Lilly & Louise has a Shop!

After a not-so-brief vacation from the online marketplace for handmade items, Etsy, we're excited to announce that we've taken some time to clean up, reorganize, and relaunch our Etsy Shop. In the Lilly & Louise shop we sell greeting cards made from hand-cut and hand-painted paper (all hand-cut and hand-painted and handmade by yours truly). We have cards for newly weds, new parents, birthday boys and girls...and just for fun. So the next time you're looking for a unique card for that special someone, remember our shop!

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Spring Hot Air Balloon Wedding Inspiration

   

We recently worked with some local Santa Barbara-area, very talented wedding professionals on a photo shoot inspired by hot air balloons, fresh lemon and lime hues, and SPRING! Our shoot was featured over on The Wedding Chicks, but just in case you didn't catch it there, I'll make sure to fill you in on all the lovely details. 

Styled by Cindy from An Enlightened Event and photographed by the gals at Lavender & Twine at Limoneira Ranch, these images are downright delicious. Not to mention the cake--a true work of art! Tenley Erin Young created the gorgeous floral arrangements and bouquets, and we here at Lilly & Louise designed all the paper goodness. What fun it was to work with this team!

You may want to make some lemonade to enjoy while viewing these shots! Enjoy!

Event Designer: An Enlightened Event
Venue: Limoneira Ranch
Makeup & Hair: Cynthia Lauran
Cake: Jana’s Creative Cakes
Caterer: Petite Reve Cafe–Lemon Tarts
Dress Designer: La Soie
Flowers: Tenley Erin Young
Groom’s Attire: Tie & Suspenders– Me and Matilda
Shoe Designer: Nina
Stationery: Lilly & Louise
Veil or Hair Accessories: Veronique Coleccion
Prop or Furniture Rentals: Ventura Rental
Linens: La Tavola
Bride’s Sweater:Forever 21

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A Traditional Wedding Invitation with a Modern Twist

The elements of a modern day wedding harken back to traditions that began centuries ago. While planning a wedding, it's fun to highlight specific traditions that are special to you and your family's history whether it be the location, the dress, the music, or the order of events. Recently we worked with a couple who wanted the look and feel of a traditional invitation, but with a subtle fresh and modern twist. They wanted a formal invitation, but one that would stand out against the other ecru and black invitations that so many of their friends and family had been receiving.



To create their invitation, we worked one-on-one with the couple. We chose a traditional typeface, but used a modern, calligraphic script for a less traditional look. We used a thin border that we incorporated into all elements of the invitation. The border helped balance the traditional look with a modern look. And instead of black ink, we chose to pair charcoal grey and a natural white. The texture created by letterpress and the bold punch of grey that the envelope liner offers make this invitation traditional but with a fresh twist.

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Travel-inspired Save the Date

Miranda and Matt came to me with a binder full of inspiration for their wedding. They were in the early stages of wedding planning, but they knew they wanted to excite guests with a unique and unexpected Save-the-Date.

Miranda and Matt wanted to excite guests with a unique and unexpected save the date… something tactile and textural that would leave an impression. Both Miranda and Matt are from the East coast and their wedding will be in California, so it will be a destination wedding for many of their family and friends and they wanted to incorporate the idea of travel into the design. With a palette of peach, navy, gray and cream, we mixed organic elements of a vintage map of Southern California and geometric elements of bold, thick stripes.

Because good mail is even better with an interactive element, we chose to include the actual save the date information inside a mini envelope. Upon opening the envelope, guests find a classic quote from When Harry Met Sally, then unfold more details.  The entire save the date is bound by navy and white twine and two small tags.

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Chris & Sarah's Natural, Elegant Wedding Invitations

Today I'm excited to share Chris and Sarah's wedding invitations! Sarah and Chris wanted an invitation that was traditional--but not stuffy, elegant--but not over the top. At the same time they wanted to incorporate natural elements without getting too rustic.
 


In their invitation watercolor washes of different types of leaves are balanced by a clean frame throughout the suite. Using a combination of a classic serif typeface and a modern script in brown ink, the invitation has a soft, elegant look that is complemented by a bold, green envelope liner. We chose a warm off white, textured paper for the invitation suite--I loved this paper!



We were thrilled to work with Sarah and Chris on their wedding invitation. We also created all the paper goods for their wedding that we'll be sure to share (get a sneak peek here!)

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Winery Rehearsal Dinner Invitation

Here in Santa Barbara, we are very near to the heart of California's central coast wine country. This fun couple held their rehearsal dinner at Oreana Winery, a tasting room on the Urban Wine Trail, that is a fantastic venue for a casual evening al fresco with friends. For this invitation the couple wanted to keep it fun and lighthearted while capitalizing on venue's main attraction (besides the beautiful couple, of course). I hope the guests had as much fun receiving this invite as I did making it!

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Crazy, Sweet Love

It's not everyday I get a call from a giddy groom asking me to create a custom card for his bride to give to her on their wedding day. It was priceless! He'd seen our handmade Bride & Groom cards in the L&L shop but wanted to personalize it even more. On the front of the card I replicated their wedding day attire. Mr. Groom hadn't seen his bride's dress so he arranged for the bride's sister to send me a photo. He wasn't about to spoil his surprise, so he requested that I cover the dress when I send it to him (how sweet is that!!). On the inside I added a few more touches that were unique to the couple: plastic framed glasses donned daily by the groom, and green high heels to be worn by the bride. My favorite part of the phone call was when Mr. Groom said "I know this sounds cheesy, but what the heck, I'm GETTING MARRIED! Can we also include our dog on the card?" So, even their pup made an appearance.





Congratulations you two!

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Black and White and Yellow Wedding Invitation

Can we talk about the color yellow? Okay, good. I'm a little obsessed. I've noticed that lately I've been magnetized to the bold, golden hue. From curtains, to dresses, I just can't get enough... Ahem, a yellow sweater is not like a black one you can wear day after day and people won't notice it's the same sweater!

Anyway, when Lisa contacted me about her wedding invitation and said "we want something fun and we're open to color ideas" I couldn't wait to get started. Truth be told, I worked through a few color variations and designs before realizing that bold beautiful yellow was the answer. In this invitation suite, the yellow, the hand-drawn paisley, and the playful type bring the fun; while the black and white baker's twine and a few refined typefaces mixed in, balance the fun with sophisticated.

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