Medical School Graduation Party Decor

About a month ago I showed you these unique invitations I designed for a Medical School Graduation.  Now I am excited to show you the various things I created for the graduation weekend festivities.

This adorable picture of the graduate, playing doctor as a child, appropriately announces “The Doctor will see you now”.  How cute is he!

I designed the dinner menu and favor tag with the same cute picture.  Guests were given an apple as a favor with a tag saying “An apple a day keeps the Doctor away!”.  Good advice!

A current day picture of the graduate (even cuter still :P) in his doctor finery was used for the cover of the weekend’s itinerary. I also printed guest’s names onto these tent name cards.

I designed the itinerary to look like a medical chart, so the pages flipped up instead of across. Doctor related illustrations decorated the schedule and added a whimsical design.

The itinerary was included in the out of town guest bags along with typical goodies.  I created a crisp white label with text in matching blue and a yellow border. (See pic at top)

I love when I have the opportunity to create unique touches for client’s events.  I created a special personalized Christmas ornament to commemorate this wonderful achievement.  I enjoyed every step of this project and hope the weekend went fabulously!

Congratulations Doctor Alex!

Just a quick note to let you know that my new website and blog will be going live soon!  ( in a matter of days)  Stay tuned.

And as always my calligraphy font, Belluccia, one of myfonts Most Popular Fonts for 2011, is available at: myfonts.com.

Welcome Sign for Out of Town Guests

Welcome Sign for guest room

Have guests arriving? It’s always a nice idea to make them feel welcome in small ways.  This is the hand-lettered sign I made for Emily, our guest from last weekend.  For non-calligraphers, a beautiful font could be used. I think this would be a great idea to put in the hotel room for out-of-town wedding guests.  Perhaps include a small note tag suggesting they take it home and put a pic from the wedding in the frame. Or you can include a pic ( of the bride and groom or the guest at your wedding) in your thank you note to be put in the frame. Ask your photographer to get a pic of everyone as they arrive at the reception or get group shots at the tables.  Just one small way to make your out-of-town family and friends know how much you appreciate their presence:)

And as always my calligraphy font, Belluccia, one of myfonts Most Popular Fonts for 2011, is available at : myfonts.com and fontbros.com.

French themed Baby Shower

A little while ago I posted about the French themed baby shower invitation I had the delight to create.  This shower was special to me because the Gramma-to-be, Kim Levine, is one of my dearest friends.  Below is a picture of her with her lovely daughters, Sarah and Mom-to-be, Meredith.

Sarah, Meredith and Kim Levine

Now that the shower has passed, I thought it would be fun to share all the pink and black French decorations!

Pink Feather Tree with Bienvenue sign

"Bonjour" sign

This pink feather poodle tree was adorned with all the guests’ name tags.  I hand lettered the ‘Bienvenue’ banner on the tree  ( in my cursive font Belluccia, of course!) that welcomed guests along with this darling Baby Eiffel Tower creation by hostess Nanci Paskell.  Note the poodles below and on top of the tree eagerly waiting for guests to arrive. 🙂

"Club Girls"Ann Brehm, Ronnie Walter, Claire Marschak, Kim Levine and me

Kim and Meredith were thrilled that all of the “Club Girls” were able to be there to share in the joy.  Ann, Claire, Ronnie, Kim, and myself have been friends since high school. Kim is the first to be a grandmother.

We were able to squeeze in a few other adventures while they were in town:)

Pink Baby Shower Umbrella

The foyer was further themed with a lighted Eiffel Tower and Pink Shower Umbrella hanging over the dining table, created by sweet friend Therese Deptula.

The Buffet

Eiffel Tower food Label cards

The pink, black and “ooh la la” decor was carried into the main party areas of the house.  Above the kitchen island large pink poms in three tones were placed in the pot holder and a strand of pearls was draped around it.  Water in Eiffel Tower shaped flower vases was dyed pink for a cute touch.  I created pink food tent cards, featuring hand drawn cut outs of the Eiffel Tower, to identify the various dishes.

