Flower Bat Mitzvah Placecard Poster and Table Markers

A couple months ago I posted a pink and green flower-themed Bat Mitzvah invitation set I designed for a client. A few weeks after I made that post, the client came back to me to ask for some table markers and a placecard poster in a similar theme for the dinner party after the ceremony.

I used the same template for the table markers as I did when I made some for my own wedding. The three-sided self-standing table marker template fits onto standard legal paper (8.5" x 14") - a size that's bigger than the usual 8.5" x 11" but still fits into my printer. :) I used the same rose design from the invitations on each side of the table marker, but changed the number to a different (serif) font since the sans-serif font I used for everything else didn't have the most recognizable number characters from a distance.

Before I sent them off to the Chicago area (where the event was to take place), I first took some photos of them in my apartment. I had a bit of fun setting them up on a chair by the window, letting the spring sunshine work as lighting. Since they're self-standing, they even easily stack on top of each other to make a tall tower!

And here is a photograph of the table markers at the actual event. I love how it works with the color of the tablecloth and centerpiece flowers! :)

I also painted and assembled a sign for the dining room to show guests where to sit. I painted a large version of the same rose design along the right side of the sign (a large tri-fold foam board I found in the science fair aisle of my local Michael's store), and painted the new Bat Mitzvah's name across the top in both English and Hebrew (just like I did on the invitations).

To make sure that I painted it as accurately as possible, I printed out a template from my computer and traced it onto the board before painting. I used acrylic paint, mixing my own pink and green to try to emulate the exact colors I used on the invitations. For the rest of the sign, I printed a list of names for each table on my computer and attached each to a piece of the same metallic "pink azalea" colored cardstock I used on the invitations.

Here are a few photographs I took in my apartment of the completed sign:

And here is the self-standing sign on a pink-clothed table at the entrance to the dining room at the Bat Mitzvah celebration:

The clients loved the table markers and sign, and a lot of the guests were talking about them too! I'm glad it was a successful event!


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Shameless plug time: Love these design? Want some of your own? Download my convenient pdf catalogue to see all of my design options, or check out my Invites by Andrea website to view some samples and get more information. I can also do custom designs! Need a sign painted in acrylic or watercolor for your event? I do paintings, too! :)

Flower Bat Mitzvah Stationery Set

I had the opportunity recently to design the invitations, reply cards, and thank you notes for an almost-thirteen-year-old's Bat Mitzvah celebration. Her only requests were that her name be written in both English and Hebrew, and that I use the colors pink and green (with emphasis on the pink). I showed her a few different designs from my catalogue with her information and color choices to see what she thought.

She chose my rose stem design (called "Chocolate Valentine" in the catalogue, where I displayed it with a pink and brown color scheme) - which I've also used as the basis for a watercolor painting before. Obviously, it's an image I'm pretty fond of, and I'm glad she liked it so much, too! The different shades of pink look great with the green and black, and feel very feminine, stylish, and spring-like (perfect for a March Bat Mitzvah)!

She wanted the design paired with a metallic dark pink border and matching envelopes, and the end result is absolutely adorable (if I do say so myself). :) I'd never printed addresses directly on envelopes before, so I wasn't sure how they'd turn out on my printer, especially with the metallic envelopes. But my printer worked great, and the black showed up nicely, even with the dark pink color and the shimmer of the metallic. I printed return addresses and the addresses of each guest on the outside of the invitation envelope (size A7), as well as the address on every reply card envelope (size 4-Bar), and the return addresses on the envelopes for the thank you notes (size A2).

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Shameless plug time: Love this design? Want one of your own? Download my convenient pdf catalogue to see all of my design options, or check out my Invites by Andrea website to view some samples and get more information.

How to Use Illustrations on Stationery - Part One: Objects

I've already written several blog posts about how much I love incorporating patterns into my stationery designs, but the other big thing I love to do is make custom illustrations. These illustrations are perfect for any event that has any sort of theme, because the pictures instantly let the invitee know what kind of shindig he or she has been invited to.

For example, having a destination wedding, or planning some kind of group vacation for a bachelor/bachelorette weekend, or a getaway with family and friends? Or just trying to beat the cold winter by having an indoor luau, or having an around-the-world party to spice up your otherwise drab "staycation"?

You can incorporate certain objects specific to your destination (whether real or make-believe) on the invitations for your event, such as the sample below, which features an image of lounge chairs and a beach umbrella for a destination wedding to the Greek island of Crete.

