To celebrate Sonya and Eddie's anniversary today, I thought it would be fun to post a project so dear to my heart that I couldn't let it go unshared. Dan and I started working on this wedding suite in 2009 with Sonya and Eddie's Save the Date cards. From there, we all worked closely to create a number of coordinated pieces to tie their wedding together. Even now, over two years later, it's still one of my favorite projects. I had so much fun working with them and seeing each piece come to life. Sonya and Eddie were married two years ago today and Dan and I were lucky enough to attend their amazing wedding in New York. Seeing everything before and throughout the wedding made it even more special.
Project included:
– Hand-drawn cherry blossoms and branches
– Save the Date cards and magnets
– Pocketfold invitations with monogram tag closure
– Invitation inserts with directions, a custom map, wedding information and RSVP postcard
– Rehearsal invitation postcards
– Folded wedding programs with monogram cover tag and custom map carried over from the main invitation
– Escort card luggage tags placed at the reception entrance—double duty as an escort card and wedding favor
– Table name cards using pictures to highlight all the places Sonya and Eddie have lived (separately and together)
– Coordinating dinner menus
– Thank you cards with Vietnamese translation for the groom's family
We wish Sonya and Eddie a very happy anniversary, and many more wonderful years together!
Every year around October, while we're in the thick of creating holiday cards for others, I realize that I'll need to order our own cards soon... and that I have no design ideas whatsoever. Then, I wonder why it's fairly easy to make things for others, but so incredibly hard to make things for myself. The process repeats until mid-November when I know that I'm almost out of time and I'm still searching for that perfect idea.
This year, we had a few different ideas and one kept taking the lead. It took some extra steps to plan and implement, but once we ironed out the details and knew we could do it, we just had to. I was so excited to assemble the cards with Dan and get them ready to mailAlso, since I've wanted to make an advent calendar for a while, this card was a great compromise and a fabulous way to share the daily activiites with others. Check out the makings of our card with our version of the 12 Days of Christmas.
Our first day of Christmas was yesterday, December 13th, and the activities will go through Christmas Eve. If you didn't get a card and would like to play along, here are the activities:
12/13: Make paper snowflakes and decorate with them.
12/14: Make breakfast for dinner and eat in your pajamas.
12/15: Take food to a local food pantry.
12/16: Have a holiday movie night.
12/17: While shopping, buy something extra and donate it to charity.
12/18: Buy a new ornament to place on the tree.
12/19: Write 10 things you are thankful for this year. Tape it to your mirror.
12/20: Make a special treat and deliver it to a neighbor.
12/21: Drink hot chocolate.
12/22: Take a drive to look at Christmas lights.
12/23: Have a game night.
12/24: Fill a small stocking. Drop it off on someone's door as a surprise.
Tailor these activities to your own home. If you don't want to buy something on the list, then do something handmade. If you don't like hot chocolate, then have hot cider. Live in a cozy, little neighborhood? Instead of driving, bundle up and walk around to look at Christmas lights. Everyone's results are going to look different, and that's what I love most. To start us out, here are the paper snowflakes Dan and I made last night. We haven't decorated with them yet, but we will. Let's see your snowflakes.
By Vicki | Posted on 12/14/11 | Posted in Design, Personal | 0 Comments | Post Comment
I can't believe it's the end of the year already. I hear myself stating this every year, and this year is no different. Now that my mind is reflecting on 2010 and looking toward 2011, I'm thinking of all the possibilities—the paths our business could take to get where we truly want to be. Begin with the end in mind, right? We're in a good place. There are great things ahead, and we've been nothing but blessed with experiences and challenges that will direct us.
We are so thankful for our 2010 clients. This year we got to work with some wonderful people who really get what we do, appreciate what we offer, and mesh well with us. They trusted us with their time, their money, and their memories. We can't thank them enough for what they have taught us—not only solidifying who our ideal client is, but how we want to serve them. Here's a quick recap of the year.
#61 completed - We became an LLC!
Here's a sampling of design projects over the year. It was neat to go through this year's photography and design files, see where we were at the beginning of the year, and see how far we've come. It's been a fun and full year. Thanks to those who made it so successful. We can't wait to see what 2011 brings.
By Vicki | Posted on 12/30/10 | Posted in Business, Shoot, Design | 1 Comments | Post Comment
Michelle Adams : How fun to look back at it all! Love it! Love the merry & bright card too - YUM! 12/30/10 11:45am
Since we started offering mini books last fall they have been a huge hit. They're so adorable and affordable, and make gift-giving a breeze. We design the accordion sides, so we figure out what works best for each client and each book. If you have a lot of favorites from your session, it's much easier to fill each panel with an image than to narrow down your favorites. On the other hand, if you just want to showcase a few images from your session, we can fill the extra panels with patterns or other graphics. Of course, the image covers pull everything together and give a preview of what's inside the book.
Mini books are the perfect gift for family since they easily fit into mom's purse or sit on dad's desk. My advice? Get at least two per family so no one has to share.
