Sunday at my desk.

My desk is constantly messy. I really do try to keep it picked up, as its actually the dining room that all three of my roommates have to look at! But usually it just gets away from me.

1 | A sweet sample pack purchased from MaeMae Paperie. (She's my hero). Some custom rubber stamps for Jessie. And a very kind thank you from Rachel, complete with a PF Changs giftcard. Yum!

2 | Some notes for my latest project!

3 | Some christmas card brainstorming.

4 | My inspiration board! See that adorable Air Mail envelope? I picked it up for only a quarter at a stamp store at 31st & Yale. I actually went in thinking it was a rubber stamp store, but was surprised to find gorgeous vintage stamps and a sweet old man that knew all about them.

Color Inspiration

I'm totally loving J.Crew's Spring 2011 collection. Aren't the colors great!?

(via)

I'm currently in the midst of Christmas cards and now all I can think about is Spring!

Go Vote!

Have you voted yet today? If not, you better hurry! The polls are only open for a few more hours.

And while you have voting on the brain, check out this adorable election themed party on The Sweetest Occasion. I love Ike's cute little bowtie and hat!

The fun ballot themed invitations by Simple Song Design were a perfect start to this fun party. You can see even more election decorations and sweet treats on Real Simple.

(photos by Kate Headley via Real Simple)

Big Top Birthday!

Miss Katy Lue celebrated her birthday back in May with a fun carnival themed party!

I added some stitching to the bunting just for a little extra fun!

Katy Lue's mom found me at the Sunnylane Family Church back in the Spring. I was so excited to be a part of her carnival party and to work with such fun people! Katy Lue's mom is pretty creative herself and makes some adorable custom hats.

SM Giveaway!

Good Girl Gone Glad is hosting a SwellMail giveaway! Yahoo! Head on over to GGGG's shiny new blog to find out more details about how to win your very own customized rubber stamp! Perfect for sending a lovely letter or those joyous Christmas cards!

DIY Bridesmaid Cards

Last month a friend from college contacted me and wanted a fun way to ask her best friends to be her bridesmaids! She loved Anna of Rifle Design's adorable paper doll idea, so we went with it!

(please excuse my messy desk and the low quality iphone photos. my camera is broken .)

I hand cut each row of paper dolls, their dresses, and their hair.

For complete instructions, head on over to Once Wed!

I designed the message on the card to be hidden at first glance. Each chain of paper dolls fits perfectly over the card hiding the exciting message that's written in her dress underneath. The paper doll chains were a HUGE labor of love, but turned out to be such a fun and girly touch that it was totally worth it. I had fun making them!

Thanks Bobbe and Jon! And congratulations on your engagement!

WOWeeee!

Last Sunday I was very lucky to work with the sweet and talented Lacy of Scissortail Events! Lacy was a participating event planner for Tulsa's WOW (Wedding OpenHouse Weekend) at Bridle Creek and came to me for help with her tablescape design. After many design discussions, Lacy decided on going with several paper pieces including menus, place cards, and centerpiece wraps!

I love love the way the lime place cards turned out! Lacy's design was so fresh and sunny. A perfect ending for the summer. I also designed a coordinating invitation set based on the fabric she chose for the napkins. The color scheme was so cheery and lit up the whole room!

(all photos by Destiny Photography)

Scissortail Events did an amazing job on the table design! All of her time and hard work really paid off. I am so happy to be part of such a wonderful event and wonderful design! For more photos, please visit our facebook page!

Holiday Special 2010

I know it seems early, but Christmas is approaching fast! Have you thought about taking your holiday photos yet?? Well to help you out, SwellMail Designs is teaming up with beth marie.photography for a festive mini-shoot and holiday greeting card special!

beth marie.photography is booking mini photo sessions at a discounted rate and SwellMail is offering holiday photo-cards at a discount to all bmp clients! Yay! Photo session dates are limited and filling up fast so hurry and book your appointment with Beth today.

Mini-Shoot Details:a 30 minute photo session for you and your loved ones.your choice of an urban or rural setting.and 10-12 edited full resolution images on a disk.
all for only $70.00!
(with the additional purchase of holiday photo-cards from SwellMail)
Mini-Shoot Dates:
Saturday, September 25 - Urban3:45 pm, 4:30 pm, 5:15 pm, 6:00 pm
Sunday, September 26 - Rural3:45 pm, 4:30 pm, 5:15 pm, 6:00 pm
(if you are very interested and the dates are not convenient for you, please shoot beth an email: beth@bethmariephotography.com)

Holiday Photo-Card Details:bmp mini-shoot clients will get to choose from five different greeting card designs. Cards are double-sided, flat, and printed digitally on heavyweight white cardstock. Choose from matte or glossy finish. Orders will be ready within two weeks.

Holiday Photo-Card Pricing:

25 cards for $31.25

50 cards for $60.00
rounded corners can be added for $5.00

Checks and credit cards (via PayPal) accepted.
Have something in mind completely custom and designed just for you? SwellMail loves custom orders! Please contact us for more information: jenni@swellmaildesigns.com

Holiday Photo-Card Design Options:

"Sweet Christmas"

"Oh Holy Night"

"Let it Snow"

"Elegant Holiday"

"Ho Ho Ho"

Life's More Fun When You Dress It Up!

