Pages from my Sketchbook: Part 1

I mentioned a couple posts ago that I'm taking a calligraphy course. I'm most definitely still learning - even just how to hold the pen properly - but I thought I'd show you a couple of my sketches, projects, and homework assignments as I go. Hopefully over the coming weeks (and months), we'll be able to see progress as I get more and more comfortable with the art. But I gotta say... so far I'm loving it! Definitely a challenge but it just looks so gosh darn lovely! At least, I can imagine it would if it weren't so shaky, blotchy, and uneven... but you get the general idea. 

So here are a couple pages from my sketchbook this week.

First, some course homework - my first kick at the alphabet can and some flourishes. Definitely shaky and uneven, but still getting used to it! 

And a little something-something, a trace of a sketch I did of my best gal's name on our road trip last weekend:

Be Inspired | A Friendly Reminder...

I have to admit, I don't tend to read lengthy blog posts - I scroll through, checking out the pictures, and from there I decide if it's a post I want to read in full. But please please please - I ask you all, my most fabulous and loyal readers, to take a moment out of your day and read this post.

First, I want to start by saying how humbling and flattering it is to find out that someone is inspired by my work. When you leave comments, or write me e-mails, or mention me on your blog or page... it truly makes my day, and I walk with an extra little skip in my step. I just love you guys! Having said that, the words I would like to focus on at the beginning of this little blurb is "inspired by". 

Today I'm talking about the kind of thing that makes artists furious - copying. I don't know if I'd go as far as to call myself an artist, but one thing I am sure of is that every item I create was made wholeheartedly, with thought and purpose, and is a direct extension of who I am. So you can imagine the fulfilment I get in knowing that something I created spoke to someone, and especially so when it inspires someone to create a work of their own. What I don't love, however, it when that someone directly copies my original work and claims it as their own. In short, it's just not cool and is extremely frustrating.

Sharyn Sowell said it best on her blog:

It's wonderful to gather inspiration where you find it, but remember what your second grade teacher told you? Do your own work. It's not okay to copy your neighbour. We are all better off when we value ourselves enough to stick to our own original best. Copyright law agrees with your teacher. Copying is wrong. Do your own work and smile when you look in the mirror.

Amen, sister!

When I share my projects and art with you, it is first and foremost to showcase, hopefully to inspire, but it is most definitely not for the taking. If you are inspired by something I create and would like to mimic it or if it sparks a new idea, by all means! Us creatives do the very same thing - we scour our favourite blogs on the hunt for inspiration when we have hit a lull. We're all in this together! But to take my design, copy it colour for colour, line for line, and word for word... oh no you di'int! 

Continue to check out my work as I will continue to post, but if you choose to mimic... please give credit by mentioning Lymburslip Paper Co. and linking back to this site. Because that would be pretty awesome. And hey, feel free to send a picture along so I can check it out for myself - I may even share it with my fabulous readers! All I ask in return is that you give me the same support and respect.

Inspiration, not duplication! :)

Big Ventures + Fresh Start!

Well... it's been a while. I've missed you! In the past couple of months, I have

- finished my photography course and started a small photography business, Jenna Lymburner Photography.

- started a new full-time job at DS&Co. Weddings & Special Events as their manager and lead stylist! 

And... because I can't seem to leave well enough alone, today I started a calligraphy course! I have always been completely smitten with calligraphy and pretty penmanship, and I decided that I think I can do it too! Hey, why not? 

I had put the stationery-making on hold while I got the rest of my professional life sorted out, but I'm hoping to take my newfound knowledge and apply it to my love of paper, so that I can make beautiful things like this:

Because you ARE my favourites! Thank you all so much for your patience and you ongoing support. 

I'm baaaaack! And we're new and improved. Keep checking back for updates and for the re-launch of my shop! I can't wait to start this next chapter - so much is in store!

