43 years ago today...

Happy Anniversary Mom and Dad!
Looking at these pictures make me happy, 43 years of marriage, six kids, and five grandkids (so far!) is what it's all about. I can only wish every couple that we work with the same happiness and longevity.

And as usual, it all starts with the invitations...
(um, let's just say we've come a long way in invitation design! I personally love that my grandma spelled my Dad's name wrong...)

Mother and daughter. Grandma had such a beautiful smile!

Vintage Bridal

A vintage inspired pocket invitation

My mom used to tell me I was born in the wrong era, needless to say I've always had a flare for the vintage. Estate sales and antique stores are my friend. Hoard Antiques, on Damen and Leland in Chicago is literally 2 doors down from the Perfect Cup, where I have my design consultations. And my confession is that I kind-of-sort-of plan my route from Spilled Ink Press headquarters so that I have to walk past their window... very slooowly. I covet the lace, cracked leather, and patina-ed wood nestled behind that storefront.

Today I treated myself to a perusing of sorts after three back-to-back meetings (I needed some slow retail therapy to bring me down from the coffee high). And lo and behold, I found a treasure chest of vintage bridal yumminess- quite literally. Here are some of my finds:

Aside from these anatomically incorrect waistlines, these patterns are to die for!

50's A-line lace dress, either the start of another masterpiece or a gorgeous summer wedding dress all by itself.

These ALMOST came home with me.... almost.

White Christmas....Wintry Invitations

Well the big holiday is still a few days away, and while it looks like we'll have a white Christmas here in Chicago, not everyone will be so lucky. If you don't get to enjoy the white fluffy stuff in your neck of the woods, maybe these wintry wedding invitations can get you in that yuletide mood.

First wedding show of 2011!

Ah, winter. Your arrival is marked by sometimes beautiful (mostly gray and muddy) snow, an onslaught of Etsy shops we like to promote to you on our Facebook page for your holiday shopping (it's fun because it's like shopping without spending any money!) and our participation in a wedding show or two!

This year, the first will be the "Love at Breathtaking Heights" show in the Sears Tower (ok, ok! Willis Tower) at the Metropolitan Club on January 7th starting at 5:30pm. This is a tre chic show, so put your fancy pants on for this one:

We will be there with our friend Nina from Tweedle Press to debut our hybrid flat printed/letterpress printed style we've been cooking up. It'll be worth the visit!
See you there!

Red and Black Invitations

Check up the upper right hand corner of this collage created by Heather Parker for the Bradley/Holmes wedding from earlier this year...it's the red and black invite with wax seal we did for them. Thanks for including us, Heather!


Also featured are flowers by Wishing Well Florists, make-up by Briette Madrid, hair by Theodora Bourikas, and the Tower Club.

Invitations Inspire Crafty Presents

It's always nice to hear from our clients that their family and friends loved the invitations we did for them, but sometimes we're blown away by how much they seem to like them. Take Mary Ann and Darel's wedding for example. They had friends actually make them gifts out of our invitations!

First, the invitation that inspired the gifts.....


Here is a custom cake topper their friend Ty made for them....


And here are a couple of photos of a vase made from the invitation and their engagement picture....

Bright Lights, City Wedding

Check out the great photos by Edyta Szyszlo Photography from Kristen and Gene's wedding. You'll see a sneak peak of our "Chicago Theater" invitations- a visual focal point from the Wit Hotel where the wedding was. Love it when it all comes together!


It was nice to have an excuse to go downtown so we could take some pictures to use as inspiration for the invitation design.