Postcard Invitation - Styled Photo Shoot

Over the summer I was invited to participate in a styled photo shoot for a woodland wedding theme. Seventh Heaven Vintage Rentals was in charge of the logistics and I created a Postcard Invitation Suite for the event.

It is so great to see all the amazing photos of my invitations! Makes me realize how boring my own photos really are!

 The photo shoot session was then submitted for publication to several wedding blogs and sites.

Styled and Wed

and

Love & Lavender

both picked up the shoot.

Stop by the links to see all the beautiful photos from the whole shoot.

Photo credits also go to:

 Elizabeth Arin

Katie White Photography
Heather Scharf
Gala Kuziakova Photography

New Wedding Invitations

Wedding season is upon us! Well, to be honest, I'm not sure there is a true wedding season as it seems weddings happen every month of the year. But with the weather getting warmer and the flowers starting to bloom, it makes planning a wedding a little more fun :)

My wedding section is the largest category in my shop and I plan to continue to grow that section all year long. I've been working hard on new invitation designs so there is something for everyone.

 Peony Flower Invitation

 Tandem Bicycle Invitation

 Floral Wedding Invitation

 

 Fun Flower Design Invitation

Calla Lily Wedding Invitation

And I've been working on a few custom orders recently too. As soon as the weddings have passed, I'll be adding those designs to my shop as well.

One Goal Down...Many To Go

At the beginning of the year, I set several goals for myself and my business. Things are going really well and I'm on track with almost all my goals. In fact, I've already completed one of those goals! I had set a mid-term goal (meaning I would complete it here and there through the year) to list 5 new wedding invitation designs. We're only half way through March and I've already listed 5 new designs!

One of my new favorite designs is this Flower Invitation. I love the big graphic flower and mix of fonts on this one. And I am in talks with a bride to make these and some matching reply cards...woohoo!

This Grapevine Design came about from a custom request. The couple decided to go with another design, but I loved how this one turned out, so I decided to list it for others to see. How cool would it be to have a wedding in a vineyard...so pretty!

My wedding invitations continue to do well and I can't tell you how happy this makes me! I have two orders in the works as I write this and I've sent out several samples already this year! My next goal to conquer will be RSVP cards. I want to start with my most popular designs and add from there. I have a bridal show at the end of April, so I plan to have several ready by then.

 How are your 2013 goals coming along?

Customer Appreciation Inspires New Listings

A while back I posted about a wedding invitation replication that I had done. I really liked the design I came up with too :) Recently I had a request for a fall invitation. I showed the replicated invitation to the bride-to-be and she loved it!

I was so excited when she emailed me these lovely photos she had taken of her invitation! The fall leaves are just beautiful with the invitation! This actually has me rethinking some of my photography as well!

 

And since the invitation turned out so well, I decided to add a matching guest book to my shop as well! I just love this new design and I'm glad I had the opportunity to create the replication as it stretched my design ideas and gave me new inspiration!

Customer Inspiration

This past week I received an order for a wedding invitation replication. The customer wanted to give a wood invitation as a gift to the bride and groom. I used all my own fonts and graphics and created an invitation that looks very similar to the original. Now the happy couple has a special memento of their big day :)

Here is the finished product (I'm kicking myself for not taking a photo of the original!).

 

I love the style of this invitation and the typography! The small, plain all caps mixed with the larger, cursive all lowercase lettering...what fun! It's a different style than I've designed before and I really like it! It got my brain looking at designing in different ways. I might just have to add something similar to my shop!

Colored Invitations!

I'm so excited to introduce my new line of Wedding Invitations!

In fact, I can't believe I didn't think of this sooner! I've added Colored Wood Invitations to my shop!!!

 

I've had the wood on hand for quite some time now. I originally made baby photo albums out of the colored wood. After a recent inquiry about adding color to my invitations, it hit me like a ton of bricks that I could add a lot of color to my invitations!

I think the first sample turned out awesome and I can't wait to get my hands on some other colors to run more samples! I currently have light pink and light blue on hand, but I'd love to run samples of purple or black...how cool! There are 16 colors to choose from!

And while I was running a sample, I thought I'd use the entire sheet of wood and make some pendants and earrings out of the light pink as well! I can't wait to get these finished! I have my first show next weekend and I hope they do well!

Have you made any awesome discoveries lately...that have been right under your nose?

Cut That Out!

I've had some fun requests for laser cut items lately! What I love most about my laser is the versatility and ability to take on challenges and requests for new ideas!

I showed a sneak peak of this invitation in a Wordless Wednesday, so I thought I'd show the entire image today. I love that everything is engraved except the bunnies. The cutout adds just the right touch :)

And I've had my Mason Jar Invitation listed for a while now. I had a custom request to replace the dragonfly cutout with a butterfly. Of course I forgot to take a picture of the butterfly...ugh! But it's fun knowing I can put other little critters in the jar too :)

My most recent request was for a photo album. The couple wanted certain parts of their cover cut out and certain parts engraved. I think the cutouts add so much to the overall design and take it one step beyond a simple engraving.

Of course this has my brain thinking of other cutout designs I can do like a lace design on invitations and fun Christmas ornaments! Can I have 25 hours in my day tomorrow :)

Let Your Personality Shine

Weddings are very special events. They are about bringing two people together. And in my opinion, the day should be all about them :) So I think it's great when the bride and groom let their personalities shine in every part of the big day!

