Matinae Design Studio

Sugar Rush | V-Day "Sweet Treat" Buffet

2012-02-14T01:43:00.000-08:00

A couple of months ago we were contacted by Cassandra who wanted a Sugar Rush buffet for a Valentine's party she was hosting! She was going to serve an amazing dinner and wanted something sweet to treat her guests too afterwards! We had so much fun planning this sweet buffet with her! We created a buffet that included candy, cupcakes, cake pops, sparkling drinks, and macaroons! We also provided pink glassine bags for her guests to fill, favor boxes filled with tootsie fruit rolls, silver risers, embellished each container with ribbon and rhinestone buckles, and a "love" bunting for the backdrop! I'm going to leave it at that and let the pictures speak for themselves! :) Wishing you all a very *sweet* Valentine's Day!

Monday Matinae Feature | A Rock 'N Roll Baby Shower

2012-01-30T21:40:00.000-08:00

Ashley contacted me last summer and I had the pleasure designing for her baby shower! She e-mailed me this post from Hostess with the Mostess along with a picture of the adorable Michael Miller fabric she had picked out for the nursery as inspiration for the shower. We decided to design using the same color palette from the fabric and to add interest to the design, we used several fonts paired with guitars and stars as the graphic elements.

We also had the opportunity to create a candy bar for the shower! As most of you know, I had been doing candy bars for events by word of mouth but we recently officially launched the business as Sugar Rush Candy and Confection Bars. Ashley had seen candy labels on another blog that featured cute sayings that tied into each type of candy (Ex. "We're going to love Tristan to pieces" for Reese's Pieces, "He'll be cute as a button" for button candy, "We hope he won't be a nerd but are betting he'll be a smartie" for Nerds and Smarties, etc.). Loved this idea! We created coordinating labels for each of the containers that we were providing her with and designed glassine bags for her guests to fill with the candy! Below are several pictures of the designs along with a couple of pictures I was able to take while we set up the candy bar and a few from Ashley herself!

MDS Announcement | 2012 Happenings Thus Far

2012-01-23T13:56:00.000-08:00

Starting this business almost three years ago, I had huge dreams of where it would take us; Clients we were so excited to meet, venues that we wanted to see and have the opportunity to set up at, fellow vendors that we wanted to work with and so much more! Today, I still sit here pinching myself thinking that this could all be a dream. It's hard to believe Matinae Design Studio has taken off as much as it has. I'm feeling beyond blessed! Going into 2012, I knew it was going to be a BIG year but didn't think it would be quite this big of a year and that it would all happen so soon. I mean, we're only 4 weeks into 2012! :)

We have a couple of huge announcements to make and I am keeping my fingers crossed that there will be more announcements to make in 2012!

First and foremost, both of my companies, Matinae Design Studio and Sugar Rush Candy and Confection Bar Rentals have been asked to join an elite group of local vendors that now makes up an organization called "An Officer And A Wedding"! An Officer And A Wedding was created by Andrew of J. Andrew Photography and his wife Joslynn. They've organized quite the group of vendors to sponsor two weddings a year for military couples. This is a cause very close to my heart as both of my grandfathers, along with my cousin and some of my friends, have served. These are couples who have, or are currently, serving our country and have done so much by doing so! Vendors with An Officer And A Wedding will be donating or discounting their products and services to these couples so they can finally have their "dream wedding"! Some of the couples have been married but had to rush and do so before being deployed and didn't get the chance to fully celebrate with their friends and family! The first couple chosen is Eileen and Miguel and we had the honor of meeting with Eileen this week to start her invitation design and talk about other wedding designs that we'll be doing for her! We had such a great time and are beyond excited to be working with them!!

An Officer and A Wedding will also be participating in different charity events year round as well as helping other military couples plan for their big day!

You can "like" An Officer And A Wedding on Facebook by visiting www.facebook.com/anofficerandawedding, follow us on Twitter @OfficerNWedding, and if you'd like to read more about it and how it got started you can read this blog post by Andrew!

We are so excited to be a part of this and to be working with fellow vendors including J. Andrew Photography, Anamie's Sweets, A House of Flowers, Fairy Godmother Day Of Coordination, PM Custom Catering, Kevin Rush Entertainment, Roger “The Lounge Guy” Martin, Sit-N-Grin Photo Booth, The Randall House, and Fino's Menswear! The list of vendors is still growing too!

Our second announcement is we had the opportunity to work on a top secret project this week with some local vendors. Not much can be said about this as of yet, but we promise it will be amazing when we can post the details about it. This too was a huge dream of our's to work with such amazing vendors on such a unique project! I can't wait to be able to share it with all of you!

One more little glimpse of what is to come! Matinae Design Studio will have a whole new blog-site that will launch soon!

We hope everyone else is enjoying 2012 thus far!

Monday Matinae Feature | Rabobank Dinner Party

2012-01-09T21:39:00.000-08:00

Last spring we were contacted by Colleen Bauer (owner of Fairy Godmother Coordinating Service) in regards to designing some elements for a dinner party that Rabobank was having! Colleen works at Rabobank as well and we were thrilled to design for the party which was going to included some pretty important guests!

Colleen selected an apple green and chocolate brown color scheme which was so unique and beautiful for Spring! We designed square menu cards using the color scheme as inspiration that featured calligraphy flourishes that were printed on white metallic cardstock and layered on bronze metallic cardstock. We folded each napkin to create a pocket, tucked the menu cards inside, and tied it off with a satin chocolate brown ribbon. Also designed were coordinating place cards and monogrammed notecard sets for each guest as a favor along with delicious cookies provided by Anamie's Sweets!

We loved working with this group of vendors and how everything turned out!

And one more final picture I took using my phone...

Location | Seven Oaks Country Club

Coordination | Colleen Bauer of Fairy Godmother

Paper Styling | Matinae Design Studio

Cookie Favors | Anamie's Sweets

Floral Design | Uniquely Chic Florist

Linens and Rentals | Walker Lewis Rents

Monday Matinae Feature | Christin + Jason

2012-01-02T11:21:00.000-08:00

Welcome to our first "Monday Matinae" feature! We're starting the year off with Christin + Jason's wedding that took place this last spring. Christin and Jason were wonderful to work with and their wedding featured tons of vintage shabby-chic details! They were married at the historic Woman's Club in downtown Bakersfield, California. The venue was the perfect setting for their wedding and Christin was stunning in her dress, wouldn't you agree? We love the pictures of them with the '47 Pontiac and while we don't typically feature engagement pictures, the pictures from Christin and Jason's "Beloved" session are just to amazing not to post! Wishing Christin and Jason many years of wedded bliss! :) Click here to view product pictures of designs from their wedding. Enjoy!
*All images and video done by Made U Look Photography.

Here are some highlights from their "Beloved" session!

Christin + Jason | Wedding | April 9, 2011

2012-01-02T11:19:00.000-08:00

Christin was referred to me by one of my other brides, Megan, who happened to work with Christin. I was so happy when Christin contacted me in regards to designing her ceremony programs and some other items for her wedding! She explained to me that she was planning her wedding to include vintage details including antique buttons that were handed down to her by her grandmother and would be getting married at the historical Woman's Club in downtown Bakersfield.

We first discussed ceremony programs and designed a four layered landscape program that included a cover, ceremony order, wedding party introductions, and thank you's. A script font paired with a typewriting font were combined with a vintage illustration of a flower and eggplant ribbon to complete the design.

Next was a custom bunting Christin wanted to hang from their sweetheart table at the reception. A double strand bunting spelt out "Just Married". Each panel featured vintage buttons, lace that mimicked the lace on Christin's dress and ribbon rosettes. The panels were strung on the same eggplant ribbon that were used on the programs.

Table numbers were designed as square tent cards layered on eggplant cardstock and featured the vintage flower illustration as well.

Christin also had us design her bridal and toss garters. For the bridal garter we once again used materials that mimicked her stunning dress and added in some vintage buttons for detailing. The toss garter was very similar but was made out of eggplant organza and chiffon.

Click here to view their wedding and vendors!

Love Candee Photography | Logo Design

2011-12-03T17:20:00.001-08:00

You might remember the wonderful wedding invitations below from this wedding that I had the honor of designing for! Well, I got the chance to work for Candice again! You see, she started up her very own photography business, Love Candee Photography and needed a logo designed! I was so excited to work with her again as she always brings unique and creative ideas to the table! This time she wanted a modern logo using a yellow, black, and gray color scheme. After playing around with a few concepts and fonts, we came up with the final product!

