Curiouser and curiouser :: Part 1

I have always loved the Alice in Wonderland story so when Sarah of Sarah Vivienne Photography approached me to see if I would be interested in coming up with some designs for an Alice themed shoot she was planning I literally jumped at the chance to take part!

I dropped the designs over to the beautiful Kelmarsh Hall on the morning of the shoot. Whilst there I got a behind the scenes glimpse at the magic that was taking place, flowers being arranged and cute little cupcakes being displayed on lovely vintage china... I left knowing that the final photos were going to be amazing and I couldn't wait to see them!

I am planning to tweak the designs a little, I want them to have more of a vintage feel and I want to include some hearts or spades in them somewhere! When they are done I will post an update but for now, as promised, here are some of the final images that Sarah sent over to me along with some close ups of the designs themselves.

On Thursday I will be sharing some of my favourite photos from the rest of the shoot so be sure to pop back, I promise you they are amazing!

Images by Sarah Vivienne Photography - www.sarahvivienne.co.uk

Would you like a little more tea?...

Click image to enlarge

Alice: Well, I haven't had any yet, so I can't very well take more.
March Hare: Ah, you mean you can't very well take less.
Mad Hatter: Yes. You can always take more than nothing.

I am working on some Alice in Wonderland themed stationery for a photo shoot that is taking place on Friday organised by Sarah of Sarah Vivienne Photography. When I start a new project more often than not I will put a mood board together to make sure all of my ideas are flowing together well. Above is my Alice themed board and I also posted the board I put together for my wedding day here. I would encourage all brides/grooms or people planning a celebration to give it a go, you don't have to be creative or good with a computer, ideas that are collected from magazines and stuck onto a sheet of card work just as well as computer versions.

I will post the finished designs after the photo shoot has taken place. If you would like to find out more about Sarah Vivienne her facebook page is here and she also tweets here.

The images in the board are all comps from istockphoto

Top Ten Tips :: 3 - Order extras...

Its always a good idea to order a few extra invitations for last minute guests, changes or mistakes. Ten extra should be enough to avoid the panic when you realise you have run out, if you don't use them all then you can put them into your keepsake box with all your other little memories.

Top Ten Tips :: 2 - Calculate by household...

When you calculate how many invitations you need, bear in mind that often you will only need to send one invitation per household / couple and then one invitation per individual, so you may be inviting 80 guests but you probably only need 50 invitations to cover everyone.

Roses are purple...

“The rose speaks of love silently, in a language known only to the heart.”
Unknown

Work in progress... An illustrated rose design that I am currently working on, the design is finished with swarovski crystals, pearls and ribbon. I'll post photos when the design is complete!

Top Ten Tips :: 1 - Triple check your proofs...

It is so important to double (even triple) check your proofs very carefully before giving the go ahead to go to print. Read through everything checking the layout, grammar, spellings, names etc and then give it to a friend or family member to check through after you. Often a fresh pair of eyes will pick up any errors that you may have missed.

A whiter shade of pale...

"Colour is my day-long obsession, joy and torment"
Claude Monet

Everyone sees colours differently and sometimes this makes it difficult to describe them to each other. My pea green may be your leaf green and your baby blue may be my medium blue, so to try to combat this I have started working on a colour palette. I am working my way through the colours using descriptive names (similar to how I name the Colour Palette posts) to create a reference that I can send to clients, they can then tell me the closest match giving me a starting point from which to match the colour perfectly. I'll update you when the completed palette is ready to download.

Invitation :: Julie & Stan

Julie and Stan's theme was red roses and they wanted to incorporate it into their stationery, I chose three images to use throughout the suite which allowed different shades of red to come through. The stationery looked great against the white table linen and gave a real impact on walking into the dining room. They wanted each guest to receive their own menu so the napkins were folded in such a way so that a menu could slide into the top and then a personalised place card was wrapped around the folded napkin.

If you would like to find out more about bespoke design or any of the stationery in the collection please feel free to email me.

Please save the date!...

Save the date cards are a great way to announce your forthcoming wedding and, most importantly, allow your family and friends plenty of time to make the essential arrangements to share in your special day. Although not necessary in all situations, they are a good idea if your wedding falls at a busy time of year for example school holidays, bank holiday weekends and Christmas. They are also great for out of town guests who may need to travel far and lastly if you're planning to marry abroad it enables your guests to make travel arrangements far in advance.



I like the fact that save the date cards give your guests a sneek peek into your plans for your big day, they don't have to be as formal as your invitations which means you can add fun little extras like the quote I added to the above design... "When you realise you want to spend the rest of your life with someone, you want the rest of your life to start as soon as possible" from the film When Harry Met Sally... Or like the quirky "She said yes!" wording on the front of the below design, your stationery should be a reflection of your personality so why not add the little extras that make all the difference!



I am currently working on a post card style save the date aimed at those of you who are marrying abroad, pop back for updates on the new design.

