I’m a big fan of hand delivered invitations.  This summer I worked with Fluent Dallas addressing some very special invitations to their concierge services.  Each one contained a personal access code – fancy.

We kept the lettering classic in black ink and modern with the Kegan style.

Today I am loving the gold and black for a lovely anniversary party.  The square invitation (and monogrammed belly band) in black and gold works perfectly with the gold ink on black envelope.

Last year I had the pleasure of working with the Capital One Financial Services Leadership Team on personalizing a few favor boxes.  They were the take out boxes in kraft paper and I think they turned out pretty nice.  Each seat had a little box and place tag.  This would be so nice for a personal holiday table (thanksgiving!) to make each of your guests feel special and welcomed into your home.

The invitation to the party was just as lovely with a single line in calligraphy and the rest type set.

For all of you Pinterest fans out there – this contest is for you!

More important details from Bella Figura: (all of the details can be found on their blog here)

Our lead designer Jessica Tierney will be judging the contest and creating an invitation suite based on the winning board. Judging will begin on July 23, and the winner will be announced on July 27. The new Pinterest-inspired design will be released with the new collection in January 2013.

Entry deadline: The contest runs from July 16, 2012 through 12pm EST on July 23, 2012. To enter, follow the instructions above and submit the URL of your Pinterest board to the comments section below.

The grand prize: The person with the winning board will receive 100 free letterpress party invitations printed on our A6 sized cards in two inks on our 1-ply cotton paper with 1-color letterpress printed envelopes. Choose from any of our 300+ invitation designs and create the perfect piece for your next event! Be sure to take a look at our Social Album for  inspiration.
*The fine print: additional invitations, custom design fees, additional ink colors, double-sided printing, added embellishments or rush orders will incur charges.

Need an invitation to join Pinterest? Email hello@bellafigura.com and we’ll send you one right away! We can’t wait to see your entries — good luck!

Wow – back in the June 2011 issue of Traditional Home Magazine I had a few great shots of my calligraphy partnered with the lovely paper stylings of Orange Spot Pink Nose.  (pages 64 and 66 if you have the print copy!)

L.A. based event planner Rachel Hollis put together a refresh of the white china chosen years ago with new bold service plates and linens.  This inspired a lovely rich and warm new look for the dining table.  You can see my hand lettered menu and place cards that hang on the back of each chair rather than at the head of the place setting.

I love the look and functionality of this – frees up valuable space on the table for all the plates, glasses and silverware! You can also see a little hand lettered tag for a sweet take home treat – perfect end to a evening with friends.

On a side note – you can also see my menus used by Rachel for a TV segment on Fox 5 San Diego talking about Valentine’s Day on a Budget :-)

Wow!  It’s amazing that June is already here – May completely passed me by!

I am excited to share this Memorial Day Entertaining Guide (a little late but still applicable to summer entertaining), my calligraphy was paired up with a wonderful segment by Kim Whitman on the Today Show for Memorial Day.

photo from Kim’s blog

Kim put together a fun popcorn bar and used my lettering for the item signs.  They turned out super cute with the red and blue paper with white lettering and fun ribbon accents.

photos from video screen shots.

I really love the little signs with the modern take on the red paper border only being on the top & bottom rather than all the way around.  Also – who doesn’t love how much the white ink pops on that gorgeous navy blue card?  It’s about as yummy as the popcorn bar and toppings!

Check out more on the video clip or on Kim’s Blog!

It was so much fun to work with Kimberly Schlegel Whitman again on this fun 13th Birthday Celebration for a Leap Year Baby.

I provided the place card lettering in my Mitty font and a pretty purple along with a little sheet on leap year facts that was at the entrance and where the guests picked up their fabulous photos with the birthday girl in engraved frames by Jason Wynn.  The pretty cards with the fun leaping frog were created by the oh so talented Bernard Maisner :-)

The florals were provided by Debby with Branching Out (gorgeous!).

all photos by Jason Wynn and see more from this fun party on Kim’s Blog!

Hi Guys!  Hope spring is treating everyone well.  I wanted to share this great giveaway by Bella Figura!

If you loved our Pinterest contest last month, wait til you see what we’ve got in store for March! We want to see what good means to you: is it volunteering at an animal shelter? Planting trees? Donating to your local food pantry? Building homes for the less fortunate? Whatever it is, we want you to tell us about it and show us how you’re making a difference — and we’ll give you 25 free invitation sets* just for doing your good deed! It gets better: for the grand prize, we’ll give an entire set of free invitations to the person who submits the ultimate good deed. No purchase is necessary to participate, and the contest is open to everybody worldwide!

*25 free invitation sets when you order 50 or more.

Deadline: Your good deed must be done during the month of March 2012. Good deed submissions should be made by March 31 at midnight.

Judging: The team at Bella Figura will choose the top 5 do-gooders and will post them to a finalists board on Pinterest by Wednesday, April 4. Everyone is encouraged to read about the five finalists on the Bella Figura blog from April 4 through April 11, and should “like” their favorite on Pinterest in order to cast a vote. The do-gooder with the most likes on Thursday, April 12 will win the set of 100 free invitations. You must have a Pinterest account in order to “like” one of the finalists, so if you need an invitation, email dogood@bellafigura.com and we’ll send you an invite right away.

Enjoy being good during March friends! – Nicole

Good Morning all!

I am pleased to finally announce a lovely little digital download available for your Thanksgiving holiday.  Calligraphy place cards!  Yay!  These are perfect to add a touch of calligraphy to your holiday table, or to use for guests to write a note of their blessings to share or even to create a fun bunting of thankfulness.

Mitty in Brown

The file comes with instructions on cutting & folding for 4 of the same place cards per sheet measuring 8.5×11″  Easy to print from home or take to your favorite printer.  Please use for personal use only – not for commercial or resale.

Zanner in Orange

There are 4 different options to choose from: Mitty in dark brown or orange and Zanner in dark brown and orange.  Each file sells for $10 each or a pack of all 4 for $30 (buy 3 get 1 free!)

Mitty & Zanner in orange & brown

Purchase exclusively on the blog here!  The digital file will be e-mailed as a .pdf.  Please ensure the e-mail address left in checkout is current :-)

Zanner digital place cards in Brown

copyright: The Left Handed Calligrapher – for personal use only, please do not share or use for commercial uses or resale

A few months ago I created these borders (by hand!) to use for letterpress gift tags.  Now that the holiday season is upon us, they are getting some use tied around hostess gifts.  I also sent some to a former bride with their lovely monogram – perfect personal little touch for the newlyweds.

Want some?  E-mail me.  Available in square & rounded corners.