The most wonderful time of the year...

Thought I was done with my Christmas shopping, but I just realized that my furry-faced friend has not been checked off my list yet. This is a photo of my favorite woofer from a couple years back. I remember giving her these red and green rawhide lollipop treats and she grasped them between her paws and ate them like a proper lady. It was so funny to watch!

Well, Christmas is tomorrow and I still have lots to do! Next year, I vow to "do less" in December since the holidays sort of took me by surprise this time around. I've never felt so rushed and ill-prepared as I do this year. I've been asking Santa (and everyone around me) to give me the gift of time this Christmas. I hope it'll fit under the tree...

Speaking of time, I'm closing the studio for the holidays through January 6. I wish I could say that I'll just be playing the whole time, but that's never the case. I do have some very special plans and some MONUMENTAL events to attend, so it'll definitely be fun even if I have to squeeze in a few hours of work here and there.

I may pop in for a blog post here...and a blog post there...here a post, there a post, everwhere a post, post. Or, I may not. I'm giving myself permission to NOT do things and engage in some holiday laziness (that's a huge gift to myself). In any case, I'd like to wish you all a very Merry Christmas! It warms my heart to think about all my clients who will be spending their first Christmas together as husband and wife. *sigh*

ReinBEER

I'm still trying to finish up a few Emi Ink projects, but I squeezed in a quick...and I mean QUICK...arts and crafts session to whip up these root beer reindeer for family and friends. Someone sent me a photo of these adorable guys last week and I couldn't NOT make them. I only wish I could credit the creative person who came up with the idea! This is everything I used:

• Henry Weinhard's root beer (it was on sale and I liked their label the best)


• brown pipe cleaner


• red pom poms


• googly eyes


• red satin ribbon


• jingle bells


• glue dots

I tackled these assembly line style and put my husband to work twisting all the antlers while I stuck the eyes and noses on. The finishing touch was the two little bells dangling from the loosely tied satin ribbon. That's it! A cute addition to any gift.

Up on the housetop

When you're competing against a 4 1/2-year-old in a gingerbread house competition, and his parents are among the judges, expect to lose. So was the case when I competed head-to-head in a gingerbread showdown with my friends' son this past weekend. I did win one category: Most Competitive. Oh well, I tried. I don't blame my team (aka my husband) or the lack of planning. I blame my inexperience. In all my years of celebrating Christmas and indulging in every imaginable sweet treat possible, this was the FIRST time I ever built a gingerbread house. And it was more work than I thought it would be! But it was loads of fun and I can't wait for next year's rematch.

And because I'm a gracious loser, I've posted the photo of the winning house...I love the dog bones used to tile Snoopy's roof. And the entire design was artistic and creative with just the right amount of whimsy.

Ahh, I never had a chance. :)

Golden rings

On the 5th day of Christmas, my true love gave to me - 165 golden rings.

Naomi Lee from Les Saisons was kind enough to send me this photo of a client's pretty gold napkins with the gold, floral-embossed paper napkin rings that I made over the weekend. The imported paper was also used as a wraparound belly band on the couple's invitations...I will be updating my client gallery soon with more photos!

So, it's been another busy week and I'm counting down the days until I can take some time off for our annual trip. I'm trying to ignore the fact that, once again, I will most certainly be ill-prepared for a chilly Midwest visit. Instead, I keep repeating this to myself, "Fireplaces, hot chocolate, wool socks...oh my!" For now, though, I really need to keep my focus on the tasks at hand.

Over the past month, I was hit with a flurry of rush jobs. I'm about 70% done with the work that's due before Christmas, but as soon as we fly back home in January, I know I'll need to hit the ground running. It will be an interesting couple of weeks, that's for sure!

Knots be gone!

In the midst of chaos, my hubby and I found a bit of peace and tranquility in the form of a long overdue couples massage this past weekend. This was a WEDDING gift from a couple of gracious friends a year and a half ago, and because we could never find the perfect time to schedule our appointment, we decided to pick the most inopportune time - smack dab in the middle of the busy holiday season.

I loved the hour-long massage and felt the tension slipping away as the knots in my neck and shoulders were given extra special attention. My husband, on the other hand, was less enthralled by the whole experience. If I left it up to him, he probably would have traded in the massage for a cold beer and some chips and salsa. That's HIS way of decompressing from a stressful work week. To each his own, I guess.

