Linzmarie Designs

We've moved!

2010-08-24T05:25:00.000-07:00

Linzmarie Designs is now

Please click the links below to visit the following sites:

Website :: Facebook :: Twitter :: Wedding Wire

{www.paperbloomstudio.com}

Sneak Peek!

2010-08-16T19:54:00.000-07:00

Big news! I am changing my business name and have been working hard on a new logo & identity. I still have some tweaks to make to my site before I reveal the new look but wanted to share a sneak peek at my gorgeous letterpress business cards that I picked up today, printed at Studio Olivine:

I'm really excited about this next step for my business and can't wait to share this with you! Stay tuned...

Molly & Greg's Wedding Invitation

2010-07-02T10:46:00.000-07:00

Last year I showed photos of Molly & Greg's Save the Dates that were complete with Molly's gorgeous drawings. Their wedding invitations are finally done and the entire set is beautiful! Here's just the invitation, front and back. Once again Molly did all the drawings and they look so amazing.

Printed offset on Classic Crest Linen with a navy blue spot color & gray ink. The envelope is "night" from Paper Source, complete with wrap-around label.

Brianne & Steve's Invitations

2010-07-01T14:43:00.001-07:00

In March I posted photos of Save the Dates for Brianne & Steve. Their invitations just went out to family and friends so I can finally post a picture! I'll eventually take photos of the whole set but for now here's their invite that just so happened to match the envelope and liner from Paper Source perfectly.

This set was printed offset on Cranes Lettra cotton paper with a teal spot color & gray ink– beautiful!

One Heart Weddings is LIVE!

2010-05-27T17:59:00.001-07:00

A few months ago, I started designing wedding invitations for a website called WeddingDNA.com. They recently renamed and redesigned the website and it is LIVE! Visit www.oneheartweddings.com for beautiful personalized designs for the DIY bride. Everything on this site can be downloaded and printed on your home computer. How cool is that?!

For work designed specifically by me, see below and click here.

Summer Wedding Invitation

Formal Wedding Invitation

Retro Wedding Invitation

Summer Pink Wedding Invitation

Whimsical Wedding Invitation

I am absolutely still offering my own custom designs through Linzmarie Designs! Please contact me at linzmariedesigns@gmail.com if you'd like to place a custom order.

Baby Sawyer's announcement

2010-05-20T09:17:00.001-07:00

My darling friend from high school recently had her third baby– a little girl named Sawyer (how much do you LOVE that name?!) I designed this announcement for their sweet little baby.

Anton Construction Logo

2010-04-19T13:31:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago I was hired to design a logo for an independent contractor. He wanted his identity to look nice & professional, so people would take him seriously and see how dedicated he is to his work. I came up with several concepts and he chose one that I am refining and will post when it's complete. But for now, here's an idea I had that wasn't quite what he was looking for, but it was my absolute favorite of the bunch!

I have to give my husband credit– it was his idea to add the hammer! I used that on a different concept but John suggested I toss it in here as well. I love it.

Brianne & Steve's Save the Date

2010-03-04T07:51:00.001-08:00

This was a fun one to design– it's for my brother-in-law! Steve and his fiancé Brianne wanted a simple Save the Date using a photo of them and their dog, and this is what we came up with:

This was the runner up:

I'm excited to start on their wedding invitations! Be on the look out for those in the next few months :)

2010 Bride's Choice Award

2010-02-02T08:49:00.000-08:00

I won the 2010 Brides Choice Awards from WeddingWire! I'm in the top 5 percent of wedding pros nationwide, very cool. http://ow.ly/12G7u

Kim & Marc's Invitation

2010-01-26T21:26:00.000-08:00

I'm back! I'm officially working on designs for 2010 weddings and can't wait to show you what I've been up to. Back in October (has it been that long?!) I showed a sneak peek of a design for Kim & Marc. Kim wanted to use a dark purple ink, and somehow incorporate her love of whimsical harlequin designs with orchids. Here's what we came up with!

I'll be back with more photos as my 2010 weddings come back from the printer!

A new addition!

2009-12-20T09:43:00.001-08:00

My apologies for the lack of posts lately... I've been a little preoccupied with a new addition to our family!

John and I welcomed Oliver into our lives on December 7th. He was 8 lbs., 12 oz and 21.25" long. He is such a good baby and we are so in love with him! I'll be back toward the end of January with photos of new work and more updates, so stay tuned. Until then, have a wonderful holiday season!

xoxo Lindsay

Facebook Fan Page

2009-11-15T22:22:00.001-08:00

I finally got my act together and created a Fan Page on Facebook! Click the link over to the right and add me if you haven't already :)

Sneak Peek!

2009-10-19T15:08:00.001-07:00

Here's a little preview of a new invitation suite I'm working on using an orchid illustration... I'm loving it so far and the bride has great feedback and suggestions. I can't wait to finish it up and share the rest!

Molly & Greg's Save the Dates

2009-10-11T11:20:00.000-07:00

I posted a sneak preview of a graphic being used for a Save the Date project and am so excited to share the final piece! Molly, the bride, is a family friend and just so happens to be an extremely talented artist (check out her stuff on Etsy! So cool). I was stoked when she hired me and said she wanted to draw the illustrations for her Save the Dates and invitations because I knew they would be amazing. I love the way these turned out and can't wait to start on the invites!

The Save the Dates are being sent in envelopes from Paper Source in the color "Night".

Look at that detail in the bird! So great.

Printed offset on Classic Crest linen paper. I LOVE this texture!

Min & Gateley's Invitations

2009-09-25T09:13:00.000-07:00

The other day, I was scrolling through the posts at WeddingBeePro, and came across an entry called Lots of Goodies! by Melody of the Sweet and Saucy Shop. The first photo totally caught my attention and I absolutely loved the cake design. Two seconds later, I realized it looked familiar. Haven't I seen that picture somewhere? As I scroll down I realize it's the cake of one of my clients and included is a photograph of the monogram I designed for them used for their favors!

Source

I was sitting by myself at home and said out loud, "Hey! That's my design! How cool." It was just so random, and very cool to see my work on someone else's website. Here's a shot of their invitation suite:

And a few photos from their wedding that I absolutely love (photographer is Sarah Holden Photography):

NACE Event Invitation

2009-09-21T09:01:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago, I was asked by Shawn from Event Team Entertainment if I'd be interested in designing an invitation for a kick-off event for the NACE (National Association of Catering Executives) chapter starting in Portland. I was really excited about this opportunity, not only to have my name on the invite as a sponsor of the event, but to actually be invited to it as well! I'm looking forward to meeting other event professionals in Portland and getting my name out there.

The invitation was to look modern & fresh, and to play off the space the event will be held (Departure, a restaurant at the nines Hotel). I used one of my favorite graphics for this invite and I think it came out well!

Upcoming project

2009-08-28T10:25:00.000-07:00

I'm working with a new couple on their September 2010 wedding materials, and I can't wait to get started on their Save the Dates! The bride is a talented artist and sent me a couple pen & ink drawings to use, and let me tell you– they're awesome! Below is a sneak peek at one of the graphics I'll incorporate into my design. Stay tuned for the final product coming in a few weeks.

