INSPIRATION : FLORAL CLASS

Yesterday was such a treat! I got to go to a floral arranging class offered by Shawn at The Floral Studio! It was Mia's birthday so as her gift, I took her along. We spent the afternoon visiting with the other class members and each other, snacking on grapes and cookies, and making these seriously beautiful centerpieces. Shawn and Debbie were so patient with us as almost everyone in class was a complete novice. We learned techniques for cleaning and prepping the flowers all the way to the finishing touches to make our arrangements perfect. It was a really great way to spend a winter day and it got me really feeling inspired about spring and all the upcoming weddings we're working on here at Chellé Paperie. The Floral Studio is going to start offering the classes for sign up once their new site goes live, but Mia and I were discussing how fun it would be to email Shawn and just get together a bunch of your girlfriends or bridesmaids and have a private class. If you love flowers, I can't recommend her classes enough!

The Sweetest Occassion

This is just a quick post to send you over to Cyd's great blog The Sweetest Occasion to read about Rachelle's shower again, and all the other weddings, showers and parties she features.  The Sweetest Occasion is a great source of inspiration for decor and parties all around, and we're really excited to be in such good company! Thanks, Cyd! 

FROM THE DESK OF : Sneak Peek

There are a lot of secrets I have to keep from you; I hate doing it. But you all know how the saying goes..."good things come to those who wait" So that's all for now. A little peek at what's to come!

INSPIRATION : SPRING FLORALS

I found this photograph of a beautiful floral sash by Sash & Bustle while reading Ritzy Bee's blog this weekend, and seeing as Mondays on the blog are supposed to be about inspiration, it seemed like just the thing to get me thinking and sketching for a new set to add to our upcoming spring collection! I love the softness of the palette and the delicate petals. If I could get married again, this pretty floral belt would certainly make an appearance! I can't get over it. I'd actually love it with a t-shirt and a pair of jeans too! It's listed as one of a kind, but I am triyng to get you all details on how to get one of your own! Thanks, Maria for the great find! 

CUSTOM PARTY INVITATIONS

Here's a little blast from the recent past... some seriously lovely invitations we did for my Little Thanksgiving party back in November. Every project that we do is custom, including the invitations we design for ourselves. These include a stitched linen pocket, double thick chipboard & pearlized cardstock. We love this diecut shape, simple details and the art we created featuring the deer head and wreath. It felt festive, rustic and sophisticated all at the same time. We wanted these invitations to be about the materials, and about the experience of receiving them in the mail, like a special gift, so we kept the design minimal. The front reads love one another, give thanks together, and the love one another part references a sign that hangs in our kitchen. It was in my parents' house growing up, and my grandparents' house before that. When Ben and I got married last year, it was given to us as a gift. I am a person that believes very strongly in showing love to those around you and for giving thanks with and for them. Little Thanksgiving is an opportunity to do that with friends and neighbors each year. We usually host it a week or two before actual Thanksgiving. It helps get everyone in the cooking and holiday spirit!

CORPORATE ID : Kate Beck Events

If you're a recently engaged Baltimore Bride, you're going to want to know about Kate Beck Events. Kate came to us as a client and has quickly become a friend. She shares space with us and The Floral Studio over at Coppermine Terrace, and we love to work with her and her clients every chance we get! The images here show some paper goods we did for her earlier this year.

SHOP ONLINE

We've been thinking about having an online shop of some of our standard designs and while we are working on our new collection to be released in the spring time, we've listed a few of the sets we designed exclusively for Garnish. Most of the work we do is custom, but we do want to have options for those of you who don't have the time for something completely from scratch.  Take a peek around, and look for the full shop to launch in the spring! 

NONPAREIL LAUNCHES

Today marks a very important day in the lives of wedding bloggers, brides, and industry professionals. The launch of the much anticipated Nonpareil Magazine. Maddy from Inspired Bride and Kristen from Paper Crave have been working tirelessly to bring their vision to life. This online magazine is gorgeously styled and full of great content for inspiration or the DIY bride. We're excited to be participating in some future issues and can't wait to share what we've been working on. Thanks girls for a beautiful and much needed publication! Congrats!

SNEAK PEEK : Inspired Bride

I'm so honored to be contributing to one of the best wedding blogs around, Inspired Bride and today, you my lucky readers and friends are getting a little sneak peek at what's to come! I'll link the full post when it's up, but in the meantime, you might as well read through the whole archives of Maddy's wonderful blog. It is packed with beautiful photographs and awesome inspiration.

full post here

VINTAGE GLAMOUR AT THE WALTERS ART MUSEUM

Janelle from Baltimore Bride Magazine recently asked us to set up and style a table for a segment in each issue they call "One Venue, Three Ways"  We were really excited about the opportunity and got together with our friends from The Floral Studio and Kate Beck Events  to create this fun look!  It was all shot on location at The Walters Art Museum which is a pretty glamorous venue if you're getting married here in Baltimore!  These are some shots I took while we were on the shoot. The invitations featured are part of our collection available exclusively from Garnish Boutique. Details on our table are included in the article here.

VINTAGE FINDS

For me, there is almost nothing better than vintage grosgrain ribbon in classic neutral stripes. Put them on a cake stand and I'm in heaven!

