martha, lady bird, and vintage stamps

Y'all know we love stamps. We practically hoard them, waiting until the right invitation comes along just begging for that perfect collage of stamps (new or old). It all goes back to a Martha Stewart article about using vintage stamps and artfully arranging them. It was an ahh-ha moment in the office for sure! Martha is one crafty lady and we adore her.

Anyway, the Postal Service just reissued these original 1960s stamps honoring Lady Bird Johnson. Originally engraved and adapted for printing today in offset lithography, they would be so lovely on a spring invitation. Hmm… stashing these away for now, but they will certainly be put to good use very soon.

Here's some other great examples of mixing and placing stamps creatively.

last 3 images from 100layercake & plurabelle

spindletop hall wedding

The leaves are changing and the sky is crisp. The perfect scene for a wedding. Fall in Kentucky certainly inspired the latest invitation we just wrapped up. Stone walls, rows of trees in pastures, and leaves falling. The bride loved the stone wall we had created earlier on Bonnie's invitation.  (once again… thank you Southern Living Weddings for that feature that keeps on giving!) Currier also illustrated Spindletop Hall, a mansion and sprawling property built in 1935 in the heart of horse country. It's now owned by the University of Kentucky Alumni Club and serves a private club.

We used a mix of grey linen paper, cotton stock, thermography, letterpress, and grey envelopes to give the suite a punch. These fabulous weather vane stamps were the perfect final detail.

{ spindletop hall - lexington, kentucky }

… and folded wedding programs we designed

love stamps

We're sort of obsessed with stamps around here. All the different colors, special editions, old & new. I know, I know, they're constantly going up in price, but you still won't catch us buying those liberty bells. Nope, we love mixing them up and finishing an envelope with the perfect little piece of art.

Needless to say, we're really excited about these Garden Stamps by José Ortega coming out in May. Brides are going to be all over these and I know we'll be snapping up quite a few for some lucky projects.

brickyard bbq

Cold beer & smokey barbecue on a hot summer night with friends, makes for a good party. This one was particularly special as it was an engagement party. We incorporated a brick wall illustration to play off the family brick-making business. And what's a barbecue without a pig? Guests even got to take a little secret family sauce home to taste. Such a cute way to kick off the nuptials! …see more on Oh So Beautiful Paper

colorful style

Music City has a unique, artistic style associated with it. Our latest job involved recreating that look for a grand opening invitation. The Hilton Garden Inn opened it's doors a couple of months ago and wanted to celebrate their new location in Midtown. So we created a rustic invitation with lot's of texture on recycled paper. And since we love stamps, the return address fit nicely on the back in a red hue. If you're ever in that neighborhood, check out the hand-painted mural in their lobby - it was created by the Hee-Haw set designer!

49 & holding

Some people cringe and hide at the thought of another birthday. Others are ready to ring it in with a big bash. This client is the latter! So..... their event coordinator, the FABULOUS Elizabeth James, hired us to create a special invitation to get the ball rolling.

We designed an invitation suite around the theme, "49 & Holding." We found some vintage playing cards (actually in Currier's grandmother's bridge table), then had a bit of fun with the imagery and some clever copy. "The cards are stacked against him… He's over the hill and picking up speed. A big celebration is just what he needs!"

And on a side note: we want to give a a little love to our printer from this job......... Jive. They are wonderful to work with and turn out a great product! Next time you have a printing need, check them out in Cummins Station.