{ Pssst... I will no longer be offering custom wedding stationery (sorry!), but if you are in the market for some, please come and see me a DS&Co. Weddings & Special Events and I will hook you up! } 

Etsy Finds: Christmas Gifts 2012

My name is Jenna, and I am obsessed with Etsy.

When it comes to anything other than clothes or food (both of which you can still buy on Etsy), it's the first place I look. It is amazing to see how creative and talented some people are, and shopping on Etsy is a constant reminder that there is still a huge community of people out there who appreciate authentic hand-made goods. 

If you don't currently frequent Etsy, I can promise you that after you purchase your first item you won't be able to stop. There is something so amazing about receiving an item in the mail that has been hand-crafted and packaged by an actual person, especially when you get a little hand-written note from the seller. On the other end of things, as a vendor myself it is such an exciting feeling to have someone you've never met purchase one of your products. It makes you feel like what you are doing is meaningful to someone else, not just yourself.

Enough babble. Having said all of this, I decided to compile a list of some of my favourite items on Etsy that are currently for sale. However, because my favourites are constantly changing, this will be continuing post. Today we are focusing on Etsy finds for Christmas Gifts 2012.

If you have any favourite Etsy shops or items, I would absolutely love to check them out! Please post your favourites in the comments below so we can share the love and hopefully help each other out in the quest for unique Christmas gifts.

Here are my favourites right now (click on the shop name to take you there!):

1. Hand-dipped wooden bowls by Wind and Willow Home

Araya Jensen, interior designer and kitchen/bathroom specialist, begins with beautifully turned bowls and carved spoons and hand dips them in a synthetic rubber that she hand mixes. Araya says, "The beauty of these items is in the uniqueness of the natural wood grain and the reaction between the wood and the rubber creating a bubble pattern as it reacts in the process, ensuring each item is completely special."

 2. Personalized Pottery by In Her Words Ceramics

My husband and I bought these customized serving platters as a wedding gift for our dear friends and newlyweds Jenaya & Luke. Sarah of In Her Words Ceramics is so wonderfully talented and was a joy to purchase from. Not only did she hand-make each item with love, but when I told her they were a wedding gift for long-distance friends, she offered to mail them straight to the couple and even included a card. Jenaya & Luke were so happy with their platters and I will definitely be purchasing from In Her Words Ceramics again.

In her shop description, Sarah says "In Her Words Ceramics is my outlet to express myself through a functional piece of pottery. It demonstrates my creative and simple style that has deeply resonated with those that have come in contact with my work. My earthenware pieces reflect a simplicity and style that is a unique reflection of my design sense."


3. Custom Calligraphy Stamps by Angelique Ink

I love love love these custom calligraphy stamps from Angelique Ink. I have bought from her twice and have been so happy with the product each time. I bought my first stamp from her to address our RSVP envelopes and return address on our wedding stationery, and a second stamp as a gift for my sister-in-law. Angelique hand writes the calligraphy and has 13 different "fonts" to choose from. She not only offers address stamps, but also logo stamps (and design), library stamps, or wedding date stamps.

What's more, 10% of all proceeds go to Project Rescue to support efforts to combat human trafficking. You can read about their purpose and mission at www.projectrescue.com.


4. Herb Markers by j. Crane Jewelry

As the name of her shop suggests, Jessica Crane creates mostly jewelry crafted out of metal. But how cute are these herb markers?! I know from experience that trying to memorize the pattern of herbs in your herb garden doesn't always work in your favour... so not only are these practical, but they will add a little something-something to your garden.


5. Natural Face & Body Care by Marble & Milkweed

I have yet to purchase from this shop, but I have always lusted over their products. Marble & Milkweed makes natural care for face and body, and unique tea blends, with a focus on nourishing organic botanicals and raw local honey and beeswax. They use the finest natural and organic materials to create elegant, simple and effective face and body care, and even better... they strive to create as little waste as possible with their eco-friendly, reusable, and recyclable packaging.


