THIS is the Royal Invitation?????

I loved every minute of the Royal Wedding today. I didn't mind at all that I was going to have to function on 4 hours sleep because, well, getting into that stuff is fun! I don't watch the news on TV so I was not inundated with details of the event for the past several months. I could enjoy everything as it occurred, and not be consumed with which dress Kate was going to wear and who designed it etc.

Of course, now that I'm officially in love with the Royal Wedding, I had to check out the invitation.

And I was terribly disappointed. Really. Really. {no words}. I thought for sure this was a joke or another red herring and that the REAL invitation was not to be revealed for privacy purposes. IS IT?? About the only thing I like is the hand written part for the guest...a lovely personal touch. Uninspired text (italic times???? Could you have shaved a little off the tree budget to hire a calligrapher?) And a picture stuck in the corner? And some weird step-down text on the left corner, but centered text on the right corner? I heard that Kate did her own make-up (which I thought looked lovely) and I'm seriously wondering if she just decided that her Word program would be fine too. Maybe she printed them on her desktop printer she used at University. I don't know. It's all so underwhelming. I guess the crest is kind of cool but it'stoo close to the top lines...it's like a creepy guy at the bar standing too close to you. Awkward.

I can't even talk about it any more. (I just noticed that the worry crease between my eyes is deeply furrowed and my eyes are literally squinting from the atrocity). I'm going to have to redesign it for them, even though they will never see it. I'll share when it's ready. Until then, shield your eyes and look away.

Hi Friends, visit me at Kalanicut today!

I wrote a guest post on my favorite invitation trends. Come see!

The invitation rejection story

The client/designer collaboration is a helpful and necessary creative road. When I meet with clients, I love the initial boom of excitement that comes from starting a new design for them. Something about that special person makes me think differently about a new idea; personalities and event descriptions become symbols and pictures in my head which translate into paper and text. The first part of the custom invitation process starts with several idea samples that are either chosen as-is, or tweaked until they are just what the client wanted (even if they didn't have the words to describe it yet!). I work really hard at the initial design step, which is why I require a small design deposit. Most of my efforts are in brainstorming and tinkering with the ideas until I'm happy with a sample, the rest is just a matter of fine-tuning.

Here's an example of a design that I loved dearly. I loved it so much, I almost stopped designing the rest of the ideas in my head. "How could anything else be better?" I asked myself in the midst of the creative high. Luckily I know thyself better. There is always another great idea. And I'm glad I pressed forward because this was not the design that was chosen. It was great, but not quite right for this particular customer. I still love it, though, and I'm sure it will be just perfect for someone else. And don't worry about Joe, he'll be getting another kick*ss Bar Mitzvah invitation.

So. Margot, what do you love so much about it?
Well, thank you for asking! I used my Silhouette SD to make a simple die-cut of "JOE", which was a stylized font I manipulated, and then set it in the center of a foldover layer over the invitation. The fun part for me was creating the "JOE" inside to line up with the cut-out, while being readable on it's own once the overlay was lifted. It wouldn't work for all names, but I think it would work for many. And I also adore the super modern typesetting I created for the invitation. It's fun to push those invitation "standards".

So, if you know of anyone having a Bar Mitzvah with the name "JOE", let me know... :o)

Guest Post-Kalani Cropper

One of my favorite aspects of the blogosphere is the community. I'm sure there are some nasty souls out there, but I've only met the nicest ones. I took an amazing on-line class called Blogging Your Way with Holly Becker (Decor8, HausMaus) and Leslie Shrewring (A Creative Mint) last year. Not only was I inspired to blog to the best of my ability, but I met a lot of other inspirational bloggers and have joined a most supportive and friendly community.

That is how I met Kalani, who authors her blog of life's beautiful details and craft projects called Kalanicut. She was kind enough to share a bit of herself and her charming torn paper art in today's guest post. I thought the torn paper was such a wonderful way to use decorative paper that I decided to add to this post by offering a pack of my very beautiful decorative paper. I use and keep all the scraps left over from invitation projects and crafting projects and I've amassed quite a beautiful collection of silkscreened Chiyogami and graphic prints. I'll be giving away 3 fat packs to the first 3 readers who leave a comment. Please send me your address via email and I'll send it out to you!

Hit it Kalani...

