Bloom Favorite: Grey

Grey is everywhere! And I am not complaining. I love grey as a neutral to really highlight and make a bright color pop. I can't look through a blog without seeing a grey inspired wedding somewhere in the mix. Just think about all the colors that Grey goes with. Its a grey-t (haha, I make myself laugh!) compliment to any event's color scheme. Today I found myself fawning over the grey and orange, and grey and yellow combinations while making these inspiration boards on StyleMePretty.

Type. Set. Press.

   

On Saturday I was fortunate to drive to Houston for a Letterpress class at the Museum of Printing History. My friend Tania joined me both for the drive and the class. We had a blast. It was so fun! Not only did I get to spend that time with Tania, and meet the fellow Letterpress enthusiasts, but we actually went through the motions of designing, typesetting, proofing and printing.

(photos above borrowed from & property of weekendprojectgirl)

Tania and I left bright and early at 6:30am to make the 3 hour drive into Houston. We arrived about 2 and half hours later after a coffee stop and some pretty interesting sleepy-eyed conversation. Its always hard to form words, let alone complete sentences, when its still dark outside and my IV coffee drip hasn't been started. We arrived to an open but empty museum, it was a little erie. As other students and the instructor arrived Tania and I felt more at ease, knowing our 3 hour trip was not in vain. I have to admit that for a few minutes I wondered if the class was really going to happen.

(photos above borrowed from & property of weekendprojectgirl) 

Amanda, our wonderful instructor (also the curator of the museum), introduced the class with a selection of business cards that previous students of the class had created and that she had collected through the years. We each introduced ourselves and our purpose. There was an interior designer (thanks to Kelly for her pictures from weekendprojectgirl.blogspot.com), a marketing/advertising guy turned graphic designer -- due to accidentally falling more in love with typography in the ads than the ads themselves, and a married couple -- one a photographer the other an intern-architect who had fallen in love with letterpress during wedding planning (as many people do), Tania -- an intern-architect, and myself -- designer and artist.  The size of the class was a big plus, with only 6 students there was plenty of room in the workshop to move around and each have a chance to participate.

Amanda gave us a typesetting demo, using physical lead type and a composing stick. She taught us the lingo, most of which I have a cheat sheet for because I have forgotten. When she was done with her demo she let us loose to create our own "business card" design. The collection of type was incredible and I quickly just picked the first drawer I opened for my design. I didn't want to get caught up in choosing a font when I just wanted to practice the art form of typesetting. I created a card for my 22 month old daughter who loves to dance, hence the "dancer extraordinaire."

Because none of us had ever done this before it took us a little over an hour to actually compose the type for a standard business card size. Its a beautiful but labor intensive process. When we had all completed our composition, we lined them up together and locked them on the platen of the table-top press that we would use to proof. My Showcard press that I have at home is similar to this, but a smaller table-top size. We each had the opportunity to run the press once for a proof set. A few of us made some minor changes after proofing.

Amanda helped us to split them into two groups of three and lock them up together to move the set to the platen of our Kelsey table-top, and the other group's floor model Kelsey. We had the opportunity to "ink-up" the plates and rollers, set the paper guides and run a series of prints. Amanda showed us how to adjust the "packing" and adjust the pressure to achieve the perfect print every time. Of course every press is and will be different. Our group; Tania, Kelly and I, figured out how to do a double run on each sheet for the intensity of color. You should have seen our excitement after the first pull. WOW, it was incredible!

We ran out of time to cut apart the cards, so Amanda will be sending each of us our cards -- I will post pictures of those when I receive them.

Its been a dream of mine to learn this incredibly hands on art form and in turn be able to offer it to my clients. We are half way there! There is still so much to learn, but I really feel like I'm on my way to falling in love with the process. I returned from Houston gushing to my family and friends about the experience.

image: weekendprojectgirl

If you are in the Houston Area, please check out and support the museum and here is the class description if you are interested in the future:

Letterpress Business Cards

Learn the basics of setting type by hand and letterpress printing using the table-top platen press, still widely available on the market. Learn the california job case, set type, use a pica ruler and composing stick, mix ink, ink the press and print. Each student will set and print his or her own business card. We'll pull proofs, make corrections and print multiple copies; then we'll distribute type and spacing, and clean up.