Erin & Michael's Reception Extras

2009-08-07T14:54:00.000-07:00

Back in April I posted a few photos of Erin & Michael's invitations. Today I received some images from their awesome photographers at Honeysuckle Photography of a few pieces I created for their reception. You have to check out their photos on Honeysuckle's blog, and the slideshow as soon as it's up on their website. Erin & Michael are such a sweet couple and they looked amazing! And how gorgeous is the bride's dress?! Enjoy looking through their fantastic photos!

All photos by Honeysuckle Photography

Heidi & Kartr's Invitations

2009-08-02T19:11:00.001-07:00

I had the pleasure of working with Heidi a few months ago on her wedding invitations, and I truly loved this project. She is very crafty and was excited about assembling the invitations herself, and just needed my help designing and printing all the pieces. Their wedding was earlier in July at the Black Walnut Inn in Dundee, Oregon, and their reception on August 1st at the Bethany Vineyards in Ridgefield, Washington. She sent me the link to their photos from their photographer Jamie Bosworth and loved looking through them, especially to see how she used my designs at the actual wedding (I love the menus!) Congratulations, Heidi and Kartr. I wish you all the best!!

Awesome photo booth idea!

2009-07-21T11:09:00.000-07:00

I've noticed the trend lately of having photo booths at weddings, an idea I LOVE and wish I would have considered for my own wedding! Any kind of activity or take-away for guests is always a wonderful idea. I stumbled upon this photo booth from onecoolpick's post today and had to share– look how incredibly awesome this is!

Photo booth created by Sasha Souza Events and Kristen*
Photos by Elizabeth Messina

Announcement for Baby Riley

2009-07-16T08:57:00.000-07:00

One of the best things about designing wedding invitations is that I get to be involved in such a huge event in a couple's life. It's always a bit sad for me after all the pieces for their wedding have been sent to them, because my part is done and we don't get to talk as much. I've been so lucky to keep in touch with almost all of my brides, and it's always SO fun when I get to work with them again. Especially on other big events, like having babies!! I loved working with Kelli and Garrett again designing an announcement for their adorable baby boy, Riley. They wanted something simple with a few good pictures of their new addition, and this is what we came up with. I love the bigger photo of Riley– is he not just too cute for words?! These will be printed on 15pt cover stock at Overnightprints.com (who, by the way, now offer smaller quantities!) I can't wait to see the finished product. Congratulations, Kelli and Garrett! I am so happy for you guys and I know you are already wonderful parents.

Jennie & David's Invitations

2009-06-19T09:25:00.000-07:00

A few months ago I designed Save the Date postcards for Jennie and David, an adorable couple from North Carolina who found me via Flickr (thanks, Heidi for posting that pic!) Because I'm a horrible blogger, I never posted pictures of their finished product! The back is brown and green with information on their wedding, and here's what the front side looks like:
When it came time to design their wedding invitations, Jennie wanted to use the same colors and incorporate birds on the invite. I found a cute bird graphic and some solid cherry blossom branches on istockphoto.com that I knew she'd love. After only 2 rounds, she chose a design and the files were finalized! They were printed digitally and I am SO pleased with the final product. I will have everything packaged up and sent off to her tomorrow. Here's what she'll be receiving:

The inserts are tucked under the ribbon on the back.

Gina & Eric's Invitations

2009-05-27T18:31:00.000-07:00

About 2 years ago, I designed invitations for Kelli and Garrett, another California couple. They were referred by the lovely Eileen who has been a huge supporter and sent plenty of business my way (thanks, Eileen!!!) Kelli has also been singing my praises since her own wedding, and I was so excited to hear from her friend Gina who is getting married this summer in Cabo San Lucas. Gina and her fiancé Eric wanted really simple invitations with bright colors and a subtle beach theme. They created their own Save the Dates and used a graphic of a palm tree, so I thought it would be nice to go in that direction. Below is the final result! They were printed digitally on the same recycled stock as Erica & Nick's invitations.

Alexis & Ed's Invitations

2009-05-06T11:57:00.000-07:00

Back in November I designed Save the Dates for Alexis & Ed, a couple living in California. I was thrilled when they asked me to design their invites! I knew Alexis would want something elegant and traditional with a modern twist. These were printed offset on a beautiful, thick linen stock with two different blue inks. I love the linen paper (which has been a popular choice among clients lately)!

Erica & Nick's Invitation

2009-05-03T13:48:00.000-07:00

I gave a sneak preview of this invitation and never showed the final product! I only have samples of the invitation but the inserts have a similar feel using some of the leaves along the side. Erica & Nick really want to be as Earth-friendly as possible for all aspects of their wedding, so we carefully chose a nice recycled stock called Environment Tortilla. The small flecks (which can't be seen much in these photos) really added to the design and I love the way it came out. These were printed digitally, which is also another eco-friendly way to go. Digital printing lays down toner as opposed to ink (some inks are really harmful to the environment). I'm really happy with the outcome and I know the bride and groom are, too! Their guests should be receiving these shortly.

Patty Lehner Trunk Show at Avenue Five

2009-04-13T20:44:00.001-07:00

The ladies at Avenue Five are hosting their annual Patty Lehner Trunk Show next month and wanted a fun invitation with their logo in the form of shopping bags. I used my favorite color combination here and they loved it! It's bright and bold, perfect for their party. If you're in need of bridesmaids gifts or just jewelry for your self, this is the event to be at!

The latest to leave the shop!

2009-04-03T09:24:00.000-07:00

Here are a few pictures of 2 new pieces that left my hands this week! Erin & Michael loved Erin & Kevin's invitations so I worked with that structure but switched up fonts and graphics to make it more of their own. Here's a picture of the finished product and a peek at one of the pieces inside:

Jessica & Travis are a sweet couple from California that love different types of paper, so they have a variety in their suite. I think the contrast of the smooth to the sparkly works nicely along with the different shades of pink. The belly band wraps around the back and holds the enclosure cards (off-white with a pink envelope!)

A little preview...

2009-03-24T10:25:00.000-07:00

I sent three invitations to print last week and I can't wait to get them all back! Here's a tiny preview of the PDF proofs from the printer. More to come :)

New website for Event Team Entertainment!

2009-03-18T18:41:00.000-07:00

The fabulous guys over at Event Team Entertainment have a new website! My husband and I hired Shawn Whittemore as our entertainment director in 2006 for our wedding, and it one of the BEST choices we've ever made. Notice how I didn't call him a DJ? That's because that title doesn't do him justice. What exactly do you call a person who spends hours on end with you via phone, emails and meetings making sure the important details of your wedding are planned out and perfect? Someone who directs the flow of the evening while not stealing the spotlight from the bride & groom? A person who is out in the crowd at your reception, interacting with guests making sure they have everything they need and are having fun? And what the heck do you call a man who escorts the groom's grandmother to her seat when she needs a hand?!! Besides TOTALY AWESOME, I guess entertainment director is the next best title. It makes me so happy to see so many other couples singing his praises and to see his business grow. You must hire him, and that's final.

Check out Event Team Entertainment's new website and all the fun videos and pictures on there! You might see a few familiar faces ;)

Custom Business Cards

2009-03-04T10:19:00.000-08:00

A friend of mine who is job searching asked if I would design business cards for her to pass out as she's networking. Of course I jumped at the chance! She has great style and I knew would want something clean & classy. She loves red and damask prints, so this is what we came up with:
There will be a spot gloss over the floral graphic on the front, as well as over her name on the back. I can't wait to see how the printed piece looks!

