FREE ENVELOPE LINER

Here is a little freebie for you this week. A free download for a C6 arrow envelope liner. All you need to do is print, then cut around the pink lines and put a small stripe of gluestick on the envelope under the natural glue line (the bit where you lick). Once this is done place your liner inside the envelope and press down on the glue stripe once you have it in place. 

Click here to download the file

Hope you enjoy it! 

Should you DIY print your invites?

I've got a really quick post for you this week based on the age old question of it's really worth paying extra for printing.


I have just recently added DIY printing options to my template based wedding stationery and as I'm offering both options can see the merit in both. So I've put together a little pro's and cons list for each.


Printed Invites:
Pros:

• You give me the information, I send you a package with everything printed, cut to size and ready for you to pop in an envelope and send out. Easy.
• You know that it is going to be printed on high quality stock at a professional printer … not at office works where you have no choice of paper.

Cons:

• It costs more than the file only option.
• You need to pay for shipping

DIY Print option:
Pros:

• It is a smaller up front investment
• It gives you the option of emailing out your invites.
• Much faster delivery (within a week of ordering).

Cons:

• You either have to print them all at home and cut them to size or find a printer and go through the whole process with them.
• It can be time consuming and stressful if you are already feeling a bit crazy from the other 3025 things you need to get done.

Really there is no right or wrong option, so just keep in mind wether you have the time and patience to take on a DIY print.  Either way is fun

ETSY AUGUST FINDS

A few pics from Etsy for your September inspiration from these talented makers. (links below)

Links:

Image 1 - which goose

Image 2 - Sibo Designs

Image 3 - WA's very own Chloris Couture

Image 4 - Karolin Felix Dream

THE CLASSIC WEDDING PICNIC

I'm knee deep in wedding stationery ideas and sketches getting ready to release for the First Comes Love bridal fair on October 5 here in Perth.

Apart from the warming weather and my desire to spends days lounging under a tree inspiring me, here are a few of the images that have been adding to the Picnic theme ideas.

Links:
Image 1
Image 2
Image 3
Image 4
Image 5 
Image 6

NAUTICAL WEDDINGS & MY HELLO MAY DEBUT

I've been celebrating getting into the most recent Hello May issue with my Nautical pre-made wedding invite set, so I thought I would put together a little collection of nautical wedding ideas to get you inspired for the upcoming spring wedding season.

All you need is ocean based blues, a few ropes, maybe even an anchor and a venue near the water. If you can't help making it truly authentic, how about a hiring a yacht for the day and sailing to a beautiful location with your exclusive guest list? It's like a destination wedding without ever needing to renew your passport.

If you really feel the need, just pull out your best Carlton Banks outfit, a monocle and your good to go.

LINKS:
Image 1
Image 2
Image 3
Image 4
Image 5
Image 6

AUSSIE ETSY WEDDING FINDS

While browsing the Etsy archives I found a few Australian wedding supplier that I just couldn't help but share.

From the top left with links:

Bespoke wedding tea: A range of beautiful loose leaf tea for delicious wedding favors right from Australian Tea Masters in Geelong. Just imagine how good your guest tables would smell!

Jewel soap favors: I've used these Vice and Velvet soaps before and they smell almost as amazing as they look. Plus they come in cute little personalized boxes for your wedding.

Gold glitter heart garlands: Subtle but whats a special occasion without glitter? A meeting. Check out the rest of 10 Paper Lanes goodies.

Beaded cap sleeve wedding dress: Super cute dresses (especially this one) from GraceLovesLace in Brisbane.

If you want to browse more of my Etsy finds you can check out my Etsy wedding page HERE 

The man friendly wedding

For some women a wedding is all pink frills & cotton candy clouds in a feminine extravaganza. For others the thought of their future groom running for the hills at the sight of a "traditional" wedding is enough to make them start looking at other options. 

If you are after a man safe wedding below are a few basic tips so that you don't end up with a muscle car and hulk themed kegger.

• Stick with neutral colors. Nature has been speaking to the inner caveman for years, so embrace all the foresty (yeah it's an invented word) colours that nature has provided and go to town.
• The average 'bloke' doesn't want to eat rhubarb foam on twice smoked organic tempeh. Look at mini versions of classics meals like mini burgers and fries, fish and chips & lamb shanks then fancy them up with classic packaging that pokes some fun at the simplicity.
• Give them something to do with fun events planned during the reception. Nothing brings a group of people together better than some good ol fashioned welly wanging (or gumboot tossing for all those non New Zealanders) 
• For your wedding invites you don't need to have an abundance of calligraphy. Take the chance to come up with something original that will set the mood for the rest of the wedding & give your guests a hint at how much fun your big day will be. This can then be incorporated with quirky signage and packaging at the reception and ceremony bringing everything together and giving people something special to take home.
• Don't release butterflies to a Celine Dion song. Nuff said don't you think?

