Did you get engaged on Valentine’s Day? Perhaps your proposal story took place over the holidays. Whenever it happened, we want to hear about it! Share your proposal story with us on Instagram using the hashtag #ourproposalstory. The editors from 100 Layer Cake will help us choose one lucky couple for an incredible grand prize: $1500 for your Bella Figura wedding invitations, plus $200 for calligraphy addressing from Debi Zeinert at The Blooming Quill! Submit your entry by March 10, 2015 to be considered for the grand prize.
Not sure what to share? Be creative! You could show off a photo of your engagement pictures, the spot where you got engaged, a fun candid of you and your significant other, or any image that embodies you both as a couple. In the caption, tell us about how it went down – we want to hear your stories!
The fine print: entrants must follow Bella Figura (@bellafigura) and use the hashtag #ourproposalstory on Instagram to be eligible for the grand prize. Grand prize consists of $1500 from Bella Figura, to be used on a custom stationery order, plus $200 for calligraphy services from Debi Zeinert of The Blooming Quill. Post must be publicly viewable on Instagram to be eligible. Entries must be received by March 10, 2015 to be considered for the grand prize. This contest is in no way sponsored, endorsed, or associated with Instagram. Winner will be announced by 3/13/2015. Winner will be notified via direct message on Instagram. Grand prize must be redeemed by 3/15/2016.
Our NYC Modern foil + letterpress wedding invitations are an ode to all things New York – and the perfect fit for Victoria and Mike’s modern wedding. They paired sea mist letterpress ink and silver matte foil for a cool, urban look and highlighted the New York skyline by printing it without ink (we call it a blind deboss). A wedding weekend schedule with event specific motifs completed the ensemble, while silver matte foil edging and an envelope liner in sea mist ink tie in the icy, chic color palette.
letterpress inks: sea mist + blind deboss | foil stamping: silver matte | font: swiss | paper: bella cotton 1-ply + 2-ply white | foil edging: silver matte | envelope: bella cotton white | envelope liner: vintage river pattern in sea mist | Village Invites | customization #23712
Brenda Fox pictured a darling country wedding on the coast of Maine when she began the illustrations for her Wildflower wedding invitation suite. At the reception, hints of blue tableware and white candles would be in abundance. Bridesmaids and groomsmen would be decked out in blue, too. Sounds (and looks!) pretty dreamy, doesn’t it? Check out more of Brenda’s inspiration behind her Wildflower design over on Pinterest!
Photos, clockwise from top right: flowers | cocktails | groomsmen | tableware | rings | shoes | flower arrangements | bridesmaids | Wildflower wedding invitations
Katy and Wes gave our Colette invitation design an outdoorsy makeover for their foil and letterpress rehearsal dinner invitations. Copper shine foil and olive letterpress ink are complimented by our natural woodgrain envelope liner pattern, while Kelle McCarter’s free flowing hand calligraphy highlights the couple’s names.
letterpress ink: olive | foil stamping: copper shine | font: moravia | paper: bella cotton 1-ply ivory | envelope: bella cotton ivory | envelope liner: natural woodgrain pattern in olive | hand calligraphy: maura style | Shindig Paperie | customization #20314
With Valentine’s Day just a few days away, we’re loving all the red we’re seeing lately. The inspiration behind the design for Mumbai Scrolls, a stunning new invitation suite by Aimee O’Boyle, is filled with rich red tones and lots of golden glamour. Inspired by a traditional East Indian wedding, Mumbai Scrolls features intricate foil stamped details and the prettiest pop of cardinal ink. Here’s a glimpse at what Aimee envisioned for a Mumbai Scrolls wedding — to see even more of her inspiration, check out her Mumbai Scrolls Pinterest board!
Photo credits, clockwise from top right: bride | sari | roses | gold shoes | gold dress | bridal party | bride | Mumbai Scrolls invitation
Our Designer of the Month Nicole Black recently offered a penmanship class with Southern Fried Paper, and she’ll be offering more classes again soon! Today we’re sharing details on what Nicole’s class entails, along with some quick tips for how to improve your own penmanship. We love how the class began: out of a love for beautiful, heartfelt words, carefully crafted with patience and pride. We’ll let Nicole take over from here!
This is a traditional penmanship class. One that will teach you how to write with the grace of our grandmothers or great grandmothers. To slow down and think about each letter and each word and make them count to make a meaningful statement that the recipient will enjoy reading.
