Leia & Tyler are Married!

Happy Valentines weekend, folks! I'm so sorry that I was a bad, well at least, absentee blogger this past week. Needless to say, with the spring wedding season picking up, and my near-total liberation from crutches this week, it's been a little busy around here. To make up for my absence from the virtual world this past week, I'd like to share with you some stationery for one of my favorite weddings from this past fall. As I've said before, I get to work with a lot of really creative, wonderful and awesome people throughout the year, but every now and again I get to work with a couple, family or individual who is just all-out fantastic. Leia and Tyler were one such couple.

Leia & Tyler were married this past October in Cannon Beach, Oregon. Cannon Beach is a pretty, little, Pacific-coast town, just west of Portland, with gorgeous beaches and a very notable natural landmark: Haystack Rock. When Leia, Tyler and I first met, they weren't sure what they wanted to do for their invitations, but after looking at several examples from past clients, both were drawn to this invitation that I printed for a Portland, Oregon couple, just a few months before. Tyler said he liked it because the invitation looked like a ticket to the wedding, which, if you think about it, really is what a wedding invitation is. Both Tyler and Leia also loved the fact that the invitation I linked to above featured a stylized, yet, photo-realistic image of the Cascade mountains. We figured we could incorporate this same idea, but into something that was more Cannon Beach-y.

Leia and Tyler's invitation suite is featured all together in the photo above. The suite included a monarch size (3.75"x7.25") wedding invitation and corresponding light green envelope, a monarch size map/directions card, a 4bar size reply card, with corresponding evergreen-colored envelope and a 3.5" coaster rehearsal dinner invitation. Here is the invitation by itself:

Leia & Tyler loved the style of the invitation from the suite I linked to above so much that we decided to go with pretty much the same idea for their invitation, with a few modifications to make it their own. Tyler and Leia sent me several photos of Cannon Beach to create a background for their invitation from and the one you see above, letterpress printed in a very light green ink, with Haystack Rock in the upper right and the beach and ocean stretching out in the foreground, is the image we chose. I love how realistic, yet very flat and stylistic, using a photo like this looks letterpress printed. We basically flattened the photograph out until it was only two colors, with the details of the beach dropping away in the front and the silhouette of Haystack Rock and other details left in the background. The light green part of the invitation that was printed was pressed down (de-bossed) slightly, from the letterpress process, which caused the white areas (Haystack Rock and other details) to become slightly raised. Check it out:

The texture of this, was totally awesome! To complete the design, we utilized a darker green ink for the evergreen tree on the right hand side of the design, as well as for Leia & Tyler's names, and a chocolate brown ink for the rest of the text.

This invitation was paired with a light green, 30% Post-consumer recycled envelope from Green Paper Company that had their return address letterpress printed on the flap.

Leia & Tyler's reply card was a 4bar size (measuring 3.5"x4.875") and was printed in one ink color: the darker of the two greens from their invitation. Layout-wise, we continued with a very similar style from their invitation. I used the same serif-typeface and we re-used the evergreen tree on the left-hand side.

Leia and Tyler were holding a welcome picnic in Ecola State Park the day before their wedding, so they included options on their reply card for people to indicate which event(s) they planned to attend. This card was paired with a darker green 100% post-consumer recycled envelope, also from Green Paper Company, and had Leia's parent's address printed on the front in chocolate brown ink.

Leia and Tyler's directions card was also printed in a single ink color: chocolate brown and was a monarch shape, just like their invitation.

The directions card featured directions from the Portland airport to Cannon Beach, as well as information about their picnic and accommodations. When I showed Leia and Tyler samples of other invitations I had done in the past, both really liked the hand drawn maps that we had done for several of our invitation suites. For this card, Tyler hand drew the map himself, and let me tell you: it turned out adorable.

I love how Tyler incorporated several cute little drawings of Cannon Beach landmarks into his map. Some of these included Haystack rock, a wooden fisherman that is outside one of the hotels, a puffin (apparently there are a lot of puffin statues and images in Cannon Beach) and a heart on the beach where their ceremony was to take place. Pretty adorable, if I do say so myself.

Last, but certainly not least, was a rehearsal dinner invitation. Leia and Tyler wanted to do something fun and unique for their rehearsal dinner invite and for this, we chose to do a coaster. (Yes, an actual coaster!)

