Bridesmaids' gifts: SeaBags

It's that time of year again: wedding season! For those of you planning to tie the knot this summer your to-do list must be a mile long as there are so many decisions to be made and things to buy. One of the most important purchases you will make is buying a thoughtful gift for each member of your wedding party to show them how important their friendship means to you and how special it is that they are standing by your side on your wedding day. Fortunately for you, we carry a bunch of fun (and practical) options here at the store. Over the week Samantha and I will take turns sharing our favorite gift ideas on the blog so stay tuned and, as always, feel free to shoot us an email with questions regarding ordering, customizing and pricing: hello@gusandruby.com.

One of the first companies we contacted when we decided to open the store was Sea Bags in Portland, Maine. They are a women-owned company (woot! woot!) that uses recycled sails to create custom tote bags. The sails come from all over the world so each bag is a bit different and they keep dreaming up new designs so the bags just keep getting better and better. Sea Bags make the ultimate gift for bridesmaids as they are useful, adorable and dare I say trendy? (Even J.Crew is carrying a select line of them now.) The bags start range from $105 (small, standard design) to $195 (see the layered stripes with gold star below) and we can place a special order just for you! Take a peek at some of our favorite designs below and keep in mind we also carry the wristlets, which start at $26 and make a great addition to the bags (loose change, credit cards and cell phones will be stored safely:) or are a wonderful gift on their own.

{above photo by emilie inc. photography. all other photos courtesy of Sea Bags}

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100% obsessed with Zeichen Press.

Turns out that Whitney and I have twinsie counterparts in Minneapolis, MN. Their names are Fran Shea & Jen Shea and they are the lovely ladies who run Zeichen Press and are the creators of our newest line of greeting cards. A line that we have become totally obsessed with. And I mean, totally.

It's clear that Jen, Fran, Whitney and I are sisters from another mister because, well, the cards could be direct lines from Whit and my daily conversations and they literally are lines from Jen & Fran. Soo....we're all besties and they don't know it yet. It's as though these talented ladies have crawled into our demented, weirdo brains and crafted fabulous cards from our odd thoughts. We love them. I think you will too (well, if you're sort of weird, like we are).

Check out a few of our favorites and then stop by the shop to stock up, because I'm going to go ahead and guess that these will be selling out pretty darn quickly.

(all photos and aweomeness courtesy of Zeichen Press)

chick-a-dee peepers and hidden eggs...

Just a quick reminder everyone - EASTER is this upcoming Sunday (I know - HOLY CANOLI! how did that happen?) You better get to hiding those eggs... and making those delicious hams and mashies... and writing your snuggle bunnies some little notes to tell them how much you love 'em and adore 'em and just want to give them a big ole' smooooocheroooo!

I am particularly enamored with these hidden bunnies from Rifle Paper Company.

And what's not to love about these intricate designs pressed into lush cotton paper by Fine Day Press and Dee&Lala?!







But hurry in quick ladies and gents ;) these lovelies are going quick!

Have a fantastic week, and we'll chat soon!
XO
Lizzy

Hand-sewn booklet invitations

We created this invitation booklet last year for a June wedding and can't believe we haven't shared it with you before now. The save the dates (read about them here) were a blast to design and print and we knew we wanted to continue the theme of the blind printing and sewn details into the invitation suite.

During our initial meeting with Lauren and Matt we realized we were going to need a unique delivery method because of all of the additional information they wanted to include. Samantha and I are not huge fans of an envelope full of 6 or 7 different loose pieces and always try to dream up a more creative way of including the necessary information without overwhelming the guests. For this suite we decided to create a booklet with a perforated reply postcard and we held it closed with a lavender cotton ribbon.

My favorite detail in this suite are the not-so-blind printed ranunculus which were created by using transparent white ink after running the dark purple ink - I wash up the press, but not entirely so there are some remnants of purple on there - and when the transparent white inks up it has just a slight shade of light purple in it. Take a peek!

{the booklet was tied shut with cotton ribbon (moved down here to show the banner)}

{after removing the ribbon, the banner and blind printed ranunculus are revealed}

{a look at the many pages}

{the invitation featured hand-drawn ranunculus and borders}

{another look at the invitation}

{my favorite part of the suite: a perforated reply postcard with dark purple ink overprinting the soft purple flowers}

{the mailable side of the postcard shown on the left and an invitation to a welcome party the night before the wedding}

{the parents of the bride insisted we provide directions and lodging information}

{the last page in the book: a note from the bride and groom-to-be!}

{thank you notes - an absolute must and not something to skimp on}

{the entire suite including the save the date and calligraphy by Write 4 You}

All photos by Brea McDonald Photography | Styling by Maine Seasons Events

Something to be said for Simplicity...

GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOD Morning!

This week has been so outrageous... and if I make it through the rest of the day without anymore calamity-jane-type accidents I will be THRILLED! TGIF doesn't even begin to describe how relieved I am that the weekend is just around the corner.

But before we get there... I wanted to share some Dee&Lala LOVELINESS! Based out of South Pasadena, California, this company does letterpress right - with simplicity and just a touch of whimsy. They use 100% cotton stock for all of their printing (yes, that means tree-free!) and have a solar powered studio. Their greeting cards and super-sweet wall clocks are all characterized by crisp bits of color impressed upon bright white stock. Here's a little taste to inspire you this Friday!

These cool letterpress printed clocks are a new addition to the shop! I think that they'd be a great little addition to a bookshelf or desktop too, if you propped them on a stand. Maybe get one of each and hang them in unison... each with a different time zone represented? LOVE these suckers!

And those of you who scour our card wall regularly will recall seeing some of these fun greeting cards. They are my favorites - especially the "Lettuce Celebrate!"

Dee & Lala's work is a great reminder how far simplicity can go!

Have a lovely day friends - enjoy the sunshine, although I know it is a bit brisk out - and hope to see you all soon!

Kiss Kiss and a REAL BIG HUG

Lizzy