A beautiful graphic of a vintage banner may determine the tone of your invitations; perhaps you’ve had your eyes on the hand-written font, Melany Lane, since its debut last November. Or if you’ve visited our blog anytime over the past month, maybe you’ve fallen in love with one of the ten new Trellis stocks, our newest collection of Envelopments Patterns and graphic elements featuring hand-painted artwork by Kristy Rice. So this is the first decision you’ll need to make: Which element will lead the dance and which will take the supporting role—the paper goods or the graphic design?

There’s definitely some truth to the idiom “having too much of a good thing.” Pairing an abundance of high-drama fonts and graphics with a selection of over-the-top colors and patterns may result in visual confusion. Choose your star performer and let it take the lead. If it’s too much pressure to make the decision in front of your Envelopments Dealer/Designer, browse through our gallery of Featured Recipes for different combinations of paper and graphic design. You may even want to order a Mini Deck for yourself and cut a rug at home while no one’s looking.

Read On: 2012 Wedding Collection Pt. 1; 2012 Wedding Collection Pt. 2.

If you want to earn extra credit points with your designer, browse through the Envelopments Gallery of Featured Recipes. Look at each ensemble as a whole, or dissect it into color, shape, size and graphic design. Everything about our collection encourages mixing and matching. Perhaps you fell in love with the 7×7 Pocket Folds® enclosure from the Autumn & Nolan Wedding Invitation, but can’t live without the graphics and type treatment from Brianna & Howard Save the Date. Purple and Fuchsia aren’t your colors? Go for those bright tones found in the Mia & Brock ensemble. You truly can customize every part of your ensemble, and the more decisions you’ve made ahead of time, the easier it’ll be for your designer to transform your vision in to reality.

This week, we’ve released an additional 12 new Featured Recipes that mix and match color, shape, size and typography. Browse through them and print out the gotta-haves for your inspiration folder. But you may want to wait a few weeks before booking your appointment, we’ve still got 36 more Featured Recipes to debut throughout February!

Read On: 2012 Wedding Collection Pt. 1; 2012 Wedding Collection Pt. 3.

Consider the responsibilities of an invitation designer. Through a single consultation (and maybe a few emails), we gather the information we need to interpret our client’s wish list. We pair taste with budget. We engage the different personalities of pattern with color. We join the perfect graphic treatment or hand-drawn illustrations with fonts or calligraphy that evoke the mood of the wedding day. In a nutshell, we marry together all the right combinations that make for an unforgettable union. With thousands of invitation designs out there, it’s our duty as matchmakers to introduce couples to the Save the Date that will make their palms sweat, the Wedding Invitation that makes it hard to focus on anything else throughout the work day—the ensemble that they simply can’t live without.

Over the next 5 weeks, we will be releasing 60 Featured Recipes that we’ve designed especially for the 2012 wedding season. Use them solely for inspiration or to jumpstart your design process. And don’t be afraid to embrace a new job title. Paper Yenta has a nice ring to it!

Read on: 2012 Wedding Collection Pt. 2; 2012 Wedding Collection Pt. 3.

And while we can be fiercely loyal and committed in every other way, you could say that in our own sumptuous world where inspiration is always on tap, we are happily and unequivocally “paper ho’s”;  we love ‘em and leave ‘em and love ‘em again.

Every time I set out to add new colors to our line, I stalk it like a new conquest, always having to justify my appetite to my husband, my sister (family business), and co-workers. Do I really need one more yellow (oopsie, I chose 2)? With 250 colors in the line, when is enough, enough? How does one deny that purely animalistic need for that perfect shade of silvery pink, a curry-ish shade of gold?  How does one curtail their appetite for one more envelope color (I mean 16), or a new pattern, in 10 color ways.

So, I thought I should be the one to come clean, to share my latest obsessions with you, because I know that you, of all people, will understand.

We have a number of new matte stocks in our release. Lemon Meringue, Sunflower, Wedgewood, Zuni, Thistle, Warmed White, Turtle Dove and Eggshell, all of them gorgeous, most of them with a matching text weight stock and many with matching envelopes. To highlight a few; Warmed White, no one understands the many facets of white like a designer who is frantically looking for the right print panel that will work with a tweaky color. Warmed White will dance well with our softer shades like Coral, and fleshier tones like Sea Shell, Crepe, even Taos, and Cameo (I know, you haven’t seen Cameo yet but you will soon and you will love it) It’s not really white and it’s not really ecru…it’s something else.  Sunflower and Lemon Meringue will feel like a summer day. And Turtle Dove is just that shade in between River Rock and London Fog. Wedgewood is like its namesake. And Zuni will make you crazy with love.