6. Button Trivet by Snug Studio

I think this speaks for itself. So. Freakin'. Cute. A wooden trivet that is shaped like a giant button! This shop, Snug Studios, also creates a variety of fun and cute items such as magnets, posters, and jewelry.


7. Jewelry by junghwa

I adore the simplicity of jewelry by Amy Stewart of jungwha. Her tagline is "Simple Pretty Everyday" and this could not be more reflective of her style and of the items in her shop. How awesome is the whistle necklace?


8. Jewelry by White Owl

More jewelry! These beautiful items are made by two sisters who love vintage and appreciate handmade things. Many of their materials are rescued at estate sales, flea markets, and even their own grandmother! They say it is important for them to reuse vintage materials as much as they can but they also love the mix of old and new. My personal favourites are the lace necklaces - so delicate and pretty!

I'd love to hear what your favourite Etsy shops and finds are! Post yours below in the comments so we can all check them out and share the love! 

Thankful

Happy Thanksgiving to all my Canadian readers! I am thankful for you taking a moment out of your day to visit my little blog, for being able to spend my days doing what I love, and my nights with the most handsome husband and happy pup on the planet. What are you thankful for?

Hand-Drawn Bridesmaid Thank You Cards

Newlyweds (and Lymburslip devotees) Sarah & Jamie had me do a handful of projects for their wedding, and one of my favourites was the thank you cards she had me design for her bridesmaids. Sarah wanted cards that had hand-drawn sketches of the bridesmaid dresses on the front. It was a new challenge I was excited to accept, as I have never created cards with hand-drawn graphics on them. As always, she trusted me wholly and we ended up with some awesome cards that she and I both loved. 

Here is the photo that Sarah sent me of her bridesmaids dresses (from J. Crew):

Using my graphic design tablet, here is the graphic I hand drew of her dresses:

And finally, the final product on (my & Sarah's favourite!) kraft brown cards paired with navy envelopes and customized for each of her girls:

I love how these turned out, and I hope Sarah's bridesmaids did too! What a great way to show your gratitude to your girls. Thank you, Sarah, for always trusting me with your awesome projects and challenging me to to do things I've never done. 

If you would like a custom design for your bridesmaids, these 5x7 cards printed on heavyweight cover stock (white, cream, or kraft) with envelopes to match the dresses are $5 each. Please forward along your order with a picture of the bridesmaid dress to jenna.lymburner@gmail.com.

8 Tips for DIY Wedding Invitations

I've had quite a few people ask me about how they can go about making their own wedding invitations, so I decided to put together a little list of to-do's (or not-to-dos) when creating your invites. 

Many designers (including myself) offer the option to have your invitations designed and then sent to you in a PDF so that you can print, cut, and assemble on your own and as many times as you need to. For those DIY brides this is a great option, as it gives you the freedom to print as many times as you want, to choose your paper and envelopes yourself, and it can also save you money by doing the labour yourself.... all while foregoing the seemingly laborious design process.

Whether you design your own invitations or have a designer create them for you, here are a few steps I came up with to help guide you on your way.

1. Start With Your Envelopes, And Work Backwards With Your Dimensions

When making your own wedding invitations, this is, hands down, the single most important tip that many brides overlook. But take it from me, nothing is more frustrating than printing off your wedding invitations only to find that they're the same size as your matting, or that they don't fit into your envelopes, or on the other hand... you can't find envelopes that are the right size. On top of that, although there are many options for envelopes out there, you may not be able to find the exact colour you were hoping for. This can be very disappointing and frustrating, especially if you've already designed and printed your invitations. So purchase your envelopes first!

If, for example, you start with A7 envelopes (5.25" x 7.25"), your largest card should be 5"x7". If you want your invitation to be matted onto another card, the invitation itself should be 4.75x6.75" (a quarter of an inch smaller) and the matting is the largest card at 5"x7". See where I'm going with this? The same goes for your RSVPs and their envelopes.