Time out

For weeks now, I've been wishing for some quiet time...wishing for the world around me to just s-l-o-w down a bit. Well, I got exactly what I wished for.

Yesterday's torrential rain wreaked havoc on many parts of the island and at 8:30 in the morning, the power at my place went out. It didn't come back on until 4:30 in the afternoon. In my completely wired world, that is a looooong time to be unplugged.

I did manage to sneak away for a short meeting which meant navigating the flooded, debris-covered roads, but once I was back at home things slowed down to a snail's pace. With no electricity to bring my gloriously powerful PC to life, I was forced to check emails on my phone. Having to peck out responses on my tiny keyboard was painful so the theme of the day was short and sweet. Phone conversations were also kept to a minimum because my battery indicator only showed one lonely bar...dear Santa, please bring me a car charger for my cell phone this year?

I was able to do a little assembly work for about an hour when the sun actually peeked out from behind the clouds and lit up my studio through my big picture window. But when the clouds and rain returned for an encore performance, I reluctantly realized that there was nothing left to do but clean. It wasn't exactly how I wanted to spend the day, but I got a lot done and listening to Christmas carols on my little transistor radio brought me back to my childhood days of sitting at the breakfast table before school, chowing down on my bowl of dry cereal (I still do this), watching my mom pack my dad's lunch, and listening to the morning radio show on the old radio that had to be turned at a slight angle to get the best reception.

I got all that because I had no power yesterday. What a priceless gift.

Fair wrap-up

Have you noticed my sparse blogging lately? It's no coincidence that there's a direct correlation between the number of days left in 2008 to the number of days that I can have a quiet 20-minute break to tend to my blog. It's downright scary!

But I did want to share a few photos of the goodies that I created for the East-West Center craft fair last week. I was a bit worried about how my sales would fare given the gloomy economy, but I was happy to bid adieu to so many of my products that are undoubtedly finding nice new homes this Christmas.

Scalloped gift tags:

Note card sets (these were made with the beautiful washi paper that I picked up in Japan this year!):

Mini desk calendars:

I also created a bunch of butterfly notecards, whimsical tree notecards, blinged out notecards...but unfortunately I didn't take any photos of these before they sold out. Oh, and the other hot item at my table was my mother's infamous steamed mochi. Yes, it was a mother-daughter tag-team event with my childhood friend pitching in as our star salesperson.

Thanks Mom and L for a fun fair!

Driving music

If someone found something on a web site called www.extremegeek.com and decided that they HAD to have it, would that someone be considered a geek? If the answer is "yes," then that certain someone wasn't me. If the answer is "no, of course not," then I have the most amazing find to share with you!

It's not romantic or chic or in anyway wedding-related...but it's so very cool. It's a VW minibus record player that "rides" around on your LPs while pumping life into your old records via the built-in needle, amp and speaker. It's recommended that you don't use this with your valuable, irreplaceable records...but I don't think my old Queen record falls into that category.

Check it out here.

Crafty goodness

I'll be getting out of the studio this week to participate in a little 2-day craft fair over at East-West Center on the UH Manoa campus. This is year number 3 for me and it's something that I always look forward to! I love working with my wedding clients, but it's a nice change of pace when I get to create stationery that's a reflection of me. I packed away all my products last night before I remembered to take any photos. Hopefully I'll be able to take a few quick shots at the fair today and, of course, post them here!

Happy Wednesday!

Holiday cards

Did you survive Black Friday and Cyber Monday? We're definitely smack dab in the middle of holiday season now! I know I should be updating my Christmas list and creating my holiday cards to send to friends and family, but I decided to squeeze in a batch of cards for The Wedding Cafe shoppers first!


These simple, sweet designs are on sale at the cafe now!

giving thanks

Since I've promised myself and my husband that I will refrain from any real work tomorrow (unless it involves a turkey or any of its fixins), I am writing my Thanksgiving post one day early. In these times of uncertainty, I find that I am most thankful for the simplest things in my life: a loving marriage, a supportive family, and wonderful friends. Surrounding myself with genuinely good people who nurture my soul is perhaps the kindest thing I've ever done for myself. And I think everyone deserves that.

I also give daily thanks that after three years of business, I'm still here, I'm still loving my job and I'm still making people happy just by doing something that brings me so much joy. After two years of blogging, I'm thankful that I still have things to write about and still have people who want to read what I ramble about. Thank you.

