Rustic Yet Pretty Camping Theme Wedding Photo Shoot: Orange County Invitations

I am a huge fan of Jesi Haack Weddings. I love everything she creates, and I mean really creates as in crafts with her own hands, which I can sincerely appreciate. For this design challenge photo shoot, she created the concept of a couple that loves camping, but still wants a pretty wedding. After processing her idea I got to my own creating with the paper goods. It all started with the hiking trail invitation, a theme that's carried throughout the stationery. The menus were paper sleeping bags complete with flannel lining. Jesi created a 'smore station for each guest, so the place card is a skewer with plaid flannel and the guest's name.

I had so much fun creating these pieces and it was such an honor to work with such a talented group of creatives. Thank you so much to Gabriel and Carly Ryan for the beautiful pictures.

The team:

Design/Concept: Jesi Haack

Photography: Gabriel Ryan Photography

Floral Design: JL Designs

Cake: My Sweet and Saucy

Stationery: Yours Truly...Paper and Thread Studio

Hawaiian Wedding Reception Stationery

While working on these day-of stationery pieces to coordinate with the invitation suite we created, I couldn't help but imagine what a beautiful wedding this will be. I can't wait to see the professional pictures. Kauai is already so beautiful, and I'm sure the Princeville Resort is equally as exquisite, and it just happens to be taking place on my birthday. We were lucky enough to contribute a few little pieces to that beauty: menus, hanging programs, escort cards, favor donation tags, and table numbers. Perhaps the most important are the escort cards, which not only show guests where they're seated, but each guest's meal choice is identified with a different symbol. The palm leaf signified a vegetarian dish, a flower for chicken, and a fish for fish of course. This is a budget friendly idea when doing a seated plate because it eliminates the need for place cards, while still serving a purpose to the wait staff.

Thanks again Jessica, and congratulations to you and your growing family.

Nautical "Wedding" for the Style Lab

It's no secret that I love everything that the Wedding Chicks do. Add in some Chenin Boutwell and Amanda Auer with In the Now Weddings, and it gets even more amazing. Chenin and Amy and Jocey (the wedding chicks themselves) put on a photography workshop a couple of times a year. The photographers in attendance were then able to put their skills to work with a mock wedding that was styled by In the Now Weddings. The concept was Nantucket Nautical and Amanda and all the talented vendors hit it on the head with the design. Rope topiaries, could you ask for more?

We designed the fabric folio invitation, which uses rope to hold the enclosure cards and a modern navy fabric as the cover and invitation backer. The knot was a motif we wanted to keep consistent, so it was used on the invitation, the favor tags, and the menu. We also created branding for the couple, which Amanda cleverly transferred to the coffee sleeves, which serve as additional guest favors. The signs were based on the "Keep Calm and Carry On" British propaganda posters, which I just happen to have taped to my monitor at all times.

For the full post and list of participating vendors, please click here

I'll just let the pictures speak for themselves, but it was such an honor to be included in this project and to have the one and only Chenin Boutwell photograph my work.

An Amazing Talent

My son is almost 2 and one thing I've been wanting to do since his birth is family portraits. Being in the wedding industry, I see so many talented photographers, but when I met Lane Dittoe, I knew he was just something different. First off, he shoots in film. I think that's part of the reason I love the way his photographs look; they're just softer than digital with lots of processing. It also doesn't hurt that he is a super nice guy. Lane, we cannot thank you enough for so beautifully documenting our family. Click here to see the full post from Lane's blog.

My hair and makeup is always a stresser, so Erica from 1011 Makeup, graciously came over to my house to make me up. Talk about sweet. I was so comfortable in her hands and she didn't even seem to mind one bit that a toddler was trying to get into her makeup goodies. She traveled to my house in Fallbrook, and travels all over San Diego, Orange, and Riverside counties.

A Great Cause and A Great Deal

Are you considering custom invitations from Paper and Thread Studio? If so, and you'd like to get a great deal and have 100% of that money go towards a local woman in need, head on over to REVOweddings. This organization was started by a few San Diego wedding vendors who got together to help one of their own who is battling cancer. This is a matter dear to my own heart and family, so I jumped at the chance to donate my services. Up for bid is a custom wedding invitation suite, which includes 100 sets of invitations, response cards and envelopes. The value is placed at $600 and the opening bid is only $200. There aren't any bids so far, and I'm really looking forward to working with the winning bidder. (Note: The listing says 50 invitations, but it should read 100.)

