Fun with Organizing

It’s been very busy in the studios the past week or so. In addition to filling orders for all my summer brides, we have been busy making final tweaks to the new and improved website (coming soon…. really soon) and adding final touches to my marketing and business plan. In the midst of organizing I came across these oh so cute office accessories by Knock Knock, these fun accessories add a bit of laughter and punch to any desk. They are definitely on my “Must Have” list.

Happy Friday

Let yourself go where ever your heart desires...

xoxox

Happenings in the Studio

I have been a very bad blogger the past couple of weeks. Things have been very busy in the studio. Above is a sneak peek of what we've been working on. We have been busy fulfilling invitation orders, working on some new maps and boarding pass invites, completed a cute beach themed baby shower invite and announced a beautiful baby girl to the world. The creative juices have been flowing with our newest collection, brush strokes. In this collection, you will find hand painted stationery. I can't wait to debut it to you all.

In the midst of all that, I have been working diligently with Chris of Synergy Web Design, on a brand spankin' new design for my website. I am soo excited to introduce it to all of you! The site will be a better reflection of Seaside Invitation its products and its designers. Coming soon...

xoxoxo

alicia

Calling all past and present Tampa Bay area brides...

This weekend I am so excited to volunteer at the Brides Against Breast Cancer Tour of Dresses at the Howard Johnson Travel Plaza in Tampa. If you are a bride and you don’t know about the Brides Against Breast Cancer Tour of Dresses you are seriously missing out. With this gown sale you have the opportunity to purchase your dream gown (at an incredible savings) while making wishes and dreams come true for women and men who are losing their fight against breast cancer.

Designers, manufactures, bridal shops and individuals donate their beautiful wedding gowns to this fundraiser and 100% of the proceeds go to making a moment of joy for someone whom a cure is too late. I can’t speak highly enough about this event. I actually got one of my wedding dresses at this event. When I was a bride and heard about this event I wasn’t sure what to expect, but I knew I had to go and help donate to the cause. I envisioned doors opening and brides rushing to find the perfect dress as if there were a million dollars in the dress. It was nothing like that… although when the doors opened there was a little “aghh” moment. Much to my surprise there were a lot of volunteers there to help assist the brides-to-be and help find dresses, hold the dresses while the brides looked through the plethora of dresses and help assist with putting the dress on. So this year, I am paying it forward and volunteering my time to help an amazing cause that I stand 100% behind.

So if you are a bride looking for the perfect gown and want to donate to a great cause OR a newlywed who wants to donate their gown to a great cause then come on by this weekend and donate to the Brides Against Breast Cancer.

Inspiration of the Week: A trip to the State Fair

This week I am inspired by a trip to the State Fair we took a couple of weekends ago. The fair is a funny place; it’s a bit of an oxymoron. When we first walked in we were directed by the follow of traffic to walk towards the rides and carnival games. This area is a little scary and yet some how pretty at the same time. The rides to begin with, are scary, not just because you go fast and upside down and tossed all over the place but because these rides are considered “safe” and yet are setup in a couple hours after riding into town. Scary! But at the same time I can’t help but enjoy walking around relishing in all the bright colors and awesome illustrations on the rides, games, and stagecoaches.

I have to admit the reason for us going to the State Fair is because for the longest time one of my must dos on my bucket list included milking a cow. I know its weird, right. I don’t know why, its just one of those things I felt I had to do. For years, I have been searching for ways to milk a cow. So I figured, since I don’t have any friends who have a farm or own a cow the only way I could possibly accomplish this goal is by attending the state fair in hopes of milking a cow. So much to my excitement when I saw the sign, cow milking every other hour I was ecstatic. If you know me, you know I was the first in line and even though several little kids managed to get in front of me I was still the first to milk the cow. I got a little blue ribbon and everything. I wore my ribbon and sticker with pride that day.

So since this was such a monumental accomplishment in my life (I know I am weird), I thought I had to dedicate a line of stationery to it. Check back at the end of the week to see the new stationery line I come up with. For now, enjoy some of the photos from this fun Saturday afternoon.

Spring Color Cravings

Hello my friends, I realize I have been a sucky blogger the past two weeks. I am sorry; I promise I will be better next week. Its been a whirlwind at the studio. We have had lots of orders in production for all my May brides, putting finishes touches on the brand spanking’ new website which is coming very soon, and in the middle of all of it, Pat and I had a weekend getaway to Atlanta which was amazing and filled with lots of inspiration. More of that to come.

While I catch up on orders and get the studio reorganized, I look out the window and see cold and I can’t help daydreaming of the spring and its beautiful weather to come. I love everything about spring. The weather, the feeling it evokes, going to the beach for the first time, the start of baseball season, the beautiful patterns and bright colors. One color in particular I am really craving is green. It comes by many names; chartreuse, lime, apple green, celedon, kiwi but every year it says… Spring is here.

{1. Anthropology, 2. Anthropology}

The color seems to uplift your spirit and gives hope of warmer weather. It it’s starting to feel like winter may never end this might be the perfect time for a little color therapy.