A Baby Shower invitation

2009-03-03T10:57:00.000-08:00

I love love LOVE working with engaged couples. I get to be part of such an important event in their lives, and it makes me so happy! I really love getting to know the people, too, and I'm always a bit sad after the final pieces have been delivered and my work is done. So I love it when clients come back to me for other things! Erin & Kevin were married in January, and while on their honeymoon, Erin's mom emailed me to ask if I could design baby shower invitations for her MOH. I was thrilled! Not only did I get to work with great people again, but it was for a baby shower {you know I love babies!}. I showed several designs and they ended up choosing this one:
Here are a few others that I really liked:

My new office!

2009-02-24T18:29:00.000-08:00

My husband and I had a romantic dinner planned for Valentine's Day this year. First we thought about going out to dinner, then decided to stay in, cook lamb and open a bottle of really good wine. Well, the day came and we went to Ikea that morning just to look. If you know my husband or I, you know just "looking" means "buying". We had been talking about redecorating my office for awhile, but kept putting off the project. Until Valentine's Day. We left Ikea with a car full of office furniture, swung by Miller Paint for a gallon of Devine Foam, and got home to start our project. It took all day and our romantic plans wound up consisting of eating pizza on the couch while the first coat was drying while watching the NBA dunk contest in our underwear (we HAD to take off our painting clothes so we didn't get anything on the white couch!) It was such a fun day though and I wouldn't trade it for anything. Plus, look at my office! I'm still working on getting things organized but for the most part, it's perfect. I have been amazingly productive in my new space and I'm so happy to have such a gorgeous place to work now. Many thanks to my husband for all his hard work!

Right wall, before (I'm such a mess...)

Left wall, before

Color options (we chose the left– I LOVE it!)

There I am! Don't mind the ugly painter's socks :)

More attractive painting clothes :)

My cute husband painting away!

Hanging shelves

Right wall, after!

Left wall, after!

2009 Bride's Choice Award!

2009-02-13T14:53:00.000-08:00

I received an email today that I won a Bride's Choice Award on WeddingWire.com! This award recognizes the top 3% of vendors from the WeddingWire Network who demonstrate excellent quality of service, responsiveness, professionalism, value of cost and flexibility. Check out the list of other great winners from Portland (including two of my favorites, Event Team Entertainment and Honeysuckle Photography). Thanks to all my past clients who reviewed me! If you haven't had the chance yet, go here.

A little (ok, a LOT!) of inspiration

2009-02-10T12:19:00.000-08:00

As I said in my earlier post, my office is still a work in progress. Just a bit ago I saw this amazing craft room belonging to Crafty Intentions {via Brown Sugar Design's link}. I want it! First of all, the wall colors are wonderful (hello, aqua & red, look familiar?!) Second, look at all that shelving! AWESOME. I am so inspired and think I have finally figured out what I can do to my office to make it WAY more functional. I might just have to take a trip to Ikea this weekend and celebrate my birthday and Valentine's Day with a whole new office set-up! I wonder if the husband will be ok with all that... ;)

I am a sucky blogger...

2009-02-10T08:14:00.000-08:00

But maybe my new toy will help! My dear husband bought me a new computer for my birthday and I couldn't be happier. This thing is awesome. It is SO fast and super sleek, and just what I need right about now. My old laptop has been good to me, but lately it has been slowing me down. I couldn't keep more than one application open at a time, and I was starting to lose files more often and having to start certain projects over. Very, very frustrating to say the least! I'm sure John was sick of hearing me cursing to myself and threatening to throw my computer and everything else around me out the window... Now I have this gorgeous computer that is insanely quick and it makes me so happy! So here's a little pic (taken from my phone so the quality sucks) and soon I hope to post more of a clean & organized office where I will be spending a lot more time designing and blogging!!

Excuse the clutter... My office is STILL a work in progress!

Vendor Spotlight on Honeysuckle Photography!

2009-01-27T09:49:00.000-08:00

My favorite photographer ever featured me on her blog today! Check it out here. Many thanks to Maggie at Honeysuckle Photography for the mention! You are the best.

Professional shots of my work

2009-01-03T15:14:00.000-08:00

The lovely Maggie Hudson at Honeysuckle Photography took some great shots of my invitations for a postcard and website I am designing. I am so excited how they turned out and can't wait to start using them! Here's just a few of the many she took:

More Holiday cards!

2008-12-21T12:15:00.000-08:00

Here are a few more cards I designed this year! All were printed offset as flat, single-sided cards and were mailed in matching shimmer envelopes.

Company Christmas card

2008-12-17T17:21:00.000-08:00

I had to blog about another Christmas card today! I designed this card at KO (my full-time job) and LOVE the way it turned out. We had them letterpressed on seed-embedded paper through Bloomin' Promotions (can't say enough about those folks– they are great!) I got the cards this morning and really wanted to take pictures to post on here, but wasn't sure how they'd turn out. Luckily the tips from this post by Anne Ruthman Photography at Wedding Bee Pro worked great for this! Who knew my camera could take such cool up close shots?

Merry Christmas!

2008-12-17T16:24:00.001-08:00

Now that most of our friends and family have gotten our Christmas card, I wanted to post it here! I used one of my favorite background designs for this year's card, and mixed it up by incorporating brown and green, two of my favorite colors and a little less traditional. We sent them off in a dark brown shimmery envelope complete with hand addressing in gold ink. Fun! I designed 4 other cards this year and will post them later in the week once they've been sent out. Although it's too late for Christmas cards, there is still time for Happy New Year (or a generic Happy Holiday) card! Contact me if you are interested.

Erin & Kevin's Wedding Invitations

2008-12-03T18:52:00.000-08:00

Last week I delivered wedding invitations to Erin & Kevin and I just have to be honest and say I love the way these turned out! My example below doesn't do the piece justice– I'll get a photo up sometime soon if I can. They were printed on Classic Crest natural linen in a solid, rich black ink. The invitation was glued into a black linen envelofold and the inserts were held together with a black satin ribbon and placed on top. It is a very simple but oh-so-classy looking piece, and I'm so happy with them. The bride and groom are, too!

Alexis & Ed's Save the Dates

2008-11-14T11:28:00.000-08:00

Alexis and Ed contacted me a few months ago after they got engaged and asked about custom Save the Dates. They wanted to create two different designs– one for family, and another for friends. After just one round they had chosen a direction for each and were so pleased! Part of the finished product was envelopes with liners that I cut and assembled myself (the liners, not the envelopes). I hadn't done that before for a wedding (just for personal use) and it was so cool! I tried to take pictures of the process but I was alone and they all look ridiculous :) But if you are interested I can tell you how it's done!

Here is the "formal" Save the Date sent to their families. They chose great colors, wouldn't you say? :)

Happy wedding day to Lindsay & Alex!

