Sunday Sample Spotlight: "The Stone Age"

This stone-inspired stationery set is great for weddings along pebbled beaches, or any occasion to celebrate local geology!

"The Stone Age" Invitation Duo (invite & reply card) and Save-the-Date

The invitation is printed on white paper and mounted to a recycled brown envelope with small silver brads. I decorated the side right flap and left pocket with scrapbook paper featuring a fun photographic stone print. I scanned the scrapbook paper into my computer to incorporate into the printed invitation, reply card, and save-the-date (though I lightened the picture a little so it wouldn't completely blend into the darker scrapbook paper).

For the text, I used a fun font that looks like letters scratched onto stone or wood. Less important information was written in a smaller typewriter inspired font.

The save-the-date and reply card also both have matching brown recycled envelopes.

Next week's Sunday Sample Spotlight: "Dressed to Impress"


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Color of the Week - Seafoam

This week's color is Seafoam - a beachy blueish-green hue perfect for spring and summer!

Seafoam is gorgeous when paired with candy-colored pastels (like cherry blossom pink and orange creamsicle), as well as highly saturated hues (like azure blue and raspberry red)!

Fun facts about Seafoam:

1. The name comes from the sometimes green color of naturally occuring sea foam, a type of foam created by the agitation of seawater as it breaks down algal blooms and other organic matter.

 

2. Honeycomb toffee, a sugary toffee with a light, rigid, sponge-like texture, is regionally known by the name "sea foam" in many parts of the U.S., including Maine, Washington state, Oregon, Utah, California, and Michigan.

3. Seafoam green is similar in color to Paris Green, a highly toxic green crystalline powder that has been used as a blue colorant for fireworks, as well as for rodenticide and insecticide.

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Flowerless Bouquets 4 - Seashells

Today's wedding bouquets and centerpieces aren't limited to fragrant blooms. For the next five weeks, I'll be showing you my favorite flower alternatives, from new DIY creations to bouquets rich in history (and heirloom antiques!), from transient arrangements that look beautiful at your event to permanent keepsakes that'll look beautiful for generations to come.

Option 4: Seashell Bouquets

Like feathers, seashells are both found in nature and manufactured by humans for decor. Collect your own seashells from your favorite beachfront, or order fake (perfectly round) seashells that mimic the real ones.

Dye or color seashells to match your colors, or add hints of color with beads, fabric, and ribbon. Pearls look great with seashells!

Seashell bouquets and centerpieces are <i>perfect</i> for destination beach weddings, but also work great for under-the-sea themed children's parties, or hip urban events hosted at city aquariums!


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Color of the Week - Teal

This week's color is Teal - a dark greenish-blue hue!

Teal is a beautiful, rich color that's perfect for anchoring light, bright, spring-and-summer candy-colored hues like watermelon pink, apple green, and turquoise. Alternatively, pair it with a neutral like snow white, icy silver, or jet black to create a sophisticated cool color scheme for winter events.

Fun facts about Teal:

1. The first recorded use of teal as a color name was in 1917. The name came from a type of duck native to Eurasia - the "Common Teal" - which has the distinguishing feature of dark blueish-green feathers around its eyes.

2. The post-2004 redesigned version of the U.S. $100 bill features teal as its primary background color.

3. The basketball team the Detroit Pistons used teal as one of their primary colors from 1996 to 2001.

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Color of the Week - Sky Blue

This week's color is Sky Blue - a pastel shade of blue that's calming, cool, and refreshing!

Pair it with another pastel or a light neutral (like silver or ivory) for a chilly color scheme beautiful for winter and spring, or add a pop of bright color for summertime!

Fun facts about Sky Blue:

1. The name "sky blue" has been used since at least 1728 to refer to the pale blue of the sky.

2. Many current professional sports teams use the color, including the Uruguay national football (soccer) team, whose team nickname is La Celeste (The Sky Blue One).

3. In contemporary culture, pale blue colors like sky blue are often associated with baby boys (though prior to the 1940s, baby boys were actually associated with pale pink, while baby girls were associated with pale blue).

 

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Color of the Week - Orange Creamsicle

This week's color is Orange Creamsicle - a pastel orange hue beautiful for spring and summer!

