Farm wedding invitations

I have been waiting for months (8 to be exact) to write about Elizabeth and David's farm-themed wedding invitations. This was one of my absolute favorite projects to work on, not only because the design and colors were so fun, but because Elizabeth and David were an absolute joy to work with.

This project began with the save the dates below which utilized their funky color palate of green, yellow and bright blue and incorporated farm-themed wording.

{photo by Emilie Inc. Photography}

Elizabeth and David gave us free reign when designing their invitation suite and only had 1 request which was to include an illustration of David's family's farm which doubled as the wedding site so Sam and I enlisted Nate Duval, a Boston-based illustrator and designer, to help us out. In addition to the house, we asked him to illustrate one of the cows on the property and some day lilies which are abundant in their fields. Nate's style is very funky and abstract so we opted against a computer font for their information and instead I wrote out every word for each piece. We couldn't have been more excited about how the suite came together. But, just before preparing the plates to print, I decided we needed one more embellishment to make this piece a "wow". We created a gate fold that looked like barn doors and glued each invitation inside. Upon opening the doors, the invitation was revealed. We tied the folded piece shut with twine and tucked the reply card and envelope underneath, on the backside of the gate fold. Here are the results:

{above photos by Brea McDonald Photography}

We had this lovely suite featured on the Oh So Beautiful Paper blog a couple of months ago. Thank you, Nole. Read the piece here. And here is a picture of the gorgeous couple on their wedding day:

{photo by Anne Skidmore}

Hooray for the newlyweds! Thank you E&D for letting us design such a fabulous invitation suite! It really was one of our absolute favorites from 2010 and we can't wait to get crackin' on some adorable birth announcements... even if you are in Arizona! No pressure, of course.

Gus & Ruby featured on the Martha Stewart Weddings blog!!

Hello wonderful readers,

Happy Monday! And what a happy Monday it is after a truly wonderful past week. Last week, we met with a bunch of wonderful new clients, had some wacky New England weather, my best friend from college had her first baby who has completely stolen our hearts and, wait for it, we were featured on the Martha Stewart Wedding's blog - The Bride's Guide. Holy moly was it a week to remember!

We were so super thrilled to be featured on the trend-setting, uber fab blog of the queen of all wedding publications. HOoray for Martha Stewart Weddings!!

Check out the post HERE.

So, yes, happy Monday to you all and I hope your week is off to a great start!

Restaurant Week!

Morning Friends!

It's bright and sunny here in Portsmouth, New Hampshire today... and after the crazy weather we've had for the past few days, I will gladly deal with the chill that's in the air so long as the sun stays shining. On my stroll to pick up some deeeeee-licious homemade granola from Ceres Street Bakery this morning, I realized that last night was the first night of our Spring Restaurant Week here in town! Yipppppppeeeee!

For those of you who are unfamiliar with Restaurant Week, you should acquaint yourselves... really and truly. If ever there was an excuse to visit Portsmouth for an evening, Restaurant Week certainly is an excuse that supercedes all others! This event is one that is held bi-annually, and which showcases some of the most fantastic culinary experiences you will encounter here in Portsmouth. Most restaurants create a special menu for the length of the event, and prices are fixed: for a 3-course lunch, $16.95 per person and for a 3-course dinner, $29,95 per person. You really can't go wrong!

Usually, on Fridays I would aim to showcase something new and lovely for you weekend peepers who will be visiting the store... but I think that one of the best things about Portsmouth is the community and inspiration we find amongst our fellow entrepreneurs. Restaurant Week is a really fantastic event, it brings many people into town and sort of, starts off our Spring season. So, if you have the inclination to go out and grab a bite between now and April 2nd, consider the list of restaurants who are participating in Restaurant Week! You are sure to enjoy your meal, and your evening, strolling around one of the most lovely towns in New England! And who doesn't like to buy (and eat :) local?!

Happy Weekend :)

Lizzy

Oh, ok... one little tidbit for you weekend peepers... our ladder of Smock wrapping sheets was just restocked yesterday, and I could not be more thrilled about it! If you are looking to do some Spring cleaning and re-organizing in the next few weeks, consider grabbing some of this lovely paper to line your drawers in the kitchen and bedroom :) SO lovely

Monday Inspiration: Handmade Wdddings

Morning dolls and dandies :)

I've been looking high and low for some new inspiration... some lovely thing or tasty treat... some fab pair of leather, peep-toe flats or a new rich, brown colored saddle bag... just something special to start out my day. Got to the shop this morning though, and this great book that we carry got me thinking...

We had two of three of these books in the shop before the holidays, but before I had the chance to check it out, they had sold! No worries though... they're back in the house!

