crafty idea overload

So many ideas, i don’t even know where to start!

I guess, since this topic has consumed my life for the past week (sorry Joe!), that i’ll start with invitations. Remember way back when i debuted our awesome monogram? Here’s a refresher:

Awesome, no? Anyways, we asked the fabulous Jen of Miss Pickles Press to design this with the idea that i’d design the actual invitations and other paper goods, using the monogram as a base. Well, i’d initially thought that i’d just do a simple design in Word with the logo centered at the top and the text below that … and then i saw this:

(Lucky Paperie, via Project Wedding)

…you have no idea what this did to my brain. Oh, the possibilities! i thought. How awesome! And creative! And do-able, even for a design idiot like myself!

I mean. The polka dots, people. Under the monogram. SWOON.

So i’ve spent the past six days eyeball-deep in Adobe Illustrator and polka dots, trying (nearly in vain!) to adapt that gorgeous design to our wedding. And, at long last, i think i have!

…this is the part where you’re expecting me to show you the invitation suite, isn’t it? Well, not so fast. We haven’t sent them to the printer yet, even! I did find a recommendation for Cards & Pockets, which tells me they can print the invitations, RSVP postcards, and website info card for under $90. Ridiculously reasonable! I’ve ordered paper swatches and samples from them and am hoping to place the order over the weekend. Woot invitations!!

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branding the wedding

We’re several good months away from worrying about invitations, but i’ve been thinking a lot lately about how to “brand” the wedding. Not in the for-sale-to-the-highest-bidder sense; i’m thinking more about how to pull together all these fabulous but not so interrelated ideas for the ceremony and reception. How to make the day cohesive without making it a cookie-cutter theme extravaganza.

Etsy to the rescue!

Randomly poking around on everyone’s favorite indie crafting site, i had the genius idea to search ‘wedding logos.’ And, lo and behold, so many options to choose from! I’ve narrowed it down to my favorite four, but believe that there are plenty more out there, from inexpensive text-based options where you specify font and color to pie-in-the-sky $200 custom jobs. But i know what you want — pictures!

Motifdesigns via Etsy. I particularly like the {block} option here. It’s text-based, rather than graphic, which isn’t what i had originally envisioned, but it’s kind of quirky and i dig it. Plus, the listing notes that these are merely examples; motifdesigns will create a logo based on pictures you send in, ideas for decor, themes, you name it. And the custom logo, sent to you as a .jpeg, is only $20!

Black Sheep Designs gets love from me simply from its name. (I had a black sheep as a pet when i was a child … but that’s a story for another post. Or another blog.) Anyway, this custom logo work is a little more pricey, at $45, but as you can see, this option leans more heavily on graphics than text to create a mood. I like how clean and simple these designs are, and i think logos in this style would transfer well to save-the-dates, invitations, etc. without being too over-the-top coordinated.

unlessomeonelikeyou is a bit of an Etsy allstar, and with good reason. I adore these designs — i love how the text is incorporated without being overly fussy, and i adore how clean the designs are while managing to convey a very clear idea or feeling. Here’s a little more from unlessomeonelikeyou’s custom logo work:

So pretty, right? Unique and just a little bit offbeat, but with a strong identity. I love these!

And finally; cupcake logo!!

If i weren’t worried that my balloons and other decoration ideas (i’ll get to them soon, i promise) aren’t already walking the line of terribly twee, i would have ordered this logo the minute i laid eyes on it. And, to be honest, i still may! It’s sickeningly cute — which is something i said i wanted to avoid on my wedding day. But! It’s cupcakes!!

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damask redux: invitations!

So, y’all love the damask as much as i do! Hurray for damask brides! (If only i were a damask bride… sigh. But that’s a story for another post.)

Back while i was still mid-damask-frenzy, i did a lot of research on damask-y details i could add to the wedding. (Seriously, lots. I’ll keep posting all of the nifty things i found, even though i ended up going a different route.) Today’s lesson, kids, is all about Damask Invitations. My first lesson was that there are lots of different options, from DIY-able blank invitation templates that you can download or purchase and print on to letterpressed gorgeousness with bespoke designs. Seriously, the sheer number of invitation options online is breathtaking. Overwhelming. And most of all (say it with me), awesome.

First, this gorgeous damask-bordered invitation from Blush Paperie, which you can get printed either with offset or thermography. The colors and font are both customizable, so the invitation won’t have a cookie-cutter feel to it. Green all-lower-case print with a black-and-white border? You got it! Traditional black script with a hot pink damask border? Done!

Blush Paperie also has a slightly more modern damask-y invitation with damask lining the bottom third of the page and text above. This one offers you the option of a highlight color in your monogram and also a bright swath of color separating the damask from the text. I dream of this with kelly-green accents. Swoon!

A similar option, through everyone’s favorite indie superstar Etsy, puts the damask border at the top. The best thing about Esty is that just about everything is customizable. Contact paperandink, the creator of this awesome damask design, to see what she can whip up for you.

And there’s always letterpress. Papeterie can make this baby a two-color print, so you can have black-and-white damask with a colored border, colored damask with black or grey text, or pretty much anything you can come up with. Plus, it’s letterpress. Yum.

More damask-tastic options can be found at Wedding Paper Divas and My Creative Invitations (with lots of different color options and nifty interpretations of the damask theme!) You can also Google some combination of “wedding damask invitations” and find any number of options, from thrifty to exorbitant.

But, okay, i saved my favorites for last (and i hope you’ve made it down this far, because they are delicious). First, Etsy seller socialcircles has created a breathaking invitation suite, complete with black satin bow and heavy textured cardstock. It’s opened to reveal a beautiful traditional-script invitation with a border of thick black cardstock. You can also order RSVP cards and printed envelopes that match (with beautiful designs themselves).

And. Take a deep breath, y’all, because this is seriously unbelievable. From Gourmet Invitations, a bespoke damask design that pulls out all the stops: The text! The borders! The reply cards! With the stamps! This invitation suite quite simply took my breath away. It is, in a word, perfect. Each invitation suite from Gourmet Invitations is custom-designed — just imagine the possibilities for the damask-obsessed bride!

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