Fun Bandana Decor

I love bandanas - they're colorful and cute, and they're useful for so much more than just wearing. They're so carefree and summery, they're perfect decor for this time of year!

1. Use bandanas to jazz up your patriotic Memorial Day, Fourth of July, or Labor Day party or picnic!

2. Bandanas come in other colors, too! Use them for outdoor parties, office picnics, children's birthday parties, and decorating your house (especially kids' bedrooms or nurseries)!

Bandanas are perfect alternatives for cloth napkins, make great flags, banners, tablecloths, and table runners, and easily roll up for utensil holders or clever nut/popcorn carriers!

And bandanas aren't limited to just summer, either - orange and black bandanas are great for Halloween and other autumn events!

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Winter Color Combo: Oxblood Red & Navy Blue

One of the hottest colors this season is oxblood red (also known as burgundy, to those who prefer a less disgusting-sounding name). Pair it with another dark-color-turned-neutral - the classic navy blue - for a sophisticated color scheme so dark that it instantly feels rich.

Dress the ladies of your wedding party in oxblood red gowns with navy blue pumps, and adorn the men with crisp navy blue suits and ties, with oxblood loafers. Have your florist find flowers with very deep red hues and create dark, mysterious bouquets and centerpieces. Cover the tables in navy tablecloths.

In general, you can take this color scheme one of two ways. First, you can look to menswear and England for inspiration (think of the richly colored libraries and billiards rooms of old mansions, men's-only clubhouses, and the masculine decor of the first-built universities). Second, if you're planning more of an "off-beat" affair, take inspiration from Gothic literature and architecture, as well as modern goth culture (think lacy boots and gloves, blood-red roses, dark lipstick, and a navy blue accent color that's so dark it's almost black).

Finally, this color scheme isn't limited to winter weddings. It would also make a unique color scheme for an adult Halloween party or Gothic Valentine's Day affair, and works great for anniversary dinners and other elegant events where you're looking for a male-friendly but sophisticated color scheme.

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Sunday Sample Spotlight: "Copper Country"

Copper is a great neutral that often unfairly gets the shaft in favor of more traditional colors like gold or silver - but unlike gold and silver, which often feel cool and standoffish due to their yellow or blue undertones, copper is all about warmth.

"Copper Country" Invitation Duo (invite & reply card)

Think of copper as a metallic, elegant brown that has all sorts of nostalgic homey associations attached to it - like old copper pots in the kitchen, antique Christmas ornaments, and the good ol' days when a quaint copper penny could actually buy a gumball or piece of candy at the barber shop. :)

For this stationery set, I took those nostalgic associations and gave them a more modern feel by increasing the scale of the somewhat boxy (but still elegant) pattern into a bold, graphic design - and by using Helvetica for all of the stationery's text. In the case of the reply card, I even used the pattern on only one side of the design, creating a modern asymmetrical composition.

This stationery set uses a metallic copper-colored petal-fold envelope and matching reply envelope, textured copper cardstock, and crisp white paper.

Copper is also a great color option for fall holidays like Halloween and Thanksgiving - the base of the color is a warm orange-brown that mimics the falling leaves, but the metallic shine of the copper gives it a more elegant feeling that's great for the holiday season.


Next week's Sunday Sample Spotlight: "Le Moulin Rouge"


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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.

Halloween Party Ideas

Hosting a Halloween party this year?

Here is a short collection of links to peruse for ideas to transform your Halloween get-together from so-so to spook-tacular:

Martha Stewart Halloween Decor Ideas: A varied collection of sophisticated, creepy, grown-up decorations (such as bouquets and centerpieces, cheesecloth spiderwebs, and candlestick displays) and cute kid-friendly options (such as jack-o-lantern themed balloons).

Indoor & Outdoor Decor: A wide collection of real photographs submitted by bloggers of indoor and outdoor Halloween decor, including DIY crafty ideas (like pumpkin topiaries, banners, and paper wreaths).