Image links:

One

Two

Three

Four

Five

Six

The pinterest problem and how it can effect your wedding photos

This a simple mistake that might stop your wedding photos being picked up by wedding blogs and magazines. It’s about that awful word.... plagiarism.... ever since the humble pinterest board has weaved it’s addictive self into the hearts of many brides there has been a massive rise in direct copying of wedding stationery.

You know how it is, you stumble upon the most amazing stationery that mankind has ever seen and you just know it would go so well with your taffeta llama farm theme. So you download the picture, gaze longingly at it for 72 hours imagining how your cousin will be so jealous when she opens the envelope before eventually picking a designer who can replicate this beautiful piece of work just for you. There is just one small problem... you aren’t actually allowed to do that.

As a designer it’s a big no-no to copy other peoples work, it’s a rotten thing to do (kind of like stealing a big boned kids cake) and it’s actually somewhat illegal and you don’t want to be involved in something like that do you? No... thats what I thought. It also means that it takes the styling of your wedding from being original to copied and if you saw it on the internet it means that the bridal blog you were going to submit your super amazing photos too has as well.

So if you find something you love, show your designer but make sure you know what the elements about the design you like are and then you can come up with a brand new design together that isn't ripping off someone elses work. So go forth and find a theme that is all you.

The winter wedding

I know a lot of my readers are brides from Perth and the majority of those brides will probably be waiting for the sunshine and heat to return before they say I do. But for those of you who are so desperately in love that you can't wait that long and are planning on getting married during the cooler months here are a few images for your inspiration via Pinterest.

Remember that winter is the perfect time to bring out the big guns when it comes to stationery. Think thick lush paper, deep warm colors mixed with crisp whites and ice like intricate details.

Contact me by clicking HERE to set up an appointment for your very own wedding stationery.

Images are not my own but you can find them all here:

one

two 

three  - SIBO designs Etsy

four 

five 

six

INTO THE WOODS - WEDDING THEME INSPIRATION

A few ideas via Pinterest for ways to tie a camping / forest theme together with your stationery designs.
All you need to pull of the forest theme is plenty of textured fabrics and papers in neutral colours. Add in wild flowers and berries, a few feathers and an abundance of green with natural lighting and you've just become you're photographers dream.
With this theme, rough is better so it's a great chance to have a relaxed style with high impact.

Images links via pinterest:
One
Two
Three - my own work
Four
Five - my own photography
Six

5 tips to make your wedding banner uniquely you

One of my favorite items of wedding stationery to work on is custom banners. I LOVE when a bride (or groom) comes to me with an idea for some lettering work to add to their wedding styling. It has such a personal touch and usually accompanies a couple with bold ideas and big stories.

If you've been pouring over the 3.75million inspirational wedding images out there and are thinking about adding in a banner to your styling but just don't know how or where to begin, here are a few ideas on what direction to take.

1. The ceremony paper roll backdrop. Perfect for a poem, story, bible verse, your vows or family & friends names that couldn't be there. It sits as a backdrop and gives you a great central point for photos.

2. The black board. This is often used for seating charts and menus but it's also a great way to have a 'statement' piece with quotes and your wedding dates when used as photo backdrop.

3. The bunting strings. It's been done a lot but who can turn their nose up at some fun colored bunting with names and dates mixed in with the patterns & colours.

4. 3D Names. So much fun to make and play with, this is a really great prop for styling having string letters, giant weaved letters in between trees, wood and of course good ol'fashioned card board. It's best to keep the words simple but it has high impact.

5. The traditional banner. This works great for either ceremony or reception, it gives you a center piece and you can use it for anything from your names and dates to love quotes.

There is no limit to what you can do, it's your day so you're the boss!

If you want to find out more about the lettering & banner options I offer, get in touch or leave a comment below.

Pics : 1   /   2  /   3

April - What I've been working on

I think April may have been the fastest month in history. I thought I would give a quick recap of what I've been working on recently.

