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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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.

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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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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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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Summer Color Combo - Royal Blue & Magenta

Magenta is a great color for summertime because it's so bright and saturated! Pair it with a rich royal blue for a sophisticated color scheme.

Wrap magenta bouquets in royal blue ribbons or place them in blue painted porcelain vases for classy centerpieces. And with such a bright color scheme, don't shy away from having some fun with it! For a funky twist on vintage props, spray paint wire bird cages, old bicycles, and ornate picture/mirror frames hot pink!

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Shameless Plug Time: Love this color combination? 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.

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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Shameless Plug Time: Love this color combination? 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.

Summer Color Combo - Pale Yellow & Grape

Purple and yellow are complements on the color wheel, so they look great together!

Several flowers are available in yellow and purple shades - so use as many blooms as possible in your decoration to really get across the fresh feeling of spring and summer! Use yellow-tinted mason jars as flower vases and decorate your venue with glowing yellow rope lights!

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Shameless Plug Time: Love this color combination? 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.

Summer Color Combo - Watermelon & Lime

Take inspiration from fruits for a fun and fresh color scheme perfect for outdoor summer events!

Many flowers occur naturally in these pink and green shades, so it should be no problem finding blooms to decorate your event! Serve watermelon flavored cocktails or fruit punch, use slices of watermelon and lime as garnishes and centerpieces (by piling slices in a clear vase), and include whole limes or green apples in your flower arrangements.

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Shameless Plug Time: Love this color combination? 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.

Sunday Sample Spotlight: "The Music in Me"

This beautiful music-themed stationery design is all about the background image.

"The Music in Me" Invitation Duo (invite & info insert)

The envelope pictured is a metallic bronze-brown pocket envelope - perfect for giving off a rich, antique vibe and storing informational inserts right inside the envelope.

Semi-transparent layers of sheet music are stacked in the background of the design to give it both depth and a playful aged quality. I further played up this "classical" feel by choosing a font that feels like an old-school handwritten love letter.

 

This design also features a few different textures, which adds to its decadence. The invitation and info sheet were both printed on linen paper, and the folding envelope has a beautiful metallic sheen that shimmers in different lighting. In fact, depending on the warmth of the light, the linen paper can also take on a very different orange-brown tone, as you can see in the picture below.

Next week's Sunday Sample Spotlight: "Rainy Day"


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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: "What Lips My Lips Have Kissed"

This baby girl birth announcement is the perfect mixture of classic elegance and modern fun. 

"What Lips My Lips Have Kissed" Birth Announcement

The fun: The hot pink metallic petal-fold envelope is lined with semi-circles of scrapbook paper featuring large-scale pink polka dots.

The elegance: The printed announcement features a calligraphic font and hints of curly patterns in each corner.

But my favorite detail is the baby's head. Traced from an old photograph of myself as a baby, I turned a picture into a graphic illustration that's fun and modern, while still being realistic and photographic. Given photographs of your child (or engagement photos for wedding announcements), I can similarly turn one of your personal images into a fun illustration for use in whatever type of stationery you desire!

Next week's Sunday Sample Spotlight: "Ever the Same"


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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.

Supersize Pastel Inspiration Board

As March draws to an end, I leave you with this - an oversized inspiration board featuring this season's beautiful pastel color palette!

Within this inspiration board are ideas for everything:

- Easter decor (ornate eggs, pastel balloons!)
- Spring fashion (pastel lips, jewelry, clothes, hair!)
- Interior design (a pretty mint green sunroom, and floral wallpaper!)
- Party refreshments (gelato-colored candies and cupcakes!)

- And, of course, spring wedding decor (painted mason jars, bouquets, centerpieces, dresses!)

If you're planning a baby shower, child's birthday party, Easter gathering, or spring wedding, this board is for you. :)

Enjoy!

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Floral Quilted Wall Hangings

This past holiday season I hand-sewed three different "wall hangings" to give out as gifts to my mother, mother-in-law, and grandmother. 

Buy these floral fabrics here: http://www.spoonflower.com/profiles/ideasbyandrea

All of the fabric swatches (except for the solid light green around the edges) were printed at Spoonflower - a website that allows you to upload your own designs to be printed on fabric! The images you see are photographs of flowers that I've taken in the last several years (including pictures of roses and bouquets purchased at supermarkets, the flora around my grandmother's house, and professionally-designed gardens and landscapes in Barcelona, Paris, Southern Italy, Croatia, and Upstate New York). Many of the photographs were slightly altered/desaturated in Photoshop to give them a slightly vintage/aged/faded look. 

All of the photographs have a similar color scheme (shades of light greens, pinks, yellows, whites, purples, and oranges), and are intended to work together as a collection, making them great fabric choices for patchwork projects like these quilt-inspired wall hangings! 

There's no shortage of photographs of the finished project, so keep scrolling down!! :)
 
 

Shameless plug time: Love these wall hangings? Head over to Spoonflower to purchase my fabrics! :)
 

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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Shameless Plug Time: Love this color combination? 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.

Photo Inspiration: Neutral Olives

Today's photo was taken at an outdoor olive market in Thessaloniki, Greece in 2007.

Why these colors go together: They're all so dark that they act as neutrals - you could find any one of these colors (khaki green, gray, navy blue, and rusty brown) on a pair of dress slacks. Furthermore, since they all come from different kinds of olives, they have a common heritage that links them together.

How to use this color scheme: This rich group of neutrals would be great for a sophisticated office or library, although I can also easily imagine it for a modern kitchen or living space in a warehouse-style loft in the city, with concrete floors and stainless steel appliances. Seasonally, it would work best in autumn, when the nights are just starting to get longer and darker and the leaves are changing to rusty reds.

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Shameless Plug Time: Love this color combination? 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.

Photo Inspiration: A Hint of Neon

Today we continue the look at photograph-inspired color schemes that we started last week. This picture was taken in Barcelona's Parc de la Ciutadella in 2010.

Why these colors go together: These tints of blue-violet obviously go together, since they all have the same base color. I particularly love the blueish icy feel of the lightest tint! Then, for a touch of excitement, I pulled out the neon acid-yellow that was created from the sun shining through the background foliage. This acid-yellow goes with the blue-violet shades because yellow is purple's complement on the color wheel - and because it has the same icy feeling as the lighter purple shades.

How to use this color scheme: This funky modern color scheme would be great in a living space decorated with contemporary Ikea-esque furniture, a nursery/child's bedroom (who needs stereotypical pink and blue when you can have blue-violet and acid-yellow??), or a fun, unique event. The icy undertones lend itself obviously to winter weddings, but I think this color scheme could work just as well in any season - the neon yellow is perfect for spring or summer, and the richness of the darkest blue-violet pairs perfectly with the yellow for an autumn wedding, as well.

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Shameless Plug Time: Love this color combination? 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.