If you are looking for a photographer in southern California, I highly recommend you check her blog out! She's quite the talented photographer! Visit the Love Candee Photography blog or "like" her on Facebook!

All images copyright of Love Candee Photography

Halloween: Alice In Wonderland Style, Part 2

2011-10-29T20:48:00.000-07:00

Over a year ago, I got the chance to design birthday invitations and accessories for an adorable set of twins. During that event, a guest at that party (Melanie) noticed my work and asked or my info so she could get in contact with me about her daughter's 8th birthday. Soon after, we met and realized she actually lived on my same street! As we spoke, she told me that her daughter, Maggi, was born on October 27th and they had always had a Halloween inspired party for her but this year she wanted to put a twist on it. I had just seen an Alice in Wonderland inspired paper line that had just hit the stores and when I showed the paper to Melanie she fell in love with the idea of using the paper as our inspiration and turning Maggi's party into a Alice in Wonderland tea party with a Halloween twist!

We designed two panel invitations that were held together with ribbon. The fronts of the panels featured Alice in Wonderland and Halloween elements while the backs featured the invitation wording and information. These were enclosed in small black boxes filled with purple paper shred, tied off with ribbon, and were hand delivered to her guests. A large 3 panel bunting was made for Maggi as well as a three panel bunting that was added to the candy bar/food table. A collage was made and was displayed on an easel next to the food table as well.

After we designed the invitations, Melanie asked if we would be up for designing and setting up the whole party along with coordinating all of the elements! We had been wanting to do something like this for such a long time and we were so excited to get started! The guests were going to include 5 of Maggi's friends and cousins and they were going to need their own table for the tea party which was going to be held at the park right next to her house. The adults were going to hang out inside and all of the guests were going to want some treats!

I just did a project for Anamie Mahanke, owner of Anamie's Sweets. As a swap, I designed for her friend's shower and she designed the most amazing cake and cake pops for this event. After the cake and cake pops were taken care of, we did a Halloween themed - kid friendly menu that consisted of Monster Mash Meatballs with Drippings, Wicked Witch Fingers, Pumpkin Patch Roll-Ups, Frank 'N Mummy Wraps, and Ghost Dip with Raw Dunkers For beverages, we served a Black "Burried" (black berry) Sweet Tea and Blood Orange Punch.

For decor, the table featured floor length black linens with a black glitter overlay that was cinched at each corner and tied off with ribbon. We added white dishes, vases, pumpkin, and a tea pot along with two glitter candelabras, glitter pumpkins, favor boxes that featured each girl's first initial in black glitter on an Alice in Wonderland tag and other accessories. A paper chandelier and two pumpkin paper lanterns that lit up were hung from the tree directly above the tables.

We decided to do a small candy bar for the girls and adults that was placed on a table along with the food and cake! The candy bar included Creepy Crawlers (gummy worms), Goblin Grape Vines (grape licorice), Tarantula Eggs (mixed Halloween colored jelly beans), Dracula's Dark Truffles (dark chocolate truffles), and Bat Bites (white chocolate special edition orange M&M's). Anamie created a two tiered cake that featured chocolate cake with Orea filling and vanilla cake with buttercream and raspberry filling and believe me..this cake was as delicious as it looked! Each guest got a cake pop to take home and those were orange or red velvet cake!

We had such an amazing time designing this event and can't wait to have the chance to do others in the future! Here are some of our favorite pictures from the event before the girls got there!

Halloween: Alice In Wonderland Style, Part 1

2011-10-16T17:42:00.000-07:00

Halloween is almost here! We love this time of the year at MDS! So many fun projects to work on that set the tone for the rest of the holidays! The next three posts will be dedicated to what we've been working on for Halloween this year!

We got another chance to design for one of our very favorite clients, Brittany. We designed for her wedding that took place in May 2010 and had the chance to design baby shower invitations and announcements that will hit the blog soon! When she came over to pick up the announcements, I showed her a sneak peak of something we were working on for a Halloween "Alice in Wonderland" style party. She loved the things I showed her so much, she asked if we could make a hanging decor item with the same theme for her home.

We quickly went to work ordering in the same paper and came up with the 2.5 foot wide hanging banner that featured different panels that included lots of embellishments and the names of each family member, Brittany, Cole, and baby Brayden! Here are the pictures of the final product!

A Lobster Bake Party!

2011-10-11T16:51:00.000-07:00

At the beginning of the summer I was contacted by Denise of Fairy Godmothers who was helping to coordinate a lobster bake party for a client. I was so excited to get a chance to work with Denise and design some lobster themed placecards for the party! We did red tent cards with a matte white placecard that featured a lobster graphic and the name of each guest in a bold red font. Here are pictures of the placecards plus two pictures Denise sent over of them set up at the party! How cute do they look paired with the lobster cookies from Anamie's Sweets!? :)

Jack Daniel's Inspired Surprise Birthday!

2011-10-02T13:31:00.000-07:00

I was contacted by Nicole who was planning a surprise birthday party for her husband and was in need of invitations. She mentioned she was having a Jack Daniel's cake made and we continued with that theme for the invitations! This was such a fun project to work on! We love getting the chance to design for guys just as much as the girls...can you tell by the last two posts? :)

We designed a gatefold invitation that featured all of the party information along with a coordinating belly band, attire insert, and coordinating envelope!

"Will You Be My..." cards for the guys!

2011-10-01T18:25:00.001-07:00

The "Will You Be My..." cards have been so popular this wedding season! They are a great way to ask your friends and family to be a part of your special day and to give them alot of the information they'll need. One of our couples recently came to us and wanted to order cards for her girls but also do cards for the guys! What a great idea! Lakers ended up being the theme for these cards. We created a folded card out of actual basketball textured paper! I designed a Laker inspired logo using the name for each guy and we customized the wording to include some basketball references. :) Here are pictures of the final project including the one we did for the ring bearer!

Here is a teaser of the cards we did for the girls! I'll blog these soon!

Erica's "Will You Be My..." Cards

2011-07-28T18:11:00.000-07:00

Wow, someone please tell me that it hasn't been nearly 4 months since I blogged last!? Well, the bad news is that is true, but the good news is, I haven't blogged because we have been so incredibly busy designing for our clients! It is WAY past time for a new blog post!

A popular trend we are seeing this wedding season is what we call "Will You Be My..."

cards which are cards designed to be given to your friends and family that you'd like to be involved in your big day as part of your bridal party! The first cards we designed this season were for Erica! She has been such a lovely bride to work with so I was super excited when she mentioned that she wanted to order some "Will You Be My..." cards. Erica is having a destination wedding so she needed to include a lot of information for her girls so we opted for a pocketfold card. Erica wrote each girl a beautiful letter that was displayed on the main part of the pocketfold where the invitation typically would go. Erica's wedding invitations featured a goldenrod graphic so we incorporated that same graphic into this design as well to add a personalized touch as their ceremony will be held in a field of goldenrod this fall in New York. Three inserts were also included that featured information about dresses, travel information, wedding date and colors, etc. Each pocketfold featured a custom monogram for each girl and was enclosed in a green metallic envelope that featured purple addressing and return addressing.

Stay turned for more picture of these type of cards including some cards for the guys as well! Yes, these cards aren't just meant for the girls....we've had just as much fun designing some for the guys as well! It is such a fun and personalized way of asking people to be a part of your wedding day!

Woodland Baby Shower

2011-03-30T22:12:00.000-07:00

I had the joy of reconnecting with an old classmate of mine who was expecting her first child! Julianne and her husband live out of the country (all the way in Dubai) so we started chatting through e-mail to gather ideas and info regarding what vision she had for the design. Julianne is an artist herself and I love the direction and inspiration she brought to the project!!

I first met with her sister and mother to discuss the details and then was lucky enough to get to see Julianne and meet with her sister again to finalize everything. Julianne wanted to use earthy, vintage colors and as many eco friendly materials as possible. She also wanted to incorporate a doily/lace border. She illustrated the woodland animals that we incorporated into the design to give it a personal touch..how adorable are they!?

Each of the invitations were enclosed in forest green string tie envelopes that featured recycled kraft paper wrap address labels that matched the invitation panels. We also enclosed an insert as Julianne was having her baby girl here in California and was not going to be able to fly back with many gifts. Julianne, it was a joy getting to see you and design for you! I'm so incredibly happy for you and wish you and your little family, all the best! Here are pictures of the design!