These coasters are 3.5" round, thick coaster stock and were printed with the green tree motif once again, and Leia & Tyler's rehearsal dinner invitation information in chocolate brown ink. I love how we made the text wrap around the shape of the coaster and I love how unique and original this is. I've done coasters for Save-the-Date cards and as actual coasters to put drinks on for receptions before, but this was my first coaster-reheasal-dinner-invitation. Pretty cool, don't you think?!?

Since doing their invitations, Leia and Tyler and I have become pretty good friends. Tyler is an architect and helped me with some minor house problems over the summer, and has also been helping me a bit in my shop since I broke my leg this past January. Both he and Leia are just really cool people, all around. I've done some other work for them since their invitations, including some favors for their wedding, and thank you cards just recently, which I will show off in my next post. Leia and Tyler also sent me several photos from their wedding, that I will show off here too! Check back soon!

Thanks so much Leia & Tyler. You guys are awesome!

Robot Coasters Featured on Etsy!

I just received and e-mail that our very adorable Robot with Heart Coasters were featured in an etsy treasury this morning, entitled "Talk Nerdy to Me". These coasters make a very cute little V-Day party favor, party accessory or small gift. You can get yours directly from us, in our etsy shop! Cute feature title, cute coasters, awesome letterpress printing, what's more to love?!?

Robot Coasters Featured on Ruthie Designs!

Our very cute Robot with Heart Coasters were featured this morning over on Ruthie Designs Blog! I just checked out her blog, and the author, Kim, features all sorts of awesomely designed items: everything from tea cups and pillows, to wall decals, fashion accessories and furniture. Mmm... tasty design! Go check out the feature here. And, if you'd like your very own set of Twin Ravens Press robot coasters, they are available in our etsy shop. Go check them out here.

Cardinals and Robots Featured this Week!

Two of our designs were featured this week in a couple of different places!

First off, our Robot with Heart Coasters were featured in an etsy treasury, entitled Robot Love, created by helengotlib. If you like robots as much as I do, you ought to go check out this feature, as all of Helen's robot picks are super-cute! Robot coasters make an awesome stocking-stuffer if you're still looking for something for that special someone. Place your order by this Saturday, December 19th for delivery by Christmas!

Secondly, our Cardinal greeting card was featured on Tapestry Design Studio today in a feature all about cardinals. There are some really great cardinal-themed picks there from greeting cards and art prints to jewelry, clothing and home goods. So, go check it out! Cardinal greeting cards are great for the holidays or any time of year! They are available in singles, sets of 6 or sets of 12 in our etsy shop! Happy Shopping!

Tamera & Trevor are Married!

(Image courtesy of Lauren Brown Photography)

I have to preface this post by saying that I feel pretty lucky. I get to work with a lot of amazing people, all over the country (and world!) doing something that I love, almost every day. So when I tell you that the wedding invitation suite that I'm about to show you, is quite possibly one of my favorite invitation suites that we did this year, it's not to say that I wasn't totally excited about the others, it's just that this suite and the couple it was created for, were just really awesome.

Tamera and her now-husband Trevor are from a small town in North Dakota and were planning their wedding at a lodge in Montana, just south of Glacier National Park for this past July. Let's just say that while I create stationery for a lot of different types of weddings (rustic to high-class, casual to formal, etc.), I felt that Tamera's sensibility and style, as well as what she was planning for her wedding, would be right in line with the sort of ceremony I would plan for my own. After all, she and I have quite a bit in common: she's from a small western town and so am I, she was planning a casual outdoor ceremony in a beautiful place, which is probably what I would do for my own wedding, her wedding was small with just her closest friends and family, etc. Let's just say that when we started talking and she told me what she wanted, everything just sort of clicked. I completely understood her style and vision, and I loved it! Here's what we created:

Tamera and Trevor's invitation suite included a slightly-smaller-than-A7 size wedding invitation that was double-matted on Nepalese Lokta paper in olive green and plum purple and attached to a chocolate brown pocket folder. Inside the pocket folder were five insert cards: a registry/website card, a map card, a reply card with corresponding envelope, an accommodations card and a directions card. All of the interior cards were printed on a custom, handmade, 100% cotton, recycled paper from Porridge Paper in their birchy dirt color that was embedded with mixed wildflower seeds. Porridge's seeded paper is really neat in that, while it is one of the most environmentally-friendly papers I've ever found, it will also actually grow flowers if the paper gets wet. Pretty neat, don't you think?!? As you can see above, all of the little cards and inserts fit inside a chocolate brown pocket folder that looked like this when it was all closed up:

Each folder was sealed shut with a band of the same Nepalese Lokta paper in both the olive and plum colors that we used to matt the invitation and then tied with a piece of natural raffia. I love how earthy and beautiful each of these little packages looked! Each folder fit inside of an A7 size envelope in Khaki from Waste Not Paper Company.

