love for paper and the perfect invitation

diegas and i were engaged in italy. this is a vintage poster that altered to include diegas' face and my hair for our save-the-dates

i have a love for paper products. it's not an obsession where i buy beautiful stationary, wrapping paper and hand crafted paper items whenever i see them. but i do swoon over them and i find them to be one of the more precious gifts when i receive them. i think it's because of this that i am so enthralled in creating the perfect invitation.

the first invitation i created as an adult was for my parent's 25th anniversary party. i remember the paper, the font and the typo (!!). i have since always paid special attention to every detail of the invitations that i postmark. i love choosing the paper or the print, picking the theme, a corresponding font and the layout - all of it is the perfect creative process for me. 

recently a friend posted a picture encapsulating her love of the typewriter. it got me thinking about our save-the-dates and wedding invitations and my love of the typewriter (we typed each one of addressee and return envelopes). i journeyed down a path remembering each invitation and how i wanted to document them and share them. below are the favorites (as you'll notice, i like to borrow artwork)

this is the back of the (italy poster) save-the-date postcard, with typed addressee

my 30th birthday was also a vintage poster, that seemed to capture the feeling for the celebration.  i added the text.

the back of the 30th  invitation included the details, map and directions

once we had babies my excitement from invites was satisfied as birthday party invitations needed to be created for the littles. here is e's 1st birthday invitation.

this 2nd birthday party was full of crafty projects...all starting with the nautical themed invites

the 3rd birthday and mila's milestone 1st was another borrowed piece of art (the horse) and the party hat was added

this year we're off to disneyland for a dual celebration and a couple days later evia celebrates at home with her besties!

still look at my old business cards with love in my eyes. letter press is one of my absolute favorite "art" on paper. it was also the invites that told me so much about the bride and groom and their concept for the special day. i just recently purged a rather large collection of wedding invitations i had from over the years.

one of my dear friend's rina and i have been putting pen to paper and actually writing each other regularly. remember writing? when it's quiet and you can sit and write without interruption it's pretty satisfying. and oooohhh la la, the paper. those little packages i treasure that i rarely use, get to be pulled out and sweet words line the pages. i love!

walk don't run, our new baby is turning one

 

"happy birthday to you!" -photo credit paul moreno

in my last post i talked about how quickly three years has gone by, with our sweet evia anese. now all of a sudden, our second baby girl, milena is turning one!! the saying that you hear so often, "the days are long, but the years are short" - is so true as a parent and i'm trying with all my might to slow down and take it all in. diegas constantly reminds me, that these love bugs of ours are not always going to want to put their head on our shoulders, hug us tight and give us a million kisses. two birthdays in one month, has mentally hit me hard. it's been a wake up call to walk through these days, weeks and months and try not to run: so many errands, chores, bills, appointments, (not to mention virtual socializing)...just the happenings of life....but looking at my little ones and taking a deep breath i am choosing to savor this moment in time.

this sentiment is what brought us to the idea of having a pony party for the girls. i want to live in the moment. evia has a thing for horses and i wanted to see my little girls faces as ponies walked into the backyard. i wanted to enjoy the giggles of the little guests at the party as they experienced a pony ride, perhaps for the first time! these were my objectives for their special day, but regardless of the activity, i wanted to just be present. we chose to keep it simple no elaborate food preparation, just cake and pony rides. i was able to relax, enjoy the company of our dear friends and family and spend time with my two favorite ladies. i couldn't have pulled it off, without some very important players. thank you marisa, emily, mama, lucille, rina, tina, christina of ponies and paints and my wonderful husband. someone told me the sun never came out that day...i didn't notice. 

the invitation

rainbow was the decor - so here are my colorful flower selection

getting to know eggnog and about to brush some locks!

riding eggnog - photo credit joe lee

cakes came out so funky looking, but redeemed themselves once on the cake plate

cake table: chocolate with (red) strawberries, carrot cake (orange), (yellow) banana cake, cheesecake with (green) kiwis, sponge cake with (blue)berries and peanut butter and grape jelly (purple) cake - all made with love by friends and family

party hats made by mama, rina and evia

favor bags, inside: small pony figurine, pony stickers and rainbow-colors travel paints

enjoying her selection

auntie love

mama and mila hanging with auntie emi

unicorn-pony

my girls

opening their joint gift from nana and grandpa, the day before

opening gifts together the following day

evia loving the generosity

making thank you cards, with the new horse stamp gift set - thank you beraldo's!

custom wedding invitations, lilly louise

yesterday i met with the talented leslie lewis sigler, of lilly louise. custom weddings invitations, party invites and announcements are just a few of leslie's artistic creations. i was in awe of her creativity, clean designs and quality materials. merriment highly recommends lilly louise. i can't wait to use them for my own celebrations! i was truly inspired. check out leslie's website and view some of her work. lilly louise is based in santa barbara.