Even though my business has moved away from doing custom invitations, I love being able to do a few projects here and there for family and friends.
My dear friend Julia is pregnant with her third baby {the first girl} and I was the invitation-creator for her upcoming shower.
She is one of those friends who makes yummy homemade meals and gives the most thoughtful gifts and so I wanted to reciprocate and make the baby shower invitations special, thoughtful and unique.
She has a love of vintage things, likes sweet but not too girlie, and is definitely not into pink. And she comes from an Italian family {hence the baby amore}.
I think the combination of the cursive font, scalloped edge, linen, vintage lace, trim and stitched top give it the feminine, vintage feel I was hoping for.
The cards are petite and when put in the envelope there was a enough room to be able to stitch them closed.
Did you know you can sew paper?
Simple handmade invitations. And a pretty keepsake for the mommy-to-be.
When I was a little girl, I wanted to be an artist, a talk show host, or a window dresser {you know, those people who create the displays for department store windows}.
Funny thing is, I sort-of pretend to be all of these now that I am a grown up. I record videos of myself for JDC | monthly and even though it is super dorky, I feel a bit like Elisabeth Hasselbeck on a craft segment. I make little displays of products to photograph and pretend to be a stylist. And every once in a while, I pull out my watercolors and indulge the artist dream.
A few weeks ago, I was feeling creative and started painting. These valentines are what came out. I think they are pretty cute.
{sweet love}
{love birds}
{ombre}
{pair} this one is my favorite!
To download these four designs, please subscribe to JDC via email. As a subscriber, you will receive blog posts, occasional extra notes and promotions with discount codes directly to your email inbox. It is sort of convenient. Plus you get free valentines. Sounds like a deal to me!
{please check your email inbox to confirm your address and the link will be sent to you}
If you are already a JDC email subscriber, check your email … the download link is waiting for you!
P.S. If you want additional printable valentines {for you or your kids}I have a great selection in the shop.
Purchase just one file for $2.95 or all nine for $7.95.
My second littlest cousin is getting married this fall. We adore her fiance and can’t wait for their special wedding day.
{aren’t they the most darling couple?! Photos by the talented Stacy Jacobsen}
Jen asked me to create her invitations and I was so pleased to do them for her. She wanted something vintage-y, fun, a little bit formal and the groom wanted to somehow incorporate a ‘tree with roots’ {love you, brett!}. Here is what we came up with:
The package came in a navy envelope with cute wraparound labels.
All of the invitation pieces were bundled with a striped wrap and tied with twine.
The tree with roots turned out really cute with their initials subtly added.
We used envelopes in curry from Paper Source for the rsvp card. I love the pop of color.
The wedding is at a gorgeous farm across the sound from Seattle, so we included a ferry schedule for local travelers.
And a dainty registry card.
I started jones design company 10 years ago doing custom invitations for brides, new babies, parties and holiday cards. As our family has grown and I’ve entered this blogging world, my business has changed and custom design work has taken a back seat.
I get questions every once in a while asking about design projects and it makes me sad to say no. Especially when I don’t have a list of great referrals to offer. I always suggest my friends Rae {www.armommy.com} and Lindsay {www.lindsayletters.com}, but with one just having a baby and another expecting her first, I know they are both limited with how much work they can take on too.
So I thought this might be a good chance to open up the comments to those of you who are stationery designers. If you have a business doing invitations, announcements, or other graphic design please leave a link to your website in the comments. Feel free to leave a little snippet about what you do or services you offer.
If you are looking for custom design work, please check through the comments to see if someone fits your aesthetic. I hope it becomes a great resource.
Do your kids want to send something special to their best buddies?
Introducing a collection of printable valentines perfect for your valentines.
These valentines are printable files – simply download the pdf, print on your favorite card stock and trim along the dotted lines {provided in the file}.
If you don’t have a printer at home or the office, any print shop {kinkos, office depot, etc.} can print the files for you. Each design is 3.5 x 5 and formatted with four cards per page. The file is yours to keep and you are welcome to print as many as you like.
You will need Adobe reader in order to view the full pdf,
which you can download for free {HERE}.
Select your favorite design and purchase by using the ‘buy now’ button under each card.
big heart | $2.95
i love you | $2.95
ampersand | $2.95
loopy | $2.95
brackets | $2.95
scallop dots | $2.95
plaid | $2.95
cherry | $2.95
umbrella | $2.95
Do you * l o v e * more than one? Purchase them all for $7.95
Did you receive anything wonderful for Christmas? Or attend any special parties? Maybe you enjoyed lunch out with a girlfriend or a casual get-together with your neighbors? I do hope so … that is what makes the holidays so much fun.
Have you sent a thank you note yet?
If not, I have just the project for you.
I have created four different printable note cards that you can download and print at home.
You can simply print and cut and use them as they are.
Or you can embellish the cards to give them a bit more personality. I’ll show you four of my favorite options: rounded corners, layered, glittered edges and watercolored.
This one is pretty straight-forward. But I always love the simplicity and modern sensibility of rounded corners on a note card.
You can purchase a corner rounder at most craft stores in the scrapbook section. Mine is from the Creative Memories line and I’ve had it for at least 10 years! You can purchase it {here}.
Another simple way to dress up a plain notecard – give it a layer of color.
First trim off 1/16th inch from each side {so that the finished card size is 3 3/8 x 4 7/8}
Cut your background paper {a solid color cardstock is great, or your favorite scrapbook paper} to 3 1/2 x 5.
Now attach the layers.
I use that crazy tape gun {purchase here}, but I also think Glue Dots {or strips} are pretty ingenious.
Stick on a couple of glue strips, then center on the cardstock and press to adhere.
Stickles is a great product of glitter glue that dries to look like you just glittered the edges {not lumpy like you think glitter glue would dry}. I’m assuming you can get it at most craft stores or you can get it online {here}
Using a scrap piece of paper behind, angle the tip against the edge of the note card, gently squeeze and run a line of glitter all the way down each side.
So pretty.
Pull out your children’s water color set {or you own!} and paint just the edges of the note cards.
Or paint a thin line just a smidge away from the edges.
Four easy ways to make the cards your own.
If you’d like to create your own thank you notes, please purchase the digital file by clicking on the buy now button below. Each card is formatted with four to a page so you can print just your favorite sentiment, or all of them. You’ll need adobe reader to view the pdf which you can download for free {here}
Just in case you are curious:
I have a Canon Pixma ip8500 printer which I think is great. It is a photo quality printer that has 8 ink cartridges and takes heavy paper nicely. I appreciate that. However, it is discontinued. I’m doing a bit of research on other great printer options, but as of now, I don’t have a great suggestion as I haven’t given any other ones a try. I wouldn’t want to make a recommendation without knowing if it is a good one or not.
I can say that if you are hoping to print stationery from home, try to find a printer that will accept heavy paper {up to 120 lb}. I’m guessing that the more ink cartridges the better the color will be, so maybe look for one with multiple colors rather than the basic black, magenta, cyan & yellow {mine takes those plus green, red, photo magenta and photo cyan}.
One more thing:
Paper Source has a really great selection of card stock & envelopes. One of my favorites to print on is this paper:
If you are looking for a super heavy paper, the luxe white comes in 300 gsm as well. You may want to double check that your printer will accept such thick paper, but it is wonderful!
I love all of the colors of their cover weight paper
And if you are in need of envelopes, they have some great ones as well
………
I have many more printable designs that I’m planning to make available for purchase in the next few weeks. It’s a new direction for my business and one that I’m really excited about. When you see the menu item called ‘printables’ please take a peek around!