Because of it's pale color and similarities to gold and tan shades, orange creamsicle makes an unexpected but effective neutral, and therefore works well with almost any color!

Fun facts about Orange Creamsicle:

1. The color's name comes from orange flavored creamsicles, popsicle-like frozen desserts with a center of vanilla ice cream and an outer layer of orange-flavored ice.

2. Orange Creamsicle is similar to other shades of pastel orange, such as apricot and peach.

3. Many summertime dessert recipes attempt to recreate the orange creamsicle flavor. It doesn't take much scouring to find dozens of delicious orange creamsicle cake, cupcake, fudge, and Rice Krispie Treat recipes on the internet!

 

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Summer Color Combo - Tangerine & Tiffany Blue

Blue and orange are complements on the color wheel, so they're guaranteed to work well together! Choose a bright, sunny orange like tangerine and offset it with a blue that has a bit of green tint to it to call to mind a glorious orange sunset over green ocean waves!

You won't find naturally occurring blue-green flowers, so opt for orange and white blooms instead. You can also use orange and tangerine slices as centerpieces! I love the bright orange parasols the wedding party has in the bottom left photograph - parasols are shaped like citrus fruit slices, so not only do the colors match but the shape matches the theme, as well! :)

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Color of the Week - Coral

This week's color is Coral - a pink-orange shade that's beautiful almost any time of year!

Pair it with pastels, silver, or ivory for winter and springtime, bright jewel tones for summer, and rich neutrals like brown or gold for autumn!

Fun facts about Coral:

1. Though coral reefs naturally occur in many colors (including blues, purples, greens, and yellows), the color coral only refers to the Corallium rubrum and similar species which share a pink or red exoskeleton.

2. Owing to its intense and permanent coloration and glossiness, red coral (also known as "precious coral") has been used since antiquity for jewelry making. Coral jewelry has been found in ancient Egyptian tombs, and was especially popular during the Victorian age.

3. The ancient Romans believed red coral could protect children from harm, as well as cure wounds made by snakes and scorpions.

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Sunday Sample Spotlight: "If the Blue Fits"

Though simple at first glance, this stationery design has a lot going on - including a metallic envelope, scrapbook paper, colored brads, and a playful linear design.

"If the Blue Fits" - Invitation Duo (invite & info insert)

I started with a metallic sky blue folding envelope, then lined the left-side flap and right-side pocket with printed denim-blue scrapbook paper. I mimicked that same linear design on the actual invitation and information insert, using the nonparallel stripes as divisions for the paragraphs of text as well as design elements at the top and bottom of each page.

I love the "hollowness" of the font I used for the paragraph headlines - the thin blue outlines around each letter harken back to the nearly-horizontal stripes that cover the printed pages and scrapbook additions.

Finally, the blue brads give the stationery set added depth by incorporating three dimensions. From a distance, the lines and different shades of blue remind me of the way the surface of a calm lake might look as the water is rippled in the breeze. This design would be perfect for a spring or summer wedding - especially one outdoors near a pond or lake!


Next week's Sunday Sample Spotlight: a beautiful yellow and pink spring stationery set!


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Sunday Sample Spotlight: "Ever the Same"

I love this color scheme for summer - the two neutrals (white and tan) really offset the saturated blue hue, letting it take center stage. It feels crisp, clean, and fresh - and would make a perfect color combo for a beach wedding or casual outdoor affair!

"Ever the Same" Invitation Duo (invite & reply card) and Save-the-Date

The main envelope is a tan-colored folding envelope with a pocket on the right side to hold the reply card and matching reply card envelope.

The pattern reminds me of sand-dollars (or perhaps manta rays), alluding to a casual, beach/ocean theme. I love the way its stamped-on quality, which gives it a handmade feel.

Next week's Sunday Sample Spotlight: "The Music in Me"


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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, or fill out a design request form. Or shoot me an email to ask me your questions or learn more information.

Spring Color Combo: Blood Orange & Misty Blue

If you're at all like me, you find blood oranges a little creepy - but even I can't deny how beautiful and rich the color is. Pair it with a pale misty blue for a unique color scheme with a perfect balance between hot and cold colors that works great in the winter and spring.

