White Butterfly and Beads Invitation (Invitatie cu Fluturi Albi si Margelute)

This is one of my first designs but I still love it so much that I decide to show it you again with a few improvements and additional stationery.

{RO}  Acesta este unul din primele mele modele de invitatii, dar imi place asa de mult incat am decis sa vi-l arat din nou, de data acesta cu cateva imbunatari si accesorii asortate pe care le-am facut anul trecut.

The initial design didn't have the wax seal, but I thought it would bring an extra element of interest, plus you can make it your own by customizing the wax seal. I would probably still go with the simple envelope for a christening invitation.
I also changed the initial plain envelopes with higher quality ribbed ones.

{RO}  Modelul initial nu avea sigiliul de ceara roz, insa mi se pare ca-i aduce un plus de farmec. Probabil pentru un botez as prefera plicul fara sigiliu.
De asemenea am inlocuit  plicurile cu unele de calitate superioara si o textura fina cu dungulite.

Matching table numbers. 

{RO}  Numere de masa asortate.

The table plan was my labor of love. It was also hard to pack and ship to England, but it was well worth the effort in the end.

{RO} Cel mai mult m-a solocitat acest plan al asezarii invitatilor la mese. A fost greu si de ambalat pentru a-l trimite in Anglia, dar in final a meritat efortul.

And I also have a special place in my heart for these programs which feature my own pen and ink drawing of the church where the wedding took place.

{RO} Aceste programe ale ceremoniei religioase sunt speciale pentru mine, deoarece am realizat chiar eu schita bisericii cu cerneala si penita.

Pink and Lilac Butterfly Invitation

Happy new year everyone.
I know I said I'm taking a break from posting, but I'm full of fresh new year energy and my little one has given me back my working nights. Oh, I can't explain enough what a joy this is! Does that make me workaholic?

Anyway, one of my goals for 2016 is to process a new design every week and post it in my Etsy Shop my website, and social media so I thought I could take an extra 10 minutes to update this blog as well.

I am getting a lot of request for this color combination, maybe with the addition of silver for wedding invitations.
What are your colors for spring 2016?

Vara in atelier. Cartonase pentru asezarea la masa cu fluturi fuchsia. (Summer In the Studio. Fuchsia Butterfly Place Cards)

Finally summer! Not only outside, but in my heart as well. After having my second son, life and work balance has been incredibly difficult to maintain, sometimes at the cost of my serenity. Tonight I am finally feeling in the mood to write on the blog.

I haven't designed much in the past year. Probably because I am no longer offering it for free. I had to take this decision because my limited work schedule does not permit wondering about one concept for a full week like I used to. I still have soooo many designs I have never shown you, let alone new ideas of my own that I want to explore.

This butterfly escort card is one of those designs that emerges when materials from 2 different projects meet.
I really loved the fuchsia against this silver cardstock so I decided to make a fuchsia and silver version of my older ivory and pink butterfly escort card design.

In sfarsit e vara, nu doar afara ci si in sufletul meu. Dupa nasterea lui Eduard viata mea  a luat-o la vale. Mi-a fost foarte greu sa mentin echilibrul intre munca si viata de zi cu zi. Asa se explica disparitia mea de pe blog. Noptile nu au mai fost ale mele sa pot scrie articole in liniste. Acum am cate trei ore seara si azi simt ca mi-am facut destula ordine in restul lucrurilor incat sa ma opresc putin aici.

Modele noi nu prea am facut, poatesi din cauza ca timpul nu mai imi permite sa ofer design gratuit, dar am inca o multime de modele pe care nu am ajuns sa le public, ca sa nu ai vorbim de nenumaratele idei proprii pe care imi doresc sa le exporez.

Aceste cartonase cu fluturasi s-au nascut intamplator. Aveam pe masa de lucru culoarea fuchsia si niste invitatii din carton argintiu impreuna cu varianta mai veche a cartonaselor ivoire si roz prafuit.

Sper sa revin in curand cu alte intamplari fericite de pe masa mea de lucru.

My First Etsy Sale

I just shipped my first Etsy order.
I had made it a goal to make a few sales quickly after opening the shop and those sales came very quickly, within 1 week from opening.

For a moment it felt just like my old web design team manager job. Every mistake I made could be reflected in my shop's feedback and I felt pressure. I have been making invitations for 9 years it always felt so natural to deal with customers. Where does this strange feeling come from? I will analyze that and share it with you in a future post. But since my computer time is limited with 2 little ones I will just share my positive experience.

The great thing about this first sale is it resulted into a new beautiful design that I immediately fell in love with: Flutter by Baby Shower Invitation.

     

Way More Beautiful than I Imagined (Mult mai frumos decat mi-am inchipuit)

After posting about this purple and ivory stationery set I got a very nice surprise as Anca, the bride sent me photos of how she used it at her wedding. I like to dream and imagine the decor my stationery will be placed in, but this time my imagination was very much exceeded by reality.
Thank you for letting me share these pictures, Anca, and for the fulfillment they bring to my heart.

Dupa pozele facute la repezeala inainte sa trimit coletul, pozele acestea trimise de Anca dau o lumina complet noua papetariei pe care am facut-o pentru nunta ei. Sunt mult mai fruoase asa, incadrate in decorul acesta de poveste de alta data decat mi le-am inchipuit eu.

Custom Wooden Monograms and Blue-Purple Stationery Set

Custom wooden monogram, guest book, glass decoration butterflies, table names, money envelopes, candy bar labels, place cards.
 Monograma lemn, carte de oaspeti, fluturi pentru pahare, denumiri mese, plicuri bani, etichete candy bar, carduri asezare la mese.

