Sunday Sample Spotlight: "Kiss the Girl"

This week's sample stationery set features a unique aqua and red color scheme that really pops!

"Kiss the Girl" Invitation Duo (invite & info insert)

The main invitation and information insert are both flanked with a bold, large-scale two-tone pattern on the left and right sides. Then, the fragile cursive font used for the text adds elegance to the funky color combo.

The envelope is a "cascade" pocketfold envelope (designed for landscape-oriented invitations and information). I chose a metallic aqua color to play off of the slightly more cyan aqua used on the printed stationery. The blue/aqua and red create a playful contrast that feels funky and fun!

I re-used part of the graphic pattern on the sides of the design to break up the paragraphs of text in the invitation. By keeping the scale small and the line weight skinny, these little hints of pattern match the elegant text and connect the two styles (romantic and bold) so that the whole design seems more cohesive.

Next week's Sunday Sample Spotlight: Ladybug themed!


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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.

Fancy/Funky Friday: Patterns Connie & Louise

Today's patterns are both unique and feature (among other details) "x"-like designs.

First, the "fancy": Pattern Connie

More unusual than many of my "fancy" patterns, Pattern Connie stays elegant with its thin lines and "x"-like details. The "x"-like forms both create structure and interest, while hinting at the regal diamond-like shapes I love to include in my "fancy" collection. The small loop-like details also hint at elegant crafts like embroidery or crochet, and from a distance, the design looks almost like lace.



And now, the "funky": Pattern Louise

This pattern feels distinctly Western, and brings to mind the designs of nineteenth-century American pioneer quilts. Furthermore, the curved bracket-like forms look like the sorts of designs a shoemaker might stamp on leather cowboy boots. From a distance, Pattern Louise appears to be a modified plaid design, but up close the curves of the almost-rectangular pattern units become more pronounced, giving it a more modern, playful vibe. Finally, the thinnest lines create an underlying "x" structure to each pattern unit, giving it an almost elegant feel.


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Shameless plug time: Love my patterns? I incorporate them into a lot of the artwork I create, from stationery for Invites by Andrea to the watercolors I paint. Check out Invites by Andrea's website to see examples of these patterns in use or drop me a line at andrea@invitesbyandrea.com to let me know what you think!

How to Line an Envelope

Lining envelopes is a great way to add a pop of color to your stationery, and its an easy process to do yourself!

Step 1: Insert the envelope liner into the envelope, making sure that the liner is tucked in as far as it will go and that it rests just under the sticky envelope seal.

Step 2: Fold the envelope closed as you normally would, making sure that the liner stays in place while it folds. This is much easier than measuring and trying to fold the liner separately and then inserting it into the envelope, and it makes a perfectly lined-up crease every time.

Step 3: Add glue to the back flap of the envelope liner.

I recommend using glue dots. They're easier to deal with and much less messier than liquid glue, and they stick superbly well. With liquid glue, you always run into the problem of not using enough or using too much. You don't want the glue to seep through the liner and ruin your stationery, and you don't want the glue to ooze out the other side and ruin the sticky part of the envelope making it either impossible to seal or impossible for your guests to open later on.

If you use a brand of glue dots that come on a long roll (like the "Zots" I used), you should either rip the paper around each dot or at least rip off a small section of the roll. It's easy to accidentally press a glue dot down on a part of the liner or envelope you didn't intend while you're applying a different dot on the same roll. Another easy way to solve that problem? Purchase glue dots that already come on individual backings, such as Michael's "Recollections" brand.

Press the glue dot firmly on to the back of the liner. For small or medium-sized glue dots, I placed five - one in the top corner, one on each side, and two on the center of each edge, just to help close the gaps that were created. For large-sized glue dots, I found three to be sufficient - one in each corner of the triangle.

Then, just peel off the paper backing. On the third picture in the above sequence, you can see what the envelope liner will look like once all the glue dots are in place.

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Step 4: Fold the envelope closed over the liner again, pressing down firmly to make sure the glue dots adhere to the envelope.