This shade of blue is pale with hints of silver-gray, while the orange is so red it's - well, practically red. Still, they both retain their core orange and blue so obviously that it's not hard to understand why they seem to work so effortlessly together (orange and blue are color wheel complements).

Impress your guests with a dazzling paper crane display (see the middle picture of this inspiration board's bottom row), add unexpected bursts of dark orange blooms in the middle of a pale blue-and-white bouquet, and serve orange-flavored cupcakes and blood-orange garnished cocktails.

This color scheme is also a great choice for beachfront weddings - just look at how adorable the cake is on the far-right of the top row! Use blood orange to color fish accents in a misty blue ocean.

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Spring Color Combo: Dijon Mustard & Bermuda Blue

Dijon Mustard is a yellow so dark that it's almost brown; it makes for a great neutral for almost any color! I particularly like it with supersaturated shades like the Bermuda Blue I paired it with below:

Though the Dijon Mustard color is dark and autumnal, the Bermuda Blue is bright and fresh enough to balance it out and give the overall look a very spring/summer feeling. Don't you just love the beach-inspired cupcakes on the far-right of the inspiration board's third row?

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Sunday Sample Spotlight: "Breakfast at Tiffany's"

This stationery set fuses a fun diamond pattern with a pale striped design.

"Breakfast at Tiffany's" Invitation Duo (invite & reply card) with matching Save-the-Date

First, the solid Tiffany blue "Cascade" envelope is decorated with horizontally striped scrapbook paper on the left flap and right pocket, to make it seem even longer. Then, I used two vertical strips of one of my fancy patterns to adorn either side of the printed invitation to section off the long horizontal envelope.

I love when I can use part of the pattern for the "check boxes" on the reply card. Not only is it functional (here, the same diamond shapes from the pattern are available for the guests to select their RSVP option), but it ties the whole design together in a simple, cohesive way.

This pale aqua and crisp white color scheme is great for winter (think ice and snowflakes) or summer (think Caribbean beaches and the fresh whitecaps of waves); furthermore, the two patterns used (intricate arcs forming diamonds and simple, thick stripes) can easily be dressed up in elegance or dressed down for a casual affair, making this stationery set flexible for almost any event!

Next week's Sunday Sample Spotlight: "Heart of Steel"


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Photo Inspiration: The Colors of the Sea

I hope you've enjoyed this month's photo inspiration color schemes! Today's picture was taken on the Greek coast in 2011. I loved the different blues, greens, and neutral browns that were churned up from the sunlit water rippling over the rocks just offshore!

Why these colors go together: Blue and green are analogous on the color wheel; here they're both not quite the bright, saturated colors we're used to. The blue is darker and grayer, while the green is a little lighter and grayer. Add in two shades of light tan for a great beach-inspired set of neutrals and near-neutrals.

How to use this color scheme: The emphasis on neutrals and ocean colors make this a great color scheme for beach house interiors - or any interior space that you want to give that relaxing beach feeling (bedrooms and bathrooms in particular).

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Photo Inspiration: Purple & Yellow

Today's photo was taken in Positano, Italy - a little town along the Amalfi cost - in 2010. Though I featured a purple and yellow color scheme just last week, this one is different enough in tone to merit a new post. :)

Why these colors go together: This blue-purple is much happier than last week's, which had some grayish undertones. The purple, pale yellow, and pale blue are all fairly pure (color + white, instead of color + gray), giving them that peaceful feeling that all pastel colors share. For the neutral color, I pulled out a green so dark that it's almost black, to give this otherwise pasty color scheme sophistication and depth.

How to use this color scheme: What couldn't you use this color scheme for? The pastels are all classic wedding colors for any time of year (especially the winter, spring, or summer), and here those  traditional colors are given a modern twist with a bit of dark black-green. Use this color scheme for a relaxing living room or bedroom inside your house, a nautical/beach themed room or a nursery.

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Winter Color Combo: Neon!

You might not think of neon colors when you're considering winter hues, but neon is a great color combo choice to add some spark to the coldest months of the year. :)

Don't be afraid to use several different shades, from neon yellow, pink, and orange to the more unusual electric blues and greens. There are almost limitless opportunities to incorporate neon throughout your event. Decorate tables by spray painting old vases or vintage metal lanterns with shades of neon, and then keep the flowers to a more delicate white. Tie neon bows to the backs of chairs, and hang old neon signs on the wall to give off a funky vibe. Serve colorful cocktails and brightly frosted cupcakes.

