Wedding Bouquets Recreated in Paper

I had two commissions to re-create a wedding bouquet in paper last week and they couldn’t be more different.

The first was from a tropical island ceremony almost 10 years ago. While the bouquet itself was quite simple—about 20 tightly-packed calla lilies with just a few large leaves—each bloom needed to be hand-colored and blended to mimic the original bouquet. I’m just in love with how they turned out, and so was the client!

 The second project was inspired by a more traditional bridal bouquet featuring white, cream and very pale blush with dark foliage. The variety of flowers, along with the pop of pale mint and lavender imbue the classic arrangement with a bit of whimsy and wildness.

While the original bouquet was quite large, including more than 20 blooms along with the lush foliage, the client decided a smaller version would be better for her home.

My favorite blooms are these sweet ombré roses, with a cream base and hand-colored yellow glow at the center, fading to blush pink toward the outer edges.

Want a forever version of your own bouquet? Send me a photo for a quote!

April & May Card Club

Where did April go? Oh right, to Las Vegas, Utah, Kansas City and New Orleans. I’ve been traveling for most of the last month, and let me tell you, it’s good to be home. I’m finally catching up on my to do list, which of course includes sending out Card Club collections! April was an extra special delivery of a set of limited edition, hand-painted letterpress prints. I always get the itch to freshen up my space in the spring, and new art is a great way to do that!

We were back to cards for May, and these are some of my faves in a bright spring palette! Like what you see? Subscribe here—and don’t forget a subscription makes a great gift for Mother’s Day or any other holiday!

Happy 2017!

You guys, I’m such a bad blogger! Between holiday travels and some big exciting projects, I haven’t had much time to write, but this rainy morning seems the perfect opportunity.

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First things first, if you’re here trying to find out more about the Kindness is Everything, I’ve licensed the design to the Wisconsin Alliance for Women’s Health and you can shop for signs, shirts and more here. Follow our Kindness is Everything facebook page for updates and to connect with people across the nation that identified with the movement that began as a simple sign.

If you have no idea what I’m talking about above, check out my original post for the back story. Hundreds of emails and thousands of orders later, we’ve raised more than $7,000 for the ACLU with our Midwest sign distribution, and dozens of other groups across the country have raised even more! There were three of us managing all the requests and etsy page (completely pro bono of course) and it just got to be too much, so we started seeking a nonprofit with the capability to sell branded merchandise. Two of us had worked with WAWH previously, were familiar the good work the organization was doing in Wisconsin and nationally and thought it was the perfect fit (plus we knew the executive director would make the most of the opportunity!). It’s been really exciting to have something I made “go viral” and more importantly, to be able to connect with like-minded people across the world.

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I also took a step toward expanding the flower arm of 622 press in December. I offered my first flower making class in December! We ended up having to cancel it, but now that I’ve got the instruction booklets and material kits made—I even hosted a practice class with friends!—I’ve totally got the bug. I’m talking with a few venues in different cities about 2017 classes, so stay tuned! (And if you’re interested in having me teach a class in your area, get in touch, I’m available to travel!)

Speaking of flowers, I felt like they were starting to take over my Instagram feed, so I started a second account completely devoted to paper flowers. Follow here!

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I also had quite a few engaged couples get in touch before the holidays for save the dates and invitations. I can’t share any of those until after the big day of course, but here’s a lovely piece I received in late fall—nothing better than getting your own work in the mail! I’m so excited to work on more wedding invitations in 2017—get in touch if you’re planning your nuptials!

A Simple Hello

A few weeks ago, a lovely young woman got in touch about a custom embroidery hoop. She’s looking forward to her first anniversary with her boyfriend, and wanted to memorialize the first email he ever sent her in a hoop.

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She had checked out the rest of my work and loved it, so essentially gave me carte blanche on the design. I absolutely love how it turned out—and better yet so does she! I love creating custom pieces, so if you’ve got something in mind, don’t hesitate to get in touch!

She also ordered one of my favorite hoops along with her custom design, so “get your shit together” is now out of stock! I’ll probably make another at some point, but if you want one sooner than later, you know how to find me.

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While I was in the mood, I thought it was only fitting that I should embroider some more foul language on a couple of sweet little hoops.

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I’ve had the idea of a hoop that says “Welcome to my shitty apartment” for a while now, so I finally got around to stitching it! And I added a miniature succulent at the bottom, you know, to class it up a little.

Speaking of classy, this fancy hand-lettered, floral-filled “shit” hoop absolutely cracks me up. It’s just SO PRETTY! I’m thinking a series of hoops in this style may be in order… in the mean time, find this one in my etsy shop!

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Hybrid Printing: Letterpress at half the cost!

Around this time last year, I was finishing up a set of truly awesome letterpress and hand-painted business cards. The client got in touch a few weeks ago for a reprint, but was hoping to invest a little less for the same design.

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I’ve merged commercial printing with my letterpress work before, so I knew just what to do. Since the design on the back of the cards didn’t create a significant impression into the paper, I would have that side printed commercially, while letterpress printing the front. We decided to bring costs down even more by also commercially printing the flowers on the front, which of course isn’t as beautiful and unique as the original hand-painted work, but as a small business owner, I get it! And, since I print business cards four at a time, I was still able to incorporate different painted flowers to imbue the cards with some variation. Overall, I think they turned out great and I’m thrilled to be able to offer hybrid services to future clients!

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