Behind the scenes at our photo shoot

Last month, we were in New York for a couple of weeks shoot our new DIY wedding book with co-author and stylist Shana Faust and photographer Joseph De Leo. It was an amazing and overwhelming experience, and has largely been responsible for the slow-down in blog posts!!

We spent a full 2 weeks crafting at Aloft Studio in mid-town - if you're wondering how much crafting goes into filling a book, look above! (Thanks to Kim and John for letting us turn the place upside down!)

We were fortunate to have helpers - H!L's intrepid Chun Yee O'Neill and Tricia Roush of House of Nines Design - who crafted along side us every day!

Shana brought tons of beautiful props for styling...

And we all brought piles and piles of crafting materials, like these pretty ribbons from Mokuba Ribbon, which we'd collected over the past year. Believe us, great crafting starts with great materials!

It was an incredible experience! Can't wait to share the finished book with everyone!

Photographer Susanna Corcoran

We are swooning over photographer Susanna Corcoran's gorgeous color studies...

Love how each applies the same color palette to different subjects...

...some are witty, like this contrast between young and old (love the Grande Odalisque-esque baby posture!)

You can see more of her fabulous work on her Flickr photostream...

For those Bay Area folks who are casting about for a photographer to do your holiday cards, she does portraits!

The ones above are of her hilarious twin girls! Enjoy!

Real Wedding: Sarah & Patrick

We are sure there is, in some peoples' minds, the assumption that the perfect English wedding should be held in mid-summer with small bridesmaids in pink voile running over emerald green, sun-dappled lawns, bright roses on the tables, food and cake a-plenty and all to the sound of laughter and clink of champagne flutes (or - to each their own - beer glasses!). The August wedding of Sarah McKee and Patrick Barry didn't disappoint on any of the above.

Sarah chose our classic Cherry Blossom design for her wedding stationery and carried the floral theme right through the whole event, even Patrick's tie managed to co-ordinate! The wonderfully relaxed atmosphere was captured perfectly in the photographs taken by Charley Smith.

We love the way that the table plans were strung-out on a silken washing line in the gardens of the house near Windsor where the guests strolled before being seated in the marquee for the meal. A perfect opportunity for showing-off that pink voile dress! Notice the touch of the tiny gold clothes pegs holding each one up - genius!

The flowers for the day were by Richard Elder one of the country's leading floral designers who combined the hot Summer colours in these charming baskets for the bridesmaids. The fabulous and mouth-watering mini cake stack was by Peggy Porschen and the talented Dan McEvoy from Real Cooking did the rest of the catering. We  just love the way that the cherry blossom flower has been picked-out again on the top of each cake!

Thank you so much to Sarah & Patrick for sharing these photos with us. Ah! roll-on next summer!!

The Alameda Flea is back on!

The flea is back on, according to the official website!  Hurray!!

We're seriously tempted to brave the Bay Bridge closure and hoof it out there for fear that this may be the last. Tip for what it's worth:  last time the bridge was closed, we found that the San Mateo bridge got us there quickly in the morning. Returning, the Richmond bridge was a nightmare so we doubled  back and took the San Mateo bridge back to the city -- much better!  Hope to see you there!

Shana Faust

We're super excited that Shana Faust's fabulous new website! Shana's an amazing freelance stylist in New York and former senior style editor at Martha Stewart Weddings. She's also co-author and stylist of our new wedding craft book, coming Fall 2009 from Chronicle Books (behind-the-scenes pics from our recent photo shoot will be posted here soon!).

One of the best parts of the site is her inspiration area, which contains links to all kinds of fabulous design resources. Check it out, and click here for some lovely pics of Shana's home and her sweet little daughter Sophie Bea we took back in March!

Alameda Flea Market, noooooooo!

10/31/09 - IMPORTANT UPDATE: THE FLEA IS BACK ON!! (though how to get there quickly with the Bay Bridge still closed is a conundrum...)

