We’re overjoyed to share these recently printed Lashar wedding invitations submitted to us by our friend, Linda at Pen & Paper in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania.  What better color combination is there than mulberry and gold for a wedding celebration in December?  When guests open up the pocketfold they will see the most incredible wash of mulberry and we think this is where the set is most romantic.  Around here we LOVE December weddings and the colors that come with the holiday season.

inks: mulberry + gold | fonts: cooper + smock clermont | paper: 1-ply ivory | printing: letterpress |folio exterior: marav pattern in gold | folio interior: sinclair pattern in mulberry| invite size: 5.125 x 7.75

There’s no better compliment than when a store asks us to print their own cards. Julie from Sweet Paper in La Jolla, CA used our Pearl design in such a clever way. I think this might be my favorite Christmas card to date! I may have to steal the idea for myself 🙂 Thanks Julie!

inks: dove + grasss + gold | fonts: percy + harrison | paper: 2-ply ivory | printing: letterpress | Christmas card |

If we were not already in the holiday spirit- these colorful and cheery Christmas cards would surely turn that right around!  This custom and lovable set was submitted to us by our good friend, Sara at Salutations in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.  Check out the reindeer envelope liner that is actually made from our Smock gift wrap!  Looking at these cards we can’t help but feel good inside, as the holiday season is just around the corner!  What a perfect way to send warm wishes to your friends and family!

inks: grass + cherry | fonts: smock clermont | paper: 2-ply white bamboo | printing: letterpress | signature liner: C9G1-1 | card size: S6

We think these vibrant Delano Bat Mitzvah invitations are perfectly stylish and feminine.  This ultramodern set was submitted to us by our good friends at Proper Notice in Roslyn Heights, New York. The striking color pairing of our orchid and hot pink inks is down right charming.  We definitely love unique and clever Bat Mitzvah customizations-especially when they’re this pretty!

inks: orchid + hot pink| fonts: smock harrison + graham | paper: 2-ply white  | printing: letterpress | back patterning: hoveton in orchid |liner: the hoveton pattern in orchid | invite size: S8

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

We don’t think you can get more clean cut and classic than these custom letterpressed Bar Mitzvah invitations.  This simple set was submitted by our wonderful friend, Nancy at Reed Cohen Paper & Events in New York, NY.  Letterpress printed in our midnight ink with the most modern border as an accent helps keep this set downright classy.  Staying in the lines of tradition, the Hebrew characters in the upper right hand corner symbolize the traditional Bais Hey blessing.  Our 2-ply card stock is always a popular choice for Bar and Bat Mitzvah invitations. We love how the block font brings a masculine feel to this invitation suite.

inks: midnight| font: social | paper: 2-ply white | printing: letterpress | invite size: S8

We have been printing a lot of Bat/Bar Mitzvah sets in our shop lately. Thanks go out to Amy at Monograham for sending us this hip Delano customization. This set was offset printed on our bamboo 1-ply ivory paper in Raspberry and Orchid inks. The outer and response envelopes were letterpress printed in Orchid. This set is completed with an offset printed folio; our Cayman pattern in Orchid on the interior and our Fleming pattern in Raspberry. If this special day was half as fun as this suite was, we all missed a great party.

inks: orchid + raspberry | fonts: submitted fonts | paper: 1-ply ivory | printing: letterpress + offset | folio exterior: fleming pattern offset in raspberry | folio interior: cayman pattern offset in orchid | invite size: S-8 folio

We’ve really fallen off the deep end for these custom, nautical-inspired letterpress wedding invitations submitted to us by our friend Annie at Hitched in Washington DC.  We can’t argue that this is the perfect match to the couple’s wedding venue at South Seas Island Resort in Captiva Island, Florida.  We adore the reply card printed in our hot pink for a real pop of color!  The simplistic look and delicate feel of this set nearly has us overboard!

inks: taupe + hot pink | fonts:  graham + smock spencerian| paper: 2-ply white | printing: letterpress | invite size: S8

What a wonderful suite we received from our friends at Landis Gifts & Stationery. This Ossa design was customized beautifully on our white bamboo paper, and letterpressed in Lime and Black inks. The invitation and reply card were edge painted in Orchid. The invitation is adhered to an awesome folio, offset printed in our Ashwell pattern in Black on the outside and in our Sherbrooke pattern in Lime on the inside. The final touch of brilliance is the envelope liner, offset printed in our Sherbrooke pattern in Lime to match. This one was a very personal suite as it was printed for the store owner’s daughter. We are so happy to be able to be included in such a special day.

