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Blush and Gold Wedding Papers
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Waste Not Luxe Blush Envelope lined with engagement photo

We were lucky enough to have two of our kids get married in the last year and a half and this time the bride had a vision of a romantic blush wedding with a dash of sparkle and a ton of fun.

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The invitation was double thick with matte gold foil. This is a custom order since I included two different processes. Because I am high maintenance.

18 x 24 Art Print
Use various Art Print sizes to custom print a single sign for your wedding or special event.
Art Print used as wedding signage for a blush and gold wedding theme.

I used our Art Print option for the signs. The easel sign is 18 x 24 mounted on foamcore. The Guest Book and Unplugged Ceremony signs are 11 x 14 to fit in standard frames.

2″ round stickers for misters in the heat
Program using A7 flat Cards
Back of A7 Program

The wedding day was hot as Hades and we didn’t want our guests’ flyness to melt so we did last minute misters (with lavender, cuz we are cool like that) and since I’m a designer I really needed the little bottles to look cute and not… last minute. So I printed 3″ round labels (because rectangles are way harder to line up on 180 bottles) and we made fans out of  Flat A9 Cards.

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There was no printing involved in this photo, but isn’t my son so handsome? The bride is pretty cute too.

Each guest had unique menu
Variable data place cards with gold foil
#10 Flat Card for Menus with Rounded Corners at Blush, Gray and Gold themed wedding.

Our flat foil variable data place cards were perfect for this look. We included a menu which was silly because the guests didn’t have a choice. I created 10 original menus (and printed 20 of each) that included a joke and fortune in case the peeps at the table needed an icebreaker. #10 Flat Cards with rounded corners were perfect to insert in the blush linens. This was a huge hit with our guests.

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That’s me and Mr. StationeryHQ smooching on the right. Wish I could do my own wedding all over again, good thing I have one more kid to go… see more of our guest book options and wedding supplies here.

Blush tones for wedding will always be in style.
Blush and Gold wedding papers will always be in style.
Blush and gold weddings will always be in style, from the flowers to the gowns and the fine wedding paper stationery. Flowers coordinated with custom printed menus, table numbers and place cards. The overall look is dreamy and elegant. The bridesmaids and the groomsmen looked lovely in their blush outfits and the wedding invitations which were custom printed on double thick paper with gold foil stamping were show stoppers.

 

Color matching our new Merlot envelopes

We’re now offering Merlot envelopes on StationeryHQ! This color is hot right now, especially for the upcoming wedding season. They’re currently available in printed A7 and blank A7, but we may add more sizes down the road.

We know matching colors between envelopes and your printed pieces can be tricky, so we ran a test on our 120# Uncoated Accent Opaque. 34C 81M 50Y 55K seems to be the closest color to match these bad boys.

Colors will vary depending on paper selection. For example, if you use a cream stock, the color you choose will look more yellow, as it is absorbed into the paper. So if you want your ink to look like the Merlot envelope, you would need to pull back on the yellow in your CMYK formula. Running a test print on the paper of your choice is always a good idea before printing your final project to make sure it looks A-OK!

The Craft Paper Look for Less

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The bride loved the sweet look of craft paper for an outdoor winery wedding but only needed 60 invitations and really wanted to keep a tight budget for invitations. We used Natural Savoy Cotton for a nice textured finish, very similar to craft. Most of our flat cards come on Natural Savoy and the envelopes are a perfect match. To create the small hang tags, I used a 4Bar card and set up the files with two cards that I could cut down after printing 30 originals. Tags_Front

I ran a DIY test print with various craft paper photos to make sure that the color was right and it really looked like craft (to non-designers who wouldn’t inspect the edge of the card to see if it was legit).

This solution is not for the purist, but it’s perfect for a quick turnaround, very affordable white-ink-on-craft-paper-look wedding suite.

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storybook wedding

When the daughter of a printer and a designer gets married, there’s gonna be some cool paper involved. As a designer, I’ve created lots of lovely wedding suites over the years but never felt the kind of pressure I put on myself for my daughter’s invitation. She wanted it to be happy and bright and incorporate sunflowers.