Each envelope had the couple's return address and a small flying bird printed in chocolate brown ink on the back flap and their bird design that we used throughout the suite printed in three colors (3 colors!!) on the front of the envelope. Most envelopes that I print are only printed with one ink color, so it was really a treat to get to print these envelopes with all three. Each invitation envelope was also lined with Nepalese Lokta paper in either the olive or plum color that you've seen above. We did half in one and half in the other, just to mix things up!

Let's look at the main piece in the suite: the invitation.

As I mentioned above, Tamera and Trevor's invitation was slightly smaller than a standard A7 size so that it could be matted with both of their lokta paper colors and then attached to the inside of their chocolate brown pocket folders. We used a classic serif font for the majority of the text of their invitation and printed the couple's names in a more fancy script font in a lime green ink. The bottom of the invitation features a small wild grass motif and the top features a lovely design of plum purple birds in branches with little green flowers. I've used elements of this design on a few other invitations since Tamera and Trevor's, and let me tell you, it really is gorgeous in several different color combinations and layouts.

I love the way that all of the small details in this design worked together so harmoniously and how the fine lines and gorgeous colors created such a beautiful and crisp impression in the wildflower seeded paper! Aren't the too close-up photos above just lovely?!?

Since their wedding was a destination wedding, Tamera and Trevor had quite a bit of information that they wanted to convey to their guests. In order to do this, we created five separate insert cards in different sizes that fit into the pocket of their pocket folder. Each insert was printed in three ink colors on the same paper as their invitation.

The tallest insert was their directions card which featured directions to their wedding venue, Holland Lake Lodge, from all different parts of Montana.

The second tallest was their accommodations card. Tamera actually had me design and print two separate, but similar accommodations cards. One was for the family and wedding party that would be staying at the lodge with the couple, and the other was one for their other guests, which gave other accommodation information for people who wouldn't be staying at the lodge.

The card for the family and wedding party was single-sided and featured fill-in the blanks that Tamera used to tell them where they would be staying. The other accommodations card was double-sided and gave guests lots of choices for places to stay, from hotels to campsites, that were near the couple's wedding venue.

The middle card was Tamera and Trevor's reply card. This was the only card in the suite that was horizontal rather than vertical. It featured a standard accepts/regrets option as well as a question about what other wedding events guests might be attending. Tamera and Trevor planned a red bus tour of Glacier National Park and a whitewater rafting trip as other wedding events! Each reply card came with it's own corresponding envelope that had Tamera and Trevor's return address printed on the front in chocolate brown ink with their bird motif in three ink colors in the top left corner.

The second shortest insert was their map card. Originally this was going to be part of the directions card, but Tamera had directions from so many different places that we ended up creating a separate card just for her map.

A map like this is more decorative than anything else, but I think it adds a wonderful and whimsical touch to any wedding suite!

Last, but not least is their tiny combined registry/website card.

Sometimes you just need one extra little card for all of that "extra" information that doesn't seem to fit anywhere else. This card gave guests information on where Tamera and Trevor were registered as well as an address to their wedding website.

Isn't their invitation suite just stunning!?! I absolutely love how it turned out and think that it was a gorgeous beginning to what I imagine was an absolutely gorgeous outdoor summer wedding! Tamera also had me print one small piece for their wedding reception:

I designed a set of coasters like this for another couple, Lynn & Matthew almost a year before, but Tamera loved them so much that she wanted to use them for her own wedding, in her colors. Each coaster was 3.5" round and printed with two ink colors: chocolate brown and plum purple. Aren't they cute?!?

Working with Tamera and Trevor was an absolute joy and I hope that their wedding ceremony this past July was everything they had hoped it would be!