Here is a little guide I found on DIYBride.com that shows common envelope sizes and the corresponding invitation size. If you are using a pocketfold, folded card, or matting, the invitation size on this chart would correspond to that, and the invitation itself would be a 1/4" smaller on either side.

2. Print Off Drafts Of Your Invitations Before Finalizing

This tip is important for three reasons.

First, going back to tip #1, you want to make sure it is the right size.

Second, you want to see what the colours in your design look like when they are printed off. Colours often look very different between the computer screen in print. Your printer inks are usually divided into four colours: cyan, magenta, yellow, and black. When something is printed, every colour is a mix of these four ink colours. Therefore, it is an impossibility to print of certain colours, such as neons. Colours may not look as bright when printed as they appear on your computer. So to avoid disappointment when picking your final invitations up from your printing company, print one off yourself just to ensure it's the colour you had in mind. If it is, great! If it's not, this gives you the chance to adjust the colour on your computer prior to finalizing.

Third, you want to make sure that everything is legible. Some fonts may be clearer on the computer than they are in print, they may appear larger (or smaller)... to put it simply, this gives you a chance to see your wedding invitations as your guests would to ensure everything is clear and easy to read.

3. Stick to Your Vision

Making your wedding invitations is a big job, so don't go into it blindly. Before you even start designing your wedding invitations, get yourself a pen and a piece of paper and answer the following questions:

What is the level of formality? What type of ceremony will you be having (religious, civil, etc.)?
What are some words that you would use to describe your wedding?
What colours do you hope to incorporate?
What do you want your guests' first impression to be?
What other information do you plan to include?

All of these things will directly influence your design - both in wording and in theme. For example, if you are having a religious ceremony, traditionally the wording will read "Mr. and Mrs. John Smith request the honour of your presence..." whereas for a civil ceremony, traditionally the wording goes, "Mr. and Mrs. John Smith request the pleasure of your company...". Nowadays, this is not a hard and fast rule, but having these notes nearby for easy reference will be a quick reminder of the general feel you want your guests to have when they read your wedding invitation.

In case you didn't notice, the one question I didn't have you ask yourself is "What do you want your invitations to look like?". This was on purpose. Very rarely do my designs ever end up looking like what I planned in my mind in the first place. But do not discourage this creative flow simply because it isn't what you planned. It is great to have a vision, but if you divert away from this, that's just fine! As long as you stick to your theme, colours, and overall feel, I'm sure you will be happy with what you end up with.

As a little freebie, here are a couple of the forms I use when meeting with a bride & groom to discuss wedding invitation design. This helps give me an idea of what they want, and I always keep it nearby when designing. Print this off, fill it out, and keep it close during the design process.

Click here to download.

4. Be Careful With Wording

The wording may depend on the formality of your event and therefore some of these rules may not apply, but to make things easy here are a few things to keep in mind:

• There should be no contractions or shortenings. Write out everything in full, including numbers. For example, "July 14, 2012 at 3:00pm" becomes "the fourteenth of July, two thousand twelve, at three o'clock in the afternoon".
• If the bride's parents are hosts and you have their names in the invitation, it is redundant to also include the last name of the bride. For example, "Mr. and Mrs. John Smith request the honour of your presence at the marriage of their daughter, Jane Allison Smith, to Joe Robert Johnson." In this case, the second "Smith" is unnecessary. The bride needs only to be referred to as Jane Allison, and the groom's name is written in full (unless, of course, his parents' names are included in the invitation as well).
• Be consistent in your spelling. If you opt for the British honour, make sure you put the u in favour. 
• The line breaks in the invitation act as punctuation, so you don't need to use commas or periods at the end of a line. If need be, you can use commas to separate phrases in the middle of a line, but it is not necessary at the end. And besides, it just looks cleaner. 
• Never include any of the following information on the invitation card itself: 
• Registry or gift information - I realize that some people appreciate knowing the information and it's simply more convenient, so I may get arguments on this one. But in my opinion, it simply isn't polite. If you would prefer that guests make a donation to a charity, include this information on a separate enclosure card.
• If you've chosen not to include children - Simply convey clearly who is invited on the envelope, and if you have reason to suspect that they won't pay attention or may bring their children anyway, call them and say how sorry you are that you couldn't invite Ben and Anna, but that the reception space is not set up for children.
• Information about post-wedding events, such as day-after brunches or gift openings - These belong on a separate insert, on wedding websites, or communicated by phone or e-mail.
• This is more of a pet peeve than a rule, but the acronym RSVP stands for "repondez s'il vous plait", which means "respond please". Therefore, you do not need to say "please RSVP by..." because you are literally saying "Please Respond Please by...". Instead, you could say "the favour of your reply is requested by the fourteenth of June", "RSVP on or before the fourteenth of June" or "Kindly reply by the fourteenth of June". 
• Finally, make sure that you are relaying your information in a concise and easy-to-understand manner. Don't try to make the wording too fancy or too complicated. People just want to know where to be and when. I'm not much of a traditionalist when it comes to wording, but again, it's what ever works best with your wedding.

5. Proofread, Proofread, Proofread... Then Proofread Again. 

I simply cannot stress this enough!

Print off a proof of your invitation. Read it. Then read it again. Read it backwards. Read it upside down. Give it to your fiance to read. Give it to a friend to read. Then give it to another friend. Give it to your mom, your dad, your siblings. Give it to the Fed Ex guy who probably comes to your door every three days anyway to bring you more wedding stuff you've ordered online. Trust me - just do it! There is absolutely nothing worse than printing, cutting, and assembling 100 wedding invitations only to discover that you spelled your fiance's middle name wrong, or that your wedding will be held at "tree" o'clock in the afternoon.

(The same goes for your wedding programs - this is where I flubbed up and had my poor brother taking apart and re-assembling them only days before our wedding. Not fun. Thanks, Rob!) 

6. Think Very Carefully About Your "Reply By" Date

Choose a reply by date that gives you enough time to call any stragglers and adjust any changes to your guest count. For example, if you need to have your final guest count to the caterer a week before your wedding, make your "reply by" date three weeks before the wedding. Because, whether you think so or not, you will have people who don't reply, so make sure you plan for it! 

7. Weigh Everything Before Buying Postage

Every single time I make wedding invitations for a couple, one of the first things I tell them when I deliver their invitations is to make sure they take one whole invitation suite to the post office and have it weighed. Do not buy postage (or even worse, do not send your wedding invitations out!) before doing this. It would be a nightmare to have your wedding invitations lost in transition somewhere because you didn't place the correct postage. You should do this for both domestic and international invitations. 

8. Give Yourself Lots of Time! 

Designing, printing, cutting, assembling, addressing, adding postage... Wedding invitations can be a very time-consuming task. You can cut some of that time by having someone create the design for you, and hopefully you have very helpful bridesmaids and family like I did. Even so, give yourself lots of time for this process. The design for my wedding invitations took me three months. Now obviously that isn't normal - our wedding invitations were eight-page booklets - but it just goes to show the amount of time that can potentially be invested in this kind of project. And that didn't include the days that my lovely gals and I spent cutting, assembling, and stuffing invitations! Your wedding invitations will probably be the most time-consuming job you take on during your planning process if you choose to do them yourself. It truly is a labour of love, and if you're willing to take on the task then my hat is off to you! If it's just not for you, do not fret. There are lots of people out there (like me) who just live for it and would be more than happy to help.

I imagine if you are reading this that you are currently in the wedding planning process, so CONGRATULATIONS and best of luck in all your DIY projects! It is so rewarding to see all your hard work pay off on your big day, so just remember to enjoy this time and try to not get too overwhelmed with it all. I truly hope that my tips help you keep all your hair and your sanity.

Happy planning!