Orfila Vineyards Bridal Fair

I was recently honored with an invitation to display Paper and Thread's pieces at Orfila Vineyard's first Bridal Fair. The initial challenge of the event was the display. We had to get a little creative, call in for reinforcements, and nurse a couple blisters from the hours spent making paper flowers. It all turned out great and we received a ton of compliments on our display. It was a little windy, so you can't see both of my "As seen on" signs. My sweet father had the idea of making little signs that showed how my invitations were featured on Style Me Pretty and The Wedding Chicks. Hanging those signs gave me a little feeling of "wow, I'm kind of making it."

If I were planning my wedding, this would have been an event worth attending for sure. What better way to chat with wedding vendors than with a beautiful vineyard setting and a glass of wine in your hand. It was truly a lovely day and made me love what I do even more. Chatting with engaged couples, brides, and mothers of the brides about their ideas for their day reignited the enthusiasm I have for the wedding industry. A huge special thanks to my assistant for the day; Marissa, you rock and I'm so lucky to have you as a friend.

Enjoying the gifts

(Image by MKP Images)

I just wanted to reflect for a minute about one of my ever-present goals. It is to focus on the present and whatever act I'm doing at the moment, do it well and with intention. For me this means reading a book with my toddler without also checking my phone, or having one client's designs rule my computer screen without any internet windows open. It also is what led to my decision to leave my career in teaching to focus on this stationery business. Whatever I do, I really like to do well, and when I was designing invitations, teaching high schoolers, and being a mom and wife, I realized I wasn't able to excel in any of them because I was doing too many things. This was all inspired by a post on The Zen of Doing that I found through Sage Wedding Pros that quoted the zen proverb:

"When walking walk; when eating, eat."

If you are a wedding vendor, I highly recommend the Sage Wedding Pros blog. Sometimes I swear she can see my desk or thoughts because the posts are so spot-on.

Custom Sock Monkey Birthday Invitations

These might be some of my favorite custom children's invitations yet. I "met" Colleen, the mama of this sweet boy, on Twitter because she just happens to be a super talented photographer. She asked for subtle sock monkey. So, we used sock monkey fabric to make a flat button that is stitched along the top along with two adorable pictures of the birthday boy. The invitation is backed with chipboard and the envelope is lined with a sock monkey knit pattern.

Happy Birthday Rowan!

Pinch Me, I'm on Style Me Pretty

This morning I woke up to the news that a photo shoot I worked on with Summer of Grey Likes Weddings was featured on Style Me Pretty. To even say those words is beyond amazing to me. I've admired so many of the stationers whose pieces are on this inspirational website, and to be among them, well, let's just say I teared up a little this morning.

It was such an honor to work with the visionary stylist, Summer Watkins. She sent interior design inspiration images and just trusted me to do something fun with the paper. We then came together on the day of the shoot and it was truly amazing to see her vision come to life. The florals from The Vines Leaf were stunning. Then when I saw the pictures from T&H Photography, I was even more impressed. Please click here to see the rest of the post.

Baby and Toddler Fair

Moms, if you live in the area of North County San Diego, you must check out Babies in Bloom. (Funny side note: I originally discovered this store after my sweet dog chewed my breast pump parts and I needed emergency replacements) They carry organic and all-natural products for babies and toddlers and have really great gift items.

This Saturday, the 20th, they are celebrating their business birthday. To celebrate, they're having a vendor fair from 10-1, a raffle to raise money for the Tri-City NICU, and a concert from Hullabaloo at 1pm. Come on by and say hello to the Paper and Thread table; we even have some cute goodies to give away.

DIY Table Numbers

If you haven't checked out The Wedding Chicks, where have you been? But seriously, these table numbers were actually originally used for my good friend's wedding. I created some new ones with one of the chicks, Amy. You can check out the full DIY here. This is the start of a little "fabric in unexpected ways" DIY series. Keep your eye out for more fun DIY projects and start your own hunt for that perfect fabric. I always find the best fabric in quilting stores, plus it's a way to support your local brick and mortar businesses.

envelope addressing made easy

There is nothing that can top the effect of hand-drawn, beautiful calligraphy. The way the ink sits atop the envelope lets your guests know that they are in for a truly splendid affair. However, more and more brides cannot afford this service, which usually starts around $2.00 per envelope. Rather than have labels that appear to be meant for an office or sloppy handwriting, Paper and Thread is now offering envelope addressing. We can match the typeface used on your invitation suite or there are several other fonts from which to choose. Contact us today for a custom quote.

The Love Nest

If you're a bride and want to join a fun community of other brides and grooms planning their wedding, check out the Love Nest on my favorite wedding website, The Wedding Chicks. It's a great place to share and gain inspiration without having to have your own blog out in the la-la land of the web. Plus, the real wedding chicks, Amy and Jocey, are some pretty cool chicks.

