The beautifully designed Exclusive Collection II from Carlson Craft is full of gorgeous, modern designs.  Each theme has elements for every printing need - invitations, reception and respond cards, thank you cards, place cards, programs, and more.  But today I’d like to highlight the Save the Date Magnets in this collection.  Each magnet measures 5 1/2″ x 4 1/4″ and comes with blank envelopes, which can be upgraded with your printed return address.  You are able to change the look and feel of each design by changing the colors used as well as the fonts.   Many feature ghost lettering, which means the color you choose will outline the letters, which will be unprinted and shown as the paper color peeking through.

Electric, featuring merlot ink and lettering styles GRM and SQU

Glaze printing is a new printing technique being used in this collection.  It is a raised ink process, similar to thermography, but more subtle, leaving a texture on the paper that you can feel.  Here are two more examples of the save the date cards and magnets (each is available printed as a card or as a magnet):

Lace Save the Date Magnet, featuring your color photo at no additional charge.  Shown using Espresso and Aquamarine ink with BKS lettering.

Fashionista Save the Date Magnet, which can be worded for any event, shown here for a sweet sixteen party.  Shown using Lipstick and Ebony ink with FUL lettering.

Shop all the designs at Invitation Lane, and take advantage of a savings of 30% off retail prices when you place your order from the Exclusive Collection II with us!

If you are shopping for either Bar or Bat Mitzvah invitations, or Wedding invitations, don’t restrict your search for the right invite to collections that only feature invitations for specific events.

Miriam is a great, fresh design in orange found in Checkerboard’s Bar and Bat Mitzvah collection “Generation to Generation”.  It would also be perfect for a Sweet Sixteen party, Bridal Shower, or a destination wedding.  Wording, ink color and fonts are all fully customizable, changing the look and feel.  Here is how it is displayed in the album:

and here it is in black ink worded for a wedding, using Futura Medium for the main wording and Piranesi for the names :

and here is another example, using a more masculine Bar Mitzvah invitation from the Generation to Generation collection called Seth.  This is a two layer invitation, shown using jet black as the backing paper and white as the printable layer.  First we have the sample as it is shown in the album, for a Bar Mitzvah:

Here it is again, but shown as a wedding invitation, using gold ink and different fonts (Futura Light MS and Gravura, all in lower case) to give it a slightly different look and feel:

And here is a great example of a wedding invitation (Caraway from A Marry Occasion) that could be used as a Bat Mitzvah invitation, simply by changing the wording and fonts.  First we have the sample as shown for a wedding:

and here is the same invitation being used for a Bat Mitzvah:

The first example uses Ecstasy font, and the second uses Papyrus.  Keep an open mind while you are shopping, and look at the papers and designs in collections that may not have been intended for your event, but can be considered nonetheless.  It could open up a lot of new possibilities!

My new favorite wedding color is navy blue.  Navy is such a classic color, and a nice twist on basic black.    I absolutely love the new wedding invitations Checkerboard has designed with a navy theme.  Here are my two favorites, both from the A Marry Occasion collection of wedding invitations.  Eve is all about Navy blue, from the ink to the ribbon to the backing paper, while Blooming uses it in combination with glorious shades of green.

Eve

Blooming

Navy works beautifully as a bridesmaid dress color, long or short:

source

Navy is always a fabulous as an accent color, as shown in this photo using a navy blue ribbon around an exquisite bouquet designed by Southern Bouquets:

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Order a custom stamp from Invitation Lane for Mother’s Day, and get free ground shipping!  That is $9 in savings!

Use coupon code MOTHER during checkout (coupon is good through May 1, 2010)

The Chatsworth Collection has introduced an exciting collection of digital holiday cards this year with their Designer Series.  The collection consists of their long time popular albums With Bells On, Robin Maguire, and The Holiday Book, along with the addition of a new collection called Exquisite Papers.   Your digital photo will be printed on the card of your choice along with your greeting and personalization.  The Chatsworth Collection offers high quality paper and many exciting new designs this season.

Invitation Lane offers this collection at 20% off retail pricing and if you order by October 23rd, you will also receive FREE printed return address!  Shop now!

A stumbling block many engaged couples face is how to word their invitations when there are divorced parents to consider.   The proper way to list parents of the bride who are divorced is to list the Mother of the bride on the first line, followed by the Father of the bride on the second line, and omit the use of the word “and” between their names:

“Oak” from Checkerboard’s Blue Moon collection

If there is a strong relationship with a step parent, then by all means, go ahead and include his or her name along with your parent.  Etiquette says you should not include a step parent in the wording, but it’s my opinion that one should not follow the rules if it’s going to be harmful to a personal relationship.   The purpose of a wedding invitation is to gather loved ones for a joyous occasion, not create tension and discomfort.

Paper Duvet has recently added a new pocket folder invitation to their collection, The Romantic Duvet.  This elegant little pocket is a side folding pocket that measures approximately 5 1/4″ x 7 3/8″ when folded.  A laser cut design on the cover of the pocket allows the color of the invitation inside to peek through for a little contrast.  The pocket folder is available in five colors (black, white, ecru, chocolate and dark grey).  Invitations and inserts are available in white shimmer, white, ecru, pink, fuchsia, cherry, water, navy, teal, meadow, lime, olive, latte shimmer, cocoa shimmer, chocolate, silver shimmer, light grey, and black.   A single mailing envelope is available in a number of matching colors as well: white, ecru, fuchsia, pink, cherry, black, light grey, water, navy, teal, meadow, lime, olive, and chocolate.   Add motifs and monograms to any of your printed items to personalize and make the design a one of a kind!

Check out these elegant pocket invitations at Invitation Lane and enjoy a 20% discount!

Our classic, most popular pink invitation is Charm, pictured above, from Checkerboard’s Modern Wedding collection.  It is an elegant two layer invitation with a black ribbon, printed in thermography.  They retail for $429.00 for 100 invitations, but you can have the same gorgeous invitations for only $300.00 for 100 at Invitation Lane!  Just think of what you could do with an extra $129.00!

If you want a pocket folder invitation, the Paper Duvet brand has a soft pink and fuchsia from which to choose.  Mix and match to your heart’s content!  You can send the pocket folder as your self mailer, or you can insert the pocket folder into a white or ecru mailing envelope.  Distictive Duvet ensembles (no mailing envelope included) are only $252.00 for 100 at Invitation Lane, a 20% savings off retail price.  Majestic Duvet ensembles (mailing envelope included) are $272.00 for 100.  That is a savings of $68.00 off retail!

If you want to add a little pink to your holiday greeting, check out this unique card from Checkerboard, called Greeted Gift Tag.  We also offer this one at a great savings, $305.00 for 100 cards, a savings of $54.00!

Think Pink!

Lara Blair of Lara Blair Images is a local photographer who is working on a book project of dogs in costume.  You have to take a look at these adorable pups on her blog post today.  They made me smile, and I hope they do the same for you!

Click here to see them all.

If you are in the Portland - Vancouver area, please consider Lara Blair Images for your family, personal or pet portraits.  She’s fabulous!

This month we’ve been working on some exciting projects with our customers.  Here are our favorite customer choices so far this month.

Our most popular photo card so far this season (Cherished by Checkerboard):

Here is our favorite party invitation that was ordered recently for a 50th Birthday Party (Bottle O Red by Checkerboard):

And we are working with a fabulous bride who chose this gorgeous pocket folder invitation for her wedding (Sylvan by Checkerboard):

Our customers have great taste!