Calligraphy Quote: Two Are Better Than One

My mother-in-law officiated her nephew's wedding last summer. One of the key scriptures was from Ecclesiastes. You know the one: two are better than one; a threefold cord is not quickly broken, etc.

She knows I dabble in calligraphy and asked me to make a print of the verse for her to give as a gift to the newlyweds. Well, it took me a few months to honor her request, but it's finally here!

Hand lettered calligraphy vectorized into a digital print.

Queen Bee & Poppy Floral Birthday Cards

I went through a phase where everything I made was on craft paper with black ink. Calligraphy, illustrations, doodles, whatever. I don't know if phase is the right word though, because let's get real, craft paper with black ink is pretty timeless, and downright swoon-worthy.

Here are two birthday cards I made on craft paper with black ink calligraphy. 

1. The Queen Bee

Queen Bee Birthday Card

This card was for my dear mother-in-law. She doesn't exactly have the "Queen Bee" personality in the traditional sense, and after I made it I realized that I don't think she even like bugs that much. However, I made the card with the endearing implication that she is the matriarch  and creator of the family. I think she liked it, regardless of the gigantic bug on the front page. I will say, though, that if I had to choose any insect, a bee would bee at the top of my list. They are quite beautiful and complex little creatures. And they make honey.

2. Poppy 

Poppy Birthday Card

One of my sisters-in-law loves poppy flowers. And I love flowers in general. Seriously, I am always happy to illustrate anything floral themed. My mom always had a large garden when we were growing up and I used to spend hours sitting on the rocks, usually trying to sneak up on dragonflies. Maybe my hours in the garden as a child is the reason I appreciate bees so much? Anyways, that's how this poppy birthday card came into being.

Baby Shower BBQ Invitation

Two of my first-cousins are pregnant with due dates a month apart: Erin is due July 22 and Hannah is due August 22. Literally, a month apart. My family decided to throw them a Double-Baby-Shower-BBQ in honor of the upcoming births. I've been head over heels for black ink on kraft paper lately, so I jumped at the chance to design the invitations. They are hand rendered with a touch of calligraphy. Invite reads:

Double Baby

BBQ Bash

Honoring

Erin and Kyle & Hannah and Nick

Baby Schumm: Boy, Target & Babies "R" Us

Baby Sohre: Unknown, Target

Then the Date, Time, Location, and RSVP contact info

Since it was a BBQ, I used symbols to represent the little baby bumps. Erin & Kyle know they are having a boy, so Baby Schumm gets a hot dog symbol. I think you all can guess why. ;)  Hannah & Nick have decided not to find out their baby's sex, so Baby Sohre gets a hamburger. 

The symbols by the registry information are baby bottles, in case you can't tell in the photo above. 

In addition to the invitations, my sister and I made "diaper cakes" for the baby shower. Diaper cakes are a fantastic idea for baby showers, and they are a double whammy, acting as both table decorations and gifts (you know they will need all the diapers they can get). 

P.S. In case you are confused as to what exactly a "diaper cake" is, I will explain. First of all, no, it is not actually a cake. You don't need flour, and you don't need to bake it in the oven (my husband was very confused when he asked what ingredients I needed and all I said was a box of diapers and some ribbon).

The steps are simple. Unfortunately, I don't have photos for this tutorial, but I will try to explain it the best I can without them.

Diaper Cake Tutorial:

Supplies: 1 box newborn diapers, ribbon (your color of choice, I like to mix it up a little), string or yarn, empty toilet paper rolls, and circular forming objects in different sizes (pots, baskets, anything that is round with a flat bottom).

1. Take your largest object, I used a pot. Start placing diapers along the inside edge of the pot, continue in a circle with the diapers overlapping (approx. 1 inch gap between diaper edges).

2. Continue to place diapers in the pot in a circular fashion, they will begin to spiral inward.

3. Once you reach the center, place the empty toilet paper roll in the middle of the pot to act as a filler.

4. This next step is easier with two people. Flip the pot upside down onto the table and slowly coax the diapers out of the pot, when they are 1/4 to 1/2 way out, tie a string or piece of yarn tightly around the outside edge of diapers so they will stay together.

5. Pull the diapers the rest of they way out, and you've got yourself the first layer of diaper cake!

6. Repeat steps 1-5 with different sized pots to achieve different sized layers, OR you can use the same sized pot and slowly, and carefully remove the outside layers to create a smaller size.

7. Stack diaper cake layers and tie ribbons around the strings to hide them.

Pro Tip: The diapers we used had color on the front side and were plain white on the back. We did some layers with the colored side showing and some layers with the white sides of the diapers showing. Alternate layers for a fun look. 

Speckled Easter Eggs Name Cards

I know this is a little past due, but I loved my speckled Easter eggs so much this year I need to post at least a few photos of them. I went with a soft (almost neutral) color palette this year. 

I used the inspiration/tutorial over at Dream A Little Bigger blog. If you've never dyed East eggs by putting them in a whisk instead of using a spoon, I highly recommend it!

I added the name tag & twine touch by myself, and we used them as name cards for the place settings. To make the stands I just cut down the individual modules of the egg carton. Voila! Instant egg holder. 

Calligraphy Birth Announcement: Freya Sydney

The family I used to nanny for just had a third child. They posted precious newborn pictures of her online shortly after the birth. I just couldn't resist making an unofficial birth announcement in her honor. World, meet Freya Sydney. Freya, meet The World. I can't wait to see her in person!

Tall & Skinny Calligraphy on Kraft Paper

This bride needed some simple, elegant calligraphy to carry her beautiful hand rendered wedding invitations to the homes of each of her guests. 

I love the black ink on kraft paper. When I first started the project the ink bled into the paper because it was so porous. I ended up using quite a bit of gum arabic to thicken the ink so it would lay smoothly on top of the paper.

I also designed and hand carved a return address stamp for the reverse side of the envelopes. Address stamps come in handy, because your address needs to go on all of the invitations and all of the return envelopes for RSVPs (in this case though, the bride & groom had email RSVPs).

The following shots of envelopes exclude the entire addresses for privacy reasons. Not that I think you all are going to hunt down the names & addresses on these envelopes and surprise them with... chocolate chip cookies or something. :)

Red Calligraphy

I totally forgot to post the calligraphy envelopes from the red & blue wedding invitations I did for my friend Paige. The linen envelopes are the same paper as the main body of the invitation suite and the wedding programs, and the red ink ties in nicely with wedding colors.