before + after: party hats!

last month, i had a special DIY project from fig. 2 design to make some fun placecards!  we worked with the oh-so-talented manvi who styled + shot this lovely tablescape in prep for a bright bazaar new year's bash!  it was a fun day at the office figuring out how to make party hats extra festive for this table setting.

(1) i used some of our gold fig. 2 gift wrap to cut out these templates i discovered on oh happy day for the hats.

(2) after lining the bottom with some double-sided tape, i covered it with layers of festive glitter!

(3) for the topper, i cut up some gold tinsel {found at your local party store}, taped it to a white candy stick, and inserted it at the top of the party hat.

(4) using one of our gift tags, we created placecards for each hat.

manvi really knocks it out of the park every time and dreams these shoots beyond what we could ever imagine while creating the paper products.  thanks for making us look spectacular!  i love that this was for a new year's shoot, but it's perfect for any kind of festive event or birthday party.  thanks for having us on your blog, will!

xoxo, m

phototography + styling: manvi drona-hidalgo // images via bright.bazaar

how-to images via my instagram

holiday prep!

i have been hard at work writing christmas cards and addressing envelopes for the holidays in hopes to send everything out today and tomorrow – yipes!  and, no, the lovely calligraphy above is not my own {hah, i could only wish!}, but of feast calligraphy.  yes, swoon away!!  i'm far from a lot of my family + friends {hey, texas!!}, so i've got a stack full of snail mail going out this year.  what have you been doing to get ready for the holidays?

if you haven't bought cards yet, here are some of my favorites that i'm sending out this year!  washi {japanese paper} tape is my best friend when it comes to snail mail + gifting.

1. the beautiful genius of anna bond of rifle paper co

2. loving the pops of neon designed by my talented boss lady, claudia, of fig. 2 design

calligraphy in the shown pieces by the lovely lindsay letters

3. the ladies at sugar paper get me every time with their stunning + simple designs

4. i love these old school library cards from suann at simplesong design – gold foil + hand-stamped with the date!

5. oh, gilah press...you can be so witty + festive at the same time. it's all in the details!

happy monday, y'all!

{style} polka dots

it's safe to say that i've been into polka dots lately.  okay, okay and maybe the beach {though now there's been a chill in the weather & it feels like fall} i love that they're a versatile print which can be classy + fun at the same time.  the last j.crew catalog and the newest kate spade pattern of the month got me back on the polka dot train, so here are six of my picks!

 chambray towels // circle shoulder bag // notebook // blouse // lime shirt // pencils

and if you're in the mood for something to blow your mind, look no further than andrew chae from tim be told's acoustic version call me maybe – enjoy!

happy monday!

{wedding invitations} floral + elegant

DC's beautiful cherry blossom season has begun!  The trees are budding and I can't wait to see it in all of it's splendor.  A lot of lawns in the northern Virginia area have a patch of daffodils (don't ask me why), but the pops of yellow in the grass just make me happy.  Not to mention, Holly Chapple's been in New York all week with her Chapel Designers.  So with the flowers all around, I figured I'd post some floral wedding invitations that have some class.

{wedding invitations} we're classy

Since I've been working for Claudia, I find myself around stationery all the time.  Trust me, this is not a complaint, but a thankfulness for gaining insight on such an underrated industry.  Most of you reading probably have no idea what it takes to make a simple card you buy at Target.  Though these cards are probably made in bulk, most of them digitally printed on the most cost-efficient paper, someone had to come up with the idea, the text, and the design.  This is the type of work we're a part of, and we're not alone!  We work from the bottom up - from empty Illustrator files and color swatches to printing options and ooh-ing and ahh-ing over the feels of paper.

In May I'll be heading to New York for the National Stationery Show (and I am so excited!), so I figured I'd start sharing some of my favorite paper products and wedding invitations with y'all.

Save the Dates | Tokketok

First off, I have a major weakness for letterpress.  This, my friends, is not letterpress, but I'm loving it!  Check out these vellum better together save the dates from Tokketok.  They are so simple, sleek, and straight to the point.

Happy Friday + Valentine's

Not gonna lie, it's been a long week in every sense of the word.  I wish I could transport to this place, drive around these roads to the sea and watch the sunset with a cup of tea warming my hands.  Mmm...

{Sorrento, Italy via sunsurfer}

It's that fateful weekend of Valentine's Day - one of my not-so-favorite holidays because everything is atrociously red, but I will say that I love the abundance of chocolate around.  We're having a Valentine's banquet at church tonight and I'm anticipating lots of desserts!  Here's a few links for your weekend:

it's my first time {at a paper party!}

Who knew you could spend a whole evening talking about paper, color, and design trends?  I sure could, but never actually did it before until The Dandelion Patch in Georgetown asked us (Fig 2 Design) to host one at their store.  We met with new brides who were on the lookout for paper products for their weddings, and they got to ask us questions about all things paper.  We even did a drawing for 50 free Save the Dates!  Our lucky winner was Allison.

inspiration: business cards

One of my many jobs at the moment involves being an assistant at Fig 2 Design Studio. My color connoisseur boss, Claudia, and I are working on a little personal project for me - business cards! For any of you who know me personally, it's no secret that I have a very wide range of things I enjoy and many little dreams in my pockets. There's no label or title that I fit under (ironic, since I am travel size - hah!), which makes it slightly more complicated coming up with design and text. Our gears started turning and with a little help from Pinterest we came up with some design ideas:

I'm going to do inkless letterpress (like the "anthropologie" text), white on white. We decided we like to keep it clean and classy, since I do organize and am definitely a minimalist.

anthropologie 

for the {reader/writer}

Though it's often hard to find time, I love to read. I'm in the progress of collecting Coralie Bickford-Smith's clothbound series (there are 4, the first two are pictured below). I haven't read most of these books, but they're the classics and I do hope to read them all one day!

 

I also love to write, particularly cards. The written word is so powerful and (sadly) a dying art. There's something especially exhilarating about getting a card in the mail, so 9 times out of 10 I'll pay the oh so hefty postage and send you snail mail over an e-card.

So if any of you out there are like me, here are some things that are bound to get you excited:

paper love

sorry for the recent lack of posts. it's been pretty crazy down here in houston, but i'm back with some wonderful paper things to share.

paperwink has wonderful custom stamps and notebooks, and some products are now 30% off!

i love blimpcat's custom wedding invitations like the one below (isobel script)

melissakae's vintage ferris wheel custom wedding invitation designs

i absolutely adore ferris wheels

       

{things i love} paper

i LOVE cut paper. really, i do. X-acto knives and i are great friends, but i could never do work like madebyjulene. she does illustrations, portraits, typography, you name it. definitely a brilliant idea for marking the date of a baby’s birth, wedding, or engagement.

speaking of paper, hello tenfold has some great invitation designs & is also the author ofmint, a design/art/fashion/wedding blog. she sells everything from invitations to direction cards (cause everyone gets lost on the big day) and place cards.

oh, how i love typography. but that will be another post, for another time.

come back soon!