2008-11-08T08:27:00.000-08:00

Lindsay & Alex are getting married today! I had such a great time designing their wedding suite. You may remember their Save the Dates from April that incorporated a tree branch and the letter Y from Alex's (and today, Lindsay's!!) last name. The invitation and enclosures (as well as their program, thank you cards and seating chart, not pictured here) all use this graphic. I'm excited to see what they do at their reception since I've heard they have tied in the tree branch element to their decor! I'll post pictures soon. Congrats you guys, I'm so happy for you!!

Happy Halloween!

2008-10-31T15:54:00.000-07:00

I had to post a few of my favorite jack-o-lantern photos. This is the first year I didn't get a pumpkin and carve it but I'm living vicariously through the people who were creative enough to do these! Have a fun and safe Halloween everyone!

Sorta like the one I did in college (below)-- I should've added the beer cans!

Last, but not least!

Happy Blogaversary to Linzmarie Designs!

2008-10-30T08:12:00.000-07:00

It's been one year since I started blogging! It's crazy how time flies... Wasn't I JUST at coffee with Kathy talking about starting a blog?! Anyway, it's been a wonderful year and I want to say thank you to all of you who read this :) I'm going to be better about posting my work and other wedding-related things that I love, so keep reading!

xoxo
linzmarie

2008 Holiday Cards!

2008-10-17T11:30:00.000-07:00

The holidays are right around the corner and it's definitely not too early to start thinking about your holiday cards! I am working on some new designs that I'll post soon, but in the meantime please contact me if you are interested in custom holiday cards. There are several great online resources to order holiday cards, but there's nothing like one that has been designed especially for you. I have talked to several people who ordered theirs from an online photo gallery last year and ended up getting the same one from other people. It's like showing up at an event wearing the same dress as someone else! At least that's how I think of it :) If you want your card to stand out this year, give me a call! Stay tuned for some new designs, but for now here are a few from last year:

Gorgeous bouquets made of clay!

2008-10-06T11:41:00.000-07:00

I read a post on weddingbee.com from Miss Pineapple who blogged about her flowers from her wedding. I saw the photos first and thought "Wow, those are gorgeous." Then I read the post and found out they aren't real-- they are made of clay!! How unbelievably cool is this?! I was SO sad the day after my wedding when the calalillies in my bouquet started to die, and even more when I realized I had gone on my honeymoon and forgot to ask someone to preserve it. I called my mom from Hawaii and she said they were starting to rot (hello, GROSS) but she did save the roses and would dry them for me. Today I'm not exactly sure where that mess of a dried bouquet is, but more than likely it was trashed because that's what it looked like... trash. Here's a pic of it on my wedding day in all it's glory:

Photo by Honeysuckle Photography

Anyway, here are a few photos of the incredibly beautiful clay bouquets made by DK Designs. Check out her Etsy store here and her blog here.

All photos taken from www.dkdesignshawaii.blogspot.com

Happy Birthday, John!

2008-10-06T07:26:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday to my loving husband!! Isn't he so cute?!

New baby announcement

2008-10-01T10:04:00.000-07:00

My good friend D from high school had her second baby in August, and I was thrilled when she asked me to design her baby announcements! I loved what we ended up with last year for her first baby so I knew this one would be a fun project. We tossed around several ideas back and forth until one day she said "You know, I have your Christmas card on my fridge and I love it... Could we make that a baby announcement?" So with a few tweaks here and there, below is what we ended up with for baby Piper. Is she not the cutest?!? Congrats to B & D on their new cutie pie, and to J who is now a big brother! I love you guys.

Avenue Five's 10 Year Anniversary

2008-09-25T14:15:00.000-07:00

My lovely clients at Avenue Five Jewelry asked me to design an invitation for their 10 year anniversary coming up next month. They really wanted it to be elegant, but fun and trendy with nice and bright colors. As I've said before, they love to use their logo in fun ways, so they suggested making a cake with it. How fun! Here is the finished product (printed on cardstock with a spot gloss over the cake!)

Vote for me (again)!

2008-09-25T13:29:00.000-07:00

I submitted designs to this month's Menu design challenge on Minted.com. I uploaded 4 this time and was happy to see all of them made the cut! So log in and vote for yours truly :) Thanks for your support!!

Simple Garden Flowers

Fresh & Cool

Modern Metropolitan

Damask Garden

Paper fortune cookie favors

2008-09-18T09:02:00.000-07:00

I saw this post on Once Wed's blog today and just had to share this awesome project! DIY fortune cookie favors, how cool. These would look so great sitting on top of your napkins at place settings or even in a bowl as part of a centerpiece. Very cool :)

What You'll Need
Decorative or Scrapbook paper (not too thick, similar to a text weight,
not cardstock)
White text weight paper
Double faced tape
A pencil
A round plastic lid to use as a template (approximately four to five
inches in diameter) or a extra large circle craft punch
A pair of scissors
Computer and printer

Directions:

1. Begin by using a plastic lid as a template to trace circles on your
decorative paper. A 12” square piece of paper yields approximately 9
circles. Cut out your circles using your scissors. If you have an
extra large circle craft punch, that works well too. (see figure 1)

2. Fold a circle in half with the pattern side in. Make a crease (at
arrow A) along the folded edge. (see figure 2)

3. Open your circle, and turn it pattern side out.

4. Turn your circle so the crease you made in step 2 is vertical. Fold
the circle in in half horizontally, pattern side out, rounded side down,
Do NOT crease. (see figure 3)

Hold the half circle on the bottom, ( where arrow B points in figure 3)
between your thumb and index finger. Use the index finger from your
other hand to push in the middle of the folded side of the circle at the
crease. (where arrow C points in figure 3).

As you push in, the top corners will start to turn up.

Continue to hold the half circle and use your other hand to pull the
corners in until they nearly meet and form the cookie shape.

If your cookie doesn't want to stay folded, use a tiny piece of double
stick tape to keep the halves together. (at arrow in figure 6)

Compose your fortunes on your computer and print them out on a standard
sheet of printer paper using a nine point font. The fortunes can be a
simple note for the guests such as "We're so fortunate to know you.
Thanks for being here today". Keep the fortunes just a sentence or two
long.

Cut the fortunes into small slips of paper approximately 1/2 inch high by
two to three inches long. (see figure 7)

Tuck the fortune into one of the open ends of the cookie. (see figure 8)

Display in a bowl or on a tray for your guests.

You may struggle with the first one, but after folding a couple of
cookies, you will have it mastered.

What It Costs:
Not much at all ! It works out to be less than 10 cents a cookie.

3 years ago today...

2008-09-11T08:32:00.000-07:00

John asked me to be his wife :) It was the most amazing proposal that I still remember as if it were yesterday. After a wonderful dinner at Salty's on the Columbia River, John blindfolded me and took me on a drive. We parked somewhere, and he led me out of the car and into a building. The familiar smell hit me right away and I knew where we were. He took off my blindfold and I found myself standing in the middle of Miss Harrington's classroom at All Saints School, where we had first met as children. I burst into tears at the sight... Candles and rose petals everywhere! It was so beautiful and simply amazing. He sat me down in one of the little kids chairs and played "Wonderful Tonight" on the guitar. After that he pulled me to my feet, declared his love, and got down on one knee and asked me to be his wife. It was such an amazing moment that I will never, ever forget!!

In Miss Harrington's classroom after I said yes :)
(Photo taken by our best friend Taki who set up and cleaned everything for us)

Back at our apartment taking lots of pictures of ourselves and my ring!