Flutter by Butterfly

You have seen this butterfly invitation before. I am posting it again today just because I love the photo. I came about taking it while working on the Touch of vintage invitation I posted yesterday. I was so pleased with how soft and delicate this picture looked I decided to show it to you.

Hooray for getting to know my camera, one year after purchasing a beginner photography course! I am finally conformable with using custom white balance (I know it is actually called differently). I still haven't switched to manual mode, but I am using Aperture Priority 99% of the time.

And, of course, a matching dress.

 [photo source]

Introducing Elements, Handmade by Meda

I often receive requests for butterflies, embossed paper or DIY invitation kits.
Remember my 100 butterflies?

I have been planning this for a while but now, with the urge to use up my stash and the extra time I've been having, here they are: Elements, Handmade by Meda.

"Butterfly" Elements

These are the butterflies I used for Raluca's Invitations, for this necklace embellishment, or the hair clip in this post.

Since it's still an experiment I only have 2 packs for sale in my Crafty Shop but I will make more if required.

Heart Elements

I don't even know how I came up with these. But they are so cute I really have to design an invitation using them.

Raluca's Pink Butterfly Invitations (Invitatiile cu fluturi roz ale Ralucai)

This invitation has a special story. I only made 4 of them.
Raluca heard of me from a very good friend of mine and one day she e-mailed to ask if I could make just 2 invitations for her god parents.
I never say no unless I don't have the time.

Invitatia acesta are o poveste mai speciala. Am facut doar 4 bucati.
Raluca a auzit de mine de la o buna prietena de-a mea si intr-o zi mi-a scris sa ma intrebe daca as putea sa-i fac doar 2 inviatii pentru nasi.
Nu refuz pe nimeni decat din lipsa de timp.



So we met to talk about the design in a period when I was making Catinca's and Paul's invitations.
Although she innitially wanted something with purple, Raluca decided to combine the 2 designs mentioned above and she ended up ordering 4 of them (for the parnts too).


Asa ca ne-am intalnit sa discutam despre design tocmai in perioada in care lucram la invitatiile Catincai si ale lui Paul.
Cu toate ca initial vroia ceva pe mov, Raluca a decis sa ramana la o combinatie a celor doua modele mentionate mai sus si in cele din urma a comandat 4 bucati (si pentru parinti).



Just before they went away:

Invitation to a Pink Month (Invitatie la o luna roz)

October is the month of breast cancer awareness and everywhere you look on craftblogs you can see challenges dedicated to it. Pink is the color chosen to represent this fight and  so is the Cuttlebug Be Inspired this week.

My intention is to have as many "pink posts" as possible this month, starting with my invitation card for Cuttlebug be Inspired #104.

I will have a scheduled winter project for you to see tomorrow, but there are lots of pink projects scattered on my work table, so be sure to check back often for more pink this month.

Same invitation, different layout and envelope. They were made as samples for a vintage romantic wedding. I have some lovely pictures from that wedding coming soon.

Note: I only like pink in small quantities, so don't expect to see bright pink projects because I don't think that will happen.

Butterfly Invitations in the Making (Invitatii cu fluturasi in lucru)

Lots of hand cut butterflies. This was how my work table looked one of these days. I wonder if anyone ever realizes how much work went into the invitation they have received. Although I love doing meticulous work, I am currently trying to reduce that amount , but that is another story, meant for another post.

Multi fluturasi decupati manual. Cam asa arata masa mea de lucru una din zilele acestea. Ma intreb daca cei ce le primesc isi dau seama cata munca a implicat fiecare inviatie. Cu toate ca imi place sa fac lucruri meticuloase, incerc acum sa reduc cantitatea de lucru/invitatie. Dar asta e o alta poveste, destinata unui alt articol.

Gold and White Invitations and Real Wedding Pictures (Invitatii alb cu auriu si poze de la nunta)

When I first talked with the groom about their white and gold wedding invitations, it didn't sound very attractive to my tastes...
Cand am discutat prima data cu mirele despre invitatiile lor alb cu auriu, gusturile mele nu erau prea incantate.

This is how my story about this wedding begins.
Asa incepoe povestea mea despre acesta nunta.

I worked closely with the bride and groom who also happens to be brother of one of my very good friends. In the end this isthe invitation that we came up with:
Am lucrat indeaproape cu mireasa si mirele, frate cu o foarte buna prietena de-a mea, iar invitatia la care am ajuns impreuna este acesta:


It ended up being cream and gold...
Pana la urma a ajund crem cu auriu...

Table numbers and envelope holders. (Numere de masa cu rol de suporturi pentru plicuri)

I also made some matching table numbers that would hold the money envelopes.
Am mai facuta ceste numere de masa in forma de cort cu rolul de a tine plicurile pentru bani.



Here they are before being mounted. Cutting and adhering those tiny numbers took quite some time!
Iata-le intainte sa fie montate. Taiatul si mai ales lipitul acelor numere minuscule mi-a luat ceva timp!



Guest book. (Cartea de oaspeti)

The bride also asked me to decorate their store-bought guest book. Wow! I haven't done such simple jobs in a long time! And I do like the outcome.
Mireasa m-a rugat sa le decorez si o carte de oaspeti pe care o aveau deja cumparata. Wow! Nu mai facusem de mult asa lucrare usoara si sunt chiar multumita de rezultat.



The wedding. (Nunta)

The wedding was organized by my friend Bianca from Ermiona who sent me these lovely pictures.
Nunta a fost organizata de prietena mea Bianca de la Ermiona care mi-a trimis acceste minunate fotografii.










More photos from Eliza & Paul's wedding here.
Mai multe poza de la nunta lui Paul cu Eliza aici.