The Simplicity & Delicacy of Torn Paper Art

Hi. I am so happy to have a chance to guest here at Margot Madison Creative. I thought I would share the art of torn paper today. Torn paper art is simply tearing all the shapes by hand, rather than using scissors, punches or other instruments. I first started doing paper art with construction paper in college. Since then I have used it when babysitting small children, teaching at The Art Farm (a children’s art program I founded), as family Thanksgiving Day entertainment and professionally to make notecards and larger pieces of art.

It is amazing what a group of people can come up with in a torn paper art session. It’s an art form that even people who don’t feel they are creative can lose themselves in, which brings me a lot of joy to see. I have seen everything from pop up notecards to broad landscapes and 3D structures. Paper is an amazingly flexible medium - you can tear it, fold it, bend it and glue it into endless formations.

When the scrapbook paper industry began to boom I graduated up to enjoy the full spectrum of colors and patterns it has to offer.  This past year two of my most challenging projects were contributing a torn paper art piece to the BlogHer/Kirtsy Gulf Auction  and creating a “portrait” of my little clan.

To make the large flower seen above you only need to be able to tear paper teardrop shapes in varying sizes and then tear three circular shapes.

Thanks so much Kalani! I love that spring flower and how it dresses up a gift (and the flower is a gift in itself!) I'm imagining how great it would look on a spring wreath too. Hmmm....somebody's mother might be getting a special torn paper something from her crafty daughter for Mother's Day....

One of my favorite places on Earth: Adams County, Ohio

The sun burning through the morning fog in the back yard.

I love living in Cincinnati where there is a green grocer and a CVS pharmacy within walking distance from my house. I love my unkempt yard with stilts left akilter on the front stairs, inviting a lawsuit from the postal carrier. I love poking my head out of the house when the weather is warm and seeing which of my neighbors is enjoying a glass of wine or bottle of beer on their porch.

But there is another place I love too: Adams County, Ohio. I lived in West Union, Ohio for 5 years when my husband's small farm and shiitake mushroom business was a passion set to be a career. There is a lot of romance to country living and truth be told, I'm not one to swoon for it. I'm a city girl who enjoys a day of peace and quiet only when I choose it. Happily, we still can visit when time allows. I'm enjoying it in new ways, now that I am letting the full artsy joy be a part of my life again. We spent several days this spring break and I brought my new camera and my watercolors and my sketchbook. It was glorious and I remembered why we always say, "It's always a beautiful day at the farm." It's true, and absence makes this girl's heart grow fonder.

In honor of Earth day, I am celebrating and sharing with you this wonderful place that brings so much joy to our family. In this place you can hear cows lowing in the distant fields. You learn to accept ladybugs hitting the windows and wasps and flies and ticks on your dogs and kids. You can sit on the porch and hear a cock crow. You can see your moon shadow. You can hear your footsteps crunch on the gravel. You can walk the plowed fields and find ancient arrowheads. You can get your rubber boots on and walk a stream for as long as you want. You can watch the earth disappear down an ever-widening sink hole. You can walk through the forest and find a hidden morel or a blue bunting or a swallowtail butterfly. It'a a place for cousins, friends, families and animals to run around, get dirty, pick up sticks for a fire or simply to do a puzzle quietly while everyone else is out. I am ever thankful to the Madison clan for sharing it with us. This is a great weekend to enjoy your favorite earth spot--where is your favorite earth place?

Sitting atop an ancient seabed, that is now a cliff overlooking the ridge. We call it Madison's Mines because you can find fossilized sea plants that look like tiny seed beads in the rocks.

A field of blond grasses and trees.

Baxter and Oliver attracting ticks (ug!) but having the time of their lives!

Finding a "pool" during a creek walk. We were prepared with swimsuits THIS time. The kids call themselves "The Drowned Rats"

Sunset and a horizon, something not usually seen in the city!

Now Trending: Hand drawn invitations

I've really enjoyed watching this trend grow. It's a wonderful response to a computerized world where everything is digital, digitized and perfected with a mouse instead of a pencil eraser. Of course, don't think for a moment that the computer doesn't participate in this trend! It's just nice to see artists working off-line for a while before going back to our little fr'enemies. I've toyed around with this and have enjoyed it immensely. It's fun to sit and draw!

What's really at the heart of this is the charm of having a custom illustration that in some way, represents you. The artists who create these can bring your physical likeness, your hobbies and your event venue or city to light in a comfortable and friendly way. It's casual, but still says "We cared about this event, and hope you do too."

I did a post previously on Marie Letourneau's illustrated invitations here and have collected some more lovely examples of hand drawn invitations, credits to follow the image.

