Summer of YAS!

I don't know about you, but I am all about California summer vibes! That's why I've created this Summer Checklist printable for you.

Let's make this the #summerofYAS & live it up!!

Right click, save, & print this so you can have these good vibes goals up to remind you to have FUN every day. 

 Summer Checklist Fun Ideas Rainbow Travel California Summertime

 

 

I'm dusting off my unicorn floatie & stocking up boozey popsicles because my inner mermaid is ready for some beach action. 

 

For more inspiration, click here for a Pinterest board filled with easy recipes & tips for making this an epic summer filled with wanderlust, fun, & Champagne.

 

We need some fun & self care now more than ever. As a wise woman once said, "If you can't love yourself, how in the hell you gonna love somebody else?". Can I get an amen up in here?

 

Let's blow up Instagram with a #summerofYAS - who's leaving a trail of corks with me?

 

Summer of YAS Checklist Fun Vibes Summertime

Photo by Wild Within.

Destination Save the Dates in View Master Reels

View Master Reel Finder Invitation Wedding Tropical Watercolor Pineapple Palms

I am so excited to finally share the newest type of wedding invitation Pigment & Parchment offers! 

I created a Save the Date reel for Team Wanderlust's display at Freshbash and could not have been more in love with how they turned out. 

I even won an award for Best Travel Detail in all of Freshbash 2016!*

*cue nerding out, hardcore. 

calligraphy hand lettering freshbash team wanderlust green

The inspiration behind our team's styled wedding installation was an adventurous travel loving couple having their tropical destination wedding in Thailand! 

Luckily, our team's event designer (Wild Heart Events) had just styled an engagement shoot for Mollie Crutcher Photography. Her photographs worked perfectly as the backgrounds I laid my calligraphy & brush lettering artwork over. 

I had so much fun picking which photos to use & coming up with the wording for the Save the Dates to really tell our wanderlust engaged couple's love story.

View Master Reel Finder Wedding Invitation Save the Date Stationery Watercolor Calligraphy

I'm a big advocate for wedding stationery wording that reflects each couple & how they live their real lives. 

If you're fancy at heart, then of course let's get fancy! But, if you're romantic, witty, vintage loving, quirky, minimalist, etc. your wedding invitation wording can encompass your personality too!

There's nothing wrong with traditional wording. I just encourage couples to do what suits them best without judgement. The etiquette rules people are told they HAVE to follow are absolutely optional.

You do you, boo.

That's my wedding stationery wording advice. 

And without further ado... The slides that went into the Save the Date reels!

I wish I could mail each of you one to fully experience seeing them through the view finder but this is almost as good.

Enjoy!

Wanderlust Bride Brush Lettering Beach Wedding Travel Destination

 

Travel Inspired Wedding Engagement Shoot Palms Wanderlust Tropical

 

Beach Bike Calligraphy Engagement Save the Date Destination Wedding

 

Destination Wedding Calligraphy Engagement Photos View Finder Reels Stationery

 

Calligraphy Destination Wedding View Finder Save the Date Reel Tropical Beach

 

Travel Wedding Save the Date Reel View Finder Calligraphy Wanderlust Beach

 

Save the Date Calligraphy Watercolor Tropical Palms Wanderlust Travel Thailand Greenery

 

Ephemera Obsession

Watercolor Calligraphy Invitation Wedding Berry Fern Purple Pigment & Parchment

Here's a suite I'm sending off to Utah for a styled shoot this week. First off, I have to say I am not a purple person. 

Of all the colors it has always been my least favorite. For some reason though, when I was looking at Amber Michelle Event's mood board for the photo shoot I was really drawn to the berries & their colors.

I just leaned into it, even though it's not my usual palette choice. I even had to run to Paper Source since I didn't have anything in purple in my studio! I had snippets of every other color but no violet hues. 

I am so happy I went against my own grain this time. The abstract watercolor berries in blue violet & red violet swirling together is my favorite part of the stationery suite. Well, that and the stamps...

The love affair I have with paper ephemera started when I was young. I used to hoard packaging, labels, stationery from traveling and my prized collection of Audrey Hepburn, Lucille Ball & Judy Garland stamps.

Watercolor Calligraphy Invitation Wedding Berry Fern Purple Pigment & Parchment

Watercolor Calligraphy Invitation Wedding Berry Fern Purple Pigment & Parchment

Watercolor Calligraphy Invitation Wedding Berry Fern Purple Pigment & Parchment

Fast forward to preparing my own wedding invitations in 2013 & I became obsessed with vintage stamps overnight. Once I realized I could find old stamps online that were still usable to mail my own invites it was game on.

