Sunday Sample Spotlight: "Peaches and Cream"

What is it about vellum overlays that seem so classy? :) I love colored vellum because it's still a fancy transparent layer, but with a little added flavor. For this stationery set (a wedding invitation, a reply card, a save-the-date, and an invitation for a wedding shower), I chose a light peach-colored vellum, which I paired with a flat peach cardstock.

"Peaches and Cream" - Invitation duo (invite & reply card), save-the-date, and shower invitation

Because the vellum already felt so fancy, I picked one of my "fancy" patterns as the main stationery design, and printed everything on bright white linen paper, which has a great sophisticated texture. Of course, then I also needed white linen envelopes - I chose a Cascade Pocketfold for the main A7-sized invitation, and matching white linen envelopes in size #10 (shower invitation), A2 (save-the-date), and 4Bar (reply card).

The stark white of the envelopes (and the paper, once the vellum is lifted) feels very wintry to me, and the pale peach and pinks I use in the design also have a little bit of a cooler temperature (especially for pink), making this a great color scheme for winter. But with a different neutral (maybe cream colored envelopes, or a rich brown instead of light white), the pastel peach and pink could easily be adapted for a springtime event.

One of the great things about vellum is how it both exposes and hides the details of your invitation simultaneously, giving your event a hint of mystery. It's a little hard to read all of the text through the peach vellum (as seen in the two photographs above), but that problem is easy enough to remedy by pressing the vellum closer to the paper, or by lifting the vellum up to expose the bright white paper and clear, easy-to-read design underneath.

And what better way to attach vellum to invitations than with decorative brads? They're obvious enough to show the stationery recipient how to lift the vellum and are great at keeping the vellum both in place and easily lift-able. I had some great pastel pink brads that I used, and this worked great at another important design task - tying what was on top of the peach vellum (the brads) back to what lies underneath the vellum (the design and text of the invitation).

I wanted to use two pastel colors along with the bright white, and peach and pink seemed the perfect pairing. It's a little unexpected, since they're pretty similar, but that's what I love about it. The pink isn't as obvious as the peach, especially since most of it is covered in peach vellum (until the vellum overlay is lifted up). It adds a hint of interest, but it's so subtle that if you're not really looking for the second color, you might not even notice it. But once you do notice it, the shades are different enough so that they still look intentional. If the colors were too similar, they'd just look like my cursor slipped and I chose the wrong color swatch in Illustrator! You never want a part of your design to look like an accident. :)

Honestly, I cannot say enough good things about brads. I just love the way they look, and they're such an easy way to fasten multiple layers of paper to each other on stationery. Plus, they add that extra pop of color, and they have such interesting and gorgeous brads now - why wouldn't you want to use them? ;) They have sparkly ones, metallic ones, solid ones, and brads of all different shapes and sizes, too, so it's easy to find one that works with almost any design.

Next week's Sunday Sample Spotlight: "Chocolate Covered Cherries"

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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.

Fancy/Funky Friday: Patterns Michelle & Myrtle

It's hard to believe that we're already nine days into December - but the good part about time flying is that it feels like Fancy/Funky Friday comes around a lot sooner! ;)

First, the "fancy": Pattern Michelle

There are several things that I love about this pattern. First, I really like how masculine it seems, even for a "fancy" pattern. Notice how it looks less like delicate lace and doesn't feature a lot of loops and curves? The "x"s throughout the pattern are very strong and structured, and the dominating diamonds instantly bring to mind preppy argyle. And how many other patterns do you know that look so undeniably sophisticated and classy on either sex? Second, I love how the little hearts that become more apparent in the details of Pattern Michelle bring some femininity back into the pattern. And it is precisely this masculine-feminine duality that I wanted to incorporate in my own rehearsal dinner invitations, which is why I used this pattern when I created those last year.

I paired Pattern Michelle with a very similar but even more masculine pattern (with larger diamonds, less detail, and fewer hearts), and used blues and blacks in the design. I could have just used the same patterns I had already used in designing my wedding stationery, but I was afraid that the coral orange color, the femininity of the pattern, and the rose illustrations I created for that stationery set was starting to alienate the male guests who would be coming into town for our wedding weekend. Creating a couple of new patterns that had elements of both masculinity and femininity was the perfect compromise.