We have added 4 shades of Barque. Like the best part of a tree, Chocolate Barque, Pecan Barque, White Barque and Brazillian Barque / Chocolate. Two of them have matching envelopes, one is a duplex. All are perfect for those earthy and outdoorsy events.  You’ll want to carve your initials in them.

Then there are three new suede-like stocks; Chestnut, Cobalt and Noir that are deep and rich in color, (you’ll dream of matching shoes), and the most amazing texture, (if you catch yourself petting them we will understand).

Ok, don’t tell anyone but I have tripled our duplex offerings with the addition of Polar Ice / Pure White, Frosted / Cream, Lemongrass / Verbena, Iced / Sugar, Champagne / Ginger, Bullion / Ginger. These duplex stocks have the added distinction of being textured metallic (think fabric) on one side and matte on the other. We are certain you will be seduced by their dual personalities once you are face to face. Personally I am over the moon for Lemongrass/Verbena.

Also in our Metallic offerings are Spun Sugar (I just like saying that), Cameo, Tamarind and Stem. These fabulous new metallic colors offer a fresh new take on copper, gold, silvery pink and pale green. They are gorgeous on their own, but when paired with either complementing or contrasting colors they create the wow factor that we are always looking for.

But wait, there’s more! Letterpress stocks! Look at Coaster (it would look great sitting on a bar) in two weights and a new double thick option for 100% Cotton Ecru and 100% Cotton White.

Oh, did I mention new envelope liners for Raw Silk White-BRO83, Graphite-BRO77, London Fog-BRO11 and Majestic-BRO73 (Just ‘cuz you asked)?

And for those of you begging for envelopes in Jupiter, Lapis, 24 KT and Mystic…we heard you.

Ok if you aren’t hot and bothered yet…get a load of Trellis: What can I say that hasn’t already been said, tweeted and sung in its praises? Trellis is a unique and inspired offering of beautiful hand painted flowers by the illustrious Kristy Rice, that we built into a pattern and then printed it ten different color ways on our ten most bride inspired stocks. There are liners, EOA’s and postage stamps too! Be sure to take advantage of the 10% discount on the new Trellis postage stamps and the rest of our collection at zazzle.com. We can’t wait to see what you do with it.

Check out our Trellis design featured in Martha Stewart Wedding magazine.

Ok, that’s weird, I have the sudden urge to smoke?!

With almost 3,000 miles between our southern California headquarters and her Pennsylvania studio, we’ve relied on the Momental Designs website and blog to see samples of Kristy’s work. She frequently uses Envelopments cardstocks, papers, liners and envelopes in her custom wedding invitations and always inspires us with her unique color combinations. I was the first of our team to have the pleasure of meeting Kristy at engage!09 in Las Vegas. Since then, Envelopments and Kristy have been nurturing a mutually respectful relationship. At the 2011 National Stationery Show in New York, we began discussing the possibilities of collaborating over dinner. Needless to say, both parties left the table invigorated.

Over the next few months, we worked with Kristy on different variations of patterns. There was a lot to consider: How will her style be incorporated into the Envelopments aesthetic? How can we translate her hand-painted techniques into a reproducible medium? But the biggest question that persisted was “How gorgeous would her artwork look printed directly on a Pocket Folds® enclosure?”

With bated breath, we’re proud to introduce the Trellis Collection featuring the hand-painted artwork of Kristy Rice. Our newest collection of Envelopments Patterns available in enclosures, cardstocks, papers and liners. With our upcoming 2012 Wedding Release, we will be debuting ten different Trellis prints. For the first time, we are using a 4-color process to create two pink floral options and two orange floral options. We are also releasing six 1-color options, one of which is printed on a duplex stock (another first for us).

We feature Trellis in the Vivienne & Miles wedding ensemble, as seen in the Winter 2012 edition of Martha Stewart Weddings magazine, currently in circulation. The beautiful latticework of the pink floral pattern wraps the invitation in a 6×9 Pocket Folds enclosure. We highlight the tones of the delicate flowers with Boa and Tourmaline card stock backing layers and emphasize the hand-drawn stems with Belluccia, a calligraphic font.

Use any of the Trellis patterns to match the invitation, or use coordinating colors like Boa, Napa, Green Tea, Graphite, Raw Silk Gold or Raw Silk Ecru-SWI73 to create an eclectic color scheme of Favor Containers. Incorporate Envelopments Original Artwork (30 hand-painted floral elements to choose from) onto personalized band wraps.

Custom-scored folded cards make beautiful place cards, layered card stocks hang beautifully from topiaries as table numbers, and Envelofolds® enclosures work great as escort cards.

