Merry Christmas!

As I wrap up for the year, I just wanted to quickly share our Christmas cards. I just ordered my design from Minted and we went non-photo this year, with a few pictures of us and Marley on the back.  I love the simplicity of this design and especially the die-cut shape. It kind of makes it, don't you think?

I hope your time with friends and family is magical. I can't help but daydream about our next Christmas with our little babe, but for this year, I am enjoying ALL the baby kicks and the extra special treatment you get when you're preggo. 

Wishing you a joy filled Merry Christmas and New Year! See you in 2016!

Custom Design: Letterpress Holiday Cards

Unlike most stationery designers, I steer clear of selling holiday cards this time of year. I design a collection for Minted in the spring and summer, so I like focus on that and try to avoid the holiday chaos of last minute orders and rush printing. However, I have a handful of repeat clients that I make room for during this busy time. Jen is one of those clients, as she always is ready to go, and we are done well before Thanksgiving (dream client!) She found me last year and has a love of letterpress and clean design, so we have turned out to be a great match!

Jen always has clever ideas, from colors to phrases, with photos to match. You can tell she gets a lot of joy out of the process and I love that. She came to me with this sweet phrase and adorable photo of her kids and I got to work on a fun, festive design. At first, I designed everything in red, but she wanted to go non-traditional with a bright turquoise. I love her color choices. Her cards are certain to stand out in the mailbox with those green envelopes!  

Letterpress is such a beautiful printing method and I love the challenge of designing in one color… sometimes, that is all you need! I think the end result is pure magic (pun intended!)

Inspiration: Golden Cotton Field Shoot with Rachel Leigh Photography

This gorgeous inspiration shoot is from this time last year, and I forgot to post on the blog. It was featured on 100 Layer Cake. These photos seem fitting this year with the warm temps. Even done in the winter this golden sunset shoot feels so warm and cozy! It's so festive too. I just love every detail!

She used the Carley Invitation suite and I love how the gold foil worked so well with the other details.

Photographer: Rachel Leigh Photography / Floral Design: Mandy Cathey Weddings & Events / Hair :Makeup By Keilee Jane / Makeup: Samantha Pinder Makeup Artistry / Invitations: Lauren Chism Fine Papers / Cake: Roxie Pinder of OMG! Cakes / Vintage Rentals: Pursuing Eden Vintage Rentals / Bride’s Gown: Reem Acra from Rent the Runway / Bridal Halo & Sash: Mandy Cathey Weddings & Events

Featured: Classic Grey Birth Announcements on OSBP

I designed these birth announcements for Laura, my very first wedding client after I launched my wedding collection and full time business. I've since designed holiday cards and baby shower invitations, but these announcements might be the most special. 

Laura chose a soft warm grey for the ink and envelopes and I love seeing something unexpected (grey versus the more typical pink) and the grey compliments the photo so well!

These announcements were featured on Oh So Beautiful Paper on Monday! Thank you, Nole for sharing!
 

a facelift

You might (or might not) have noticed that laurenchism.com got a little facelift! It's been many months in the making and my goal was to finish in 2015 and phew! I made it, just in time.

For those of you interested, I worked with Kelly Christine Studio on the design and used Squarespace. I don't do well designing for myself and when I saw Kelly's work, I knew she would be a safe bet, because her website and work are really beautiful and minimal. She set up everything and I only had to worry about the content, which is a huge undertaking on its own.  Squarespace is supposed to be so user-friendly, so I am sure setting it up yourself is a great option if you have the time. I didn't want to spend my days fiddling non-stop (and I would have never stopped!) so it was a good investment for me with the rest of my workload.

 Click through and check it out! Happy Friday!