For a wedding, have each bridesmaid pick a different neon color to wear, and adorn the walls of the venue with re-purposed picture frames and mirrors that you've spray painted with a coat of bright color. Then, give out neon-themed wedding favors like fun sunglasses (even in the middle of winter!), or rock sugar candy.

Then, bring everything together (and give all the neon accents the perfect backdrop) with a season-appropriate neutral like crisp clean white. Your guests will forget all about the raging snowstorm outside and feel like they've entered a tropical paradise!

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Other Romantic/Vintage Wedding Color Options

Last week, I showed you a couple of photographs that worked as great inspirations for a beautiful ivory/blush/rose pink color scheme. But if off-whites and light colors aren't your thing, there's good news - you can still achieve that romantic/vintage look with other color schemes, too!

The trick is to keep your colors soft. Don't pick highly saturated hues, but instead go for tints (color + white), tones (color + gray), or shades (color + black). (For a quick lesson on color theory and the definitions of these terms, go here.)

For example, take the photograph below, which I took at dusk on a beach in Malibu, California during a road trip out west this past summer:

There are several colors in this photograph, including pink, rust, blue, and gray - but none of them are vibrant hues, so they all seem softer. This would be a great color scheme for a romantic wedding. The colors are darker than the ivories and creams we found in the photograph of white roses last week, so they seem more sophisticated and mysterious. Here, the neutral is dark gray (not ivory), and the rust is even darker/grayer than the rusty pinks I showed last week - in fact, it's almost brown, and thus works as another dark neutral. The pink color of the sunset is a very subdued pink, and the blue is softened with copious additions of gray.


For those who want to avoid pink completely, here's another example. I took this photograph on a rainy day in Thessaloniki, Greece back in 2008:

The white tiled sidewalk was beautifully reflective in the rain, and showed a variety of cool neutral shades. The lightest color here is almost white, but still has enough hints of gray and blue to feel cool and refreshing. Other shades of gray and blue flow throughout the sidewalk and sky. Even the forest green of the trees and grass is still dark enough that it isn't too saturated (though it is the most colorful part of the photo).

The colors are soft enough (and the gray on the far left is warm enough) that it still feels romantic, even though it's a much cooler color scheme overall. It's a much more unique color combo for a vintage-inspired wedding, but works just as well. Use warm and cool grays as your base color (playing up different textures within the neutral shades), and add darker greens and blues for accent colors throughout your wedding.


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Lakeshore Wedding Stationery

Back in February, I posted a collection of lakeshore-themed wedding save-the-dates that I designed for a client. A couple months ago, I finished the rest of their wedding stationery collection by designing and printing everything else including:

- An invitation (a two-page "packet" attached with a dark green brad that included a schedule of events at their casual park wedding celebration as well as several recommendations for hotel and camping accommodations)
- Two sets of reply cards (one intended for guests who were only invited to Saturday's big event, and another intended for out-of-town family and friends who were also invited to a dinner and temple service the night before and a brunch the Sunday morning after) 
- The extra invitation for the Friday and Sunday events (which was slipped into the envelopes of only some guests)
- Matching Thank You notes

and even:

- Adhesive name tags for all guests to wear at the Saturday and Sunday events (which I'll be including in another blog post at some future date). :)

All stationery items were printed in light blue (the background color of each piece), dark blue, and green. For the invitation and reply card envelopes, I used the same dark blue that I used on the save-the-dates, but chose a "Euro-flap" design (a more formal triangular seal instead of a rectangular seal).

Each invitation envelope and reply card envelope were addressed by adhering white rectangular labels, which I printed on my computer.