It was just a bonus that it wouldn't cost too much more than the standard stamps at the post office. Some even cost less than their face value if you search long enough! The main thing you have to do is make sure to search for 'unused' stamps. They can't have any markings on them for the post office to still accept them. 

Also, a good rule of thumb for mailing wedding invitations is to go into the post office and have them weigh one.

They'll let you know exactly how much postage is necessary for the weight. I normally even pad it to  just to be safe. No one wants returned invitations, plus you can never have enough mini art pieces decorating your envelope!

The way I see it, you pour all this energy into making beautiful invitations with all the bells & whistles so why not apply the same attention to detail with art on the outside of the envelope too! 

*I speak from a place of stationery art-loving nerd. If paper isn't your way of showing your love & style, don't spend money on it. Don't spend money on any aspects of your wedding if you don't really care about it. Celebrate your love in whatever ways that are most meaningful to you both. No wedding industrial complex pressuring here... Ew. 

Watercolor Calligraphy Invitation Wedding Berry Fern Purple Pigment & Parchment

However, if you're wanting to use vintage stamps to just make envelopes look pretty for styled photos- save a bunch & buy used stamps! I love the look of the postal markings!
You can really dive into depths of Etsy & Ebay if you want to find specifically themed stamps. Ebay has better deals, but you'll have to do more sifting. Examples of themed stamps I've purchased are: dinosaur, geode, fruit, films, travel posters, cacti, musicians, lighthouses, berries like the ones you see here, & the list goes on & on. 

Stamp lots are perfect if you're wanting to save some money & are okay getting whatever you get from all over the world. What I do now though is get lots of 500 used stamps from Stamps for Crafts. When they arrive, I turn on some Netflix and start sorting through them by color. Once they're all separated out in about 20 piles, I store them in little envelopes with their color name on front. 

Then when I'm ready to pretty up an envelope, I just grab the envelope with the color I'm looking for & my stationery suite is complete within a minute or two!

For the most part, I have to use double sided tape on really old stamps since their glue isn't in the best condition anymore. 

I hope this was helpful if you've been eyeing vintage stamps but don't know where to start! 

Watercolor Calligraphy Invitation Wedding Berry Fern Purple Pigment & Parchment

Forest Bohemian Wedding

I am so excited to finally share this shoot with you. It was such a dream to be a part of. We've all been sitting on these stunning photos for almost a year... & anyone in my inner circle KNOWS I hate keeping happy surprises a secret. I'll do it. But, I'll hate it. 

So, without further ado, here I present to you a labor of love put together with so much enthusiasm & joy by Erica at Tin Roof Farmhouse & Katie of Katie White Photography. Their inspiration came in all shapes and forms, but the primary driving forces were nature & la vie bohème... two of my all time favorites. Katie's photography captured the natural beauty of the environment perfectly.

We were so excited to shoot on site at Inn Town Campground- especially since they aren't even open to the public yet! Something tells me it won't be long before they're booked solid. I mean, gorgeous right?! Their cabin tents are full of rustic charm that doesn't feel forced, which I adore.

I had so much fun doing the calligraphy and illustrations for this stationery suite- and I itched to set up camp and stay at the shoot all night long!

Boho Bohemian Forest Wedding Pigment & Parchment Northern California Nevada City Ceremony

Boho Bohemian Forest Wedding Pigment & Parchment Northern California Nevada City Groom Ring

Boho Bohemian Forest Wedding Pigment & Parchment Northern California Signature Cocktail Pomegranate Cinnamon Bar Sign

Boho Bohemian Forest Wedding Pigment & Parchment Northern California Nevada City Champagne Signature Cocktail Bride and Groom

Boho Bohemian Forest Wedding Pigment & Parchment Northern California Nevada City Ceremony Ferns Little Boy Flowers Bouquet

Boho Bohemian Forest Wedding Pigment & Parchment Northern California Table Setting Dinner Nature Outdoors

Boho Bohemian Forest Wedding Pigment & Parchment Northern California Table Number Deer Antlers Watercolor Taper Candles

Boho Bohemian Forest Wedding Pigment & Parchment Northern California Mason Jar Candle Chandelier Dahlia Chair Back

Boho Bohemian Forest Wedding Pigment & Parchment Northern California Place Card Hanging Flower Chandelier Lace Calligraphy

Boho Bohemian Forest Wedding Pigment & Parchment Northern California Menu Feather Pomegranate Place Setting Table Place Card

