I like this

I like this. Perfect for writing out all those fun thank you notes after the shower and wedding have come and gone. Not to mention, it's letterpress!

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Moo Cards for Your Wedding!

Moo cards are a favorite product of mine, being a graphic designer I love finding printing vendors with creative products. If you've never heard of them before, Moo prints custom business cards, mini cards, postcards and more—and comes with a bucket load of ideas on how to use them.

Are you asking yourself what does this have to do with weddings? Well, if you think about it, a custom printed piece of cardstock (which happens to be the same size as a business card), can be used in lots of different ways! Check out a few of Moo's wedding ideas for mini and moo cards alike.

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Relax for Rehearsal

While I’m sure you have a very distinct look for your wedding day, what about rehearsal? It’s still very much a part of the wedding activities, but many brides and grooms are opting to keep it a little more casual and fun. I love these dinner invitations from Cheerupcherup, perfect for a more laid back rehearsal dinner!

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That's Motherhood—Card Contest

Before I knew I was pregnant, I decided to take a spin at entering a Mother's Day inspired Hallmark card contest. It seemed fairly straightforward, and I thought I had a pretty unique idea, so there I was. Come to find out, my card was chosen along with 25 others to be finalists in the That’s Motherhood contest. You can see all the wonderful cards here—mine being the Help Wanted card, second row left-hand side. Here’s another link.

As of now, you can purchase the cards online, and then come March, we’ll find out who the lucky in-store winners are. The Hallmark judges will get back together and choose a selection of cards that will be printed and distributed to select stores around the U.S. (crossing my fingers).

So anyway, I just wanted to share my little bonus on the week with all of you today. Hope your week is shaping up nicely!

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Specimen Calendar

Every year I get a new calendar, duh. But no, it has to be something special, I can’t just get the same old standard desk calendar — that would be boring and so not creative!

Last year my sister-in-law got me a gorgeous calendar from Snow & Graham, and it was so perfectly me, I nearly cried. So since we only have two more months in this calendar year, I’m eyeing up this little pretty from Postal Press. First seen on design*sponge. Edit: Postal Press is now Mossiere. Visit them here.

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Loving Envelope Liners

I really like envelope liners. I’m not sure why. But I often find myself drooling over that touch of pattern, rather than the invitation that is covering it up. I think I just love the fact that the sender took the time and effort to line an envelope, make it all presentable inside and out, just for little ol’ me!

Here are a few tips and tricks to make your lining experience more pleasant (‘cause it can be a lot of work)!

Templates are available at Paper-Source so you can cut to perfection, every time, along with some pretty neat pre-cut liners. But I can understand if you want to be different… In that case, vintage wallpaper can be used instead of expensive scrapbook paper, or even better, a roll of wrapping paper!

There’s a Habitat for Humanity ReStore near my house, stocked with old paper… I think I’m going to run over there and see if I can’t find the ugliest roll of old wallpaper ever for my personal stationery envelope liners. I’ll be updating soon!

Sources: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6.

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Travel Themed Place Cards

I love the whole travel themed idea for weddings, especially when they're executed like this one, featured on Style Me Pretty! Holly and Sean had lots of little details from around the world, like their world map seating chart, their Singapore Slings cocktail hour, and these crafty little place cards!

Holly found a bunch of vintage envelopes from the 50's and 60's on ebay, so she encorporated small shipping labels tied around the vintage envelope that had the guests' name written on them. Here's what Holly had to say:

When you got to your place, the envelope was there, acting as your seating card, and you opened it to find your menu inside, which Sean made — we had four courses and we named each course as though you were on a plane: the amuse bouche was “Check-In,” then the salad was “Take-Off” then the entree was “Airborne” and the dessert was “Touchdown.

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Wedding websites over wedding registries

I’ve run in to a few instances this season where brides want to include their registry in their invitation design, and I’ve been torn about providing a solution. While I understand the logic behind this, it’s still considered bad etiquette among some guests. So instead of plastering their registry information on their enclosure cards, I’ve been suggesting a substitute — their wedding website.

The website tends to be a classier way to provide additional information to guests, including where to purchase gifts for the bride and groom.

TheKnot.com has a free website service, but those can occasionally have long url’s, not suitable for a small card enclosure.

Here are a few of my favorite free sites: Onewed and eWedding. In addition to the registry information, many of these sites offer photo uploads, online rsvp features, audio/video, downloads for your guests and much more!

