The Cheshire Kat Design » Bling

Baby Showers Galore! – Part One

thecheshirekat — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 16:05:53 +0000

I can barely keep up with all of the baby showers that have been coming my way lately! Since I finally got a chance to snap some pictures of a few recent shower designs, I figured I’d better show them off on the blog.

This invitation was designed for my dear friend Katie, who asked me if I would create a shower invitation with a coordinating thank-you note. I usually like to take inspiration from the expectant mother’s nursery design ideas to create baby stationery, and I knew she was putting together a beautiful room for her baby girl with crystals, white wrought iron, and delicate shades of gray and blue. We shifted from blue to pink for the shower invite but kept the gray, and the end result was stunning!

The invitation, a triple-layered panel with a ribbon detail and embellishment.

A closer look at the belly band and embellishment, which is a vintage-inspired button. I broke the loop off the back so it would lay flat.

The coordinating thank-you note, with a printed gray and pink stripe across the front and a simple Swarovski crystal embellishment in the middle.

The whole suite looks gorgeous all together! Both the invite and the thank-you were paired with pink metallic envelopes for an extra little bit of sparkle.

It was a joy creating these custom pieces for Katie and her sweet little girl Abby, who made her appearance on September 4th! Stay tuned for Part Two – more baby showers tomorrow!

Jen and Chris’s wedding – Valencia, CA

thecheshirekat — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 14:43:20 +0000

Jen and Chris are two of the sweetest, most fun people I’ve ever met. We were introduced by my dear friend Melissa, who has known the both of them FOREVER, and Jen and I hit it off instantly. In our initial consultation meeting, we sat and chatted for hours about all of the awesome DIY projects she had planned for the wedding – invites, menus, programs, a canopy full of lanterns, pillows… and crystals, crystals everywhere! I loved it all from the start and couldn’t wait to see it all in person.

Jen dreamed up a purple and orange color scheme with a Spanish-inspired flair; ceramic tiles were used as table numbers and as favors that doubled as placecards. They found Copperhill Catering, an amazing catering team, who created two kinds of paella for dinner, along with tapas and sangria for the cocktail hour and churros and chocolate for dessert. The guests went wild for Sweet and Saucy Shop’s red velvet and pumpkin cake pops, too!

Check out some of the amazing shots below, provided by Stephanie Williams Photography, and click here to view more pictures in her blog post.

The happy couple - Jen and Chris

The gorgeous crystal bouquet charms were created by Bling Diva Designs.

The ceremony setup had handmade pinwheels lining both sides of the aisle. Whimsical and delightful!

A shot of the tablescape, with the aforementioned silkscreened tiles.

Gorgeous floral centerpieces by Myra at Celebrate Floral - I love the vibrant colors!

Adorable (and delicious!) cake pops by Sweet and Saucy Shop, and a lovely little cake to go with them. Jen bedazzled the cake stand herself; the cake topper is from Bling Diva Designs.

The dance/lounge area required some intense setup - Chris and his parents built this canopy frame and set it up the day before the wedding; I got to hang the lanterns the next morning. It looked positively magical, especially after the sun went down.

The lounge pillows were all custom made by a friend of the family, and each one of them was unique!

I laughed so hard when I saw this picture. Definitely my favorite shot of the day! The smilebooth was provided by Emmycube Photography.

All in all, it was a gorgeous day full of love and happiness. Jen and Chris, I’m so glad I had the chance to get to know you and be a part of such a beautiful celebration! And huge thanks are due to the amazing vendors I got to work with:

Venue: Tesoro Adobe Historic Park in Valencia, CA

Photographer: Stephanie Williams Photography

Videographer: Roberto Fonseca

Catering: Copperhill Catering

Florist: Celebrate Floral

DJ: C&J – Carol and Jeff

Dessert: Sweet and Saucy Shop

Smilebooth: Emmycube Photography

Cake Toppers & Bling: Bling Diva Designs

Giant Balloons (not shown): Me to You Balloons

Stacy and Shannon – Invitation Suite

thecheshirekat — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 13:12:15 +0000

Still catching up on the blog! I posted Stacy and Shannon’s save-the-dates and monograms back in December, and now I’m revealing their full invitation suite.

I knew that Stacy wanted some sparkle in her invites, so we paired up three gorgeous metallic cardstocks and a handful of crystal embellishments for these lovely gatefolds. Take a look at how it all came together!

I used the monogram I'd created previously on the oval seal for the tucked-ribbon belly band.

A closer look at the belly band and seal. I love the tucked-ribbon look; it's a ton of extra work, but it's worth it.

The invitation panel was mounted to a pink metallic cardstock mat inside the gold metallic gatefold.

There were five crystal accents on each invitation panel - a pink one in each corner and an amber one in the center.

The inserts all maintained the graphics and fonts from the invitation panel and were mounted to pink metallic cardstock.

The only insert that didn't get a cardstock mat was the RSVP card, because it's paired with a coordinating pink envelope (not pictured).

It was so much fun designing such an elegant set of wedding invitations for what was undoubtedly a gorgeous and detail-rich affair this past June. Stacy and Shannon, I wish you all the best in your marriage – thank you for the opportunity to create these pieces for you!