Merry Christmas to all!!

I do apologize for the lack of posts - I actually have lots of pictures I need to put up, but the holidays have just kept me spinning. There was the menu I did for my cousin's restaurant, and the calligraphy class I taught to a fabulous DIY bride and her bridesmaids, and a number of beautiful color combinations that I'd like to highlight - and I will - after Santa comes! Until then - keep warm, enjoy your families, and happy planning!

Christmas Card Calligraphy give-away!

A few months ago Brittany from www.onecharmingparty.com inquired about booking a week with me so that she could give away 50 calligraphied envelopes for Christmas cards on her blog found here: http://onecharmingblog.squarespace.com/home/2009/11/9/giveaway-50-christmas-cards-hand-addressed-by-michele.html?lastPage=true#comment6188917 . (Sorry - I am sure there is a neater way to link that, but my skills with the pen far outshine my computer skills!). Anyway, the giveaway is for the week of November 22-November 28 and all the details can be found on her blog. I can use any of my regular lettering styles and any ink color you like - the photo pictured here is a shot of my own Christmas cards done in red ink - fine script, and a little swiss dot embellishment on the zip code. (The envelope pictured on Brittany's blog is in the fine chancery italic...)


Thanks so much Brittany! What a fun give-away!!

Happy fall!

Such a busy month! (Though isn't it always.....) Just a few quick snapshots of what I've been working on. The first photo was done for Paul in fine flourished script, alt caps using a shimmery copper ink. (Also pictured - MY wedding dress(!), recently rescued from my mother in law's attic....). The second photo was for Jessica. She is having a destination wedding and chose a less formal wording and a fun color combination of aqua and white (wispy lettering). The third photo is a set of placecards for Danielle - done on hockey pucks! (Though all laid out on my table they for some reason looked more like oreo cookies to me....) The last photo was a match of the style 'avant garde' in silver ink on black envelopes for some bar mitzvah invitations done for Cheryl. I've seen a lot of this sort of style lately - simple prints, very modern and clean.

2010 is filling up quickly, so if you are interested in booking a week let me know as soon as possible so that we can get you the week you want. Enjoy the fall! :0)

Custom style and fun monograms

Hope you're enjoying the beautiful fall weather! The first two shots were a custom style done for Jaime. She has very modern invitations and wanted something to match. She emailed me a sample of a style she was interested in, and this is what I came up with in the end, using a bronze metallic ink to match her return address. (Is bronze the new color of the season??) It was a fun style to work in. The monograms were done on Amanda's programs (her envelopes are pictured a few posts down...) Simple, clean, and very pretty!

Fun colorwork!

The first shot here was for Ahmad and Erika - the invitations were done by http://www.plumblossompress.com/ and while I don't have pictures of the invites themselves, I have seen them and they are GORGEOUS! The leaves and the liner were a shimmery copper so I matched the ink color and used fine flourished script, alternate caps. I can't wait to see the placecards - I have a feeling they are going to be fantastic! Lauren's save the dates were a beautiful dusty pink so we matched that ink color and used a combination of two lettering styles: Fine flourished, alt caps for the names and uneven caps for the address. I love the effect of the two styles together!!

Busy month!

Blogger doesn't want to let me post all of my pictures at once, so I'll break it up into two posts. Here are some shots of my first international job! Booked by Julie from Hong Kong and done in wispy lettering, black ink. Plus another sneak peak at what my dining room looks like on any given day... :0)

Cathleen's placecard

Thanks Cathleen! I asked, and I received! What great shots of the placecards, and such a pretty presentation. (Alt caps lettering, gold ink...) She got a beautiful picture of the Bride and Groom signs as well, but she has to wait for the cd on that one. Thanks for sending this along, Cathleen, and congratulations again!! :0)

Some new colors as we roll into a new season.

Busy weeks have meant fewer pictures and fewer posts, but here are just a taste of what
I've been up to. Gold is a hot trend recently, in lots of different forms. The first pic were Amy's gold Stardream envelopes with wispy pink lettering. The last four pictures were for Gabrielle - I did her table cards and also some pomegranate facts (her wedding theme) for her to display at the tables. We used flourished script, alt caps in grey ink. I've also done some placecards on white eyelet punched cards and gold lettering that were really beautiful, but bad blogger that I am forgot to take any pictures before returning them. (So Cathleen - if you get any professional shots, please send them along and I will add them!!) Enjoy the cooling weather, and happy planning!

Home from vacation - and back to work!!

It was a wonderful week on the lake - thank you to those of you who put up with me communicating via Blackberry during that time! I'm doing the best I can to get back into the swing of things, and I'll try to have some new pictures of my work to post soon. If you have any professional placecard shots (or shots of any signage or pieces I've done for you) don't forget to send them along!!

We're on vacation!!

So excited to enjoy a quiet week on the lake with my family. I'll be home on the 23rd. Have a great week everyone, and send beach weather in my direction!! :0)

The navy blue trend continues!

I have seen lots of color trends come and go over the years, but this summer the navy just will not quit. The first is a Doughnut Menu done for Tera in fine script, white ink (YUM!) and the second are Amanda's envelopes - also in white ink, wispy lettering. I actually have had more examples of navy that I haven't even photographed. Wonder what THE color will be going into the fall?

Summer fun!

