeat performance was necessary:

Emi Ink booth at the Hawaii World Class Wedding Expo

And a final note on the display... While the worn tarp with paint splatters is atypical of Les Saisons' gorgeous linen offerings, the real benefit of collaborating with someone like Naomi is her eye for design. I consider myself a designer, but I work on a very macro level. My canvas of choice is usually no bigger than 5" x 7". That works in my favor since people hire me to master the details of their stationery, but that skill is not very handy when you need to stage something larger than a breadbox. Watching Naomi work is really like watching an artist in action. She created something from nothing and designed these gorgeous vignettes to showcase my stationery and Kristin's beautiful cakes. That's talent, I tell you.

For Kristin's take on the display, including fun details on her stunning cakes, check out her blog here.

Broaching the subject of brooches

Pretty brooches add impact! (Photo by Kris Labang Photography)

I have long been a fan of bling, although that wasn't always the case. When I launched Emi Ink in 2005, my tastes weren't necessarily simple, they just weren't sparkly in any way. But I quickly realized that a single crystal could provide that WOW factor to any invitation. Small touch, big impact.

A few years ago during a consultation, a bride told me that she wanted a beautiful, elegant invitation with my signature crystals added to it. Signature? Me? I don't know how it happened...maybe it was the fact that I always made a big deal of whipping out my big crystal chart during client meetings or my frequent admissions that crystal application was like meditation for me (it really is)...but somewhere along the road, people started associating me with the blingiest of bling. I was surprised at first but then I thought about how my design style had evolved over the years. Wow, they were right...and oh how I've embraced the bling since then.

I recently added some SUPER BLING to my product line-up and have fallen head over heels for vintage-style brooches. Their super power is transforming any piece (invitation, favor box, menu card) from blah to beautiful! Crystals, pearls, crystals AND pearls...so much gorgeousness!

Full disclosure: adding this type of embellishment to invitations will pose a few extra challenges for mailing. You'd need to mail your invitations in a lovely box or padded envelope. If that's not really your cup of tea, consider adding a brooch to your favor boxes, table number cards or menu cards...it would instantly allow your stationery to perform double duty as beautiful accents to your table decor!