A collection of illustrated or hand-drawn invitations

1. Handwritten invitation text by Bella Figura
2. Save the date tree border by See The Skyline
3. Watercolor Panoramic invitation by Tree Space Studio
4. Hand drawn map by E Fine Stationery
5. Drawn wreath border invitation by Patricia Mumau
6. "Celebrate" banners by PaperInvitationCards
7. Silhouette invitation by ElloThere
8. Couple in the Park Invitation by Jack and Jill Wedding
9. Hand drawn calligraphy for guest addressing by Andrea Lynn Karmazyn

Easter Goodies!

Homemade Marshmallow Eggs

Sugar Cookie "Eggs"

Last Sunday the kids at our church held a bakesale to support the relief in Japan. As I am always ready to jump at an idea that is both worthy in cause and creativity, I was all over this. I know that a "better" mom would have asked the kids what they wanted to do to contribute but I'm sorry to tell you that I don't work that way. My husband and I discussed what we were willing to to (since we'd be doing the bulk of the work anyway) and brought the kids in for important decisions like choosing the color of sprinkles and handwriting the tags. I love to create, but I really don't have lots of patience.

So, now that you know I'm a design-nazi mom, you can really appreciate the effort (and future therapy bills for my kids) put into these projects.

Homemade Marshmallow "Peeps"
This was actually my darling husband's idea. He's been into making homemade marshmallows (his day job is producing gelato so he's quite a creative foodie) and I thought it was brilliant. I'm not a fan of Peeps (I'd much prefer some nice crispy onion rings) but my kids love them, and I appreciate not filling them with all those awful chemicals used in the store-bought ones. This recipe is particularly good because it doesn't use high fructose corn syrup.

Making marshmallows is really rather easy. Start with a batch using the recipe here. Prepare a cookie sheet covered with parchment paper, then a light dusting of sifted powdered sugar, and spread the soft marshmallow mixture on top of that. Ours was about 3/4" thick. Sprinkle bands of colored sanding sugar on the mixture, covering all the white completely. This was a great job for the kids, so little N helped me with that. Let the mixture set and once firm, use a cookie cutter to create the shapes. I know you're thinking now, "Hey, you called these homemade Peeps and I didn't actually see any chicks in your pictures!" You are correct. The cute little chick cutter wasn't working with our marshmallow mix; the beaks and feet kept breaking off. And since I was going for beauty here, I decided to let the kids eat those ones. Once the shape is removed from the sheet, cover the edges with more sanding sugar and set aside for packaging.

I placed 2 eggs in a clear plastic sleeve (link here) and put a cute stamped sticker on top. This was mainly because I thought it was easier to handle and sell at the bakesale. They would be really nice on a plate with some other treats, or also great as a decoration on a cake!

Easter Egg Sugar Cookies
Since the "Peeps" were kind of involved, I wanted to keep the next baked good simple. My kids love these sugar cookies covered with pastel M&Ms. I make them at Christmas with red and green M&Ms and they look like ornaments. A good basic sugar cookie recipe is here. Roll the dough in the M&M's and bake as directed.

Bookclub Tea Party Part 1-Free Printables Included!

Yes, just part one! There were so many great aspects to this styled photo shoot that I couldn't possibly do it all in one post--and I know you'd fade away after 30 seconds no matter how compelling my writing is. We're just geared that way. At least I am.

The inspiration for this party was essentially my mother's tea set from Susie Davis called Black Fruit circa 1960, London. Again, props to my mama for having such good taste in tea sets. I have loved and lusted after this china for as long as I could remember, and I hope my mom is reading this so she can write that in her last will and testament. I did an initial color scheme photo in this post and the event inspiration details in this post.

Then I waited and procrastinated for several months (I think it was about 7) and then got myself in gear to finish the job. I invited Tammy Duvall (mom with fashion degree and insane need to do too much), Alexis Anderson (fabulous cake decorator and foodie), Karyn Hlad-Miller (photographer extraordinaire and fellow creative sucker) to join in the fun. So, the Jewel tone Book Club Tea Party became a reality. This wasn't an actual party because my book club wouldn't have the capacity to stop talking to pose for photos, nor could they NOT eat the food--you know how that goes, and I refer mainly to myself--but I think it makes for a great idea if you are either starting a book club for the first time, or getting the readers together for the start of another year. Do it in style, girl!