Congratulations Tamera and Trevor! All the best!

Emily & Stephen are Married!

(Photo courtesy of Emily G Photography)

Happy Friday, everybody! It's been kind of cold, rainy, and wintery in Western Oregon today, so I thought I would share with you a really bright and cheery wedding invitation suite I printed earlier this summer for a very cute couple who were married in Portland, Oregon in late September. Emily and Stephen are good friends of mine. Shortly after college I met both of them while we all worked at the same University bookstore. Emily and I worked in the graphic design/marketing department and Stephen was working in IT. I can remember talking to Emily constantly about how one day I was going to quit doing design for marketing and advertising and open up my very own letterpress shop (she and I used to have our desks about three feet from each other after all). At that point, she and Stephen had recently started dating, so it was really fun when she got in touch with me earlier this year about letterpress printing her wedding invitations, and it was really fun in September to get to go to their wedding!!

Anyway, being the über-talented designer that she is, Emily designed her invitations herself! Check them out:

Emily and Stephen's invitation suite included an A7 size invitation and envelope and an A2 size RSVP postcard. They were printed in two ink colors on Crane Lettra Pearl White 100% cotton paper and came with a coordinating white envelope from Waste Not Paper company. Emily and Stephen also had me print some really cute, matching wedding coasters for their reception as well!

Emily's stationery as well as her wedding, was bright, cheery and colorful. They had their ceremony and reception in Portland, Oregon at the McMennamin's Kennedy School - an old-fashioned school house that has been converted into a hotel/restaurant/bar/event space. I love how she was able to incorporate so many pretty colors into everything from her invitations to her reception without the whole thing being overwhelming. Here is her invitation by itself:

Emily chose to print her invitation in deep red and light pink inks. I love the fun and whimsical floral pattern she designed which adorned all of the pieces.

Their reception coasters were printed in the same ink colors with their names and the wedding date and some of the cute floral pattern. These are a 4" round coaster, which is perfect for beer, cocktail, wine and other beverage glasses!

I wish I had taken some photos of how cute these looked at the reception, but, I actually forgot to bring my real camera to their wedding and the only photos I have were taken with a cell phone (and they weren't very good ones). Let me tell you though, they were super-cute!

Here is the coordinating Waste Not Paper invitation envelope that Emily picked out:

We used a very pretty reddish-purple ink to print the return address on the flap. Then, for their reply cards, Emily chose to do a postcard to save on reply card envelope printing and postage. We used the same reddish-purple ink on this card as well as a bright and cheery yellow!

I absolutely love how Emily and Stephen's personality and sense of humor shines through on the reply card. Take a look at their accepts/regrets options: "Sure" and "Nah...". Aren't they just too cute?!? I think they're just about as cute as the couple they were created for. Here are some photos from Emily and Stephen's big day, taken by Portland-based wedding and portrait photographer Emily G.

(All Wedding Photos courtesy of Emily G Photography)

If you'd like to see more photos from their wedding, check them out on their photographer's blog, here.

Congratulations Emily & Stephen!

Save the Date: Theresa & Dermot Are Getting Married!

Check out these awesome Save-the-Date coasters I finished last week for a couple in New York City! Theresa & Dermot wanted to do something a little unique and different for their Save-the-Date cards for their upcoming July 2010 wedding, so rather than having us print a standard card and envelope, she chose to have us print her Save-the-Dates as coasters with matching envelopes! I think this is a stellar idea for any party, wedding or otherwise!

Theresa and Dermot's Save-the-Date coasters were letterpress printed on 4" square coaster stock with two ink colors: turquoise and a greenish-yellow "lime" hue (think the inside fruity part of the lime, not the skin). We used a playful and lovely script font for their names and their wedding date and a tall and skinny serif font for the rest of the text. The date was framed within a very decorative 1920's-ish looking flourish-y border that Theresa found, and the rest of the coaster was dotted with stars!

I have been looking for square envelopes for a while that are smaller than 5.5" and I finally found some! These coordinating cream-colored, linen envelopes from Envelloper Inc., fit our 4" coasters perfectly!

They feature a European pointed flap and were just big enough for us to letterpress print Theresa & Dermot's return address on the back.

Pretty cool, don't you think?!? Thanks again and congratulations Theresa & Dermot!