We're having a Birthday Party!

Mark your calendars, you're booked next Thursday night for our 4th birthday party!

We're so excited to have Jenna from Smock joining us for the evening; she'll be showing us how to make fun pinwheels using all your favorite Smock papers. And, in celebration and thanks for 4 wonderful years, we'll be stocked to the gills with Smock product and we will be offering 20% OFF all Smock goodies*all weekend long (8/8 - 8/11).

As if that isn't enough, everyone who joins us next Thursday for this fun bash will be entered to win one of 3 amazing prizes**:

Grand Prize: 100 letterpress note-cards (or save the dates for you brides and grooms to-be) from Smock
1st Prize: A goodie box FULL of Smock product
2nd Prize: A $50 gift certificate to Gus & Ruby Letterpress

And, last but not least, some of our dear friends will be providing yummy treats to snack on as you shop. 
            - Wild Orchid Bakery, our favorite cake genius and all-around baker extraordinaire, will be providing cupcakes.
            - Lolly, downtown Dover's newest sweet-tooth heaven, will be providing an assortment of candy.
           - The Juicery, our go-to spot in town for the BEST smoothies, juices and yummy vegetarian food, is providing fresh, all-natural popsicles
          - And The Goldenrod, a York Beach staple, will be bringing their signature salt-water taffy for you to sample.

Be sure to get here early, though, as these treats will certainly go fast and once they are gone - they are gone!

So, we think you'll agree, it's going to be a blast and we can't wait to celebrate with you! See you Thursday, August 8th from 6-8pm! 

*Discount not applicable to custom orders or gift certificates.
**Entries will be taken in-store Thursday, Aug. 8th from 6-8PM. Winners will be drawn at random and will be notified on Friday, Aug. 9th, via email. No purchase necessary.

Designer Spotlight: New Smock Volumes 4 & 5!

As you all know, we are Smock-aholics! We just can't get enough of their whimsical designs, incredible embellishments and superior printing. So, we were oh-so-delighted at this year's National Stationery Show in NYC to find out that they were releasing 2 new volumes of wedding designs. Hooray!

The new designs round out an already stellar collection. Smock's outdone themselves this time: there are new digital printing and embossing options (hooray!), incredible new calligraphy styles, new die-cut shapes, new sleeve options, new inks, new patterns and...well, you get it, just lots of NEW!

Check out a few of the new designs below and then call for an appointment to come see this album for yourself. We're gaga over it and know you will be too!

 

(All photos courtesy of Smock)

Erica & Steve's floral wedding invitations

It's hard to believe it's been almost a full year since Erica & Steve's August nuptials! This Gus & Ruby custom invitation suite was so much fun to work on because it combined fun elements from two of my favorite suites:  the floral inspiration came from my own wedding invitations and the unique gatefold assembly from Elizabeth and David's suite. We had custom flower illustrations all done by hand specifically for this suite so we that we could highlight the succulents, dahlias and garden roses that wedding planner extraordinaire, Kate Parker, was using throughout their wedding day decor. We love the mix of floral and geometric patterns along with their suite monogram. And who doesn't love a great program fan for those hot Summer weddings?

As always, it was an absolute joy to work with Kate Parker Designs on this gorgeous wedding along with many other talented folks including Wild Orchid Baking Company and Sperry Tents Seacoast!

Design & Letterpress Printing by Gus & Ruby Letterpress

Envelope Calligraphy by Kelle McCarter

Photos by Brea McDonald Photography for Gus & Ruby Letterpress

Spotted: Gus & Ruby client work on the Bella Figura blog

Happy Hot Friday, friends! It's going to be a scorcher here in NH today; hope you all have keep-cool plans that include pools, beaches or double-features in the icy goodness of the movie theater. We'll be keeping the AC blasting at the shop today, that's for sure!

You all know that we adore working with the stellar folks at Bella Figura; so it should come as no surprise to you that it just tickles me to see our clients' work featured on their fabulous blog. We've had the great pleasure of working with a huge number of clients to create beautiful, customized Bella Figura invitations. Check out a few of our favorites that have been featured on their blog over the last few months.

Some of them are truly custom designs inspired by the overall aesthetic of the Bella Figura albums:

While others are customizations of some of Bella's 300+ original designs. Check out how we turned the sweet Simple Dot design below

Into a winter wedding save the date featuring silver foil "snowflakes."

 We used the Camilla design below:

To craft the summer stunner below. I just love how the abstract pattern of the Camilla became ocean waves once we added a custom illustration of the coast of Maine (complete with a sweet heart over the wedding location).

 And this take on the gorgeous Harbor Beach design struck the perfect cord for this nautical wedding:

As we always tell our clients, the sky's the limit as to how much we can customize these incredible designs to reflect your vision. It's such a fun process!

That's all for now, folks. Stay cool and hope to see your smiling faces in the shop over the weekend! 

(All photos courtesy of the Bella Figura blog)

Boston Weddings Feature: Fall/Winter 2013

We are so excited to have our "Shelby & Mike" suite (a.k.a the Boston suite) featured in the fall/winter issue of Boston Weddings Magazine! We designed this suite in 2010 for Shelby and Mike and since then have had the pleasure of redesigning and customizing for a handful of other couples. The original design will always be my favorite as I love the bold sans serif font and punchy colors. Take a peek at the feature and then go pick one up at the store - it is now on newsstands!

Here are some detailed photos of the original wedding suite: 

Magazine photos: courtesy of Boston Weddings Magazine
Invitation photos: courtesy of Brea McDonald Photography
Calligraphy: Love*Jenna Calligraphy