SWEET AVA REESE

My sister, Rachel, had a little girl at the end of July and the announcements just came back from the printer.  I have to say, I am in love: with my little niece and these sweet announcements.

When I was designing the announcements, my sister's only guidance was that these announcements should be fun, sweet - but not too juvenile - and with a pop of bright color {no pastel pinks, please}.  And, this is what we selected in the end.

We used a heavy, 160lb. bright white stock with a slight vellum texture and letterpress printed a whimsical floral illustration with no ink.  The result is this amazing texture: subtle and wonderful.  We then printed Ava's name and "stats" in a pretty peony pink that perfectly matched the Amy Butler fabrics that my sister chose for the nursery.

We paired the announcement with a kraft color envelope in a monarch size - not too narrow, not to short.  Unique.  The envelope was printed with a matching peony hue, mimicking the floral design on the announcement.  Often, the thin text-weight paper of the envelope doesn't show a dramatic letterpress impression - but the texture here is amazing.  And, the design wraps around to the back of the envelope, for a little surprise.

We printed thank you notes to match, a little taste of the blind letterpress impression and the bold contemporary take on Ava's name.  I love that she can use these to write notes on now...and then stick them away for 10 years.  They work for a baby, a teen and on {I'd use them now, at any rate.}

These were so fun to create: not only was I so pleased with the end result, but also, it was so amazing to have the opportunity to create something special for my sister.  Love you, Rach...TJG

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SIXTY AT SAKS

My mother-in-law, Dale, loves shopping {which works out very well for all her kids, since she is also exceedingly generous}.  She's not a casual-traipse-around-the-mall type of lady.  When at a shopping destination, she is a woman with a mission.  So, when dreaming up the perfect way to celebrate her sixtieth birthday, the middle of Saks Fifth Avenue was the ideal venue.  It is unique, special and fashionable: so "Dale".

For the invitations, I went with a black-and-white color palate - a la Saks Fifth Avenue - with pops of color.   I tore pages from every Saks catalog that I could get my hands on, duplexed them to 160lb. bright white stock, and hand-trimmed each to frame the accessories.  Then, I stitched small, letterpress cards inviting guests for cocktails in Chanel and dinner in Dior.  Each invitation was unique; so fun to put together...

The letterpress impression was deep and crisp on the 110lb. cotton Lettra.  And, the fonts: a mix of clean and modern and pretty flourishes.

Each invitation also included a little discount card, which featured a Saks-inspired logo to mark Dale's sixtieth.  I used the same logo on the envelope back flap, with a reminder to keep the event a surprise.

I used a black-and-white Katharine Hepburn stamp as postage: elegant, sophisticated and the perfect color palate.

Amazing woman.  Amazing event.  I hope the invitation did it all justice...TJG

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