Hope you all enjoy a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Sale @ The Wedding Cafe!

I'm not one to skip over a good meal...especially Thanksgiving...but I just had to share this news with you! Our friends over at The Wedding Cafe have announced a HUGE Black Friday sale at their lovely shop in Ward Warehouse. Since the recent expansion, the store offers just as many great gift items as it does yummy treats! Set your guy up with a pastrami sandwich and shop to your heart's content! Without further ado, the details:

Oh, and if you want to jumpstart your shopping extravaganza, bring in 3 or more canned goods on Wednesday and save 20% on your purchase!

"First Impressions"

After sharing the Fantasy Tables feature in Hawaii Bride & Groom magazine a couple of weeks ago, I realized that I also wanted to share another feature that was near and dear to my heart...the one on invitations! Here's a little background info on the designs that Emi Ink submitted for the "First Impressions" feature.


In the "Classic" category, I decided to go with an elegant pocketfold-style invitation in pearlescent white. A gold paisley pattern on the matte and on the pocket trim gave it a sophisticated elegance.

In the "Tropical" category, I wanted to highlight the 'ulu (breadfruit) pattern and used a single die-cut piece as the focal point. Two layers of champagne and chocolate brown metallic cardstock were layered on a background matte made of woven bark.

I wanted to offer a variety of fun color combinations in the "Modern" category and decided on these three designs. The first design pairs a bright fuchsia with an apple green and a whimsical floral/butterfly design. The second design is bolder with a deep eggplant purple, an abstract floral design and an ivory satin ribbon embellishment. The third design (and one of my all-time faves!) is sweet and delicate with tiny cherry blossoms, clear Swarovski crystals and a lovely color combination of soft pink and platinum.

The Fall/Winter 2008 issue of Hawaii Bride & Groom magazine is on newsstands now!

6 1/2 weeks to go

I apologize for the sporadic blogging this past week. Things are definitely kicking into high gear around here and my one "simple" goal today is to figure out how I'm going to prioritize all the stuff on my task list, when really the only list I want to be dealing with right now is my Christmas list (no, I haven't even started this yet). But there's always a bright spot or two to look forward to despite the mad rush of the holiday season:

Thanksgiving FEAST! This will be the fourth meal that my husband I prepare for the family and I love it! It starts from the big trip to the grocery store(s) where we load up our carts and make up games to play while standing in the long lines at the register.

Craft fair time! My parents have been participating in fairs for over 20 years and the big holiday fair that starts the day after Thanksgiving at the Blaisdell Center is a BIG one. It's a lot of work for my folks but the rest of the family tries to help out as much as we can...and it gives me a good excuse to shop around for some cool handcrafted gifts made locally.

Christmas! Decorations, food, family, friends, shopping...love it all!

Vacation! We're heading home to visit my husband's family and friends for New Year's and it means a short but sweet getaway. My mother-in-law is probably hoping that we bring some warm weather with us, but I'm secretly hoping for snow.

Of course, there's a lot of work to be done before the year's up, but isn't there always?

Have a great weekend!

A bride...and her flowers

Last month, I received these beautiful pics from my friend, Shayne Lietdke of Tropical Blooms & Bouquets. One of my favorite shots from any wedding is the beautiful bride with her bouquet:


...so when I saw this photo below with the bride surrounded by the gorgeous bridesmaids' bouquets, I was thrilled!

Shayne is a Waimanalo-based florist that has such a unique and creative take on floral design. She painted the stand pictured on the right, added the pretty drop crystal and used it along the aisle and on either side of the altar to create a whimsical decor for the ceremony. I love non-traditional touches like this!

Mahalo to Sherah Thorpe (the blushing bride) and floral designer, Shayne Lietdke, for sharing these gorgeous shots! Contact Shayne at 256-1130 on O'ahu.

Photos by Mike Danzeisen of Ali'i Photography

Sweet Fantasy

Ahh, the sweetest table of them all...

Seeing this decor brought an instant smile to my face. The vibrant colors, lovely floral combinations and unexpected embellishments (like Rainier cherries!) were perfect for the Sweet Fantasy table.

For this table decor, I created a table name card with a playful striped backdrop, accented with soft pink Swarovski crystals and secured with a duo-tone paper pinwheel clip.


