Reaching Bliss

Phew! It is finally done..."Bliss"- The ultimate bride guide to wedding stationery designed by Blushing Pearl! This digital look-book is a concoction of designs, ink and paper options, a wedding color palette guide, a timeline for ordering wedding invitations, as well as a few tips to help make the process a little easier. You can download a copy for a full view here.

*If you are interested in any designs showcased in this look-book, please contact Blushing Pearl for an estimate. If you have a few ideas of your own, Blushing Pearl would love to work with you on a more custom-tailored piece! Happy wedding planning!

{Real Business} Bella Blush

I have had the pleasure of working with Sheena, of Bella Blush. She contacted me with her brand/logo and wanted 2-color, letterpress printed business cards in blush pink and gold ink. This was the first time I have printed with a metallic ink. I already knew the cotton paper stock would absorb most of the ink and that it would not turn out as metallic as it would on a smooth cover stock. I also printed these business cards on  Reich Savoy, a different paper stock other than the house paper, Lettra. It has similar texture and is 118# instead of Lettra's 110#. I loved the colors of Bella Blush, as it is similar to Blushing Pearl's colors :) I showed Sheena proofs with colors and some elements from her website.

*If you are interested in having your own letterpress printed business or calling cards made, contact Blushing Pearl to get started!

Something Simple

Look what came in the mail from Irena of Simplewear! My sister is having a baby and I thought, what better to give her and her hubby something a little more personal for their little one. My sister is really into a safari animal theme for the baby room. I sent along my ideas to Irena and she came up with the cutest onesies! My sister also has a little chihuahua mix named Missy, who is kind of a baby herself. She will be jealous of the new addition to the family! These onesies will surely make the definite photo opportunity :) Oh, and don't you recognize the letterpress printed hang tags? *wink*

Inspiration from Germany

I have had the pleasure of getting to know Trisha, of Mary Sew Designs. She is a one-of-a kind artist who works with metals and fabric. Trisha creates jewelry that is inspired by gothic culture, vintage clothing, as well as the everyday things that surround her. Blushing Pearl has had the opportunity of doing a feature on Trisha and her artisan endeavor. Check it out!

I am Trisha, I am 28 and from Berlin, Germany. I study English Literary and media studies. I love everything cute, zombie movies, and video games. I have four adorable pet rats who are my babies. I like listening to Industrial Goth tunes as much as cheesy country songs or Regina Spektor and Amanda Palmer. I like comic books, movies, TV shows, and just having fun with my friends and boyfriend. Oh, and at night, I'm fighting crime as a superhero :D

I was always creative and always had the urge to do something. Last year I participated in a Secret Santa on an online DIY message board and was the Secret Santa to someone who wanted, more than anything, Steampunk Jewelry. So I slew an old watch and started making my first Steampunk pendant. My friends started to ask me if I could make them one as well and shortly after that, I got my first emails asking me if I would sell them. So I started my Etsy shop and here we are now :D

*Stop by Trisha's Etsy shop here!



*What inspires your artwork? 

I am getting inspired by so many things. I am inspired by vintage clothing and jewelry, by nature, by the very creative Gothic culture, by books, movies, and most of all by supplies. To be honest, most of the time I don't know what I am doing. I start assembling my supplies and they "speak" to me... tadaa..a new creation :)

Steampunk artists like inspire me a lot:

Prof. Malstromme

Daniel Proulx

19moons

Bionic Unicorn

*What are you working on now?
 Exciting things are happening right now. I am currently working on an even softer Steampunk attempt than usual (working with flowers, colors, etc.) I am also planning on making fascinators and handbags. Furthermore there are some projects I cannot talk about yet but are very exciting and I will keep you posted on my blog.

*What are your favorite pieces from your shop and what inspired them? 
My favorite are the winged hearts. They are inspired by air captain emblems and the pretty insides of a clock. I made one for myself and I am wearing it all the time! I hopefully can relist the working pocket watch soon.

