Invitation Consultants Blog - Wedding and Party Inspiration

Five Fab Questions with...Lyndsey of The Stationery Place

We wanted to introduce you to one of our favorite bloggers + stationery ladies: Lyndsey of The Stationery Place! 

 

1. How did The Stationery Place get its start?

In 2009, I was looking for a creative outlet from my corporate PR job -- I've always loved making and sending cards, so I started making handmade stationery and selling it on Etsy. I thought a blog would be a good place to showcase my work, but I quickly realized my strengths were with blogging and not the card-making. So, I gave up my shop and stuck with featuring other designers who were MUCH more talented than me. It's been so fun to get to know the stationery community and keep a pulse on new design trends. 

2. What is your favorite part of blogging?

I love being able to help designers and small businesses spread the word about their work. I think it's the PR person in me, but I get a rush from helping to promote worthy causes -- and when we're talking about beautiful stationery, it's even more fulfilling! 

3. What inspires you?

Good photography does it for me every time. If I come across a pretty photo -- of stationery, home decor, a cute outfit, whatever -- it stays with me and influences my thought process (and buying habits!) for days. I think that's why I'm so addicted to Pinterest and Instagram; there are so many visually inspiring photos out there!

4. Describe your dream party or celebration in 5 words.

Family, friends, cupcakes, sunshine, chevron. :) 

5. Tell us your stationery style prediction.

I'm noticing a lot more hand-drawn illustrations and lettering on stationery lately -- I love the tangible quality of holding a card with a handmade design. There's nothing better in this over-digitized world!

Thank you to Lyndsey for sharing with us! Check out her fabulous blog at The Stationery Place! 

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Personalized notepads make great gifts and for this week only, all of our notepads are 25% off! I'm personally loving our new Organized Gator notepad (who's surprised?) - but we have so many new designs to choose from! 

Whether you're looking for bridesmaids gifts, birthday presents or just trying to stay organized, these personalized notepads are perfect! 

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Recipe: Lemony Lemon Brownies

I recently found a delicious recipe for 'lemony lemon brownies' on - where else - Pinterest! The ingredient list is super simple, and you probably have most of it on hand already!

• flour (3/4 cup)
• granulated sugar (3/4 cup)
• eggs (2)
• butter (1 stick)
• lemon zest (2 t)
• lemon juice (2 T, optional - another 2 T for a glaze)
• powdered sugar (1 cup)

Mix your sugar, flour and softened butter together using a stand mixer, if you have one. In a separate bowl, whisk together the juice, zest and eggs. And the liquid mixture to your dough and combine. Pour into a greased pan and bake at 350 for 23-25 minutes - that's it!

Once the 'brownies' are done, let them cool and mix up your glaze (if you like). Start with 1/2 cup of powdered sugar and slowly add lemon juice until you've got the texture right. It's a lot of trial and error and adding more sugar, adding more juice, until you find that perfect balance!

I prefer to glaze individual servings, or you could cover the whole pan. Now you're ready to enjoy this sweet and tart dessert! The Lemon Zig Zag Recipe Card is perfect for sharing this with family and friends.

I'm definitely going to try this same recipe with orange juice and zest - and maybe if I'm daring...lime! 

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Behind the Scenes: How our Bloggers' Husbands Popped The Question!

Spring time is wedding time, and we were nostaglic about our own proposal stories, wedding events, and our sweet hubby's. This lead to a fun little interview with some of our bloggers' dear husbands. Their proposals are so sweet from their perspective! First let's hear from Vince::

Date, time, locale of proposal?
Our proposal happened on June 24th, 2011 at the Violet Hour in Chicago's Wicker Park neighborhood around 7:30PM. I had called in advance to let them know what was going to happen, and the staff was so accommodating. Found out that we were the first engagement at Violet Hour, which is hard to believe with how beautiful and romantic the setting it is inside.

How long did you have the ring before you popped the question?
Well this is where the story gets interesting. I had a ring for quite some time, but it didn't end up being the actual ring. I wanted it to be perfect, and so after thinking this was it - I still wasn't sure it was the right one. After much internal debate, I took my mom back out with me a final time. She helped me feel a lot better about my purchase. (funny side note: Amy and I changed the ring a 3rd time once back in Tampa)

Did you tell your friends or family beforehand?
We were in Chicago from Florida for a wedding that weekend. So when the Friday arrived, my family was already in the know. I arranged her sisters and best friend Jenna to meet us at Violet Hour shortly after the proposal, so they too had some advance warning. I was so worried it would leak out to Amy, that I didn't tell anyone until just hours before - that included her parents, which I would highly recommend getting them involved long in advance for the grooms-to-be. That was my only regret.