Another great way to incorporate illustrations is for events that play off a decade theme, like this invitation for a rockin' fifties wedding reception, which features a period car, a sign reminiscent of drive-in movie theatres, and the jukebox, records, malt, and bar stool required to emulate a typical fifties soda shop...

Or this electric eighties themed bachelorette party invitation, with a classic walkman illustration...

Or the illustrations of a lava lamp, some amorphous flowers, and a peace sign for a groovy seventies disco dance party!

Got any particular activities planned for your event? If there will be movie watching, add some illustrations of film, or famous movie stars. If there will be cocktails, add some pictures of drinks. And if there will be card games or gambling, include some images like the ones shown for this casino wedding invitation below. Your guests will know just what to expect - and look forward to!

I frequent Offbeat Bride, a fantastic website showcasing weddings with unique themes, and they've shown several carnival-themed events on their blog. It seems like such a fun theme for a wedding - or any other event for that matter - and it's so easy to illustrate. Pick an old-timey circus-y font, and add a few awnings, tents, banners, balloons, or flags in bright reds and yellows, and voila! It instantly feels like a carnival or circus!

 Speaking of flags, flag imagery is another great way to incorporate illustrations for a several different events, whether you're advertising a destination wedding or getaway weekend, hosting a going-away party for a friend getting ready to make an international move, or just having a party to celebrate your family's heritage, or your favorite place, culture, music, or films. Love anime? Why not include a Japanese flag or images of your favorite anime characters on the invitation to your home anime film festival? Love the Beatles? Why not have a British Invasion rock music themed birthday party, like this invitation illustrates? With almost 200 countries in the world, using flags alone already gives a ton of illustration possibilities!

Finally, you can use illustrations just to help establish the type of event it is. Hosting a Thanksgiving dinner for friends? Illustrations of all of the delicious food you're going to cook is the way to go! Planning a Valentine's Day party? The obvious illustration to dot your stationery with is a series of hearts. And if you're hosting a bar or bat mitzvah, why not include a prayer shawl like the one I digitally drew below? If there's already an object that is meaningful and important to your event, why not play that up in your stationery design?

The illustration above is also a good example to show different kinds of illustrations I create. Though many of the illustrations I've designed (and shown in this post) have shapes of flat color, there are other options, too. The prayer shawl I drew above was done with a different style, and instead of coloring in the stripes of the shawl with flat color, I used a hatching technique to give it a different texture.

Love these illustrations? There's more to come with several more posts in the next two weeks! :)


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Shameless plug time: Love my illustrations? Love these designs? Check out Invites by Andrea's website to see examples of these illustrations or download a catalogue pdf (coming soon!). Or drop me a line at andrea@invitesbyandrea.com to let me know what you think!

Talis Bat Mitzvah Stationery Set - Cont.

My client recently added a second order to the talis bat mitzvah invitations I designed for her back in June. In a matter of hours, I quickly designed, printed, and assembled the escort cards and table markers for the dinner after her bat mitzvah ceremony.

Materials used:
- Card stock paper
- Printer and ink
- Aluminum ruler with safety lip
- Exacto knife
- Cutting mat
- Photo corners

Cutting out the escort cards

I used a template to make sure I placed the photo corners in the same spot on every escort card

When the escort cards were completed, it was easy to switch the table designation in and out to accommodate for last minute seat arrangement changes. Below are shots of the final escort cards and table markers.

Completed escort card (back, with photo corners)

Completed escort card (front)

Stacks of finished escort cards and table markers

Finished table markers

What's the difference between an "escort card", a "table marker", and a "place marker/place card"? Maybe other people define them different ways, but this is how I think of them: an escort card is the card that tells you which table to go sit at - if it tells you a specific seat to sit at, or if it is placed at your place setting to tell you which seat at the table to sit at, then it's a place card. A table marker is the sign on the table that says "Table 1" (or whatever) to inform you which table you're looking at and whether it matches the table indicated on your escort card. For this event, I created escort cards and table markers - you usually won't have escort cards and place cards, but just one or the other.

Shameless plug time: Love my table markers and escort cards? 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!

Talis Bat Mitzvah Stationery Set

I recently designed and printed a set of Bat Mitzvah stationery. My client was embroidering her own prayer shawl (talis) for the ceremony and wanted this to be a large part of the design of the stationery. The colors used reflect the colors she is using to create her actual talis.

To achieve the hatching/cross-hatching look, I spent hours making each line of the drawing using Illustrator's pen tool. I love the finished product - the "drawing" turned out great!

Shameless plug time: Love my invitations and stationery? Have an event coming up that you need stationery for? Visit my website at InvitesbyAndrea.com or email me at andrea@invitesbyandrea.com for more information!