Crystal Harris and Hugh Hefner Wedding Calligraphy

So, now you know ... my latest invitation project was this! It only took one or two samples to get the calligraphy style right and then it was on to the border to create the flourishing, something I had been wanting to try for a while so this was a perfect opportunity to see what would happen. My first glimpse of the invite came by way of a tweet by @hughhefner. Congratulations to the happy couple!

Cartes

This past October I had the extreme pleasure of working with a bride on accessories for her wedding. As a matter of fact, Jen Lauren Grant is, herself, in the wedding industry, and is a photographer. Here are a couple of photos of the cards I did for her. Anyway, Jen's photographic work is just beautiful and she has a lovely blog on which she wrote a very nice testimonial about me. Thanks, Jen!

Razzle-Zazzle

Today my custom postage was featured in a post at Felt & Wire, Mohawk Paper's blog, and penned (or, perhaps keyboarded) by writer extrordinaire, Alyson Kuhn, from whom I have reverently borrowed the title of this post. Take a look now, but be sure to also bookmark Felt & Wire, to make sure you can go back often to peruse the excellent content.

My appreciaton extends to Alyson for today's post, as well as the post she, a.k.a. AOK, wrote on Tuesday, Monograms à la modern, in which she discussed my monogram designs that I offer through the Felt & Wire Shop.

Those of you who have been reading my blog may already know that I have calligraphic Love postage stamps available for purchase in my Zazzle shop. And now, thanks to a lovely bride named Kendra, available in the shop as of this week, is an all-new Rsvp stamp, designed in calligraphy to coordinate nicely with the popular Love stamp.

Both the Love and Rsvp stamps are offered in a range of colours, but should you not readily see your scheme, they are customizable to those of your choice!

Fa La La La La

No time of year makes me happier than does the one we are in now. I've gotten past the big work push for a few days and am looking forward to some time away from drawing board, at least for a day or two.

Christmas brings me much joy, and my hope and wish is that the coming days of this festive season bring you much happiness, as you celebrate with those you love!

Flourished Calligraphy for a Save The Date

This was quite a fun, yet challenging project ... designing the "perfect" version of the words Save The Date, in a flourished calligraphic script. The photograph was taken by Elizabeth Messina, and the invitation was designed by my friend Susan at Papel Paper & Press.

Bacio

A little something from the archives today ... From last year's A Lovely Workshop in Napa and photographed by Elizabeth Messina.

Have a great week!

Births, Deaths and Marriages

Matt Ellis contacted me to hand letter the title of his recent album entitled, Births, Deaths and Marriages. If you have a few minutes to kick back, check out the video Heart of Mine for a quick look and listen, it's a great song – and you get to see a cute lil' pooch!

Signs for the Bride and Groom

This sign duo is something I created for a recent wedding. What a challenge it was to write large, yet still to keep a "pointed pen" look.

G

              Created with a Gillott 1068A and W&N Jet Black Gouache

A Lovely GiveAway

How exciting to be part of a give-away! Particularly one curated by photographer extraordinaire Elizabeth Messina. To see what is in store, head over to her blog, Kiss The Groom, then cross your fingers and throw your name into the hat (by leaving a comment) ....

Casual But Chic Wedding Calligraphy

A little more free and flowing than standard copperplate calligraphy, this lettering style is one of my favourites!

                               Click on the image to get a better view....

Weathergrams

Although I have always loved Weathergrams, this was the first time I created any myself. They were developed in the mid-1920s by Lloyd Reynolds, who taught writing and calligraphy at Reed College near Portland, and were meant to be written on brown paper (mine came via Trader Joe's shopping bags) and hung in a tree, to be exposed to the rain and elements, and to gently weather. These eventually went to France, and so I don't exactly know what has happened to them, but I had a chance to snap some shots of them before they made their journey.





    

Wedding Invitation Calligraphy

Here are a few examples of my calligraphy that was used on an invitation, menu and monogram. Please click on each image if you would like a closer view.





                                                  Design by Grapevine
                                               Photographer unknown
                                 {but would happily give credit if I knew}

             

C

             Created with a Pigma Micron, Prismacolor pencils, and gel pen

B

                             Drawn with a Gillott 1068A and gouache
  
    

A

                              Written with a Gillott 1068A and gouache

   

Calligraphy on CeCi New York

A quick snippet of calligraphy I did recently on a CeCi New York design.

Barcelona

Out of the blue, back at the beginning of February, I received a delightful email message asking me to participate in a project involving cities and type at Neue. How could I have said anything but "Yes!" to the person who offered such lovely words about my work.

Using a pointed pen, I crafted the name Barcelona to be somewhat rough, and based the lettering on Visigothic Versals, a style I had the pleasure of getting to know in a fabulous class taught by my friend, the ever talented Risa Gettler. Of course, I had to throw a few flourishes into the mix and here you can see the results. If you have a few minutes, do take a click on over to Neue and check out the Barcelona gallery, you'll be glad you did!

Personalized Invitation Calligraphy

Sadly, I had a couple of hard drives with my work, images, and other stuff die on me last year. However, on the bright side, I found one thing that I thought was lost forever. {yay!} This is a favourite because of the way the names connect with intertwining strokes, something that I really like to do when writing names for a wedding.

Finding this gave me the idea to remind all the brides out there that having your names personalized in calligraphy is something that can make an invitation from a book instantly become a custom invitation, but without the custom price tag!

Love and Kisses

When I was asked to make some signs for Elizabeth Messina's A Lovely Workshop this past year I was quite delighted to say the least. Ever gracious, she sent me some of the photographs she took of my work. I will share a few images today, and will post some more as time goes on.