originals :: paper art & design

It’s that time of year again. I designed these graduation announcements for another one of my nephews. I have ten (nieces and nephews) total… so I’ll have designed many when they’re all done with school. It’s my goal to make them all different and ORIGINAL! Imagine that!  Enjoy the recipe.

This is a slender folding card with a school mascot wrap keeping it closed. Slip the wrap off and it reveals the announcement and houses additional party information and/or pictures my sister decides to tuck inside.

Congratulations Brandon! Enjoy your final days of high school… because the real world is right around the corner!! See you soon.

Are you as crazy over paper as I am? If so, get a look at these new swatch books that arrived yesterday from Envelopments! It’s like Christmas in April here at the Originals Paper Art studio. I can hardly wait to make samples with the new colors and prints.

A great new addition to their line of paper is a selection of LETTERPRESS papers. They’re beautiful, heavy weight and have fabulous texture.  If you’re in the market for custom letterpress invitations, announcements or stationery… we need to talk!

But wait, that’s not all… they added a bunch of new patterns and color combos to their already incredible paper selection.  Not only do these papers come in card stock, they have complimentary light weight papers, envelopes, envelope liners and their infamous pockets!  Be sure to visit their website to see all they have to offer.

Once you’re done surfing the net for ideas, contact me to discuss how we can make your dream stationery come to life! You’ll be happy you did.

It always amazes me that people are viewing my designs from all over the U.S. and the world.  My web stats indicate this is true, but it really hits home when I get an inquiry or (better yet) an order from afar.

Amber contacted me from Hawaii last month to design her graduation announcements.  She graduates this January from Hawaii Pacific University.  She liked one of my previous graduation announcements (using an Envelopments Envelofold) which expedited the creative process.

Below shows you the hardest part of this announcement ensemble… punching out the seal! Centering the printed seal in the punch itself and holding steady long enough to get a crisp, clean punch was quite tricky… but I did it… 50 times!

And here they are… 50 Hawaii Pacific University seals!  I love the way they look lined up on the production table.

More posts coming this week (really)… check back often!

Graduation Announcements are quickly becoming a favorite project of mine.  It’s your time to shine!  It’s your turn to do what you wanna do!  Show off your personality! Yes, the school offers a package deal… but it’s so predictable.  If you (or somebody you know) will be graduating from college this year OR high school next year, consider having custom announcements designed.  As with all my paper creations… the options are endless!

I computer illustrated this penguin mascot in Illustrator and combined it with the Class of 2009 for a branded look on every piece.  The parents decided what they wanted in their package and how many of each. Again, it’s what you want and need! For instance, they ordered 40 announcements with envelopes, 34 seating cards, and 50 pre-printed thank you notes with envelopes.  No waste… how refreshing!

Inside the graduation announcement are favorite snapshots provided by Colin and his parents.  I arranged them in circles to compliment the mascot shape and picked a font that is both masculine and open to finish the overall look.  I printed this package on my color laser printer, cut everything by hand and assembled them.  All Colin and/or his parents need to do is address the envelopes and drop them in the mail.  (I’ll even do that for you!)

One great thing (worth sharing) that came out of this project was when I sent the invoice… the father wrote back, “Wow, you came in much lower than I was planning on”. Gotta love it when a client says THAT!  On that note, I’ve gotta get back to work!  Thanks for visiting.