Be sure to pick up the current issue of Hawaii Bride & Groom to see the complete table decor that I've shared with you this week. The designers behind these fantasies are truly inspiring!

Table design: Sandra Williams of Finishing Touch
Floral design: Michelle Maeda of Flower Girls
Linen underlay and napkins: Les Saisons
Tableware, chairs and stools: Pier 1 Imports
Table name card design: Emi Ink
Location: Anela Garden

Vintage Fantasy

I love the vintage look of this table. Gold, red, ivory...everything about this tablescape is elegant and classic.


For the menu cards, I printed the text on an irridescent champagne cardstock and used an imported gold embossed matte with an intricate floral pattern. This was probably my favorite design that I came up with for the fantasy themed tables.


Tomorrow, I'll wrap up Hawaii Bride & Groom's Fantasy Tables feature with the most playful tables of them all, the Sweet Fantasy!

Table design: Su-V Expressions & REA Events and Designs
Floral design: Sueveangela Yamaguchi of Su-V Expressions
Linen & Canopy: REA Events and Designs
Menu design: Emi Ink
Location: Anela Garden

Luxurious Fantasy

The Luxurious Fantasy table featured in Hawaii Bride & Groom was all about crystal accents, platinum and silver hues, and gorgeous Phalaeonopsis orchids and Polo and Andian crystal roses. You can check out the full table decor when you pick up a copy of the magazine, but here are the detail shots:


The menu that I designed for this theme was covered in Swarovski crystals and printed on an imported brushed silver cardstock that shimmered from every angle.


Tomorrow we'll look at the Vintage Fantasy table!

Table and Floral design + Linens, Napkins and Tableware: Debbie Hemingway of Designs by Hemingway
Menu design: Emi Ink
Location: Anela Garden

Tropical Jungle Fantasy

The Fall/Winter 2008 issue of Hawaii Bride & Groom just hit the newsstands and I've been looking forward to sharing a couple of features with you. The first is a section called "Fantasy Tables" with lots of beautiful, dramatic, and awe-inspiring tablescapes to inspire you.

The Tropical Jungle Fantasy:


For this tabletop design, Emi Ink created the menu cards shown below. Designed with a wood-carved effect, I etched the words by hand for each of the menus...luckily, I only needed to do four menu cards!


Tomorrow, I'll share the Luxurious Fantasy table with you!

Table and Floral design + Canopy, Chairs and Linen: Yvonne Chapman of Yvonne Design
Stemware and Flatware: Pier 1 Imports
Menu design: Emi Ink
Location: Kualoa Ranch Mol'i Garden

Love them words

In the midst of my mini-meltdown yesterday caused by my computer chaos, I found a few moments of peaceful bliss in a very unexpected place. I had heard about Wordle before...I had seen Wordle before...but it wasn't until I was forced to use my husband's laptop without access to any of my work files did I allow myself to try it out for myself. And I'm so glad I did.

What is Wordle? I would describe it as this wondrous, magical, fantasyland where words become art and you become the most brilliant creative director. Is this an exaggeration? Um...well...NO! It's just so cool, you have to try it out!

Here's what I did with my "About Us" text from my Emi Ink web site:

And because I couldn't stop at just one, I plugged in the RSS feed from my blog and created this wacky, very random, word collage which proves that my blog is about everything and anything and nothing all at the same time.

If you have a few minutes to waste today, check it out!

Whoa....back up

My little PSA for the day:

The computer gods are having a little fun with me this week and I'm paying the price. After a dreadful night, I'm frantically backing up my hard drive to keep my files out of harm's way.

Way back when, I purchased an external hard drive and had every intention of scheduling regular back ups. And I followed through...at first. Weekly back ups eventually became monthly back ups and now I'm lucky if I can do them bi-monthly. When will I ever learn?

Luckily, in exactly 42 minutes all my precious files will be safe. *knock on wood*

Kids, don't grow up to be like me. You can save yourself...and your files. It's not too late. Back it up!

I did. Did you?

Monday blues (the good kind)

Started the day in a great mood this morning. Maybe it was because I made time to clean up my studio over the weekend and even hung up my long-forgotten mega-sized bulletin board above my desk. (It's mostly bare right now but soon it'll be covered with magazine clippings, paper swatches, and anything and everything to spark creative inspiration.)

