Well Wed in New York, Fall-Winter 09 issue

We're SO excited to be featured in three (yes THREE) places in the newest issue of Well Wed in New York! Go pick up a copy from your local newsstand if you're in Upstate New York.

Grace and Chris' wedding, coordinated by Kelli Berg of Simply Beautiful Events, was a featured wedding...we did their full letterpress stationery suite. Plus, we provided menus for 2 of their photo shoots. It was so much fun!

What a beautiful magazine and we're so THANKFUL to be a part of it!

Engraving versus Thermography...benefits and drawbacks

Most of our wedding invitations & stationery are printed using thermography, a raised printing method that is relatively inexpensive and offers any option you could want in PMS (Pantone) colors. It's versatile and fast and provides that finished look that you can't get off of a digital printer...here's an example of typical thermographic printing on a metallic stock:

You can see the raised impression and the light reflection on the surface of the graphic. Lighter colors have a beautiful translucent effect that works especially well on metallic stocks. So why would we use engraved printing, a much more expensive process (which is the primary drawback)? What is the difference in process and what are the benefits of engraving?

Thermography is an offset printing process. The type/image goes onto the paper as flat ink and then while the ink is still wet, a very fine powder is dusted onto the paper and it goes through a very high heat oven. That powder liquifies and hardens to form the raised print.

Engraving requires the design to be etched onto a copper plate. The engraver then forces the paper onto that plate with very high pressure and the result is a raised image on the front, and you can see the "bruise" of the plate on the back of the paper. That is the evidence of true engraved stationery. Additionally, when metallic ink is used, the paper passes through the process once more to burnish the ink and give it a finished, smooth look.

The benefits of engraving include:

• Engraved type and graphics usually result in a much sharper image compared to those printed with thermography.
• Whereas thermography usually has a glossy look, engraved graphics look more like matte-finish paint on paper, with little gloss except in the case of metallic inks.
• Engraving allows you to print light colors on dark paper stocks. Thermography doesn't have a "white" ink, so there's no way to get that sharp, white or light type layout or graphic that you can with engraving (note: you can also use white/light foil to get that light on dark impact, but it's a very different look).
• Engraving is the true "traditional" printing method for wedding invitations, so if you're having a very formal, traditional wedding and have the budget for it, engraving is an excellent choice for your stationery.

Here are a couple of views of an engraved job we recently completed. We never would have achieved the sharp distinction of line in the interwoven monograms if we had printed them with thermography. For the full view of this job, click HERE to see the full portfolio from this wedding.

It's getting hot in here...

If that tune starts going through your head when you think of your wedding ceremony, perhaps the ceremony program should be shaped like a fan, cooling your guests while they follow along with your vows. One of our latest fun-loving brides decided she wanted functional fan-shaped wedding programs for her June ceremony, so of course we obliged. We were planning another fan program for a wedding later in the summer, and moved up our timetable to make this fabulous new die cut. We're so happy with the outcome...and the bride was, too! We love the way the yellow orchids fall over the top of the cover, just like her invitations! The navy blue and butter yellow colors are so crisp and summery, and were accented nicely with the fern green ribbon going through the silver grommet. So pretty

50th Anniversary...picnic style!

Just a quick post tonight to show you some fun Save the Dates for an upcoming 50th Anniversary party. We're producing the invitations this week so these are a couple months old, but I just posted them to the website and am newly enamored with them!

They're a treat compared to most formal 50th Anniversary parties. Inspired by the red and white checkered tablecloths that will be used at the big event, we created a fun and funky Envelopfold(r) Save the Date with an iconic 50th graphic that will also be used on the stamps for the invitation!

Enjoy!!

As a nod to tradition, we just added a TOUCH of gold (for the golden anniversary!) with an intermediate metallic gold layer...fun!

A teaser...we're back!

Hi Everyone! I know, I know. It's been SO long since we've updated our blog. The winter was cold and dreary but guess what, spring is here (we think) and that means it's WEDDING SEASON again!! YEA!

So many exciting things are coming our way. In just a few weeks we're launching our new website. YES, you heard me, a brand new look and new projects to drool over. We haven't updated our old website in quite a while as we've been putting all our efforts into the new site. I can't wait 'til it's live, and I'm sure you'll be thrilled! That also means that we'll be loading a new (coordinating) blog skin. Heaven.

I thought I'd post a few pics as a teaser to show you some of what we've been working on. It's been a lot of fun!

This one is a little older but we love it so much! It'll be featured on the new website but I thought I'd post a sneak peek of it here.

And one more teaser...he's a preview of our upcoming new website... **grin**

OK, I promise to come back SOON and regularly! Our winter hiatus is O.V.E.R.

Trends for spring 2009

Hey Everybody!

Anyone that knows me well knows that I am an ardent follower of fashion. I've always tried to maintain an aura of "stylishness" and after living in NYC for a number of years, I can talk the talk. I get all the magazines, try to keep up with the shows, and though no longer living in a hotbed of fashion, I do my best to look COOL while walking to work and making the lovely things I do here at Bella Carta Studio.

I am prompted to blog about fashion and more specifically trends by Lisa's suggestion that I discuss what we see going out of our workroom as we start on spring 2009 SAVE THE DATES.

One trend that I have noticed being brought up again and again is one of geometric simplicity. I actually saw it first in a Save the Date we did early LAST spring for a VERY modern bride. She specified cool and elegant, loving the look of light aqua and steel rules running sleekly along one long edge of the announcement.

This idea of simple design in the form of stripes was suggested by another one of our brides who came in wanting Save the Dates that reflected something "preppy." She loved those great colors: rich navy blue, chartruse green and brilliant magenta - they all contrast but somehow play together so nicely. Lisa was inspired to show her those colors in a fun nautical stripe pattern that wraps around the panel and is tied on with double faced satin magenta ribbon. And a few of those color rules horizontally frame the announcement.

Color trends are constantly changing and evolving. From the jewel tones that we used so frequently this fall, we are seeing a shift to brights and primaries, particularly that navy. Another Save the Date for a June wedding had both a vibrant green backing card and was mailed in a navy side flap envelope, white labeling band ready for green addressing and featuring a brilliant blue flower from the card

All these bright colors and a simple approach to design are sure to affect what we do as we ramp up for our holiday season of announcements, invitations and of course, greetings - both family and corporate. Lisa was walking around with something TOTALLY CYAN the other day...

More on holiday soon,
Carrie