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!