Sunday Sample Spotlight: "Sonnet 73"

Most of the leaves have already fallen off the trees where I live in Michigan. And some parts of the country have already gotten their first major snowfall! But this stationery set is certainly still in the middle of the beautiful colors of fall - which is why I gave it the title "Sonnet 73," after a Shakespearean sonnet that I memorized for an English class as a high school sophomore.

That time of year thou mayest in me behold / When yellow leaves, or none, or few do hang / Upon those boughs which shake against the cold / Bare ruin'd choirs, where late the sweet birds sang... This thou perceivest, which makes thy love more strong / To love that well which thou must leave ever long

It's kind of a depressing sonnet, since autumn is used as a metaphor for the age of the speaker, but it ends on an uplifting note. The speaker is still loved greatly, despite - or perhaps even because of - his old age. I think it's part of that sentiment that makes autumn and winter weddings so romantic - even when the world around us is dying (or already dead) for several months, love isn't just able to still blossom and grow - but to truly thrive. As they so wonderfully put it on one of my favorite television shows (Community's Abed's Uncontrollable Christmas Episode) - it's the idea that some of the coldest, darkest nights can also be the brightest.

Anyway, enough with the poetic musings - onto the photos!

"Sonnet 73" - Invitation Duo with "Himalaya" Pocketfold Card

This stationery set is coordinated with a metallic orange "Himalaya" pocketfold card, which is similar to the "Cascade" type of card I used for the "Candy on the Cob" and "Pick Your Own" samples in that it has a flap on the left side and a pocket on the right that's the perfect size for including information and/or a reply card and envelope.

Just like I did with "Candy on the Cob," I used a piece of scrapbook paper I had to line the left flap and side pocket - this time based on a photograph of piles of autumn leaves. I also scanned the scrapbook paper in again to subtlety use in the stripes, leaf icon, and background of the actual invitation and reply card.

I used a clipping mask in Illustrator to grab one of the leaves from the scrapbook paper so that I could use it as a digital image on the stationery.

I also made thin rectangle-shaped clipping masks to create the stripes seen on the top of the reply card and the top and bottom of the invitation.

The scanned scrapbook paper is also very faintly in the background of both pieces of stationery - though it's so faint that it acts more like a hint of texture than an actual duplication of the image. By playing with the transparency, I added some depth to what would otherwise have been solid white paper, while not overdoing the leaves motif too much.

And, as always, even though the text on the invitation indicates an autumn wedding, this type of design could work for almost any fall event.

Next week's Sunday Sample Spotlight: One of my absolute favorites, in a really unique but awesome raspberry/olive green/pearl white color scheme!

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Shameless Plug Time: Love this invitation (or others featured on this blog)? Want something similar (or something completely custom) designed for your event? Visit Invites by Andrea to view more samples, download a catalogue pdf (coming soon!), or fill out a design request form. Or shoot me an email to ask me your questions or learn more information.