•  Greeting cards, I've been sending out so many of these that  I jammed up the post box one day.
• Wedding invites, I've had some great clients that really wanted to go above and beyond in April. I've been playing with foiling, white inks on black paper, die cuts... you name it. It's been a great month for weddings. 
• Branding, in the next month or so when this is all complete I'll have an awesome display of a rebrand for a jewelry company. It's so much fun working on this project! 
• Bkind lip balm, new packaging for a new product. This stuff is amazing and all natural. Click HERE and buy some!
• Type illustrations, I've had my share of signage, tshirts and displays for both hand and regular ol' type concoctions in April.
• Life drawing - so much life drawing. I've been so out of practice but hopefully my images won't look like the elephant man soon.

So it was a really busy month but so much fun. So to all my fabulous clients, keep all the great ideas rolling in, it's been a great month! 

Behind the scenes: Tools of my trade

I took this snapshot of my desk for an honest look at what I use in my day to day design process. 

From my mac and wacom to my cow bone folder and ink pens, nothing would get done without this stuff... my desk would also be a whole lot clearer too...

My whole process is based around sketching everything. First in thumbnails then more detailed drawings, this is all before I ever even touch the computer. Computers can be a massive idea suck-hole, where too many fandangled filters and other peoples work examples are available to stop creative juices from developing. In the words of one of my uni instructors "you can't polish a poo". So make sure the idea is worth spending the time on before you commit.

How to talk the talk when working with printers

Last week I gave you the reasons why it’s worth the extra moolah to go to the high grade printers. Now I’ll give you some easy tips for making sure you get what you want when work with your printer. By explaining some of the techy terms that can send people cross eyed, you'll know the terms to use to get what you want so you don't end up with something unexpected.

Offset: Perfect for high volume printing and large sizes. It involves ‘plates’ of your image being made and inked before the image is transferred ( "offset") from a plate to a rubber blanket, then on to the paper. This is when you need to know your pantone colours.

Digital: CMYK printing through a machine, great for shorter runs and photo heavy designs. Digital printing has come a long way and you can now print with white and clear varnish inks at some printers.

Letterpress: A type of relief printing where type or image is arranged and then inked before being pressed onto the paper. This can be a lot more crisp than offset as it presses into the paper. This uses spot colour not CMYK.

Screen printing / silk screen: Mesh screens go through chemical and light treatment to create a single colour ‘stencil’. This is then used to press ink through onto the print surface, you can only print on colour at a time with this but has great effects for posters and fabric.

Foiling: Where a foil colour of your choice is stamped onto your image from a heated plate and leaves a slight embossed texture.

Embossing: A raised or relief texture to your design created by using a ‘female’ & ‘male’ roller with your design on them. As the paper rolls through it pushes the paper into the shape of the pattern on the rollers.

Stock: A fancy name for paper or card.

GSM: The weight of paper. For example 80gsm is very thin 320gsm is thicker.

Pixels Per Inch: When you print you need a minimum of 300 pixels per inch. This means if you print an image that is grabbed from a website it is usually about 72 pixels per inch and will not print well.

Diecut: When a shape is cut from the print surface. A series of sharp blades are bent to create the desired shape and is then stamped into the paper cutting away the desired pattern.

Colour trends: Orange & grey

It's always great to see what colours are making the rounds in the design world and this months colour inspirations are so bright and eye catching it's hard not to pay attention.

As orange & grey really seems to be my flavor of the month I thought I would show you my favorites.

Anyone keen on new stationery designs after seeing this?

Image sourced from interest; image links clockwise below:
Image One
Image Two
Image Three
Image Four

HOW TO GET MORE BANG FOR YOUR BUCK WITH PRINTERS

If there is one thing print designers can unite in force over, it is the benefit of using a good professional printer. I promise we graphic designers don’t purposefully find the most expensive printer available just to screw with you, it’s actually that you do get what you pay for when it comes to printers.

So while I won’t go into the different types of printing here today (check back in next week for that post) I will explain some of the major differences you get from your designer recommended printers vs. the majority of the online services and stationery store options.

The online stores and “instant” print shops (where a youthful employee uploads your file & prints while you wait) often have glorified photocopiers, this means the inks will come out murky as the heads can't be manually set nor is it amazing quality inks. You are limited to digital printing - no offset, foiling etc. A very small selection of papers is on offer which can alter the entire look of your design and you are left to do the trimming yourself if it is not a standard size. They also can have a lot of trouble lining up double sided prints perfectly which isn’t great for if you want a professional looking job BUT they are great for quick cheap promo material or your kids birthday invites.

