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Bella Figura + Smock Trunk Show at The Dandelion Patch

We’re heading to Virginia! On Thursday, February 26, we’ll be hosting a trunk show with our BFF Smock at The Dandelion Patch in Vienna, Virginia. We’ll be sharing a special offer for attendees, too: clients who attend the event and order before March 16, 2015, will receive 25 free invitations* with the purchase of 75 invitations or more! Reserve your spot today – we can’t wait to see you there!

Bella Figura + Smock Trunk Show at the Dandelion Patch

*The fine print: buy 75 get 25 promotion applies to wedding orders and can include invitations, reply cards, save the dates, menus, programs, or any other wedding-related stationery item. 

Custom calligraphy letterpress wedding invitations

For their New Year’s Eve wedding celebration, Adrienne and Robert chose hand calligraphy by Nicole Black as the stylish focal point of their letterpress wedding invitations. Charcoal ink kept the look modern and neutral while gold foil edging and our Gatsby liner pattern added a pop of instant glamor. 

Custom calligraphy letterpress wedding invitations by Bella Figura

Custom calligraphy letterpress wedding invitations by Bella Figura

If you love Nicole’s hand calligraphy as much as we do, you’re in luck – she’s offering Bella Figura couples a special offer:  book your envelope addressing with Nicole between now and February 28, and get $25 off your order of $100 or more!

letterpress ink: charcoal | font: copperplate | paper: bella cotton 1-ply + 2-ply ivory | foil edging: gold shine | hand calligraphy: mitty + mitty caps styles | envelope: bella cotton ivory | envelope liner: gatsby pattern in charcoal + cream | Hitched | customization #24559

Behind the design: the inspiration for Studio by Lindsy Talarico

Lindsy Talarico’s inspiration behind her new Studio invitation was a modern, hipster wedding with mustard yellow touches. Think an open urban space, lots of unique flowers, oversized balloons, and the occasional pop of turquoise. Love this look? Check out more of Lindsy’s inspiration for Studio over on Pinterest

Studio letterpress wedding invitation inspiration from Bella Figura

Photos, clockwise from top right: bouquet | flower box | centerpiece | tablescapeballoons | Studio letterpress wedding invitations 

Share your proposal story and win the wedding invitations of your dreams from Bella Figura + The Blooming Quill!

Did you get engaged on Valentine’s Day? Perhaps your proposal story took place over the holidays. Whenever it happened, we want to hear about it! Share your proposal story with us on Instagram using the hashtag #ourproposalstory. The editors from 100 Layer Cake will help us choose one lucky couple for an incredible grand prize: $1500 for your Bella Figura wedding invitations, plus $200 for calligraphy  addressing from Debi Zeinert at The Blooming Quill! Submit your entry by March 10, 2015 to be considered for the grand prize. 

Share your proposal story on Instagram and enter to win $1500 for invitations from Bella Figura + $200 for calligraphy addressing from The Blooming Quill!

Not sure what to share? Be creative! You could show off a photo of your engagement pictures, the spot where you got engaged, a fun candid of you and your significant other, or any image that embodies you both as a couple. In the caption, tell us about how it went down – we want to hear your stories! 

The fine print: entrants must follow Bella Figura (@bellafigura) and use the hashtag #ourproposalstory on Instagram to be eligible for the grand prize. Grand prize consists of $1500 from Bella Figura, to be used on a custom stationery order, plus $200 for calligraphy services from Debi Zeinert of The Blooming Quill. Post must be publicly viewable on Instagram to be eligible. Entries must be received by March 10, 2015 to be considered for the grand prize. This contest is in no way sponsored, endorsed, or associated with Instagram. Winner will be announced by 3/13/2015. Winner will be notified via direct message on Instagram. Grand prize must be redeemed by 3/15/2016.

NYC Modern foil + letterpress wedding invitations

Our NYC Modern foil + letterpress wedding invitations are an ode to all things New York  – and the perfect fit for Victoria and Mike’s modern wedding. They paired sea mist letterpress ink and silver matte foil for a cool, urban look and highlighted the New York skyline by printing it without ink (we call it a blind deboss).  A wedding weekend schedule with event specific motifs completed the ensemble, while silver matte foil edging and an envelope liner in sea mist ink tie in the icy, chic color palette.

NYC Modern foil + letterpress wedding invitations | Bella Figura

letterpress inks: sea mist + blind deboss | foil stamping: silver matte | font: swiss | paper: bella cotton 1-ply + 2-ply white | foil edging: silver matte | envelope: bella cotton white | envelope liner: vintage river pattern in sea mist | Village Invites | customization #23712

French Blue wedding inspiration for Wildflower Wedding Invitations

Brenda Fox pictured a darling country wedding on the coast of Maine when she began the illustrations for her Wildflower wedding invitation suite. At the reception, hints of blue tableware and white candles would be in abundance. Bridesmaids and groomsmen would be decked out in blue, too. Sounds (and looks!) pretty dreamy, doesn’t it? Check out more of Brenda’s inspiration behind her Wildflower design over on Pinterest

The inspiration behind the design for Wildflower letterpress wedding invitations from Bella Figura

Photos, clockwise from top right: flowers | cocktails | groomsmen | tableware | rings | shoes | flower arrangements | bridesmaids | Wildflower wedding invitations 

Copper foil and letterpress rehearsal dinner invitations

Katy and Wes gave our Colette invitation design an outdoorsy makeover for their foil and letterpress rehearsal dinner invitations. Copper shine foil and olive letterpress ink are complimented by our natural woodgrain envelope liner pattern, while Kelle McCarter’s free flowing hand calligraphy highlights the couple’s names.