I recently got to make some very fun Engraved Invitations and RSVP Cards. This couple lives in a completely different country, but by working with them and making their invitations, I feel I've gotten to know them :)

Above is the fun wording on the invitations.

And do you notice the "mistake" on the RSVPs? They thought mixing up the Accept and Decline wording would be fun :)

 I just know this wedding will be tons of fun! And the big day will be all about the happy couple :)

Wordless Wednesday - Cutest Custom Award

Yup, this one gets the award for cutest custom request for an invitation yet!

Wood Wedding Invitations - New Designs

I'm so excited to be expanding my Wood Wedding Invitation line! If you read my blog on Tuesday, you saw I've already added a new Destination Wedding Invitation thanks to the BBArtisans Challenge.

I've also been inspired lately by lots of custom requests! (Have I mentioned how much I love my customers!) I don't mind creating free digital samples when people request them because they always inspire me and give me new ideas I may have never thought of!

Take this Mason Jar Invitation for example. I had seen traditional paper invitations cut into mason jars, but hadn't thought to incorporate these into my wood invitations until I got the request. What a fun idea! And the cute little dragonfly adds just the right extra touch :)

I also got a request for some different heart designs. I have used This Design for guest books and thought it would make a cute invitation as well! I'll have another floating heart design in the future as well when I get all the details worked out with the bride and groom. I figured I'd wait to engrave that one until I create their final sample.

This floral butterfly design is another design I use for guest books. I recently got a request to create an invitation to match the guest book. I love how it turned out! (Will be listed yet this week.)

And more butterflies! This was another custom design request. I'm still working out the details with the bride on this one, but wanted to go ahead and get a sample engraved. I love how the butterflies are floating across the invitation :) (Will be listed yet this week as well.)

 What do you think of the new designs? Have any fun ideas for me to make next?

Destination Wedding Invitations

As part of the Blogging Business Artisans Team on Etsy, one of our requirements is to participate in challenges. I love that challenges help us grow and try new things! This month's theme is brought to us by Erika of Little Andalucia and her theme for us is Under the Sea. Erika says: "June begins the anticipation of warmer weather, vacations, and playing on the beach. Create with the theme Under the Sea." 

I've been wanting to create some new invitations to add to my shop for a while now. My current designs are doing very well and I want to give people options when browsing. I thought the Under the Sea theme was perfect for Destination Wedding Invitations!

I started with the Starfish Design and have other options shown in the listing. Once I started designing these, it was hard to limit the choices! There are so many fun Under the Sea graphics I could use for these!

Thank you Erika for choosing such a fun theme!

 Keep an eye out later this week for more new invitation designs!

BBA May Challenge - Inspiration

 This month's Blogging Business Artisans Challenge is brought to us by Sharla of Beaded Tail. Sharla says: Your challenge is to incorporate your favorite inspiration into a project of your choice.

I would have to say that one of my biggest inspirations are my customers! If you've read much of my blog at all, you know that a lot of my custom orders get put in my shop as new listings. I love custom work because it opens up so many windows and gives me so many new ideas! And one custom order may lead to two or three new ideas for my shop!

My Wood Wedding Invitations are no exception! As of right now, I only have two designs listed in my shop (with many more ideas still to come!) But each order I've received for the invitations has been for a different and unique design.

 

My very first order was of this tree design. The couple sent me the design they'd used for other items for their wedding and I incorporated it into their invitations. I love how it turned out.

 

The second set was of my Carved Tree Design. This design has done really well and I love it on the invitations. Only a few minor adjustments were made to this original design.

  

 This third set is very similar to the original tree design, but the couple emailed their own drawing of the tree with a few adjustments. I think the little leaves finish it off...so cute :)

 

 For this next set, the couple described their ideal invitation and I emailed a few digital samples and we came up with this heart bunting design. This one will definitely be making an appearance in my shop! I added their names to the bunting to make them even more personal!

My most current set is for a couple getting married on a mountain top in Colorado! They loved the wood invitations for the rustic feel and wanted a design that would match their wedding theme. This mountain graphic was just perfect!

I love how each of these invitations is so unique and personal to the bride and groom! My customers are so inspiring and their ideas spark even more ideas in me :) I can't wait to create more designs for these invitations!

FEATURED - Etsy Wedding Email

I'm so excited!!! Yesterday I was featured in the Etsy Wedding Email!!!

First the Front Page and now the Email...somebody pinch me, I must be dreaming :)

And again, it was my Wood Wedding Invitation to be featured! Why didn't I list these sooner!?!

I guess changing my first photo to the close up really did the trick :)

I have to thank Erika again for letting me know about the feature! She's also the one that saw me on the front page :)

The Front Page and the Etsy Finds/Emails are two things I wanted to accomplish this year and look at me go...I've already got them both under my belt.

 Dare I dream to be a Featured Seller this year too!!!

First Wedding Invitation Order

I am beyond excited...I sold my first set of Wood Wedding Invitations!!! And not only that, I got to create a custom design for this first order!

I also got to design RSVP Cards for these as well. I hadn't even thought to offer these, but they look awesome on the kraft cardstock! I'll definitely be adding these as an option to my current listings (as soon as I find time!)

And I found out that people like this photo...

better than this photo for the thumbnail image on Etsy.

I've gotten a lot more views since changing the first photo to the close up. Makes me wonder if I should do this to more listings???