FEATURED EVENT: Candice + Jared

2011-02-28T19:02:00.000-08:00

I had the pleasure of designing pocketfold invitations for Candice and Jared's summer wedding! When Candice and I started talking, she had a variety of really cool and unique ideas that she wanted her invitation design to incorporate. I loved that she made me think outside of the box and was so creative! Candice wanted her invitations to reflect vintage romance with birds, birdcages, and lace! She is a court reporter, and to tie that in, she selected to go with a vintage typewriter font. She had seen this image that featured an invitation that had an image "span" across all of the inserts, and after some playing around with it, we got the same idea to work for her design. After a couple of revisions, the whole design really came together and is still one of my favorite designs we've done to date. The design was brought together with metallic merlot pocketfolds, dove gray cardstock and envelopes, and matte white cardstock. Each pocketfold was finished with a merlot sheer ribbon band. Candice had a family friend do calligraphy on each of the envelopes too!

Candice put so much thought into her wedding. They selected a beautiful venue surrounded by rich colors and vintage details! Candice even sketched the bridesmaid dresses and had them made! It's no wonder that her wedding was featured on so many websites including Project Wedding! We were beyond thrilled to see her wedding and our invitations featured on their website! Click here to see the wedding feature on Project Wedding.

Candice has now started her own photography business, Love, Candee and I am so excited to see where her new business takes her and to be helping her design her new logo! Check out her website!

Below are some professional pictures that the talented, Jordana Hazel of Hazelnut Photography, took of the invitations and wedding! Enjoy!

The Clarke Estate: Venue
Hazelnut Photography: Photography
East Side Marios: Caterer
Flower Allie: Florist
Matinae Design Studio: Invitations
Joey Inez of Mixterious Force: DJ
Maggie Sottero: Bridal Gown
Men's Wearhouse: Suits

Love is all around! {Valentine's Day 2011}

2011-02-12T19:49:00.000-08:00

In honor of Valentine's Day, I wanted to blog three "love" themed projects that we have been working on!

We were contacted by Josh 4 months ago to work on a very special project with him! He was preparing to propose to his girlfriend, Christina and was trying to plan something special for the proposal. He had purchased a box of wine infused chocolates from their favorite winery and wanted us to "dress it up" and create an insert with a note that he had written for her. He was then going to have one of the chocolates featured in the box with her ring sitting on top so that as she opened the box, the proposal would unfold. The box was a beautiful grape color and to keep with the natural vineyard theme that Josh gave us, we added a citron green linen paper belly band to the box that featured dried grape vines, beaded grapes, raw silk ribbon, velvet leaves, and a tag. The proposal was to take place on her birthday so to throw her off, the tag read
"Best birthday wishes to Christina!

With Love, Josh"

When Christina opened the box, she found the note from Josh that featured the words "Marry Me" at the bottom. A single chocolate truffle with her ring were below the note.

Here are the pictures that I took of the box (with my engagement ring) before handing it over to Josh. And in case any of you were wondering...Christina said "YES!".

We also were contacted by two wives that wanted something more "edgy" for their husbands. The first one needed something that was poker themed as she wanted the inside to say "You are the King of my heart! Thanks for giving me a full house!" which we thought was totally adorable. She will be giving this to her husband on Monday along with her boudoir album...he is one lucky guy! The other wanted a card that incorporated edgy metal elements. We used silver metal sheets, mesh, metal die cut letters, and distressed paint to create this card.

Next weekend I'll be posting pictures of a candy buffet that we coordinated that is going to be set up for a "mommy and me" club's Valentine's Day party!

We hope everyone has a fabulous Valentine's Day! XOXO

A Love of Horses {Event Inspiration and Trends}

2011-02-03T15:51:00.000-08:00

Even since before I started this business, I had been saving things related to events and design that were inspiring to me. My Google Reader is filled with over 800 posts that I'm in the process of organizing all filled with posts that feature designs of all kinds, photography, events and recipes that I simply could not "star". :) So today I decided to start posting the things that inspire me and might just inspire you!

My grandparents own a condo in Carpinteria at the Santa Barbara Polo and Racket Club. They purchased it just before I was born and I have been lucky enough to vacation there throughout my life. The condo they purchased was one of the units that actually faced the polo field and many afternoons were spent out on the patio watching polo practices and matches, walking down to the horse stables to feed the horses, and even sometimes getting to ride them. At a very early age, I feel in love with their beauty and just how truly majestic they are.

During our wedding, we briefly thought about getting married at the SB Polo and Racket Club but decided to follow our hearts and get married at our dream location, the Fess Parker Doubletree Resort located just up the coast in Santa Barbara. When we decided to take a "Forever After" shoot, I once again tried thinking of ways to be able to get pictures with some horses but with all of the other locations we wanted to shoot at, that didn't work either. Still, I am obsessed with engagement and wedding pictures featuring horses and even equestrian themed details and event designs!

Image Credit: Red Leaf Studios

Image Credit: This Modern Romance

Image Credit: Jonas Peterson

Image Credit: Jose Villa

Image Credit: Snippet and Ink and Larissa Cleveland

Laurie's Zoo Birthday

2011-01-23T14:43:00.000-08:00

Anyone who has ever been to the Santa Barbara Zoo knows that it is one of the most beautiful and charming zoos out there! With ocean views, plenty of animals and exhibits, and even a train that runs through the property..there is something for everyone to enjoy! I've spent many afternoons there myself so I was thrilled when I was contacted by Jennifer in regards to designing zoo themed birthday invitations for her daughter Laurie. A couple of weeks prior to receiving this order, we were at our local scrapbook store and had come across this super sweet giraffe and flamingo paper. After I showed it to Jennifer, we decided it was PERFECT to use for this order! Jennifer wanted a folded invitation so she could include plenty on information on the inside and mentioned that she wanted ribbon to be used in some way. We came up with a chocolate brown and pink side fold square invitation that featured the scrapbook paper on the front. We finished it off by tying several different types of ribbons and netting to the invitation.

Two Cards & a Bunting!

2011-01-03T17:53:00.000-08:00

We found some pretty cool paper awhile back and pretty much bought everything that was left of it as we knew we'd love to use it for projects that we had coming up! First we made a thank you card out of it, then my mom (aka my business partner) made a birthday card out of it for my husband, and then we had some left and decided to make a birthday party bunting to go with the birthday card. I am still in love with this paper! It features shades of blue, green, cooper, and brown, several different patterns including diamonds and scroll work, and metallic foil finishing. We paired everything with solid navy and green papers that we already had and navy blue square envelopes that we had leftover from a previous order. :)

FEATURED EVENT: Karen + Jameson Wedding

2010-12-26T17:50:00.000-08:00

Last winter one of my very best friends got married! I was so excited to get to design for her and her soon-to-be husband! Karen had seen invitations that had caught her eye at Michael's that featured a swirl graphic. We played around with several swirl graphics and put it together with her wedding colors in a panel invitation with a coordinating RSVP postcard. Everything was enclosed in a black envelope that featured white address labels that also featured the swirl graphic.

Karen and Jameson had a beautiful winter wedding in Rocklin, California. The venue was beautiful as were the purple, black, and teal details of the wedding but none of them were as beautiful as the bride herself! I was beyond thrilled to get to travel to attend the wedding and to witness how incredibly happy Karen and Jameson were on their big day.

Karen was a bridesmaid in my own wedding and loved the candy buffet that we had set up so she rented the candy buffet containers from me and we ended up setting up the table when we got to the venue. It ended up being a huge hit with their guests! They also "rocked the reception" and pulled off an amazing choreographed first dance!

The last names of the bride and groom have been removed from the invitation to protect their identity and to also protect them, I can only leave you with two pictures of the couple on their wedding day. Enjoy!

Whitney Oaks Golf Club : Venue and Catering
Maggie Sottero : Bride's Dress
Matinae Design Studio : Invitations and Candy Buffet Rental

FEATURED EVENT: Kaelyn + Trevor Wedding

2010-12-19T18:03:00.000-08:00

Kaelyn and Trevor were planning a beautiful wedding that was to take place in Montana on a ranch! I met with Kaelyn and her sister while Kaelyn was in town. We all threw around some ideas and she mentioned that she wanted everything to have a rustic country theme to it. Kaelyn decided on a dark green, tan, and chocolate brown color scheme for the designs. The invitations, response postcards, and table numbers all featured a wheat silhouette. We created postcard save the dates for them that were printed on kraft paper that featured a rope border and custom monogram (we used a brand as inspiration for the monogram - an idea that her and her sister came up with which I thought was unique!).

When I saw Kaelyn's wedding pictures, I couldn't wait to feature them. The wedding details paired with the beauty of Montana made for a beautiful event!

The snow capped mountains and beautiful blue skies looked amazing...I now understand why they call it "Big Sky Country"!