Some of my favorite green picks are filled with all sorts of patterns and a touch of salmon complements the color perfectly and warms the spirit. I can practically feel the sun on my skin. J

{3&4. Anthropology, 5. Green orchids, 6. Paper Mojo}

Love is in the air...

I am looking forward to celebrating my first valentine’s day as a married woman with my husband this weekend. We are actually celebrating valentine’s weekend next week with a weekend getaway to Atlanta, GA. This weekend we are heading to the State Fair in hopes of milking a cow. J Yes, I know milking a cow, it’s weird but it’s one of those things that I want to do. Since I don’t have any friends who live on a farm, I figure this is my best option. On the actual V-Day, I will be snuggled up with my honey enjoying lots of yummy chocolate fondue and sipping wine.

Above are a couple things that symbolize Valentines day to me:: burning hot love, lots of color, sexy heels, flowers, yummy sugary sweets, sexy lingerie, chocolate of all sorts, and love notes. I hope you all have a beautiful weekend and get to spend it with the ones you love.

Message in a Cookie

I just came across these little treats and I had to share. How cool is this, its a message in a cookie tool from William-Sonoma. The cookie tool allows you to imprint your own message into cookie treats. You can customize the message by sliding in letters to form a name or a message and when you press it into the dough, your message is imprinted on the cookie. It's like letterpressing but for cookies - I guess that would be cookie pressing. :)

Perfect for Valentine's Day, better yet, a wedding favor with the words thank you & your names imprinted in the cookie. You could even use it as a way to ask your bridesmaids to be in your wedding party. Soo cute. Definitely on my wish list.

Changes are a coming.

I am so excited to announce that Seaside Invitations is getting a makeover. Not just any makeover but a major face lift. Yes, my friends I am happy to announce we are getting a new website & blog!!! YAY!! Over the past month or so I have been working with Synergy Web Productions, based out of Colorado on the look & feel and the direction that Seaside Invitations is going. When I first starting Seaside, I wanted the invitations to speak for themselves and not really immersing myself or my personality too much into the company, I wanted it to stand alone. After attending the amazing MTH event with Lara Casey I realized what a dumb idea that was. This company is my passion, art is my passion, colors are my passion, the beach is my passion and paper is my passion so why wouldn’t I merge the two. I decided that I want Seaside Invitations to be more of a reflection of who I am and the things I love. Who am I, you might ask, well I am a simple girl who loves beautiful colors, has a strong affinity towards fashion, loves to travel, appreciates beautiful simple photographs, loves love stories, and appreciates art in all its forms.

So I decided Seaside Invitations, needed a face lift. It needed to be more me. The first phase was redesigning the logo and business cards. I wanted my new logo to be clean, simple and chic. I love my new tag line, where art meets paper. At Seaside Invitations, everything is custom illustrated by us. Yes, I said us; I brought on my husband who is an amazing artist. You will find out more about him when the website is finished. ;)

One of the newest products Seaside Invitations offers is hand painted invitations. I wanted my business card to showcase my passions, paper and art. Each business card is printed on a textured cotton heavy stock paper, has a hand painted sea oat and is packaged in a cute little envelope. I figure a business card is an invitation for someone to contact you so if it acts as an invitation then why not have an envelope. J

Phase 1 of the face lift is complete and Phase 2 is coming to a close with the unveiling of the new website. I can’t wait to share more with you as the company and the brand grows.

New Stationery available on ETSY

Check out my Etsy shop for some of my newest stationery designs. The above is the first unveiling of our hand drawn floral collection for both stationery and invitations. I am soo excited about this collection. Each flower is designed in house by us and can be used on invitations, stationery or monograms. Here is a sneak peak of what's to come.

And remember, for the remainder of the month of February we are donating 20% of all proceeds to the Haiti Disaster Relief Fund.

Weekend Recap

Happy Monday my friends.

I hope you all had a great weekend. My weekend was a jammed packed wedding weekend. I met some really awesome local wedding professionals that I can't wait to introduce you to. I attended my first ever ABC meeting and it was awesome. It's so great to mix and mingle with other like minded professionals all working towards the same goal and that is making the bride and groom's day the best that it can be. Later in the weekend I attended a vendor show hosted by Catering by Robert and met some really fabulous brides-to-be and got to say hi to some friends in the industry. So without further ado, here are some of the other wedding vendors in the area you definitely need to check out.

Wedding Planner:: Lauren Berner with Soirees in Style

Wedding Planner:: Beth Sparks with Joyful Wedding Planning

Wedding Planner:: Heather M. Stewart with Stylish Traditions

Photographer:: Karen Harrison with Karen Harrison Photography

Event Rentals:: Shane Poston with Coast to Coast Event Rentals

Lightning Decor:: Nick with Decorating Elves

Catering:: Susan with Catering by Robert

DJ services:: Eladio with Delite Entertainment

Hair & Make Up Styling:: Michelle Renee with The Michelle Renee Hair & Makeup Artists Group

For all you brides out there I hope this helps with your wedding planning.

xoxox

ban.do

Check out these oh so cute headpieces by ban.do. All items are hand made using vintage inspired pieces; most are one of a kind. These would make a great addition to any bridesmaid attire, birthday outfit, New Years outfit and even the chic, vintage inspired bride would enjoy. Below are a couple of my favorites. Check out their full line here.