inks: black + lime | fonts: carrington stripes + alice + chaplin | paper: 2-ply white + 1-ply white  | printing: letterpress + offset | liner: the sherbrooke pattern in lime | folio exterior: ashford pattern offset in black | folio interior: sherbrooke pattern offset in lime | invite size: S-8 folio

What books have changed your life? What have you read that’s really stuck with you over time? We love a captivating read as much as we love letterpress around here, and while we know it can be hard to find the time to sit down and soak up a good book, we believe it’s important to make the time. So every now & then we’d like to share with you some of the books that have impacted us, and we’d love to know your thoughts – feel free to discuss with us in the comments section below! First up, Debbie Urbanski shares her thoughts on Half the Sky.

Hi. I’m Debbie, one of the co-owners of Smock. That’s my day job at least, though I went to school for writing, and one of the things I’ve been missing lately about my grad school days is discussions about books. Not just discussions such as, “Man, I don’t have any time to read anymore,” or, “I read this article on the New York Times website,” but discussions about books we actually read and loved, or didn’t love. Though the best discussions were about the books that not only we loved but books that changed us, sometimes because of content (like Nicholas Kristof’s book below), sometimes because the writing is so perfect (see Alice Munro, Runaway), or sometimes because of how a book captures us, or a previous stage of us (see Criss Cross by Lynne Rae Perkins, a beautiful tribute to a happy childhood). I’m starting to write this knowing no one has time to read, so here’s my secret: audio books from Audible.com. Audible has an amazing iPhone app that, dorky as it sounds, did change my life.  So from time to time I’d like to share some of my favorite books. And I’m always looking for recommendations — what books have changed your life?

First up is Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide, written by power couple Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn. I’ve been a Nicholas Kristof junky for awhile, but this book cemented my severe and utter awe of the man. Half the Sky is filled with examples of ordinary people who decided to devote themselves to making things better — specifically, making the situation of women better. It needs to be better (point 1 of the book). And it can be better (point 2 of the book — there is hope if we as individuals, and we as a country, actually start doing something!). Easy for me to say sitting here after 20+ years of schooling, and the two natural births of my children in a hospital birthing center, and all my access to good medical care and equal rights for my daughter, but oh, the heartbreaking examples of this book, and the equally heartbreaking statistics. From the introduction: “It appears that more girls have been killed in the last 50 years, precisely because they were girls, than men were killed in all the wars of the twentieth century. More girls are killed in this routine “gendercide” in any one decade than people were slaughtered in all the genocides of the twentieth century.” Wow. Kristof and WuDunn argue that the moral challenge of the 19th century was slavery; in the 20th century, the battle against totalitarianism; in the 21st century, it will be gender equality in the developing world.”

The book’s focuses are sex trafficking and forced prostitution; gender based violence (including honor killings and mass rape) and maternal mortality — and why does any of this matter to us? I mean, we know it’s all awful stuff, but why do we need to read an entire book about it? Kristof and WuDunn do address this: “Honor killings, sexual slavery, and genital cutting may seem to Western readers to be tragic but inevitable in a world far, far away. In much of the same way, slavery was once widely viewed by many decent Europeans and Americans as a regrettable but ineluctable feature of human life. It was just one more horror that had existed for thousands of years. But then in the 1780s a few indignant Britons, led by William Wilberforce, decided that slavery was so offensive that they had to abolish it. And they did. Today we see the seed of something similar: a global movement to emancipate women and girls.” I could go on and on about this book but actually my kids are waking up, so, in brief — this book would be the perfect gift for anyone college aged, who has the ability to spend a year abroad in a developing country during or right after school, as the authors encourage (how I wish I had done this rather than going to London for an off campus study program to study theater!). But it’s also the perfect read for any woman, or for anyone who cares about women, or actually anyone cares about the current state of the world, as well as the future of the world, which, hopefully, is everyone. Half the Sky is filled with inspiring examples of ordinary people who saw a problem and then decided to do something about it — and for any of us to make a difference, we first need to believe we can make a difference. If you don’t have time to read the book — well, read it. And if you still don’t have time, at least check out the book’s web site, or Kristof’s blog, or at least read his twitter feed for God’s sake!