Jack's Wall Art

Jack's wall hangings...

Baby Jack's nursery has a transportation theme. So fun!

I took the design of the bedding ...

... and made it into these matching button-and-canvas wall hangings.

Aiden's wall art coming soon!

spring weddings!

I am working on some spring and summer weddings now. Yay! I love love LOVE the colors of spring. Anything to get me out of this snow and slush mess! As of this evening, www.embellishedbyemily.com will see some minor changes -- just an addition of some things completed in recent months.

It's fun when I hear from a bride who loved an invitation she got in the mail SO much that she just has to have the same one for her wedding. Lets me know I'm doing something right. I have one invitation that has now been used 3 times, but difference color schemes and a few alterations each time. For example, the original bride wanted the purple and black pocketfold to be tied with a little skinny ribbon and bow. The second bride wanted the same pocketfold but red and black and a larger ribbon with her monogram tag on the front. The third bride wants it to be black and hotpink. The good news is, I love customizing these for each individual bride.

I also just completed two wall hangings for a friend's little boy, Aiden, who just moved up into his big boy room. Canvases are such a fun way to grow my creative cells and really let the imagination soar. I just did 3 nursery canvases for another dear friend's newborn son, Jack. They are button-sewn and just darling. Photos to come.

In the midst of this, I will be helping my friend Jennifer prepare for her spring wedding. It is going to be on a lake, and since Jen is not normally into all this wedding jazz, she has asked me to take charge! The colors are Olive, navy and cornflower, and I cannot wait to arrange her bouquets and make her little pillow and basket. I will also be putting together a flower girl crown of flowers.

When choosing the name of my business, I wanted to make sure I picked something that was not invitation-specific. I wanted people to know that if it's creative, Embellished by Emily can do it. You come to me with your fabulous ideas, and I just add onto them, embellishing your thoughts and dreams of how you want the finished product to look. So far I'm loving every second of it!

Warmly,

Emily

spring weddings!!!

I am up to my ears in pink paisley and green pocketfolds! That can only mean one thing -- springtime wedding season is just around the corner! And I couldn't be more excited.

Before I get too excited about the warm weather again (since it is only December) I should point out that some of the schemes I'm working on for January and February weddings are gorgeous. Red seems to be a very popular wedding color. I'd say it's probably surpassed purple.

Red/black/silver is also popular and elegant.

Beth and Jason are having a Kansas wedding in January, using those three colors, and we were both very happy with how they turned out. Her pocketfolds were custom-sized.

Moving on to Danielle and Sergio. This bride is so sweet and has great visions for her wedding day. She wanted Red and gold, and is getting married in a gazebo. The gazebo on this invite is actually from a photo she had taken at the venue on a nasty, rainy day. A little digital alteration, and voila! Perfect graphical element. I LOVE the paper this is printed on. It's a pearlescent called "stardream quartz" and is GORGEOUS. The envelopes are metallic, too! Quite the "pop" the bride requested, I think.

Here's a fun tip for my "green" brides. online RSVP. If it's done right, it is completely elegant and sophisticated. I have a bride who is preparing for a June wedding. Her invitations will be printed on "plantable" paper -- you can plant it after receiving it, and flowers will bloom! The accents on the invitation match her wedding Web site, so when guests hop online to RSVP, it still makes sense. I recommend www.mywedding.com for setting up an elegant site. They have tons of background options, and their RSVP section is very classy. This idea works best if the majority of wedding guests are internet-savvy, as it might be difficult for people like great-grandma to have access to the internet. The blue in the background of the above picture is handmade paper that will act as the back cardstock for her panel invite. The envelope is recycled, as are the twine pieces. I cannot WAIT to see this final product!

Happy planning! The ideas are limitless!!

warmly,

Emily

I am truly blessed.

O how I love my brides and mamas!

Every time a new email comes to embellishedbyemiy, I sit back and think about just how lucky I am to have a day job and a side job that I love so much! As far as Embellished by Emily goes, how hard could it possibly be not to love the "work" involved? Every person who contacts me is completely elated with their newest stage in life and wants ME to be the one to illustrate that for them. Blessings are definitely counted every night. Believe me.