DIY

Test printed on a DIY single sheet, ran a few shades of yellow and navy to make sure I had it right.

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A7 Navy Envelope with liner, Custom Gatefold wrap

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Used the inside of Gatefold for reception info, website, etc. 

Instead of table numbers, we went with love stories.
I used vintage books for some tables and printed journals to look like old books.
The seating chart was a giant storybook. I printed the “pages” on custom printed wrapping paper sheets from StationeryHQ.com.
Used bookmarks for place cards
This is how people saved their seat, unexpected cuteness 🙂
Using custom printing to create a storybook wedding.
CEO Mark and Creative Director Erin with their baby girl and her hubs.

At the end of the day, all that really matters is that the Bride and Groom are in love and their guests’ happiness showered them with sunshine.

Do you need custom sizes in small quantities? We got you.

We know how designers like to create original everything so now we have an option for that. If you want a non-standard size in a flat, one-sided format in small quantities, our new DIY Sheet with Cutting is for you. DIY

Here’s how to set up files in Illustrator:

  1. Create a 12″ x 18″ document, either landscape or vertical.
  2. Add guides for the print area: 11.5″ x 17″
  3. Create artwork in desired sizes and fit into print area, place all pieces at 90 degree angles, we cannot cut odd angles.
  4. Make a square or rectangle in the size you want, select it, then go to Objects > Create Trim Marks.
  5. If you have color or images that bleed off the edge, expand them to go at least .125″ beyond the trim marks.

Tip: Leave at least a 3/4″ between pieces for best results.

Minimum: 25 sheets, $1.77 per sheet (if you have a wholesale account)DIY_after

DIY Sheets with Cutting is a great option for a set of odd sized cards, wedding place cards, custom sized postcards, disposable coasters and whatever else you creative types can come up with.

Foil Stamped Stationery: Can’t get enough shine.

RoseGoldYep, we added more foil stamping color options on StationeryHQ.com because we know you’re obsessed. And so are we. You can already order foil with digital printing through our website. Now you can order foil on A7, A2 and 4Bar size without digital printing on:

  • 130#/21pt Environment Wrought Iron Raw Cover
  • 130# Classic Crest Smooth Cover – Epic Black
  • 130# Classic Crest Smooth Cover – Patriot Blue

And since Rose Gold Foil is a smokin’ hot trend, we added that too. Other colors include festive Red, Matte Gold, Metallized Gold, Matte Silver, Metallized Silver, and Copper Foil. Foil stamping is perfect for wedding invitation suites, save the dates, small art prints and party invitations. Turnaround time is about 5 business days, find pricing here and don’t forget to log in so you see wholesale prices!

Navy paper with white foil stamping, perfect for special occasions and party invitations.
Gold foil stamped on black paper is so elegant, it’s perfect for special occasions like wedding invitations or anniversary parties.
Make a big impression with white foil stamp on dark gray paper.
Various foil stamping colors on colored paper stocks.

Shout out to Brit Tucker for generously sharing her totally fabulous typographic genius with us – thank you!

Small Business, Big Dreams

Hi, it’s Erin, the Creative Director at StationeryHQ.com and stationery-loving designer of 25 years. We’ve worked long and hard to develop a reputation as a capable, large scale, forward thinking company. I guess it’s working because every once in awhile we get an email from a frustrated customer who seems to think we are some giant corporation out to steal all their money and trick them with misinformation. Yes, those emails suck just as much you think they would.

So I thought I’d give you a little back story on the people behind SHQ. We have lots of big machines, but really we are a small company full of people with big ideas.

A little reminder for our peeps...

