Invitation Suites ~ Pendergrast

This is an invitation suite I created for the most precious bride last year.  Even though the couple attended the same university, they did not meet until much later, when they studied abroad in Sicily. It was not until after we already decided to do an illustration of sweet peas on the invitation that we found sweet peas are native to Sicily ~ serendipity!

The suite is also engraved on Italian paper - making it more meaningful to the couple.

The bride asked me to have the invitations engraved in an ink that coordinated with the swatch of her bridesmaid's dresses and to paint the sweet peas the color of this small piece of ribbon she sent to me. I don't think I could have gotten any closer!

She also wanted the watercolor to shimmer, reflecting the envelope liner, so I hand-painted the sweet peas on each invitation and reply card.

More on this beautiful wedding in my featured wedding this weekend.

~~~

Sneak Peek: Emily & John

Emily is truly one of the sweetest brides I have ever meet. Working with her and her mother was the most wonderful experience.  Clients like this make me love what I do even more!

Here is a "sneak peek" at this adorable couple in their engagement photo shoot. 

Check back this weekend for the wedding of this cute pair...

 ...and more of their invitation suite.

 

photography ~ Abigail Seymour



Martha Stewart Weddings Spring 2011 ~ Written By Hand

I am absolutely thrilled to be a part of this featured story,

Written by Hand, in the Spring 2011 issue of

Martha Stewart Weddings.

My work was featured, along with some of my favorite calligraphers - both friends and teachers, in an article on the many ways to incorporate hand-lettering into everything from your stationery and vows to the favors and food at your reception.

I was also asked to pen the title of the opening page (above) to the main stories in the magazine.

The 8-page article is a must see/read for anyone planning a wedding or an event.

It is a really beautiful article and I am so honored to be among such spectacular company!

photos Martha Stewart Weddings



For now ~ D is for Daffodil

Because sometimes real life gets in the way ~

the D in my Alphabet Project will be Delinquent until

later next week.

I had several rush orders to get out,

thus the D in Delay.

For now, I leave you with D is for Daffodil ~

which are two illustrations I did, as a gift, for a wonderful client

when their little dog Daffodil died, unexpectedly, last year.

(yes, I did my typical 'two takes' on it,

using two different papers)

...and actually my daffodils are starting to bloom.

It is beginning to look a lot like Spring!

~~~

~Merry Christmas~

Wishing you all things Merry and Bright

... with a little sparkle too!

***

photo The Ginger Parasol

Invitation Suite ~ A-Z

This is an older invitation suite that is still a favorite and a style that will never be dated.  It incorporates all the rich things I love ~ handmade paper, double-sided velvet ribbon, my favorite colors (green and white), engraving, embossing and some hand-lettering ... although I would have preferred it be all calligraphed.  There are so many fonts that now look very similar to calligraphy and handwriting, but as this client discovered, there are some things a font and computer cannot do - for example, create an intricate monogram.  So I took the first letters of the bride and groom's name to created a monogram and included a custom illustration.  We used this on everything from the save the dates to the programs.  ...and of course, I calligraphed the envelopes to match the font since it is a no-no to address your formal invitations with a computer/font ~ so as I see it, handwriting is never out-of-fashion, but always in style.

~~Have a beautiful week!~~

Something New

This is a sneak peek of something new I may be offering to my clients in the future.  It is my very first "portrait" ~ I say that loosely, as I am still refining.  It is also a sneak peek of her wedding, which I will be posting in the months to come.  This will be a gift to the bride.  She was so precious to work with ~ truly a dream client! and I am most grateful she is allowing me to "practice" on her as I develop my technique (I have another of her in the works). It originally started out that I was going to do a loose sketch of her gown...then I attended a watercolor class on portraits...

When I took my first watercolor portrait class from Janet Rogers a few months ago, I never dreamed how much I would enjoy it.  I painted this bridal portrait, when I returned home, with Janet's encouragement, after showing her some of the sketches I had done of the bride and the gown.  Janet is one of the most amazing and inspiring teachers I have ever had!!  I highly recommend her. I originally signed up for the class because it was florals and portraits, and I was really only interested in the floral portion ...until we got started ~ now I love faces.  I was most afraid to paint the eyes, as there is so much of the personality there, so I started with the eyes looking down on this one, but now I love painting eyes!  My goal is for my next portrait to be a lot looser and livelier.

So, more to come on this later, as well as some exciting classes I have signed up for next year.