Let your imagination grow..Tea for Two.........

Image by Anna Sawin Photography

I have to admit, this was one of the hardest posts I have ever had to write...

When we were submitting Erin & Dan's paper to Style Me Pretty, Erin (blogger extraordinaire), was surprisingly hesitant. Her reasoning..."I don't want it to end" she said. At the time it made me giggle....but now I truly understand...

Once it's posted..the project has been completed.

So with much hesitation..

 I guess I should start at the very beginning.....

Once upon a time, in a land not so far away, there was a very tall & handsome boy and a very beautiful and sparkly girl. They lived in a very old home with two cats and they loved each other very very much. One day, the boy flew the girl all the way to Paris, France and asked the girl to marry him. Of course the girl said yes, how could she not with the twinkling lights of the Eiffel Tower behind her. From that moment on...their lives changed forever. So the girl immediately got started on planning a beautiful wedding and sought after someone who could show their infectious excitement on paper. The girl found a crazy, silly designer who would do just that and both of their lives changed forever. Together, they created  a one-of-a-kind Save the Date, complete with a burlap pouch containing clues to the wedding while focusing on the 5 senses.

The girl and designer stood back, admired their work with absolute joy and quickly started brainstorming and immediately designed the invitation.

The crazy designer got to work...

With tea in a jug, 800 sheets of watercolor paper and brush in hand, the designer headed to her studio.

Images by Chocolate Creative Design

What seemed like days and even weeks, the designer finally emerged from her studio.

The girl squealed with delight when she went to her mailbox and found their invitation...

Inside she found:

Image by Anna Sawin Photography

Their Fleur de Lis invitation which she could see, smell and even taste!

 Image by Anna Sawin Photography

Their vintage inspired "Dance Card" reception card.

Images by Anna Sawin Photography

Their vintage inspired reply postcard(this was the boy's idea) complete with images of Paris, Saltwater Farm, custom postage stamps. their lovely logo and a few french twists...

Images by Anna Sawin Photography

All wrapped up, reminiscent of love letters from the past, in some crinkly sounding parchment, tied with a little twine and stamped with love.

Images by Anna Sawin Photography

Finally it was gently (very gently) placed into a Kraft paper envelope which was hand stamped with a bit of lavender, a custom postage stamp and lined with a lovely tea stained vintage map of Paris.

Image by Anna Sawin Photography

Now the boy and girl were very very happy and very very excited...

They couldn't wait for their wedding day!

But something happened that day....

something quite remarkable...

While the crazy designer was busy cleaning up her studio filled with jars and jars of tea and bits and pieces of twine...

She had a an AHA moment!

She realized that through this ONE creation...

this is what she wanted to do..

No more sending her work out to printers...

She would do it here..right here in her little ole studio.

She would ONLY take on 4 wedding couples a year.

She would ONLY do one-of-a-kind invitations that would never ever be reproduced  for another couple.

She would ONLY create pieces that would invoke the 5 senses.

Funny enough..it made complete sense....

The designer had a degree in studio arts focusing on photography & drawing. She even became a super hero when it came to wielding an X-acto knife, thanks in part to her thousands of clothing sample mock-ups when she was a head designer at a Childrenswear company.

It was all clear to her now...This marriage between fine arts & commercial design was just the ticket for her!

So...the designer was also very very happy and very very excited..

She owes it all to the boy and girl who trusted, believed, inspired and supported her.

It just goes to show you,

how utterly simple it is that just
ONE creation
or just
One person
can change absolutely everything....

Simply by just letting your imagination grow!

The End
(or at least until the ceremony & reception paper)

Oh wait...the designer did learn a few more things....

Always make sure to dress appropriately when shooting with a sneaky photographer....or else you will cringe later when you see the images....

Always make sure you have another eye to check on you when you are styling..a 2nd opinion is very very important and quite helpful!

Lastly, always make time to catch a butterfly or a fuzzy caterpillar....

It will make a photo shoot much much better!

Special Thanks to Island Farm on Elihu Island
whose beautiful hayfields were the perfect backdrop for 
Miss Sparkle & Hay's paper goods!

It also provided some yummy apples to some little ravenous monsters while their mommy's worked!

Images by Anna Sawin Photography