From the Mailbox...

Hello, world!  Sorry it's been a whole week since my last post, but things have been pretty busy around here.  I got something totally awesome in the mail at the end of last week though that I wanted to share with you.  Do you remember the couple that I wrote about last month who are getting married in Spain, Isabel & Luis?  If not, click on that link and  you can go read about them and then come back here.  

I knew when I printed Isa's stationery that she had more planned for her invitation suite than what I was printing for her, but I had no idea to what extent she was planning for the rest.  So she sent me one!  As I mentioned in my previous post, Isa designed her whole suite herself and then hired Twin Ravens Press to do the letterpress printing for her invites, RSVP cards and invitation envelopes.  

Check out what I got in the mail:

Here is what the invitation envelope looked like when it arrived in my mailbox.  Check out the beautiful calligraphy on the front!  I'm not sure, but I think Isabel did the calligraphy herself.  I don't currently offer calligraphy as one of my services, but, I do know of some wonderful calligraphers in the Eugene/Springfield area that I would be happy to recommend if you think you'd like your invitations printed by me, but want calligraphy for the envelopes.  It's also fairly easy to find a calligrapher in your area if you are not local to Eugene if you'd like me to do your printing and want someone in your area to do the calligraphy.  As far as whether or not to have calligraphy for your envelopes done goes: sure it will save you some money if you address your invitations yourself.  However, calligraphy is highly classy and beautiful and I think that if you have room in your budget for it that it's a really wonderful touch for any formal event.  

Another nice touch that really tied everything together, in my opinion were the custom postage stamps that Isabel ordered from Zazzle.com.  Here's a close-up so you can see them a little better: 

The U.S. postal service has several companies that it works with, including Zazzle.com, that will print you totally valid, US Postage with whatever image on it you want.  You can use a photograph you've taken, a map, a drawing, another image or graphic you designed, etc.  and for not much more than you would pay for regular postage have that image made into stamps!  I think this is a really cool idea if you're going to be sending out Save-the-Date cards, wedding invitations, baby announcements, etc. because it's just one more little personal touch that you can add to make the whole suite totally yours.  

Here is what I found when I opened up the envelope:

Isabel created a small, fabric-covered, hardcover, folder-like booklet for her entire suite that closed with a ribbon tie.  Here is the booklet when you first open it up:

Inside was a semi-transparent sleeve with an old-fashioned looking world map printed on it that was tied with a thick, red, somewhat shiny ribbon that had a skeleton key (yes, a real, metal key) tied onto it.  Isabel's stationery featured a pair of keys that ran throughout as one of the design elements on all of her pieces, so I thought it was really cool to open up her booklet and find an actual key in there.  Slide the world-map-sleeve and the ribbon with key off and here's what I found:

The invitation we printed a month ago (see the two keys at the top?).  And all of this: 

Inside I found, not only the invitation, but the RSVP card that was also printed by Twin Ravens Press, a small separate folder with two flat-printed maps, and a small reception card that was also flat printed.  Here are some close-ups of the flat printed pieces:

Typically I wouldn't highlight pieces that had been flat-printed like this on this blog, partially because flat printing isn't a service I offer (all we do is letterpress).  However, Isa incorporated these other pieces into the suite so nicely, and made the feeling of them go so well with the letterpress pieces, and the rest of the booklet that I had to show off the whole thing.  If you're on a budget, flat printing some of your pieces like maps and extra informational cards is a great way to save some money, while still being able to have some of the fancier pieces like the invitation letterpress printed.  I think everything in this suite worked together so well and really gave an elegant, Spanish, romantic feeling for their upcoming ceremony.  Plus, it was really fun to get a complete set in the mail!  

Congratulations again, Isabel & Luis and thank you so much for sharing!