Summer Color Combo - Gold & Coral

Coral is perhaps *the* color of this summer - and gold gives it a perfect level of sophistication for elegant affairs! This gorgeous color scheme is a great blend of modern and timeless, and would also be beautiful for spring (especially with a lighter coral color) or autumn (thanks to the richness of the gold)!

Tie coral bouquets with gold ribbons or place coral blooms in gold vases. Deck your tables in coral tablecloths accented with gold chivari chairs and gold place settings. And there's no shortage of coral and gold jewelry at your disposal - use coral and gold beads to fill clear vases and adorn your centerpieces and favors with gold and coral ribbons!


I also think this color scheme would be beautiful for a family room or other living space. The coral and gold are so warm and inviting!

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Color of the Week - Bubblegum Pink

This week's color is Bubblegum Pink - a tint of pink with a hint of orange undertone!

Bubblegum pink goes great with other pastel shades and candy-colored hues.

Fun facts about Bubblegum Pink:

1. The name refers to the first brand of bubblegum, Dubble Bubble, which has been in production since 1928.

2. When Walter E. Diemer invented Dubble Bubble, pink was his favorite color - and the only dye he had on hand at the time - which is why Dubble Bubble's original flavor is and has always been its characteristic pink hue.

3. It's similar in color to Baker-Miller Pink, a hue that was originally created by mixing one gallon on pure white indoor latex paint with one pint of red trim semi-gloss outdoor paint and named for the two U.S. Navy officers who first experimented with its use in the Naval Correctional Facility in Seattle, Washington.

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Shameless Plug Time: Love this color? Looking for custom stationery made to match this color (or whatever other color combinations you're using 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: "Under Formal Circumstances"

This stationery set is soft and romantic, with its pale pink, gray, and ivory color scheme!

"Under Formal Circumstances" Invitation Duo (invite & reply card)

The pattern is elegant, with its calligraphic lines and curves, but it's printed at such a large scale that it takes on a bold, modern feel. The invitation and reply card are each printed on ivory paper and mounted on smooth pink cardstock.

This color scheme would be particularly beautiful in winter! 


Next week's Sunday Sample Spotlight: "Basket Case"


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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 Magnolia & Sasha

Happy Friday! Here are today's fancy & funky patterns!

First, the "fancy": Pattern Magnolia

Why it's "fancy": From a distance, it looks like lace, with its uniformly-packed curvy lines.

Why it's great: The lines are calligraphic - meaning they vary in thickness from bold to thin, like a calligraphy pen!


And now, the "funky": Pattern Sasha

Why it's "funky": This pattern is busy, looking like furious bouts of scribbles, but underneath the madness is a firm repeating structure.

Why it's great: I love the small parallelograms formed in between each repeated pattern "unit"!

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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!

Summer Color Combo - Red & Heliotrope

Bright and vibrant, this color scheme gets the party going!

Play with different shades of heliotrope, purple, and magenta to over-saturate your event with fun color, or choose just one to complement a solid, dependable red for more subdued affairs. Decorate with lots of flowers and girly accents like lace, ruffles, or damask patterns to further play up the femininity of this color scheme.

This would also make a fun color combo for Valentine's Day!


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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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Shameless Plug Time: Love this color? Looking for custom stationery made to match this color (or whatever other color combinations you're using 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: "Where the Story Ends"

Metallic copper is a great neutral for almost any event - pair it with snow white and cream to let the copper really shine as the star!

"Where the Story Ends" Invitation Duo (invite & reply card)

This stationery set uses a horizontal pocketfold envelope in metallic copper. The invitation is attached to the main part of the envelope with a series of small metallic copper brads and cream striped ribbon for added texture; the reply card and reply envelope are easily tucked into the side pocket for mailing.

The invitation and reply card are both printed on smooth white cardstock. The smooth texture of the paper really helps the metallic shine of the envelope and the subtle texture of the ribbon stand out and take center stage!

 
Next week's Sunday Sample Spotlight: "Under Formal Circumstances"


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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 Bernadette & Poppy

Here are two more patterns - one fancy, one funky - to start your weekend off right!

First, the "fancy": Pattern Bernadette

Why it's "fancy": Thin, calligraphic lines loop and crisscross to make a beautiful argyle & lace-like pattern.

Why it's great: I love the long, swooping arcs on the top of each lowercase-k letterform!


And now, the "funky": Pattern Poppy

Why it's "funky": Instead of calligraphic lines that vary in thickness, each of these whimsical curves is exactly the same line weight, making the pattern feel less refined and more childish.

