Color of the Week - Ballet Pink

This week's color is Ballet Pink - a pastel pink perfect for adding a sweet, calming touch to any bright color!

For a typical Parisian or Ballet-inspired color scheme, pair ballet pink with white and black or a dark navy blue.

Fun facts about Ballet Pink:

1. The color's name comes from the typical pink shade of ballet tutus, leotards, and slippers worn by female ballet dancers. Traditionally, male dancers wear white or black ballet shoes, though many modern ballerinas of both genders wear nude-colored slippers to give the illusion of dancing barefoot.

2. The art of ballet originated in the Italian Renaissance courts of the 15th century, eventually becoming very popular in France and Russia.

3. Many flowers come in ballet pink shades, including carnations, roses, tulips, orchids, daisies, hydrangeas, and dahlias, as well as the blossoms of many flowering fruit trees.

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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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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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Sunday Sample Spotlight: "Manors & Etiquette"

This romantic invitation has a beautiful yellow and purple color scheme.

An elegant yellow pattern lines the top of this baby shower invitation; an identical stripe cuts the remaining white background into two, acting as both a design element and a way to feature the most important text of the invitation - the day, time, and location of the event. I love how the second pattern stripe acts like a fancy yellow highlighter!

Though this example is for a baby shower, this design could work for almost any traditional or elegant event, including weddings and spring holidays.


Next week's Sunday Sample Spotlight: A bold red & turquoise color scheme!


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Sunday Sample Spotlight: "Time to Pretend"

I absolutely adore this stationery set! It's perfect for spring!

"Time to Pretend" - Invitation Duo (invite & reply card)

I started with a metallic pale pink folding envelope, which I decorated with beautiful pale yellow scrapbook paper featuring a yellow/white/pale pink/sky blue floral design.

Up close (and tilted into the light), the pale rose-pink metallic envelopes really shine - and the scrapbook paper boasts an implied linen texture (though the paper is actually totally smooth). I very subtly mimicked this texture with pale yellow lines in the background of the printed invitation and reply card (it's so subtle, you can't even see it in these pictures!), and I incorporated the same blue, pink, and slate gray colors from the scrapbook paper for the images and text.

I recreated the linear floral design with Adobe Illustrator's pen tool so I could print it on the invitation. and seamlessly connect the digital printouts to the scrapbook-lined envelopes.

On the reply card, I only printed half of that flower form, poking down from the top edge of the paper. Because I didn't scale the image down (just cropped it), if you lay the RSVP on top of the invitation, the flowers line up exactly!

Because of its pastel colors, this design would work great for any spring event, as well as baby showers, birth announcements, and cutesy/feminine holidays like Easter and Valentine's Day!

Next week's Sunday Sample Spotlight: "Manors & Etiquette"


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Spring Color Combo: Lavender & Salmon Pink

Pastels are always beautiful for spring events, and today's color scheme of lavender and pale salmon is another great example!

Give out fabric satchels of lavender as guest favors at a fancy event like a wedding or dinner party. I just love the small salmon pink pocket tied with twine in the middle of the second row. 

Versatile and calming, this color scheme is also great for everyday fashion, and easily lends itself to makeup (lavender purple eyes and pale pink lips are always classic). These colors would also be gorgeous for a baby shower, baby announcements, or to decorate a child's bedroom or nursery. And don't forget spring holidays. The soft colors and pink accents work great for Valentine's Day and Easter!


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Spring Color Combo: Poppy Red & Linen

Pantone has included both "poppy red" and "linen" in its list of spring colors for 2013 - and its certainly true that it's easy to find both of these colors on the fashion runways! Incorporate this classic color scheme into almost any spring event (weddings, Valentine's Day - even Easter, if you're open to changing out traditional white lily decor for some brilliant red poppies)!

Poppies are easy flowers to fake with crepe paper or fabric, making it a breeze to decorate (under budget!) for any occasion. Play up texture within the neutral beige color to add dimension - string a paper or fabric banner of triangle flags, and use a linen tablecloth with visible threads.

This color scheme would also be beautiful in the fall, or even for winter holidays like Thanksgiving or Christmas!

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Spring Color Combo: Mint & Coral

Candy-colored pastels are super stylish this season - so why not use this beautiful mint and coral color scheme for your upcoming event? (These colors work for almost any springtime event, from weddings to Valentine's Day and birthday parties!)

These colors work because they're near-complements on the color wheel and because they're both tints (light hues of deep, saturated colors).

Play with a few different shades of coral (from brighter red-orange shades to pale pinks) and tie it all together with the cool consistency of mint green - a classic color with a vintage feel.

