FEATURED on Style Me Pretty!!!

Excuse the use of all caps in my title but I can't help it - I'm SOOO excited! My first named feature on a very well know wedding website! Style Me Pretty is the go-to source for viewing all things wedding. This particular bride came to me for envelope addressing and the digital calligraphy for some of her invitation and ensemble pieces.

http://www.stylemepretty.com/oregon-weddings/2014/02/27/blush-pink-wedding-at-hanley-farm/

Photo by Tonya Poitevint

 Photo by Tonya Poitevint

What a gorgeous location for a wedding and reception - beautiful bride, beautiful day!

Thanks for enjoying this moment in the spotlight with me!

50th Wedding Anniversary invitation creation!

I was approached by some very good friends of mine who wanted to buy some simple but elegant invitations for their 50th wedding anniversary. So we perused Carlson Craft online and she found a few that she liked. But they were trying to stay in a reasonably small budget so I offered to create something for them.

These were printed on beautiful natural linen stock and layered with gold metallic stock. They were absolutely thrilled with the results and I had a blast putting this together for an amazing couple. Happy 50th Pat and Jerry!

New take on Wedding Table Numbers!

The creativity in the wedding and social events arena I am pleased to be a part of continually amazes me! I recently came across a resurrected post from Twig and Thistle  that just blew me away.

These are DIY table number napkins that are absolutely darling!

 

Add a name to the menu so neatly tucked into the napkin and you're set! This post comes complete with a template and instructions so if you're a little crafty and looking to do something different for your next social event, this is a fantastic idea!

Wedding Aisle Runners

My how things have changed in wedding styles since I first got into this business. Or, maybe they haven't changed so much as evolved...and I wasn't noticing back then! Take for instance the wedding aisle - Then: standard white aisle runner that you hope stayed in place long enough for you not to trip over. Today: so many different alternatives, from customized runners to flowers to candles... the choice is almost endless and can really bring the style of your event to life. Here are a few options:

1. Flowers. These have become quite the rage, and can make a basic hotel floor look simply amazing!

 

Source

2. Custom Aisle Runners. A little more elaborate take on the traditional aisle runner, these allow the couple to put their own special touch on the their first steps together.

3. Natural setting. Planning a beach or tropical wedding? Why not use some of the elements found in the natural surroundings to keep the theme of the occasion.

Photo by Robert Evans Studios

The possibilities are almost limitless, so keep your eyes and mind wide open.

Take care until next time!

K.I.S.S.

I was browsing through a website and blog of a stationery design company whose style I really love and I came across a post about the designer trying to get back to the basics. Keeping it simple, keeping it real. I loved the quote she made up so much that I created my own graphic to keep it fresh in my mind:

 The quote is by Annemarie Buckley from ScoutsHonorCo.com in Vermont. Got to keep reminding myself - simple, keep it simple and stop worrying about the little stuff. Eventually it all comes around in it's own good time.

Thanks for reading, until next time - keep it real!

Sandy
Letter Perfect Designs

Early last year I was approached by a customer that had purchased a beautiful flower design from an Etsy store. She wanted me to print the design along with her guest addresses on her wedding envelopes. It was a new area for me, but one I happily dived right into. Here is a picture of one of her finished envelopes:

They really turned out beautiful and the client was very excited to send these out for her wedding.

Stay tuned for more finished jobs from LPD!

Sandy

Wow, apparently 2012 was MUCH busier than I thought - it's been over a year since I last posted - my bad! Obviously being busy is a great thing, and really, I was doing some cool projects with clients, mixing up neat fonts on their envelopes, place card designs and the like. Here are a couple of envelope jobs I did with some pretty cool font blends:

 These two clients wanted to mix a handwritten script with a typewriter font which I loved!

 I've got lots more jobs to upload, and will be making more updates in the days to come so stay tuned!

Ah, the lovely Tree...

Recently I was perusing the blog of a high school classmate who is a very talented interior designer (thanks Madeleine Interiors!) and an entry about trees caught my attention. Trees are such innocuous parts of our everyday lives we hardly give them a second look sometimes. But their displays of season-changing color as well as their effortless beauty can really be played-up on wedding and social stationery. Whether you chose to show just a hint of these magnificent showcases of nature or create a design around the entire tree, the possibilities are endless. Enjoy the creative nuances of The Tree!

 

Fall Carving Wedding Invitation

photo courtesy of Minted

 

 Autumn Leaves Save the Date

photo courtesy of Carlson Craft

 

Sterling Night Invitation

photo courtesy of Carlson Craft

Frosty Tree Wedding Invitation

photo courtesy of Wedding Paper Divas

 

Aspen Wedding Invitation

photo courtesy of Sarah Drake Design

   

Glue Yarn Balls - great idea for Reception Deco!