Why it's great: I love the swirls! This pattern would be great for wallpapering a child's bedroom or play room.

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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!

Summer Color Combo - Cherry Blossom & Avocado

This color scheme is beautiful for spring and summer!

Decorate with cherry blossom branches (or drawings of them) to keep up the theme, and embrace vintage props, fabrics, and decor! Vintage botanic-style drawings in green and pink would make for beautiful wedding favors, stationery - even fabric!

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Color of the Week - Cherry

This week's color is Cherry - an eye-catching, highly saturated red with just a hint of pink!

Decisive and bright, cherry red is the perfect way to add a pop of color to your event or home decor - just remember that a little goes a long way! ;)

Fun facts about Cherry:

1. This color name derives from the name of the popular cherry fruit.

2. Cherry red is similar to the color known as "cerise," though the later is technically the slightly more blueish hue of a cooked cherry, such as those found in cherry pies.

3. Traverse City, Michigan is known as the Cherry Capital of the World and hosts an annual summertime National Cherry Festival to celebrate their production of tart cherries.

 

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Shameless Plug Time: Love this color? Looking for custom stationery made to match this color (or whatever other color combinations you're using 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: "Strawberry Swing"

Green and pink is a color scheme that works with almost any season, depending on the shades. This funky and unexpected magenta and olive green color scheme would be great for spring, summer, or autumn!

"Strawberry Swing" Invitation Duo (invite & reply card)

The invitation and reply card are each printed on white cardstock and mounted to textured olive green cardstock. Then they're layered with a sheet of transparent green vellum each, for added richness. Two mint green brads in the top corners hold everything together.

There's a subtle light pink pattern in the background of the invitation and reply card that reflects back to the pink envelopes. The elegant font and preppy argyle-like pattern work together with the textured cardstock and vellum to add sophistication and formality to this funky color scheme.

 

 
Next week's Sunday Sample Spotlight: "Where the Story Ends"


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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 Loretta & Memphis

Orange you glad it's almost the weekend? ;)

First, the "fancy": Pattern Loretta

Why it's "fancy": The lines that make up this lace-like pattern are thin and curvy.

Why it's great: Not all of the loops are the same size, adding visual interest.


And now, the "funky": Pattern Memphis

Why it's "funky": Though it has almost a lace-like or argyle-inspired design, the parts of the pattern with thicker lines give this a more masculine, southwestern feeling.

Why it's great: Wouldn't this pattern look great stamped on a pair of leather cowboy boots?

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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!

Summer Color Combo - Emerald & Navy

Rich and dark, emerald and navy is a great color scheme for fall and winter, as well. For summer events, keep things bright by using more emerald than navy and focusing on fun pops of color!

I love the peacock feather design painted on the sides of the green shoes on the left photograph in the middle row! And the tropical scarf in the middle of the bottom row is a great example of how to keep this dark color scheme sunny and cheerful with just a few hints of lime green and orange.

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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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Shameless Plug Time: Love this color? Looking for custom stationery made to match this color (or whatever other color combinations you're using 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: "The Elephant in the Room"

This stationery set is perfect for any carnival or circus themed event, including weddings, child birthday parties, and baby showers!

"The Elephant in the Room" Invitation Duo (invite & reply card)

The invitation uses a bright red envelope, while the reply card opts for yellow. Both are printed on pure white cardstock and mounted on textured yellow cardstock.

The two fonts are very carnival-inspired and fun, while the simplified illustrations add extra pops of the yellow and red color scheme without getting too literal. There are no animals or carnival rides or games - just balloons and banners in yellow and red.

 

 
Next week's Sunday Sample Spotlight: "Strawberry Swing"


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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 Encarta & Haley

Happy Friday! Here are today's patterns -

First, the "fancy": Pattern Encarta

Why it's "fancy": This pattern is argyle with a touch of femininity in the little curly accents. Plus, it's so fun how the "stripes" of pattern don't quite touch, leaving that buffer of negative space in between the lines.

Why it's great: I love preppy patterns like this, where you can easily imagine how great it would look as a wrapping paper, knitted into a sweater, or used to decorate a windowpane.


And now, the "funky": Pattern Haley

Why it's "funky": The simplicity of this pattern makes it look almost stamped! Draw in some pupils in two adjacent circles, and you have yourself a pair of googly eyes.

Why it's great: It looks like bubbles. Enough said.

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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!

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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Shameless Plug Time: Love this color? Looking for custom stationery made to match this color (or whatever other color combinations you're using 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.