Even though the kids are home for the summer and we've been spending days at the beach or tie-dyeing tshirts, there's still plenty of writing to do! The first shot is of Betty's envelopes. Classic fine script in black ink made more fun by the pink inner envelopes! Can't wait to know what Mickey sends back. :0)

The second shot shows some custom spot work I did for Jessica which was then letterpressed into her invitations and envelopes by Ceci New York: http://www.cecinewyork.com/readytoorder.php?subsection=whitelabel&subcollection=classic&design=sophia. They came out beautifully, and I was so excited to see my own writing in letterpress!

The third shot shows some menu/placecards done for Dare in fine script, gold ink. Unfortunately I forgot to take a picture of the seashell escort cards I also wrote (which were really cool) - hopefully she can pass one along after the ceremony! (Hint, hint...)

Lastly, I have one of Nicki's gorgeous placecards (Crane's, purchased at Lion in the Sun, and done in wispy lettering, brown ink...). My poor photography skills do not do justice to the delicate blue flowers - SO pretty!

I hope everyone is having a wonderful summer! The next weeks I have available for booking are September 27 - October 3, or October 11-17, and keep in mind I will be away on vacation from August 16-22. The wait list for 2010 bookings is also in full swing so if you are interested please let me know. Thanks, and happy planning!

Red white and blue - in honor of the Fourth!

So the first picture includes Meghan's gorgeous placecards (designed by http://www.bellafigura.com/ along with her fabulous invitations...) and while they may actually be lavender (shhh....) I cheated and paired them with the red fabric for the spirit of the photo - click to enlarge. (Fine script lettering in black ink...). The second photo is for Christine - fine flourished script, alternate caps in burgundy ink to match her invitations (and the lovely hydrangeas growing in my backyard!!). A safe and happy Fourth of July to everyone!

So it looks like I'll be needing a new camera! (Plus a few updates...)

And until then I will do the best I can to try to post pictures whenever I can. For example, these:

Posted by blogger Adrienne of http://www.bespokeaffairs.com/. She's a former client of mine who has moved on to event planning, and if her own wedding is even the smallest indication, I predict she will be a smashing success! (The first photo is from her own wedding, the others from events she has planned...)

**Taupe ink, and either navy ink or navy envelopes are definitely the color trends for this season! I've seen more of both colors in the last month than I can ever remember seeing before. I've yet to do taupe ink ON a navy envelope - but I bet it would be gorgeous!

**A few quick notes - I will be away for the weekend of July 10, 11, 12 and also for the week of August 16-22. If you'll be needing placecards around that time I am sure I will contact you to make sure we can work your schedule around those dates. Also, the next week I currently have available for booking envelopes is September 27 - October 3, and the wait list for 2010 is already underway. Happy planning!

Assorted pictures, and random thoughts. (And more invitations for Barack Obama!)

Hello! It's been another busy week, but with the school year finally drawing to a close I will not be running back and forth to help out at all of the end of year activities, and I might catch a bit of a break! In the last post I commented on what my 'desk' (AKA my dining room table) might look like while buried in envelopes:

There are two 'cleaned up' versions (and by that I mean there are no boxes hanging off the end waiting to be picked up or shipped across the country....). I just finished the blue set for Edwina, and as always I do love the light ink on dark paper. Here is a close up sample (hello Mr. President!) that highlights the fine flourished script, alternate caps. (Also note my great grandmothers beautiful china!!)

And while I was posting photos, I thought I would include two placecard samples I made recently. The first is just such a GORGEOUS card! The second shows the dark green ink from the invitation in two different lettering styles.

Have a great week, and happy planning!

Busy, busy week!

So sorry for the lack of new pictures this week, but I have just been writing non stop! Where in a 'normal' week I might do 400-500 envelopes plus placecards, this week I have done over a thousand (plus placecards). Whew! I should have taken pictures of the envelopes strewn all over my dining room as they dried - now that would have been a sight!

Just a reminder to all of the brides whose weddings have already taken place - if your photographers have captured any great shots of placecards, signs, envelopes, or any other work I've done for you, please forward them along and I'll add them to the blog. Oh, and congratulations! :0)

Nicole's envelopes

For Nicole we used the fine flourished script - alternate caps. (What a mouthful! I've been meaning to change that name to something simpler for quite a while. Any suggestions??) It's probably the most popular style I use, and for Nicole we matched the taupe ink on her return address.

Teresa's envelopes!

Teresa decided to go with white ink on black paper, which is such a fun color combination to work in! The contrast is so clean between the colors, and it is so crisp and fresh looking! (The lettering style is the original fine flourished script...)

Custom style for Victoria

Victoria was looking for something special for her envelopes so she asked if I could recreate a style she loved. This is what we came up with - so pretty and unique! We used a shimmery taupe ink to match her invitation suite.

Chocolate brown - a very popular choice!

Brown is the most popular color I use next to black, and it's easy to see why. Here is an example of the fine chancery lettering style in the brown ink as done for Rina:




(I tried to wait until the sun came back out so I could take the photos in a more flattering natural light, but it seems the sun has disappeared for the time being....)

Classic and elegant

Sparkly, metallic gold ink done in fine script lettering on William Arthur envelopes for Dare. Timeless and beautiful!

Beautiful color combination!

I recently completed these envelopes for Erin in the wispy style. The blue and green compliment each other so nicely! Envelopes designed by http://www.papermoss.com/.

Some delicious placecard photos

There are so many fabulous placecard ideas out there! Here are just a few professional photos of cards I've done that have been sent to me over the years...

(This photo appeared in the Summer 2007 issue of Inside Weddings magazine, http://insideweddings.com/real-weddings/241/night-at-the-museum/slide-show.)