Gold + smelly + Chin Ho Kelly

It's hard to go wrong when you're working with paper as stunning as this:

I'm working on custom stationery pieces for a wedding taking place in just over a week. From menu cards to programs to place cards and guest itineraries, my studio is filled with neat piles of trimmed card stock and the pretty gold embossed floral paper shown above.

The one challenge in working with this thick embossed paper is that it requires heavy duty adhesive since traditional tapes and glues just don't work. Earlier this week, I spent a good number of hours prepping my materials and trying hard not to inhale all the fumes, while a concerned Chin Ho Kelly (aka Daniel Dae Kim from Hawaii 5-0) kept a watchful eye on me.

Stay tuned for pics of the finished projects!

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!

Politics, shmolitics

This blog has been helpful to some, entertaining to others, sometimes fun, sometimes silly. It's been a mish-mash of wedding + paper + food + travel + everyday ordinary things that occupy my days. The one thing it's never been is political. I've never divulged my political leanings, not because I don't have opinions on the matters at hand, because I do. It's just that aligning myself wholeheartedly to one political party or another just never sat right with me. And maybe it's my marketing background that contributes to my skepticism when it comes to slick (and sometimes downright dirty) ad campaigns.

This election was different for me, though. My cousin, Aaron, ran for the State House. I had planned on watching the election results from my comfy couch, but with a last-minute change of plans, I found myself sitting in a roomful of spirited Republicans instead. It was interesting to witness everyone's reactions as the first results rolled in. Aiona/Finnegan....trailing. Djou...trailing. Race after race, the Democrats held strong leads in the majority of the races. And then, State House District 32: Johanson...leading.

Second printout of the night: Johanson...leading.

Final printout of the night: Johanson...wins.

I'm so proud of my cousin, everything he's accomplished, and more importantly, the kind of man that he grew up to be. At least a few times during his campaign, I wondered to myself if he was too good-natured, too kind, too honest to be a politician? But his true desire and passion for serving the people in his community was undeniable. And Aaron knew that the best way to serve the people was to be elected into office.

District 32...you lucky ducks. Congratulations, Aaron!