Refreshment table decor

Pink plates and napkins with pink and black ribbon

For guests to be able to distinguish their drinks, pink bottle labels with different French themed words were available.  A topiary with pink pom-poms served as a center piece of the refreshment table.  And the pink plates were complimented by napkins, lovingly tied by hostess Mary Leeper, with pink and black ribbon and pearls, of course!

Dessert table

The Dessert table featured cakes and cupcakes decorated with Eiffel Towers and Poodles.

One of our talented hostesses, Laura Evans, made all the items hanging from the fireplace.  She created two different sized tote bags and a garment bag containing a cute baby outfit out of the same fabric I used for the invitations.  How sweet is that!

Rocking Pink Poodle

And what little girl can do without this adorable Rocking Pink Poodle:)  “Gramma Kimmie” scooped this up long before there was any baby, let alone a girl, in the oven!

Eiffel Tower cookie favors

Pink Poodle cookie favors

Favors for the guests were adorable Eiffel Tower and pink poodle cookies made by It’s a Mary Cake.  ‘Merci!’ tags and a ribbon tied them off.

I had so much fun being involved in the planning of this shower along with my fellow hostesses, Mary Leeper, Laura Evans, and Nanci Paskell. You’re the best!

Can’t wait for the arrival of Baby Budwin in June!

And as always my calligraphy font, Belluccia, one of myfonts Most Popular Fonts for 2011, is available at : myfonts.com and fontbros.com.

Chic Bohemian Summer Party featured on 100 Layer Cake

Check out this chic Boho Summer Party  photo shoot via 100 Layer Cake’s blog.   So cool to see how they used my Belluccia cursive font in a variety of ways;  In the title, a framed sign, a label for jam and creative place cards.  Love how it matches the bohemian feel.

A Boho Summer Party featured on 100 Layer Cake Blog

Belluccia cursive font used on label for jam on 100 Layer Cake blog

Details from Bohemian Party Photo Shoot on 100 Layer Cake Blog

Lots of great take away party ideas! Check them all out here.  They also have  DIY instructions for the fun feather drink stirrers.  ( Like how they used Belluccia in the title:)  My friend Teresa’s yard is the perfect spot to host one of these.  Hmmm… a summer girl’s night out perhaps.  I’ll bring the hen:)

Feather Drink Stirrers on 100 Layer Cake blog

And as always my calligraphy font, Belluccia, one of myfonts Most Popular Fonts for 2011, is available at : myfonts.com and fontbros.com.

Cookie Bridal Shower Favors

Bride's Dress decorated cookies embossed and pearlized

Who doesn’t love a cookie??  Aren’t these beautiful bride’s dress cookies just gorgeous!  Mary, of “It’s a Mary Cake”, did a lovely job embossing and pearlizing these for a bridal shower for one of my clients.  The pink sash adds a nice pop of color and ties in with the ribbon and tag suggesting it was “Sweet of you to celebrate with Alicia.”  My Belluccia cursive font was used for the lettering on the tags.

Bridal Shower Cookie by "It's a Mary Cake"

Some previous designs Mary’s created for me have include : a bottle of nail polish for a mani-pedi bridesmaid party, a rifle for a groomsman skeet shooting event, a wedding cake hand lettered with guests names to serve as place card/ favors for a rehearsal dinner, a toothbrush and a hairdryer just to name a few.

I’m currently working with her on creating  bikini cookies for a beach themed boxed bachelorette invitation…can’t wait to show you those!

And as always my calligraphy font, Belluccia, one of myfonts Most Popular Fonts for 2011, is available at : myfonts.com and fontbros.com.

“ONE to grow on” themed Birthday Party Decorations

A regular client, who always comes to me with fun and creative ideas, asked me to make some signs for her one-year-old’s birthday party.  The adorable party theme was “ONE to grow on”. So everything was centered around the word “ONE” and things that have to do with growing and nature: earth, grass, sky, sun, and birds.