Be sure to let me know if you join; they're having a little contest for vendors :)

Photo Shoot Sneak Preview

Last week, Paper and Thread had the opportunity to create the paper goodies for a Wedding Chicks photo shoot. The adorable and talented pair of Carter and Cook took the design lead and style the entire shoot based on Jessica Claire's vision of buttons and the color yellow. We had one meeting where C&C shared their inspiration board and then we all went away and created our pieces. A couple of weeks later, we met up and it all just fit together perfectly. I can't wait to share the rest of the shoot, but for now, here's one of Jessica's shots from the day.

a few of my favorite things

It's nice to know such a talented floral designer as Leigh Anne with The Floral Lab. After a day spent in the sun and car, her creation still looks lovely in my home. This was only part of her floral display for a recent photo shoot for The Wedding Chicks, shot by Jessica Claire, an amazing photographer. Her blog has a sneak peak of the day and includes a Paper and Thread piece.

My other favorite thing, my growing milk glass collection.

Inspiration

To narrow down the inspiration behind Paper and Thread to one blog post was way more difficult than I imagined, but turned out to be a nice break from the evening's corner rounding and invitation assembly. I have Victoria at SF Girl By Day to thank for the brains behind Blog it Forward. Basically each day 9 scheduled bloggers post and link to the next blogger. This time around the topic is "what inspires you".

I feel blessed to be among some very creative minds and encourage you to check out the blogging chain. The previous post was from Papers & Packages and tomorrow's will be Paris Hotel Boutique.

(bathroom image via decorpad)

1...my surroundings. While my bathroom doesn't look anything like that, a girl can dream, right? And why not create some paper goods based on those design elements. Where I live and create also plays into the design process. The bottom image is the view from my studio and where I often find myself looking during design pauses. And of course, my family is the biggest inspiration and most important surrounding.

(images via amazon and Read Simple)
2...magazines. While I do frequently visit wedding and design blogs, there's nothing better than buying a magazine that catches your eye and flipping through real pages. I especially love the way Surfer's Journal uses color on their covers.

(fabrics from Hart's Fabric in Santa Cruz, CA and online)

3...fabric. The colors, the texture, the whimsy...there's really nothing more to say other than when I see fabric it makes me want to use it in creative ways.

Save the Date Boarding Pass

Katie came to me with the idea of creating a boarding pass for her Hawaii wedding this summer. She wanted a palm tree and greens and blues. The end result is a size 10 plane ticket with a perforated stub containing the pertinent information for guests to keep.

The bride and groom created a free wedding website through theknot.com , but the problem was the URL was not very aesthetically pleasing on a save the date. So, here's a tip. Go to godaddy.com or any other domain registration website and buy a domain (ex. www.heidiandfrank.com). You can then have your purchased domain automatically direct your guests to the free website.

Maid of Honor Reporting for Duty: Maids' Dresses

As I've previously mentioned, and if you know me beyond the web, you've heard me a thousand times, I'm super excited to be the Maid of Honor for my best friend in the whole wide world. I know it sounds silly, but since we were 5, little Miss L and I have been the best of friends, and helping to plan her wedding, and of course design her wedding stationery, is beyond thrilling. One recent "duty", although it was hardly work, was finding a bridesmaid dress. With 8 bridesmaids and 3 junior bridesmaids, this was no small feat. Luckily, the bride heard about Thread. All I can say is thank goodness! Miss L just chose the color and we went and picked out whatever style looked best and got measured (or you could do it online yourself). It was the easiest dress shopping ever. I also have to recommend Bella Bridesmaid, which is actually the only store in the San Diego/Orange County/Los Angeles region to carry the dresses. The consultant was so professional and sweet, and I cannot wait to get the dress.

Side note: Yes, I am married and technically should be "matron of honor", but who wants to be a matron?

the floral lab

Wouldn't these flowers just brighten your day? Leigh Anne of the Floral Lab hand crafts each floral arrangement out of her beautiful home. I love the whimsical feel to each piece.

Family Photographer

If you're in the San Diego area and looking for a lovely family photographer, we were really happy with Mary Klemm Plousha . If you take a look at her blog, that's me and my son in the banner. What I really liked is that she tries to avoid the beach and matching outfits. Our picture, along with another one of just him, is on display in another great local spot, Babies in Bloom. It's a baby store that focuses on breastfeeding and all things natural. It's one of those stores that just makes you happy to be in.