PRETTY PRETTY THINGS

Ok, now I don't usually do a straight up plug like this, but I'm doing it now for a few reasons... one because I have known Kohli for years. We both went to MICA, and over the past few years Kohli has become a really wonderful client and friend. We designed her wedding invitations, calling cards, and now the identity for her jewelry business. In each of these projects, she's been a blast to work with. 2 - her jewelry is gorgeous, and beautifully made, and original. It's not girly or fussy, or any of that. It's well edited, constructed, and suited for any style. You can wear these with jeans and a tshirt or your favorite cocktail dress (ps - I wish I could say I had one of those). And 3 because I took these photographs, and they make me happy. I hope you enjoy them, and I hope you hop on over to K.Flick Studio to get your favorite girlfriend something fabulous this Christmas. And yes, she does do custom! Think spectacular gifts for your bridesmaids! Ok, all for now, back to work. Congratulations, Kohli!

Cocktails for Christmas

I hope that none of the people who are getting these will be reading my blog. I just couldn't wait to post these since they are oh so cute! I love to throw little parties, and even more I love to make party invitations! These are simple and small, and don't cost a ton of money. It's all over the internet today that a dollar spent on design is worth more in return than a dollar spent for technology or other things. Invitations set the tone for your party. And if you want to have a memorable one, send a memorable invitation. Don't know if you noticed, but my favorite part of this set is the beer bottle label. There is a penguin with a crown hiding in there! Up next my overdue post with little thanksgiving invitations!

FABRIC FLOWER PINS, CLIPS, & HAIRCOMBS

Here's a pretty new grey bud to add to the bunch! I've just finished dying some really soft silvery grey and a fresh light pink, so new fabric flowers will be in the shop soon! This one is actually attached to a haircomb, so it tucks perfectly in around your bun or ponytail! Measures about 4 inches wide. They're all custom dyed burberry linen, wool felt and assorted vintage buttons!  These will also be available for sale at the Handmade Mart coming up this December 5th in downtown Silver Spring, so if any of you are in the DC area, come on out! We'll have stuff from the Paperie, Chapeau Co. (that shop I just set you to) and K.Flick Studios. It's going to be a really fun event, so we hope you'll stop on by! More details coming soon! 

Oh how we LOVE Snippet & Ink!

We were so excited to see Mia's wedding featured today on Snippet & Ink.  Check out all the beautiful detail shots and links to some of our very favorite vendors, The Floral Studio and A. Bryan Photo

I should probably mention that we did all the lovely paper details and you might remember all the craft nights and paper parasols from a while back! Congratulations, Mia and Christian! 

IN THE NEWS

We're featured on Daily Candy's wedding guide today for our spectacular custom wedding invitations! It's an honor to be included! Read the full post here

CUSTOM WOODLANDS WEDDING INVITATIONS

This is one of my all time favorite invitations. These pictures are of the mock up. They were custom built hardbound covers with the invitation mounted inside, and a clear slip that holds the reply and travel info. They have a super cute custom bunny and woodlands theme and are tied up securely with a real twig from the backyard then tucked safely into a custom wrapped chocolate boxed stuffed with floral nesting material. No, the design did not stop there (but I have no pictures) we did custom stamps and guest addressed mailing labels for the outsides of the boxes. I wish every job could be so involved. This was a LOT of handwork and production. We were covered in PVA for at least 2 weeks. And I can't even tell you how much of that nesting material worked it's way all around the studio and into our homes! But, it was a blast, and a beautiful invitation.

CUSTOM WEDDING FLOWERS AND DETAILS

I got married just about this time last year (my anniversary is coming up next weekend!) and if you saw my wedding on snippet and ink you can see the low down on how we did the whole thing for under $5000. I'm very fortunate to know a lot of people in the industry, and very fortunate to have family and friends who were willing to pitch in a lot of time and energy into making our wedding a super fantastic time. but anyway, back on track... I made my flower bouquet, out of flannel and felt, and I LOVED making it. So much so, that I have been crafting away in my spare time, and I am finally ready to put these out in the world. The bouquets measure about 11 inches wide, with a sturdy 8 inch stem. Bridesmaid blooms are 9 inches wide, and flower girl blooms will be 6 inches. They are handcrafted out of custom dyed overstock burberry linen, quality wool felt, and can have their leaf embroidered with your initials, or wedding date! The slightly smaller flower is a pretty white peony bloom that will (along with many others just like it) line the center of long rectangular tables for floral decorations at a winter wedding. And the small blooms are going to be pins, hairpieces, bouteniers, and other options coming soon. Right now, they are available through Churchtown Chapeau Co. If you are interested in ordering fabric flowers for your wedding (or any other celebration) shoot me an email! 

BUDGET FRIENDLY INVITATIONS

We are excited to partner with Garnish to offer beautiful, affordable, and custom designs for all your stationery needs! Our goal is to offer design options that you can make your own; simply and cost effectively. Our house paper is a thick 100% cotton stock, milled responsibly with wind power. Our envelopes are made with at least 30% post consumer waste, so you can be assured that your paper products are both high quality and eco-friendly. Pop on over to Garnish to browse the full collection!

CORPORATE ID : Garnish Boutique New Website!

It's no secret that we love Garnish Boutique, so we could not be happier to let you all know that today marks the launch of their new website and blog! We've worked closely with Mia and updated the look to feel more grown up, prettier, lighter, more fun! Thanks to Make Things Studio for bringing the new site to life! More to come on the Garnish front in the next few posts!