We spend some quality time on the foundations: doing warm up drills and learning the basic hand motions. Lower case and capital letters are covered in this class so you can leave able to write notes. Not to leave you hanging there, we go over connecting letters, making words, writing sentences and how to write a traditional letter (by hand!).
Everyone gets a one-on-one progress review to help work out any trouble areas. For those afraid you will forget what we have learned — a wonderful class booklet is provided along with a pen, notepad and pencils.
We end the class with a pen round table where the participants get to test out different pens to find their favorite… because what works for your neighbor may not be your favorite.
Quick and easy tips for improving your penmanship at home – slow down! Develop a rhythm of writing and stick to it, slow down with the pen and you will see an ease of flow with the letters develop. Also, it is okay to write on lined paper. I’m a seasoned letter writer and still use guides to keep my lines straight. If you want to write on unlined correspondence paper – just place a piece of notebook paper underneath and follow the lines. When you are finished, you have written in straight lines without them being there and your recipient will be soooo impressed!
Many thanks to Nicole for sharing a peek inside her penmanship workshop! Looks fun, doesn’t it? Be sure to check out Nicole’s designs this month – they’re on sale through the end of February (and Bella Figura customers save on calligraphy addressing from Nicole, too!).
Available in 8 great patterns, our foil stamped envelope liners can be printed in any of our 19 foil colors. This glamorous new embellishment is a great way to add some shine to your wedding invitations or save the dates! Check out the patterns below – our see them in person! We currently offer 12 samples with foil stamped envelope liners – visit our gallery to view them all now.
Inspired by lush florals and vibrant shades of pink and orange, Mariel Mirra began her design process for Blush with a paintbrush. This watercolor wedding invitation suite features hand-painted watercolors that we digitally printed on our new Bella Smooth Cotton paper, with gold matte foil and Holcombe style calligraphy accents adding some glamour. For a Blush inspired wedding, Mariel envisions lots of colorful flowers, festive ribbon streamers and the occasional pop of metallic gold. To see even more of the inspiration behind the design, check out Mariel’s Blush Pinterest board!
Photos, clockwise from top right: couple | Blush save the date | bouquet | succulents | ribbon streamers | centerpieces | reception | table number | Blush wedding invitation
Christina and Christopher transformed our Honoured Guest letterpress wedding invitations from over the top elegant to preppy, summertime chic for their country club wedding. They asked Sarah Hanna to pen her hand calligraphy at an angle, and carried that unexpected personalization through to their reception card and directions card. Edge painting and a custom pineapple patterned envelope liner in fuchsia add a pop of color to the nautical inspired navy letterpress printing.
letterpress inks: navy + fuchsia | paper: bella cotton white 1-ply + 2-ply | edge painting: fuchsia | envelope: bella cotton white | envelope liner: custom pattern in fuchsia | hand calligraphy: honoured style | customization# 23273
We were thrilled to see the new invitations from our 2015 collection up on Oh So Beautiful Paper today! Nole shared some of her favorites, plus a special offer for Oh So Beautiful Paper readers – three free samples! Hurry over and check out the post — then shop our collection to get your free samples.
Our Designer of the Month promotion is back, and our featured designer for the month of February is the Left Handed Calligrapher, Nicole Black! All designs by Nicole are on sale for 10% off during the month of February. You can combine this offer with our 10% discount when you order 6 printed pieces or more, so stock up! Nicole is partnering with us this month for a special offer for envelope addressing, too: book your envelope addressing with Nicole between now and February 28, and get $25 off your order of $100 or more! Just let Nicole know that we sent you when you book your calligraphy addressing. Here a few of Nicole’s newest designs – plus a peek at some of her beautifully calligraphed envelopes!
The fine print: this offer is exclusive to designs by Nicole Black and does not apply towards the purchase of other designs. Orders must be placed by 11:59pm Eastern on February 28, 2015 in order to receive this offer.
Sometimes the simplest change can have the biggest impact – like this horizontal version of our Serendipity foil and letterpress wedding invitations. Kristen and Daniel turned the design on its side and opted for a soft, neutral palette of desert letterpress ink and tawny matte foil. An events card and a sea-side hued envelope liner set the tone for their late summer nuptials overlooking Lake Michigan.
letterpress ink: desert | foil stamping: tawny matte | fonts: antoinette + copperplate + aiden stripe | paper: bella cotton white 1-ply + 2-ply | foil edging: tawny matte | envelope: bella cotton white | envelope liner: pearse pattern in sea-side | Rock Paper Scissors | customization #23659
