Lompoc Bridal Faire

Lompoc will be host to a Bridal Faire on Sunday, April 1, 2012 at the Grange Hall at 435 North G Street. The event will be from 10:00 am - 3:00 pm and will have local event planners, photographers, event rentals, invitation designers (including yours truly) and other wedding vendors. A local bridal shop has even donated dresses, tuxedos and other apparel for use in a fashion show! Admission will be $5 at the door, or $3 pre-sale at The Party Shop in Lompoc. The whole event is being organized by Heaven Sent Events, a new event planning business in Lompoc. A facebook page is coming soon - I'll let everyone know when it's up so you can go check it out!

Merry Christmas!

Another year is coming to a close, and what a year it has been! Hummingbird Cake Stationery has been busy and I am so thankful for all my customers this year! I had a blast meeting locals at the various craft shows around the Lompoc area, and I look forward to participating again next year. Since I haven't really blogged about what's been going on due to the busy show schedule, here's a little recap:

You can now find our greeting cards at The Bookstore in Lompoc (1137 North "H" Street Ste. Q), and our interchangeable magnetic bottle cap necklaces and key chains at Expresiones Boutique in Vandenberg Village (3734 Constellation Road). I just love that we're carried in local, independent stores!

I just finished up the adorable koala baby shower invitation you see here for a girlfriend and it is now available in three different color options (though custom colors are always available at no extra charge). I'm working on several more designs which will be available in the near future...look for those soon! I'm also going to get some more photographs taken of our wedding invitation designs by the very talented Michael Brown Photography in Santa Barbara, so I'll share those when they're all finished.

Also, as a thank you for making 2011 a successful year, please use the coupon code XMAS2011 for 10% off anything in our store from now until December 31. Have a wonderful Christmas and a very happy New Year!

More Holiday Bazaars!

The past few weekends have been busy with holiday bazaars, where I've been meeting new people and reconnecting with familiar faces. Thank you to everyone who came out to see me! If you missed any of the previous events, there are several more in the coming weeks. Here are the ones Hummingbird Cake Stationery will be participating in soon:

• Crestview Christmas Bazaar on Saturday, December 3 from 10 am - 4 pm. Located at Crestview Elementary School on Vandenberg Air Force Base.
  
• Holiday Craft Bazaar at Buena Vista Elementary School on Wednesday, December 7 from 6:30 - 9:30 pm. Located at 100 Aldebaran Avenue in Vandenberg Village.
• Santa's Work Shop Shopping Extravaganza on Sunday, December 4 from 10 am - 3 pm. Located at Expresiones Boutique in the Village Shopping Center - 3734 Constellation Road. While you're at the Village Farmer's Market, stop by!
• Element Christian Church Holiday Bazaar on Saturday, December 10 from 4 pm - 8 pm. Located at 3596 Skyway Drive in Santa Maria.
  

At each show, we'll have plenty of holiday and greeting cards, 1" magnets and pins, plus our interchangeable magnetic bottle cap necklaces and key chains. Hope you'll consider coming by one (or more) of the local boutiques to say hi!

Inspiration: Country Fun

Today, weddings can be whatever kind of day you can dream up - from a destination beach affair to a traditional church event to a backyard country celebration! There are so many cute ways to incorporate a little cowboy flair into a wedding, so I've put together an inspiration board to spark some ideas:


(Clockwise from top left - Mason Jar Wine Glasses by MinSvenskaLandgard, Western Couple Wedding Invitation by Hummingbird Cake Stationery, Small Barnwood Vase Box by artofwhimsy2, Just Hitched Banner by LittleRetreats)

The accessory items available on the board are all available on Etsy. If you're not into shopping online, you can easily go DIY with your theme by browsing thrift stores and:

• Utilize fun accessories like the ones pictured above - wooden flower boxes, mason jars and horseshoes are just a few to get your creative juices flowing
• Incorporate subtle country touches to your wedding party's attire - like guitar cufflinks or horseshoe charm bracelets
  
• Frame sepia-toned photos of yourself and your fiancee in various styles of wooden frames as ceremony or table decor

These are just a few ideas to hopefully inspire you, too!

Upcoming Holiday Boutiques

The holidays are coming! That means there are some fun craft boutiques just around the corner! The craft shows offer unique shopping options with vendors offering handmade items and many of the shows support local service organizations. Here are the ones Hummingbird Cake Stationery will be participating in so far:

• Arts & Crafts Bazaar at the Lompoc Elks Lodge on Saturday, October 29 from 9 am - 4 pm. Located at 905 E Ocean Avenue.
• 37th Annual Winter World Bazaar at the Boys & Girls Club of Lompoc on Saturday, November 5 from 9 am - 3 pm. Located at 1025 W Ocean Avenue. Organized by Soroptimist International of Lompoc.
• Trinity Church Bazaar & Bake Sale on Friday, November 11 from 2 pm - 8 pm and on Saturday, November 12 from 9 am - 3 pm. Located at 500 East North Avenue in Lompoc.

At each show, we'll have plenty of holiday and greeting cards, 1" magnets and pins, plus our interchangeable magnetic bottle cap necklaces and keychains. Hope you'll consider coming by one (or more) of the local boutiques to say hi!

Inspiration: Vintage Loveliness

I love working with antique images and incorporating them into invitations and other stationery. Antique scroll-work, flourishes and illustrations add a unique quality to stationery and invitations for special occasions - especially weddings. Do you long for a wedding with vintage flair? There are many unique options available to you to add a special touch of old-fashioned glamor without having to raid your grandmother's closet and I've put together an inspiration board to spark some ideas:

(Clockwise from top left - double stranded pearl necklace by JamJewels1033, lace up granny boots with hand-crafted flower by RetroVintage123, bridal fascinator with birdcage veil by YJdesign, vintage ornament wedding invitations by Hummingbird Cake Stationery, art deco wedding brooch by luxedeluxe, filigree crystal and pearl bracelet by treasures570)

The accessory items available on the board are all available on Etsy - a wonderful site that offers both actual vintage finds as well as vintage-style items created by artisans from around the world. It's easy to add some personal touches to your vintage theme by browsing thrift stores, eBay and Etsy:

• Utilize fun accessories like the ones pictured above - pearl strands, rhinestone brooches, birdcage veils, etc. Go with what you envision for the day - incorporate as much or as little Old-Hollywood as you see fit
  
• For kitschy ceremony decor, find mid-century vases in assorted shapes and colors for flowers and glass bottles and jars for old-school candies
• Frame black and white photos of yourself and your fiancee in vintage or vintage-style frames as ceremony or table decor

These are just a few ideas to hopefully inspire you, too!

Looking to Go Green?

For those eco-conscious folks out there, we offer a recycled paper option for our invitations. It's a 100lb smooth white card stock with 100% post consumer recycled fibers, made with sustainable raw materials and without the use of chlorine chemistry. It's FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) Certified and acid free. It can be used in place of the default card stock with no additional cost!

Our other standard paper options are not too shabby on the eco-friendly scale either, as they are also FSC Certified, Carbon Neutral and Green-e Certified (Made with 100% Certified Renewable Energy). The invitations are offered in three choices of standard colors: White, Natural White and Cream/Ivory. See swatches below:

Let us know if you have any questions about the papers we use - we're pretty excited that our favorite papers happen to be environmentally friendly too!