Another thing I love about Pattern Michelle is how well it works in parts. As you can see from the example above, it looks just as great in a single vertical stripe as it does when repeated several times. It works great as a sophisticated stripe and takes on a whole new feeling when fewer diamonds are created due to a lack of repetition. It feels even more masculine when the strong "x" forms become the dominant part of the pattern.

And now, the "funky": Pattern Myrtle

Unlike today's "fancy" pattern, this one has an overabundance of loops and curves - so many that it takes on a very playful personality. I instantly think of bubbles when I see Pattern Myrtle - which is why I named it after the young ghost in the Harry Potter series who haunts the Hogwarts bathrooms and visits Harry while he soaks in a very bubbly bath.

Pattern Myrtle is very busy, but it works because the individual units are so airy with white space. Whenever the smaller loopy forms start to feel a bit crowded, larger forms come in to let in even more free space. I don't often play with scale if I repeating the same shape in a pattern, but because there is only one basic shape I use in the entire pattern, having both larger and smaller versions meshes well together.

The pattern's features are so bubbly and fun that I had to pick a more somber, neutral color to display it in. The brown calms it down a little so it doesn't seem too over the top, and adds a little balance to Pattern Myrtle's exuberant personality. :)

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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!

How to Use Illustrations on Stationery - Part Three: People

Yesterday the blog post was all about the location of the event... But maybe you want your stationery to be more about the people involved. Not a problem - people can also make for great illustrations!


The obvious examples to use illustrations of people are for announcements, such as baby announcements and wedding announcements. The stationery is all about you and the events in your life, so why wouldn't you want a picture of yourself featured?

Of course, a personalized illustration wouldn't count as a catalogue design, since the image would require customization, so the design fee would cost a little more. But to announce your engagement or your newborn baby, isn't a personal illustration worth it? :) 


The other option is more generic people illustrations, often with the use of silhouettes. By showing silhouettes of people in action, your guests can get an idea of what to expect at your event. Having a Roaring Twenties themed shindig? Check out this silhouette of a jazz band and flapper girl. The silhouettes obscure the real identity of the people - for all your guests know, your brass-instrument-playing friends might actually look like that when they provide the music for your party, and you may have a flapper costume just like this one that you plan to wear at the event.

Or maybe you're having a luau party. This hula girl silhouette instantly captures that feeling - and gives suggestions to your guests for the kind of attire they'll be expected to wear. ;)

The great thing about silhouettes is that they can also be tweaked a little bit to look a little more personal. I found a silhouette of a couple kissing on Google images and traced the basic shape with the pen tool in Illustrator for the invitations to my wedding shower. But that clip art image had the man much taller than the woman, and the woman had long hair that was flowing all over the place. I wear my hair in a ponytail so often that most people I know probably wouldn't recognize me if I wore my hair down, and my husband is about the same height as me. So I made a few adjustments so that the girl in the silhouette had hair more similar to the style I prefer, and evened out the heights a little. My husband and I didn't pose for this silhouette, but it still looks like it could be us... And if I hadn't told you otherwise you probably never would have known. ;)

Finally, your illustrations of people don't have to actually look much like people at all! For this old school video game style invitation, I made little stick-people-like forms out of boxes to suggest 8-bit illustrations from the eighties. They exist only to play up the video-game theme of the party (without stepping on any illustration copyright issues).

That's all for this week, but there will be more next week, so check back!

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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!

How to Use Illustrations on Stationery - Part Two: Scenes

I mentioned in the last post that including place-specific objects is a great way to illustrate a destination wedding, weekend getaway with friends, or any other event where the fabulous location of the venue is the most crucial part of the event! Examples of this include the beach umbrella and poker chips illustrated in the last post. 


But if that's not enough for you, I've got some bigger illustrations that really up the wow factor... If you're excited about the location of your venue, why not illustrate a whole scene for your stationery to give a feel for the entire city or area your building is in, or even the venue itself (if it's cool enough).

Here's an example of a scene for a rehearsal dinner hosted in Boston. Are many of your guests from out of town? Want to show them how awesome your area actually looks? Skylines are perfect ways to depict the uniqueness and excitement of a city for events in hip urban areas. 

Nature is another great source for scenes to illustrate. If your wedding is on a beach, along a coast, in the woods, or on a lake, why not give a hint of some of that gorgeous natural beauty your guests will be privy to but including an illustration of it on your stationery? The image below was traced from a photograph I took in Krka National Park in Croatia, but something similar could be created for almost any spot in the world.
 