Instructor: Amanda Stevenson
Level: all levels
Tuition: $90 plus $15 materials fee

Mailing List

If you haven't already, please subscribe to our mailing list to receive our monthly newsletters and any promotions. There is a new signup field in left hand column of the blog >>>>

Essence of the Holidays

The Holidays are approaching quickly, contact us today for your custom holiday cards, party invitations, baby announcements, or thank you notes!

Bloom recently collaborated with Essence Photography from Redding, California on a new endeavor. We created a custom template set for holiday cards. These templates will be used by Essence Photography to offer beautiful custom photo holiday cards to her clients. Each template can be color, texture and photo customized. If you don't live in Northern California and Essence Photography isn't available to you, we hope to adjust these designs for sale on Etsy soon! Let your family photographer know that you're interested in these designs and have them contact us. Each card is designed according to Miller's Lab Professional Imaging specs. Millers Lab is only available to professional Photography businesses, but each template can be adjusted for your personal card orders as well.

Want one of these designs adjusted for you this holiday season? Just Ask! We will do what we can to help you out!

Wrap it up!

I've always had a love for wrapping presents. When the holidays roll around, I can't wait to find wrapping paper and make them all coordinate! Making it look cute and matching various wrapping accessories is all consuming for me. We have a friend who's birthday just passed and the party is this weekend. She too I know has a love for making gifts aesthetically pretty and will appreciate this as much as I do! Custom tags available for the holidays, contact Bloom to discuss your holiday gift wrapping ideas.

As a side note, I've never been able to wear green, so why lately am I so obsessed with it?

Mural Update

Several years ago I painted an airplane mural for our friends/neighbors. They asked if I could update it. Their boys have moved in to the same room together, so we changed the name on the banner to include both boys names.

Casually Pretty

As Matron of honor in my Sister-In-Law's wedding this July, it is in my job description (and I really wanted to! I didn't do it just because of the job description.) to throw a bridal shower for the bride. Being as she is in Kansas City, and I am in Austin, I needed a little more help from her than I normally would ask for this sort of thing. The original thought was a formal tea party, but the cost per person is exorbitant. Then we thought maybe a spa day shower, Mani-Pedis, with some wine and food. Well the salon wasnt large enough for our group for a lunch and Kansas has wierd liquor laws. So, in thinking of another option, she suggested a yummy Frozen Yogurt/Coffee Shop she likes. It was the perfect casual luncheon location, followed by a trip to the salon for those who chose to do so.

I wanted to keep with her invitation themes and designs, but make it different enough that it wouldn't give away the "ooohhhs" and "ahhhsss associated with opening the magical invitation envelope in a few weeks. So I used the same themes, colors, and changed the fonts. I think it was a success and I was very happy with them.

I sent out a Save The Date for the shower, even though its not widely accepted, or usually unnecessary to do this. I wanted to be sure to nail down the numbers for the salon, and get the appointments for that made, while still having everyone mark their calendars with a date for the luncheon. It was an just a PDF in an email, but included the same designs and themes as the rest of the package. A few weeks later I sent out the invitations; A7 size flat white card, in grey envelopes with white labels and a lace printed seal.

At the shower each lady was presented with a ring tied to a card with instructions for a game. The guests were not allowed to say the brides name or the word "Bride," and if they did someone could steal their BLING. The game was, I felt, classy and not cheesy or annoying as many shower games can be, and it wasnt embarrasing for the bride. At each place setting was a basswood lace cut fan ordered from a wedding favor site, with a place card and menu. Some of the girls arrived early to help me set up, making tissue pom-poms for the table and we lined the center of the table with ribbon an cut flowers.




The luncheon consisted of fresh sandwiches, salad, soup and topped off with frozen custard of course!




I want to thank all the girls for helping set up, and everyone for attending, we had a nice time. Also, Foo's Fabulous Frozen Custard in Kansas City was so easy and fantastic to work with! The salon following was nice and relaxing, though there were a few hiccups in the appointment set-up process and payment process, the services offered by Par Exsalonce in KC were fantastic as well.

Bloom Favorite: Its in the details

I am amazed and inspired everyday when I peruse my favorite blogs and see all the attention to detail. The details that some of these brides, wedding planners, grooms, photographers, stationers have come up with allow me to be a kid in a candy store looking through the incredible photos. I've picked out a few the past few days that I would like to share with you, in hopes that not only will you see the endless possibilities, but for you to be inspired and see the joy that the details can bring.