A little reminder for our peeps…

Let’s start with our CEO, Mark Sarpa. He’s my husband of almost 27 years. Yep, you got it. We are a Mom and Pop Shop. Mark believes with every fiber of his being that he can help you grow your business through great service, cool products and competitive prices. Mark is a very involved father of 3 kids and when he’s not working (which is seldom) he likes to be on a boat with his family or watching a baseball game. The SF Giants are his favs but he will watch any team, at any level, any time.IMG_2525

StationeryHQ is made up of about 50 people normally and we go up to over 100 during the holiday rush. We have moms who work part time so they can pick their kids up from school, young people who are just getting started in their careers, and experienced people who have been with the company for more than 15 years.

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When the office is empty, it means our Customer Success, Accounting, and Pre-Press people are out in the warehouse helping to get ‘er done.

Every time we have a company meeting I am impressed by the dedication of our peeps. They want to be the best in the business, many of them work on their feet all day long in a production facility and they do it with a smile. We have potlucks for special occasions and people show up with enough food to feed an army. There is a particularly wild group that occasionally does Zumba during their break. Seriously.

We hope you feel like we “get” you. We kind of figure we are all on the same (wicked awesome) team of gutsy creative folks. As small business owners who’ve been at it for many years, we totally appreciate the ups and downs of entrepreneurship. As people, we appreciate directness, honesty and hard work so that’s our promise to you.

Erin and Mark Sarpa, owners of StationeryHQ.com

Erin and Mark Sarpa, owners of StationeryHQ.com

Thanks for reading all the way to the end and thanks for being our customers. Let’s do this.

Let’s Make a Date

Our CS ninjas have received lots of questions about shipping and production schedules for the holidays, so here is a quick reference for next 6 weeks. Keep in mind that weather can affect shipping schedules so ordering early is ALWAYS a good idea and please check our facebook page for up to the minute info about everything that might affect holiday deliveries.Calendars

Focus on Baby, Stationery’s sweet spot

Who doesn’t LOVE to design baby stuff? Announcements, invitations, personalized gallery wraps, art prints, thank you cards, party ware… there are so many opportunities to wrap yourself in babyness and help a mother-to-be celebrate the impending center of her universe. Announcement

Here’s a fun pinterest board that will suck up your time and make you want to have a(nother?) baby. Or maybe it will inspire you to design more baby stuff to offer. It’s also full of fun ideas for designed paper products.

This design, by my sidekick at Simon+Kabuki, has the potential to sell for many thousands of dollars based on our past experience. Baby related stationery has been our best source of income for all the years we’ve been in the business. And it doesn’t only happen for a couple of months of the year, it’s a constant revenue stream.

First birthdays have become huge celebrations for many families and a new mom who loves your style will go back to you for her big life events for years to come. Don’t forget to design matching thank you notes for each announcement or invitation in your collection, you’re making it easy for a busy mom/mom-to-be.

Beef up the bottom line with flat cards for the holidays

toolsMost of us creative types are all about the design, the message and the media. We aren’t crazy about the math, it’s usually not in a Top 10 priorities spot when we are brainstorming. Here’s the thing though, understanding the bottom line is kind of, you know, crucial. Flat cards from StationeryHQ are a great way to be well-compensated for your talent and efforts.

If you are a wholesale customer, a two-sided, full color, flat A7 card will start at  $.43 each. So for the sake of argument, let’s say you order 50 for a total cost of $21.50 + shipping. Flat cards on fine papers sell on major retail sites for OVER $2.00 each. That’s $100 for a set of 50, leaving you with $79.50 per order. Do 10 orders like that per week (pretty easy workload, right?) and you’re making about $3,000 a month without breaking a sweat. If you did the same number of cards/orders with folded cards, your margin would be closer to $2,000 per month and you had to work a little harder to set up the artwork. See how fun the math is now?

A few more $ tips:

• Requiring a minimum of 25 or 50 as opposed to 10 gets you more profit with exactly the same amount of work.

• Charge a premium for extras like rounded corners, still no extra work for you but a sassier product and better margin.

• Offer incentives for large orders, many customers will “order up” when they know they are close to a discount or promotion.

• Encourage your clients to order early to save on shipping costs. And so you can enjoy the holidays.

Cheers!