I took a whimsical approach to the signs, playing on the names she gave the food items.  Bright colors were a must.

The food signs included: Piggies in a Blanket (my personal favorite), Make your own Frito Pie Bar, and We Wheelie Wheelie Love You Pinwheels. Sweets included: wONEderful Texas Sheetcake, sONEy Days Lemon Bars, Reach for the Skies Lollies, and cupcakes in four different flavors.  Personalized name tags were attached to the children’s party favors while the adults received a box of chocolate with ‘a’ special tag with the birthday girl’s initial.

This was a fun project.  All of these bright, happy colors really livened up my studio and the birthday party!

And as always my calligraphy font, Belluccia is available at : myfonts.com and fontbros.com.

Unique Bridal Party Thank You Gifts

Custom cookie with decorated boxes for bridesmaids

I am thrilled to be working with the darling bride, Michal Booth, and her sweet groom, Corey Schultz.  I’ll be creating their save the date’s  and wedding invitations soon.  In the meantime they wanted to thank their bridesmaids and groomsmen in a special way. These thank you cookies did the trick.

The bridesmaids’ cookies are modeled after the gorgeous dresses they will be wearing at the wedding. I found beautiful fabric in just the right colors to match! The hand lettered boxes include an illustrated flower. A small hand lettered thank you note shared the bride’s thoughts.

Custom cookie for bridesmaid with calligraphy address

Since Corey is in the dental field, what could be better than a toothbrush and small molar cookies for his groomsmen! Wind-up chattering teeth added some fun to the theme.

Custom toothbrush cookies for groomsmen

How cute are the toothpaste tube addresses? These were fun to do 😀

Custom toothbrush cookie with illustrated address

I had so much fun creating these adorable thank you’s. I’m excited to start work on the save the date and wedding invitations.  I’ll be sure to post when they are done.

Belluccia Calligraphy Font

And as always my calligraphy font, Belluccia is available at : myfonts.com and fontbros.com.

Texas Road Trip Travel Gift Bag

We were thrilled to have the pleasure of spending the day with our lovely friends from Italy ( Rome, not Texas:) Franco and Patrizia.  They have enjoyed meeting so many friendly Texans who have visited their beautiful city over the years. They wanted to see for themselves what Texas is all about.  To get them ready for their planned “Road Trip” I presented a take along bag.

The Texas Road Trip Bag

Though my sewing skills are limited, I was still able to create a bag big enough to hold all the necessary items.

Snacks for the road tucked into a Boot Stocking

Snacks included apples and oranges tucked into a Boot Christmas stocking along with some Chocolate Chip Clif Bars.

Water to quench their thirst and It's a Mary Cake Texas themed cookies

Texas themed cookies from “It’s a Mary Cake” provide a little “sweetness” while water bottles lettered with Texas sayings will help quench their thirst.

Willie and George for Easy Listening on the ride

For those times when the radio signal turns weak, we threw in some classic CD’s.  You can’t go wrong with Willie and George:)

A frame for a favorite pic

And because Franco is an avid photographer, I included a Texas themed frame to hold a pic that best captures the fond memories they’ll be making.

Their week-long itinerary will take them through many towns, large and small.   To help them remember all of them, I lettered their itinerary on the back of a metal ornament that best describes their stay: “Eat, Sleep, Ride”

Front of Keepsake Ornament

Keepsake Itinerary

Fort Worth seemed the perfect place to get started.    So after a great breakfast of Dutch Babies and Apple Pancakes at  The Original Pancake House in Uptown we headed West.

The Daily Cattle Drive in the Ft. Worth Stockyards

The Quiet Pool at the Ft. Worth Water Gardens

They LOVED everything!  From the Water Gardens, to doing a little 3 stepping at Billy Bob’s to fajitas at Joe T. Garcia’s.  Stopping at the White Elephant Saloon was a must.  Texas hospitality became more than a saying when the talented Brett Watts, who was performing, gave them a signed CD as a gift for their travels.  How sweet is that!

We ended the long day with some espresso at their hotel, the always classic Fairmont .