My niece, Rori, turned 2 in June and her very talented Mommy planned a dress-up birthday party to celebrate! During the planning process, she informed me on her decorating ideas: a wall of mirrors, paper garland, and tons and tons of fun dress-up items for both boys and girls! (As much as Rori loves her girly purses and clothes, she didn't want her boy cousins to feel left out. She's very polite)

And so to keep it gender friendly, I designed the party invitations with the wall of mirrors in mind. Keeping it simple and colorful. All the ladies on the invite list received a handheld mirror shaped insert, and the gentlemen received a mustache on a stick (not shown).

(photos via bm.p)

For a little extra fun in the mail, I wrapped the invitation in a hand sewn paper garland to match the garlands that would be used at her party. I had a lot of fun making these invites and am always so pleased to see them fit into the party theme so perfectly! To see more of Rori's 2nd birthday party, including the yummy cookies I made...click HERE.

Wedding Invitations: Mackenzie & Leon

I've been saving this pretty suite for so long to show you. My dear, sweet friend Mackenzie is getting married this weekend and I'm so excited for her! Mac asked me to do her invitations last year and of course I said yes! I always enjoy doing invitations and announcements for friends because its so much easier to capture their true personality. After they were all printed and I began assembling them, I took a step back and realized exactly how much these invitations resemble my friend. The colors, the pattern, everything, screams Mackenzie! And that is the exact reason why I love doing what I do.

Congratulations Mackenzie and Leon!! I can't wait to spend your special day with you!

A Swell Giveaway!

Today, Jesse from Good Girl Gone Glad is featuring another giveaway! This time from yours truly!! Please visit Good Girl Gone Glad to enter to win these cute personalized notecards! The contest ends Sunday and the winner will be announced Monday. Good luck friends!


Jesse will be featuring other fabulous giveaways the remainder of the week, so be sure to follow her blog for those!

A {bmp} Giveaway!

I'm so excited to share with you a giveaway for my talented sister over on Good Girl Gone Glad! Please visit Jesse's blog and enter to win a free mini session or 50% off a full session from Beth Marie Photography!




Also, check back on Good Girl Gone Glad tomorrow for a SwellMail giveaway. Yay!

Sunnylane Craft Fair

Last month I participated in my first ever craft fair!! A lovely client (Thanks Lindse!) invited me to grab a booth at the Sunnylane Family Church craft fair in Del City, and I'm so glad I did! I had a lot of fun and met many sweet and talented people. Now that I've accomplished one craft fair, I am ready for more!

This is my colorful booth the night before the fair.

I made the bunting out of scrapbook paper and some good ol' twine.

I purchased the cute linen fabric at Joann's. 50%off. Woo woo!

I used the small chalkboards, purchased at Michael's, to write prices and such.

All of the cards and invitations were designed by me for other clients, but I can definitely design something special to fit your next celebration!

The pinwheels are handmade and can be customized in any color or size. They are adorable for birthdays and showers!

Thanks to Meme for letting me borrow some supplies! and to Tiff for making the trip and keeping me company for 2 days. You're the best!

mothers day cards.

Mother's Day is sneaking up fast!! (May 9th!) Have you bought your Mom anything pretty yet? She deserves it!

SwellMail Designs has two Mothers' Day Cards to offer! Each card is $2.50, digitally (flat) printed on white Classic Crest, includes a white envelope, and is blank inside to write your own sentiments.

If you would like one, please shoot me an email and let me know your preference and we can make payment arrangements. Thanks!

swellmaildesigns@yahoo.com

T-Shirt Design

Here is the t-shirt I designed for our upcoming Family Olympics! This image is shown on the green shirt, but the other team colors will be blue and orange. They will all have a navy graphic.

Family Members: Be sure to get your t-shirt size into me asap so I can order them in time!

Update: There are 28 people in our family, not 27. Oopsies. Luckily I caught it before printing!

Sydney's Birthday Invites!

Little Miss Sydney turned two last month and her mama asked me to design the invitations for her Spring themed birthday party! After having her two year photos taken by bmp photography in her adorable rain gear, they came to me for help to get the party started. I designed a simple photo card with Sydney's name and age that could be kept long after the party was over. I added a wide belly band with the party information and flowers to match her rain coat. I stitched up the edge of the belly band with some pink thread; my favorite detail!

I love the idea that Sydney's family and guests can throw away the belly band after the party is over, and still have a fun little photo of Sydney to hang on their fridge!

I also created this 5x7 photo collage for Sydney's mama. She wanted a few to pass out to other family members.

For more photos of Sydney, check out the bmp photography blog!

oh. my. lanta.

Obviously, I have a love of paper and design. So it shouldn't surprise you to know that I am constantly checking out invitation sites, blogs, and Etsy accounts for inspiration every day. While I love doing any kind of invitation or announcement, it's the personalized, one-of-a-kind, think-outside-the-box designs that hold the biggest place in my heart. This morning while perusing around on the web, I came across this glorious wedding invitation suite by Rifle.

Pretty, huh? Now look closer......

The wedding invitation is HAND SEWN. Wowee!
Anna of Rifle Design actually hand embroidered the floral design and then painted the lettering.

{the map insert}


{a work in progress shot}

She then scanned the image at a high resolution and had prints made. How much more creative and out-of-the-box can you get?! I just love all of Anna's work, but she has amazed me on this one. It is a true labor of love.

One that I'm excited to try for myself! Perhaps for some Mother's Day cards....