What a unique idea to have a pie contest at your wedding! Brilliant! (pictures found on
GreenWeddingShoes.com)




































This Louisville wedding had every perfect detail in place, but I absolutely love the original stationery ideas. (pictures from StyleMePretty.com)































I am a huge fan of photo booths or picture stations at weddings, and think the bride and groom get to remember what amazing people surround them on such an important day, usually with a little flair! (pictures from StyleMePretty.com)


















What a beautiful detail for place cards. These really tied the whole theme in while bringing texture to the table. This wedding is nothing, if not creative and full of exciting details. (greenweddingshoes.com)

Back to work...

We had a beautiful little girl born on December 14th and since then I've been devoted to being MOM. I still am devoted to being Mom, but after a few requests for cards and invitations, I'm back working -- at least part time and upon request. I hope to share these upcoming and current projects with you soon.

Should you be interested in working with Bloom for your next event, please send me an email!

Bride's Choice Award 2010

Austin, Texas – February 3rd, 2010 - WeddingWire, the nation’s leading wedding technology company, just announced Bloom Art & Design has been selected to receive the WeddingWire 2010 Bride’s Choice Awards™ for Wedding Invitations!

The annual Bride’s Choice Awards recognizes and celebrates excellence in quality and service within the wedding industry, as determined by recent reviews and extensive surveys from over 500,000 newlyweds.

Bloom Art & Design is among the top five percent of all vendors in the WeddingWire community, which includes over 100,000 wedding professionals across the US and Canada. Awards were given to winners across 19 different service categories, from wedding venues to wedding photographers.

“We are excited to recognize and honor the success of the top wedding professionals within the WeddingWire Community” said Timothy Chi, WeddingWire’s Chief Executive Officer. “The annual Bride’s Choice Awards program has given us the unique opportunity to highlight the best wedding professionals in each region as reviewed by brides and grooms who have utilized their services in the past year.”

We are happy to announce that Bloom Art & Design is among the very best Wedding Stationers within the WeddingWire Network, which includes WeddingWire and Martha Stewart Weddings. We would like to thank our past newlyweds for nominating us for the 2010 Bride’s Choice Awards.

For more information, please visit our WeddingWire Storefront today at http://www.weddingwire.com/biz/bloom-art-design-austin/0f2c0f0e96554533.html.

About WeddingWire, Inc.
WeddingWire is the only online wedding planning resource designed to empower both engaged couples and wedding vendors. WeddingWire enables engaged couples to search, compare and book over 100,000 reviewed wedding vendors nationwide, from wedding photographers to wedding cakes. WeddingWire also offers an online community and a suite of cutting-edge planning tools, including wedding websites and wedding checklists, all at no charge. For wedding vendors, WeddingWire provides free online management tools creating the only market opportunity that gives businesses control over their clients, reviews, leads and performance. In addition, WeddingWire has partnered with Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, Inc. (NYSE: MSO) to provide its network of local vendors and online wedding-planning tools in the Weddings section of www.MarthaStewartWeddings.com. For additional information, please visit www.WeddingWire.com.

Bloom Favorite- Print Possibilities

It seems these days that print designs have become a great way to make a complete wedding experience more cohesive. Its a great way to tie everything together, from the Save The Date several months in advance to favor tags for the gifts your guests will take home with them. Below are a few integrated design ideas. Using the same fonts, colors, logo or monogram, the overall feeling of the wedding can carry through every aspect. Share some of your ideas on how print can be used or how you plan to use it in your upcoming wedding!

Credits: Our Labor of Love (3), Maria (3), Rochelle Mort (4), Blooms by Martha Andrews (4)

Maternity Leave!

As the arrival of our first child approaches quickly and projects are wrapping up, I will be unavailable for new projects for a while. I am unsure as to how long, but please keep checking back or contact me if you are interested in a new project. As soon as I feel ready to start diving back into work, I will let you all know. Should you be interested in a project before then, dont hesitate to email me! bloom.art.design@gmail.com

A Bloom favorite... Cupcakes!

Credits: Docuvitae, Linda Chaja, Dollface Studio, Heather Kincaid

I've seen a huge trend in serving cupcakes at weddings rather than a traditional cake. Though I think there are merits to both, the thought of all the exciting print components that can be combined with a cupcake display are really exciting. Logos, flavor tags, station signs, think of all the possibilities. I have had a client whose baker used a monogram we designed for their wedding on their cake, it turned out great. (I'll try and get a picture from them to share). I think cupcakes lend themselves nicely to small accent decor, and I love seeing this trend!




style board created at stylemepretty.com other three images also from various stylemepretty's blog entries, go here to see details about this wedding.