So, just like the process of hunting for that perfect wedding dress, we set out to find a pattern that complements the Envelopments collection. We knew which designer we wanted to work with. We knew the feeling we wanted to emote. Working with talented hands that tailored the fit to our taste made it all sing. And we’re excited to share this couture creation with you.

The NEW JIGster now features 11 boarder widths – from 1/16” to 1 ½”, with a larger surface to work on, and best of all…a great new low price.  The effort is painless and awe-inspiring when you actually see how easy it is to mount layers accurately and consistently with the JIGster.

Check out the NEW & IMPROVED JIGster video we just created here at Envelopments…

If you are interested in getting a JIGster click here.  If you are an Envelopments Dealer/Designer order yours directly.

HOLIDAY GREETING CARDS

Avoid the tight deadlines of the holiday rush by getting a jumpstart on your season’s greetings with these Envelopments design inspirations. Over the next 4 weeks, we’ll be releasing a total of 40 Featured Recipes for Christmas cards, Hannukah cards, non-religious greetings and holiday parties. Whether your taste is bold and graphic, or traditional and subdued, it’s the perfect way to send warm wishes and better yet, your favorite family photos! READ MORE

Making Spirits Bright Pt. 1
Making Spirits Bright Pt. 2
Making Spirits Bright Pt. 3
Making Spirits Bright Pt. 4
Learning to K.I.S.S.
It’s Beginning to look a lot like Christmas

PARTY INVITATIONS

My favorite thing about the holidays is bringing people together. Whether it’s with coworkers or old college buddies, friends from the neighborhood or new acquaintances you met in line on black Friday – there’s nothing like coming together for a holiday mixer. Since it’s an already hectic month of shopping, baking for the cookie exchange and meticulously wrapping all the presents, you really do deserve to sit back, relax and share a few laughs reminiscing. ‘Tis all about making making memories with other Survivors of the Season! READ MORE

ENVELOPMENTS ORIGINAL POSTAGE

Did you ever collect stamps when you were a kid? For a brief time, I did. I enjoyed seeing the many different images on the stamps and I liked the history of older stamps, the colors, the stamps from different countries. Part of me hoped I’d find one of those rare stamps and get rich. READ MORE

HOLIDAY PROJECTS

With the last bit of the leftover turkey from Thanksgiving dinner finally gone and the anxiety of Black Friday as a not-so-distant memory, we’re about to begin the last month of 2010. Although we’ve been thinking about the Holidays for months now, this past weekend I unpacked the holiday décor, hung my wreath and trimmed my Christmas tree. There are only four more weeks of the holiday season left, so I want to make the most of it with a few projects. READ MORE


Most gifts are kept under the Christmas tree, but by adding ribbon to Envelopments Favor Containers, you can hang your pocket-sized presents and gift cards to display your goodies as ornaments.

I knew right away I had a fellow paper addict on my hands when said teacher swooned at the sight of one of our patterned stocks being used to keep Sofia’s book report from being crushed in her back pack. My daughter happily offered it to her. So when I casually asked if she ever needed any paper for class projects, she mentioned her upcoming desire to have each child in her class make a calendar at the end of the year. (I’m guessing this will be a holiday present for the parents). I innocently inquired about the dimensions and quantities and quietly sprang into action.

As I understood, everything was to be collaged onto the cardstocks, so there were no limitations on colors. Even though I was only delivering blank stocks to her, I decided to go all out and to treat this as a design project…So, instead of bringing a box of shrink wrapped stock to the school, we made each one a beautiful package to unwrap by each child, giving the project reverence from first glimpse. Without any coaxing, I enlisted my daughter to be the production line for building and collating them. Sofia is at her happiest with these types of tasks… clearly she has the gene.

We laid out all the stocks on my kitchen table. Sofia pulled one of each color in the same order each time and I banded them together with a belly band made from Kaleidoscope vellum. Then Sofia inserted them into a clear bag and I sealed them. Such a simple added step made a pile of stock into a beautiful package. I realize that this desire for simple beauty has always been at the heart of most of my endeavors, hence the birth of Envelopments in 1993!

And while this gesture won’t guarantee a single one of my daughter’s grades this year, it will continue her on the path of giving more then what is expected, which is where I believe higher education and the true gifts in life live.

The inspiration for this destination wedding is the vibrant colors found in and around Santa Fe, New Mexico. The earthy colors of the landscape and architecture create natural and neutral backdrops to contrast with the red and turquoise found in southwest jewelry.