In no more than three words, describe your state of mind a few moments before you proposed:
Three words would be next to impossible and I will explain why. After going over in my head about a dozen times what I would say, I was finally ready for the proposal. The almost very instance I was about to drop to one knee, Amy says "I will be right back, have to use the bathroom". So I guess the first and last three words that popped into my mind were "oh wait, ok"

If proposing meant gifting your bride-to-be something other than a ring, what would you have chosen for her?
A few years ago, I started a photo box for Amy of all the memories we had up to that point. It may be cheesy or corny, but memories are all you have at the end of day. And my memories with Amy can be treasured for a lifetime and then some.

Jump to read Courtney & Gavin and Kaity & Bobby's stories!

Brilliant Customer Idea: Daddy Baby Shower

We're all familiar with showering the mommy-to-be with gifts as her due date approaches, but what about dad? He'll be becoming a parent as well and deserves to have a celebration of his own.

Of course, daddy-to-be probably isn't interested in the games, birth date/time predictions, and dessert bar frequently found at baby showers - so why not plan a daddy baby shower that's just his style?

We love this customer's idea of tying the shower into something that will already interest daddy-to-be's friends. In this case, we used the NBA playoffs. Invite the guys over to watch the game, have them bring diapers as gifts (it doesn't matter what size they buy, they'll get used eventually!) and plan a dude-friendly activity like a game of poker.

This brilliant customer asked their guests to bring a giftcard to play with, instead of cash. We're hoping that the poker winner and daddy-to-be can split the winnings!

Pictured: Daddy Baby Shower Invitation

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A "hot mama" and a "little tamale"? How cute is that! We just loved the wording one of our fabulous customers put together for her fiesta baby shower invitation. Cinco de Mayo is just around the corner, but the theme is fun all through spring and summer. 

Bright hues of yellow, orange, and green can be gender neutral - or you can add a pop of pink for the mom-to-be. Host your event at a local latin restaurant, or at home with a self-serve taco bar. Margaritas, mojitos - and mocktails of course - complete the meal!

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Pet Day!

April 11th is National Pet Day and we here at IC love our furry friends! We hope you enjoy our pet pictures + stories.

Reilly's little dog is Schmoopy:

She’s sunshine on a cloudy day! But, you should know that she is a BOSSY PANTS. She is 9.5 lbs of fluff that is in charge of all the dogs on the block – including a 90 lb. Rhodesian Ridgeback. The dogs about town simultaneously fear and respect her. She’s a natural born leader & miniature alpha. Also, she barks when Elton John is on the radio and really enjoys bananas. 

Kyle has got two huskies:

They're pretty much glued to each other. Lucy is the 'huskier' of the two. They're not sisters. Lucy came from a breeder. We fell in love with Lucy and started fostering for the husky rescue of florida. Then we fell in love with one of the fosters and that's how we ended up with Aleu. Apparently this happens a lot. Aleu was named after the Aleutian islands in alaska. We didn't name her. Aleu is nicknamed a "pee'r" because she loves people so much that she can't handle the excitement of someone that just wants to pet her. Lucy is scared of strange men and will always let me know when its time eat.

How To Write the Perfect Thank You Card #thankyoucardweek

As Thank You Card Week continues, you might be wondering the best way to write your cards! Sometimes sitting down with pen in hand, you start second guessing what you're going to say. We've got five easy tips to help you write the perfect thank you card.

1. Plan it out
2. Handwritten is key
3. Be specific
4. Say it nice - say it twice
5. It's never too late

These tips should help with your thank you card 'writer's block'! So tell us - who are you sending thank you cards to this week? Tweet along with us using the hashtag #thankyoucardweek and visit us on Facebook!

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And the winner is...

Award season is ending tomorrow - can you believe it? It's been a fabulous few months for the red carpet, and we've been so happy to work with Backstage Creations on many events. Our latest was the Writers Guild Awards last Sunday. We designed the invitations for the gifting suite backstage - pretty sweet, right? (pun totally intended).

So, the biggest award show of all, the Oscars, is tomorrow. We all think Anne Hathaway has it in the bag, right? What are you most excited to see - the winners or the fashion? 

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Product Feature: YoKid Designs!

We're thrilled to debut the new YoKid collection by Invitation Consultants! YoKid is a D.C.-based organization that provides yoga classes to help children from all socioeconomic backgrounds foster self-awarness and self-esteem. These designs feature calming colors, and fun photos!

When you shop the YoKid collection, 100% of the proceeds are donated to the YoKid organization! For more information on YoKid visit www.yokid.org.