Introducing... the Hand Painted Invitations

Happy Monday all! I hope you all had a lovely weekend and are ready to take on another week. We have been busy this weekend launching our new line of hand painted invitations. Below is our first collection. We are so excited to add these to our repertoire. You may think, are you really going to paint every single invitation, well the answer is yes my friends. Crazy you may think, but we believe that every invitation deserves just as much attention and detail as the next. Each invitation is painted with acrylic paints and some are embellished with rhinestones. They can be customized to reflect your wedding colors or recreated as is. Check out more images on my shop. I would love to hear what you think.

Sushi Night

Last night we had a fabulous sushi dinner in honor of my brother. He left to go back to art school in San Fran today and for his last dinner in town he wanted sushi. So sushi it was and it sure was delicious. I am still thinking of it, wishing I had more. I found this cute little photo of the dos and donts of sushi eating. Its pretty interesting. I definitely break a couple of these rules, but for me, as long as I get the sushi in my mouth and no soy sauce on my white shirt then I am good to go. :) Happy sushi eating.

Shabby Chic Baby Shower Invitations

Here are the designs from last weeks inspiration - shabby chic baby shower invitations.

The Mom-to-Be, Dana, ended up picking the invitation below.

Below are the two other invitations she had to choose from. Each client always gets to choose from three different designs and can make as many tweeks as needed. This ensures the invitation is truly perfect for the client and fully captures the theme or vibe of the party.

I had such a great time designing these for Dana. I know her shower is going to be beautiful.

All Proceeds Go to the Red Cross

I am sure all of you have heard by now about the destruction in Haiti. I would like to donate 20% of all stationery, monoLOVEgram or wedding suite purchases from now until the end of Feb to the Red Cross to help the people of Haiti in their time of need. You can purchase stationery and monoLOVEgrams on my etsy shop.

Sweet Tooth

Good Morning Lovelies,

Something sweet for you on Thursday morning. I found these when browsing through Martha Stewart Weddings. They are beautiful and look soo yummy. Cupcakes are a delicious and cheap alternative to the wedding cake and make great additions to showers. Hope you all have a sweet day!

Weekly Inspiration:: Shabby Chic Baby Shower Invitations

This week's inspiration is a Shabby Chic Baby Shower. A friend of mine is having a baby girl and needs some shower invitations. She has given me so much to find inspiration through. When we first started talking she mentioned she wanted the invitations to have a shabby chic feel with purples, pinks and greens. She then came back and said she really liked the idea of playing off the "pea in a pod" theme, she especially liked this one because her grandmother used to call her sweet pea which is a term she is going to also carry into the nursery. Another great inspiration is the baby's name. Her name will be Ella Rose... isn't that beautiful! I think we can definitely incorporate all of these inspirations into her invitations. Check back at the end of the week to see the designs I come up with.

XOXO

Happy Friday!!

I hope you all had a wonderful first week of 2010. I hope your weekend is filled with love, happiness and lots of warm kisses.

photo by Elizabeth Messina

It's the beginning of a decade, a new year and a new month - a time to make this year count, to leave all your misfortunes behind and start fresh. The beginning of each year a resolution is made and goals are set. I have already mentioned my resolutions in the previous post but probably the most important of my goals / resolutions is to appreciate every moment. Time flies by so fast and as I get older I start to see it more and more. My New Year's wish for all of you is to laugh often, smile more, see the beauty in the small things and live with your heart full of love and happiness.

XOXO

Alicia

photo by Elizabeth Messina

Happy New Year

Happy New Years all! Seaside Invitations is back from the holidays and ready to MAKE THINGS HAPPEN in 2010. Over the past couple of weeks I have done a lot of reflecting on 2009 & what's to come in 2010. 2009 will definitely go down in the record books for me. I married my best friend, travelled to some amazing destinations, enjoyed time with family & friends, ate really good food and most importantly laughed, loved & smiled a lot, I decided to stop dreaming and start doing and took that step into entrepreneurship and I haven't looked back.

2010 will be a year of adventure, renewal, awakening, amazement, excitement, hard work, inspiration, creativity, accomplishment, firsts, growth, love and truly life changing moments. All of this will be possible with the power of one, and I plan to give my all to MAKE MY GOALS A REALITY.

I put together some New Year's Resolutions to live by for 2010:

Live within my arc of creativity - I want to develop & foster my love of what's beautiful and put it all on paper.

Encourage a healthy mind, body & spirit - this involves surrounding my self with people who encourage and support me and cut ties with those who drag me down

Enjoy every moment - Life is so short and I want to make sure to appreciate every second I have with my loved ones. I want to stop and smell the roses and breathe in the air a bit more and take more time to reflect.

Be fearless and truly make things happen for Seaside Invitations

What are your resolutions for 2010? Above I put together an inspiration board of things that fire me up to make things happen. What fires you up?