This color scheme would also work great for a child's bedroom or nursery!

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Valentine's Day Color Combo #2 - Cherry Red & Aqua

I've featured a red and aqua inspiration board on this blog before - and I've even featured a red and aqua stationery set for a "Sunday Sample Spotlight" post - but the color scheme is so versatile and exciting that it bears repeating.

Today's inspiration board is different from the one I posted last March because it specifically focuses on Valentine's Day decor:

I love the idea of scrapbook-paper "fortune cookies" (the first three pictures on the left of the first row), as well as the fabric patchwork-like banner that spells out l-o-v-e in different red and aqua fabrics. Valentine's Day is the perfect time to emphasize cute, so don't be afraid to don a fun aqua dress dotted with bright red cherries - or keep things romantic and simple by decorating a two-person "sweetheart" table with a centerpiece of classic red roses tucked into aqua-blue glass jars and bottles.

Just like yesterday's Valentine's Day color scheme of ballet pink and black, red and aqua also makes a great color combo for birthdays, children's bedrooms, or nurseries!


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Valentine's Day Color Combo #1 - Ballet Pink & Black

Pale pink and black is a classic color scheme for Valentine's Day because it's become associated with two very romantic things - the unitards and tutus of ballet costumes, and the City of Love, Paris. (Just try to find a cutesy notebook adorned with the Eiffel tower and French poodles that doesn't use this color scheme - I dare you!)

This color combo brings out the little girl in all of us, reminding us of our childish dreams of becoming a ballerina (or princess) when we "grew-up." Play up this nostalgia with feather boas, flowers, bows, and polka-dots - or take this color scheme into a new, grown-up level of sophistication with sexy black lace, damask patterns, or forever-stylish "French bistro" white and black stripes, and then inject calculated doses of hot pink to liven the mood.

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Sunday Sample Spotlight: "Heart of Steel"

Pink and gray is a classic color combo that works almost any time of the year - but especially in the winter and spring, or for Valentine's Day!

"Heart of Steel" Invitation Duo (invite & reply card)

For this stationery design, I kept the design crisp and clean with a pure white background, a simple, smooth pink petal envelope (no metallic shine, scrapbook paper embellishment, or texture here!), and a touch of gray in a textured cardstock border.

If the pattern looks familiar, it may because I talked about it in great length in a Fancy/Funky Friday post from more than a year ago. This is the first pattern I ever created - I initially used it to accent my personal business card and resume back in 2009, but I've used it on many different projects since then. :)

I love how simple the pattern is - it acts as a great blank palette you can add almost anything to. It can be "dressed up" with elegant, cursive fonts, and embellishments like vellum and other layers of fancy paper, or it can be "dressed down" with sans-serif Helvetica. It's even easy to change the colors around - as you can see in this stationery set, I alternated pink and gray within the pattern, but it works just as well if all parts of the pattern are the same color.

Next week's Sunday Sample Spotlight: Fun with paint splatter!


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Sunday Sample Spotlight: "Take a Bow"

I love this colorful stationery set!

"Take a Bow" Invitation Duo (invite & reply card)

First, I chose a hot pink folding "Cascade" envelope, hot pink reply envelope, and pale yellow envelope to tuck everything inside.

Then I adorned the left flap and right pocket of the folding "Cascade" envelope with pieces of pastel-colored stripe-patterned scrapbook paper.

The invitation and reply card are printed in purple and black text with thin pink stripes (and one thick stripe at the top) and a pale yellow background.

Then I used "glue dots" to secure a strip of green ribbon across the top of both the invitation and reply card (to reference the green stripe in the pastel scrapbook paper). I tied two small bows out of the same green ribbon, and attached them with one glue dot each to the strip of ribbon already stuck to the paper.

I chose a unique elongated font for the design's text to mimic the vertical length of the scrapbook paper stripes.

Because of the colors and bow accents, this stationery set would be great for children's birthday parties, baby announcements or baby showers - but it could be appropriate for almost any event. The pale pastel scrapbook paper and yellow invitation and outside envelope give it a vintage feel that would totally work for a unique, whimsical wedding!

Next week's Sunday Sample Spotlight: A stationery set featuring the beautiful shade of Tiffany blue


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Photo Inspiration: Candy Shop

Today's photo was taken inside a large candy store just outside Montpellier in the south of France, which I visited as a high schooler in 2005.