Or, maybe it's because I opened my curtains and saw this:

Or, maybe it's because I was able to get a headstart on these thank you cards for one of my clients:

The cards aren't finished yet, but they're still lovely to look at when they're neatly stacked on my work table just waiting for the finishing touches.

Hope you all enjoy your Monday!

Eeek! Tomorrow is NOVEMBER!

In the spirit of halloween, I will be taking the day off to carve pumpkins, hang fake cobwebs in my studio and eat enormous amounts of candy.

I wish.

Since the Wedding Expo two weeks ago, things have been moving along at the speed of light. Rush orders, consultations, phone calls, emails. Today will be my big catch up day where I try and squeeze in a week's worth of work into ten hours. One of the most challenging parts of this job is giving myself the freedom to go through the creative process while still hitting every deadline. I have a bunch of projects in the design stage now and am hoping that my cup o' joe will bring me inspiration and motivation.

If any of you are waiting for proposals or proofs, thanks for your patience. I WILL get them to you as fast as I possibly can. Thanks and have a happy halloween!

Plates of perfection

I saw these 5" appetizer plates at CB2 and instantly wanted them. They're cute, they're small, they're affordable...and they fit perfectly with everything else that I'm gravitating towards these days. But I kind of want to display them on a wall instead of eating hors d'oeuvres off them. Is that strange?

Adorable! (but not edible)

I received word about a new company called Le Viette that makes THE cutest dessert towels. Click over to their site and you'll see ordinary towels rolled, folded, and scrunched into Swiss rolls, ice cream sundaes, cakes, etc. The presentation of the towels is absolutely adorable and would make for a creative and fun favor idea.

How early is too early?

I haven't offered a helpful tip in awhile and thought that some of you might appreciate this one. When I first meet with couples, one of the first questions they always ask is, "How early should we mail our invitations?" This is my simple standard answer:

Start with your wedding date and work backwards. Invitations are generally mailed 6-8 weeks prior and RSVP deadlines can be set 4 weeks after your mail date.

These are my not-so-simple disclaimers:

If you're having a destination wedding, you'll probably want to bump up this timeline a bit. The most common scenario for my destination wedding clients is 2-3 months prior...although I've had some clients who mailed their invitations as early as 4-5 months prior. Factor in things like save the date cards, and your timeline may need to be adjusted. (Send invitations on the earlier side if you've opted not to send save the dates.)

And speaking of save the date cards, when should those be mailed? Generally, 8-12 months prior to your wedding is a good time because it allows enough time for your guests to make necessary travel arrangements.

Finally, how early should you order your invitations? Earlier than you think. Unless you're going to buy pre-printed invitation shells and feed them through your laser printer at home, you should seriously start thinking about your invitations about 6-8 months before the wedding. Custom design studios go through a lengthy design/approval process to ensure that you get exactly what you want. It's always good to give their creative minds as much time as possible so they can pencil you into their production schedules before they get swamped with other orders.

Happy planning!

What happened to Halloween and Thanksgiving?

If you can't beat 'em, join 'em.

A couple of days ago I was meeting with clients when we heard strains of Christmas music being piped in. Was it unexpected? Yes. Was it a bit early in the season? Yes. Did it scare the living daylights out of me? Huge yes.

I love the holidays, but not the stress that normally comes along with it. So I decided to take a stand today...which in reality means I'm simply giving in. I've been listening to my Christmas playlist all morning in hopes of desensitizing myself to any and all restaurant + department store + radio station holiday music that I may hear before Thanksgiving.

So if you call my studio and hear Nat King Cole in the background, don't be scared. And don't hate me.

Designing with paper

Every so often, someone emails me something that completely takes my breath away. Yesterday, was one of those days. I was sent a link to this blog post, which led me to the incredible web site of David Stark (beware, there's sound on the site), which then led me to David's blog that showcases his wonderfully creative designs.

What do I love about David Stark's designs? Could it be the playfulness...or the innovation...or the absolutely ingenius way in which paper is often used as a decorating medium? All of the above, please.

Take this stunning set up that he designed for the re-opening of the Minneapolis Institute of the Arts. The entire decor for this 1000+ person gala was created with paper. I would LOVE to do something like this one day!

Les Saisons - online!

