Rustic Yet Pretty Camping Theme Wedding Photo Shoot: Orange County Invitations

I am a huge fan of Jesi Haack Weddings. I love everything she creates, and I mean really creates as in crafts with her own hands, which I can sincerely appreciate. For this design challenge photo shoot, she created the concept of a couple that loves camping, but still wants a pretty wedding. After processing her idea I got to my own creating with the paper goods. It all started with the hiking trail invitation, a theme that's carried throughout the stationery. The menus were paper sleeping bags complete with flannel lining. Jesi created a 'smore station for each guest, so the place card is a skewer with plaid flannel and the guest's name.

I had so much fun creating these pieces and it was such an honor to work with such a talented group of creatives. Thank you so much to Gabriel and Carly Ryan for the beautiful pictures.

The team:

Design/Concept: Jesi Haack

Photography: Gabriel Ryan Photography

Floral Design: JL Designs

Cake: My Sweet and Saucy

Stationery: Yours Truly...Paper and Thread Studio

Bridal Shower Thank You Cards: Orange County Stationery

These sweet folded note cards were created as part of a gift for my best friend's bridal shower. The concept for the wedding is a garden full of cheerful yellow flowers.

Hawaiian Wedding Reception Stationery

While working on these day-of stationery pieces to coordinate with the invitation suite we created, I couldn't help but imagine what a beautiful wedding this will be. I can't wait to see the professional pictures. Kauai is already so beautiful, and I'm sure the Princeville Resort is equally as exquisite, and it just happens to be taking place on my birthday. We were lucky enough to contribute a few little pieces to that beauty: menus, hanging programs, escort cards, favor donation tags, and table numbers. Perhaps the most important are the escort cards, which not only show guests where they're seated, but each guest's meal choice is identified with a different symbol. The palm leaf signified a vegetarian dish, a flower for chicken, and a fish for fish of course. This is a budget friendly idea when doing a seated plate because it eliminates the need for place cards, while still serving a purpose to the wait staff.

Thanks again Jessica, and congratulations to you and your growing family.

Tree Horoscope Accordion Programs

This sweet bride was the guest at one of my previous client's weddings and fell in love with the programs. So much in love, that we started working on them a good nine months before the wedding. I love brides who plan early.

The traditional accordion folded programs are enhanced with a stitched paper pocket that hold a foldout tree horoscope. Your guests look up their birthday and corresponding tree and it gives them their supposed personality traits. The original bride who used these found it on Martha Stewart weddings, but we were able to modify the design to fit with all the other program wording.

In case you were wondering, I'm a hornbeam tree, which has the qualities "good taste, not egotistical, looks for kindness and acknowledgement, makes life as comfortable as possible, and mistrusts most people."

Nautical "Wedding" for the Style Lab

It's no secret that I love everything that the Wedding Chicks do. Add in some Chenin Boutwell and Amanda Auer with In the Now Weddings, and it gets even more amazing. Chenin and Amy and Jocey (the wedding chicks themselves) put on a photography workshop a couple of times a year. The photographers in attendance were then able to put their skills to work with a mock wedding that was styled by In the Now Weddings. The concept was Nantucket Nautical and Amanda and all the talented vendors hit it on the head with the design. Rope topiaries, could you ask for more?

We designed the fabric folio invitation, which uses rope to hold the enclosure cards and a modern navy fabric as the cover and invitation backer. The knot was a motif we wanted to keep consistent, so it was used on the invitation, the favor tags, and the menu. We also created branding for the couple, which Amanda cleverly transferred to the coffee sleeves, which serve as additional guest favors. The signs were based on the "Keep Calm and Carry On" British propaganda posters, which I just happen to have taped to my monitor at all times.

For the full post and list of participating vendors, please click here

I'll just let the pictures speak for themselves, but it was such an honor to be included in this project and to have the one and only Chenin Boutwell photograph my work.

Stitched Love Notes on Style Me Pretty

When the ever-adorable Katie Neal asked me to be a part of a "day-after" photography session for her dear friend, I was of course honored and excited to get to work. The couple have actually been married for several years, but weren't happy with their wedding portraits, so Katie decided to remedy that.

Since there wasn't a tablescape, we had to be a bit creative with our use of paper. I created these simple and sweet stitched love notes and tags that the couple opened and read during the shoot. As I often say, inspiration often comes when I'm at the fabric store. I saw these vintage-inspired hankies and knew I had to use them somehow, so they are the backs of the tags and fit the color palette of navy, purple and light pink perfectly.