Halloween-Inspired Cocktails: Adult-only drinks where spooky presentation is everything.

Best Pumpkin Recipes: Spice up your party with a new recipe - because classic pumpkin pie has already been done. ;)

Kid-Friendly Snack Recipes: Mummified Hot-Dogs, Eyeball Punch, and Graveyard Cupcakes (among others).

Halloween Activities: How to entertain children and adults at your Halloween party.


Need Halloween invitations? Check out my custom stationery at InvitesbyAndrea.com!

Halloween Color Combo: Poison Apple Green & Black

Finally, I have one more Halloween color scheme to show off this year -

Poison Apple Green & Black:

This sophisticated color scheme would work well for just about any modern event, but I think it lends itself particularly well to Halloween. The acidity of the green hints at sinister secrets, while the black accents layer on the mystery. Serve neon green cocktails under a sign that encourages guests to "pick their poison." Display green apples as edible decor, and don't be afraid to use bold black-and-white (or black-and-green) patterns, like damask (for more elegant affairs) and striking spiderwebs (for more obvious Halloween references).

And how great is the bouquet in the lower left corner of this inspiration board? I just love how elegant the lime green flowers and black leaves look, and if you look closely there are subtle hints of Halloween without being too kitschy or obvious. See the solid black miniature pumpkins hiding in the flowers? What a unique centerpiece for a Halloween event!

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Shameless Plug Time: Love these color combinations? Looking for custom stationery made to match these colors (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.

Halloween Color Combo: Electric Blue & Pumpkin Spice

Mix pale near-death blues with bright neon cerulean (think spooky simmering potions and Katy Perry wigs) for an overall "electric blue" tone, and then add splashes of rusty oranges and scarecrow and pumpkin themed decor for a unique but totally awesome Halloween color scheme.


Electric Blue & Pumpkin Spice:

Use real pumpkins and blue flowers for truly authentic decor. Keep plates and glassware simple, using wheat or cream colors and playing up blue and orange accents in border patterns, plate chargers, tablecloths, or napkins. Display blue mason jars or "scarecrow wheat" colored candlesticks as extra accents, and serve foggy blue cocktails or blue raspberry fruit drinks to quench your guests' thirst.

Of course, what autumn or Halloween party would be complete without pumpkin pie? If you don't have time to bake a fresh pie (or several) yourself, purchase a delicious-smelling jar candle to pump your party venue full of tantalizing pumpkin pie scent.



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Shameless Plug Time: Love these color combinations? Looking for custom stationery made to match these colors (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.

Halloween Color Combo: Blood Red, Bone White & Black

Halloween events don't have to follow the same boring orange and black color scheme. This week I'll be showing inspiration boards of three other Halloween-inspired color combo options to help make your Halloween get-together fresh and memorable. :)

Blood Red, Bone White & Black:

For this color scheme, turn to vampires, skeletons, and mummies for inspiration. I just love those fang-bitten cupcakes in the top row, and I've always loved the almost-sinister look of delicious red velvet cake. Ideas for red beverages are also plentiful to come by - wine, berry cocktails, fruit punch, and red-tinted hot chocolate all make for great party drinks, and double as great decor on Halloween tables.

For non-edible decor, consider these options: hang black spiderwebs on walls, wrap clear flower vases in black fishnet stockings, or paint black and red pupils on white marbles or stones for instant "creepy eyeball" decor.

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Shameless Plug Time: Love these color combinations? Looking for custom stationery made to match these colors (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.

How to Use Illustrations on Stationery - Part Seven: Plants

And finally - the seventh and final part of the How to Use Illustrations on Stationery series - plants! :)


It's no secret that I love flowers and making illustrations of them - it's what I did for my own wedding, after all. And here are several more examples of illustrated plants that work great for stationery!


This first sample is an illustration of the quintessential red rose, paired with other imagery common of tattoos for a fun, casual, tattoo-themed invitation. I traced it from a photograph I'd taken of a rose.

