FREE PRINTABLE HALLOWEEN PARTY INVITATIONS

If you're throwing a Halloween party this year, here are some free invitations you can download, print, and cut out to send to your guests. Just click the link at the bottom of the post!

DOWNLOAD HERE

CUSTOM WORK: NEW YEAR'S EVE WEDDING INVITATIONS

Today I wanted to share a custom project that I worked on for a friend of mine who is getting married on New Year's Eve. Karen and Tim were wanting invitations that would set the tone for their wedding, which is going to be a very fun, sparkly celebration. They wanted bold typography and lots of color. 

I heat embossed these tags with gold ink to bind her different pieces together inside the envelope.

I also printed metallic gold confetti onto the front of the envelopes with my letterpress.They turned out really shiny in person because of the contrasting gold on deep purple.

These envelopes were addressed with a metallic silver pen (though it photographs white). 

Overall I think her invitations captured the celebratory spirit of her wedding that she was wanting and I think they will get people excited about toasting the new year with her and her new hubby.

Thanks, Karen & Tim!

5 PUMPKIN DESSERTS

Just a warning: this month's posts are going to be full of all things fall!

Yesterday, painted pumpkins. Today, pumpkin desserts. You can also expect pumpkin food (non-desserts) and drinks in the future. I like pumpkin stuff. It's delicious. The good news is, you won't have to scramble around before family get-togethers this fall for something to make because I did all of the searching for you (and now I'm hungry).

Here are the 5 pumpkin desserts I found that made me drool the most (I excluded pumpkin pie because it's kinda boring. Delicious...but boring):

Recipes:

Brown Butter Pumpkin Cupcakes with Salted Caramel Frosting | Pumpkin Cheesecake

Pumpkin Whoopie Pies | Pumpkin Fudge | Pumpkin Doughnut Holes Baked with Cinnamon Sugar

PAINTED PUMPKIN IDEAS

It's already October! That means it's time to start thinking about fall decorations. I've never been a big Halloween fan, but I do like to decorate pumpkins in the fall, and painting rather than carving seems like a great alternative. Less mess and more options! Here is some inspiration:

Image Sources & Tutorials:

ombre | white pumpkin with flowers | glitter | candy corn | gold foil | geometric

NEW WEDDING ORDER PACKAGING

I have written before about my packaging for HWP, but lately I've been wanting to take it up a notch, especially for wedding orders. Packaging is something that I find not only fun, but also really important. The wedding invitations industry is pretty flooded right now, so I want my customers to know how much I appreciate them choosing me out of all the other options. I think one of the best ways to do that is to make the experience of opening their order really exciting and fun. I want them to feel like they're getting a present, not just a purchase.

Outside the box:

I added this sticker...

...and a logo stamp to make the boring brown box a little more unique.

Inside:

I made a quick and easy little garland out of washi tape and strung it to the top of the box.

Then I added colorful elements like the thank you sticker and mini business cards. I want the box to feel like a celebration, so I punch some big confetti circles out of tissue paper and sprinkle them around the box. 

One of my favorite additions to my packaging is a little muslin bag with these sheets I designed with tips to have a more joyful (less stressful) wedding. As exciting as the engagement experience is, it's also a time where a lot of couples feel stressed and overwhelmed, so I added these as a way to remind couples to enjoy this time and remember what's important.

I hope that these additions will make my customers smile, and make opening their mail a little more exciting!