The following pictures were shot by Lindsey Jane Photography!

View Kaelyn +Trevor's beautiful wedding video by Couture Motion, here.

Diamond B Weddings: Venue
Lindsey Jane: Photography
Frontier Florist: Flowers
Couture Motion: Videography
Matinae Design Studio: Wedding Design
John’s Angels Catering: Catering and Cake
Northwest Party Rentals: Rentals
Eden Bridals : Bride’s Dress
David’s Bridal: Bridesmaids Dresses

Navy and Pink Paisley {Graduation Card}

2010-12-12T18:49:00.000-08:00

This fall my sister-in-law graduated from college! I wanted to create a whimsical card for her. I created a handmade gate card made out of navy metallic paper that was then lined with pink paper. A metallic navy mat complimented the invitation that featured pink and navy text and paisley designs printed on white cardstock. I finished the design off with some navy and pink ribbons, a pink belly band, and enclosed it in a pink envelope. Here are pictures of the final product. So proud of you, Whitney! xoxo

ECHO {Band Logo}

2010-11-20T16:13:00.000-08:00

A couple of years ago, we came up with this logo for a local band that my brother was in at the time. I came across it the other day (along with tons of other design projects that I did before starting this business) and decided to post it!

Brittany's Baby Shower Invitations

2010-10-30T18:51:00.000-07:00

Wow, needless to say, October was our busiest month yet since starting MDS nearly a year and a half ago! What a way to end the 2010 wedding season! We designed for a wedding every weekend in October along with being the wedding planner for the October 2nd wedding and doing "Day Of" set-up and take down for the October 16th wedding!

I am still trying to catch up on blogging past projects we have worked on along with blogging all of the beautiful weddings we got a chance to design for! A big thank you to our amazing couples and to the rest of our clients that made this summer and fall so busy for us! xoxo

Last February, I was contacted by Brittney in regards to designing her baby shower invitations! She wanted her invitations to reflect a black, white, and pink theme along with a damask motif. She also wanted a special little saying included in the wording on the invitations as she was requesting that instead of cards, guests bring a baby book signed by them for baby Rylee! I thought that was such a cute idea! The invitations were enclosed in envelopes that featured wrap labels with the same damask motif to coordinate it all together.

Here is what Brittney had to say about MDS on her Facebook page after picking up her invitation! Thanks, Brittany! We LOVED working with you and hope to design for you again!

FEATURED EVENT: Brittany + Cole's Wedding

2010-09-19T15:50:00.000-07:00

Where do I start, Brittany and Cole have to be two of the sweetest people on earth! I had so much fun designing for them and getting to know them over the course of the year while they planned for their big day! Brittany and Cole decided to go with a chocolate brown, gold, and champagne color theme in their designs. We designed chocolate brown signature style pocketfolds featuring gold and champagne cardstock. We finished the pocketfolds off with gold custom embossing, hand placed pearl accents, and a gold belly band. Menus consisted of champagne cardstock with pearl accents as well. They selected a 5 layer program that featured a chocolate brown cardstock cover that also had custom embossing on it. We created coordinating reserved seating signs for the family tables as well.

As soon as Brittany contacted me, she said that she was interested in renting the candy buffet that we offer. Stay tuned for the fun candy themed save the dates we designed for them! When it came to the flowers and candy, she wanted tons of color! We worked with her to coordinate all of the candy, unwrapped hundreds of pieces of candy, and provided the set up and break down of the candy buffet at their reception location. We also created ivory glassine bags (Brittany selected a quote for us to print on them to tie everything together), a banner for the front of their candy buffet table, and labels for the jars. We also folded all of the gold napkins and placed those, along with the menus, at the tables. We offer many services to help bride's during the planning process. The couple also rented our chocolate brown ornate wrought iron easel and frame set to display one of their engagement pictures in.

Brittany and Cole, it's been an honor to design for you and to get to know you! Your wedding day was beautiful and I can't wait to see where life takes the both of you! Best wishes and lots of love!!

Here are the pictures I took of our products from their wedding.

Here are the pictures from the wedding day courtesy of Artisan Photography!

Riverlakes Community Church : Ceremony Location
Moorea Banquet Centre : Reception Location
PM Custom Catering : Catering
Artisan Photography : Photography
Matinae Design Studio : Design, Candy Buffet, and "Day Of" Services
Flowerscapers : Florist
Little White Dress : Bridal Gown
Mr. Tuxedo : Suits
Jeff Woods : Music
Walker Lewis Rents : Linen Rentals

MDS Announcement: Out Of The Office

2010-08-29T01:50:00.000-07:00

I will be out of town celebrating my 2nd year anniversary with my husband starting Sunday morning! We'll be celebrating in beautiful Santa Barbara where we were married! I will return late Monday and will return all e-mails on Tuesday! A little getaway is going to be so nice and I promise to return more inspired and re-energized!! :)

Jenipher's Quinceanera Card

2010-08-22T19:54:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to blog something since it's been too long since I have done so! This wedding season is keeping us so busy here at MDS! Here is a card that we made for Jenipher for her quinceanera that took place a couple of months ago. I had the pleasure of helping her mom with the invitations and I will blog those soon too! We wanted to make a fun black, white, and yellow card that featured a pocket that could hold money or a gift card. The money tucks into a small holder that fits into a pocket at the top of the card. This is what we came up with!

Logo Design {Sit, Stay and Go}

2010-07-22T14:13:00.000-07:00

Allie Hanson is just about to launch her pet services business that will include pet sitting, pet walking, mobile grooming services, and training. She came to me to design her logo! I was really excited to work with her on this project because it was going to give me the chance to do something different! Allie wanted to use a silhouette of her dog, Barkly, in her design. She also wanted something that would be colorful and playful so we used red, chocolate brown, white, and paw prints to finish the design. Here is the final design! *The phone number has been changed as Allie hasn't officially launched the business as of yet.

Lainie's Last Blast {Bachelorette Weekend Invites}

2010-07-01T20:45:00.000-07:00

Diane (Lainie's mom) contacted me back in February about designing invitations for the bachelorette weekend that her and Lainie's maid of honor were planning for Lainie. I've never been to Las Vegas and what these girls had planned for Lainie made me jealous to say the least! :) Lainie and her girls are heading from Laguna Beach to Vegas in a limo, staying at the Bellagio Hotel for two nights and are taking in many of the sights and activities that Vegas has to offer!

After discussing the details with Diane, we noted that there was a lot of information that she wanted included so we opted for a pocketfold invitation. Her only request was that the invitations were eye catching but without using pink or black. We searched around and found this fun paper that featured a lime green glitter scroll design that was outlined in purple. Perfect! We paired it with a lime green pocketfold and matching envelope, purple metallic cardstock, sheer purple ribbon and a wrap label.

Cheetah Invitations and Thank You Cards

2010-06-23T16:32:00.000-07:00

Now that the new blog-site is launched, it's time to catch up on featuring some of the projects we've been working on over the last 7 months!

I was contacted by Vicki from New York in November. She was planning a surprise 60th birthday party for her mother, Wendy, and wanted to know if I could design something incorporating red, black, and cheetah print as those were her mom's favorite print and colors. Vicki had come across our blog and liked the look of the "Flirting With Forty" birthday invitations that we had done previously and asked for her invitations to be done in a similar way. After the party, I was contacted by Wendy to design matching thank you cards to be sent to the guests who were able to make it. Here are pictures of the invitations and matching thank you cards!

MDS Announcement and a Birthday!

2010-06-19T18:16:00.000-07:00

After a long hiatus and a lot of hard work, MDS is back with a brand new look and many new products! We are celebrating our one year anniversary here at Matinae Design Studio by launching the new blog-site, new business cards, fliers that will be featured at Baby Sightings, and much more! Our new home studio is almost complete as well!

Click on the network icons located in the blog footer to become a fan on facebook or to follow us on Twitter. You can also sign up to follow us via Google's Friend Connect feature below. Leave us comments and let us know what you think of the new blog-site!

We'd like to take this time to thank each and every one of our customers that we've had the honor of designing for over the last year! Our clients are amazing! We look forward to seeing what the next year will bring...new clients, more networking opprotunities, and new events!

With that said, here are pictures of an order we completed this month for Calleigh's 21st birthday celebration! We went with a square metallic aqua petal enclosure that featured a top fold card on the inside. The folded card was made out of this adorable lime green and aqua paper we found that featured wrapped presents with aqua glitter accents that also just so happened to be double sided with a matching pattern on the reverse.

So we no longer have to blur out personal information, the pictures shown don't include the actual address or phone number of the client.