I currently have 3 weddings I am working on (save the dates, invites, programs) in one way or another. Three weddings = three very different brides = my favorite! One wedding will take place in a castle in Ireland, one wedding is in a beautiful outdoor-garden setting in Illinois, and the third will be in a gorgeous Christian church in the center of my hometown. See? Very different... Keeps the cogs from getting rusty :)

A very popular trend today is the "pocketfold" invitation. These are so wonderful when including multiple pieces of information. And since most receptions are held somewhere other than the church assembly hall these days, an added direction and reception card is almost always necessary. I am so excited about the pink and green pocketfold I am working on. What a FUN combo of colors for a wedding for such a FUN-loving couple.

Of course there are tons of options for pocketfold invitations. I can make them any size, shape and color you desire. Like this one I did for M+J's August wedding.

I really am lucky my love for glue, scissors, paper and art advanced beyond the 3rd grade!















With all that being said, I will leave you with this:


My very best friend, Stephanie, was the first wedding I ever did invitations for. I owe her a HUGE thank you from the bottom of my heart for not removing me from her wedding party and her life after the disaster that was her invitations and programs. Needless to say I have learned a LOT from her wedding almost 5 years ago, and whenever the topic comes up, we laugh it off, and Stephanie is proud that she was my "guinea pig." Now all I have to do is cross my fingers that she trusts me again when it comes time for her baby announcements!
Bundle up as the weather turns!
Warmly,
Emily

babies, weddings, autumn!

It's true what they say... These things really do come in 3's. Three weddings then 3 babies, etc., etc., etc. And I LOVE it!!

Just today I found out a really good friend is pregnant and due at the end of March 2010. I am working on baby announcements for another friend and also wedding save-the-dates for another. The spring and the fall really are popular times for this stuff.

Don't you just love this time of year? You never know what the days are going to bring in, so that first cup of coffee in the morning is spent on the balcony adjusting to that particular day's temperature. Such a fantastic time.

I hope this fall is bringing you everything you hoped it would. I know for at least 5-6 of my clients, it's more than they could have ever imagined!

warmly,
emily

The new site is here!

Well, it's finally here!

www.embellishedbyemily.com

It's new, it's FLASHy and it's PINK!

Please let me know what you think!

Warmly,
Emily

We are under way!

Wow! What a summer! It's only just begun, but I am busy, busy, busy! First off, I just got a new computer and am busy transferring files from my old one to my new one

Where to begin...

Graduation invitations and thank you cards! Congrats, Grads!!

I have had a lot of bridal showers recently and have had a blast putting together invitations and decorations for those. I find myself saying yes to any project, and I feel this makes my people happy as well as expand my own horizons. I even designed a pair of Hearts cards that were 20"x30" for a bride and her husband-to-be. They turned out great, and according to a bridesmaid were quite a hit! Always great to hear.


My good friends, Dan and Regina just got married in Pennsylvania this past weekend. The wedding was so much fun, and the best part was that I got to have an excuse to hang out with Regina a lot before (and after) she moved from DC to start her married life back in Philly. We spent so much time having a blast while creating the programs and donation cards. I'd have to say that's the best part of doing this. I get to see so many different creative opinions and ideas AND spend fulfilling time with people I love dearly.



One of my best friends, Laura, is HAVING A BABY in August! Those shower invites were so much fun to do, and I have also created a stencil of the baby's name that I will paint on the nursery wall next week. I am so excited to see how this will turn out.

I am working on wedding programs for a wedding whose invites I did back in May. Mallory and Jason have an indigo color scheme, which has proven to be quite popular here recently, yet also VERY difficult to match colors to. Everything is too navy or too purple. No worries, though! Embellished by Emily has it down! The programs are tri-fold, and I am very excited to see them in print!

Just got word today that I have another bridal shower coming up in August with a brown and pink theme (yay!) and I am so excited to work on those.

It seems every time I log into Facebook, another friend is engaged or pregnant. Congratulations to all of you blessed friends of mine, and keep me in your brains if you find yourself finished with everything but invitations and all things paper!

I look forward to working with my autumn/winter wedding brides soon. In the meantime, catch those fireflies, and I hope to hear from ya!

Warmly,
Emily