We think you’ll definitely agree that these vibrant and lively letterpressed Tara (by Ben Whitla) Bar Mitzvah invitations really get you in the mood for a celebration! These trendy invitations set the tone for the important Jewish milestone. The stand-out color combination of spring green and aquamarine inks is carried through onto all of the pieces. The modern vibe is continued through with adorable letterpressed thank you cards. It’s safe to say the celebration will not be short lived with a festive party to follow!

inks: spring green + aquamarine| fonts: moravia + billhead | paper: 1-ply white | invite size: a7 | client coordinator: jessica hanaman | in-house designer: kyle laatsch

Over the past couple of years, we’ve found ourselves completely blown away by the thoughtfulness and generous spirits of the couples we’re honored to call Bella Figura brides and grooms.  We think it’s so cool when a couple opts to forgo the traditional guest favors and instead makes a donation to a worthy nonprofit. To encourage this large-hearted trend, in early 2011 we started offering free letterpress favor cards to those couples making a donation to nonprofit organization doing good for the world. Here are just a handful of the many favor cards we’ve printed for couples worldwide this year…

Our Deveril design; donation benefiting The Humane Society of the United States.

Our Tara design; donation benefiting Clean Ocean Action.

Our Nautilus design; donation benefiting the Reproductive and Child Health Alliance in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.

Our Florian Script design; donation benefiting CHU St-Justine. From the couple, “The CHU St-Justine is a well renowned children’s hospital in Montreal and our donation will be given toward funding R&D activities. We both believe that children should be allowed to enjoy their young lives and play outside with their friends rather to be stuck in a hospital room. We hope that our donation will help the team of doctors find a cure to many of today’s illnesses that primarily attack young children.”

Our Deveril design; donation benefiting the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation and The Unitarian Universalist Service Committee.

Our Erte Beach design; donation benefiting the UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center.

Our Keswick design; donation benefiting the Rochester chapter of CASA – Court Appointed Special Advocates for Children. From the bride, Rachel -  “CASA stands for Court Appointed Special Advocates for Children. CASA volunteers are “appointed by judges to watch over and advocate for abused and neglected children, to make sure they don’t get lost in the overburdened legal and social service system…Volunteers stay with each case until it is closed and the child is placed in a safe, permanent home”. We wanted to donate to CASA for many reasons. Firstly, I am a CASA volunteer. I’m passionate about child advocacy and will be starting law school this fall. Also, Rochester’s CASA chapter has recently suffered massive budget cuts. What better than to give to an organization that helps children find home as we begin our home.”

Our Modern Calligraphy design; donation benefiting the Autism Society of Wisconsin.

Pretty impressive stuff, right? Want to get in on the action? Here’s the small print: the free favor cards must be printed with a minimum $500 order; our favor cards are place card sized; cards are letterpress printed in the design and ink colors from your order; we’ll match your highest quantity—for instance, if you order 200 invitations, we’ll offer 200 free favor cards. We’ll also extend our many thanks for inspiring us.

This spring-inspired customization of our Tara letterpress wedding invitation design was printed in chartreuse and downy inks. We love the pairing of cool vintage typography with fresh chartreuse as the starring color.

We’re loving these fun letterpress coasters and coordinating accommodations cards, showcasing our Tara design (a 2010 favorite!). They are printed in daffodil and espresso inks and add a touch of retro cool to any reception or celebration.

We thought we’d share a fun round up of some of the awesome letterpress directions and accommodations cards we’ve printed in recent months. Some of them include maps and other details and some of them simply refer guests to a website with lots of extra information to make their travel easier. Accommodations cards are especially helpful if you’ve negotiated group rates at local hotels so guests know where to book their room. Check out these ideas for tons of great letterpress inspiration!

{Letterpress directions card in Flourish.}

{Tara accommodations + directions website card.}

{Tennyson letterpress directions card.}

{Directions card in Tuileries.}

{String Calligraphy letterpress information card.}

{Letterpress directions card in Sevilla.}

{Harlow letterpress directions card.}

{Floweret letterpress directions card with map submitted by client.}

{Deveril directions card with map submitted by client.}

These letterpress wedding invitations feature a 1-color version of our Tara design, a fast favorite among our new designs released in early 2010. Printed in pewter ink, it has a modern feel with timeless appeal.

We love this customization of our Tara letterpress wedding invitation design – it’s printed in geranium and downy inks for a look that is both modern and a touch retro with cool vintage-inspired typography. We think these invitations were the perfect first impression for this couple’s wedding, held at The Foundry in Long Island City, a hip venue with a unique modern vibe.