She walks in beauty

lemon lime

noreply@blogger.com (Sugar Plum Invitations) — Wed, 23 May 2012 13:04:00 +0000

Ulrika Ekblom, photographer and Liselotte Forslin, stylist

I'm on a citrus kick this week. I think I'm in the mood for lemon souffle or key lime pie. On hot summer days there is nothing like cold water, with crushed ice and fresh lime or lemon.. mmmmm. We recently planned a lemon tree and we already have so many lemons coming on, it's crazy!!! I'm off to make something.

image above by Boutwell Studios

image above by Delish.com

photography above by Mike Larson

image above by Kellie Kano

Coconut Lime Dessert Shots image above via Lauren's Latest

image above by Leigh Miller

pretty letterpress in lemon

noreply@blogger.com (Sugar Plum Invitations) — Tue, 22 May 2012 13:04:00 +0000

Photography by Lisa Maksoudian, custom design for Lisa Maksoudian photography, letterpress printing by Sugar Plum Invitations

We recently letterpressed printed these sweet cards for Lisa Maksoudian Photography. Aren't they just darling? Simple, sweet and elegant. We used extra thick paper to get more impression. I love the bright yellow against the pure white. Check out more of her photography here.. to die for. We love her so!

Photography by Lisa Maksoudian, custom design for Lisa Maksoudian photography, letterpress printing by Sugar Plum Invitations

sweet tooth

noreply@blogger.com (Sugar Plum Invitations) — Thu, 17 May 2012 13:10:00 +0000

cake by oh sweet mum

Amazing cakes that almost look too good to eat! I personally prefer pie, but cakes are so much more fun to decorate! From vintage cake stands to perfect sugar flowers, sweets are one of my favorite element in a wedding!

image above via pinterest

cake above by Oh sweet mum

image via pinterest

thoughts on mommyhood

noreply@blogger.com (Sugar Plum Invitations) — Wed, 16 May 2012 13:03:00 +0000

On Sunday I was feeling like a Mom, and not in a chic/ cool way, but in a worn out, bedraggled kind of way. Saturday night/ Sunday morning went something like this....
Stayed up til 1am letterpress printing
Went to "bed" at 1:30am
Emma woke up at 2am to go potty
Tessa woke up at 2:30am to nurse while teething
Tessa woke up at 4am to nurse
Tessa woke up to start her day at 6:30am
Emma woke up at 7am
{Note: when Tessa isn't getting 4 teeth all at once, she typically will be up maybe one time at night, but often is now sleeping 11 hours straight!}

I then made breakfast, got the kids ready for church, got myself ready in about 5 mins flat. We left the house with a laundry mountain in the living room, a disaster in the kitchen from breakfast and a very messy garage from a letterpress print marathon. We dropped the kids off at Sunday School and the nursery and by the time we sat down in the pews, I was afraid if we prayed too long I would fall asleep. I'm pretty sure I didn't do my hair and I literally had just thrown clothes on myself. When it was "turn and greet those around you" time, a college mom introduced herself. She was down visiting her son, an engineering student at Cal Poly. Troy was talk to someone else. Then she asked me, "So are you a Cal Poly student?"

I didn't know what to say..I was so stunned.... ummm... I have a 3 year old and baby... now I sound like a teenage mom. How do I not make her feel silly, when I tell her I graduated from grad school almost a decade ago, that I spend 6 years in dental private practice, that Troy and I are a few weeks away from celebrating our 8 year wedding anniversary, that I have a "mom van" and a mortgage, that I spend most of last night up with a teething baby. I was so brain dead all I said was..."no, I'm not a cal poly student, I just live here in SLO." Lame answer huh?!

After showing up to church on Mother's Day feeling exhausted, old and worn out, it was a pleasant surprise to be mistaken for college kid. I doubt there will be many more times, I better savor this one!

both images by Tempting Weddings, taken when Emma was 18 mo old.

mothers day

noreply@blogger.com (Sugar Plum Invitations) — Mon, 14 May 2012 15:13:00 +0000

grandma in 1996

When your mom reads your blog, then you better post about mothers day.. hehe!!! Here are some of my favorite pictures of my grandmother, mom and my little girls. This was a busy print weekend for me, but we'll celebrate on Tuesday with a family night out and lots of yummy treats!