I also have to mention that this special day in our lives falls on a very sad day in history. Let us all take a moment today to remember those who lost their lives or loved ones seven years ago today. We will never forget 9/11/01.

Super cool wedding planning website

2008-09-03T10:07:00.001-07:00

A co-worker of mine emailed me a link to a cool wedding planning website called Muse Weddings. It's a social community of creative people that share wedding experiences, and a place where you can keep all your wedding ideas, tasks, and budgets in order. I played around a little and really like how clean and easy the interface is. Best of all, it's free! It would be cool if it had a guest list feature, but maybe that's something they'll add one day? They have a place to give feedback on the site, so I might throw that in there. What other features do you think a wedding planning tool shoudl include?

Erin & Kevin's Save the Date

2008-08-22T15:09:00.000-07:00

I was thrilled when my friend's older brother and his fiancé called me about designing their invitations and Save the Dates! They are such a sweet couple and I knew they'd be great to work with. They have so many great ideas and give really great feedback, which is always nice. So here is their Save the Date! It was printed at my favorite online printer as a postcard.

Sorry about the blacked out parts! I want to respect their privacy :)

Review me at Wedding Wire

2008-08-14T09:46:00.000-07:00

I recently joined Wedding Wire (thanks to Shawn at Event Team Northwest for the suggestion!) It's a really cool site that I am still discovering all the great things about it, but love the "Review Me" section. The link is below, so if you've worked with me, send a review my way! I know I've had lots of requests for this lately (ok, only two!) but I'm trying to grow my business and getting reviews is such a great way to do this. Thanks in advance for all your help!!

Review Linzmarie Designs at WeddingWire

Bridal Shower Invitation

2008-08-05T10:34:00.000-07:00

I delivered this bridal shower invitation last week to my client's sister who is hosting her bridal shower. It's very simple with just two colors (the bride and groom's wedding colors, actually!) and one of my new favorite fonts, Albemarle. I love this idea to include a recipe card for guests to bring with them!

My first review!

2008-07-30T09:47:00.000-07:00

My client from Paths to Our Past wrote an amazing review of me on the Elizabeth Anne Designs site today! She said such wonderful things and I am so grateful for such a stellar review. I've worked with her on a few projects and have had such a good time, so it's awesome to know she feels the same way :) Thanks, Stacey!!

Aqua & Poppy color combo!

2008-07-30T09:26:00.001-07:00

Check out this post on Snippet & Ink today-- my favorite colors!! This is exactly what I was going for when I changed the colors of my logo a few months ago. I absolutely love this color combination.

2 years ago today...

2008-07-29T09:00:00.000-07:00

I married the love of my life! It's insane to believe that we have been married for 2 years now. TWO YEARS! It's amazing how time flies when you're having fun :) To all of our friends and family who were involved in our special day, we love you guys. You are such important people to us, and I will always cherish our wedding day and your involvement in it.

Johnny, I love you so much and am so incredibly happy I married you :) Thank you for all that you do for me! Here's to many many many more years!

Honeysuckle Photography

Review me!

2008-07-28T14:18:00.000-07:00

Another wonderful feature has been added to Elizabeth Anne Designs Library! They just added a link for Vendor Reviews. Check it out here and if you are one of my wonderful clients, feel free to write something wonderful about Yours Truly :)

Linzmarie Designs featured on the EAD Library

2008-07-25T16:33:00.001-07:00

A few days ago, I heard about the Elizabeth Anne Designs Library and drooled over all the amazing and creative wedding vendors they have listed. After looking through a ton of great links, I wondered what it would take to get my name on their list of stationers. Apparently all I needed to do was ask! I sent them the link to my blog and the next morning I had an email saying my name was on the list! It's so cool to see Linzmarie Designs included in a list of amazingly talented designers. Check out the library for some amazing vendors, ideas and inspiration. Thanks EAD!!!

There I am!

I Heart Vera Wang

2008-07-14T09:18:00.000-07:00

If I had the money to buy a Vera Wang wedding gown when I was dress shopping for my wedding, I SOOOO would've bought one. I love her style and think all of her wedding gowns are just too cool. This new gown from her 2009 spring collection is simply TO DIE FOR and is my absolute favorite. It is so simple and elegant, and seems like it would be great for any body type. I love everything about it and just had to share!

Super-cool vintage lace onesie!

2008-07-09T15:08:00.001-07:00

Even though I'm not pregnant or planning on being pregnant anytime soon, I love looking at baby clothes. Most of the time I'm thinking of my friends who have babies or are going to have babies, but sometimes I'm thinking of myself and a future kiddo :) However, when I saw this post on Cool Mom Picks about Etsy seller Lou and Lee's vintage lace onesie, I almost fell out of my chair. This would be THE PERFECT gift for my friend D who is due with her baby girl in early September. She loves funky things and I knew this would be so perfect for her baby! I don't know when I'll give it to her, maybe after the baby arrives? Her shower is next weekend but my friend Stacey and I are giving her this awesome baby wrap/sling called the Moby Wrap (in orange, of course). So maybe I'll save this awesome onesie for another time, we'll see. Oh and if you're worried about D reading this and spoiling surprises, don't worry, I've already spilled the beans. I showed her the Etsy post and she asked me how to get her hands on one, and I had to say "Um, well, uh, just don't buy it, ok?!" I'm so bad at keeping fun things like this secret!

Photo courtesy Etsy seller louandlee

Wordle

2008-07-07T08:35:00.000-07:00

I just saw this post at Heaven's Eye Photography blog about Wordle, a website that generates “word clouds” from text that you provide. I entered my blog URL and it came back with the words below... Pretty cool! I'm not surprised that the biggest word (and most commonly used on my blog) is love, or that the word crying is a close second!

Feelin' the love!

2008-07-04T08:54:00.000-07:00

What I love most about weddings is when you can FEEL the love between the couple getting married. It's a hard thing to explain, but I think if you've felt it, you know what I'm talking about. This is exactly what we experienced last night at Rachel and Ben's wedding. I think every bridesmaid walking down the aisle cried. The groomsmen were crying. Parents were crying. I was crying. I think John even teared up. But the best moment and strongest feeling of their love was when Rachel walked down the aisle. As she walked, crying, with her parents on either side of her, she looked at Ben and mouthed the words, "I love you." It was the sweetest thing ever... Everyone saw it (I heard several people say "Aww, how sweet!"), but it wasn't meant for everyone to see. Just Ben. It was as if they were the only two people out there, and it was incredible. I am so happy we were able to celebrate their special day and be a part of their love! Check out the pics below, and listen to their song, "The Luckiest" by Bens Fold. Amazing.

The beautiful bride walking with her mom and dad

Standing under the chuppah
(I love that their parents stand with them the whole time)

The amazing view

Ben and his sweet parents

National Girlfriend's Day Invite

2008-06-27T20:32:00.000-07:00

Here's another fun invitation I designed for Avenue Five Jewelry. I love designing things for them because they love using bright colors and fun, swirly fonts. They have the best events, too! This time it's to celebrate National Girlfriend's Day, which is August 1st. Last year they had foofy drinks and passed around tiaras for the girls to wear while they shopped (with 40% discounts, hello!) This year there are more fun things in store. So ladies in the Portland area, grab your best friend, mother, sister, grandmother-in-law-- whoever!!-- and head down to Avenue Five for some fun.