I was cruising around Pinterest the other day and saw the coolest idea. I have seen these in pictures before, so I'm sure they are not a novel idea, but had no idea how easy they were to make. And since the color and, theoretically, the shape possibilities are endless, these would make very cute decorations for wedding reception table centerpieces.

photo courtesy of http://www.makeandtakes.com

   photo courtesy of http://www.favecraftsblog.com

Or hang them from a branch or tree for decoration. If they are hanging over the tables, they make beautiful chandeliers:

photo courtesy of  http://ruffledblog.com

Or, take it one step further and string lights through and in between the balls. If you use yarn that has some glitter to it, how gorgeous would that be!

 

photo courtesy of http://kimskandykreations.blogspot.com

If you are a DIY bride, decorator or even just a crafty, you could really go far with this idea and make your tablescape, reception venue or home look fabulous with these. Have fun!

Teal/Black Inspiration Board

Happy Monday to all - hope everyone enjoyed their weekends. I know here in the Chicago area, we've been having some mighty fine weather the past week with temps in the 70's & 80's. I personally love these temperatures and wouldn't mind seeing them hang around for awhile. But, knowing Chicago weather, it won't be long before we've got the heavy jackets and boots on, so I will be savoring every second of these wonderful temps while I can get them!

Making my first attempt at an inspiration board and thought I'd start with, well, what I guess I'll call a "crush"...teal/turquoise! I just love this color....it has so much pop against many other hues, making it quite versatile in almost every season. Last week I showed you the turquoise and orange combination, beautiful for fall. This week I was checking out some inspiration colors associated with scrapbooking (my "other" passion) and saw this great ad from Talbot's featuring dark grey suits. They used the teal, black and grey colors for the written labels on the ad - very eye-catching. Bringing those colors together for an upcoming winter wedding or event seems so natural. Teal itself can have a lot of variations to it, and depending on which way you go, you can really create amazing looks. Add a little more black and/or green, you get  vintage, old-world sophistication. Go the other direction, adding more white and/or blue, you have a smooth and invigorating color.
  

 

Whatever the occasion, whether dark or light, teal is a color for all seasons - have fun with it!

Orange and Turquoise together - WOW!

OK, when I originally saw those two words together, I wasn't quite sure how I'd feel upon actually seeing them  - not your usual color combo. But when I saw them paired together in this wedding ensemble, I said WOW! What a winning combination for this fall invitation. The leaves give you the obvious feeling of fall, but the turquoise/teal absolutely POPS next to the orange/rust color and gives it a vibrant, exciting look to this couple's ensemble. And when the two colors overlay, you get just a hit of an olive-green - brilliant!

 

photos courtesy of http://blog.dingbatpress.com/ 

Thanks for reading and until next time, have a wonderful day!

Carlson Craft Letterpress Invitations!

Well, I don't know about you, but I've go a soft spot in my heart for Letterpress. Maybe it's the "artsy" part of me, but there is just something about how beautiful something can be when it is has been so carefully crafted. So, I was amazed when Carlson Craft came out with an elegant line of letterpress invitations.. and this one really caught my eye:

Filigree Border by Carlson Craft is a simple, white invitation card featuring the couple's initials and surrounded by an elegant filigree design. Elegant, refined, sophisticated; and the black and gold speak volumes as to the type of affair to which guests are being invited. Whether for a wedding, anniversary or other black-tie gala, this one is a winner all around!

2010 Carlson Craft Distinguished Dealer Award!

Letter Perfect Designs is so excited and honored to receive the 2010 Carlson Craft Distinguished Dealer Award! This is our 3rd year in a row being recognized for outstanding sales and customer service.

Carlson Craft is an amazing company to work with and we are excited to continue servicing our clients with some of the finest social stationery in the industry. We are grateful to our many loyal customers for making this award possible!

Save the Date Season!

I used to think there was only one season to our business....Wedding Season. Just like an accountant has Tax Season, there was usually a basic "start" and "end" time to the busiest part of our year, usually March/April thru about Aug/Sept. After September, jobs would still come in and usually for place cards for the weddings we did earlier but it wasn't nearly as busy. Now, I'm finding there are actually several different "seasons" Letter Perfect Design services, allowing us to extending our "busy season" almost year round.

The first of the year usually brings a big rush of invitation purchases, as engaged couples start buying their invitations for upcomig weddings. That is immediately followed by our busiest time, computerized calligraphy for envelope addressing, or the official "Wedding Season" for us. Toward the end of the summer, we are doing just as many place card orders as envelopes as fall brides are nearing their wedding dates. With a lull in the action as the beginning of school approaches, Letter Perfect starts to gear up for Christmas Card envelope printing with Save the Date season right on it's heals, bringing us full circle.