We just learned via Paris Boutique Hotel that the Alameda Flea Market, which was to have happened as usual this Sunday, is canceled indefinitely due to some legal dispute among the organizers!

We were already fretting about how we were going to get there given today's indefinite Bay Bridge closure (due to a collapsed crossbeam - lord help us!), and now we're just, well...excuse us while we dab our eyes and honk our noses on one of the many precious vintage hankies we've purchased from the Flea over the years!

We'll keep fingers and toes crossed that this is not a permanent state of affairs, and that the Flea will rise again! In the meantime, spread the word to anyone you know who was planning to go...

Photo via Paris Boutique Hotel

Casey Yu photography

You might have noticed the adorable photos on our fabulous new custom holiday cards courtesy of Bay Area photographer Casey Yu.

Casey is offering mini and full sessions exclusively for our readers during the month of November! The first ten clients to book will receive a $50 print credit; the next ten clients will receive a $25 print credit, plus a coupon for 15% off custom holiday cards at hellolucky.com.

More details here (Bay Area residents only).

New Custom Holiday Cards!

We are super excited to announce the launch of our new custom holiday cards! They've been a long time coming, but we finally did it! Yea!

Thanks to digital print technology, we've been able to design fun, colorful photo cards that look and feel about as great as our letterpress cards! All the designs are printed on nice-n-thick 100% recycled paper (we don't even offer a non-recycled option, no sir!).

For all you newlyweds, they can double as wedding announcements (or be adapted to photo save the dates)!

Our classic letterpress holiday card designs are also available in custom versions -- either digitally or letterpress printed. Woo hoo! (Note - as of this writing, letterpress prices aren't up on the site yet, but check back in a couple of days!).

Special offer for our blog readers -- enter the promo code HLBLOG10OFF to get 10% off your order! Expires 10/31/09.

Jessie Quinn

  We came across Jessie Quinn on The Constant Gatherer and are now mildly obsessed...

Her dolls and objects are absolutely enchanting!  We are *so* inspired...

Fascinated by her work in progress...

Love the plaid pantaloons and stripey socks on this slightly deranged looking clown and his mysterious masked lady friend and her tiny dog!

Adore all the intricate details and combination of many of our favorite crafting techniques - knitting, sewing, embroidery - to such fantastical and quirky effect...

Hilarious buck-toothed mousey creature...

This hat on this very serious bird...we are speechless...

Enamoured of this lovely giraffe...

And this very sleepy rabbit with matching rabbit card...love him.

Her etsy shop can be found here and her work is also available here and you can see more of her fabulous things here.

Tombées du Camion

We here at Hello!Lucky are hopeless addicts of fabulous vintage finds (our studio is a mad collection of bits and bobs picked up at the flea) and so we were delighted to come across Tombées du Camion (translated, it means, appropriately and hilariously, Things Fallen Off the Truck) on the Constant Gatherer...

This fabulous little shop  is located in Paris (17 rue Joseph de Maistre, should one be so lucky as to be traipsing about Paris!)...

The shop is a collection of vintage bits and bobs, and many items are to be had in large quantities (fantastic for party favors, crafty endeavors etc.)

An online shop is supposedly forthcoming but in the interim, if something particularly strikes your fancy, such as these hilarious smiley guys, you can order via email.

Love these little soldier boxes!

Surely something fabulous can be done with these wooden whistles...

Trust the French to make tuna a fabulous and wonderful thing...

If Paris is not on your agenda anytime soon, here are a few of our favorite places to find cool trinkets:

Of course, the Alameda Flea (obsessed with it!)

Bell'ochhio

Tail of the Yak in Berkeley

Castle in the Air

Paper Valise

Etsy, of course, including Buttermilk Sky and SnapCrafty

Obama!

We heard a rumor this morning that our commander-in-chief was in town, growing more suspicious when our street was blocked off and the 5-0 started arriving in drones (above). Upon further investigation (i.e. batting eyelashes at the local police) and noticing sharpshooters (below) on the highest balcony on SoMa, we discovered the truth....Mr. President himself was going to pass right by our studio!!

