Popping By

Just popping in today to share a sneak peek at something we are working on for next week. It's printed on dupioni silk! I'm kind of a geek for printing on wacky materials, like this silk, and the leather invitations you see here as well. If you don't already know, everything we do at Chellé Paperie is custom, so for us it is a welcome challenge to work with materials like silk, wood, leather, whatever!

FROM THE DESK OF...

Dear Blog Friends,

We have been very busy and have neglected you. We're sorry. It's wedding season as you know, so posting might be lighter than usual around here. Thanks for your understanding and for checking back for updates! The picture above is of a little project that we are finishing up this week. Stitched paper labels on my very favorite linen. We'll post more pictures of those in the coming weeks.

INSPIRATION : SUPPER CLUB

My dear friend Jodi recently proposed that we start a rotating supper club, and she went about planning it, and got us all organized so that we could have our very first dinner last night! Jodi made the appetizers, Rachelle brought drinks, I made the main course, Mary Laurel did the side dish and Kohli made dessert. Whoever gets the main course, hosts, so I was happy that most of the flowers from my arrangement (3 weeks ago) were still going strong! I rearranged them in mason jars, threw some fabric on the table, and called it done. It was absolutely wonderful to spend time in the company of creative, enthusiastic, foodie girlfriends, and I can't wait for the next one! Oh, and why is this filed under inspiration? Because I am planning to make adorable little recipe cards for us each to fill out for our contribution each month. That way, everyone goes home with 4 new recipes, and the plan for an entire meal!

LITTLE MISS STELLA

I love that Little Stella had a fondness for poodles and that we were able to make this second birthday party invitation both sophisticated and fun! These are from last year, but I just came across them today and realized I had not featured them before.  We do a lot of wedding invitations at the paperie, but we love that we also get to work on projects like this light-hearted design. Pink poodles and girly type - what is not to love?

DAY OF STATIONERY

These are menus, escort cards and table numbers we designed as part of our ornamental vine invitation suite. They are featured in the current issue of Baltimore Bride as part of a tablescape we styled for their piece One Venue Three Ways. For more information about these or other day of stationery, contact the Paperie today. Happy weekend everyone, enjoy the sunshine!

LITTLE PRESS LETTERPRESS

I've been printing for about 7 years now, and have been collecting little presses along the way. The big one is 9x13 inches and is my go to press. I  just sold the little one on the left, and the black one is just for being cute. I'm excited to have just met someone who may be able to sandblast and repaint the little beast for me, and I am thinking a high gloss cream or really pale pink would be AMAZING! Here at the Paperie, we're gearing up to letterpress all of our new corporate stationery and business cards, and I am getting excited to mix up inks and try them out! 

Wedding Photography : Brian Tropiano

Since photography is a love of mine, second only to stationery, I like to feature beautiful wedding photography on the blog when I get a chance!  It was my pleasure to meet with Brian yesterday. He's a friend of a friend and he's on his way to Haiti for two weeks. It was nice to talk with him about the work he'll be doing there, and the work he does as a wedding photographer based in DC. You can take a look at his website and blog for more images from weddings he's been shooting.  All the photos above are from his blog. I just love the portrait of the bride and groom on the marshes!  

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!