I've blogged about Les Saisons before, but I just had to share some exciting news about this awesome company. First, a little background info: Les Saisons not only offers pretty chair covers and luxe linens, it offers the wonderfully artistic stylings of owner and head designer, Naomi Lee. From design to conception, Naomi oversees every detail personally...yes, that includes consulting with your florist to create the perfect tablescape, delivery, set-up and breakdown. Perhaps I'm a little biased because I booked Les Saisons to do my own wedding, but I think Naomi's work speaks for itself...and now you can visit her newly launched web site to view her fabulous work for yourself!

My husband and I had a small hand in helping to bring the Les Saisons web site to fruition, but with gorgeous photos like the ones above, highlighting the true artistry behind Les Saisons' designs was a piece of cake. It would be cool to see before and after shots, but it's pretty obvious that the right linen treatment can turn any venue from ordinary to extraordinary.

Love, love, love it!

Sign o' the times

So, I had this craft project on the back burner for five months, blogged about it three months ago, and finally finished it a week ago. I had been wanting to create a new sign for my booth but was forced to push the project aside in favor of more pressing deadlines. With a few coats of paint and a handful of mega-sized Swarovski crystals, I created a sign that I'm finally happy with. It's definitely a lot nicer than my old vinyl banner, although I do need to handle it with kid gloves.

Expo fun

What a weekend! A big mahalo to all of you that stopped by my booth at the Wedding Expo. I had a lot of fun chatting about your upcoming weddings...some of them are RIGHT AROUND THE CORNER!

I added a handful of new designs to my display which I hope to get up on my web site very soon. I'm already scheduling consultations with brides/grooms that I met during the show, so if you'd like to set something up before the busy holiday season kicks in, I'd love to hear from you.

Birthday wishes

I have to take time out to wish a dear friend of mine a very HAPPY BIRTHDAY! We've been friends for ages...I can no longer count on my fingers and toes how many years we've known each other. It's been THAT long.

What a wonderful thing it is to have celebrated so many of life's biggest milestones with a girlfriend who's known you since you were 12.

L, hope you have a fabulous day!

Wedding Expo this weekend!

We've been working hard in prepping for this weekend's Wedding Expo at the Hawaii Convention Center. Come visit us and check out Emi Ink's newest designs!

Dates

October 17-18, 2008

Times

Friday: 6:00 p.m. - 10:00 p.m. (Fashion Show@ 7:30 p.m.)
Saturday: 11:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. (Fashion Show @ 2:30 p.m.)

Tickets

$7.00 at-the-door

JAPAN: the sights

Timing is everything and despite the fact that my visit to Japan was post-summer and pre-fall, I did get the tiniest taste of the changing of the seasons.


Someday I'd like to return at the height of cherry blossom season or during the Sapporo Snow Festival, but who am I to complain when I was able to enjoy Japan in full color:


and in black and white:

JAPAN: the food

Since I can't possibly sum up my adventures in Japan in a single paragraph, I'm tackling it in sections. First up, the food (of course).

As expected, traveling through Japan was a gastronomic delight. During our stay in Kyoto, I fell in love with kaiseki once again. Kaiseki is a traditional Japanese meal that consists of multiple courses made from the freshest seasonal ingredients. Flavor aside, each dish is a feast for the eyes. Every color, every texture, every bowl, plate and garnish is selected with great care. In short, the meticulous way in which the food is presented makes the meal almost too pretty to eat. But failure to do so would mean missing out on the wonderfully layered flavors with each course. True to form, the kaiseki-style dinner that was served in our Kyoto ryokan (Japanese inn), definitely did not disappoint!

On the second leg of our trip, we headed north to Hokkaido and were greeted with cool, brisk weather...perfect conditions for a bowl of hot ramen (or two!). Friends of ours had already clued us in on the rich, creamy dairy products found in Sapporo so we also filled up on ice cream (and lots of it). A quick visit to the Sapporo Beer Factory was the perfect respite after a long day of sightseeing and allowed us to scientifically perform side-by-side taste testing of Sapporo's finest brews. A night of all-you-can-eat lamb (and beer) was the perfect way to cap off our first day in the city.

The third and final leg of our trip was spent in Okinawa. As most tourists do, we stayed in Naha and walked along the famous Kokusai-dori. This street, lined heavily with souvenir shops and restaurants, reminded me a lot of International Marketplace in Waikiki...that is, until I saw the snakes. Just a block away from our hotel, we saw rows and rows of habu snakes sitting pretty in their jars of awamori. Awamori is an Okinawan liquor made from distilled rice and the habu is a venomous snake believed to have medicinal purposes. Put those two things together, and you've got a big jar o' awamori (also referred to as habu sake). If my brother had not ordered awamori with his dinner on our first evening, I probably wouldn't have tried it. But I did...and it's not the drink for me.

