Minted: Wall Art for Awesome Babies

I don't know about you, but when Spring rolls around I get antsy for change. Not major life-changing change, but aesthetic change. I'm happy to banish the grey skies and cold temperatures for a brighter and sunnier point of view which, for me, translates to adding more color to my life and my living space. Occasionally this means I put some sort of bright color in my hair but more often it means I buy art.

Maybe it's the art school kid in me but I am a bit of an art junkie. I give myself a small monthly budget for buying art from independent artists which means I spend way too much time trolling the web for budget friendly originals and prints from relatively unknown artists. Over the last year I've found that Minted has an ever-growing selection of outstanding art prints available in a variety of sizes, prices and color options. Some of them are even customizable and make great gifts! Plus, they are all created by Minted's infamous global community of designers! (Of which, I am lucky enough to be one.)

A color that has really grabbed my attention lately is pink, but not super sweet pastel pink. I'm really digging bright pinks, especially when paired with darker, sophisticated colors. While I am not inclined to base a room in my (temporary, sigh) home around pink but I am an equal opportunity color appreciator so I still have fun designing the "idea." Using Minted's groovy new inspiration board builder tool, I've matched up some pink-ish prints to curate a collection that is both sweet AND smart yet doesn't scream "Princess Party." This is the kind of art that would be perfect for a baby girl's room yet is adult enough to "grow up" as she does. Shoot, she may even take them to her future dorm room!

Colorful Girl collection of art from Minted

Something Old, Something New Wedding Invitation Challenge

Is open for voting! This challenge focused on designing for different cultures, religions and traditions. There are a ton of great submissions that will allow for brides and grooms around the world to find the perfect invitation for their event. Go now, and let your rating finger do the talking.


wedding invitations - Lucky Horseshoe

wedding invitations - A Comic Book Love Story

wedding invitations - Sales Pitch

wedding invitations - Coral Beach

There is a shoe God!

I have just discovered a company that allows you to design you own shoes without an outrageous price tag AND if they don't fit when you get them, the company will repair them free of charge?!

When I get really excited about something I begin to suck at describing it in words. Just go here and see for yourself!

Go from this ...
to this!

Shoes of Prey will be getting money from me very soon!

Client Spotlight: Jen + Jimmy

Last winter I was approached by a co-worker of my husband's to design and print the invitations for his December wedding. Their wedding took place in a charming chapel in Pensacola, Florida with the reception at a local art museum.

After a bunch of design ideas they decided on a grey damask design with a cobalt blue frame and accents.


I am sorry I don't have pictures of the actual invitations, the job ended up becoming a last minute deal and I mailed them off while they were still hot from the printer.

They actually moved to England when we did and have become great friends. Thanks Jimmy and Jen!

Client Spotlight: B's Wedding Invitations

Here I am sitting in our TLF (temporary living facility) while hubs is off doing stuff with his new squadron. Upon checking my email I see I've gotten an email from one of my favorite clients, B.

Before the insanity of the holiday season started I finished up an invitation design suite for her. You may recall her save-the-date postcards from earlier in 2009. Well, today she sent pictures of the final printed and assembled invitation! They look FANTASTIC so I just have to share.

To start the design process I asked her to describe the overall feel that she was looking for. Her answer was:

"French tea salon ... lovely chandeliers, wood panels, warm and cozy light, beautiful pastries, macaroons and other yummy things lined up on the shelves and counters, tea and hot chocolate served in wonderfully detailed tea cups."

She added that Ladurée's (of Paris macaroon fame) packaging embodied exactly the kind of look she wanted to go for.

[image source: some like it haute]

[source: beyond the pale]

Umm, how perfect is that for a spring-time French château wedding? I was psyched to get started on designs! After a bunch of concepts and revisions this became the final design.

B used Catprint.com and had them print everything on their 107lb shimmer cardstock. The paper punch she found in Hong Kong on a trip. The pocketfolders and envelopes are from paperandmore.com.

Spotted!

