Lacy Invite (by Papel Vivo)

I saw this as an ad on one of my weekly (bi-weekly) wedding blog reads. (I need to figure out which one it was. I never click on the ads!)

But basically: Awesome! The only thing I think could make this even cooler is if it was a pocket. A fabric or print pocket and then the rest of the information was inside. But wow.

The company is Papel Vivo and has a bunch of great designs on their site. Awesome.

Someone Turned into a Bird

Last night I dreamed that some woman, not my real Grandmother, but my dream maternal grandmother, was hand picking the bridesmaids out of all my female friends. I didn't actually know any of these girls but Dream Grandma was picking them day of. Oh nice. Also, apparently Dream Paternal Grandparents had hired a wedding counselor who was a large religious (suuuper Baptist) man from Washington, and he was there (again day of) to do some wedding counseling to Zach and I.

We started in this little room and then I had to go run off for a second (probably when I witnessed the Bridesmaids issue) and when I came back, all I found was the man's assistant. He told me that basically Zach and him had gone off into another room to SERIOUSLY fight. Oh great. Somewhere in all of this our friends Clare and Gavin are there and they hand me something alcoholic that Gavin has made and Clare gives good advice. And I'm not actually stressed at all, b/c at this point, what the hell can you do? Nothing. You can do nothing. So I go wander off curious to see what disaster strikes next and I'm cool as a cucumber.

Stitched Invite (by Alan)

Oh stitched paper you tease! If only I didn't have a history of sewing machine anarchy. *sigh* Some Christmas party is going to have invites with so much stitching you're going to think a sewing machine is inviting you to drink.

These are the awesome Save the Dates of Alan and Jill.

Alan is a designer who has a cool blog. Alan clearly knows how to use his damn bobbin!

Double *sigh*

Also, you think the SaveTheDates are cool? There is more. Go check out his blog. No really.

Prints (by Amy Marcella)

I'm looking at and assessing print flowers. I think these prints by Amy Marcella really hit the type of aesthetic I love.

Amy has a an Etsy and a blog.


(Via BeautifulPaper)

Invitation Mocks

(Click for a larger view)

Here's the plan thus far. It'd be a 4x6 card. Outside would be fabric of some sort with a ribbon of flags encircling the whole thing. Inside would be a "pocket" made out of a ribbon and 3 felt flowers. The felt flowers aren't hard or time consuming to make but they look about like the ones in the image. In the pocket would be the RSVP card (which you all better use!!!), map, anything else. On the left side glued in would be the main information.

I need to go to Staples and dig around in their paper section to see what we can afford but is also pretty. There will probably be a combination of printing out and carving stamps. No letterpress for us. Letterpress is one of my favorite things in the world, and I am OK not using it for a wedding. Maybe some day I'll just own my own press so you know. :)

I need to design some flowery type image to go in the bottom right/left of the cards. I need to also figure out colors. There will be 3D mocks in the future. Slowly but surely folks. Slowly but surely.

Wiley Valentine Table Numbers

These are actually escort cards by Wiley Valentine but wouldn't they be beautiful invitations as well? Lovely.

(via Wiley Valentine Blog)

Fern Save the Dates (by Jill via Mint)

More gocco goodness. Such a clever save the date. Even if it's not your style, you can't help but appreciate the creativity and work that goes into something like this.

Work of Jill (of Small Stump + Studio Choo) and Matt via Mint Design Blog.

Gocco-ed Invitations (via OnceWed)

These are a great example of a printed (gocco-ed) invitations based on design- no stitching or fabric, etc. It's a little more complex than the print with info in middle of a square style. I was digging through the OnceWed archives this weekend. This is from a wedding in Savannah. Check the link for more images from a truly designy day. They have some spectacular lighting at their reception.

These are the work of heatherjeany etsy shop.

(Via OnceWed)

Ampersand Invites (by Lunalux)

This is in the category of what I call Header/Footer Pattern Invites. So basically there is a pretty pattern above and below the main body of copy. In this case, designed by Lunalux Letterpress, the couple went with ampersands. How cool!

This is from the wedding of Grace and Erik via The Knot.

Sarah & Marc (via The Knot)

Adorable illustrative invites by Ridge Carpenter in NY.

(Source: The Knot)

(I can't find Ridge Carpenter in NY. So I'm not sure if this is a person or a shop.)

Fabric Wrapped Invitations (by Mr Boddington's Studio)

This week there will probably be a lot of invitations popping up on this blog.

Here's a great contender. The fabric wrapped look. Love it.

This is the beautiful work of Mr. Boddington's Studio via Once Wed.

Paper Flower (by Jessica Murnane)

This wouldn't work for the style we're having but I still think it's so clever!

The Country Living site has a ton of great stuff (I love Christmas. *sigh*)

This design is by Jessica Murnane via Oh So Beautiful Paper.

Ornament (from Anthropologie)

This is an ornament from Anthropologie. Seems like it'd make a cool addition to a paper/fabric flower arrangement.

