Handmade Weddings!

We are SUPER excited to report that our new book, Handmade Weddings, created with the extra fabulous Shana Faust, is here!!

The book includes over 50 delightful (if we do say so ourselves! ) projects designed to inspire, whether your look is modern classic or retro homespun along with lots of guidance on choosing a look, sourcing materials, and working out timelines.

Better yet, 100 Layer Cake is giving away 5 copies (as we speak!) to lucky readers as well as a discount on the book!

Here's the cute trailer for the book! Woot! (very excited!)

Happy holidays to you and yours!

We're taking a few days off to enjoy the holidays - hope you do the same! Some potential activities include making these cookies:

Seeing this movie:

and working on projects from this book:

Have a great holiday!!

Pikku Ribbon

We are huge fans of Pikku (check out our collaborations with them here), so we were delighted to discover their new line of ribbons from Angela Liguori!

Gorgeous, right?

via Paper Crave with images from Angela Liguori

Danish Paper Stars!

We are getting the urge to do some last minute holiday crafting after coming across these super cool Danish (or German or Moravian) paper stars!  There's a handy tutorial - love this wreath idea, and these would look so great nestled into a Christmas tree, or just hanging around, being festive!  And, they would be lovely as a wedding detail (since we have weddings on the brain over here) - perhaps as a cute place card holder? (Fingers tapping chin, contemplatively)...

from Jurianne Matter via Nabe Fabric

Hello!Lucky Holiday Secret Book Exchange

Shh! We're doing an secret book exchange for our Hello!Lucky Holiday Party.  Wonder if anyone will be giving/receiving any of these?

I can name of a few of us who might fancy this one:

Ooh hoo hooo... this one looks like a REAL treat:

ACK! Scary! But full of all sorts of wisdom, no doubt.  Via Found in Mom's Basement.

Chalkboard Typography = Genius.

How gorgeous is the typography on these chalkboard drawings by Dana Tanamachi?

These may even rate the extra high honor of Geniusy Genius...So inspiring!

You can find more of her work here.

Via DesignWorkLife

The Exquisite Corpse!

Check it out: 7x7 magazine is challenging all you artists out there to participate in their rendition of game that served as the basis for the book The Exquisite Book: 100 Artists Play a Collaborative Game (we were very flattered that they used our page from the book as the first drawing in the game! Woot!).  The details can be found here!

Silk Tree Branch Mobiles by Moon-Lily Silk

Some of us have been traveling here at Hello!Lucky and we're a little confused about what season it is! We thought these delicate silk tree mobiles by Moon-Lily Silk were a refreshing way to look back while marching ever onward toward spring...was it?

Brought to mind our Autumn Leaves design.

And these brought to mind EIEIO's Lunaria design.  Lovely, modern and nature-inspired.

And of course, Cherry Blossom.

Such lovely decorations for seasonally inspired weddings!

And, they might look equally beautiful in a nursery, no? (A child's nursery, that is, not an arboreal one where they might get a little lost.)

Thanks so much, Jan, for sharing!

Our TOP TEN Customers!

We are SO impressed by our clever clientele! Read below to ROTFL!

Totally Hilarious!

Thanks so much Debbie, Chris, Zippy and Delilah, from all of us at the H!L office! And thanks for letting us share!

We couldn't show just one, so here's the original list to inspire the aspiring:

Now, if this is all news to you and you haven't yet seen our TOP TEN holiday newsletter design, find it here.

Or, for even more fun ideas for creative holiday cards, take a peek at our other styles of holiday newsletters.

Oh, Vintage Fisher Price, We Heart You!

We grew up in the 70's and 80's, so Fisher Price holds a particular place in our collective hearts, but, seriously, how could you not love these classic toys?  The aesthetic is so very, very cool...

These little portable radios!

And this music box TV!

Ah Jingle Bird...

And this camera?  Seriously.

Fisher Price has brought back a few of their vintage toys, such as the classic Chatter Telephone (though it amuses us to think that the average child would be utterly mystified by this phone - rotary dial? Wha??) and the Record Player and let's not forget The Corn Popper Push Toy! We wish they would bring back more!

via Modern Kiddo with awesome photos by flickr users jpidgeon, john_kratz, monique(moki), doe-c-doe, amazing granda and julielion

Real Wedding: Camilla and Hank

What a beautiful backdrop! This fantastic San Francisco Wedding was just featured on Snippet and Ink.

Love the pairing of our place cards/escort cards with the Russian Dolls. Such rich colors. And Bimbo's 365 Club was just the right venue for retro ambiance. We adore Bimbo's delicate pink monogrammed plates with the menus, too! Fab photos by Our Labor of Love.