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Adorably Illustrated Invites

As much as I love to receive a traditional wedding invitation, complete with ribbons and pockets, adorned with script fonts and calligraphy — I also love a taste of the unusual once in awhile. This creative poster-style invitation has definitely piqued my interest.

Aside from the quirky cartoons, the colors and layout of this huge invite is stunning! I love the fact that all of the information for the wedding is printed in one spot, nothing to loose or get you confused!

Images via Martha Stewart Weddings, Wedding Aces, and Etsy’s The Storque. 

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Free craft patterns by Amy Butler

Aside from having the latest and greatest fabric selections, Amy Butler also has a wonderful selection of DIY patterns for sewing and paper crafts. These fun ideas could be the focal point of your handcrafted wedding by using patterned papers and a little elbow grease! Oh, and did I mention they’re free?!

Check them out at the Amy Butler Design website, at the bottom of the page under free patterns.

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Invitation testers wanted

We're inching into to a new market... and have decided to test out the waters in PDF downloadable invitations. You know, the kind you purchase, then download and print at home. They're a heck of a lot more economical, and a lot more gratifying, since you're doing it yourself!

We need a handful of participants to test a few of our young designs, which is where you all come in to play. The first 5 people to comment on this post (with their first name and email) will receive a free PDF file of our Fill in The {Blank} party invitations. All we ask is that you download the file, as directed, and print. Then tell us how it went!

Don't worry, it will be easy! So who's up for the challenge?

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Fan programs can take the heat

I finished up a large order of gorgeous fan programs last week for a bride who will be debuting them in her outdoor ceremony soon. Programs are a simple element, that often get overlooked, and I tend to think they're one of the most important pieces of the day! Guests want to know what's happening, and the names of your faithful bridal party.

Think about how your programs can be a helpful accessory at your wedding ceremony... mounted on a stick, tied with a bow, or even hand-stitched to a favor!

Also check out this insightful article over at mywedding.com titled Want to Get Married Outdoors? No Sweat! It lists some great ideas and tips, along with some things to consider when planning an outdoor wedding.

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Scratch off save the dates

How neat are these scratch off save the dates via 1000 Markets. Just scratch off the center circle to see what you’ve won—err, who’s getting married! I like the simple circular design, paired with cleverly placed text. Customize the colors, names and date to your liking.

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Island Maps

I'm sure I've shared with you my love for maps, not just wedding maps, all maps. I just love the tiny print, pinpoints and trails leading to interesting destinations. This map is no exception, and happens to be one of my favorites.

I designed this for a couple who are having a destination wedding in South Padre Island, TX. This was actually one of the first "island" maps I've ever done, and now I never want to go back! I love the way the blue/green water frames the island, and the way her bright pink compliments those sandy shades of tan.

If you're looking for a custom map for your wedding, feel free to contact me, or visit my etsy shop!

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DIY-ish invitations at 100 Layer Cake

I love the look of these DIY-ish invitations featured on May 12th over at 100 Layer Cake. The colors and patterns caught my eye first, and then I saw the lovely assortment of vintage stamps that were to adorn the front of the envelope. Everything is just perfect, and not only that, the supplies are widely available to regular DIY brides, not just designers! Check out the post for more information about the supplies and how they accomplished this fabulous look.

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Upcycled flower pins

These hand-made flower pins from Linda & Harriett are not only beautiful, but eco-friendly too!  They’re part of a new, Redesigned Line, and are assembled using letterpress misprints.

Use these as they are or add some natural looking embellishments for a trendy corsage at your bridal shower. Check out more dazling paper products at the Linda & Harriett site!

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Back in action

I was out sick all day yesterday, it was not fun, and I'm ready to get back to work! So now that I'm back, I wanted to share with you a simple map design that I whipped up for a client recently. The wedding and reception are in the older part of downtown Bay City, which can get kind of complicated with one ways and lots of side streets, so we tried to make it as simple as possible.

I highly recommend getting a custom wedding map made, or doing one yourself, so that out of town guests can easily navigate the path from your ceremony to reception.

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Cupcake Flags via Weddingbee Pro

Recycle those paper scraps from your DIY invitations or programs into some of these! I just read up on this post over at Weddingbee Pro and fell in love with the idea that I can reuse some of those paper scraps. I have a ton of leftover strips from envelope liners and belly bands, and I cannot bring myself to throw any of them away (can we say pack rat). I will definitely be using this idea... and you should too!

Stick them in drinks or on cupcakes for a truly custom look. You're guests will think you had it all planned out that way!

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