And voila! When you open the envelope, the liner should be attached to the top flap. In less than a minute, your envelope is beautifully lined! :)


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Shameless plug time: Do you love the look of lined envelopes? Need invitations and stationery? Have an event coming up? Visit my website at InvitesbyAndrea.com or email me at andrea@invitesbyandrea.com for more information! I do weddings, bar/bat mitzvahs, birthdays, anniversary parties, holidays - anything you might need custom stationery for!

Sunday Sample Spotlight: "The Perfect Pair"

This stationery set is based on a theme I saw on TheKnot.com - "The Perfect Pair" which features, as its illustration, a pair of pairs. :)

"The Perfect Pair" Invitation Duo (invite & information insert)

"The Perfect Pair" showcases a fun, modern color scheme: lime green and chocolate brown - a great color scheme for almost any season with its interesting mix of warmth (in the deep, rich brown) and cool yellow-green.

This stationery set uses a chocolate brown "Himalaya" pocketfold envelope, which I lined (on the left flap and right side pocket) with solid-colored green scrapbook paper. I then used these same colors on the printed stationery items, which feature graphic stripes and a simple two-color representation of pears leaning on each other. I created both the stripes and pears with the pen tool in Illustrator, and chose to have the pears touching each other without any hints of shadow so that it was a little hard to tell where one pear ended and another began.

The pear image is both adorable and sweet, and gets across the sentiment of a wedding in a fun but creatively simple way. And think of how easy it would be to continue the pear theme into your decor and wedding favors! This would also make a great theme for a wedding shower or anniversary party.



Next week's Sunday Sample Spotlight: "Kiss the Girl"


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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.

Fancy/Funky Friday: Patterns Bunny & Keiko

Happy Friday! Scroll down for today's Fancy and Funky pattern choices! :)

First, the "fancy": Pattern Bunny

Pattern Bunny is definitely one of my more unique "fancy" patterns. Though the lines are thin, there are moments where lines overlap and create thick, bold areas - and several of the lines have little decorative "balls" on the ends of their curves, giving off a bug-like antenna vibe. :)

Still, the most obvious aspect of the pattern are elegant diamond shapes, which gives it a fancy feeling. This design works great as single stripes of pattern, as I used in the stationery sample below. Plus, the smaller diamond shapes make for great "reply boxes" on RSVP cards!

And now, the "funky": Pattern Keiko

Pattern Keiko has a very contemporary Asian feel. The line thickness and cartoonish curves remind me of the Japanese Anime style. I can totally see this fun pattern adorning the walls of a tourist-y Japanese store, or as a decorative element on children's clothes. The mix of straight lines and curves, as well as smaller and larger arcs make this a very fun, whimsical pattern that could be adapted for a variety of uses.

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Shameless plug time: Love my patterns? I incorporate them into a lot of the artwork I create, from stationery for Invites by Andrea to the watercolors I paint. Check out Invites by Andrea's website to see examples of these patterns in use or drop me a line at andrea@invitesbyandrea.com to let me know what you think!

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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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.

Sunday Sample Spotlight: "Elaborate Lives"

This classic white and navy blue invitation set features one of my "fancy" patterns. Paired with an elegant cursive font, "Elaborate Lives" is the epitome of formal - and the perfect design for a traditional wedding.

"Elaborate Lives" Invitation Duo (invite & reply card) with matching Save-the-Date

Each stationery item is printed on white cardstock and mounted on metallic dark blue cardstock. For the envelopes, I used a metallic pearl white "Himalaya" pocketfold envelope, with matching reply card and #10 size policy envelope for a uniquely-shaped save-the-date.

I used the elegant, loopy pattern in a big, bold way - the scale of the pattern is large, giving each stationery item an over-the-top splash of pattern along its borders. From a distance, the dark blue "zig-zag" down the middle of the pattern adds another hint of modern design to an otherwise traditional, formal invitation.

Metallic envelopes are a great way to add sparkle to elegant stationery! Here, both the white envelopes and blue cardstock have a metallic shimmer. The shine is subtle enough to be classy while sparkly enough in the light to be noticeable and appreciated - the perfect combination. :)


Next week's Sunday Sample Spotlight: A cute pear-themed stationery set!


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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.