I failed to mention the massive amounts of snack foods we consumed during our trip, mostly because we are still consuming them (and feeling a little guilty about our sweet indulgences). I also didn't write about our favorite vending machines. Perhaps another day when I'm dreaming about Japanese food.

Spring green = happy

My studio is currently buried under this pretty washi paper:

From invitations to menu cards to programs to escort cards, I've been working with this cheery spring green cherry blossom print for a few months now, and it's been lovely eye candy in the midst of looming deadlines, rush requests, and neverending emails that make up my daily routine.

My client has been equally as lovely and sweet so I can't wait to show her the last piece of her wedding stationery set, the thank you cards. I haven't had a chance to update my client gallery yet, but will do it soon so you can see this pretty paper "in action!"

Anpanman

I've yet to blog about my recent trip to Japan in part because I still need a little time to decompress. There are two types of vacations people take: one full of rest and relaxation or one full of non-stop activity. Ours was the latter with little time to rest our weary limbs.

But our high-octane vacay did manage to rejuvenate me (mentally, at least!) and left me with a renewed sense of inspiration and motivation. Unexpectedly, I also discovered my latest muse: Anpanman.



Anpanman has nothing to do with weddings, or paper, or anything remotely related to my daily life. He's a popular Japanese anime character whose head is made of bread and filled with sweetened red bean paste. He's your basic superhero that flys, battles the bad guys, and feeds poor hungry souls by breaking off pieces of his edible face.

*I'll pause here while you take that all in.*

I love bread. I love sweet an. I love that kids in Japan look up to a superhero born in a bakery.

More of my vacation highlights to come!

Modern textiles

Have you heard of the Marimekko brand? Marimekko is a Finnish textile and clothing design company whose collection of fabrics leaves me speechless. The prints and colors run the gamut from soft and subtle to bold and exuberant. If I could wallpaper my entire studio with a different Marimekko fabric each week, I would.

Coincidentally, as I settled in to write today's post, I popped over to The Honolulu Advertiser's Daily Dish blog (as I do every morning), and spotted a Marimekko print in one of Catherine Toth's photos (see beautiful wall hanging in second pic). No doubt, you'll come across more of these cool modern textiles if you keep an eye out for them!

Take note

For a couple of years now, I've been creating small batches of stationery items for craft fairs and for personal gifts for family and friends. At the same time, I've been amassing a huge collection of imported papers. To my husband's dismay, I don't always have a specific purpose in mind when purchasing paper. I guess I'm just a sucker for vibrant colors and pretty prints.

But my ever-growing paper collection came in handy recently when I decided to create a small collection of notecards that will be sold at The Wedding Cafe. After having designed wedding stationery for three years, it's my first step into retail. Perhaps I'm exaggerating a bit when I say "step"...it's more like I'm dipping my baby toe into the shallow end of the retail world while wearing water wings. It's a start.

All of the notecards are made with imported paper (most from handmade paper) and are paired with pretty metallic envelopes. Half of my collection is accented with Swarovski crystals for a little extra sparkle, while the other half is au naturel. Some of the papers are no longer available for purchase so handing over my completed cards meant saying goodbye to some of my all-time favorite prints. Well, that just gives me a good excuse to look for more paper, doesn't it?

Happy news

Almost every bride I meet with comes prepared with carefully chosen tear sheets from Martha Stewart Weddings, InStyle Weddings, Hawaii Bride & Groom...the list goes on and on. If you're looking for a fabulous online resource for your fantasy wedding, look no further than Style Me Pretty. Not to sound like a commercial, but this web site is everything you want and more. I had a "healthy" obsession with this site when I was planning my own wedding, and couldn't get enough of the gorgeous photos and creative ideas.


A special feature at Style Me Pretty is their Little Black Book that includes a select list of vendors from each of the 50 states. Emi Ink joined the ranks of these top vendors recently and I couldn't be happier! A big thank you to cakelava for the lovely referral!


Another bit of happy news is that this blog has been added to Delightful Blogs under the Weddings + Marriage category. If you're not yet a blogaholic like I am, a visit to Delightful Blogs might just be the perfect pastime for you.