If you would like to find out more about save the date cards or any of the stationery in the collection please feel free to email me.

Click images to enlarge

A little peek...

I have been working on some 'Save the Date' designs today, so I thought I would give you a little peek... Next week I will be doing a write up on 'Save the Date' cards and posting some more images of the new designs... Watch this space!

Have a great weekend!

Fingers & Toes...

Isabella & Edward's Christening Invitations.

Isabella & Edward's double sided invitations are printed on smooth, brilliant white card. The front details the children's names and the invitation wording is on the back. I used a pink and blue colour scheme along with little hand and foot prints to illustrate that it is a little brother and sisters Christening Day.

Invitation :: Nicola & Tom

I designed these invitations for my dear friends Nicola & Tom. They requested a classic design to match their beautiful venue Buxted Park, using their wedding colours (shown at the top). Its a two fold design, with the invitation wording on the front, the information in the middle and then a tear off postcard style rsvp at the end. It was a privilege to design and hand finish the invitations for them and I can't wait to until their big day... Pop back after the 3rd of April to see some photos from the day!

Custom design...

Christening Invitation for a little brother and sister, click image to enlarge

For those of you who already have an idea in mind or would like something a little different I offer a custom design service. Maybe you have a hobby or an interest that you would like to incorporate into your day? I can work with you to turn your ideas into reality or I would be more than happy to create a design from scratch that suits and reflects you as a couple.

I also design stationery for a wide range of occasions, from announcing your new arrival or inviting friends and family to their Christening Day to moving home cards or special birthday invitations. Please feel free to drop me an email to find out more about custom design!

Versatile design...

So you like part of one design but would prefer it with another? No problem! When I designed the 2010 collection I did so with versatility in mind, I wanted to create stationery that you could have as much input into as possible. Ribbons and crystals can be added or taken off, I can incorporate beads or pearls that match your dress, or how about some vintage buttons to finish off the look? Lastly the whole collection can be matched perfectly to your colour scheme.

If you would like to find out more about the collection please feel free to drop me an email, I would love to hear from you!

A little bit about me and Beau...

After graduating with a degree in graphic design in 2002, i decided that i wanted to use my hands to make things as much as i wanted to use a computer to design them...

I love to create pretty things, I could sit for hours tying ribbons and making things look just perfect - my passion is creating beautiful stationery that not only do couples love to send but their guests love to receive, from save the dates and tiny lables to order of service and seating plans, I am proud to say that I give each piece of stationery the same love and attention as the next.

Design :: Beau :: Click image to enlarge

Let me introduce the above design, her name is Beau and I designed her especially for my own wedding! The lovely thing about Beau is the circular pattern which is hot foiled onto the smooth white card to give a reflective metallic effect.

If you would like to find out more about Beau or any of the other designs in the collection please feel free to drop me an email, I would love to hear from you!

A big thank you...

...to all of you who read my blog, I hope you feel inspired by my posts and keep popping back in the new year!

I thought I would end the year with a round up of some of my favourite things that I have posted about since Twenty Seven Years Later began...

Where it all began.

Why I called my blog Twenty Seven Years Later.

I am so proud to be associated with such a beautiful venue.

This comment made me feel happy that I have helped another small business.

A lovely comment about my work.

A beautiful real wedding.

I am out this evening for lovely food with great friends and then off to the Church at midnight to ring the new year in... However you are celebrating, do it in style and have an amazing time! Wishing you all the best for 2010!

PS... If you are getting married in 2010 then please get in touch - we would love to feature your wedding as a real wedding and remember to check out Beau for all of your stationery needs!

Today this made me smile...

"Thank you, thank you, thank you. I LOVE the Christmas cards! I have never been so excited about opening a box of cards ever... not only were they packaged beautifully, they are also really lovely. I cannot believe how much time this has saved me too. Count me in for another order for next year".

... How nice it is to have kind words like this waiting in my inbox! A little peek at the finished order below...

Christmas Sparkle...

This weekend I have been finishing off Christmas card orders, I love seeing them all packaged up ready to be delivered and thinking that they will soon be sent out to bring a little bit of Christmas sparkle to someone...

If you would like to find out more about personalised Christmas cards for 2010 then email me at info{@}beau-madewithlove.co.uk and I will get back to you next year!

Invitation :: Laura & Tom

Laura and Tom chose fuchsia pink for their colour scheme so I designed this bespoke invitation set to match. The set included a front sheet, the invitation, information card, rsvp postcard and a matching pink envelope. All four cards were then tied together with satin fuchsia ribbon and a tag detailing their names and wedding date.

Here's a snippet from the kind words they sent to me...
“thank you so much for doing the stationery for our important day, it looked great and you made it so much easier for me!”

We are proud...

...and happy to announce that we are now Rushton Hall's recommended wedding stationery supplier! Pop back tomorrow to find out more about this gorgeous venue.


Image Rushton Hall