Baby Lila and her parents are shown on the panels of this sweet book. A shimmery, pearl paper was chosen for the inside to match their birth announcement.
Let's chat about your mini book design and make gift-giving super simple this year. If you already have mini books from a session, we'd enjoy hearing about your experience in the comments.
By Vicki | Posted on 10/28/10 | Posted in Design, Products | 1 Comments | Post Comment
Maggie Patel : I just want to add that since these are magnetic they can go on your refrigerator. This has been popular with Lila's grandparents :) 11/06/10 10:04am
I had this post in the queue, and figured today would be the perfect day to post it. It's my birthday, but you get the goodies!
For a couple weeks during the end of September and beginning of October, our church had a series called PLAY. Here was the gist of the series:
Everyone is designed to work hard, but in the name of working harder, achieving more, and getting ahead, we can be tempted to completely squeeze valuable times of rest and recreation out of our lives. Without those times our lives can lack rhythm and leave us less effective. Join us as we learn how to play.
After an incredibly busy summer and September, this series came at the best possible time. Dan and I were inspired and motivated to make time for rest and recreation, and to make it a weekly practice. In the last message of the series, about discovering joy through play, we were told to pursue joy relentlessly. This line really spoke to me through my crazy, scattered brain, and I wanted to post it somewhere I would always see. If you like it, feel free to post it where you'll see it, too.
If these versions don't work for your devices, let me know and I'll see what I can do. Right click to save the files to your computer.
By Vicki | Posted on 10/22/10 | Posted in Design, Gifts | 0 Comments | Post Comment
Up until now, we haven't shared many of our wares on the blog. You'll find a few scattered around the design section of our website,
but most are displayed as samples in our showroom. That just didn't seem right to me, so I decided to create a little blog feature. I'll occasionally post about our products and recent designs, as well as prints that have been hung in clients' homes (most exciting!).
Let's start with a recent birth announcement that was custom designed for Miss Lila. Her announcement was printed on a thick and shimmery pearl paper. It's too bad these images don't do the pearl paper any justice. As I mentioned in Lila's newborn post, she was wearing a gray dress and bright pink hair bow, so we were able to pull those colors into the design. Along with an adorable script font that Lila's parents chose, the result was incredibly simple yet eye-catching.
Custom cards like Lila's are available in various sizes and papers. Choose from flat, folded, and accordion styles, all accompanied by envelopes. We also offer custom stationery such as wedding collections that include invitations, programs, and anything you dream. Let's get together to create your perfect announcement, greeting card, invitation, or personal stationery piece. We'll figure out the best options to fit your unique style and budget.
By Vicki | Posted on 10/18/10 | Posted in Design, Products | 0 Comments | Post Comment
Compared to the fall, things have certainly slowed down for us in photography land. It's a welcome change, and time that we're taking to recharge our batteries a little. While we're busy with other things, I wanted to show the fun gifts that we gave to some of our 2009 clients.
First up: photo calendars. We chose a favorite image from each session and paired them with color-coordinated 2010 calendars.
Each calendar was printed and then mounted on foam board.
Looking for stamps of your own? Let us know because we can help. There are a handful of places to get them, but so far we've used stamps.com without any problems. If you make stamps, send along a picture so we can see!
By Vicki | Posted on 02/14/10 | Posted in Design, Gifts | 1 Comments | Post Comment
Mary Ellen : Boy that is one cute baby! 02/18/10 10:05am
Sonya came to us pretty early in the summer, soon after Eddie proposed, asking if we could do their wedding invitations and some other pieces. Seriously?! We'd love to! I had a lot of questions to ask her so I could visualize her and Eddie's big day and the details of the stationery, but since they both live out of state I needed to whip up something she could fill out digitally. Sonya was fantastic with her feedback, giving us suggestions if things were confusing, etc., and that's something we're glad to hear so we can make things better.
I found out that the wedding décor would include cherry blossoms and contemporary details. Sonya, Eddie, and I collaborated during the month of July to come up with a Save the Date that they both loved, and that the recipients enjoyed as well! You may not be able to tell, but the paper for their cards and envelopes is all metallic with a great shimmer.
Sonya decided to do a magnet with flat backing card. I think these are really great because they're so versatile. Recipients can use the magnet to attach the entire card to their fridge—or in our case, a chalkboard where we keep our important notes—or just keep the magnet itself as a reminder. Even after the wedding is over, guests can keep the magnet as a memento. Since it doesn't say "Save the Date," it's rather timeless. The hand-drawn cherry blossom branch was carried through the card and the magnet:
Next, we'll be working on the formal invitation, rehearsal invitation, program, and other goodies that will pull Sonya and Eddie's wedding together and make it uniquely them. I'm really excited that they chose us to create their wedding stationery, but I'm even more excited to see how everything comes together.
By Vicki | Posted on 09/14/09 | Posted in Design, Wedding | 0 Comments | Post Comment
By Vicki | Posted on 05/07/12 | Posted in Design, Wedding | 0 Comments | Post Comment