Rehearsal Dinner invitation

2008-06-20T18:39:00.000-07:00

A friend of a friend contacted me a couple months ago about designing invitations to her brother-in-law's rehearsal dinner that she and her husband are hosting. She told me the dinner would be held at a small restaurant in New York, so I wanted to make sure the invitation wasn't too formal for the event but also not too casual. I checked out the restaurant's website and found a few things to inspire me– the photos of the outdoor courtyard seating and the deep red color on the site definitely stood out in my mind. We went through several design ideas (contact me if you want to see them!) but below was the winning design! It was printed digitally on natural colored cardstock with a matching RSVP postcard.

Heidi & Justin's Invitation

2008-06-17T15:20:00.000-07:00

Heidi and Justin received their invitations a couple weeks ago and I'm very happy with the outcome! They chose the Kelli Invitation and added some great, bright colors to make it their own. I love the vines (Heidi's idea!) and thinks it's such a cool way to tie in their venue, a winery! It was great working with these two once again and I wish them nothing but the best.

Vote for me!

2008-06-11T08:38:00.000-07:00

I recently submitted a holiday card design to Minted.com's contest and would love you to vote for mine! First place prize is $1000, and they will sell the winning design on their site. Needless to say, I'd love to win :) I sent in two designs and they chose one of them for the contest (not my favorite of the two, but oh well!) There are some amazing designs on there so check it out: www.minted.com/vote. The link to mine is here: http://www.minted.com/design-rating&id=98#.

The chosen design:

This one didn't make the cut (does it look familiar?!):

Paul Potts

2008-06-04T09:10:00.001-07:00

If you know me, you know that I'm a crier. When I see things that move me (in a good or bad way), I tear up. A couple weeks ago, I posted a link to a slideshow of a couple on their engagement shoot (when the guy actually proposed during the shoot!), and of course, I cried. Last night I watched re-runs of The Bachelorette with Trista and Ryan, and I cried. Well I re-discovered this video of Paul Potts auditioning for Britain's Got Talent, and what do you know... The tears were flowin'! It's just amazing how everyone expected this guy to suck, and he's just incredible. And he totally won the entire competition. Stuff like this just makes my day :)

Oops, I did it again...

2008-05-30T14:09:00.000-07:00

I was totally just listening to Britney so I apologize to the headline :) But... I really did do it again. Remember a couple months (or weeks?!?!) ago, I said I have ADD when it comes to my logo? How I always want to update and change it? Well... I kinda sorta want to do it again. But not a drastic change, just something a little more interesting. The other day, my co-worker Holly and I were talking about cool colors, and I mentioned that I've always loved blue/greens, similar to the Pool used in Beth & Ken's invitations. I said, "I should've used that in my logo..." Well, it got me thinking. Why don't I try it? So I switched out the black damask for a softer pool-color, and I was pleased, but not totally satisfied. I decided to push the logo off to the side and let it "wrap" around to the other size of the business card. The open space on the front side (to the right of the logo) makes me uncomfortable, and for that reason I like it! So now I have to ask all you readers out there-- which do you prefer? The old or the new? I appreciate your feedback, so be honest!

Avenue Five's Summer Brunch

2008-05-30T13:38:00.001-07:00

Here's an invite I designed for Avenue Five's summer event next month. I got to use my new favorite font called Fling (used in the "Celebrate the first day...")! I think it's be perfect for a baby or bridal shower invitation, but I totally think it would work for a wedding, too. Sure it's a less formal, but if you pair it with romantic swirls or a nice damask or brocade pattern, it would look so great!

Missy & Patrick's Save the Date

2008-05-16T15:32:00.000-07:00

Talk about a hot couple! Missy and Patrick are a sweet pair I met through one of my good friends. They took a bunch of great photos for their engagement session and sent me several to choose from. This one struck me right away and I totally fell in love with it! The passion and love between them is so apparent, and I just think it's so damn sexy!! Missy is a photographer and did all the great photoshop work, and then passed it over to me. I applied a simple design so the awesome photo stood out. Enjoy!

Beth & Ken's Invitations

2008-05-16T11:51:00.000-07:00

I had the privilege working with another wonderful couple referred by my friend Stacey from high school. Beth and Ken are holding their wedding at the beach along the Oregon Coast, and wanted to reflect their venue in the invitation. Right away I knew they had to use the Pool colored paper from Paper Source. It's my favorite shade (and the color John and I almost chose for our wedding!), and I knew would look so great. I showed them a few different concepts using sea shells and other beach-related items, but their favorite was the coral reef (ok, it was my fave, too). They chose the style of the Kelli Invitation, and had a few inserts that tucked under the ribbon on the inside left panel. Contact me if you want to see more samples! Thanks to Beth & Ken for being so wonderful to work with :)

Sweetest thing ever

2008-05-13T13:50:00.000-07:00

I stumbled upon a photographer's blog today who posted a story and pictures from an engagement photo shoot... But not your ordinary engagement session-- the guy actually proposed during the shoot! I don't even know these people, but it seriously brought tears to my eyes. It's so amazing being able to see how much two people love each other, and have it all caught on camera. I just had to share the link because I can't stop watching the slideshow of the proposal. I hope this brightens your day like it did mine!!

http://jessicaclaire.net/index.cfm?postID=321

My Best Friend's Wedding!

2008-05-05T21:36:00.001-07:00

John and I got back from California this morning after celebrating the wedding of our friends Heather & Nate! The whole week was packed of fun activities and the wedding itself was just beautiful. The ceremony was a traditional Catholic ceremony at the church Heather's parents were married at in Pasadena, and the presider was Nate's godfather. The reception took place at Castle Green, one of the coolest places I've ever seen. Not only were the venues amazing, but the bridal party looked pretty damn good, too!! Heather chose a different color for each bridesmaid, something she has always wanted to do (I remember talking about this in college before she had even met Nate!) I will post a picture of the group when we get the professional pictures back, but you might be able to get the idea from the picture below of the party at the reception. It just looked amazing and I'm so glad it all came together so perfect for my good friend. Wedding season has officially begun!!

Me and John (what a good looking groomsman!!)

Nate & Heather's first dance (check out her amazing dress!)

Me and the bride!

The head table

Postcard for Avenue Five Jewelry

2008-04-24T13:50:00.001-07:00

Here's a fun postcard I designed for an upcoming trunk show at Avenue Five Jewelry. I love working on invites for the women at Avenue Five because they love using their logo in fun ways. This time it can be found in the center of the flower! Stay tuned for more fun stuff :)

Rachel & Ben's Invitations

2008-04-23T09:16:00.001-07:00

Last week, I delivered printed invitations to my high-school friend Rachel. I met with her and Ben, her fiancé, a few months ago and they explained they wanted a simple, but classy invitation. They really liked the pocketfold aspect of the Kathleen invitation, and it ended up working out perfectly for their invites! Rachel is Jewish and Ben is Korean, so we added some Hebrew and Korean to personalize the invitation even more. I just think it looks so cool and really adds to the invitation. These were printed on a natural colored feltweave paper (which is similar to watercolor paper in a way).