Hope you had a great weekend. Don't you love the great cheeks and cheek bones through the generations?! It's long line, of strong, artistic, creative, faithful woman!

mom in the late 1960's

My parents and I Christmas 1980

mom and I 2003

my parents and Emma 2009

my mom and tessa 2013

did you see?

noreply@blogger.com (Sugar Plum Invitations) — Fri, 11 May 2012 13:03:00 +0000

one love photography on green wedding shoes

I love the colors and look from the Parker Palm Springs. It's perfect in soft teal, tangerine and navy blue. You can see the whole wedding here on Green Wedding Shoes.

image above by Ken Kienow on smp

Did you see Kerry's wedding on Style Me Pretty? Kerry is a real life friend and designer. You'll love her perfect wedding at See Canyon Fruit Ranch.. you can see it all here.

lush and romantic

noreply@blogger.com (Sugar Plum Invitations) — Mon, 07 May 2012 13:03:00 +0000

Summer is just around the corner. Summer fruits and lots of greenery- it just feels so fresh! I love the tablescape above, so very refreshing, chic, dainty and fun. What more could a bride wish for her wedding? We are happy to see that the pastel color palettes are growing in popularity for weddings!

The type of vibrancy emanated by this color is delicate, refined and versatile. You can incorporate peach in almost any type of wedding supply. This hue is cool and juicy and it can fit perfectly a warm summer wedding day. Tender and soft, peach can suit perfectly well a delicate bride.

pure sweetness

noreply@blogger.com (Sugar Plum Invitations) — Fri, 04 May 2012 13:03:00 +0000

Lisa Maksoudian took these amazing pictures of Tessa last month... I love them. So priceless, stunning.. if you have a baby.. you need Lisa to capture those moments! Tessa is our sweetie pie!!

amazing {summit}

noreply@blogger.com (Sugar Plum Invitations) — Thu, 03 May 2012 17:37:00 +0000

It's not a secret that we adopted precious Emma 2 1/2 years ago.... want to know more about adoption?

Watch the Live Video stream of Summit here.. it's amazing!!!

a true california girl

noreply@blogger.com (Sugar Plum Invitations) — Wed, 02 May 2012 15:47:00 +0000

6 am this morning....
Emma 3 1/2 yrs old : It can't be morning Mommy, the sun isn't out.
Me: The sun is hiding behind the clouds- it's cloudy right now.
Emma: Come out sun, I miss you.

15 mins later...
Emma: THE SUN WOKE UP!!!! It's morning, morning... the sun listened to me and came out!!! I love you sun.

The girl truly believes a new day can't start without literally a sunny day. Heaven help us if we visit the Pacific Northwest!

A little bit of emotion

noreply@blogger.com (Sugar Plum Invitations) — Tue, 01 May 2012 13:02:00 +0000

image by Ken Kienow

Weddings are such a range of emotions, happiness, joy, sadness, nostalgia, pride and excitement. I love the little unscripted moments of emotion caught on film. Emma already knows Daddy will have lots of happy tears on her wedding day!

image by Cameron Ingalls

image by ken kienow

image above by Lane Dittoe

sweet little faces

noreply@blogger.com (Sugar Plum Invitations) — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 13:10:00 +0000

image above by Axioo

Oh, who doesn't love a parade of sweet little girls in tulle at weddings. For as sweet as those 3-5 years olds look, as the bride, you may not want the firecracker ones. Yes, the ones with lots of personality and spunk are fun, but as a mom of a certified firecracker... the wild ones.. well can be wild.
Make sure you have realistic expectations for the kiddos, with lots of snacks and water for them. Don't expect them to stand for hours for pictures or for a long ceremony service. Quiet they may not always be, but memorable...oh yes!

Victor Sizemore photography

image above by sunny and scott

bits of sparkle

noreply@blogger.com (Sugar Plum Invitations) — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 14:03:00 +0000

image by Ken Kienow

Sorry for my lack of posts, I've been rather swamped with letterpress print projects and chasing the girls around here. After some rain, then hot weather, then a little more rain, EVERYTHING is green here, with bits of dewy sparkle. Emma is my glitter queen and gives our lives lots of extra sparkle! Enjoy some bits of golden, sunshine, sparkle!

image by Stephanie Williams

image by Mike Larson

the same, but different

noreply@blogger.com (Sugar Plum Invitations) — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 13:02:00 +0000

photography Stephanie Williams for Ruche

I'm so inspired by these awesome dresses above and modern and sleek all white cakes. Aren't the cake stands amazing too?! The dresses are perfect in purple and plum.They are kinda the same, but different. Love. it.

Image above by Stephanie Willaims

lindsey's pleated poppy

noreply@blogger.com (Sugar Plum Invitations) — Fri, 13 Apr 2012 13:03:00 +0000

We have been playing with some new ideas here, including creating custom duplex paper. We made these for Lindsey at Pleated Poppy (her famous wiww here). {We actually go to church with some amazingly talented people!} We created these with our house letterpress paper and Amy Bulter scrapbook paper! I love the bright colors.