Just say'n.

(Found via Mint.)

Art by Merce Darbra (via Inspire Me Thursday)

I'll admit. I kind of always have wedding on the brain. It doesn't come out in loud ways like yelling down a woman across the street and asking her where she got her shoes. Mostly it comes in the form of seeing some great piece of artwork (like this piece by artist Merce Darbra) and thinking, "That would be a lovely invitation."

I stumbled across this by way of Merce's work mentioned on Inspire Me Thursday. She has a fantastic etsy site. Purchases are in my future. I especially love her still lifes of vases and pitchers. Fantastic.

Invitations (by Hello Tenfold)

I'm beginning to worry about invitations. Not worry worry...but consider. I'm beginning to seriously consider invitations. (How non- committal is THAT?!) January 30th is invitation craft night, and I have to be ready to do them this time. I day dream of non specifics like "there shall be burlap! And stitching!" How those two combine for our particular invites? I have no idea. And that's kind of the problem.

But through all this, occasionally I stumble across some really straightforward invitations. And it reminds me that what I love is good design. And good design while hard to create when you're an amateur designer like me, doesn't have to be overtly complex. I have loved pattern for many many years and if our invitations were simply a beautiful pattern with all the pertinent information in a bubble, then that would be just fine.

These Hello Tenfold invitations reminded me just of that. Such lovely work. Straightforward and so elegant. Thank you for the reminder.

Hello Tenfold's shop. Ellie's work was some of the first wedding work that really caught my eye months ago when I was beginning this whole planning thing.

Deco Tape (from Nothing Elegant)

Transparent Deco Tape from the drool-worthy etsy store Nothing Elegant.

I also love these. Yes please!

(Originally from Ffffound)

Lovely Package (by Lindsey of Run Lucas Run)

Can you imagine getting something like this in the mail? How awesome!

This is the work of Lindsey. Check out her flikr and blog.

(via oh, hello friend.)

Wreath (by Struggle)

Isn't this awesome?! I know it's not really a wreath but it's kind of the coolest wreath I've ever seen!

This is the great work of Struggle Inc in Chicago. Lot's of great poster work on their site.

(Blog trail: Fffound, Struggle)

Coffee Filter Garland (by Pam Garrison)

I knew I'd seen something similar. This is really lovely too! Similar to the feel (the fantastic feel) of the cupcake liner garland.

Fantastic work of Pam Garrison.

Cupcake Garland (by 100Layer Cake)

Oooooh lovely. Lovely! These are going to COVER our Christmas tree next year! Did I mention lovely?!

There's a tutorial over at 100Layer Cake.

Pocket Fold How To (by Miss Cola of WeddingBees)

I'm linking to a lot of tutorials this week. Lots of good stuff to remember for later.

This one shows how to make an inside pocket on a card. I will totally use this! Maybe not on wedding stuff, but limitless possibilities!

This is from the super clever Miss Cola over at WeddingBees.

Hitty Book Cover (via WovenPlay)

Something really appeals to me about the straight forward invite. Something like this (this isn't an invitation clearly) where it's a pretty pattern and then the names. Maybe names and date. Simple.

(Blog trail: Ffffound, WovenPlay)

Alissa and Ryan 2 (via Design*Sponge)

I couldn't not post these images too. Also from Alissa and Ryan's wedding. Also from Design*Sponge. Look at the colors in that bouquet. And the light fixture above the cake? *sigh*

General Wedding Feel (Alissa and Ryan via Design*Sponge)

I love inside furniture outside. This entire wedding is gorgeous. It's one of my favorites from a design standpoint. (Top 10 I've seen online.) Go check out their flowers. Such beautiful colors.

This is from the beautiful wedding of Alissa and Ryan. Check out their store Horne.

(Via Design*Sponge)

Awesome Envelope (by Miki Sato)

I normally go back to the same, oh 15 or so blogs. In my browsing a few days ago, I book marked two new ones. Designalicious and Polaroid Cupcake. I began going through their archives today and wow. Totally great. Designalicious had a link to another promising blog, Magazine Junkie. And that's where I saw Miki Sato's work. She's one of those artists that really speaks to my design sensabilities. *Squeal*

Also, how cool would this be for the outside of the wedding invite? Go to the last image in this here link and you can see she's sewn in a card on the back. Perfect!

Miki Sato: website, blog (with a ton more of her work)

Freezer Paper Silk Screen (by Mrs. D'orsay of WeddingBee)

Nice little set of instructions over at WeddingBee on how to silk screen an image on to a tote using the oh so amazing freezer paper.

Lights Under Table (by Gourmet)

This is really really pretty idea. Lights under the table cloth. Yay!

Note on the gourmet article: They have a link off to Czech Kolaches!! I lived in Slovakia for a year during high school and I fell in love with the Slovak Kolac, which is basically the same thing. Makes me really happy every time I see anything from this are of the world mentioned.

Blog Trail: Weddings and Cookies, Gourmet.