And aren't the flowers amazing. So simple, yet I could never do it. Leigh Anne of The Floral Lab rocked it yet again with her floral design talent.

Click here to see the rest of the post over on Style Me Pretty.

Vineyard Day of Stationery

I'm not going to lie, it's a little sad sending these on their way to my sweet bride in Delaware. It's been such a pleasure working with her and I just love the entire suite that we were able to create for her winery wedding.

We used swirling shades of a purple vine throughout the invitations, table numbers, programs, and escort cards to create a romantic vibe without going cliche vineyard theme. The programs have a unique touch; instead of a simple card or booklet, they are housed in a stitched purple pocket.

Cheers to Samira and Jimi!

Custom Save the Dates

This adorable couple came to our consultation each bearing their own drawings of how they envisioned their save the dates. He was clean lines and modern and she wanted a bit of whimsy and a vintage feel. The end result is a playful mix of fonts aligned to create crisp edges and of course their sweet picture.

A Great Cause and A Great Deal

Are you considering custom invitations from Paper and Thread Studio? If so, and you'd like to get a great deal and have 100% of that money go towards a local woman in need, head on over to REVOweddings. This organization was started by a few San Diego wedding vendors who got together to help one of their own who is battling cancer. This is a matter dear to my own heart and family, so I jumped at the chance to donate my services. Up for bid is a custom wedding invitation suite, which includes 100 sets of invitations, response cards and envelopes. The value is placed at $600 and the opening bid is only $200. There aren't any bids so far, and I'm really looking forward to working with the winning bidder. (Note: The listing says 50 invitations, but it should read 100.)

Garden Bridal Shower Invitations

This bridal shower is being held at a stunning estate in Orange County. The hostesses wanted the invitation to reflect that elegance, while still feeling bright and summery, and of course coordinating with the future wedding design details.

Elegant Hawaiian Affair Invitations

For this custom wedding suite, the bride wanted an elegant yet casual feel to her invitations for her wedding on the island of Kauai. The end result of our collaboration was a swirling orchid motif in shades of blush pink and chocolate brown. The invitation and enclosure cards are housed in a dark brown linen pocketfold, which stays closed with a stitched belly band and custom monogram. The envelopes are all hand lined with a coordinating design printed on shimmer paper and each guests address is printed in the same font as the script on the invitation, and they are finished off with custom stamps designed to match her wedding suite.

Pinch Me, I'm on Style Me Pretty

This morning I woke up to the news that a photo shoot I worked on with Summer of Grey Likes Weddings was featured on Style Me Pretty. To even say those words is beyond amazing to me. I've admired so many of the stationers whose pieces are on this inspirational website, and to be among them, well, let's just say I teared up a little this morning.

It was such an honor to work with the visionary stylist, Summer Watkins. She sent interior design inspiration images and just trusted me to do something fun with the paper. We then came together on the day of the shoot and it was truly amazing to see her vision come to life. The florals from The Vines Leaf were stunning. Then when I saw the pictures from T&H Photography, I was even more impressed. Please click here to see the rest of the post.

The Process

I'm picky. I'm a picky eater and drinker. My coffee has to be hot, so I spend the better part of my morning in front of the microwave reheating it. I order tacos without lettuce and cheeseburgers just the meat, cheese, and bun. I'm also picky in the sense that I like to pick things, and I sometimes get carried away in the calmness that comes from these repetitive actions. Next time you're stressed, try picking weeds :)

This translates to my stationery pieces when I have to apply adhesive to 4 sides of 300 pages and perfectly place each one of its mounting, and I still find myself enjoying what I'm doing. I thought it would be fun to share the behind the scenes process of an average-sized order. These save the date luggage tags are for the grand opening celebration of an airport in Florida.


1) Print and cut all pieces.

2) Adhere the fronts and backs of each tag. Each card is then trimmed and the top corners are cut.

3) Measure center, punch holes, insert and set grommet.

4) Cut suede cording to size and thread through each grommet.

5) Final product with all its subtle picky details :)

DIY Table Numbers

If you haven't checked out The Wedding Chicks, where have you been? But seriously, these table numbers were actually originally used for my good friend's wedding. I created some new ones with one of the chicks, Amy. You can check out the full DIY here. This is the start of a little "fabric in unexpected ways" DIY series. Keep your eye out for more fun DIY projects and start your own hunt for that perfect fabric. I always find the best fabric in quilting stores, plus it's a way to support your local brick and mortar businesses.