Hollywood Glam {Thank You Cards}

2010-03-23T16:45:00.000-07:00

As most of you probably remember, my husband and I shot a "Forever After" shoot for our 1 year anniversary back in August! Jordana Hazel of Hazelnut Photography was our photographer for the shoot and Moira Taylor did my hair and make-up - both extremely talented and lovely ladies! If you are looking for a photographer or make-up artist in California, I highly suggest both of them! After our shoot, I wanted to thank them for all of their hard work and for making our shoot exactly what we wanted it to be so I got to thinking about designing thank you cards for them. I had found this flocked art deco patterned paper months prior and had been saving it for something special. I used this as my inspiration and found a cream colored velvet ribbon, black netting, and rhinestone buttons to finish them off! I really fell in love with the final product. I wish I could afford a whole stash of this paper because it was just that beautiful!

If you didn't read about our Forever After shoot, you can read about it here and here!

FEATURED EVENT: Ethan's 1st Birthday

2010-03-15T21:42:00.000-07:00

Wow, I haven't blogged in so long! I apologize for not keeping up with it and promise to update more in the future! Now that I'm back, I wanted the first post to be our first feature! :)

I was contacted by Lindsey in October to design birthday invitations for her son, Ethan's, 1st Birthday! She had selected a pirate theme and the party was going to be held at Pump It Up! I found these individual cartoon pirate characters and accessories and created little "scenes" to use on the inside and outside of the invitation. Lindsey sent me the wording that she wanted and we paired it with a font that tied it all together! We also aged the ivory paper to give it a treasure map look. The invitations were enclosed in black envelopes that feature aged ivory address labels that featured the same font.

-Lindsey, I had so much fun designing these invitations and I am so glad that Ethan had an amazing 1st birthday! Thank you as always for all of your continued support of Matinae Design Studio! I really appreciate it! :) Thanks for allowing me to "steal" your pictures so that I could feature them!

Here are pictures from the party! Ethan is so cute and look at the adorable cakes Lindsey had at the party - a pirate and a treasure map/pirate hook cake!!!

Wedding Invitation Samples

2010-01-22T18:48:00.001-08:00

Here are four wedding invitations that I created as samples for my friend Karen who got married this month. I will blog the actual wedding invitations that we created for her and feature her wedding soon! When I first talked to her she mentioned a pattern that she saw at Michaels that she liked, I thought it was the ever so popular damask design. She was also going with a black and white theme so here is what we did...

Treasures Of The World [Birthday Card]

2010-01-01T15:17:00.000-08:00

We celebrated my grandmother's birthday a couple of months ago with a nice lunch at Cafe Med (yum!) and a special cake that that my mom and I had made for her afterwards. Her favorite color is purple and we chose to go with a "Treasures Of The World" theme. My grandmother also has a love of jewelry so we used a black filigree charm as part of the card that she could later make into a necklace. Here are pictures of the final project!

For Papa {Get Well Card}

2009-12-06T12:19:00.001-08:00

My husband's grandfather had hip surgery a couple of months ago and we wanted to send our thoughts and prayers to him in Texas so I made a custom card with this unique cardstok I found that featured stripes in metallic and non-metallic colors. We paired it with a green friendly "kraft paper" type of cardstock and then finished it off with some stamping that was done with metallic copper ink and an envelope liner. I really loved how this one turned out! I could use that paper again and again if I had the chance!

Matinae Design Studio {Announcement!}

2009-11-29T10:56:00.000-08:00

Some big changes are taking place for Matinae Design Studio and I thought I'd take some time out to tell our wonderful clients what is to come!

The biggest change coming MDS's way is a STUDIO! That's right, we've been busy constructing a home studio that will be a wonderful place to work, design, and meet with our clients! It's been a long process but has been so much fun and is sure to be very rewarding.

We are also in the middle of re-branding MDS. You'll soon find a new look on the website and blog. New business cards are also in the works. Some local businesses have even offered to allow me to place my cards in their shops so soon you'll be seeing MDS business cards around town! Thank you to all of the love and support that people have offered me. Networking with other businesses (local and not so local) has been such a blessing.

We'll also soon be on ETSY!! We'll be opening a shop there soon that is sure to be filled with new products! We have so many new ideas and techniques that we can't wait to try out!

We hope everyone has a Happy Thanksgiving and for those of you who had a long weekend, I hope you enjoyed it! I can't believe the holiday season is already underway!

XOXO,
Jenae Bingham

Karen's Birthday Card

2009-11-29T10:41:00.000-08:00

My very good friend, Karen, celebrated her birthday in October! I designed this card for her. The card also featured a wrap address label. I also designed her wedding invitations that I will feature on the blog soon. The big day is January 10th, 2010 and I am so excited for her!

Kelley Elizabeth [Bridal Shower Invitations]

2009-11-16T01:18:00.000-08:00

Maid of Honor, Ashley, came to me to see about designing bridal shower invitations for her bestfriend's bridal shower. She wanted to use the ever popular damask pattern. I showed her some of the damask patterns that I had and she fell in love with this one. The invitation was a 5x7 invite printed on heavy white cardstock. Ashley told me that Kelley loved the classic vintage feel of damask patterns but also liked polka dots and of course lots of PINK! We added a lighter pink polka dot border around the oval and accented her name with the same color pink outline.

-Ashley, it was a pleasure to work with you to create these bridal shower invitations! I hope Kelley's bridal shower was a success yesterday! You've done such a good job as maid of honor! :) Kelley, I hope you enjoyed your shower! I hope your big day is all that you have dreamed it to be! Congrats! :)

Clayton Chase [Baby Announcement]

2009-11-09T18:27:00.001-08:00

This is a project that we did in September that I'm just now getting around to blogging. David and Carly had just welcomed their first baby into the world - one of the most handsome baby boys you have ever seen! Carly wanted me to design a unique "newspaper" formatted announcement using baby blue, chocolate brown and tan colors. This was probably one of the most fun baby announcements that I have designed yet as I got to design with a mixture of colors and fonts! Here is the final product!!

Caleb's 3rd Birthday [Handmade Card]

2009-11-04T17:27:00.000-08:00

My cousin, Kristin, and her husband Phil, had a baby boy 3 years ago. This little boy is the most adorable thing that you have ever seen and he and his family have been through to much! Caleb recently had a heart transplant. In his first 3 years of life, Caleb and his family have had to endure things that most of us can't even imagine! From countless doctor visits and testing, to being transported by medial helicopter to being put on the waiting list for a heart transplant to then receiving one - Caleb, Kristin and Phil have handled it in the most amazing way! I can't tell you how proud of them I am and how happy I am that my little cousin is now finding out what it truly means to be a kid!

His 3rd birthday party was held in August. It was a huge party! Unfortunately, my husband and I had already made plans months before to be in Santa Barbara celebrating our anniversary but my mom was able to go and said it was amazing! We both created this card for her to take to Caleb. This birthday card was given to him along with a "telegram" that we created telling him and his parents that he would be receiving a very special and vintage train set from our family. The whole party had a cowboy theme to it and was held at the fair grounds in a barn. There was face painting, a petting zoo, a huge multiple tired cowboy cake, and so much more! You can click here to read about the party,click here to follow Caleb's story through his mother's blog entries on Care Pages, or click here to read more about Caleb on his website!

Here is the telegram which was printed on aged and distressed paper. I don't have an actual picture of that. :(

Kayla's Baby Announcement

2009-10-21T18:09:00.000-07:00

I was contacted by one of the sweetest couples ever to design a baby announcement for their newborn baby girl, Kayla! Jen told me that she wanted the announcements to be brown, pink, and girly so we opted for a square announcement that featured a brown and pink floral and polka dot print. The announcements were put in chocolate brown square envelopes that featured pink wrap address labels with brown print. The front of the wrap label was also accented with the pattern that was featured on the announcement.

Jennifer and Cole - Congrats on your new arrival! Kayla is so adorable! I hope the both of you are enjoying every minute of being new parents!

Cheetah Mosaic [Birthday Card]

2009-10-10T01:59:00.000-07:00

My future sister-in-law celebrated her birthday in August. She loves cheetah print so we created a cheetah mosaic card for her. Yes, we cut out every single piece of paper to create it! Haha Once everything was cut, the design fell into place and we then added glitter. The inside of the card was gold vellum and the card was finished off with some gold metallic ribbon.

-Mariah, I hope you had a wonderful birthday! We still owe you a birthday dinner! :) I'm glad you had fun celebrating in Santa Barbara!