Why these colors go together: The pink and blue colors of the candy wrappers go together because they're both tints (lighter shades) of primary colors - created by adding white to either red or blue. Adding the green (found in the darker candy wrappers on the next shelf up on the left side of the photo) is a great way to relate back to the pink and blue, since green is pink's complement and sits next to blue on the color wheel. For the last color to pull out of this photo, I chose a neutral tan. Neutrals go with everything, and are a great way to add some depth without introducing a fourth eye-popping color.

How to use this color scheme: This color scheme would be great for a winter or spring wedding, since the pink and blue tints have a bit of an icy feel. It would also be ideal for a baby shower or for decorating a nursery, since it features the quintessential "baby" colors of pink and light blue. Perhaps less obvious are other fun choices like valentine's day parties, the interior of bakeries or ice cream shops, or a unique, modern living space.

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Sunday Sample Spotlight: "The Purple Petal"

This is one of my favorite scrapbook-paper stationery designs!

"The Purple Petal" Invitation Duo (invite & reply card)

I just loved the photographic quality of the scrapbook paper, showing a very large-scale purple rose in such detail that you can see the veins in each petal, and knew I had to use it in a design. 

I used a petal-fold envelope to further exude the flowery feeling, and pasted the scrapbook paper to the insides of each of the four envelope flaps.

The actual invitation and reply card are each printed on white cardstock and flanked with one of my fancy patterns. I chose a calligraphic-inspired font to match the elegance of the pattern and floral scrapbook paper.

The petal fold envelope and matching reply card envelope are the same metallic purple color. I also used a matching metallic purple cardstock to frame each piece of printed stationery - the white cardstock is glued to the purple cardstock. Just this little bit of extra weight can go a long way in bringing the design together (in this case, matching the stationery to the envelopes), as well as adding significance (real and figurative "weight") to the invitation of an important event.

This stationery set is perfect for elegant and feminine affairs like weddings, anniversary parties, or Valentine's Day, and the color scheme works great for almost any time of the year (why not use this stationery for an Easter celebration?). I love different shades of lavender and purple paired with white for wintertime, but the large scale of the scrapbook's rose would also work well for the spring and summer, when roses and other colorful flowers are in full bloom.

Next week's Sunday Sample Spotlight: A beautiful black & gold stationery set perfect for New Year's!


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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: "Le Moulin Rouge"

Today's stationery sample is all about the embellishments: two thick ribbons visually cut the printed invitation into thirds, while the large gold brads dot the ribbons like buttons on a fashionable jacket.

"Le Moulin Rouge" Invitation

This invitation uses a red petal-fold envelope, gold brads, and a unique sparkly ribbon that features stripes of pink and red. The text is printed in pink and red to match the ribbon and envelope, with the most important information written in a fun vintage font reminiscent of the 1920s.

Since this invitation doesn't have a lot of information (as it's an invitation to a couple's thirtieth anniversary party), there was plenty of room to play around with presentation. The petal-fold envelope folds down and covers the entire invitation - so when the recipient opens it, the colorful ribbon, large brads, and fun font are all unexpected surprises!

This red and pink color scheme would also work great for Valentine's Day!


Next week's Sunday Sample Spotlight: A modern black & blue color scheme!


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Sunday Sample Spotlight: "The One That I Want"

Today's Sunday Sample Spotlight uses a fun fifties theme throughout the stationery design. Check out the great aqua, pink, pale yellow, and black color scheme!

"The One That I Want" - Invitation Duo (invite & reply card)

The main envelope is a solid aqua-colored petal-fold design, with a matching reply envelope. The stationery is printed with a pale yellow background and mounted on textured pink cardstock for an extra pop of color.

I traced all of the illustrations using the pen tool in Adobe Illustrator and used a kitschy 1950s font for the text. The right of the invitation shows a diner scene, with a bar stool, counter, malt drink, and jukebox, while the left of the invitation focuses more on the traditional 1950s drive-in movie theatre, with an classic car and light-up sign.

For the reply card, I used the same elements from the invitation, keeping the black and pink arrow from the sign, but leaving it open for guests to write their names on the line. Then, I repeated the pink circles at a larger scale for the yes/no check boxes, and incorporated 1950s lingo in the response selections.

The final additions were the pink and black record decorations creating a border at the top of the invitation and reply card. I needed a way to balance out the eye-catching pink circles on the drive-in sign and was looking for another circular form to use. An homage to vintage records was the obvious solution! I added a larger record to the diner scene on the right of the invitation to tie it all together.

A 1950s theme is great for kid's parties, birthday parties, school dances, rehearsal dinners, casual weddings, and Valentine's day. My church hosted a mother-daughter "sock-hop" event once, and even though I was young at the time, I still remember how fun it was to dress up in a felt "poodle skirt" and dance around!