Handmade Weddings was a collaboration between the team at Hello!Lucky and this fantastic stylist named Shana Faust. It contains over fifty DIY projects that are perfect for personalizing your wedding, but could be cross referenced for any party or gathering that you might want to throw. The pictures are great - big and colorful and perfectly styled - and the directions simple to follow...

For those of you out there who are getting their wheels spinning about decor for a wedding... or baby shower, retirement party or sweet 16... this book will do the trick for you. It gave me just the little pick-me-up that I needed this morning! From invitations to favors, decorations to styling concepts for table numbers and escort cards... Handmade Weddings has it all!

Oh, and I wanted to share this little gem that I came across...

Anthropologie is launching this new decorator shop concept in a few days... 11 locations across the United States. These shops will be set up to act as a reference point for projects you might have in mind... you know, get those sparks a flying and creative muscles a flexing. I CANNOT wait to check it out :)

http://www.anthologymag.com/

Welp.... that's it for me. Enjoy the day dears, and remember that sometimes all you need to start a week on the right foot is a little spot of something lovely ;)

XO

Lizzy

Smoxes & Pantone

Happy Monday Lovelies!!!

The air is so fresh and crisp here in Portsmouth today, still a little dreary, but certainly a lovely sign that the snow may officially be behind us! After a crazy weekend at the shop, I had a moment to clean and re-organize and wanted to share some new goodies with you fabulous people. (New goodies in the shop always make us girls a little extra giddy :)) I did a little dance last Friday when the UPS man delivered our new Pantone mugs. And then I got into work this morning and did another little dance because it just made me so happy to have them all lined up in a row. I just want one in every color! Don't you?!

Our new Seabags have been getting a lot of attention lately too... these bags, as many of you may know, are hand-stitched and assembled in Portland, Maine from reclaimed sailcloth. That's right friends... reclaimed, so the fabric used to make the bags had been out on the ocean, cutting through the fresh sea breeze. We love these bags because they are super sturdy, easy to clean and wash out after a beach day or a coffee spill, and the patterns are so fun! The newbies include a whales tail in kelly green, the multi-colored, bold stripe combos, and royal blue anchor wristlets.

And the ever-so-fabulous SMOXES are back in house. These are incredibly lovely boxes that are made from 100% post-consumer recycled paper by one of our all time faves, Smock. Use them as a gift box and all you need is a ribbon and card (no wrapping necessary :)), and they can be re-purposed as storage boxes for photos, newspaper clippings, and letters from your lovey. The new Oxford pattern in cerulean and midnight blue is hands down my favorite and will be jazzing up the shelves of my home office soon!

It just makes me so happy to see the shop freshened up, and hope that you all get the chance to swing by and see it soon. More to come later this week friends, including some photogs of our SUPER EXCITING NEW WINDOW DISPLAYS! Yipppeeeeeeeeeee!

Love you and see you soon!

Signing off :) Lizzy-loo

With a SPRING in your step...

Hello Friends!

It was a bit drizzly here in Portsmouth, New Hampshire this morning, but Samantha and I both noted a light sensation of Spring in the air. How exciting, don't you agree? The sun has been pretty bright and lovely lately but the air is still crisp... we are crossing our fingers that the fresh smell of things growing outside is a good sign though!

We've been so busy lately - it's incredible to think that March is already here! The store has received a bit of a re-vamp in the past few weeks, and we have custom projects on the brain both day and night! In all of this clamor and excitement, we've been a bit lax in our blogging schedule... serious apologies all around :) but we are working to get things pulled back together. Today I want to share some fabulous, fun, bright & colorful and super sweet goodies that we have new in the shop for spring. My hope is that this will inspire you this weekend, give you some great ideas and put a little extra hitch in your giddy-up :) Enjoy!!

These postcards are letterpress printed on chipboard by Ms. Gracie Finn. What a simple and lovely way to send some snail mail, don't you think?? I think they have potential for kids to use to send to friends & family... give them a box of crayons to embellish these suckers, and I am sure that whoever is lucky enough to receive one will be all smiles!

We are SO EXCITED to have some goodies in-store that represent the incredibly intricate paper cuts by Rob Ryan. What a perfect way to drink your coffee and get prepped for the day:)

For those of you looking for new greeting cards for the every day note or celebratory birthday wishes, Dude and Chick Letterpress and Byrd & Bleeker just sent over some fab new cards that we are thrilled about! These are cards are fun and funky and incorporate great color with the superb medium of letterpress - what's not to love, really?

Girl of All Work items are back in stock including fabric covered magnets and push pins, page flags and all new file folders and pencil cases.

We'll post again next week about our new Sea Bag styles (including wristlets!) and some beautiful Orla Kiely notebooks, address books and wallets that just arrived. In the meantime, get out and enjoy this beautiful weather. After all, it's March in New England which means there could be another snowstorm around the corner.