For the last week, we’ve been posting the honorable mentions for the Smock Design Contest. Now we’re down to the final three! Our good friend Nole at Oh So Beautiful Paper chose our winners for this competition, and selected Alphagraphics Lyric Opera Invitation as the 3rd place winner. Here’s what Nole had to say about the design: “I don’t think I’ve ever seen a corporate invitation that was so pretty!  I love the patterns, the font selections, and the fold out layout. Gorgeous.”

Nole, we couldn’t agree more! It’s not often we get to print letterpress invitations for galas, concerts, or charitable events, so when we do, we tend to get pretty excited. This espresso and gold invitation to the Lyric Opera’s Charitable Subscriber Concert and Dinner was extraordinary! It was, indeed, a ticketed concert (which explains the use of the pocketfold), and the invitation invited 100 of the Opera’s premier patrons to dinner and a concert.

To the untrained eye, this striped, monogrammed pocketfold invitation looks beautiful and classy. For those who spend a lot of time at Chicago’s Civic Opera House, they’ll notice graphic elements that remind them of the gilded gold walls and ceilings of that very building. When designing the invitation, Amy at Alphagraphics used the opera’s Art Deco elements and color scheme as her guide. She created an invitation that was reminiscent of the old stately edifice, glamorous in its timelessness.

Her work was well appreciated by all! Both the Lyric Opera and the event’s attendees thought the invitation was a fantastic bidding to a wonderful evening of music and feasting. Bravo Amy, Bravo!

Congratulations again to Alphagraphics for taking 3^rd place in our design contest. This twice-a-year competition recognizes outstanding and inspired designs submitted by our beloved dealers.

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

Traditional wedding meets modern design in this wedding suite from our friends at Union Street Papery.  They put together this beautiful suite using our Talmossen design, which uses a traditional feel font and pairs it with modern design accents. This suite was done on our white Bamboo paper in Taupe ink. This was a wedding that brought together two cultures with invitations done in both English and Spanish version. All the pieces were finished off with metallic silver edge painting and the inner envelope was paired with a custom offset liner (our Fleming Design in Espresso) to give it that modern look.

inks: taupe + espresso (offset) | fonts: harrison calligraphy font | paper: 2-ply white + 1-ply white  | printing: letterpress + offset | envelope liner: fleming in espresso (offset) | edge paint: metallic silver

It’s easy to get swept away with this charming letterpress invitation customization made to our Burstell design submitted to us by our friend Ailbhe from Pretty as a Picture in Ireland!  This modern text based invitation has clean lines and the right amount of flourishes to add a touch of elegance to this set.  We love the luscious raspberry on the interior of the folio even more because it is probably not something guests will be expecting!  The exterior of the folio is printed in our virelles pattern which looks positively nature inspired!  Pretty as a Picture always sends us the coolest customizations-and it’s safe to say this will be another crowd pleaser!

ink: espresso | fonts: spence + graham| paper: 1-ply ivory | printing: letterpress |folio exterior: virelles pattern in espresso | folio interior: sinclair pattern in raspberry | invite size: 5.125 x 7.75

We thank our friends at Paper Studio, in Ontario Canada, for this beautiful customized 3 color letterpress wedding invitation suite. The invitations and reply cards were letterpress printed in Sky and Espresso inks on our Bamboo 2-ply paper. They were given a touch of brilliance with the blind debossed flowers. The understated elegance is absolutely captivating!

inks: espresso + sky + blind deboss | fonts: cameron + shaw | paper: 2-ply white bamboo | printing: letterpress  | wedding invitation suite with custom art |

If you’re looking for an autumnal feel in a wedding set and still want an elaborate design, then look no further!  Shelby at Seaside Papery delivered a one-of-a-kind invitation set that pieced together tangerine, espresso, and grass inks in a way that just speaks to us.

Based on the Helani design, this one had a little bit of everything and has been used as a great example of how to celebrate in the fall.

inks: tangerine + espresso + grass | fonts: bescal + carlton  | paper 2-ply white | invite size: 7 x 7 | printing: letterpress

This design won an honorable mention in our Smock design competition for the first half of 2011. This twice-a-year competition recognizes outstanding and inspired designs submitted by our beloved dealers.

These show-stopping letterpress bar mitzvah invitations were brought to us by LS Amster Co in Scarsdale, New York and we were happy to honor them in our most recent Smock Design Contest. The design was inspired by the boy’s love of swimming. The “scales” of our Odeon pattern on the reverse paired with our Phelps pattern for the envelope liner evokes the feeling of water and movement. The bold peacock blue ink is refreshing and is balanced by the earthy espresso. It’s a stunning combination that we just can’t get enough of and we’re proud to have worked with LS Amster on this lovely design.

Brought to us by Jenny’s Paper Ink in Atlanta, we love this customization of our Piedmont letterpress invitations. Designed for a rehearsal dinner, they were printed in blind deboss and espresso ink and paired with a bold and colorful backing in robin’s egg. Talk about fun!

These bright and elegant letterpress bat mitzvah invitations were printed for our good friends at Aileen Invitations in Miami. Featuring our Rhon design, they were printed in espresso and tangerine inks with envelopes lined in our payette pattern in tangerine. Pretty calligraphy accents and Hebrew text are the perfect finishing touch.

Today we’re excited to share this lovely custom letterpress wedding invitation design, second runner-up in our latest Smock Design Contest. Brought to us by our good friends at Judy Paulen Designs at Bloomingdale’s, it features a colorful mix of color and pattern that we just adore. The letterpress invitations were printed in mango and espresso inks and the inserts were letterpress printed in slate and espresso inks. All of the pieces were backed in our champlain pattern in mango and the envelopes were lined in champlain printed in reverse, white on mango.

Our special guest judge, Kristen Magee of Paper Crave says of her pick for second runner-up, “This suite oozes class without being staid, and the fantastic color choices and patterns give it a very modern feel. I also love the playfulness of the language on the reply postcard and rehearsal card. But the detail that put this invitation in my top three is the incredible patterned envelope liner. Love it!” Thank you to Kristen for helping us out with the judging and lots of love to Judy Paulen Designs for sending us this beautiful design!