Sunday, January 31, 2010

Martha Stewart Lip Smacking Cootie Catcher



A fun party favor and a way to let your guard down all in one! The new Martha Stewart magazine features this old school "cootie catcher" game, bringing the past to the present in a timeless party favor. In my version I labeled each front panel, 'Who, Would, You, Kiss', instead of the common "Kiss" in four languages. Inside you will find eight numbers. Once a number is picked, you would open and close it that many times, then pick which ever number is shown to reveal who you will kiss! The choices I placed inside are Bride, Groom, Best man, Bartender, Etc. Such a fun idea that could work for numerous events. My favorite would be a bachelorette party where the choices could be, guy to your left, next blond who walks in, etc. Get crafty and make yourself one, they're lots of fun!!

A Family Wedding

The pressure is certainly on when someone in my family is getting married. Of course, they turn to me to design their intimate event and I'm happy to do it! This 5x7 "Save the Date" postcard I created for my niece Shannon and her beau Jason. I'll post more images as we approach the big day!


Robin Manno Photography

Robin Manno is a young, edgy, and very cool photographer that specializes in head shots and just recently began doing baby photography. I hired her to do one of my children's graduation photos and they turned out absolutely amazing. My other daughter cannot wait for her turn in front of the camera! Creating her business collateral was a fun process, where I first started by designing a business card utilizing both sides of the card with samples of her work as well as including her contact information on the front. I also created her logo that she will be using on her website and with all of her future marketing materials. Seen below is an example of her photography and my design in 4x6 marketing postcards that we created that express her stylish sense of photography in a simple and effective look. If ever you are in need of a photographer, hire her, she's great!!

Friday, January 29, 2010

What is a Hand Canceled Envelope?


An antiquated style of stamping envelopes remains to be a better way to send mail. I always tell the brides to ask the Post Master at the Post Office to "hand cancel" their invitations. Most of the time the post office personal will have no problem doing so. To keep your invitation clean and free of those pesky and ugly barcodes and skid marks when it's sent through a machine, this stamp is absolutely necessary. Not to mention, if the envelope is too thick with all of your custom designed accoutrement (invites, RSVP, etc.) they attach a nasty bar code sticker right on that beautifully shiny envelope. As you can see above, this image is of a "hand cancel" stamp, nicely placed on or next to the original stamp. Clean, beautiful and it maintains that original look that was initially designed.

Mark The Date - The First Stages


I work with many brides that are referred to me by Inger Miller and Jill Hawkins of
MHP Events. It's wonderful to have the opportunity to work with these ladies. They are event producers with an amazing track record of excellence, including: Pasadena Magazine's "Top 40 under 40", and "2009 California Small Business of the Year". Recently they brought Rupa and Kurt to my studio to discuss designs for their three day traditional Indian wedding with roughly 400 guests. Modern yet traditional, we went with a dark red and ivory color theme with an elephant motif. The first piece we created is the "mark the date" card, which is a nice change from the traditional "save the date". Also, shown below are the beginning stages of production on their actual invitations. As you can see, it's going to be a HUGE wedding!! I'll be sure to post more images as we progress!

The Beverly Hills Hotel Wedding Extravaganza!











When Justin and Karina first came to my studio, I knew that they would end up being more than just another couple simply looking for invitations. This was an extraordinary couple, and Justin quickly appeared to me to be one who "lives out loud". He gravitates towards anything and everything GRAND! So, of course the Beverly Hills Hotel is the venue where this lovely couple decided to have their celebrations. We came up with the idea to use the hotel as inspiration for the motif and signature of the event. We designed the invitation incorporating a palm motif representing the hotel, while the bride and groom brought a bit of elegance and personal style to the design by creating a family crest that was then used on all of the wedding materials. A variation of the crest was even used on the wax seal closing each invitation.
It's all in the details!

This couple have become wonderful returning clients. We even used their crest for holiday cards that I designed for them. I cannot wait to make their baby announcements when that time comes, I'm sure they will be GRAND!!

Las Vegas Glamour!!

Monika and David were referred to me by one of my favorite coordinators, Laura Ward. She is a brilliant coordinator that has a repertoire of working with celebrities including, The Osbourne's, Tom and Katie (L.A. Wedding Reception), Will and Jada (son's 16th), David Beckham (welcome party) and more. She has the knack of finding the sweetest brides and then sends them to me!

This couple wanted an "Old School Glam" motif for their Las Vegas wedding at the Four Seasons. What they didn't want was anything too flashy or anything too Vegas, just something subtle though glamorous at the same time. We came up with this lovely idea of using a chandelier, with the 'flash' in just one swarovski crystal at the top, which we included on all of the pieces that had the chandelier printed on them. These were quite large invitations measuring 6x9 in an unusual though beautiful color palette of brown, silver and ecru with a textured linen shimmer. The image below is of the 5x5 stationer/thank you card I designed for them with the same sophisticated chandelier and a simply elegant monogram.


Contemporary Custom Wedding Invitations


Looking outside the box, this modern couple wanted to do something different for their wedding invitations. Using a rich royal purple and a cool contemporary pattern we designed a long 4x9 invite that speaks worlds of this couples savvy style. The invitation includes a mini map and RSVP card. We will also be doing menus, place cards and wedding programs to match this fun design, so keep posted for more images to
come!

Wedding in Mexico!


I met an adorable couple who came to me looking to find a custom invitation for their wedding in Mexico. Only expecting their very close friends and family to attend the actual destination wedding, they also wanted to include in the invite information about their reception celebration to be held here in Los Angeles for those who cannot make it to Mexico. The three of us came up with a design plan using a color scheme of tan, orange and ecru with a tropical fish and coral motif. To fit within their budget, we decided to do an 'envelofold' invitation that included three inserts,the accommodation details, details on the local celebration to come, and the RSVP giving guests the option to notify them if they would be attending the wedding in Mexico or to put them on the list for the local L.A. celebration. All in all this turned out to be a wonderful little invitation package for Chloe and Ronnie!

Blogging - The Beginning!

Welcome to Simply Stated Blog! New to this blogging idea, I thought this would be a wonderful forum to display and share some of my past and present work. To see more detailed custom designs please refer to my website at www.simplystatedstationery.com. Feedback is always welcomed and encouraged, as I would love to hear what the world has to say about my artistic endeavors!

Wish me luck! And away we go...