Just shipped out one of my new favorite sets, a TreeSpace Studio twist on the traditional hand-delivered invitation….I can’t reveal too much yet but do stay tuned for the unveiling!

What a wonderful name for a treasury! So delighted to be in it…look at all the other lovely entries…thank you so much for the honor, Alison!

This was a charette I had a lot of fun working on. When the infectiously enthusiastic Allison sent me her details, I was thrilled to discover that we share a love for books and that I even have some of her bookshelf inspirational pictures in my collection!

I also really enjoyed a lot of the links she sent me of their ‘aesthetic’. Looking through them I had a clear idea of what Allison and Travis’ style is like-classic, a touch of vintage, an appreciation for elegant old world materials and craft, but with a down to earth wit that I think would make them interesting to brainstorm for.

First of all, I knew their invitation would need to be book related. My initial idea was to have a sort of book lending/gifting invitation system, with their invitation as mini book jackets that wrap around old vintage hardbound books (think bookcloth classics).  Their guests would get to keep them of course or read them and return it with the RSVP if the book is lovingly lent out.

Allison and Travis have a small guest list, only 20, which gives them the ability to be really hands-on or artisan with their invitations. Their wedding, which takes place in beautiful Santa Fe is not till June of next year, so there will be plenty of time to amass a collection of vintage hardbound mini books.

However, the invitation idea that I finally sketched up is a little different and can be approached in a few ways. It is essentially the idea of a gifting their guests a beautiful little book bound in classic bookcloth in either of their wedding colors -navy blue, green and adobe gold. In my mind, I envision the bookcloth bound bookboards as being upcycled from discarded old books, easily found in flea markets or on ebay. Only the front and backs of the boards with their covering are retained. Some cheap ones readily found would be the Readers’ Digest condensed books. Not a used bookstore favorite but great for altered book arts.

A panoramic painting of a map-style or an illustration (in indigo blue ink) of their beautiful rustic Church or school with the quintessential Santa Fe backdrop is printed on creamy, thick Japanese washi hand-made paper (a favorite of book conservationists) and glued to the boards to fold out accordion-style. Faint watercolor washes in navy blue for the skies, green for the vegetation and gold for the adobe. Fonts are whimsical serif fonts reminiscent of vintage type set, but quirkier. Invitation information is tastefully placed within the painting. The effect is like recovering a beautifully illustrated old book from your grandmother’s collection, but with a twist.

In my second sketch, I expanded upon my original idea for the mini book jacket wraps (which the invite-books come in). In this particular scheme, they serve as the RSVPs. The idea is for their guests to return these RSVPs along with a hand-written message for the bride and groom-to-be. When all 20 mini jackets are wrapped around books and lined up on the shelf, they form the original panorama painting found in their invitation. Re-useable RSVPs that double as bookshelf/book art! I see this jacket as being made from strong but thin Japanese washi paper with their delicate and classic whispy-ness.

Congratulations Allison and Travis, I hope this little bit of exercise will help to flesh out some of your invitation ideas!

Today for Inspired Monday, I am sharing with you some pictures of my finds from flea-marketing this past weekend! I scored some great deals, particularly a Necchi Lycia sewing machine made in Italy in the 1960s, complete with accessories and tools! (will post about this another time.) I love good craftsmanship and finding inspiration in well-made items of the past is one of my favorite activities!

A Melrose Flea Market Adventure

100 year old French deckled postcard

I love the deckled edges and the feel of these 100 year old postcards, the typography and the creamy colors.

Old print postcard

Casual but great penmanship, such delicate scrawls, no one writes like that anymore.

A funny one

This above was my favorite, ornate typography, and a rather cheeky front!

Sewing Kit

One of my treasured finds, this little vintage sewing kit so well-made and refined and practically brand new. Sturdy vinyl-backed card with a strip of woven thread, felt needle backing and instructions! How positively quaint!

Insert sheet and felted needle back

Packet folds are big deal to me lately and I was thrilled to find a unique and well-made one in these!

Wooden spools of lovely strong thread

Beautiful wooden spools of pure silk threads in lovely colors, such luxury! The cotton ones were thin, strong and well-made, not at all like modern threads. Love the carved spools, I wonder if they use to have them refilled with threads when finished?

Silk threads and such

More curious sewing notions.

A Tiered Chest

They came in this tiered chest with a handle! Hun says it is quite common but I haven’t seen one before and this gorgeous Norwegian-made piece of furniture was absolutely wonderful to me! I can imagine my pens, brushes and art supplies and sewing notions stacked in it for studio portability and clutter reducing!

Norwegian craftsmanship

Clean, modernist lines.

Vintage Posters

Simply adore old illustrated posters, particular French ones, with their whimsical flourishes and classy, muted shades.

French illustrations

Delicate, french-antique gossamer thin fabric love letters

envelope-folded around vintage-inspired illustrated rsvp postcard

What if two people loved each other so much but were from opposite ends of the world? What if all they wanted for their wedding was to announce to everyone in their lives how much they cared for each other? Why, they would send a love letter!

This submission comes from Eileen, who has included a poem in her submission, whose favorite city in the whole wide world is Paris , while his is the far-flung tropical Georgetown, Penang.

The idea behind this wedding invitation is an old french love letter, fine old-fashioned formal calligraphy on almost tissue-thin translucent fabric (for keepsake, not disposability) envelope-folded around a vintage-inspired illustrated postcard of Georgetown, Penang and sealed with red wax. It is assumed that one party is writing to the other from across the oceans, and included a picture postcard (which would be the RSVP). The invitation itself will be worded on the main love letter.

The whole suite will feel romantically exquisite and old-world, lovely to touch and definitely something to treasure and keep and will hopefully provide the recipient an intimate reflection of two souls very much in love.