Wedding Wire BRIDE'S CHOICE Award 2011 Badge

Zebra Print Save the Date: Alicia & Joe

Last Monday, I had the pleasure of meeting Alicia(B), Robin (MOTB & MOH), Vickie (Aunt & WC)and Ashley(BM) last Monday to discuss Alicia's invitation ensemble for her upcoming May wedding!

Alicia loves, loves, loves the wild Zebra print and had to incorporate the design into her wedding stationary. My suggestion to her was to use the Zebra print as a cute background in her Save.the.Date magnets.

Thank you Vickie for the referral! Stay tune for a sneak peak of their custom invitation set to match...

Wedding RSVP Postcards

As we all know, RSVPs are a must for any invitation ensemble. Traditional RSVP sets included a 3.5x5 response card with a pre-addressed, stamped envelope.

Brides now have an alternative to the standard RSVP set ....POSTCARDS!

Wedding RSVP postcards work like that of a traditional postcard that you use to send to friends/family when you were on vacation and wanted to say "hello" from afar! On one side is a space for a message and return address and on the other side is a blank canvas where you can print anything you want: an image, photo, graphic or text.

I absolutely love postcards for many reasons. Here's my top 3:

1. Saves Money. Couples eliminate the need to purchase 4 bar envelopes and stamps. This "extra" money you saved can be spent elsewhere, like on custom photo stamps!
2. Saves Time. No need to purchase a letter opener to get the RSVP card out the envelope. With the Postcard you simply flip it over and view the responses instantly!
3. Eco-Friendly. Since you're eliminating the need for all those pretty envelopes guests will only see once, you're saving more trees from being destroyed!

WeddingWire Brides' Choice Award 2011 Recipient

Columbus, Ohio – {January 25, 2011} - WeddingWire, the nation’s leading wedding technology company, is thrilled to announce DESIGNS BY N has been selected to receive the prestigious annual WeddingWire Bride’s Choice Awards™ 2011 for Wedding Invitations!

Recognition for the Bride’s Choice Awards™ 2011 is determined by recent reviews and extensive surveys from over 750,000 WeddingWire newlyweds. Our past clients are among those that shared their experiences on WeddingWire, the largest wedding review site in the nation.

DESIGNS BY N stands among the top five percent of wedding professionals in the WeddingWire community, representing quality and service excellence within the wedding industry. Awards were given to the top wedding professionals across 20 service categories, from wedding venues to wedding photographers, and were based on the overall professional achievements throughout the past year.

“WeddingWire is honored to celebrate the success of the top-rated wedding professionals within the WeddingWire community,” said Timothy Chi, WeddingWire’s Chief Executive Officer. “With the annual Bride’s Choice Awards™ program, WeddingWire has the unique opportunity to recognize the best wedding professionals across the US and Canada. We applaud DESIGNS BY N for their professionalism and dedication to enhancing the wedding planning experience last year.”

We are happy to announce that DESIGNS BY N is among the very best invitation designers within the WeddingWire Network, which includes leading wedding planning sites WeddingWire, Martha Stewart Weddings, Project Wedding and Weddingbee. We would like to thank our past clients for nominating us to receive the Bride’s Choice Awards™ 2011.

For more information, please visit our WeddingWire Storefront today at http://www.weddingwire.com/biz/designs-by-blacklick/935e2f1851ce0518.html

For more information on the Bride’s Choice Awards™ 2011, please visit www.WeddingWire.com.

DBN's First Wedding Invitation of 2011: Amber & Steven

The first DBN Wedding Invitation Set of 2011 is officially complete! Hooray!!

Amber was a referral from not only ONE, but TWO DBN brides (Courtney and Amanda). Thanks ladies. :)

I started working with Amber back in August of 2010. Her colors are sugar plum and cream, perfect colors for a Spring wedding. She fell in love with the mezzo pocket and had to have it!

The invitation is designed around the bride and grooms name on the left hand side. I used the lovely Feel (my new favorite font!), Edwardian and Adobe Garamond scripts for the text throughout her set.

The inserts she choose were a modern cream 4x6 RSVP postcard and a map that contained markers for the Accommodations, Ceremony, Reception Venue, and Reception Venue Parking. The sugar plum matte on the back of the map really made it pop!

Best wishes to Amber and Steven on their upcoming big day in May!

Time to get noticed....Custom stamp for branding handmade products

It's time to get noticed and get the word out about Designs by N!

I've been wanting to design this for quite some time, so I finally made it a priority for the new year! (Thank you to my friend Dave for encouraging me to do this!)

Using new new favorite font, I customized a round 1.25" stamp with the business name in the middle and all the important contact information around the outside. Modern and simple...I love how it turned out!

Designs by N will be using this cute round promotional stamp on all of our handmade products. Look for the "Designs by N" stamp on our invitation sets, envelopes, and packaging...it's time to get noticed and leave our mark on the fabulous products we make!

This stamp will be strategically placed on the back side of the our products, so it does not take away from the overall "look" of your custom designs.

We would love to hear your feedback...let me know your thoughts on the stamp.

Mason Payne Birth Announcement

One of my dear friends from college was the first of my friends to expand her family...Shelly and her loving husband Jeremy welcomed Mason Casey Eugene Payne on August 31 @ 1:11pm. He's the most adorable little guy I've ever seen!

Mason was showered by #23 Jordan gifts, OSU buckeye outfits, and of course Danville Blue Devils gear!! This boy will be one heck of an athlete, just like his mom (softball all-star) and dad (basketball all-star), when he grows up.

I was so excited to begin working on Mason's birth announcement magnets as soon as I got the good news he was born! My husband and I took off one Sunday afternoon to head to the Valley for Mason's photoshoot. Shell and I had so much fun posing Mason (he was a good sport) and came up with some great pics.

For his magnet I used a black background and a simple font in blue text to create his design. My favorite part of his birth announcements were the outer envelopes! Enjoy.