Hello Twig & Thistle readers! I am SO excited to be guest blogging this week! It is truly an honor to be here. Thank you to Kathleen for this opportunity to share (what I hope will be!) some interesting and inspirational projects. I will try hard not to disappoint!

The first project I wanted to share is Part I of a birthday party I recently designed. My niece turned the 1 this past July 4th, and I was lucky enough to design everything for the big day! She LOVES animals, so I thought it would be fun to create a circus theme for the party.

I printed the invites myself, saving a little bit of money by printing part of the invite (the blue) on my home inkjet printer and then letterpressing over the top (the purple). It was bit tricky lining everything up, but it all came together perfectly! I paired the invite with a simple purple envelope which I lined with coordinating striped paper.

Along with the invites I created decorations, party favors and even party hats! Be sure to check back tomorrow; I’ll be sharing more photos and even one of the birthday girl!

Happy Monday to you all! I have two really exciting things to share today so I’ll get right to it. The first announcement has been so hard to keep quiet but I am so thrilled to announce that yours truly will be part of a Halloween/Fall feature in Better Homes & Gardens! Three other bloggers and myself were asked to contribute and take part in an online contest where we’ll each create four designs based around a specific concept. Our first project (sneak peek above) is scheduled to appear in the October issue due on newsstands September 5! Each project will be voted on by online readers and the Better Homes & Garden’s Staff to select an ultimate winner. The blogger that wins the entire contest will then be featured in next years issue along with another Fall themed project.

I have some seriously talented competition and am beyond humbled to be part of this exciting event. I never, in a million years, thought I’d be featured in such an iconic magazine nor be competing with several of my favorite bloggers! The other three are: Nicole Balch of Making It Lovely, Elizabeth Owen of Mabel’s House, and Suzonne Stirling of Urban comfort. I’ve already seen of what they’ve been up to and I can honestly say that the butterflies are starting to flutter. These ladies have got some skillz so it will be a challenge for sure! I’ll be sharing more about each of the projects as I go and shamelessly asking for votes as well. I hope I can live up to the task and maybe win one or two rounds. Keep your fingers crossed for me and stay tuned!

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The next bit of news is about the posts for this week. I will be taking some much needed vacation and have asked my good friend Tara Lee to hold down the fort while I’m away. You probably all remember her ADORABLE circus themed letterpressed baby shower invites from awahile back. Well, she’ll be here starting tomorrow, sharing more of her creative projects and design inspiration for the rest of the week!

Tara is such an inspiration to me creatively and she really is one of the sweetest people I’ve ever known. You’ll be in great hands so please join me in welcoming her to Twig & Thistle! Check back tomorrow for Tara’s first post.

I never tire of Gemma Correll’s work (and hopefully neither do you since I like to post about it)! Her latest piece of brilliance is a limited run ampersand illustration. Printed by the skilled folks at Blush in London, they’ve done an amazing job with the letterpressing and getting every last detail to show perfectly. See more pics on the Blush Publishing blog and purchase the print directly from Gemma’s Etsy Shop.

Also, just wanted to give a quick shout-out to Kathryn of Snippet & Ink. She launched her new site design on Monday and it’s perfectly simple, elegant and definitely work checking out! So much gorgeousness on her blog, it’s pure joy! I’ve also got some VERY exciting news to share on Monday so be sure to check back. Have a lovely weekend!

Another great poster from the talented Allan Peters! This one was created for a poster show on bikes. Allan and his wife had just found out that they were expecting so the design was inspired by and dedicated to their little one on the way. I think the story behind it is what really makes it all that much more special. *sigh! See more images of the poster and view process shots on Allen’s site here.

Via: French Paper Sample Room

I am so impressed with this stationery suite for Stitch Design Co. While I could have easily categorized this post in the Well Branded series, I felt that it needed it’s own category of AWESOME for it’s sheer beauty and brilliance!

From the clean and simple typography to the beautiful and ornate stamps on the envelope liner, every aspect was meticulously thought out and executed. The added touch of coral color to the edges of the business cards and note cards add yet another level of sophistication to the set. The letterpress printing was done by their sister company, Sideshow Press and you can see more images of the suite on the Stitch Design Blog.