The Experiences are more than just a bridal show where a couple can talk to vendors. The vendors who participate are also there to educate brides and grooms on the ins and outs of wedding planning.

My expertise is, of course, custom designed invitations so I talked about what to expect when shopping. Mostly I wanted to educate those in attendance what goes into the price points of different looking invitations.

Part of how I did this was to come up with a game that the brides and grooms could play. I displayed 7 different invitations and asked each couple to come up with a price. This guess the price game was a big hit, but even more so I think that these couples came away very educated on what goes into pricing custom designed invitations.

Here are some great pictures from the event, thanks to C.Marie’s Photography - thanks Courtney!

I designed this for my daughter’s first birthday party back in May. I LOVE this invitation, and have since used a version of it for a graduation party invitation. It works well with a lot of different events!

Twist Card

This invitation uses Envelopments® White Micah BLO35 for the Twist Card, Fashionista is the layer behind the printed invitation, which is White Micah.

Bears and Blooms!

A clever use of larger and smaller fonts, along with the bear graphic adorn the invitation itself. And just a hint of pink (I’m disgusted by all the pink invitations out there. Just because she’s a girl, doesn’t mean everything has to be pink!).

But the really fun part of this is the TWIST!

The Twist!

Twist the card around, and there’s a nifty vellum wrap, holding a picture of the birthday girl! The vellum is personalized with her name in a wonderful and fun script font.

You can purchase this invitation, personalized with your son or daughter’s information, in The Boutique! You can change the paper colors to anything seen here. This invitation includes an outer envelope that has an envelope liner in a coordinating color (not pictured). (Please note, pictures are not included. The invitation will come fully assembled, with the vellum wrap personalized with your child’s name and adhered to the card, ready for you to insert your wallet-sized picture.)

Super cute, unique, and a keepsake you’ll always treasure!

Thank you cards are important for all kinds of social events: weddings, birthdays, new baby, bar/bat mitzvahs, christenings, etc. This week I’ve added some really great photo thank you cards.

Classic Photo Thank You Card

These are perfect for all of life’s occasions. These samples feature wedding pictures, but imagine using these for your child’s first birthday party thank you notes.

Full Photo Thank You Card

The cake smash photo would be adorable on these! (Unless you have a kid like mine, where the term “cake smash” is open to interpretation. More like cake? Really? Adorable, none the less!)

Cake "smash"

These thank you cards come with white envelopes, and you can also purchase return address printing! Just add that to your cart as well, be sure to add the same number as your thank you cards.

Ordering is so easy! Checkout securely through Paypal, no account needed to pay by credit card. After purchase, you’ll be contacted with instructions on how to email your photos and give me your wording (if applicable).

After months and months of planning, I’m so pleased to announce that my website has been completely redesigned and has gone live!

I’ve also changed to a new logo ~ the butterfly has been retired!

This website should be easier to navigate ~ finding information on custom design, DIY, etiquette, and even being able to purchase stationery from my online store, called The Boutique, in just a click of a button!

You’ll notice at the top of the screen, there’s a navigation bar leading you to information about Paper Pod Designs. There’s a link for the location of my showroom at the Dayton Wedding Connection, some FAQ that I hope are helpful, a link for a list of local vendors (coming soon), and a contact form.

Just below those links is another navigation bar leading you to information about what I can help you with. The Boutique is my online store where you can purchase save the date magnets, wedding invitations, ceremony programs, reception decor, graduation announcements, baby announcements, birthday party invitations, and more coming soon! Products are added every week!!!

In the Custom Design link, you will find info on the process of having me create stationery for you that is uniquely yours! In the subcategories under Custom Design, you will find helpful information about Envelopments® paper colors, a font library, wording help (coming soon), and etiquette (coming soon). The next button is for the Gallery, where you can look at the portfolio of my work and Envelopments products. In the next link, there is information about how to purchase Envelopments® blank stock for all you DIY brides out there!

Be sure to stay up to date on the products I’ll be adding to The Boutique ~ I’ll be posting some here on the blog in the coming weeks and months too.

I’d like to thank the folks at Design Chemistry for their help in creating a beautiful website!

Let me know what you think!

New for this season, the Envelopments© design team has put out a new design. They are Twist Cards and they come in 12 beautiful papers. Add a photo on one side and your holiday message on the other. They even stand on their own for a great way to display.