Vintage Ornaments

It's been too long since we've made it out to the Alameda Flea Market, so when we were reminded the other day of how much we adore vintage blown-glass ornaments, we had to find someplace to get an eyeful.  Our Woodblock Ornaments holiday card design put us in the mood, and we turned up all these lovelies to help us flea-shop vicariously.

Such beautiful music! We just couldn't hold back our holiday enthusiasm any longer.

Our personal favorite. What colors! Fancy a cup?

And a requisite Father Christmas.

AAACK! But maybe not this one! Teee heee!

All these come via a lovely vintage treasure blog called Oodles and Oodles.

Serendipity

Ah! How cool is this shop?  It's called Serendipity and is, bien sûr, in Paris...We found it via Olivelse, a cute little shop (and blog!) that has tempted us many a time.  They make these awesome stuffed ukeleles...

Serendipity carries an eclectic selection of  charming unique objects from around the world...

These paint pot containers seem such a simple idea, but so cool...

How fabulous is this rug?

Love the bohemian vibe of these bed linens...

And this! A bowl for children made of silicon.  Genius.

So inspiring, non? If you happen to be lucky enough to be traipsing about Paris, you can find Serendipity here:  81-83, rue du Cherche-Midi
75006 Paris. Otherwise, visit their online shop here - lucky for us, they ship internationally! Vive l'internet!

Lovely Letterpress Leftovers

Spotted these grand assemblage pieces by Eric Ulrich on Junkculture.

As letterpress afficionados, though, we must make a disclaimer: if you happen upon a set of wood block type, make sure it's incomplete and thoroughly dinged up before you re-purpose it.  Good, complete sets of fonts are hard to come by. Consult with a pro. : )  (These look pretty well worn; the blog says Eric salvaged the type from a printing company in Iowa.)

Love the textures and colors! Makes us feel at home.

Herriott Grace

How gorgeous are these petit flags and other sweet handmade things from Herriott Grace?

Even more charming is the fact that it's a father daughter venture that began with Lance Herriott sending his daughter hand carved wooden spoons in the mail...

All their products are hand-made (you know how we love thingshand-made!)

How lovely is this wooden cake pedestal?

Nikole and Lance Herriott - we are big fans!

Via Ritzy Bee...

Beautiful Enameled Jewelry by Jill Baker Gower

Jill Baker Gower's wallpaper patterned enameled earrings are exquisite!  We think they'd make perfect bridesmaids' gifts to coordinate with our Antoinette stationery design.  Such an elegant mixture of modern design and vintage patterns.

And how about this gorgeous enamel and silver pendant?  Jill teaches Metalsmithing at Rowan University in New Jersey, and she does beautiful work, including some very simple and elegant bridal commissions.

Splendid silver rings to match!  You can see more of Jill's work, including her fascinating sculptural jewelry here.

Exquisite Book Signing in San Francsico

Attention design enthusiasts! If you're in the bay area you should give this a gander. Our own Eunice Moyle will be at Rare Device doing collaborative drawings with Julia Rothman and other great illustrators! Here's some more info.

Petit Pan

On a recent trip to Paris (oh, how we love thee!), we discovered Petit Pan - a charming little shop filled with all kinds of marvelous things...

Like this lil' rabbit, that came in his own "petite maison" (a cardboard box with holes cut out for his ears - one has to let the ears breathe, clearly!)

The aesthetic is heavily inspired by Chinese folk art and popular culture (no one does that particular shade of hot pink quite so well) but with that je ne sais quoi that is so very French...

Adorable bags...

Love these fabulous kites...

Love this children's chair SO MUCH...

In addition, they have a shop dedicated entirely to beads, baubles, ribbons, and fabrics and offer what are, no doubt, fabulous classes in drawing, textiles and kite-making, among others.

If you ever find yourself in Paris, you must visit - it is a truly magical little place.  You can order from them online here, or visit them in Paris here: 39 (the haberdashery) and 76 (the shop), Rue François Miron.

Golden Gate Dinner Party

Did you see the incredible dinner party that Jordon threw under the Golden Gate Bridge?! There's even a how-to if you were so inspired....now we just need to figure out how to get on the guest list!

photos by Paul Ferney for Oh Happy Day

Taste of the Test Kitchen

Taste of the Test Kitchen is a new blog from the uber-geniuses over at Martha Stewart featuring recipes, cooking tips and restaurant reviews. Anybody hungry?