The flowers and grass in the example below are much more free form, and weren't traced from a photograph, but rather drawn free hand with Illustrator's pen tool. They look more childlike since the shapes are simpler, and the bright colors and simple imagery gives the stationery a very optimistic feel.

The example below was traced from a photograph I took of a purple plant in Barcelona in 2010 that was bent over and hanging down with all of its purple petals facing the ground. I'm not knowledgeable enough about plants to know its name, but it was gorgeous, and that's all I needed to know to capture it with my camera and trace it for a stationery design. ;)

This image of lavender was also traced from a photograph of my 2010 travels - in this case, the Jardin du Luxembourg in Paris, France.

These flowers were obviously not traced from anything, but rather drawn free-hand with the Illustrator pen tool to exemplify pixelated old-school computer graphics.

The example below was traced from a photograph of another plant in Barcelona. My plant knowledge is pretty limited, but I think this was some type of magnolia.

This rose image was traced from a photograph of a rose bouquet I took. I've also painted a watercolor of that photograph, since I loved how the stems and leaves were more of the focus than the petals of the rose were. See the resemblance between the images?

And finally, this image of a silhouetted bare-branched tree was again drawn free-hand with the pen tool in Illustrator for this Halloween themed stationery set.

I hope you enjoyed seeing many of the illustrations I've created for my invitation samples! I certainly enjoyed making them! :)

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Sunday Sample Spotlight: "Candy on the Cob"

I can't believe it's already the end of October! Exactly two years ago today, my now-husband proposed to me, so October thirtieth will always hold a special place in my heart. :) For most people, though, it's less about diamond rings and more about...

Halloween! That's right, Halloween is finally tomorrow. This could be one of the first years that I don't actually have any Halloween plans. After I finally reached an age when trick-or-treating was taboo (a genuinely sad day), I still usually had some sort of Halloween party to attend with friends (such as the one my now-husband and I held in his apartment the day after we got engaged). But this year I guess I'll just have to be satisfied with displaying this awesome Halloween-themed invitation as this week's Sunday Sample Spotlight! It's most Halloween-y thing I've done (and apparently will do!) all year. :)

"Candy on the Cob" was inspired by a piece of scrapbook paper I had that featured a large photo of piles of candy corn. I cut out a few pieces of the scrapbook paper to attach to the envelope, and then scanned the paper on my computer to incorporate it subtlety in the background of the actual stationery as well.

"Candy on the Cob" - Invitation Duo with inside and outside envelopes

The main envelope is a black linen cascade pocketfold (just like last week's "Pick Your Own"), meaning there is space in the middle for the A7-sized invitation (~5"x7"), and a pocket on the right for the reply card and envelope. I decorated the right pocket and the flap on the left with the candy corn scrapbook paper and then picked orange envelopes for the outside A7 envelope and reply card for two reasons. 1.) Black envelopes are hard to write addresses on, and the reply card and outside invitation envelopes would definitely need addresses, whereas the inside envelope (the black cascade, when folded up) would just need a couple of names written on it, which could more easily be done with a white or silver colored pencil, paint pen, gel pen, etc., and 2.) I love how the orange pops against the black and really brings the whole set together by bringing the orange from the candy corn imagery into the envelopes.

The silhouetted tree and the white zombie hand emerging from the ground are more examples of the traced illustrations I like to create with Illustrator's pen tool. I just find an image online (or use a picture I've taken), pull it into Illustrator to use it as a template, and trace it and modify it to make it my own. The smoky haze in the background and the little bats weren't traced from anything, but just drawn freehand with the pen tool, which is why they are even more simplified and stylized.

I really love how this stationery set came out. The text implies that it's for a Halloween-themed wedding, but it wouldn't have to be. While the invitation would also work fine on its own, I think it's the scrapbook paper lined envelope that really makes this set extraordinary. But the design could still easily be adapted to any Halloween-themed event, such as regular costume parties.

Happy Halloween, everyone!

Next week's Sunday Sample Spotlight: Autumn Leaves

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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.