The informal wording of the invitation (which reads like a letter), the fun blue and green color scheme, and the easily readable sans-serif font all helped to give this stationery set a casual, outdoorsy feel that perfectly fit the vibe of this couple's wedding celebration. :)




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Interior Design Color Schemes #3

Last week, I posted some photographs and showed how I picked out four colors from each image to use as inspiration for creating interior design inspiration color boards. Today, I have two new photographs to show you. :)



Inspirational Photo #5: Barcelona's Port

This photograph is taken of the ship masts reflected in the water on a sunny Barcelona morning in 2010. I love the abstract feel of the image, as well as the classic color scheme. The blue and yellow combination is the perfect color scheme for a "beachy" feel, and creams, tans, white, and black all make great neutrals with the subdued blue and yellow shades.

For a light, airy, beach-themed room, keep the walls light colored and build up any blue or sandy yellow accents in little touches such as curtains and throw pillows. Painting a wall a dark denim blue or tan gives a more sophisticated, elegant feel to the room. I love the pairing of the black table and dark blue walls on the middle photograph on the bottom row.


Inspirational Photo #6: Brightly-colored roses

I absolutely love roses, especially ones with petals that show off multiple shades of color. Here, the deep magenta and bright sunshine yellow of the main rose really pops against the dark green stems and leaves, as well as the lighter pink of the rose in back. The light pink and dark green almost become the neutrals in this color palette, since the other two are so attention-grabbing and bold.

Coincidentally, this color scheme almost perfectly matches Andy Warhol's flower screenprints (shown in the middle of the inspiration board). Since the magenta and yellow are the stars of the show, you don't have to be shy in letting them shine. Feel free to go crazy with the saturated color, and then rein it in with neutrals (think a light shade of white or cream) on the floor, furniture, or walls. Finally, add dark green accents to the room with throw pillows and other small items, and you've developed a modern, sophisticated color scheme for your new favorite room in the house! ;)





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Don't forget - though these inspiration boards feature home decorating ideas, these color schemes could work just as well for any event! I'll post more photos next week, so be sure to check back! :)




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Interior Design Color Schemes #1

As I mentioned a few weeks ago, my husband and I recently bought our first house. Since then, I've been looking more and more into interior design to come up with some ideas of how to decorate our new home. Some blogs I came across had the interesting idea of taking a photograph and selecting certain colors from the image to come up with a color palette. It seemed like fun, and I wanted to give it a shot! :)

I dug around some of my old photographs - favorite images of past vacations and some of my favorite flowers - and found some to use as inspiration. Below are the first two photographs I used, along with an inspiration board of interior furniture and decor that matches the color scheme. Check back tomorrow and next week for further installments in this four-part series!


Inspirational Photo #1: A colorful plant in Barcelona

I took this photograph while on a Mediterranean cruise in 2010. I've always loved this picture and its use of the secondary triad of the color wheel: purple, orange, and green. None of the colors are quite the saturated version of their color wheel relative, so the color scheme feels both unique and fresh and modern. This purple is rather blue in places, and its lighter shades are almost more periwinkle than lavender. The orange and green, meanwhile, both lean toward the yellow end of their respective spectra. The lime green and yellow-orange act as a great contrast to the cool bluish-purple.

Because it's such a modern color scheme, it really lends itself to unique furniture and bold, graphic patterns. The easiest way to incorporate all three colors in a single room would be to use a light orangey wood as the basis of the furniture (like we see in the middle picture on the top row). This simple solution encourages the orange to be read as a neutral backdrop, and once that core is established it's easy to add lime green, dark purple, and lavender accents into table centerpieces, curtains, wall paint, area rugs, accent chairs, and throw pillows.


Inspirational Photo #2: The volcanic hot springs on the Greek island of Santorini

Though it perhaps looks a little unfriendly, the brown water near Santorini's volcano is both completely natural and safe. The water is several degrees warmer than the surrounding blue water, and has been thought since ancient times to have magical healing properties. The muted color scheme that I pulled from this photograph (taken on my honeymoon in 2011) features a lot of classic interior design shades. The gray-blue and light minty green are calming and relaxing, while the two shades of brown (one lighter and pinker and the other rich and chocolatey) act as great neutrals.

Many of these photos feature either the blue or green as the most prominent color, and use tan and brown as accent colors, but you could just as easily use both the blue and green if you wanted. Blues and greens look great together - both because they're found together in nature and because they're so close to each other on the color wheel.

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Don't forget - though these inspiration boards feature home decorating ideas, these color schemes could work just as well for any event! I'll post more photos tomorrow. :)


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