Copper foil and letterpress rehearsal dinner invitations | Bella Figura

letterpress ink: olive | foil stamping: copper shine | font: moravia | paper: bella cotton 1-ply ivory | envelope: bella cotton ivory | envelope liner: natural woodgrain pattern in olive | hand calligraphy: maura style | Shindig Paperie | customization #20314

Traditional East Indian Wedding Inspiration from Aimee O’Boyle

With Valentine’s Day just a few days away, we’re loving all the red we’re seeing lately. The inspiration behind the design for Mumbai Scrolls, a stunning new invitation suite by Aimee O’Boyle, is filled with rich red tones and lots of golden glamour. Inspired by a traditional East Indian wedding, Mumbai Scrolls features intricate foil stamped details and the prettiest pop of cardinal ink. Here’s a glimpse at what Aimee envisioned for a Mumbai Scrolls wedding — to see even more of her inspiration, check out her Mumbai Scrolls Pinterest board!

Mumbai Scrolls Indian wedding invitation inspiration from Bella Figura

Photo credits, clockwise from top right: bride | sari | roses | gold shoes | gold dress | bridal party | bride | Mumbai Scrolls invitation 

Penmanship Classes from Nicole Black

Our Designer of the Month Nicole Black recently offered a penmanship class with Southern Fried Paper, and she’ll be offering more classes again soon! Today we’re sharing details on what Nicole’s class entails, along with some quick tips for how to improve your own penmanship. We love how the class began: out of a love for beautiful, heartfelt words, carefully crafted with patience and pride. We’ll let Nicole take over from here!

This is a traditional penmanship class.  One that will teach you how to write with the grace of our grandmothers or great grandmothers. To slow down and think about each letter and each word and make them count to make a meaningful statement that the recipient will enjoy reading.

A peek inside Nicole Black's recent Pride in Penmanship calligraphy workshop at Southern Fried Paper

We spend some quality time on the foundations: doing warm up drills and learning the basic hand motions. Lower case and capital letters are covered in this class so you can leave able to write notes. Not to leave you hanging there, we go over connecting letters, making words, writing sentences and how to write a traditional letter (by hand!).

A peek inside Nicole Black's recent Pride in Penmanship calligraphy workshop at Southern Fried Paper

Everyone gets a one-on-one progress review to help work out any trouble areas. For those afraid you will forget what we have learned — a wonderful class booklet is provided along with a pen, notepad and pencils. 

A peek inside Nicole Black's recent Pride in Penmanship calligraphy workshop at Southern Fried Paper

We end the class with a pen round table where the participants get to test out different pens to find their favorite… because what works for your neighbor may not be your favorite. 

A peek inside Nicole Black's recent Pride in Penmanship calligraphy workshop at Southern Fried Paper

A peek inside Nicole Black's recent Pride in Penmanship calligraphy workshop at Southern Fried Paper

Quick and easy tips for improving your penmanship at home – slow down! Develop a rhythm of writing and stick to it, slow down with the pen and you will see an ease of flow with the letters develop. Also, it is okay to write on lined paper.  I’m a seasoned letter writer and still use guides to keep my lines straight. If you want to write on unlined correspondence paper – just place a piece of notebook paper underneath and follow the lines.  When you are finished, you have written in straight lines without them being there and your recipient will be soooo impressed!

Many thanks to Nicole for sharing a peek inside her penmanship workshop! Looks fun, doesn’t it? Be sure to check out Nicole’s designs this month – they’re on sale through the end of February (and Bella Figura customers save on calligraphy addressing from Nicole, too!). 

All about our foil stamped envelope liners

Available in 8 great patterns, our foil stamped envelope liners can be printed in any of our 19 foil colors. This glamorous new embellishment is a great way to add some shine to your wedding invitations or save the dates! Check out the patterns below – our see them in person! We currently offer 12 samples with foil stamped envelope liners – visit our gallery to view them all now.  

Bella Figura's foil stamped envelope liners are available in 8 great patterns + 19 foil colors!

Blush watercolor wedding invitation ideas

Inspired by lush florals and vibrant shades of pink and orange, Mariel Mirra began her design process for Blush with a paintbrush. This watercolor wedding invitation suite features hand-painted watercolors that we digitally printed on our new Bella Smooth Cotton paper, with gold matte foil and Holcombe style calligraphy accents adding some glamour. For a Blush inspired wedding, Mariel envisions lots of colorful flowers, festive ribbon streamers and the occasional pop of metallic gold. To see even more of the inspiration behind the design, check out Mariel’s Blush Pinterest board

Mariel Mirra's inspiration for Blush, a watercolor wedding invitation with gold foil stamping from Bella Figura

Photos, clockwise from top right: couple | Blush save the date | bouquet | succulents | ribbon streamers | centerpieces | reception | table number | Blush wedding invitation 

Preppy chic hand calligraphy letterpress wedding invitations

Christina and Christopher transformed our Honoured Guest letterpress wedding invitations from over the top elegant to preppy, summertime chic for their country club wedding. They asked Sarah Hanna to pen her hand calligraphy at an angle, and carried that unexpected personalization through to their reception card and directions card. Edge painting and a custom pineapple patterned envelope liner in fuchsia add a pop of color to the nautical inspired navy letterpress printing.

Preppy chic hand calligraphy letterpress wedding invitations | Bella Figura

letterpress inks: navy + fuchsia | paper: bella cotton white 1-ply + 2-ply | edge painting: fuchsia | envelope: bella cotton white | envelope liner: custom pattern in fuchsia | hand calligraphy: honoured style | customization# 23273

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