We employed a combination of 2 fonts to create an eye-catching type treatment on the Save the date and carried the look through to the invitation ensemble. The weekend itinerary and response set are held in the 7×7 Pocket Folds Classic enclosure.

Because the pocket inserts are tiered, we wanted to consider the negative space left by the reveal of the cards. The headline of the weekend itinerary card along with the couple’s initials frame the response set, which displays the RSVP date before the card is removed from the pocket. We used Envelopments Original Artwork to incorporate dream catchers and pattern onto the envelopes for the Save the Date and the wedding invitation. Envelopments Original Postage coordinates with the color story.

Expanding on the graphic quality of the invitation ensemble to the paper used on the day of the wedding, we created a Well-Wishes station where guests can write notes of hope and prosperity for the newlyweds. The same pattern from the Save the Date envelope was printed on the back of the well-wishes card to maintain a cohesive look.

White leather cording and eyelets turn simple escort cards into a burst of color hanging on tree branches as guests enter the venue. Use vintage cowboy boots instead of vases to continue the southwest theme. Translucent vellum mounted onto glass cloches filled with succulents creates beautiful table numbers and centerpieces. And don’t forget to use Envelopments Favor Containers in coordinating tones to give your guests a keepsake of your wedding day.

I reconnected with Remi at another friend’s wedding last year and had the pleasure of meeting his impeccably dressed fiancé, Kristin. Over the next few months, we began the planning process for their paper needs. After seeing their engagement photos, shot by the amazingly talented Amelia Lyon, I was inspired to maintain the level of WOW, set by Amelia, Kristin and Remi. The location for the photos was South Coast Plaza, a familiar shopping venue for the fashionable Orange County duo. The backdrops they selected were unique and the lighting had an epic cinematic quality. If you ever meet this couple you’d know that there wasn’t a shortage of personality. And after catching up with them, I discovered their unique story.

After a long courtship (which included 13 months of friendship and 84 months of dating), they began the journey towards walking down the aisle. To give their guests an idea of just how much the upcoming wedding day meant to them, Kristin and Remi wanted to convey their story as a part of their wedding invitation. Pulling inspiration of Jill and Matt’s wedding invitation (typeset and screenprinted by the groom, Matthew Dorfman), we designed a 4-panel accordion card, jam-packed with eye-candy.

Their wedding colors were navy blue, gray and Honeysuckle, the PMS Color of the year for 2011. I quickly fell in love with this modern adaptation of a boy-meets-girl color story, and couldn’t wait to see how the blend of masculine & feminine would translate into the wedding fashion. Keeping the paper goods light for a summer wedding, we used PC 100 White card stock and London Fog for the envelopes.

With all the information to contain, we opted for a custom-scored card instead of a Pocket Folds® enclosure. In order to neatly organize the response set and accommodations card, we used a pair of slits to hold the inserts in place on the fourth panel. Knowing that there would be an eyeful to look at on the interior, we kept the front of the wedding invitation subdued with a pop-mounted blind debossed seal of their names and the wedding date. The envelopes were lined with a custom pattern of pink and blue hearts, and were mailed using custom Zazzle postage stamps. My favorite aspect of the invitations, aside from the fact that it represented the couple’s personalities to a “T,” was that the assembly was so easy: folding along the score lines, collating and attaching the inserts, and the sole mounted piece of the envelope liner!

Weeks after the invitations were mailed, we began discussing the printed items for the wedding day. We needed to design ceremony programs, reception programs, place cards, table numbers and venue signage. The programs mirrored the design for the ceremony and reception, each using 4 cards that tiered in size and were held together by a personalized band wrap. The ceremony programs included a trifold of the ceremony events (first card), a double-sided card for the bridal party and sponsors (second card), a double-sided card for dedications to the bridal party and parents (third card), and a map to the reception site, complete with local activities to do between the ceremony and reception (fourth card).

The reception programs included a gratitude card thanking guests and vendors (first card), a reception card with the schedule of events (second card), a menu card listing the evening’s culinary delights (third card), and a guest libs card which doubles at their guestbook (fourth card). The programs were held together by customized band wraps with each guest’s name, serving as the place card. No detail was left unnoticed—even the golf pencils for the guest libs were wrapped in blue paper!

The table numbers, carrying out the visual theme of badges and banners, used a diagonal stripe and chevron pattern as backgrounds. We also made signage for the candy bar and a drink menu for their signature cocktails.

With a backdrop of the gorgeous Renee and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall, anything would have looked amazing. But after all of our meetings, the back and forth emails of proofs, and the over abundant attention to detail, I can be sure that Kristin and Remi’s wedding will raise the bar for all future weddings.