Our lovely friends Patrizia and Franco

To our surprise they brought gifts of their own.

Delicious Italian Wines

Two bottles of very special Italian wines from two wonderful wine enthusiasts.

Harmonium Nero D’Avola by the Firriato winery : Harmonium was born out of an act of love towards Sicily and her most important, native red grape variety. The name Harmonium means Harmony, Balance and Perfection.

Arquata Sagrantino Di Montefalco: Grown around the town of Montefalco is the native black grape Sagrantino which produces wines of distinctive splendor, in both sweet and dry styles. Granted DOCG status in 1992, the Montefalco Sagrantino is a powerful wine with great depth.

Lovely Gifts from our Guests

Other thoughtful gifts included an Armani bag in this delicious Fuchsia, Vespi inspired ceramic coffee cups with spoons and a metal postcard “Vespizzatevi” which loosely translated means Seize the Day!

The Postcard and my fond memories of a day spent with lovely people will remain above my work table. Happy Trails Franco and Patrizia!

 

On another note:  There are still some seats open for my December 3 workshop at Paper Source, “the Artful Envelope”.

Here’s the info:

“The Artful Envelope Workshop ” with Debi Sementelli of Lettering Art Studio

Saturday, December 3 from 1 – 4 pm at Paper Source in North Park Center

$55.00 includes all supplies

To reserve your seat please call the store at 214-696-4400 and speak with any one of the lovely people there or register in person.

And as always my calligraphy font, Belluccia is available at : myfonts.com and fontbros.com.

Creative Cookie Invitations

I love working with the gals at DFW Events.  They always call asking for something fun!  These Nail Polish Bottle and Gun cookie invitations, by the always fabulous Mary Holmen of “It’s a Mary Cake” were created for two fun events for the wedding party.  The girls were invited to a mani-pedi party while they guys went skeet shooting. How cool is that? An added tag with all the details, ribbon and some hand lettering complete the package!

Hand lettered calligraphy on cookie invitation by Lettering Art Studio

Nail Polish Cookie invitations for Mani-Pedi Party with hand lettering by Lettering Art Studio

Gun cookie invitation for Skeet Shooting Event

Belluccia ornaments

Here is a pic of my Belluccia font ornaments.  These illustrations can be used on invitations, programs, place cards, menus, table numbers and for any kind of wedding signage.  Check them out where Belluccia is sold: myfonts.com and fontbros.com.  Correspondence Ink is the name of the font foundry with partner Brian Bonislawsky.

Fun Favors for “Blowout” Birthday party

In a previous post I shared the invitations for a “blowout” birthday party at drybar in Dallas.  Since I don’t have girls, I never got to pick party favors with a girly theme.  So I had a great time, looking for head bands, clips and sparkly bobby pins to add to these take home gifts!

Favors for Blowout Birthday party

I needed a good size container to hold all the candy and other goodies. These great clear plastic paint cans with silver lids, found at Michael’s, worked perfectly.   The yellow bags were filled with candy including “Ring Pops” and “Candy Necklaces”.  I used to love those when I was a kid:) The personalization on the bags and charcoal shimmer paper tags kept everyone straight.

Peace, Love and Blowouts

The bags were sealed with round white labels from Paper Source and hand lettered then printed with “peace, love and blowouts!” the party mantra.

Hair themed favors

I must admit I had to check with several girl moms to ask if they knew what 10 year old girls like to put in their hair…”anything that sparkles” was the most common answer.

Snack box

To make transporting snacks easy, I found this darling yellow hat box .

Party Snacks

Goldfish, Crunchy Cheetos and yogurt covered raisins were easily made available while the girls  were having their hair done and provided a little salt to balance the sugar from the candy and cupcakes they’d be eating:)

Happy Birthday Tatum!  Thanks for the fun trip to girl land !

Belluccia calligraphy font

As always, my calligraphy font, Belluccia is available for purchase on myfonts.com and fontbros.com.  Check out the cool free fonts!