For more of Trisha's work, follow her here:

{Website} marysew.com

{Blog} http://mistyillusions.org/marysew/


{Shop} http://marysewdesigns.etsy.com

{Twitter} http://twitter.com/MarySew


{Facebook} http://www.facebook.com/pages/MarySew-Designs/356629438005

Submission Granted

I am super excited! I submitted Blushing Pearl's letterpress printed business card to Card Observer and it was chosen! Card Observer is a business card design gallery where they choose and showcase designs for business cards printed with various techniques. Take a peek here. Retweet and show some support :)

 

Linework from Glasco

I love fashion as a form of self expression. While browsing Vogue and Nylon magazines, I couldn't help to notice the illustrations done by Francesca Waddell, of Glasco. What caught my eye was her delicate line work as well as her beautifully detailed illustrations of shoes ( one of my fetishes :) Francesca captures her subject without drawing in overwhelming detail, but kind of leaves a ghostly shape to the majority of her piece while filling in the rest with hints of color and texture. I would like to watch her process of illustration. Life drawing was always a tough class for me... I appreciate any artist who can capture the human form in the least amount of lines as possible.

*photo credit: Francesca Waddell

{Real Business} A Big Mouthful

I have had the pleasure of working with Adrienne on her custom, 2-color business cards. She already had a logo for her branding and wanted the tactile feel of a letterpress printed card. Her colors were yellow, dark brown, and red. I experimented with her logo theme, which I think is a great, tongue-in-cheek name for her business..."A Big Mouthful". Adrienne explores and records her adventures in cooking and food in her local community. Sounds yummy!

Personalized Notes

Just an update on the shop- Custom Icon Notes! Pick an icon, font and color. This makes a thoughtful, unique gift as it comes gift boxed with specialty paper! Perfect for a new graduate, as thank you notes, or as social stationery. You can find this on Etsy or contact Blushing Pearl for details :)

Re-learning to Write

I've decided to re-teach myself how to write. I've purchased a beautiful calligraphy kit via Emilie Friday (check out her beautifully written "Blushing Pearl" she enclosed in my package), as well as Spencerian practice books found on Amazon. My penmanship comes close to chicken scratch... literally! I've always admired the penmanship of a typography professor in college who was VERY old skool. In a way, he drove me insane and his class was probably the only class I learned from because I had to re-do multiple assignments only to receive the same letter grade. He definitely "whipped me into shape" as a graphic artist. At the time, David Carson was defying all the rules of the graphic design world with his barely readable type and distorted layouts. A few magazine headers David Carson was known for were "Raygun" and "Surfer" magazines. He was "all over the grid system" as my one professor told us. Little did my professor know, David Carson is what drove me to be an aspiring graphic artist. My professor taught us that graphic artists should always stay within the lines. We weren't considered fine artists and we were not mathematical architects. My professor was a calligrapher/typographer. When he would write on the chalkboard, his penmanship looked Spencerian, perfect... even with chalk.

This month I have had the opportunity to design wedding invitation suites for various clients. When they ask about the protocol for addressing envelopes, I explain to them that a handwritten address is the proper social etiquette. Unless they have precise penmanship, people usually turn to printing addresses on labels- it's easy and legible. There are a few calligraphers I've come across that offer their handwritten services towards addressing envelopes or even customizing a wedding invitation. One of them is Grace Edmands Calligraphy.  This is why I am taking it upon myself to try to learn how to write properly, with flourishes and a sense of tradition. I hope to one day be able to address an envelope with perfect penmanship. I hear practice is key to keeping a consistent style of writing and 1 hour of practice a day should work. I have a feeling this will be like teaching an old dog new tricks...

1. Calligraphy kit via Emilie Friday

2. Spencerian Penmanship practice booklet

3. *photo credit: Grace Edmands Calligraphy

Gray Goes Bold

Here I go again, with my favorite pop colors of the year! (View my obsession with pop color in this post.) ATELIER Abigail Ahern is a designer who takes every risk possible in terms of color. What attracted me to her design style is her eclectic taste in color and pieces. She has a "wonderland" sense of messiness to her interiors, yet each piece and each color is chosen with particular care. Gray isn't a color I would think to paint the interior of my house, but it works well and can serve as a neutral background, seemingly un-active. When really, it creates a platform for pieces hot pink colored, a deep teal, or bright yellow to stand out and make the room active. I am thinking of ordering her book on "A Girl's Guide to Decorating"... It would make a great coffee table read as well as great inspiration for color schemes.

*photo credit: design sponge, abigail ahern

A Feature and An Awesome Giveaway!

Blushing Pearl is featured on My Girl Thursday's Blog, hosted by Chantilly. She is featuring a variety of talented indie artists. Be sure to check out their blogs/sites/shops as well as enter to win those sweet giveaways! I have my eye on Good Knit's custom pair of slippers... if only I can enter myself! Blushing Pearl is giving away a set of 8 Love and Letterpress coasters. The last day to enter is May 7th!