Michael + Jennifer [Save the Dates]

2009-10-02T17:51:00.001-07:00

These save the dates have to have been one of the most fun projects yet! Mike and Jen contacted me about creating save the dates for their wedding. When they told me that they were going to be using the red and turquoise color scheme that seems so popular right now, I jumped at the chance to create something for them! Jen e-mailed me a picture of a paper flower that she had seen and wanted to incorporate that into her save the dates. I gathered my supplies - some stickers, ribbon, 5 different patterned papers, 1 solid paper, and red envelopes and this is what developed....

These save the dates feature a huge layered paper flower on the front of them complete with a ribbon center. The saying "Love is Blooming!" is used on the front. On the back, more paper flowers are featured along with their save the date information. We used bright red envelopes with turquoise wrap address labels that had polka dot sticker accents on them. We used a coordinating paisley print paper for the envelope liners and cut out the paisley print to use as leaves for the flowers. I am so proud of how these turned out and it kind of makes me want to get married all over again. :)

-Mike and Jen, thank you so much for allowing me to create your save the dates. Your wedding is going to be so fun and unique. I wish you both all of the best!

Click on the thumbnails below to view larger pictures.

Cole + Brittany [Dinner Party Invitations]

2009-09-24T19:31:00.001-07:00

Cole and Brittany are one of the engaged couples that I'm working with right now. They have been such a fun and sweet couple to work with! Brittany contacted me in regards to designing dinner invitations for her. She wanted them to be bright and have a fun pattern to them. The dinner was to be an "end of summer" dinner, but what her guests didn't know, was that the dinner was really the chance for Cole and Brittany to ask all of them to be a part of their bridal party. How cute! I got Brittany's request about 11 days before the dinner was to take place so I needed to make them super fast! I ran to the store, found bright striped paper, and ran home to print them. I think I had them ready within 24 hours. I love when projects go that well!

We printed the invitations on white cardstock and then double matted them on a red/orange cardstock and then the bright striped paper. The striped paper has an underlying polka dot pattern to it as well. This paper was double sided, so even the backs of the invitations were colorful and fun! Sorry about some of the pictures being overexposed! Some of the client's information is blurred out to protect their privacy.

Tom + Ellie [25th Anniversary]

2009-09-24T19:18:00.000-07:00

Tom and Ellie celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary in June and to celebrate the occasion, their son planned a party with close family and friends at a local restaurant in Ventura. I was contacted to make invitations to send out and the only request was that they were stylish (and on the simple side) and were square. We printed the invitations on this beautiful steel blue/silver metallic paper. We kept the font on the simple side and added a rub on embellishment to add a bit of style. We matted the invitations on black cardstock and put them in black square envelopes.

The quality of the pictures I took are horrible but I hope you'll be able to get the idea of what they looked like. They were beautiful in person! Some of the client's information has been blurred out to protect their privacy.

Jim's 50th Birthday Invitations

2009-09-22T23:58:00.000-07:00

Jim's wife contacted me regarding a celebration she had planned for his 50th birthday. They were going to be celebrating with close family and friends at a ranch in the mountains. She wanted something earthy and simple. We found this green paper that was actually fabric that has a special backing on it that allows it to run through a printer. We printed the invitation in chocolate brown ink and added an oak tree to the top of it as the ranch property features many oak trees. We finished it off by adding a recycled tan paper matte and some twine. Up close, you can see that the fabric "paper" frays a tiny bit. How cool! It's always fun to work with new materials!

[Some of the client's info is blurred out to protect their privacy.]

Thank You Cards

2009-09-19T07:54:00.000-07:00

In August my uncle suddenly passed away due to a massive heart attack that he had while sleeping. They were able to bring him back to life but after a week of being in the hospital his scans showed no brain activity so the family decided to take him off of life support. My uncle lived in Charlotte, North Carolina. We didn't get to meet his girlfriend or his life long friends. Before my uncle was taken off of life support, my grandfather decided that he needed to go out to NC to take care of my uncle and everything that comes along with a passing of a loved one. I was worried about him as he had just turned 80 and this was going to be the first time he'd be traveling alone without my grandmother as she can no longer fly. I was worried about him making it out there under the stress of it all and being alone when he got there. This ended up not being the case! Once my grandfather reached NC, my uncle's girlfriend encouraged him to come and stay at Andrew's house with her. Her grown son had flown in to help out and within days, two of my uncle's life long friends were also there helping out. Soon enough my grandfather had 4 individuals that he had never met, take him in, take care of him, and help him with the passing of his son. It's amazing that through Andrew's passing, 4 individuals came together to take care of one another...all because they loved Andrew.

This was a hard time for my family. Andrew was a great man - hardworking, caring, and loving. On top of that, this was the 3rd child my grandfather was lost. To say that he'll be missed is an understatement. This time was easier on all of us because of these 4 individuals though and for that, we wanted to thank them.

Once returning home, we knew that we wanted to send cards out to these individuals...a thank you for taking care of my grandfather, for loving my Uncle Andrew, and to share our sympathies with them. We hand made cards for each person using a leaf motif as my uncle loved the natural beauty and fall colors of North Carolina. We used a wrap label for the addressing and included a envelope liner.

Also included in this entry is a thank you card for a neighbor of my grandparent's who sent flowers and offered his condolences. We used a damask inspired print for his card.

[As always, some info may be blurred out to protect the privacy of the recipients.]

Anne + Brian [Wedding Invitation Suite]

2009-09-16T00:46:00.001-07:00

First ad foremost, thank you to all of you who sent me so many comments/messages on the blog, Facebook, Myspace, and Twitter regarding the previous post about Bri's birthday invitations! The response to the invitations was amazing and put it a really big smile on my face today! :)

Now on to today's post which features Anne and Brian's wedding design suite! This is one of the most fun projects yet - but was also the biggest order we have had (besides my own wedding)!! I am beyond thrilled with the way everything came together and the fact that Anne and Brian love the items as much as I do, is icing on the cake! They'll be getting married in San Diego next year. They're going with a chic and contemporary black, white, and yellow theme. I had this scroll work design on my computer and when I showed it to Anne, she loved the look of it.

-Anne and Brian, you both were a joy to work with! Thanks for allowing me the honor of designing all of these items for your wedding. I know your big day is going to be so beautiful and I wish you guys many years of love and happiness!

Click HERE to view a full size image of the whole suite! From the top left we have the wedding invitation and envelope (front and back featuring a wrap label, envelope liner, and custom postage stamp), favor label/monogram, save the date and envelope, menu, table name, custom postage stamp, program cover, and the RSVP postcard (front and back). Not pictured is the seating chart that I'll be making as her date gets closer, candy buffet labels and possible place cards.

Bri's "Flirting with Forty" Invitations

2009-09-14T19:47:00.000-07:00

Bri's friend, Susan, along with some other friends are planning to have a girls night out in celebration of Bri's 40th Birthday! Susan came to me wanting fun but chic birthday invitations and said that Bri loved Zebra print. We found this ribbon and ran with it! We used a combination of cardstock including crocodile paper and completed it with some black feathers.

-Happy 40th Birthday, Bri! I hope you girls have tons of fun while out and having the night to yourselves! What a great way to celebrate!

[Some information is blurred out to protect the client's privacy.]

Matt + Jenae [Our 1st Anniversary!]

2009-09-06T17:23:00.000-07:00

Matt and I returned home from our anniversary trip on Tuesday and are now trying to get back into the swing of things. We enjoyed two days in Carpinteria, got to enjoy a huge breakfast at the Fess Parker Doubletree Resort using our free breakfast coupon that was included in our wedding package, got to meet a wonderful bride who I had met through TheKnot.com who was getting married at the Biltmore on the 29th, got to stay at the Fess Parker for free using our points one night and then for half price the other night thanks to our wonderful catering manager, Chuck Henderson, at the Fess Parker and so much more! Our floral designer created a beautiful bouquet and bout for our shoot and our wedding baker even sent over a anniversary cake to thank us and thanking her. Isn't it funny how that works sometimes? :)

Our vacation was so relaxing and we are so beyond pleased with the pictures that we got from our Forever After/Trash the Dress session with Hazelnut Photography! Moria Taylor glammed me up! She is a joy to work with as is Jordana Hazel! I highly recommend both of them!! They were so fun and easy to be around! Jordana blogged a few of our pictures on the Hazelnut Photography blog and now we're waiting on the rest of them to be sent to us! Here are our two favorites so far...can't wait to see more!

For those of you getting married or who are newlyweds, I highly suggest doing a session like this. It was so much fun to get all dressed up again and to be able to take pictures in different locations that you wouldn't typically be able to shoot at on your wedding day. It was so nice not to have to worry about anything getting dirty or messed up too.

