pretty in paper

mindy and tommy - invitations

2011-03-12T18:43:00.000-08:00

Last year I had the pleasure of designing invitations for a Mindy, a lovely lady who I went to high school with. When Mindy contacted me, she sent me a photo of an Amy Atlas candy buffet as inspiration. She wanted her invitations to reflect the bright and cheery feeling seen in the candy buffet. I had such a blast designing these.

How fun are all of these photos from Mindy and Tommy's wedding? Mindy's attention to detail was great, so many personal (and diy) touches!

All photos were taken by Bre Thurston Photography. More photos of Mindy and Tommy's wedding can be found here.

chandeliers and silk invitiations

2010-09-30T19:08:00.000-07:00

Last year at the PWG bridal show I met Kallie, who was in search of silk invitation boxes. Let me tell you, these puppies are not easy to get a hold of! We ended up having 10 of them shipped from overseas, but I think they turned out gorgeous. The work isn't mine, I just helped Kallie get the boxes.

For my own wedding (in June 2008), we purchased several crystal teardrops, icicles, and crystal roping. We used them in centerpieces as well as on the amazing cake display.

I now rent the crystals to brides for their weddings (as well as silver chargers and the gazebo from our cake display). Being the creative lady Kallie is, she used the crystals to create faux chandeliers at her ceremony site. She wasn't interested in have ceiling fans in her wedding, so they removed the blades and created something much more eye catching.

Here are a few more shots from her June wedding taken by Tommy Peterson.

Is that little boy not adorable?

Congrats Kallie!

madison and jeremy - invitations

2010-08-10T09:44:00.001-07:00

Madison and Jeremy were looking for invitations that were romantic and whimsical, and Madison wanted them to have contrast. They were also incorporating a 'love' them throughout their wedding. I think everything came together wonderfully!

Madison and Jeremy were so fun and easy to work with. They wanted invitations that were unique, but that didn't break the bank. The custom designed invitations were mailed out with a white inner and outer envelope. On the outer envelope we printed the mailing addresses in fonts that matched those on the invitations.

The wedding photos were taken by Beau Vaughn Photography. Congrats guys!

Christin and Keith: invitations and more

2010-06-03T12:27:00.000-07:00

Last year (I know I'm a little behind...) I had the pleasure of designing wedding stationery for my good friend Christin. She wanted something fun and bright, but not over the top. I really love what we came up with. I didn't have any photos of her invites, so I've included some screen shots of the design. They came in a hot pink pocket folder.

Christin and Keith are such a fun and exciting couple, they are currently finishing up a year teaching in China! I'm so lucky to have been a part of their wedding day. Here are some photos from their fabulous day, taken by Don Brent Photography.

Christin had me design a poster that featured the evening itinerary. I thought it was a great way to let guests know the plan for the evening, as well as continuing the design elements and colors throughout her wedding.

I'm so happy for these two, and can't wait for them to return to the states in just a couple weeks!

Charlie & Rob: Invitations and More

2010-01-28T18:34:00.001-08:00

For Charlie and Rob's invitations we went with something simple and elegant. A little black, a little gold, some pattern and texture... the key was carrying the elements throughout her stationery. It was fun to create everything from invitations and programs to table tent cards and favor tags for the couple.

Here are some wonderful photographs by the amazing Anne Pendleton Photography. Charlie is absolutely gorgeous, is she not?

And please excuse the following photographs. These are obviously not Annie's. I didn't receive any photos of the actual invitations or thank you cards, so here are some horrible snapshots from yours truly.

Pam and Keith: Save the Dates

2010-01-19T05:11:00.000-08:00

Pam came to me looking for stationery that is a little bit traditional, mixed with a little bit of fun. She also mentioned that she was interested in a damask pattern. Here are a couple of the save the date options I came up with:

Pam and Keith decided to use the second option for their postcards. I can't wait to get started on the invitations!

Emily & Josh: Invitations and Programs

2009-12-14T18:33:00.000-08:00

Yes, it has taken me forever to post some pictures of these invitations. But hey, better late than never right?

These are the invitations and programs that I created for my good friend Emily. She was looking for something that had a slightly (ever so slightly :o) traditional look, with a bit of a modern and natural feel.

And here are some beautiful images from the wedding, taken by Colleen Eide Photography.

After the reception the wedding party headed out to go bowling! I absolutely love this picture of Emily. Doesn't she look adorable?

Thank you Emily and Josh, for letting me be a part of your big day!

party invites

2009-12-13T06:15:00.001-08:00

When my lovely friend Christin got married this summer, I had the pleasure of not only designing her wedding invitations, but also some bridal shower and bachelorette party invitations as well! Here are the final products:

holiday invites

2009-12-13T06:08:00.001-08:00

This holiday season I had the pleasure of doing some work for my mom. :o) Here is the invite I created for her holiday open house (aka my dad's birthday party).

Obviously the address is a fake, as well as the phone number, so please don't think you're going to be crashing my parents party. I think they turned out pretty cute!

upcoming bridal show

2009-10-10T11:41:00.000-07:00

In just a few weeks (November 1st to be exact) I will be manning a booth at the Perfect Wedding Guide Bridal Show. A bridal show is a great opportunity to access various vendors in one location at one time.

Pre-register for the Bridal Show here to receive $4 off the price of admission. All brides that schedule a consultation with Something You Design during the show will receive a coupon for $15 off their invitation design fee!

November 1st, 10 am to 5 pm, Overland Park Convention Center. Be there!

the consultation

2009-10-04T06:59:00.000-07:00

You may wonder what happens at an invitation consultation. Here is a look at how a consultation goes with Something You Design.