LET'S START WITH THE PAPER PARTS, SHALL WE?
I can speak coherently about that because I did it and since I have an insatiable need to understand artists and how they arrive at their final designs, I'll share my creative process with you.

First, I analyzed what was so beautiful about the tea set. It had a delicate and detailed black line drawing on a broad white background paired with a full flood of color striking jewel tone color. The overall style was classic but the color made it modern and edgy to me. When I translated those design elements into the coordinating peripheral paper materials it came out this way: A small black linear ornament with a splash of bold color (using the colors in the cups to keep visual consistency). The trick to a successful design is always in the balance of elements. In this case, the color equation was roughly a 2/3 white space, 1/6 black lines, 1/6 solid color. That makes one whole, right? Math was never my thing...

The invitation was a library pocket that I die cut with my Silhouette SD machine. It came standard with my software, so that was a nice bonus! The template for the pocket had a seam across the front so I used my most delightful Washi tape to cover it up. I chose the intricate black lace pattern to contrast with the simple lines of the main card design. I typeset the party specifics on a card that fit inside the pocket, making the enticing parts to stick out so you read those first. Then behind the invitation was a bookmark I created for each bookclub member to keep. It had all the books we'd be reading, the date of the discussion and who would be the host for that night. A handy memento that is both practical and pretty. I love it!

I always cherish a good party favor, so the bookplates were lots of fun to design. I carried over the design elements and printed them out on adhesive paper. Since I sometimes want my books back, but othertimes don't care, I included both options. A perfect gift for my book loving friends! I packaged a set of 6 in a flat white paper bag (from a restaurant supply store, probably used to hold large cookies, but we use them for the kid's lunches to cut down on plastic) folded over and closed with an ornately shaped color tag that I hand-wrote "Read On!" They were placed on the front table with a sign to let guests know that they shouldn't be shy and to take one with them when they left that day.

And for the fontophiles (not a real word), the main body text is Chisel Normal, and the script is Revised Dancer. The black ornaments are selections from Borderfont Classicals. Read more about using ornaments in this post.

The rest of the party signage is of course based on the main design concept. Smaller table tents for the food labels, and slightly larger tents for the various "stations" at the party, each with a punch of color in the border. One of my favorite ideas was to have a book exchange as a low key party "game". Guests bring their previously read and enjoyed paperbacks to exchange for another's beloved cast-offs. This was all mentioned in the invitation, of course, so everyone can be prepared.

Super cute, huh? Are you feeling like OMG I am so gonna take my bookclub up a notch this year! and have a fun party too? You're in luck because I'm giving away the bookmark and party signage printables FOR FREE! Just right click on the images below to download the jpg file. The bookmarks are blank because, uh, you need to come up with your own list. Even if you are not having a bookclub party, I think the bookplates would make a thoughtful gift for a teacher or friend who is always exclaiming, "You have to read this book!" I'm thinking these are going to be stocking stuffers this year.

SO ARE YOU STILL WITH ME OR DID I LOSE YOU? You are? Good, you have much more patience than I do. Next week, I will highlight the general decor and styling of the party, and the week after we can talk food and drinks (recipes and tragic story included, so you don't want to miss that one).

HERE ARE THE PRINTABLES!

Flower Petal Garlands from Paris

Ah, my bloggy friends! It's been a few weeks since I could really concentrate on my blog posts. I am doing a joyful but all-consuming design project, which as mercifully come to a temporary pause. It feel so good to have a "normal" day. Blog post in the morning, client work in the afternoon. All is good.

My sister-in-law Charlotte is back in town, which means we having many deep discussions about creativity, what's going on in the crafting world, and how we can be a part of that. Charlotte is French, living in Munich, Germany and is quite involved with the etsy world, with her own store PetitPoeme and also is a contributer to the Etsy French Handmade group.

Charlotte's always got her finger on the pulse of what's new and fabulous. And she loves sharing that knowledge and connecting people who can help each other--you know people like that? They are always have an excited way of adding to the conversation, "You should meet so-and-so! You would love what they are doing with such-and-such! I'll introduce you!" and she does that very thing. She's a born networker, which is great for this sometimes introverted design gal.

Camille Gallery was her most recent recommendation. And as usual, I agree that this is a really special thing Camille does! Camille is a photographer and recycler who makes garlands out of real petals. Her process is quite involved, but as you can see, it produces such a delicate and romantic garland that is light and airy and a wonderful touch for a romantic wedding. You could also have her "preserve" your wedding bouquet as a garland for posterity. Imagine the flowers from your most special day hanging over your bed's headboard like fairy petals. Just lovely!