The reputable / professional print houses have more ranges of paper stocks than you can shake a stick at - if it exists they can get it for you, the machines are programmed to perfection for clear & concise colours so you will never have mismatched brand colours. They can arrange for foiling, embossing, laminate, diecuts, white on black printing etc - so there is a HUGE range of printing options. No size is too weird for them to trim and you get to work with someone who is trained to get your work looking perfect.

So the things to check before you decide on which printer to go ahead with:

• Do I really need this work to look super clean and polished?
• Will I be wanting a speciality paper choice?
• Will this just be a cheap flyer, where quality doesn't matter?
• Is this a double sided print and does alignment matter?
• Am I relying on the colours matching my brand perfectly?

So now you are armed with a list of question to ask yourself next time you need printing done.

Any designy questions? Let me know in the comments and I'll do a big ol' Q & A session.

New Mother's day card

Thanks for not leaving me to be raised by wolves

I’ve just put this card in my shop as it’s mothers day soon and you need to be a good offspring and remember to buy her a card and 6 boxes of chocolate ... maybe even a puppy? 

We all know how revolting we were as teenagers and should probably be repentant enough to treat her like the special lady she is on her special day especially since she didn't leave us to be raised by wolves.

Thunderbirds Are Go

I have neglected the blog it's true... if it were a child, it would be severely undernourished, wearing a rice sack and most likely living in the dog kennel. Bad ownership I tell you, I own up to this grievous behavior and will offer my heart felt excuses just as any owner with little remorse would.

Recently life has simply been too much fun to sit in a corner and write about it... If I did sit down and talk about what I've been doing then it would be almost as bad as those people that take photos of their dinner while out with friends just so they can post on facebook about how awesome a time they are having. Yeah those people.

I signed up for Bschool through Marie Forleo and so far it's a ton of brain draining work but also so incredibly useful and the women I'm meeting through it ... mind-blowingly awesome ladies from all around the world. I've even found a little surf crew!!!

I've had an amazing meeting with Michelle Ward, who pretty much made all my big nasty excuses for not getting on with some new projects seem like piddly little cop-outs. So now I'm working on some really exciting ideas but I won't tell you just yet. Only because I like secrets.

My work schedule has been great too and I believe there may be custom wedding invites coming out of my nose soon if I'm not careful. Now that's a pretty picture and just think of the paper cuts!

So now that I'm a little more on top of things and half way to the weekend I thought I would take a moment to show another board design that I have concocted and will hopefully be painting next week if all goes to plan. Enjoy.

Skateboards that don't have boobs on them

I LOVE LOVE LOVE coming up with designs for skate boards and snowboards. It becomes like an obsession where I can sit (or in my case, curl into a semi feotal position on the comfy rug) and draw for hours.

I'm in the process of getting some blank boards to print on, I think I'll print these 2 first.

Why surfing and Frank Sinatra are good for your soul

I've found for about the last eight years that surfing and Frank Sinatra music hold something in common, they both help my brain produce 'ah ha' moments that pull me out of creative ruts.

There's something so soothing about surfing, where your forced to be so 'in the moment', that it seems to help the brain regenerate. As soon as you lose focus and start wondering what's happening next week or thinking about what a nutso that girl in car park was, you get hit in the face by a wave followed shortly by an attack from your board or leash. It's one of those activities where there is no pressure, no one wants to talk to you or demand anything of you (In saying this I am a long boarder at heart... ). It doesn't matter if your a total klutz or the best out there. Until a shark gets involved, you can just be, which is something we so very rarely get to experience.

So when the sharks are circling, (literally, I live in Perth - aka shark attack city) I can get that same kind of lax focus listening to the old crooners when I work, especially my illustration, the music seems to send me into a focused place where nothing much matters except what I'm doing.

It's during these calm no pressure moments that all of a sudden ideas that I've only been able to see in my periphery suddenly jump into the front of my mind and to do a full frontal flash dance. So my recommendation for you, is to find that thing that you can zone out to... while still being productive... don't go using me as an excuse to smoke pot kids... seriously, you'll smell like old meat pie... and just let your mind relax and let it do it's working out at its own pace.

So next time you have creative constipation or your trying to flog out an idea that just won't come, go for a surf and think of Frank (or imagine your mind in nothing but a trench coat hiding behind a bush).

Image found here it's not me... I'm about 302 shades whiter...