I originally drew this key with another bride in mind, but when all was said and done, she decided to go with a more antique look and that revision end up as the skeleton key buttons I currently have in my shop. When Maggie contacted me 2 weeks ago about the buttons in my shop and wondered if I could do something with a heart shape, I said, "Yes, I can!" and pulled this little doodle out from the archives :) Maggie wanted a maroon and gray themed set with a nice script for her "Team Bride" and "Team Groom" buttons. They're in the mail now - I hope she loves them!

As couples start to form their Spring wedding plans, I am becoming increasingly busy with orders. While this is fantastic and phenomenal and wonderful and great, things I don't particularly like doing start slipping to the bottom of the to-do list... Things like grocery shopping :) Anyone looking closely at this photo will notice two things. One, I have more orders than clipboards and two, my low-ink light is on :) I have already made some great progress on the orders I have on my desk - which means I'll be getting some pretty fun photos up over the coming weeks, so stay tuned!

While I have been hard at work creating new designs, styles, concepts, logos, newsletters, blog content and other bits of whimsy for my new line Paper Ink Love since December, I haven't actually done a lot of printing :) At the beginning of this month, I got my first real order from PaperInkLove.etsy.com and immediately did the "I got an order!" happy dance! All said and done, Heidi and MaryEllen made for wonderful first clients and decided to order the PIL-015 program with a tweak to the color, turning it into a beautiful purple and blue, to match the colors of their ceremony. I'm happy to say I have a couple more orders on my desk now and I can't wait to share them with you as I move through them! Happy Hump Day everyone!

The lovely Ms. Karen contacted me about making some button favors for her upcoming wedding and I love these in the red! Karen and her fiancé are having a "School Days" theme, so I put apple trees on the buttons instead of the lemons and used a chalkboard style font to bring it together. While a lot of items start out with something featured in my shop, it seems that every order is still quite custom and unique and that is a benefit you only get by working one-on-one with the person making your items - and as one of those people, I'd like to say that we're happy to do it! :)

I have a great love for henna style artwork. I also have a great love for mind-numbingly intricate pen and ink artwork, so this has worked out quite well! Last weekend, I bought a new pad of paper and a teeny tiny pen and this is what has become of my endeavor :) It's for sale in my shop, here. You can also find me on Facebook to see a work-in-progress photo! It's been a while since I put pen to paper and drew something original, so it felt great to get back to this! I hope to have more up in my shop in the coming weeks, so keep a look out!

Anyone who knows me in real life knows that this was one of the most exciting orders I've ever received. April contacted me several months ago to get a sample invite, then just recently contacted me again to create a full wedding suite for her and her fiancé, Claire. This is the first wedding suite I've had the pleasure of making for a same-sex couple, and I went around and told everyone who would listen about how excited I was to work on it! After a couple of conversations with April, it was abundantly clear how great a gal she was and the two of them made for great customers! They decided to go with a really pretty green color (which is a change from the samples in my shop), on the original ivory stock. I like this so much that I'm thinking about changing the shop samples to green for 2012 :)

April and Claire have been so awesome to work with, I want to send them both many warm wishes and a huge thank you for the privilege of working with them on their wedding stationery! These lovely ladies have already received their order (they love it!) and in between making this suite and blogging about it, I have received another order from an alternative couple that I am equally excited about working on! I honestly feel so honored to be a part of people's lives in this way. So, as the title says, "YAY!!!" :)

I am extremely proud to tell you that PaperInkLove.com now has 20 full color designs up and ready for purchase! I have had a great time building up the content in both PaperInkLove.com and PaperInkLove.etsy.com and I would love for you to go and check out both shops! Each shop is filled with the same pieces, celebrating design and color and social stationery for many occasions. Every suite has wedding text in it, but each piece could easily be used for birthdays, dinners or personal stationery. When you order a piece with me, I pay you and your order personal attention and complete your order myself, so you'll always get a high quality product with personal help along the way! Contact me with any questions or to start working on your custom order!

The lovely Lisette featured my Coffee and Cream Wedding Invitation in her Treasury yesterday! Over the weekend, it looks like I've hit the 200 mark! Shop Olio has been featured in 203 Treasuries as of this moment and I am super proud! She titled it Mocha Love and it's full of warm and wonderful winter pieces. Thanks Lisette!

Julia contacted me about my Sea And Sand Suite a few weeks ago - she loved the bold style but asked if we could do it in a brighter, more tropical theme and I said, "Absolutely!" :) I don't offer envelope liners in my shop yet, but I'm happy to do it! We picked a bright orange and never looked back :) Of course, as with everything at Shop Olio, the liner is done by hand - hand cut, hand trimmed edges, hand scored, inserted and mounted...by hand...by me :) It sounds like a lot of work, and it is, but I love doing it - this order was a real treat to work on! Along with this set, I also created some logo options for the couple, so I'm hoping we'll get to see more of Julia and her bright colors in the near future! I'm not sure exactly what's in store, but it looks fun!

Rounding out a nice run of gray and yellow items, here is Taline and Khajag's lemon tree program. They are getting married in May and already have everything figured out and I think that deserves a round of applause :) Taline was so sweet to work with, and funny too! I have heard that some brides can be...trouble, but I have really been so lucky in that department and I've been able to work with some really wonderful women! So many thanks and warm wishes to Taline and her fiancé!