Generally I hold consultations at my home. I work from home, so meeting there allows me to have anything and everything I might want or need to show you on hand. If you are uncomfortable meeting at my house I can always meet you at a Panera or something of the sort.

When scheduling the consultation I will ask a few questions... your wedding date, how many invitations you think you might need, if you have a budget in mind for invites, and if there is anything in particular you are looking for. This allows me to have a design and print estimate on hand for you, as well as locate anything special you are looking for.

Do you need to have an idea of exatly what you want? Absolutely not. I have several ideas and solutions to invitations to share, and after talking with you, we will come up with something that works for you and your wedding. When you come to my home I will have all of my invitation samples, and some product samples available for you to browse through and ask questions about.

Is there any payment necessary at the consultation? Nope! Should you decide during the consultation that you would like to book me as your invitation designer you can pay your design fee deposit. However you can also go home, talk with your family, and get in touch with me at a later date for booking.

During the consultation generally I will write down things you are interested in, as well as things about your wedding. Colors, venue, preferred style, things that you absoutely do not want to see. The more information I get the more personal the invitations will be.

That is just a quick overview. If you are interested in seeing my work please call or e-mail me to schedule a consultation!

Charlie and Rob: Save the Dates

2009-09-03T05:53:00.000-07:00

Here is a peek at some of the stuff I've been working on for Charlie and Rob lately. (Well I hope Rob likes it, I haven't had the chance to meet him!)

Charlie came to me wanting stationery that was simple and elegant, with the tiniest bit of flair. For the save-the-dates I created a post card. The front featured a picture of the beautiful couple and the most important bit of information. The who and the when. The back featured the wedding website and other information. Here are two of the options I presented to Charlie:

The engagement photo was taken by Anne Pendleton Photography. We are currently in the process of printing their invitations. I can't wait to show you the final product!

emboss away

2009-07-27T19:05:00.000-07:00

Interested in adding subtle touch of class to your wedding stationery? An embosser might be just the thing you need. Not sure what an embosser is? Many hand embossers resemble the one below. (There are some really expensive, er... snazzy ones that are self powered, but what is the fun in that?)

You place a piece of paper between the two discs, squeeze with all of your might, and end up with results similar to this:

The above photo is my own wedding program. My lovely husband embossed all 325 of our programs. We opted to go with a simply beautiful 'J', but a custom monogram can be designed for the embosser.

With a custom designed embosser, the possibilities are endless.

back to business

2009-07-19T11:40:00.001-07:00

Obviously my blog posts have been lacking, but nonetheless I'm back in action.

I am proud to say that I have recently become a member of The Bliss List. Earlier this year Jenny, the creator of The Bliss List, invited me to join her list of amazing vendors. "The Bliss List is a guide to the area's most qualified, creative, amazing and diverse vendors in the KC wedding industry."

At the time I wasn't quite ready, but with my samples photographed, and my desire to create more invitations growing, we got my page put together.

Make sure to head over to the The Bliss List to check me out, along with the other talented vendors Jenny has selected.

choosing your wedding colors

2009-04-26T15:21:00.000-07:00

One of the most difficult things for me while planning my own wedding, was deciding on the colors. I agonized over whether to use colors that were trendy, that I loved, or use something that seemed more traditional and timeless, that I liked, but wasn't yet in love with. In the end I ended up with a color scheme that included mainly silver, coral (not peach!!) and ivory, with touches of pink and green. I kept other elements in the wedding more timeless, so that the colors could add some fun to the day.

Of course after my wedding I have discovered some wonderful resources for color palette ideas. The first of which is the blog written by Abby Larson, Style Me Pretty. Her 'wedding resources' tab houses some amazing inspiration bits that can get any bride's mind buzzing. Another great place for color palette inspiration is The Perfect Palette. The best part? You can e-mail her some colors you are interested in and the mood you would like your wedding to convey, and she will create a custom inspiration board just for you!

Happy wedding planning!

happy hump day!

2009-04-15T05:38:00.000-07:00

It may be Wednesday, but that means we are halfway to Friday! I just can't get enough of the weekends. In my opinion, a four day work week should be instituted, it would make everyone much happier. Anyway...

I thought I'd post a few more pictures of my design samples. Enjoy!

little details, big impact

2009-04-12T12:47:00.000-07:00

Looking back at my own invitations, there is one thing I really wish I would have done. Custom stamps. Now don't get me wrong, the stamp does not make or break an invitation, but custom stamps add that extra little piece of flair that ties into the invitation design.

A custom stamp could feature a photo, or an element from your custom designed invitations. You're going to need postage anyway, so why not make it look great as well? If you're interested in a custom stamp design don't hesitate to ask!

a long overdue post

2009-04-02T05:47:00.000-07:00

So I turned out to be a blogging failure. But one of my goals this year is to change that. I went 3 full months with out starting on that goal, but hey. At least I'm actually going to start!

I've been pretty busy the past couple of weeks getting together invitations for my friend Emily. I'll post photos after we get them all put together tonight!

I do have photos to share of some of my samples that have been put together. Eventually they will make it to the website, but for now they can hang out on the blog. Here are a few of my favorites:

i have a blog...

2008-11-25T19:20:00.000-08:00

I never thought the day would come when I would actually have my very own blog, but here I am letting my mind leak out on the net. A bit strange :-).

The basis of this blog is to allow me a place to showcase the things I create for my newly started business, Something You Design. Lets face it, updating a full on formal site on a regular basis would be way too time consuming. So I'm going to give this blog thing a shot.

Hope you enjoy!