Monthly Archives: May 2012

Edge Painting v Foil Edging

Posted on May 28, 2012 by Amy

Last week we introduced you to the hottest new trend for 2012 – foil stamping!  And explained how you can now choose to customise any of the designs from our Bella Figura letterpress wedding invitation collection or your couture wedding invitation design with foil stamping.  Today we’re here to tell you about the differences between foil edging and edge painting, and help you to determine which embellishment will work best for you – we know, we know the customisation options are endless!


Bella Figura Image

Trying to decide between Edge Painting v Foil Edging? – Here are a few thing to ask yourself:

1. Do you want a sleek, metallic shine or a reflective edge? 2. Are you using foil stamping in your suite? 3. Do you want to use an accent colour outside of our letterpress inks? If you answered yes to one or more of these questions, then foil edging may be the perfect choice!

Foil edging is a fabulous new embellishment option available at Bella Figura, and adds a metallic sheen to the edge of any letterpress invitation
Bella Figura Image

We are completely in love with foil edging. Shiny metallics are really popular for weddings in 2012, so if you are looking for a trendy new way to enhance your invitations this may be the perfect fit for you. There are 12 dazzling new foil colors that are all stunning (ranging from more traditional silver, gold & copper colors to more modern teal, fuchsia & indigo). Foil edging leaves a shiny edge that we think is breathtaking. If you can’t fit foil stamped invitations into your budget but still want a special hint of shine, you can add foil edging!

1. Do you want a bright pop of colour (think neons) 2. Do you want a matte finish? 3. Are you trying to keep costs down? If you answered yes to one or more of these questions, then edge painting may be the perfect choice!

Edge painting is an embellishment option available to add an extra burst of color to Bella Figura's letterpress wedding invitations & stationery.
Bella Figura Image

Edge painting is directly associated with letterpress inks – we can edge paint in any of our ink colours! (Check out our Bella Figura Letterpress Collection) We do offer 3 metallic inks – gold, silver, and bronze – but the finishes have more of a matte look instead of a shine.  Edge painting is also more affordable than foil edging, so if you are on a budget but still want an edge, edge painting is the way to go! Nothing can compare to seeing these embellishments in person. You can always order samples or book a consultation here in the Pretty as a Picture Studio.

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Pretty as a Picture Featured in German Design Magazine – Novum

Posted on May 23, 2012 by Jane

What a lovely surprise to come in this morning to an email letting us know that our Couture Wedding Invitations are featured in this issue of German Graphic Design magazine, Novum! We are extremely flattered and look forward to reading the English version which should be out soon!

Novum Cover

Now to get the German dictionaries out…!

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How To Make Your Wedding Invitations Shine

Posted on May 21, 2012 by Amy

Foil stamping is also known as “foil embossing” or “hot foil stamping”—it’s all the same thing, and this prized printing method allows the creation of really breathtaking gold wedding invitations, or silver wedding invitations, or whatever shine your ♥ desires! We love foil because it gives great solid coverage, and now we can incorporate true metallics into our custom invitation design and printing—and we also appreciate how foil stamping draws on some history too, such as the old tradition of adorning books with lavish gold accents. That said, this isn’t your great-grandmother’s foil stamping: mix letterpress and foil stamping in a single design; have your invitations printed in bold beautiful coloured foils (fuchsia! purple! teal!); or go two tone, mixing a gold matte foil with a gold shine foil for a truly wowing look. Foil stamping gives a great impression into the paper, just like letterpress printing does. Foil-stamped invitations can be recycled like any paper, though we bet your guests may hang onto theirs as keepsakes!

Bella Figura Foil Stamped Montage

You can now choose to customise any of the designs from our Bella Figura letterpress wedding invitation collection or your couture wedding invitation design with foil stamping.  Or you can choose to print your invitation in both foil and letterpress- it’s totally up to you! Note that foil stamping is a slightly more expensive printing method than letterpress (though it’s worth it, trust us!), and the foil printing process doesn’t allow for rush turnarounds.

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The White Event – Wedding Inspiration

Posted on May 13, 2012 by Jane

A couple of weeks ago, we were thrilled to be invited to design some custom wedding stationery for The White Event, Dublin – an inspirational and fun evening for Irish brides. Hosted by The Bridal Lounge and Brosnan Photographic, the talented girls transformed La Catedral Studios in the City Centre into the wedding showcase that was The White Event. They demonstrated how to inject some of your personal tastes and personalities into your wedding with some imagination, creativity and lets face it a little bit of graft too!!!

Styled by the Bridal Lounge, we helped to bring their vision to life along with some of Irelands most creative suppliers including Best of Buds, Cloudberry Bakery, Dirty Fabulous, Covet, Me Auld China, and Caterhire. Two different themes were styled – Rustic Country and Modern Chic. We created custom stationery for the Rustic Country look below…

The cakes provided by Cloudberry Bakery were to die for -  if I was getting married again…!!

The modern chic table used an eclectic mix of colour that really stood out. And how I loved the old typewriter used as part of the guestbook – beautiful!!

Brides and grooms-to-be were treated to talks from guest speakers, Ciara from Style Serendipity, Naoise from One Fab Day, Claire from White Sage and Deirdre of Ruby and Bloom. They shared their experience of the Irish wedding world, each with a different specialist background, offering amazing tips and opening the floor to questions.

Hopefully, there will be another event planned soon, and if there is get your tickets quick as its sure to be a popular night :) Thanks to Christina of Brosnan Photographic for the gorgeous images above!

If you have a unique idea for your invite, talk to us and we will create something truly unique for you. Read more about our Couture Stationery Projects...

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The New Arrival!

Posted on May 2, 2012 by Jane

For those of you who may have noticed a lack of blog posts of late, the picture below may explain why!! While the girls in the studio have been crazy busy with wedding orders, for me the last 3 months have been a whirlwind of nappies, late night feedings and general oohing over our new arrival – Luke. Now that things have somewhat settled and I have time to type, I thought I’d share some pics!

So, this was my second baby, therefore I was more prepared (or scared!) of what was to come. My first boy was 10 days late so I convinced myself the second would be early – this wasn’t to be!! So nearly a week overdue, fed up and wanting this baby here, I called local photographer Corrine Crennan and asked her to take a photo of me 41 weeks pregnant. I laughed on the phone when booking it and said I would probably have to cancel as the appointment was a week after my due date, but lo and behold, Luke held on and I ended up in Corrine’s studio with no sign of movement!

I refused to allow anyone photograph me with my bump first time round, so second time round I decided to embrace the fuller me and get some memorable pregnancy bump shots taken. 2 days later Luke arrived in a hurry and here he is just over 1 week old (a big baby at 9 pounds 11 ounces) – what a difference a week can make!

I’ll post some more pics soon… :)

Thanks Corrine,
Jane xx

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