. daily daydreams . a blog by love ardently design studio

After the heart button string-tie envelope DIY yesterday, it’s time to reveal the inside of the envelope that I sent to my swap buddies  at Weddingbee and Crow & Canary.

Err… this time I really have to credit the inspiration to Martha. I couldn’t find a wider solid pink grosgrain ribbon on Michaels the other day (can you believe that?!), so I just used a less wide ribbon I had on hand. I hope it resembles a candy enough :)

This year, I’m participating in two Valentine’s card swaps: one held by Crow and Canary, and the other one by Weddingbee. I have to tell you that I’m a huge fan of the snail mail. I think it’s just so fun to receive them and to send them as well. That brings us to a last minute DIY I want to share to you!

I use these heart button string-tie envelopes to send my Valentine’s cards for the swap. Although, errr… you might have seen something similar on Martha. Seriously, I found out AFTER I planned doing this DIY. Oh well, that’s okay. Mine is using a slightly different method and this tutorial doesn’t include sewing.

MATERIAL

. envelope (anything you wish to use. i got mine at envelopemall.com)

. foam mounting tabs (i got mine at office max)

. heart cut-outs (approximately 3/4″ in width, or you can use a craft punch)

. 12″ – 15″ of string or twine (i got my baker’s twine on etsy)

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Cut the mounting tab into a square, to fit the size of your heart cutouts.

2. Attach one side of the mounting tab to one of the heart cut-out, and the other side to the envelope, upside down below the enclosure.

3. Cut another mounting tab into a square and stick it to another heart. This time, attach one end of the string onto the mounting tab before adhering it to the envelope.

4. Now, stick it above the enclosure and press down a little bit to make sure it’s fully adhered.

5. You’re now ready to string-tie your envelope and send someone a love note!

This envelope would works best if it’s hand-delivered. I honestly don’t recommend using it for mailing stuffs, but if you’re a daredevil like me, you’d probably try it out just to see if it would reach your recipient as neat as when you sent them. Hopefully it wouldn’t be screwed during the mailing *fingers crossed*. We shall hear from my card swap buddies, then! :)

Let’s start the week with something lovely. I stumbled upon this UK store called Papermash last week via Jolie Jolie. I thought they have such a lovely collection of stuffs!

And this free printable for download makes me swoon… Super, super sweet.

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I’ll get back to you later today with the winners of our desk calendar giveaway! :)

I’ve been admiring the art of paper cutting lately. I’m beginning the week with this inspiring and awesome paper cutting artist from London, Robert Ryan. His typographic style is very unique. I love how he works with paper cutting art and also moves to lots of different directions (like screen printing) with it. His portfolio website is currently under construction but he has a blog and an etsy shop.

It’s been a while since we have a Wedding Wednesday in this blog. I promise you, you’ll love this one. Do you remember these fabric invitations we did for Jeff & Jessica’s wedding last Fall?

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Well, I was such at joy today to find out that Josh McCullock, the photographer of the big day, has posted tons of photos on his blog of the actual wedding day. Jessica was a friend of mine and it was such a bummer that I couldn’t come to the big day, but Josh did such a wonderful job capturing the day!

Jessica looks so pretty! The birdcage veil and the feathery hair accessories looks amazing on her.

She also mostly DIY the decorations. Don’t you love the old photos hung on tree bark? And of course the mason jar. Looks so lovely and really fits the vintage-barn wedding theme!

The ring-bearer also held responsible bearing a wagon filled with baby flower girls. How cute is that?! The ceremony takes place outside the barn.

Love this “tree lighting” inside the barn, which is where the reception was held. The color combination is one of my favorites! We actually did some labels too for their food buffet with matching design to their invitation. Wish I could show them to you!

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I love that last send-off picture so much. It has so much energy and just so charming! Please visit Josh’s blog to view more of this wedding photos and visit his portfolio to view more of his works!

My good designer friend, Jeanelle, finally open an Etsy store. Her whimsical illustrations are featured in her products, which has Latin American themes & stories. I’m loving the Latin American flair she often brings to her design style. Go check her etsy store out! :)

So, I finally took the plunge and went ahead to create the 2010 Calendar. Although it may be a tad late, I’m still proud of at least being able to finish it :) The concept was inspired by my recent obsession of confectioneries, cakes, or pretty much anything sweet. The calendars are printed on beautifully textured Mohawk paper via Felt.

Without further due, here we go.

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I just wish I can photograph it better. I rely on the natural sunlight for my photography since I don’t have a fancy SLR camera or expensive equipment and lighting. The sunlight today wasn’t so great when I was going to photograph it, but I really can’t wait to get the words out! :)

Here is the desktop calendar, which comes with acrylic jewel case:

And there’s also a wall calendar version:

My calendar swap buddy, Barbara, sent me a letterpress calendar from Lark Press. I think the concept of this calendar is so, so great. Each month takes me to a different story. I really, really love the concept for January–a lovely poem by Robert Frost, “Stars” with simple illustration of constellation. Letterpressed poem is my new obsession now!

Each month’s concept and story are so wonderful and so well thought-out. I think a well designed calendar should represents a journey. This one definitely makes me look forward for the year of the tiger and start my new journey soon! Also, I’ve never had any letterpress calendar before in the past, so I’m definitely excited for this one. Thanks, Barbara!

Check out what I got Barbara on her blog.

I can recall that I learn to do some paper quilling back then in elementary school. However, I’ve never known that the art of paper quilling can be a DIVINE beauty. Yulia Brodskaya made it happen. These images below worth a thousand words. Here’s the black and white design from her portfolio.

How lovely are those! And the typographic treatment too! And here’s some more in color. So, so inspiring!

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Behold! The very first item for our Etsy store! FREE shipping within the US! It comes with Stardream Metallic envelope in Silver and packaged in a cotton muslin drawstring bag.

It’s been a long time coming and we finally have our Etsy store up. It’s not a grand opening yet since we don’t have much in the store at the moment, but it’s coming and we’re almost there! :) So, so excited!