We had a wonderful first anniversary! I can't believe how fast this first year has gone by. I am so thankful to have such a loving and supportive husband! I'm already looking forward to our next vacation/adventure! :)

Rachel + Thomas [Wedding Invitation Suite]

2009-09-06T17:11:00.000-07:00

Rachel and Thomas are getting married next month in Bakersfield. Rachel contacted me about designing their invitations, response cards, table numbers, and favor tags in July using a aqua blue and chocolate brown color scheme with polka dots! We printed everything on aqua metallic cardstock and matted it on bronze cardstock. Being that they were printed on metallics, the pictures didn't come out super well (still waiting on buying a new and better camera!) but I hope you enjoy them. I love the favor tags that feature the saying "thanks for being here to celebrate with us and for being a bright *spot* in our day" The *spot* is actually a polka dot! Love it!

Rachel and Thomas - congrats on your up and coming big day! I hope it's everything that you have ever dreamed of! :)

[Some of the client's information may be blurred out for privacy reasons.]

Click the thumbnails below to view larger image files.

Long Time, No Posts!

2009-08-26T22:00:00.000-07:00

Hi blog friends,

I wanted to take a quick moment out to make a new post. We've been busy here at Matinae Design Studio!! We've stocked up with new inventory, have started using some fresh and new techniques, and have booked new clients! We're so very excited to share these new projects with you and are hoping to continue to book projects and help people out with all of their design and printing needs!

My husband and I leave for vacation on Friday to celebrate our first wedding anniversary! Our wedding was also featured on Pretty Chicky yesterday! What an honor to have been featured on Pretty Chicky's website. Thanks to Shari at PC for featuring us. A little post about Matinae Design Studio is also supposed to be posted but I haven't seen it yet. So excited! I'll be out of town from August 28th - September 1st and will have very limited computer access so if you e-mail us but don't hear back from me right away, don't worry! I promise to get back to everyone on September 2nd! I'll also catch up on blogging at that time. In the mean time, I'm off to pack for our beautiful trip to Santa Barbara, Carpinteria, and LA! We're also sneaking in a "Trash the Dress" session with Jordana Hazel of Hazelnut Photography. She's an amazing photographer out of Hollywood. Check out her blog to view her wonderful photography. If you love her and her work as much as I do and would like to book her, she is available for travel! Her sister, Moira, is also coming to do my hair and make-up and is also available to book!

Stay tuned! When I get back, we'll also be posting early holiday specials for those of you who want to get a head start on holiday party invitations, Christmas or other holiday cards, custom gift wrapping, and so much more! We'll also be taking orders for graduation announcements for the graduating class of 2010!

Have a wonderful weekend!

XOXO,
Jenae of Matinae Desing Studio

Rochelle [Business Cards, Flyers, and Signs]

2009-08-08T19:20:00.000-07:00

Rochelle is a local manicurist who was in need of some promotional items. She was fresh out of business cards so I designed some zebra bordered business cards that were printed on premium pearl metallic card stock. They were double sided cards with her information on the front while the back featured the client's appointment information (type of service, day and time). She currently works at two salons so we made cards for both of them. I cut each of the 500 cards out individually. I made a coordinating zebra print box to hold the majority of her cards too!

Rochelle offers "Princess Days" as part of her services. Princess Days occur once every month or so and are days where little girls can come in to get their nails and hair done along with face painting. The cool part is that Rochelle and the rest of the girls at the salon dress up in full princess costumes! They look like they have come straight from Disneyland! She needed flyers and two signs made for advertisement. We left some blank space on the sign so she could add pictures of their past princess days. Here is what we came up with for her....

She also offers Rock Star Nail parties so we designed flyers for that as well. Both the rock star and princess flyers were accented with glitter after printing.

You can call Rochelle at the number featured on her card for information regarding her services! She's a great manicurist!

Sara + Marc [Wedding Invitations & Guestbook]

2009-07-25T19:33:00.000-07:00

I had posted the invitations that I had made for Sara and Marc's wedding last month but Sara came back to order more invitations. I got to print the address and return address on these. They were both printed in the same simple font that was featured on the invitation but the return address was printed on the back flap of the envelope. I also created a custom guestbook for her. The guestbook pages featured their names and date at the top with ribbon trim that matched the ribbon that was added to her invitations. I designed a monogram for the front of the album and we also included the monogram on the first page. Each page has a picture place holder. Sara will add some of her favorite wedding pictures after their big day in place of the picture holder.

Click here to view the first post featuring Sara and Marc's wedding invitations.

[Some of the client's information may be blurred to protect their privacy.]

Matinae Design Studio [Business Cards]

2009-07-22T18:04:00.000-07:00

So with business picking up, it was time for me to break down and take some time out to design and print my own business cards. I choose to print my cards on a dark purple metallic paper and to feature a scroll work design on the front of the card. The cards are double sided but of course I printed them before I got the website up and running so that isn't featured on these. I'll be printing more this week that feature the web address for the website too. After they were printed, I added rhinestone accents to the front of the card!

Megan + Josh [Wedding Design Suite]

2009-07-22T17:56:00.000-07:00

I has posted a sneak peak at this design last week and got some wonderful feedback on it from the blog readers and those who follow us on Myspace and Facebook. Here's the whole design suite that I came up with for Megan and Josh. The suite includes a panel invitations, table numbers, favor tags, place cards, programs, and response cards (not pictured). I simply love how chic these turned out. Everything is double matted on dark pink Bling cardstock and matte black cardstock.

[Some info may be blurred out to protect the client's privacy.]

Marissa's Birthday Invitations

2009-07-22T17:39:00.000-07:00

Marissa is turning 21 and will be celebrating by having dinner and drinks with some of her closest friends at the Elephant Bar. Her favorite colors are lime green and chocolate brown so we found this ribbon and ran with it! Please excuse some of the imperfections on this invite. We were testing out what adhesive would work best.

-Marissa, have a Happy Birthday and welcome to the "21 and over" club!

[Some info may be blurred out to protect the client's privacy.]

Heather [Bridal Shower Invitation]

2009-07-13T21:38:00.000-07:00

Heather's wedding colors are dark pink and orange which I loved (I wonder why...could it be because they were my colors too?) :) I happened upon this glitter embellished damask print paper and fell in LOVE. My only regret is that I would have found it in time for MY wedding...haha! The invites featured dark pink text printed on mango colored card stock. We then matted a piece of the damask print paper onto some raspberry card stock and added that to the invitation. I love how simple by stylish they turned out!

-Congrats, Heather and have a blast at your bridal luncheon!

[Client's information has been blurred out for her privacy.]

Megan + Josh Wedding Invitations [Sneak Peek]

2009-07-10T22:13:00.000-07:00

Megan contacted me about designing invitations, table numbers, programs, place cards, and favor labels for their upcoming wedding. When I asked her about design details and inspiration for their wedding she mentioned that her colors were black, white, and dark pink. I suggested using damask print and 2 hours later, I had everything designed! I was so excited about these. They're like nothing I have ever designed before and I just love how they turned out! The only thing that makes it even sweeter is that Megan loves them even MORE than I do! :)

I haven't had the chance to take pictures of everything yet but wanted to post a sneak peak! If you are a bride and would like this design, we can print the damask print on white, ivory, or colored paper. We can also colorize the damask print itself. The possibilities are endless with this design!

[The date has been blurred out for their privacy.]

Kara's Bachelorette Dinner Invitations

2009-07-10T21:50:00.000-07:00

I was contacted by a high school classmate of mine who was co-hosting a bachelorette dinner for a friend of hers. She had wanted the colors to be purple, black, and grey. The dinner itself was going to be a wine and lingerie themed. Megan put together this great picture combining both of the themes. I LOVE it! I printed the text using black print with the bride to be's name in purple print. I also added a purple border to the picture and printed the invitation on grey card stock. I then accented it with purple matting. The invitations were then sealed in white envelopes that featured the addresses with a surrounding purple border and a cute corset accent with the return address featured on the back flap.

-Megan, thank you so much for contacting me and letting me design these invitations! It was fun getting to re-connect with you! I hope Kara, you, and the rest of the girls enjoy the dinner!

[Information has been blurred to protect her privacy.]

Josh's "Dino" Birthday

2009-07-07T01:02:00.000-07:00

I was so excited when I found out that Josh's parents wanted to go with a dinosaur theme for his 4th birthday. I had found some dino themed items at the store and wanted a reason to purchase them. These embellishments are made out of a leather textured material. The text is printed in chocolate brown and I loved how it popped against the vintage washed colors.

