Father’s Day is June 17, and we’ve got some great new letterpress cards available just for the occasion! Tell dad just how much he means to you with one of these pretty cards – both read “Happy Father’s Day” on the inside and come with lined envelopes. Be sure to check out all of our man-friendly stationery for stylish paper gifts, too! 

We printed these simple, yet elegant, birthday announcements for our friend Linda Chamlin at LS Amster Company. They were offset printed in our Espresso and Heliotrope inks. They are a beautiful way to welcome an 18th birthday.

inks: espresso + heliotrope | fonts: estrella + cooper | paper: 1-ply white | printing: offset | invite size: S-5SQ

Thanks to Melanie at Salutations in Charlotte, North Carolina for the opportunity to print a beautiful letterpress + offset wedding invitations. Using submitted artwork to combine offset printing for their folio and letterpress printing for their cards, the patterns and designs used in this set were very striking. Seamist compliments taupe very well to begin with, but we were very pleased to see how elegant everything looked when put together. Great work, Melanie!

inks: seamist + taupe| fonts: custom + therese | paper: 1-ply ivory bamboo  | printing: letterpress | folio interior: windemere in taupe| folio exterior: custom in seamist |  invite size: s-7 folio |

We have our great friends at Magnificent Milestones in Chicago, Illinois  to thank for this custom letterpress Alzette vow booklet! Letterpressed in sky & lake inks on our 2-ply white bamboo paper the cover is perfectly designed with a 3-letter monogram. We think this is a great way to include guests in the joy of exchanging vows.

inks: sky + lake | fonts: nelly + inigo | paper: 2-ply white bamboo | printing: letterpress |

We recently had the pleasure of printing these gorgeous die-cut invitations for our friends at Urban Coast in Florida! These luxe invitations invited local industry experts to a special evening with esteemed wedding and event planner, Bryan Rafanelli. Inspired by our National Stationery Show invitations, we created a beautiful set of invitations and insert cards using one of our new die-cuts, which were neatly packaged in a stunning 2-color sleeve. Taupe and Papaya inks on our white bamboo paper made for a chic, summery look that we just adore.

ink: taupe and papaya | fonts: alice (new for 2011!) and century | paper: white 1-ply bamboo | printing: letterpress | die-cut: chesapeake | sleeve: letterpress, seneca pattern in taupe; marsden cartouche in papaya

This stunning letterpress wedding invitation was submitted to us by our friends at Pretty as a Picture in Co. Wicklow, Ireland.  Jane and Ailbhe love to create custom designs that are intricate but still work very well on letterpress.  The simple Black ink on 2-ply bamboo ivory paper helps the focus remain on the detailed artwork which is what we think makes this invitation beautiful.  We’re also very excited for our Irish friends to come visit Smock in a couple weeks!

ink: black | fonts: cameron| paper: 2-ply ivory | printing: letterpress | invite size: s-8 |

by Nathan Fleming, Client Coordinator.

These custom letterpress business cards for Enchanting Tomorrows were brought to us by the folks at Rugg Road Paper Company in Boston. They are printed in papaya ink on our white bamboo paper and feature a flower motif from our Social Occasions album. We love the unique spin on a traditional business card with a vertical orientation – it’s fun and playful and perfect for Alycia’s wedding consulting and floral design business.

It may go without saying, but around here we are absolutely in love with letterpress business cards – they have become one of our favorite things to print! Letterpress business cards make a lasting first impression, so we’re always excited to design and print them. These particular cards are among our favorites of those we’ve recently printed. Completely custom, featuring the logo of one of our favorite wedding and lifestyle blogs, Elizabeth Anne Designs, these were printed for publisher Ami Price. They are on beautiful 2-ply bamboo paper in 1-color letterpress in classic black ink, paired with edge painting in our wisteria ink that adds just a touch of whimsy. These cards pay homage to classic calling cards, while still being a bit unexpected and fresh. Ami chose a slightly scaled down size that makes them truly unique and one of a kind. We love them!

Getting to see the latest customizations of our letterpress wedding invitations is so much fun for us and so often these days we find ourselves completely smitten by the patterns and colors couples are selecting for envelope liners. Our envelopes are made with our gorgeous bamboo paper and each one is hand-lined so that your envelope can show off your personality just as vividly as the invitation design itself. Envelopes have never looked so good! All of our envelope liners are custom printed just for you, so you get to choose from our 27 patterns and our 37 ink colors to make a liner all your own.

This envelope liner is our Seneca Stripe pattern printed in black ink. How chic!

Our Clairveaux pattern printed in black, this envelope liner is especially pretty.

This liner is the pretty Geneva pattern in verbena ink, a bright color makes a bold statement that we love.

Refined and elegant, this envelope features Rousseau in midnight ink.

This envelope liner is completely fun using our Seneca Stripe again, this time printed with verbena ink.

Printed in clover ink, this liner is our Willoughby pattern, one of our most popular.

Clairveaux printed in gold ink makes for a beautiful and traditional look.

Another lovely envelope with a Willoughby liner, this one in sea mist ink, this envelope also features a letterpressed return address on the back.

Here are a few great ideas from Smock’s client coordinator Tiffany Field that will help keep your letterpress invitation costs down, while still giving you a really wonderful letterpress wedding invitations.

Take a 2 or 3 color design down to 1 color
Many of our 2 and 3 color designs look equally impressive when printed in one color. Fewer colors mean fewer runs through the press which equals less expense. Our designer BethAnn is amazing at this – she knows just what to add and take away so that your design looks just as inviting as its more colorful counterpart.

Splurge on a 2 or 3 color design for the invitation and opt for 1 color accessory pieces
If you absolutely cannot live without a multi-color invitation, opt for your other pieces (reply card, directions card, reception card, etc) to be printed in 1 color. You will get the same impact with your invitation while saving considerably on your additional pieces.

Downsize and use a smaller size card (i.e. a reply card size for save the date)
Some budget savvy friends of ours came up with this idea for their clients’ save the dates and birth announcements, and the idea has really taken off. This is one of my absolute favorite cost cutting options – they are such a sweet little size!

Eliminate the reply card all together and put the contact information on the invitations
This idea is becoming more popular with brides who are not just minding their budget but the environment as well. Printing your reply information in the bottom left hand corner of your invitation is an acceptable alternative that can save you money.

Use a “website card” (usually the size of a place card or reply card) instead of a direction and accommodations card
Website cards direct guests to a site that will feature information related to your event – directions, accommodations, weekend activities, etc. This is a great idea, especially for the brides who have a wealth of information on their websites. From a guest’s point of view, I think they would appreciate that one card can direct them to so much information; I know that trying to keep track of so many invitation inserts can be challenging to many people. This allows them to access information about the wedding at their convenience.

Choose a reply postcard instead of a reply card and envelope
Reply postcards are less $, less postage, less bulk (but also less formal).

Pictured below: #1. Our 2 color Chasseral wedding invitation (on right), letterpressed in one color (on left) // #2. The Cavall letterpress reply card postcard (double-sided) // #3. Sweet, small save the dates (these cards are the same size as a reply card). Engadine design on left; Lashar design on right. // #4. Rhon two color wedding invitation (on left), with 1 color reply card and 1 color direction card (on right)