inspiration anywhere: in full bloom

I purchased this huge flower pin from The Wedding Cafe a few years back. It's big, it's brown, it's fuzzy...it's totally impractical and that's why I love it. This flower has adorned everything from my tote bags, to my clipboards, to the wire shelving in my office. I often stare at this flower and wonder what spot it will inhabit next.

Today, it finds a home here, as my "inspiration anywhere" muse:

Decided to design a place card today, with the flower hanging off the left edge to leave room for the guest name. I chose a romantic script font with fun flourishes (oh, how I love fonts):

 

Calligraphy (for the modern DIY woman)

Just finished up some elegant place cards for one of my November brides. She had originally planned on having the cards written out by a professional calligrapher, but ultimately opted for an alternate printing method to save on cost and time. Traditional calligraphy, when done right, is a truly beautiful artform, but not everyone has the means to hire a calligrapher to personalize their custom stationery pieces.

If you're looking to tackle some of your own printing jobs at home, search for script fonts that are tagged with words like "calligraphy" or "ornamental." For a fancier touch, look for fonts with swashes (letters with extra flourishes or decorative strokes). I tend to keep other design elements pretty simple when working with ornamental fonts so the focus is on the words themselves...less is more!