[Some client's information is blurred out for privacy reasons.]

Colton & Calliegh's "Cowgirl and Cowboy" Birthday

2009-07-07T00:45:00.001-07:00

Twins Colton and Calleigh are about to celebrate their 6th birthday out at a family ranch. Their mom wanted something that coordinated for the both of them. I went shopping and came across matching paper that was for a cowgirl and a cowboy along with bandanna and denim inspired paper...perfect! Instead of thank you cards, she wanted scrapbook pages that matched the invites. This is what we came up with....

[Some client information is blurred out to protect their privacy.]

Caylee's "Wild Side" Sweet 16 Birthday

2009-06-30T23:51:00.001-07:00

Caylee wanted to have a birthday invitation for her sweet 16 party that was chic, bold, and wild. She wanted as much animal print as possible, loved pink and black, and said that she loved polka dots (she's a girl after my own heart)! I went shopping for supplies the next day and was able to find some cheetah and zebra print papers as well as some bold hounds tooth paper. I mixed those with some other accent papers and cut polka dots out and layered them along the side of the invitation. The whole invitation is matted on black Bling paper to give it some sparkle. Some of the polka dots also are printed on glossy paper. We printed some polka dots using the same patterns on the envelopes as well. I love how these turned out!

[Some of the client's information is blurred out for privacy.]

Jordan's "Blast Off" Birthday

2009-06-30T23:38:00.000-07:00

Jordan's mom had planned a space themed birthday for Jordan's 3rd birthday and after contacting me, I went out and just happened upon rocket themed paper...I LOVE it when that happens! A couple of hours later, we had invitations and matching thank you cards for Jordan's party.

[As always, some of the client's information has been blurred out for their privacy.]

Emma [Birth Announcement]

2009-06-27T00:14:00.000-07:00

Mark and Jessica just welcomed their first daughter into the world! Little Emma is so cute and had this great picture taken of her that her parents wanted to show off. I took the color of the picture as inspiration and this is what I made to serve as her birth announcement.

[As always, some client information may be blurred out to protect their privacy.]

Click on the thumbnails below to view larger files.

Hannah's Birthday Invitations

2009-06-26T23:46:00.000-07:00

Hannah's mom, Kathy, came across my blog and was preparing to throw Hannah a "pretty pretty princess" party for her 4th birthday. I found a set of stickers that inspired the rest of the invitation. I also made matching thank you cards. I love how they turned out and I hope Hannah and her mom do to! Happy Birthday, Hannah and thank you to Kathy for allowing me to make the invitations! :)

[The client's last name and contact information has been blurred to protect their privacy.]

Annalyce's Bridal Shower

2009-06-26T20:35:00.000-07:00

Annalyce came to me wanting invitations, place cards, thank you notes, favor tags, and guestbook. She told me that she was having a yellow, black, and white themed shower and wanted all of the paper elements to reflect that theme. I made a trip to the store for supplies and this is what was created for her! Love the bright yellow! With the leftover paper, we were able to make napkin rings and accent the centerpieces.

Annalyce - I hope you have a wonderful time at your shower!!

[The client's last name and contact information have been blurred out for her privacy.]

Kellie's Business Cards

2009-06-22T22:34:00.001-07:00

Here is a business card that I designed and printed a while back. How cute are these? I love the animal print border!

[The last 4 digits of the number and her last name have been blurred out for the client's privacy.]

Click the picture to view a larger version.

Fourth of July Celebration

2009-06-22T22:22:00.000-07:00

We are hosting a 4th of July celebration this year! So excited! Here are the invitations that I made for the event. All of the decorations have tons of stars on them so I thought that I'd go the same direction with the invitations!

Bingham Wedding Part 5

2009-06-21T21:47:00.000-07:00

As our place cards we printed menus with each guest's name at the top of it. Under the guest's name was a "eat, drink, and be married" logo. These were placed into folded napkins with just the name peeking out and were placed on top of silver chargers at each place setting. The knife was placed across the napkin just in case the wind picked up since it was an outdoor wedding.

Here are the save the dates that we sent out. We changed the date and location shortly after from June 7, 2008 in Bakersfield, CA to August 29, 2008 in Santa Barbara, CA. When we changed the date, we asked the Fess Parker Doubletree Resort to send us the postcards that they hand out in the hotel. We sent those postcards out with the information change to give our guests a sneak peek at our beachside location.

We wanted to include custom touches on our thank you cards as well. For the front of our cards, I designed and printed a 4x6 collage of our wedding pictures with our monogram in the center. We matted these onto chocolate brown cards. On the inside, guests found a copy of the picture that they had taken with us during the reception as well as a thank you. The pictures were attached with rubber cement so that guests could easily peel them off for safe keeping. Here are pictures of my mom's thank you.

Bingham Wedding Part 4

2009-06-21T18:41:00.000-07:00

Matt and I wanted a custom and unique guestbook for our wedding. We were going to have our photographer take a picture of us during the reception with every family, couple, or individual that attended the wedding. I decided to take ivory cardstock and mat each family's (or couple and individual) name on the paper accented with either a pink or orange stripe made out of Bling paper. I then used the same stamps that I used on the cover of the programs to accent the pages but this time they were stamped in a pink and orange stamp pad. We placed a chocolate brown cardstock place holder where the pictures would eventually go so guests wouldn't write in that area. During our reception, our DOC handed out the guestbook pages along with brown Sharpie's so the guests could write on them. We loved how they turned out. Guests wrote words of wisdom, inside jokes, sweet messages, and some even doodled or did sketches. We are placing the pictures on the pages and will put them into a brown linen scrapbook.

Here is a picture of pages before, during, and after the whole event.

Three examples of our guestbook pictures that we took with our guests to be placed on the guestbook pages after the wedding.

Here is our friend, Ryan filling out his and his girlfriend, Michelle's, guestbook page.

I also designed a seating chart to be displayed along with table names. We named each table after a city in Santa Barbara/Ventura Counties as well as some of the Channel Islands (Santa Barbara, Anacapa, Ventura, Santa Rosa, Etc.).

We also made reserved seating signs for our parents and grandparents to be displayed on their chairs during the ceremony.

Bingham Wedding Part 3

2009-06-21T18:19:00.000-07:00

We decided to do a candy buffet to serve as our guest favors. We had a table set up with about 30 containers of orange, pink, and chocolate candies and boy was it a huge hit with our guests! I made a label for each candy container and decided to go with a "love sweet love" theme. Each label had "love sweet love" printed at the top of the label with the name of the candy below it. I also made a "love sweet love" banner that was hanging on the front of the table. Each label was matted on chocolate brown cardstock and the "sweet" in "love sweet love" was accented in raspberry pink text. We bought pink and orange glassine bags for our guests to fill with candy. Each bag had a round label on it also featuring the "love sweet love" theme, our names, our date and the same stamps as the programs and guestbook pages.

Bingham Wedding Part 2

2009-06-21T17:56:00.000-07:00

For the wedding, I made 175 layered programs. Each program was made out of a chocolate brown cardstock cover that featured our monogram double matted on the same Bling paper that we used for our invitations. I accented with a stamp that I hand stamped in silver metallic ink. The program was held together with a raspberry pink ribbon. When guests opened the program, there were 5 "layered" pages - ceremony, reception, our thanks, introductions, and wedding details. Each program was placed on a seat for guests to view when they took their seats while waiting for the ceremony to begin.

Bingham Wedding

2009-06-21T17:31:00.000-07:00

Although I had some experience with designing before my wedding, the true passion for it came out during my own wedding planning process. I took on the challenge of designing, printing, cutting, matting, and assembling all of the paper elements for my wedding. I loved the final product and the fact that is was completely custom to who Matt and I are and our vision for the wedding. Here are some pictures and scans. Please excuse the bad quality on some of them. I'm in the process of upgrading my camera to an SLR so hopefully pictures will be better in the future. :)

I decided to go with a pocketfold style for our invitations. We went with a chocolate brown pocketfold, Bling paper in Strawberry Daiquiri and Sunset for the matting, ivory cardstock with chocolate brown text along with a "&" accented in pink. We added a belly band to the outside of the invitations made from a scrapbook paper that I had found and placed a double mat of the Bling paper on that along with a silver wax seal to add the final touch. The invitations were sealed in chocolate brown envelopes with silver metallic shipping labels and an orange heart wedding stamp. The invitation included the main invitation along with 3 inserts - accommodations, wedding details (our wedding website address and a list of what was featured on the website), and the response post card.