Speaking of Save the Dates, Carlson Craft has come out with some really great Save the Date designs, especially for those budget-conscience bride and grooms! They range from cool Post Cards to magnets, with hip, contemporary and classic designs available.






Carlson Craft Gold and Mocha

 



Carlson Craft Chandelier Save the Date



Carlson Craft Seal The Date




Carlson Craft Tropics Save the Date

Our services are available and supplied year round - it's interesting to actually see the breakout of each of the seasons and how far Letter Perfect Designs has come in supplying new and different options to our clients.

Enjoy your season, whenever it might be!



Watercolors....my fav!

Recently, I had the pleasure of printing some place cards for a client and I absolutely fell in love with the design that was printed on the card -

I have always loved watercolors....ever since I saw my first Georgia O'Keefe painting. Her view of the American Southwest and what she could do with a brush and paint just blew me away. Seeing this card convinced me that I needed to attempt to create some watercolor designs and test my capabilities.

I've recently gone back to school to actually get some "book knowledge" on the craft I've been immersed in for the last 5+ years and it's been great. The design above gave me inspiration to try my hand at a watercolor daisy....simple and still very rudimentary, but it's a start.

Trying to control the pen and tablet on a computer is a little more tricky than using paper and pencil - you don't quite get the same fluidity. It doesn't help that my tablet only measures 5"x3.5" but, practice, practice practice! I'm having a blast learning, trying new things. Now that I know watercolor is the medium that I want to explore, I'm eager to continue because I have a focus and a goal. It's always been hard to start working on something because I was never sure where to start. I have the medium, the tools and the ambition....bring it on!

Checkerboard Invitations Now Available!

Letter Perfect Designs is excited to announce our partnership with EInvite and Checkboard Invitations!

Checkerboard is a family owned and operated designer and printer of invitations for all of life's special occasions: weddings, Bar and Bat Mitzvahs, relocations, birthday parties, births, etc. Each order is printed from beginning to end by a single craftsman, assuring you of high quality and a perfect color match from piece to piece. They are committed on all levels to your satisfaction - from the thick, luxurious papers, to the final quality control checks by their experts, your order isn't shipped until they are sure it is something they would want to receive themselves!

Checkeboard's team of artists continually add new and unique designs that won't be found anywhere else.

Unbeatable craftsmanship, superior quality, and outstanding value for your dollar - real reasons to look at Checkerboard as your supplier for fine invitations and accessories.

Please stop by and view Checkerboard Invitations - we think you will be pleasantly surprised! As always, contact us anytime should you have questions regarding Checkerboard or any other of our lines of invitations or services.

Carlson Craft has created a winter version of the Love Bird invitation that has been so wildly popular. Love Birds Winter features the same beautiful cardinals in rich red and gold tones, nestled snuggly on the front of the gatefold jacket. Pearlized snowflakes float gently around them as you separate the birds to reveal a bright white invitation insert card.

If you are planning a winter wedding, this is definetly an invitation worth looking at! Available on our website, http://www.letterperfectdesigns.cceasy.com/, please come and view all the unique and amazing invitations available - as always we offer 35% off retail price on most lines - please see the website for additional details.

We love happy clients!

We love when our clients take the time to email us with their thoughs on a project or addressing job we finished for them. Recently, we completed envelope addressing for some clients in the Chicago area..here is what they had to say:

Hi Sandy,
We just wanted to let you know that our envelopes look GORGEOUS!!! You did such a beautiful job and we could not be more pleased. We can't wait to mail them out to our guests! You are a true pleasure to work with, thank you so much.

Best Regards,
Liz and Matt

Thank you Liz and Matt for you kind words! Congratulations on your upcoming wedding and best wishes in your new life together!

2009 Carlson Craft Distinguished Dealer Award!

Letter Perfect Designs was just awarded the 2009 Carlson Craft Distinguished Dealer Award! Each year Carlson Craft presents only a few select businesses with this prestigious award for outstanding performance & exceptional sales achievements. This is our second year in a row being recognized and we could not be happier!

We are very proud to represent Carlson Craft and their amazing line of social stationary for all occasions. Be sure to check out all of their offerings - as always, save 35% off retail on most lines.

Eco-friendly Doesn't Equal Sacrificed Quality!

There has been a lot of talk out there in the social stationary world about Recycled Papers, Eco-friendly, etc. Well, Carlson Craft has caught on with some fabulous options if you are looking to go Green! Many of their paper manufacturers are Certified Recyclers, and create their invitations from 100% post-consumer fibers, without the use of chlorine compounds. They also use a significant amount of renewable energy resources and responsible forest management practices. So Green is Good! Check out some of their options today! Carlson Craft Recycled Invitations