The lovely Sarah Pease from Brilliant Event Planning in New York contacted me a month ago asking if she could feature my Colored Crinolines on her blog. To which I gave her a resounding "yes!"

Her timing couldn't have been better because I had just gotten some awesome crinoline photos from my clients. She chose to use pictures from my Client Spotlight of Christina, the bride with the incredible Puerto Rico wedding and the pale pink crinoline.

[photo by Shawna Herring]

Check out her post about my shop.
Thank you Sarah!

Client Spotlight: B

My lovely client B, just sent me photos of her save the dates before they went out to her guests. She will be getting married this spring at the Château verbust in Lyon, France. I'm not gonna lie, I'm a little jealous of her guests! So ...

Dear unmarried friends,
Please have your wedding at a chateau in France.
Thanks,
-Ashley

Postcards and wrap label designed by 2BirdStone
Printed by simple card

Off they go!

NEW Vintage Style Save the Date Postcards

One of my favorite classes in college was print making and since then I've always dreamed of someday owning my own letterpress and silk screen studio (not for t-shirts, mind you).

When I heard of this book, The Handy Book of Artistic Printing I ordered it immediately. Upon its arrival I was instantly inspired by its contents: the diverse layouts, the complex and minute details, and the color palettes. I spent days sketching and flagging pages and when I finally sat down to the computer this postcard design came to life.

Front

Back

While directly inspired by a layout within the book, I now feel I have a better grasp of "how" to translate these vintage designs to modern stationery and create designs all my own. So look out for more awesomeness to pop up in the shop!

Client Spotlight: Laya #2

Holy biscuits, Paula Deen!

Laya's wedding is featured on Style Me Pretty! You MUST check it out! Part 1 , Part 2 , Part 3
She even said:

"Etsy was my main source for stationary and other decorations. ... I also worked with Ashley Bowron, the designer/owner of 2BirdStone to create digital designs for map/direction inserts, table numbers, thank you cards and favor inserts/tags, inspired by my invitations - this gave me the opportunity to shop around for a printing company in my neighborhood to save money."

I love it when a bride is thrifty and her wedding still looks like a million bucks!!

[image via Style Me Pretty]

Item Featured!

I just found out that Creepy Queen Magazine has featured my Scarlet Flora invitation suite on their site in the "Summer of Alternative Weddings" article.


I have always thought there were not enough punk/goth/rock wedding designs out there, so I've been trying to offer more than pretty pastel and floral designs in my shop. Like this one, geared toward a graphic/printing geek using only CMYK (I guess I should make an RGB version for the web geeks too!).



Now that someone has noticed my stuff, I'm inspired to take it up a notch and add some more!

Thanks for the heads-up uvkitty!

Inspiration: Bunting Flags

I occasionally will surf the millions of great wedding blogs out there in the blogosphere for a boost of inspiration. I stumbled upon a cake with tiny little bunting flags draped around it and fell in love. I got so excited to create a design using bunting flags that I forgot to note exactly where I saw the picture. I did find a few more inspiring examples to share with you.

What a sweet way decorate for a garden wedding and reception!

[source]

I had a ton of fun creating this invitation poster design and it's now for sale in my shop. Enjoy!
[source]

[source]

Client Spotlight: Laya

[Image by Lindsay MacDonald Photography]

Laya contacted me about creating some additional elements for her previously purchased wedding invitation that she could print on her own (lucky girl has a friend with a printshop!). We used Etsy's handy little Alchemy function and I got to work.

The first item was a two-sided card with a map on the font and directions on the backside.
Then I got to work on creating her table numbers.
Once she had them printed she put them into silver frames and posted photos of them to her blog.
Laya decided to give all her guests a pair of photo coasters as favors, so I designed a little insert for them to tie everything together.

I also created a menu, flat note card for thank yous and her ceremony program.

Check out a sneak peek of the beautiful bride and her fantasic wedding here!
Congratulations Laya!!

More Map & Direction Cards!

Thanks Chelsi, Ollie, Kristi, Carly & Beth!