Boho Bohemian Forest Wedding Pigment & Parchment Northern California Sliders Appetizers Food Signage Calligraphy

Boho Bohemian Forest Wedding Pigment & Parchment Northern California Table Number Squirrel Painting

Boho Bohemian Forest Wedding Pigment & Parchment Northern California Dinner Chair Backs Place Setting Nature Taper Centerpieces Persimmons

Boho Bohemian Forest Wedding Pigment & Parchment Northern California Hippie Tee Pee Lace Vintage

Boho Bohemian Forest Wedding Pigment & Parchment Northern California Boutineer Groom Kiss Bride Tee Pee

Tee Pee Lace Bride Groom Boho Bohemian Forest Wedding Pigment & Parchment Northern California

Glamping Tent Honeymoon Inntown Campground Boho Bohemian Forest Wedding Pigment & Parchment Northern California

Bouquet Little Boy Flowers Ferns Dahlias Boho Bohemian Forest Wedding Pigment & Parchment Northern California

Honeymoon Glampint Suite Inntown Campground Boho Bohemian Forest Wedding Pigment & Parchment Northern California

Vintage Globe Romantic Brush Hand Lettering Boho Bohemian Forest Wedding Pigment & Parchment Northern California

Smores Bar Signage Watercolor Dessert Sign Boho Bohemian Forest Wedding Pigment & Parchment Northern California

Smores Bride & Groom Fire Pit Boho Bohemian Forest Wedding Pigment & Parchment Northern California

 

This shoot was a dream for my wanderlust hippie heart. Watercolor painting images of feathers, critters, leaves and branches were like taking a mini vacation in my art studio. This was the most glamorous camping I've ever seen, and I'm pretty sure I've never seen a more beautifully simple tee pee. I can't believe they whipped it out of logs and lace that morning! 

Little Boy Flower Farm and Floral Design grew & designed some glorious flowers, with persimmons & pomegranates spilling out of every surface. I especially loved the persimmons! They're so colorful & unexpected. 

My favorite hair & makeup artist, Angela Nunnink, worked her natural beauty wizardry once again. I was so honored to have her do me up for my head shots and photos for this website. Seriously you guys, she's a beauty wizard. 

The clothes were provided by Aquarian Dawn Vintage Apparel,  food provided by Farm to Table Catering & rentals were from Tin Roof Farmhouse's lovely eclectic collection!

 

 

Mykonos & Watercolor: an Actual Wedding

I just got the most delicious photos back from a client who wishes to remain anonymous (hence the lack of people in the photos she sent). I just love how secluded this whole wedding feels. Can we talk about those views!?

The florals are so lush and the photos just drip with greenery. Petar Jurica Photography did a perfect job of capturing the mood of their wedding. I basically want to crawl into his photos and never leave. The stationery I did for this wedding had me itching to go to Greece so badly. 

Just wait until you see the tee pee they had out on the beach. I never want to camp in a regular tent again. 

Destination Wedding Boats Water Beach Greece Dinner Kings Table

Palms Wedding Fronds Greenery Place Setting Plants Overgrown Nature Wedding Greek Islands

Dinner Wedding Secret Garden Greece Menu Place Setting Flowers Plants Greenery

Tee Pee Beach Night Lit Up Drapes Palms Wedding Mykonos Greece Sand

Table Number Alternatives Aphrodite Greek Goddess Bougainvillea Watercolor Brush Lettering

So now that you've seen their wedding, take a peek at the custom stationery I hand painted and lettered for their Greek wedding!

The first image is one of their 37 table 'numbers'. They were each hand painted & named after their favorite Greek Gods & Goddesses. I love when people use alternative ways of marking their tables instead of just numbers! They were all adorned with classic bougainvillea flowers found all over the Cyclades in the Greek Islands!

Next there's an image with their dinner menu with classic blue Greek shutters! I loved that detail! Next to it is the note for their guests that was printed on the back of their maps. 

Menu Wedding Calligraphy Watercolor Bougainvillea Greek Blue Shutters Brush Lettering Flowers

Greek Wedding Map Hand Painted Illustrated Calligraphy Destination

Watercolor & calligraphy wedding maps are great additions to guests' welcome baskets- especially for destination weddings! They're one of my favorite items to make, and I do them completely by hand. This is harder to do than tracing them, but that's how I keep the line work looking like it's got movement behind my strokes.

Hope you enjoyed this sneak peek at their suite! I love being able to show you photos from a real Pigment & Parchment wedding! Mykonos sure made a gorgeous destination wedding spot, am I right?!