Tuesday 4 August 2015

New trends and seasonal planning.

Nice to see Graph it alcohol markers are coming out with pastel shades, lovely sugar almond colours for crafters, I would like to give them a try. They will certainly go with everyone's enjoyment of Shabby chic look cards and crafts. Woodware are also planning workshops popping up in retailers with Christmas related stamps and designs and demonstrations. These would be fun to attend. In keeping with the vintage shabby chic theme, Fantastic Ribbons have brought out a lovely rang of burlap ribbons natural and colored with lace too, scrumptious card trims!

Design detail.

Having had a request for greater detail on how the vintage invites were assembled, I will put something together. I don't do normally do tutorials (not videos) but I will put up a few photos and show assembly steps to help. I will put this together and post this week.

Wedding held on 1st August

Now the Wedding is held there are more details I can share with you, extra finishing touches to the day. Bird cages table centres were decorated with Luggage tag style table numbers and embossed tags with memorable quotes hand written.


Dresses were hung with a personal touch, individual named coat hangers for the bridesmaids.
Hand painted with name and role, bridesmaid, flower girl etc.

The table setting place names were also on luggage tags, doubled with a lace punched top layer, finished with liquid pearls, hand written in copperplate style.


More bird cage detail. they were filled with flowers, roses and peonies, had led safety tea lights and strung with pearls to keep the vintage theme.


The memorable quote tags were hand written in a copperplate style, simple romantic sentiments.


The table numbers were just a simple number written with a broad nib.


The table plan was backed with hessian and strung with lace to keep the vintage theme.


The font used to print this was replicating an old typewriter, headers were backed with a pearlised lace print paper and buff craft card.


Lace string had pearl trim added to the fixings and the table tags were pinned to this with mini clothes pegs. These were double layered with a lace edge to match the place setting tags.


Decor detail in the corners to complete were paper roses, on a burlap bow with a pearl twist.


The very happy bride and customer had a wonderful day at The Daffodil Hotel, Grasmere. The new Mrs Wedgwood!




Sunday 21 June 2015

Normal service will resume a.s.a.p.

Well I finally got a date for heart surgery at the Center of excellence for heart electronics, Freemans Hospital Newcastle. which I have waited for since last July. I attended Friday 19th and am pleased all has gone well and I am home already. A bit weary and sore here and there, including burns to my chest having been paddled to restart my heart three times with cardio-aversion during the surgery! But I'm here, I made it through everything and I am now hopefully on the mend to a new me. Normal service will be resumed as soon as possible, then hopefully greater than normal service as I concentrate on getting my web site up and running. I intend to put many long awaited plans into action and lots of ideas that have sat on the back burner waiting for quality of life and health to change. Look out world I will soon be on full form!!!

Friday 5 June 2015

Yesterday was a beautiful day, one of the first that would encourage you to venture outside. We are all desperately waiting for our summer to kick in and temperatures to lift. I took advantage and sat in the garden to do a little practice.
I used the chance to have a play with some new pens, looking at some portable options for Calligraphy, when dragging bags of equipment, bottles of ink, dip pens etc might be inconvenient. I had a few nib sizes of the Pilot Parallel pens and a Manuscript cartridge pen set.

I have to say all lovely, but (there's always a but, isn't there!) The pilot pens are good, I tested 4 of the nib sizes and I would say I think more suitable for bolder large scale work. I personally feel the ink flows too fast, in fact floods on the smaller nib size.  The manuscript Pen set came with three nib sizes and I did enjoy a more traditional nib, it gave far greater control of the ink flow and there for more accurate for smaller script sizes and a comfortable balanced pen for prolonged use. Both of course equally portable being cartridge ink.


A simple board tilted from the garden table was just perfect to sit and scribble in the sun.


Had a play the new pens in between cool drinks a relax under my hat, I'm not someone in search of a tan!


Easy to get distracted by the number of feathered visitors I get, some quite tame now as they are used to me and come over to feed very close.


I made a note of the pen type and nib sizes to the left here, all worth a try, but my preference was definitely the manuscript cartridge pen for smaller script size. www.calligraphy.co.uk for manuscript pens.

Just a few photos to show some of the production line behind a big batch of invites like the ones recently completed.
 Invite inserts all printed and drying, this can sometimes take a while on pearlised or coated papers.

 Embellisments assembled and ready to attach to the front of the invites.

 There's a LOT of folding to do, especially when the invites are boxed.

 Here's the production line on the go, assembling invites and adding trims.

 Closer shot of the detail.


FINALLY! 85 invites complete and boxed, with Calligraphy names labels on each ready to go!

Inside each box was the main laser cut invite, with pearlised printed and decorated invitation on craft card. The invite's were tied with twine with a pearl and paper flower wedding date tag embellishment  added. Slipped in the twine was the reply card, post card style printed on the reverse with  a menu selection tick box.
Also a book of tear out tickets for transport confirmation, a copy of the menu's for the day and a 
pre-printed return envelope for replies. 
 All laid in a tissue paper wrap with a silver wedding seal closure within the craft card box. 

Tuesday 19 May 2015

Some very special invites to share!!! Now that the Bride has had the chance to deliver all these beautiful boxed Vintage style Invites (with included reply info) to all her guests, I can share some of the detail. Laser cut doily fold invite with flat vintage style buff and pearl card invite inside. Tied with twine and pearls, completed with a hand made flower and wedding date tag. Reply post card and menu selection card, hand decorated and distressed, with a book of transport request tickets, perforated to tear out and reply. All together wrapped in tissue in matching vintage buff box. The boxes were all finished with a Calligraphy name label for each guest.








Wednesday 29 April 2015

Stationery show 2015

Exciting times, enjoyed a trip to London for the Stationary show 2015, great venue in the British Design Center, Islington. Been there many time to various events. The show was great, enjoyed viewing many new product launches. Great to meet the lovely people from Manuscript Pen co. the ultimate Calligraphy company people! Also enjoyed a chat with the William Mitchell nib manufacturers.

So chuffed to see the expanded selection from Manuscript and from their new catalogue just how much is now available in Left Oblique!! Even fibre tip Very encouraging!

Wonderful visit to Kew Gardens while down there, this has given me lots of inspiration for some new ideas, variation on a theme to do a whole set Botanical illustrated , Calligraphy Quotes. Will definitely be working with the National Handwriting Association too, lets see if we can make a difference to the level of writing skills given to youngsters these days. At the moment it's shocking how bad it is!

Saturday 14 March 2015

Wedding Venue research for future colaboration

Finally finished the house renovation, studio sorted and getting back into the world of art, craft and calligraphy. Very busy on my own Daughters wedding for 1st August this year, obviously it's a big secret for all the goodies associated with that, but I will enjoy sharing soon as I can.

My 'Underconstruction' page for the forth coming web site should pop up soon, planning on attending a few Wedding Fayre's through the region this coming year to get out and meet some brides. It's a few years since I did the Wedding Fayre's, but I think as I have been off the scene whilst in house move and renovation mode, it will be good to get out there again.

Planning on linking up with a few more lakes hotels this year too, watch out for venue sketches of some of the best lakes Wedding venues. I have been having a tour of a few lately, enjoying being in 'secret shopper' mode, whilst enjoyng the hospitality and discovering those I would like to work with and those I will not!!! Always a few surprises in there when they don't know they are being assessed. Most of all was probably The Samling, sorry folks not impressed. Leading star by far The Gilpin Lodge Hotel, just wonderful, as ever!