Envelopments New Twist Cards

These super cute Twist Cards are going to be the talk of your friends and family. I plan on sending them out this year and including a photo of Alyssa from her 6 month photo shoot. I can’t wait!!

Contact me today to find out how to order.

So, I signed a lease on a space that was a blank canvas. I could paint and decorate how I wanted. The only limitations were my imagination and my checking account! I think it turned out pretty well! Let’s take a look…

View from the door

It’s a pretty big space (12×14 I think). I painted the walls a pale yellow, and the accent corner is a dark pink.

It bugs me that the couch is off-center!

This couch was my grandma’s. It’s been sitting in my garage for a few years because my current house is already overflowing with furniture. I love this little couch. I remember as a little girl, every time we visited my grandparents in Illinois, I’d run to this couch! I loved sitting on it. My poor mother tried to keep me off of it as much as possible, but I was so attracted to it! I’m so glad it has finally found a home. It broke my heart to have it sitting in the garage, unused for so long.

Recently I added my logo in black lettering on the left pink wall. And I fixed the off-center couch, LOL!

IKEA shelves and unpainted door

These shelving units were $25 at IKEA! LOVE IKEA!! They display many of my samples beautifully. The door is unfinished as of right now, but I’m going to eventually paint it black to match the next door neighbor’s french doors.

IKEA shelving

The short wall was perfect for these small IKEA wall shelves. The invitations and favor boxes sit on them perfectly!

Consultation table (baby not included)

The consultation table is something that has been in my family for years also. It was my parent’s and since they downsized, they gave this table to me and again, I have no room in my house for it right now, so it sat in their garage just waiting to be used. I’m very happy that it can be used in my showroom. It’s perfect for consultations! There are 2 leaves to extend it if I need to, and there are 6 chairs for clients.

I’m still deciding what to do with these back two walls. I have some ideas, including more of the wall shelves and some framed invitation suites. So, it’s very much still a work in progress, but I think it’s great! What do you think?

The reason for my blog hiatus

My beautiful daughter was born May 21st! And while this blog has been silent for many months, I have not been neglecting my business. In the coming weeks, I hope to share with you the many invitations that I have been working on for my brides. But for now, enjoy a look at the announcements I made for my daughter.

Alyssa's announcement

I used papers from Envelopments beautiful new line to create these pocket fold announcements; the pocket fold enclosure is Raw Silk Ecru from the Swiss pattern, the layers behind the printed piece are PC100 Ecru from the Bloom pattern and Cocoa. The printed piece is Raw Silk Ecru, which has a really great texture.

I used a really cute footprint graphic and matched the color of the graphic to the Serpentine envelope, then repeated the footprint on the return address line on the flap of the envelope in a color to match the Cocoa paper inside. The envelope liner is also in Cocoa to tie it all together. I used the pocket to give each of my friends and family a 4×6″ picture of Alyssa, although a 5×7″ picture will fit in the pocket.

Previously, I told you about the save the date magnets. Now I’ve added baby announcement magnets and cards, along with graduation announcement cards and invitations. These are beautiful and colorful!

You can make these designs your own with a few easy changes! Pick a design with a photo to add to the personalization. Change the background or font colors. Add a line of text. It’s really that easy!

Visit my products page today and find out how you can order these easily by just emailing me!

Recently, I’ve been tinkering with the website. I’m trying to add more resources for brides out there who are making decisions about invitations. Resources like, paper colors, shapes, fonts, etc. I still have a few other things to add; it’s a work in progress. But, check it out!

I’ve also added a Save the Date magnet brochure! This will enable brides to email me their orders and pay via PayPal. Super easy!

But, beware! Prices will be going up in February. I wish I could keep the same prices, but my supplier has raised their prices.

Watch the site for more changes in the coming months! And watch the blog for my attempt at weekly updates! In the coming weeks, I hope to feature some of my clients beautiful invitations, along with some new designs I’m coming up with for the Collection.

Stay tuned!

Things have been busy in Paper Pod land. I’ve had a flurry of bridal consultations, which is really exciting! One of those consultations resulted in the following custom design, which I’ll be adding to my Collection on the website as soon as I get a free minute!

Love the love birds!

I also did an announcement for a great friend, using some of Envelopments© artwork to create an elegant and beautiful card. This will also be going onto the website soon.

Patterned monogram

I sure hope to be back with more new designs before two months this time!!!