We also have been working on doing watercolor washes over letterpress printing! It's a fun way to add more color without the cost of lots of letterpress runs and plate costs. So fun! Hope you have a wonderful weekend, we are hoping to enjoy a few sun filled days and work on our veggie garden!

all images by Sugar Plum Invitations

vintage sweetness

noreply@blogger.com (Sugar Plum Invitations) — Tue, 10 Apr 2012 13:02:00 +0000

Stephanie Williams for Ruche

One of the fun aspects of vintage weddings is that you can use lots of re-purposing items! I'm thinking about using lovely cake stands, vintage furniture, luggage, fruit crates, cameras, vases and picture frames! So many flea market and thrift store finds can be incorporated into the gorgeous tablescapes. Happy hunting!

image via Green Wedding Shoes

image above by Sunny and Scott via smp

Stephanie Williams for Ruche

Darin Fong Photography- Aileen Tran design

aqua hues

noreply@blogger.com (Sugar Plum Invitations) — Mon, 09 Apr 2012 13:02:00 +0000

Stephanie Williams photography above

Three little blackbirds cakes

Happy Monday, hope you had a great family weekend. Love this clean and modern color palette of aqua, white and black. These bright and cheerful colors also reminds me that Spring is here.

image above by Stephanie Williams

noreply@blogger.com (Sugar Plum Invitations) — Fri, 06 Apr 2012 22:16:00 +0000

image via southern living

image by sweet paul

In this weekend of chocolate eggs, pastel dresses and lots of ham, I hope you find comfort and hope in the real celebration of Easter! We are celebrating with my parents and brother! hugs- b

image by Stephanie Williams

seagreen + cotton candy + gold

noreply@blogger.com (Sugar Plum Invitations) — Mon, 02 Apr 2012 13:02:00 +0000

This is among my favorite shades of green! It's feeling like spring here! Looking forward to Easter week celebrations with friends and family!

Panacea Floral Design

{new} letterpress business cards

noreply@blogger.com (Sugar Plum Invitations) — Thu, 29 Mar 2012 13:03:00 +0000

image above by Sugar Plum Invitations

We finished a beautiful letterpress print project for Panacea Floral Design here locally, I loved how they turned out. You can enjoy Corinne's amazing work here and here! She works with lots of my favorite ventures on the California Coast. Get to know her better at the Wedding Standards artist interview here!

image above by Sugar Plum Invitations

familiar face

noreply@blogger.com (Sugar Plum Invitations) — Wed, 28 Mar 2012 13:15:00 +0000

Kerry at Olive and Emerald was sweet enough to feature me on her Familiar Face feature here! Kerry has designed some gorgeous wedding invitation suites that we have LOVED letterpress printing for her! She is awesome, sparkly, upbeat and so creative.. even our little girls love her! Check out all her work here! Thank you Kerry!

photo by Kelsey Kay Stewart

fresh blueberry

noreply@blogger.com (Sugar Plum Invitations) — Tue, 27 Mar 2012 12:57:00 +0000

image above by ken kienow

This dark blue is oh-so pretty contrasting with orange, yellow, blush or cream! It feels perfect for summer time outdoor weddings! Emma loves her morning blueberry oatmeal and I love fresh blueberry muffins! I have lots of new projects to share.. can't wait! Happy Tuesday!

image above by stephanie williams

stop motion

noreply@blogger.com (Sugar Plum Invitations) — Tue, 27 Mar 2012 12:22:00 +0000

Remember these awesome pictures of Tessa by Anna Ingalls?

Here is a fun stop motion video of Cameron and Anna and their sweet Asher! They are truly themselves... love it!

(Oh, yes and I am awake at 5:30am... Tessa thought it was a good time to start the day!)

mint spring green

noreply@blogger.com (Sugar Plum Invitations) — Mon, 26 Mar 2012 13:14:00 +0000

After a rainy weekend, the grass and hills are turning a wonderful lush green color! I love this time of year! Happy Monday!

Bret Cole photography

Axioo Photography

our little one!

noreply@blogger.com (Sugar Plum Invitations) — Thu, 22 Mar 2012 13:02:00 +0000

We were so happy to have Anna Ingalls capture Tessa in some wonderful outdoor shots. We took these at a perfect stage, just sitting up but not yet crawling. Anna was so patient and made the whole thing so much fun. You can see more at her beautiful blog here.

all photography by Anna Ingalls