So I finally took a few pictures and I'm happy to share a few new invitations I made for the 2011 Summer Wedding Season! Each of the invitations features handmade illustrations done in consultation with the clients.

 

1. Christina & Peter wanted their invitations to look like a vintage wine label with tasting notes, so I designed a label for them that incorporated their sweet dog, as well as a Maple Leaf and  Silver Fern (to reflect their Canadian and New Zealand homelands). I wrote the tasting notes by hand for a more authentic feeling.

2. Meghan and Yenae got married in the Distillery District, so they asked for an illustration of some of the buildings in black and white, with touched of green. I illustrated a coordinating map for the coordinating information card.

3. Pamela wanted something floral for her afternoon garden wedding, so working with her colours, I painted a floral wreath that adorned all of the paper goods.

4. For her evening reception, Pamela wanted something sexier, so I had part of the original illustration silk-screened onto black paper.

5. Margaret and Philip had a beautiful wedding at Graydon Hall. I hand-painted and designed a modern floral invitation for them based on their colour scheme.


I had such a great time working with these wonderful brides. Congratulations to all of them!

The Night Market was so much fun. I didn't experiment as much as I'd hoped I would (I'll try the cheesy squid balls on another day), but I did try some new things. Our favourite dish was Susur Lee's cheeseburger spring roll. What can I say? I really like cheeseburgers.

We had some pork belly on a steamed bun, grilled whelks and scallops and squid, and finished off the night with churros. Any meal finished with churros is a good meal, I think. 

Then we sat by the water and watched the sun set, which I haven't done for ages.

Saturday: early morning tennis - scones and coffee - fun errands downtown - a bit of work - fish & chips - a late night walk in cabbagetown - caught in the rain - soaked! - pecan pie and a good book

(beautiful windows at love of mine and type. watercolours i've been working on late at night.)

The new issue of WeddingBells is out now and I have a little bit of work featured in the magazine (top left). I'm really pleased with how it turned out!

My wee sis got married last weekend on one of the hottest days of the summer. She looked so beautiful despite the massive dress in the scorching heat. She's on her honeymoon now in New York. I hope she's holding up!

I made a few things for her wedding, including my first ever try at a ketubah. (I was so relieved when the Rabbi told me it was all correct. Phew! I don't remember any Hebrew from my Hebrew school days except mother, father and pencil.) I decided to go for soft colours, with some flowers that I know my sister loves, as well as a big fruit tree. I found some inspiration from some old William Morris prints and some Klimt paintings.

What are you doing this weekend? I'm hoping to check out the Toronto Night Market tonight, if it doesn't rain. Delicious.

Every time I look at Toast's catalogue I know I'm in for some heartbreak. They have such lovely stuff. Such lovely, expensive-because-it's-in-GBP stuff. But it's also a source for such great inspiration. I just love deep blues with the bits of bright colour and added texture.

And they do easy, classic shapes so well.

Tonight is the rehearsal my little sister's wedding. I can't believe it's here already. Gotta finish that speech...

I'm a bit obsessed right now with these satchels from the Cambridge Satchel Company. They're a perfect shape, there are just the loveliest colours to choose from (including neon colours if you're into that) and they can emboss your bag with your initials or whatever else you'd like on there. Meow.

I think I'd go for navy. I always go for navy.

In other news, I just noticed that some of my calligraphy work was printed as part of a wedding featured in Cosmo Bride UK. So that's neat, right?

oh what a beautiful mornin

It was so nice to take the morning off with Chris and just bumble around for a bit. We made a huge lunch and I treated myself with a giant bunch of peonies. We bought some cheeses and some Rosette de Lyon sausage from our favourite little cheese shop. Dear lord that sausage is good. They also make fresh mozzarella every Saturday morning, which is fun and delicious.

Hey, I should also mention that Family First will be screening again in Toronto, after really wonderful screenings at the Worldwide Short Film Fest and Palm Springs. On Thursday night, you can catch it before the screening of Trigger as part of the Open Roof Festival. Yeehaw!

xo

It seems that there has been a delay.

So, I haven't been very successful at scheduling myself this summer and the wedding season has really overwhelmed me. I've learned a lot about how to prepare myself for the amount of work involved for next summer, though, and I've made some pretty things and met some wonderful folks. So that's good! Maybe now I can get back to making things for myself & friends and taking some pictures.

I just got back from Calgary last night. We drove to Canmore where I experimented a bit with a little Tilt-Shift app that I downloaded. I like mini-things. Why not make everything look mini? There is no good reason not to.

Did we see bunnies? Yes. Mountain Goats? Uh-huh. 

That, to me, means that the trip was a success.