Next week's Sunday Sample Spotlight: "Paper Lanterns"



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Fall Color Combo: Peach & Plum

Today's inspiration board features the sophisticated and unique peach and violet color combination.

Peach & Violet:

This color combo works so well because each color has a common ancestor (hints of red/pink), yet they evoke such different emotions. The peach is subtle, light, pastel, and romantic; at first consideration, it might seem better suited for a spring or summer event, but the implied fragility of the color makes it a great choice for the cooler fall and winter months, as well. Meanwhile, the rich depth of the violet is bold and regal, and acts as the perfect dark complement to the light peach.

The great thing about a peach and violet color combo is how easy it is to find flowers to match your colors. Peach roses are perfect for weddings and easy to come by; other options are lilies, hydrangeas, daisies, and carnations. There are even more choices for violet blooms: irises, larkspur, carnations, orchids, hydrangeas, violets, and lisianthus all come in beautiful purple shades.


And wouldn't this elegant color scheme be just as perfect for other romantic occasions? Use peach and violet to impress your guests at a Valentine's Day party or special anniversary dinner, too!

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Sunday Sample Spotlight: "At First Blush"

Today's Sunday Sample Spotlight might look familiar to you. I've shown pictures of this stationery set on this blog before, and have featured the pattern I used to create the design on a Fancy/Funky Friday post.

"At First Blush" - Invitation Trio (invite, reply card & information insert)

This is an interesting stationery set because it feels both soft and romantic (thanks to the pink and white color scheme, the feminine ribbons, and the pale pink vellum overlay) and has a bit of an edge (thanks to the angular Gothic/Old English font and pattern). This would be the perfect stationery for a romantic affair held at an urban, downtown German pub - so if you ever host such a unique event, this is the invitation design for you! ;)

The font and pattern are rather masculine, even though it features little hearts and is (at least for this sample), a brilliant hot pink color. But the overall feeling of this stationery set is definitely the feminine - the oversized bows and vellum overlays cover everything masculine with several shades of pink. It's an interesting mix, and perfect for a unique venue, decor, or event.

The stationery was all printed on my standard white cardstock and paired with metallic "pink azalea" colored envelopes. The directions page and invitation are cloaked in a thin transparent pink vellum overlay and decorated with two hand-tied bows. The bows are looped through small holes along the top to hold the stationery and vellum together, making them both pretty and functional. With its emphasis on hearts and shades of pink, this stationery set would also be perfect for Valentine's Day, or any other romantic event. :)



Next week's Sunday Sample Spotlight: A black and red flowery combination


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Sunday Sample Spotlight: "By Any Other Name"

This year, it seems that practically every client I talk to about their wedding uses one (or more!) of the following three words to describe the aesthetic of their event: soft, romantic, and vintage. Pale pinks, deep reds, and creams are popular this year for just that reason, and it's no surprise that this particular design is a favorite among my clients. They love the feminine, romantic look of the flowers lining the petal envelope and want something similar for their own wedding.

"By Any Other Name" - Invitation Duo (invite & reply card)

"By Any Other Name" is an invitation duo situated on a deep red petal envelope with a soft linen texture. In case you're not sure how the petal envelope works, it folds up with each flap partly under the flap next to it, so that it creates a little spiral when closed, and opens up like a blooming flower bud. It's the perfect envelope for romantic weddings.

The red roses that line each flap of the inside of the petal envelope are cut from a piece of scrapbook paper I had. I haven't found this exact scrapbook paper again, but there are several other scrapbook paper designs I've found that are similar and would work just as well. I also have a lot of photographs of roses and other flowers, and could make a collage in Photoshop out of those to make my own version of the scrapbook paper.

Here are some of my favorite paper substitutes I've found for clients who were looking to duplicate this design:

All of those scrapbook choices fit the soft, romantic, and vintage feeling that this envelope and invitation design have, and, depending on the color scheme of the event, could be great choices to add a touch of elegance and femininity to your stationery.

For the actual invitation design, I used a simple design that was mainly text. I also scanned in the rose scrapbook paper and incorporated a few stripes of it on each printed piece just to help tie the invitation and reply card back to the envelope, but the text-heavy design would really work just as well without it. Because the scrapbook paper pops so much, it's best to keep everything else simple.

The invitation and reply card were each printed on a cream-colored linen cardstock so that the texture would match the texture of the envelope. The reply card has a matching cream-colored linen envelope, completing this romantic stationery set. Though this particular sample is for a wedding, this design could easily be adapted to an elegant anniversary party, and would be perfect for Valentine's Day. :)



Next week's Sunday Sample Spotlight: "At First Blush"


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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.