Similarly, this image depicts a beach scene along the west coast of Michigan. The colors and images give your guests a preview of all the fun that is to come!

Or perhaps within your perfect event location, you also have an incredible venue, like holding a wedding reception in an actual castle in France (hey, we can dream). ;) Why not impress your guests with the fabulous-ness that is your venue by showing it off on the stationery? Below is an illustration I created by tracing a photograph I took of the French castle Chenenceau.

Or maybe you're hosting an event in an awesome building like a museum, art gallery, zoo, or aquarium. If your guests will be surrounded by the deep blue sea all night at your posh dinner party, why not let them get used to their fishy peers by including them on your stationery?

Many of these images are very large and detailed, and if your stationery requires a lot of text, such a busy, intense scene may not even fit on your invitation, let alone go with the rest of your design. Never fear, there's always another option - silhouettes. You can still get across the idea of your event's location with silhouettes of recognizable objects, buildings, or landmarks without the busy-ness that comes from the detailed scenes above. The illustration below is a silhouette of the New York skyline.

More illustrations to come! Check back for more posts.

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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!

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!

Sunday Sample Spotlight: "Beyond the Bottle"

I've seen some great pictures of vineyard- or winery-inspired weddings and other formal events perusing around the internet. I absolutely love the idea, and the best part is that you can make it work for absolutely any time of year. While it may not be practical to have an outdoor ceremony in an actual vineyard now that the weather has turned colder, it's still easy enough to bring the feeling of a vineyard or winery indoors, and this invitation duo set is designed for just such an occasion!

"Beyond the Bottle" - Invitation Duo (invite & reply card)

I drew the illustration of the grapevine and glass of wine featured in the invitation and reply card using Illustrator's pen tool - probably my favorite feature of any Adobe product, or certainly the most used, at any rate. :) I used an eggplant and olive color scheme that's perfect for autumn or winter, but the colors could easily be adapted to a more vibrant fuchsia and shamrock or pale pinks with pastel greens for other times of the year. The illustration is fun, bold, and contemporary, but the font is more elegant, giving it that touch of sophistication it needed. I wanted the design to completely reflect the properties of wine - elegant and refined, yet also fun and peppy - especially once you've had too much of it to drink! ;)

The envelopes I used for this sample were a metallic dark-plum-colored Cascade style envelope enclosure with a matching reply card envelope. In the photograph below you can get a feel for how the envelope would close up, though generally the reply card and its envelope would be inside the pocket when it's in it closed state, rather than sitting on top of it.

The decorative pattern that I included in the space between the paragraphs of text is part of one of the many patterns I've designed, and though I don't usually incorporate a bit of pattern without the entire pattern elsewhere on the design, I thought it matched the font and feeling of the curvy vine illustration well enough that it didn't seem out of place.

This design (or something similar) would work great for any event - not just weddings! I can totally see this adding elegance and fun to any anniversary party, wine and cheese sampler soiree, Mediterranean-inspired dinner party, or a more formal birthday or bachelorette party out with the girls.

Next week's Sunday Sample Spotlight: a gorgeous peach-colored stationery set featuring an elegant pattern and colored vellum overlays!

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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.

Fancy/Funky Friday: Patterns Pearl & Kadenza

Can you believe it's already December?! More importantly, can you believe it's already Friday?! ;) You know what that means - it's time for another Fancy/Funky Friday!

First, the "fancy": Pattern Pearl

This "fancy" pattern has a much more modern feel than the patterns I usually classify as "fancy" - and it all has to do with the type face I chose for the initial characters. I love how the pattern varies between wide open white space and dense, heavily detailed areas. From a distance, the detailed strips of pattern look almost like solid pink! And the white circles that really seem to pop out of the pattern feel very chic and contemporary. It still has some lace-like qualities to it, though, and the line thickness is pretty uniformly thin throughout the pattern, which makes it fancier than a typical modern pattern might be.

And now, the "funky": Patter Kadenza

This is another great example of a pattern that pairs wide empty space with heavily concentrated areas of pattern. This design feels very linear and structured from far away, since the horizontal and vertical lines are so important and obvious. But when you zoom in and see more of the little details, it takes on a whole different feel. The individual units of pattern remind me a cross from the middle ages - perfect plus signs with a bit of ornamentation added to it - but the bright orange color is distinctly modern, and makes this pattern a lot more funky. :)

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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!