What's a handful of creative types to do?! Well, fashion some speech bubble signs to express our excitement, of course!

Waiting on the edge of our seat (or fifteen minutes later)...

HE DRIVES BY!! AND WAVES!!

Yea!

new ban.do!

We've expressed our love for ban.do before, but there is something so romantic and lovely about their new Black label line.

to have and to hold

This tote couldn't be more perfect to use as a welcome bag for wedding guests. Want to add to the sentiment? Write a sweet handwritten note on our Seahorse Love greeting card!

Illustrated programs

How adorable are these illustrated programs from Joanna Goddard's wedding? The artwork was done by the talented Anna Bond, and features a quote from one of our favorite books, The History of Love by Nicole Krauss.

The Work of Mary Blair

What a legend Mary Blair is! Best known for her work with Disney, her style prevails through such character designs found in the Disneyland attraction It's A Small World, as well as countless children's books and animated classics.

Her illustrations are so inspiring whenever we're in need of a little eye candy!

7x7 Hot 20 under 40

It's official! We've been featured in 7x7 magazine's Hot 20 under 40!

Check out the full article here and the full list here.

Photo by John Lee.

Style Me Pretty Destination Wedding Giveaway!

We are thrilled to be a part of Style Me Pretty’s exclusive destination wedding giveaway...and, trust us, it's a doozy! One very lucky reader will receive a fabulous gift of goodies worth up to $2100 - FOR REAL!  Prizes include a 1 hour consultation with wedding planner Alison Hotchkiss, beautifully handcrafted cup set from Heath Ceramics, 2 nights stay at the Bardessono Hotel, gift certificate to Bottega Restaurant and so much more.  

Also included in the giveaway?  100 digital destination invitation sets from yours truly – Hello!Lucky. To enter and get  more details about this amazing giveaway, check out  http://www.stylemepretty.com/2009/09/23/giveaway/ NOW (no dawdling).  The highly enviable winner  will be announced next Wednesday, September 30th.   Enter...and keep those fingers crossed!  

Felt mailing envelopes

How adorable are these felt mailing envelopes by Keiko of Small Adventure? We love how you can use them as gift wrap – they even come with "to" and "from" labels that are tucked into plastic sleeves on the front. With extra labels included, it's the gift that keeps on giving! Genius!

They are available for purchase at her etsy shop, along with other charming creations!

Moody Birds

On a recent trip to Copenhagen, these wooden birds (aptly named "Bird") designed by architect and furniture designer Kristian Vedel quickly became an obsession even though we've seen them before.  It is pretty remarkable for any one thing to consistently stand out among all the wonderfully inspiring Danish furniture, crafts, architecture...not to mention the remarkably attractive inhabitants of this lovely city.  In adorable shop after adorable shop, their removable heads beckoned us until, at last, we succumbed to the temptation and picked up a few.

Designed and produced in the 50s to great success, the birds have recently been reintroduced in all 3 sizes - parent, grandparent and child (awww) and 2 finishes.  You can tilt the head any which way you please (a nice way to express your ever-changing mood) and can flip the body to be either male or female.  A great addition to any mantle, bookshelf, child's room, place setting....the possibilities are endless!

Wouldn't this type of circle arrangement be adorable as a centerpiece?   They are readily available for purchase online in the US here among other places.  Learn more about Bird and see more photos here.

Shipwreck DIY table numbers

Thanks to Christina Loff at Chronicle Books for sharing the adorable photos from her friends Julie & Joe's wedding.  Our favorite details were these embroidered table number flags -- in Christina's words, they gave the wedding a "shipwreck feel" - appropriate, since it was on the beach!

Here's how they looked placed in assorted found glass bottles, along with flowers and lanterns.

Here are some in-process shots. The numbers were embroidered on small hoops, and then sewn into flags, which were mounted on twig crossbars. Simple, and so cute!

Thanks, Christina, and congrats Julie & Joe!