Marking a lot of love

Since my induction to the Leicester Print Workshop I have been really eager to develop more images to be produced with screen printing. So when my oldest poppet from back home got engaged to her wonderful man I offered to make their wedding invitations for them as my gift, and what a exciting time I had making them! Having a real project to get my teeth into has definitely spurred on my enthusiasm for the technique and the process of printing.

Kelly-Ann and Dan were a magical couple to design for as they were so open and trusting with whatever I wanted to come up with. They gave me an overview of some of the ideas and themes that will make their big day, and a colour scheme to choose from. They have a soft spot for our feathery head spinning friends, so I based the image around a couple of love owls, stood between the gates that they will exit from as man and wife.
I went for a combination of bright pink and dusty blue, highlighted with a medium grey for the sharper details.
It was a new way of working for me - to remove the black lines that I so frequently use and create an image simply through textures and blocks of colour. I really enjoyed thinking of the process I would be using during the design process, and exploring new ways of describing a setting.

On the reverse of the invitation we had 2 sets of information to print - one for the day guests and one for the night; so I printed them in the two different colours. The information is formed from a mix of 2 fonts and there are some little illustrations within the layout.

As part of the Invitation pack, I also designed a RSVP card, for the guests to return their attendance answers.

The envelopes were all addressed in the same font as from within the invites, inked on in pink calligraphy. The back of the envelopes have a hand printed return address, along with a yummy ice cream!

And to finish off the bundle I made some badges from the illustrations from within the invites along with some complimentary fabric, for the guests to wear if they should so wish!

Working on these invites has been really wonderful and has sparked a bit of a passion for helping betrothed couples capture the fun of their day. I'm planning to develop a range of lovingly hand printed designs that will be customisable and offer a range of package options.
I even see it developing into other life events, such as baby announcements and correspondence cards so do contact me if you know anyone who you think would love the service, or if you have an occasion yourself!