Here's how she does it in her own words:
"Process (for 1 garland!):
Making a flower petals garland is a very long process! and of course totally handmade by me.
First I select the flowers for their color. Then I dry the petals (this phase needs a minimum of two weeks for a bouquet of 10 flowers). Then I laminate the petals, and cut them one by one (one afternoon). And finally I assemble the garland (two hours)."

Yes, she did say that she cut them one by one. Mon Dieu! You can request a special order, with special color, or thread, if you want different petal colors on the same thread, etc. Just note that it takes at least one month to complete your order, so plan accordingly.

Fonts I'm using a lot recently

Being holed up in my little studio, it's easy to get stuck in design rut.  I have lots of amazing resources for visual stimulation on-line, but still I often go back to what I've done before because it's, well, easy. Or perhaps I should say "efficient". I know how to make certain fonts work together and I just do it over and over again. And people like those combinations (*cough* Bickham and Garamond *cough*) so it's easy to slide into that comfortable shoe.

I have however, been enjoying some more interesting fonts lately and I thought I'd share them with you. Even the most savvy designer can get overwhelmed with the bazillions of choices, so sometimes separating them is helpful. It is for me. And while I'm posting this, I'm buried under a pile of client and design work. When I have more time, I'll do a little exploratory so you can see these fonts in action. Until then, I have to pay the bills. Ya know what I'm sayin'? (quoted from Trailer Park Boys--does anyone else watch that?)

They are in no particular order, so don't think I'm playing favorites.

Links: Gala & Gala Ombre, Strangelove Text, Aphrodite, Century Gothic, Ecuyer (free!), Lobster (free!), Ultra Condensed San Serif (free!), William Lucas.

Bookclub photoshoot teaser...

First Book Club party photo, Karyn Llad-Miller

One thing I love about living a creative life is that I learn ALL THE TIME. I am not always a patient learner. As anyone who knows me well (or worked with me *cough*) knows that I get all excited about a new idea and then proceed to draw everyone in to my creative endeavor. Fortunately, I know many creatives who would be happy to drop everything and jump on board and more patient friends who are willing to play a supporting role. My father looked at me at one point and said, "Honestly, sometimes I have no idea where you came from!" and my mother asked me about 8 times, "Now why are you doing this?"

One aspect I'm practicing is event styling and photography. I see these things all over the internet and drool. Then my stomach hurts because I know I want to do it too--but with my own ideas. In my mind's eye it's really going to look fantastic! But the reality is that I'm not a professional in ALL aspects of the event styling--not even close (although I do feel closer now that I have my new camera) and that is the basis of much frustration.

I know what a good photograph looks like but I'm not able to take it. I know what the food should look like, but I can't make it. I know how a beautifully styled space looks like but thinking 3 dimensionally isn't my strongest suit. Even if I could do all those things well, I am just one person and there are other people in my life who would like to have me around some of the time (my kids, husband, clients) BUT, I can design great paper products since I've had LOTS of practice with that. So that's something.

When this last creation stormed into my brain, I set out to find the people who could help me do all the other things that I couldn't do. I called upon Karyn Llad-Miller since she is an amazing photographer. I yanked Tammy Duvall out of her Waldorf School/Gala Planning world and put her fashion and retail styling degree into gear, and I met Alexis Anderson who is a cake designing fool in her free time. After rescheduling about 12 times (the Universe was not yet ready for us) we finally got a full day to style and photograph my next project: The Bookclub Coffee party.

I'm pleased with our efforts, but as many of you might relate, I've been spending the last week rethinking and restyling to make it better. I'm already looking forward to the next one, knowing that I've got some more experience on my side.

I will flesh out the details of the event separately because well, that's what this blog is about. I'm just starting you out with one of the photographs Karyn sent to me last night. It's beautiful and I nearly cried when I saw it. I couldn't help it. I was feeling emotional people!

Have you heard of Wedzu?

I hadn't until now, but my lovely Charlotte always has my back on these cool new websites. She actually sent me the link a long time ago and I saved the message until I had time to take a closer look (months later--ug)

It's called Wedzu and I think it looks like a great resource for Indie Brides. It has an etsy feel, and since it's focused on weddings only you can not get distracted by all the other cool "stuff" out there. Take a look ladies and tell me what you think!