Ginni & Ryan's Save the Date

2008-04-23T09:02:00.000-07:00

Ginni and Ryan received their Save the Date postcards yesterday! This is another wonderful couple who found me through Eileen (yes, of the Eileen invitation! That girl is awesome with the referrals). We started out designing their invitations, and from there took some elements for their Save the Date. I'm really happy with the outcome and think it's safe to say they are, too!

Rockstar Headshots!

2008-04-17T14:18:00.001-07:00

A few weeks ago, I got to tool around the Pearl with two of my favorite people, Maggie and Josh from Honeysuckle Photography. They photographed my and John's wedding, and did the most amazing job. So when Josh emailed me and said "We need to get you some rockstar headshots!" I thought it would be such an awesome opportunity because these guys are SO good! They met at my work and we just walked around while they snapped some photos of me that I could use for my blog. I felt a little awkward having my picture taken by myself, so most of the shots I'm laughing or smiling right before I burst into giggles... Why am I so weird?! Anyway, somehow they managed to get some good shots out of me, so here are some of my favorites (and a special pic dedicated to my husband!) Thanks to Maggie and Josh for being so wonderful!

Lindsay & Alex's Save the Date

2008-04-09T18:44:00.001-07:00

Another fun Save the Date postcard was printed and delivered today! Lindsay and Alex are a cute and fun couple who came to me with a TON of great ideas. Lindsay and I used to work together, and a few months ago she told me that her architect-fiancé Alex had several ideas, but no tools or time to implement them, so they'd love my help. When the three of us got together for the first time, it was simply awesome! We bounced around tons of ideas and got the ball rolling right away. Soon after, Lindsay and Alex and had come up with the idea of a graphic using the Y from Alex (and soon, Lindsay's!) last name, as well as branches which will be used at their wedding reception. The invitation will include the complete graphic, but their Save the Date shows a nice preview of what's to come!

Paula & Jayson's Invitations

2008-04-03T19:25:00.000-07:00

Paula and Jayson are a very sweet couple who were referred to me through a friend of a friend of a friend. Don't you just love how that works out?! :) They chose the Eileen invitation and had the diagonal folders embossed with their wedding date. I did these by hand using my awesome and new favorite toy from Paper Source! Yeah, sure, my hand is a little sore, but the minor pain is so worth it seeing how great the embossing came out. Here's a picture (not the best, but gets the idea across!) I'm happy to say I now offer custom embossing on invitations! Yay!!

New logo!

2008-03-24T14:43:00.000-07:00

I've been playing with the idea of a new logo for awhile, and finally decided to stop THINKING about it and just DO it! I am definitely my own worst critic, and spend sooooo much time waffling over my own designs. It took forever to get this blog going to begin with because I just wasn't sure I was in love with the brown and pink "linzmarie" design, and was afraid to commit to it! But, I did it, and am glad I got this going. However, now I'm ready for a change! I've been in love with damask and brocade-like patterns for awhile, and have seen a ton of great wedding invitations using that style (The Heather Invitation was definitely influenced by that...) So to keep up with the latest and greatest, I decided to let that be my guide and incorporated it into my new look. I also changed one of the fonts that I've been using, and have gone back to using capital letters :) I love the way things look when all lowercase, but it's hard to be consistent with that! So, anyway, this whole thing is still under construction, so don't be surprised if it changes again in a few weeks :) But for now, I'm totally happy with the new look of linzmarie designs, and hope you are, too!

lisa & jim's invitations

2008-03-15T09:39:00.000-07:00

here's the latest wedding invitation that was delivered to the bride and groom on thursday! lisa and jim were referred to me by the infamous eileen of the eileen invitation :) lisa knew what she wanted her invitations to look like so it was a great experience working with her. she and her fiancée chose the kelli invitation, but made it their own by adding personal touches like the quote at the top of the invitation – "this day i marry my best friend, the one i laugh with, live for, love." best wishes to you, lisa and jim!

matron of honor!

2008-03-04T09:00:00.000-08:00

last weekend i flew to los angeles for my best friend heather's bridal shower. she asked me to be in her wedding several months ago, but over the weekend she asked if i would not only be in her wedding, but be her matron of honor! i am so excited to have such an important role in her wedding, and can't wait to be the one who gets to fluff her gown :) she is such a dear friend of mine, and it really is such an honor to be part of her special day. you wouldn't believe the time and effort she is spending on the little details of her wedding-- it's those things that i've always felt make a HUGE difference at a wedding and what really make it memorable! i can't wait until may 3rd, and will post pictures right away! for now, here's a picture of my bridesmaid dress from david's bridal and shoes from nordstrom. my dress is being altered right now and i get to pick it up on friday! yay for weddings!

check me out!

2008-02-27T08:52:00.000-08:00

heidi & justin's save the date was featured on junebug weddings blog today! how fun. it's always so exciting to see my work out there but especially this piece. i really loved working with heidi on this and can't wait to start her wedding invitations. she had so many great ideas, and her awesome black and white photo started it all. check out junebug weddings site, they have some great information, ideas and inspiration on there!

cost of stamps going up again!

2008-02-21T08:14:00.000-08:00

i just found out the post office is increasing their postage rates again (read here). didn't they JUST go up?! so for all you brides-to-be, you have until may 12th to buy the "forever" liberty bell postage at .41 a piece (those are the only stamps at that rate that the post office will accept after the rate change). i know the liberty bells aren't as pretty as the wedding stamps, but at least you'll save a few bucks! if you want something more special, there are custom stamp options available from companies like stamps.com and zazzle. it doesn't look like they have .42 cent options yet but hopefully they'll get on board soon so you can avoid buying pesky 1 and 2 cent stamps to accompany your cool custom stamp. i'll post more info as it comes along!

a day of lovin'!

2008-02-14T10:56:00.000-08:00

happy valentine's day! i know many people think of v-day as a "hallmark holiday", but i've always loved it. my birthday is the day before (so, yesterday!) and growing up, v-day was just another excuse to keep on celebrating! i LOVED (and still love) going shopping in february when the red and pink items began making their appearance on the shelves, because i knew that meant my special day was getting close. and now that i am able to celebrate this day of love with my dear husband, it's even more exciting and fun! so to all of my wonderful readers, clients, friends and families, i hope you have a wonderful day celebrating the love you share with those around you. john and i send our love!

avenue five women's series

2008-02-03T10:23:00.000-08:00

i realize all of my postings have been about my wedding invitations and baby announcements, so here's something a little different! i have been working as a freelance designer for avenue five jewelry for two years now, and love the work they have for me. i've designed gift certificates, business cards, and invitations to their events. the most recent project was a flyer for their 2008 women's series, bi-monthly seminars to provide women with information and tools necessary to add balance to your life, enhance self-confidence, and improve health and well-being. when i think wellness, i think about yoga and green tea... weird, maybe, but inspiring! i looked over a box of my favorite yogi tea and wanted to design something along the same lines, a mendhi-like background with rich but simple colors. i already had this background from a previous project and thought it worked perfectly. here's what i came up with!

anne & chris' save the date!

2008-02-02T16:52:00.000-08:00

i finished up another save the date this weekend for another great couple! my sister's best friend anne called me a few weeks ago and asked if would design her and chris' wedding invitations and save the dates for their august wedding. i was so honored and of course excited! they are such a sweet couple and i've really enjoyed working with them. here is their save the date with an awesome photo of them at the oregon coast!

heidi & justin's save the date

2008-01-08T16:55:00.001-08:00

i just finished heidi & justin's save the date today-- i LOVE it! heidi took this amazing photo and i couldn't wait to use it on their postcard. she had so many great ideas and lots of input, and it was so fun working on this. enjoy!! :)

updated invitation design!

2008-01-05T12:07:00.000-08:00

when my dear friends heather and nate got engaged last march, i was SO excited! right away, i started thinking of ideas for their invitation. heather has great taste, so i wanted to be sure to come up with something that would really impress her. something romantic and modern, but also staying true to to the feel of a traditional wedding invitation. i came up with so many ideas, and she gave me some great input that really helped create our final piece. so, here it is! once it's printed, i'll post a photograph of it since this image doesn't really do it justice. we're going to add ribbon to the invitation and it will be printed on opalescent paper, giving it a little extra pizazz! i can't wait to see the final piece!

personal side note...

2008-01-02T08:52:00.000-08:00

for those of you who don't know, my husband john has been in school the past year working for his paramedic certification. he has gone through weeks of long classes, clinical rotations, other workshops, and a very intense and draining internship. he took the written part of the national exam on monday, and found out this morning that he PASSED! he was worried sick about it because it was the hardest test of his life, but everyone who knows john knew that he would pass. he is so smart and has worked SO hard for this, so how could he not do well?! he has sacrificed a lot and i'm just so excited for him! he takes the final part of the exam, the practical hands-on test, on saturday. we all know he will pass that, too. i just wanted to share the news because i am so proud and happy for my dear husband! what a way to start off the new year!!

happy new year!

2007-12-31T11:06:00.000-08:00

i can't believe 2008 is upon us already. for all you brides getting married in '08, you know what this means-- you are getting married THIS year!! i'm looking forward to working with the amazing couples i have met already and can't wait to post some of the great designs i've been working on with my brides and grooms. if you are getting married this summer, or know of anyone who is still looking for invitations, call me! i have lots of availability to design for weddings this year.

i hope 2008 brings nothing but the best for all of you!

xoxo linz

christmas postcards

2007-12-10T19:27:00.001-08:00

i've been keeping busy over the past few weeks designing christmas cards, one of my favorite projects for my all-time favorite holiday! seriously, christmas makes me so happy. so of course anything that has to do with it makes me happy, too! i discovered an amazing and inexpensive online printer that does a great job at a low price, which is always nice to find! my goal is to have a line of templates designed by next year's holiday season so you can choose a background and personalize it by adding your own photograph and text. of course i will ALWAYS take custom orders, but i know not everyone wants to spend a ton of money this time of year! so keep me in mind next year when it's time to think about sending out those holiday cards. feel free to contact me if you'd like a sample of a printed piece. check out my favorites below.

our christmas postcard!

i kept steve's postcard plain and simple... as you'll see, the picture says it all!

katie and spencer chose the first design, but i loved all these and had to show them!

ugly christmas sweater parties!

2007-12-02T10:18:00.001-08:00

we went to the first (of three!) sweater parties last night. it was so much fun! my good friend deidra from high school and her husband were the hosts. they had a few activities planned and really did such a good job planning the party. john and i had on tacky sweatshirts, but most of their guests went all out! we're talking long plaid skirts, thick cords, sweater vests, and of course, the "mom" jeans! it was such a fun night and we're so thankful to have such good friends.

ugly sweaters!

john, the christmas tree!

me and my friend's baby. isn't he the cutest?!

lauren & jesse's wedding

2007-11-19T20:55:00.000-08:00

john and i went to our last wedding in 2007 on saturday (i think it was our 8th wedding of the year...) lauren, the younger sister of my dear friend leslie, was such a gorgeous bride! she and her now-husband jesse were married at the cathedral in nw portland, and had their reception at the acadian ballroom (which just so happens to be the same place we had our reception!) the ceremony was beautiful and so perfect for this awesome couple! it was so fun watching them up at the altar because they just looked so comfortable and IN LOVE. the reception was awesome, and the ballroom looked so great. i loved their centerpieces (the tall grassy pieces were a great idea!) and their cake was SO delicious! they had a few different flavors of cake-- including my all-time favorite, pumpkin. it was such a great night and we are so thankful they invited us to witness their love on such a big day. congrats you two!!

ceremony at the cathedral

one of the tables at the acadian ballroom

loved the cake!

very simple but classy centerpieces

the newlyweds!

lauren's beautiful dress

john and leslie (the maid of honor)

me and leslie

family wedding in texas

2007-11-13T09:55:00.000-08:00

my family and i flew to texas this past weekend for my cousin's wedding... WOW what a trip! we had the best time! my whole family was able to attend which was so incredible. my brother recently joined the coast guard, and was at boot camp in new jersey until last friday. my parents flew out there to see him graduate, and then flew back with him to texas that evening. it worked out so perfectly that he was able to join us!

the ceremony was beautiful, and my cousin kristina looked so gorgeous. her grandmother gave her a beautiful mantilla style wedding veil that i fell in love with (see the picture below!) the reception was held at an italian restaurant nearby and was so much fun! the music was great, the food incredible, and the live band at the end of the night was the perfect touch! thanks to kristina and her husband justin for hosting such an amazing event. we love you guys!

aunt lois and uncle george with kristina, the beautiful bride!

love the mantilla!

the stenstrom and zogas family!

bride and groom's first dance

client comments

2007-11-07T12:26:00.000-08:00

eileen and her fiancé tim were my very first clients when i started this business, and they also happened to be my first long-distance job! eileen called me from her home in california after her aunt showed her an invitation i designed for my best friend's cousin last november. i knew within the first few minutes of our conversation that we would get along fabulously! she was so excited to be getting married and i could just tell how special her relationship with tim was. i wanted their invitations to be perfect for them, and in the end they were just that (see the eileen invitation in my pdf). lucky for me, eileen also referred two of her engaged friends who hired me shortly after (check out the jennifer and kelli invitations!) eillen and tim, thank you for being such wonderful clients!!

read her sweet letter of recommendation below:

* * * * *

Lindsay-

I have been meaning to write and officially Thank You. We are so happy we found you to work with for our wedding. It was an absolute pleasure to work with you and we could not have been happier with the final product of our invitations, programs, and thank you notes. The quality of printing, paper, and overall look was amazing!

There are some fabulous things I think your future clients should know about working with you. You are dependable, responsible, and creative. You got proofs, changes, samples, ideas, etc sent to us so quickly. Even though we live in different states, it was so easy to see how the invitations, programs, and thank you notes were developing through the PDF emails you sent us and the samples we got in the mail. We loved the choices that began the quest for our wedding invitation design. You were so helpful in getting the final design of the invitation done the way we wanted. Working with you was one of the easiest parts of the wedding planning.

It was so much fun to get to know you and I am so excited to see your business grow! I am happy to answer any questions or share my experience with anyone that is thinking about working with you. I will recommend you to anyone I know, who is getting married or knows somebody that is getting married

Thanks again!

Eileen

P.S. I am honored to have an invitation named after me!