Minted + Chronicle Books

Minted is hosting another challenge and this time around they are partnering with book publisher Chronicle Books. They asked for fresh, modern stationary designs in a color palette of orange, yellow, lime, aqua and taupe. The winning designs of four designers will be featured in a notecard collection published by Chronicle Books and will be sold in stores around the world, as well as on Minted.com. How cool is that? Here are some of my submitted designs...wish me luck!

Win FREE Wedding Coordination!

Calling all Chicago area brides... a new event coordination service is in town and they are giving away 30 days of FREE wedding coordination to one lucky lady! Praveen, one of the women behind the{little}details, contacted me last week about this amazing giveaway and her awesome wedding blog called rivernorthLove. Check them out and go here for all the details on the contest. Good luck!

30 Days of Free Wedding Coordination Includes:
* Unlimited phone and email correspondence and two in-person meetings
* Rehearsal dinner coordination
* Day of services (8-10 hours)
* Bridal party wish/task list
* Detailed wedding timeline (Ceremony- processional and recessional, Cocktail hour, and Reception)
* Vendor contract review, checklist, confirmation, and payment
* Budget updates
* Wedding checklist, tailored around your wedding day specifics
* Delivery of non-vendor items to ceremony or reception venues
* Bridal emergency kit on site
* All the little details. Which includes and is not limited to: wardrobe assistance, wedding party assistance, breakfast delivery, vendor and bridal party liaison, assistance with program/place cards/favor set up, assistance with selection of favors, assistance with selection of attendant and or parent gifts, dessert table set up, and any other specific needs you may have (i.e. the safekeeping of your grandmother's heirloom cake knife)

Curiosity

Photos ©2011 Keg Design

Wedding Program Challenge

Happy Sunday! Hope everyone is having a great weekend. It's been absolutely dreary in Chicago... clouds, rain and cold temps. Blah! The good thing was that it motivated me to complete my submission for Minted's Blogger Program Challenge. I signed up online and received an entry packet in the mail a few weeks ago. Here's the lowdown: Minted is looking for new and creative ways to bind their program cover (which they sell here) to the internal program pages (that brides print themselves). Staying true to the modern aesthetic at Minted, I wanted to offer up something that was unique & fresh. We've all seen programs folded and binded with ribbon, so I decided to use metal eyelets instead!

To cover the top portion of the program I dug up some paper scraps I had laying around. The great thing about this DIY project is that you don't need a ton of materials or money. Approximately 100 metal eyelets cost about $3 on Etsy - this is a steal compared to the price of ribbon! Eyelets come in all shapes, sizes and colors. For the paper, many craft shops will sell the long paper strips that they cut for other items at a discounted price or even give to you for free. Other than that, I just needed a glue stick, X-acto knife and small hammer. Cut the paper to fit the top portion of the program. To create the lower bend in the front cover, use the X-acto knife to cut a straight score line. Glue the paper to the top of the cover then measure & mark the center for the eyelet. Place the eyelet over the center, hammer it down and WA-LAH! You've got a great looking wedding program uniquely adhered together!

I also created a second and third program option that utilized similar metal trinkets. For the yellow and gray design, I wanted to keep it very modern and simple. I placed two gold eyelets in the center top of the program and created another score line for folding. The third photographic option was pretty as is, so I just adhered all of the pages together with two white snowflake brads. These helped bring a winter wedding theme to life and since the snowflakes were white, they didn't compete with the rest of the design. Another great aspect of the eyelets is that thread or ribbon can be looped through them for functional purposes. If you're a bride who likes to be different, you could display and hang your programs at the church on metal sconces or tree branches to WOW your guests!

Photos ©2011 Keg Design

My Wedding Paper Designs

Reception Details

ABC's

I'm taking a cue from two of my favorite bloggers, Terese and Mel, and going the lazy route this morning. I've gone ahead and filled out the Blogger ABC's below. I've also set a goal for myself this week - to finish posting the last of my wedding recaps. I'll leave you with this cute pic of my brother and I at my wedding...he's my answer to letter S!

A. Age: 29

B. Bed size: Queen

C. Chore you hate: Folding laundry

D. Dogs: Abbey, the cutest black lab puppy ever!

E. Essential start to your day: Breakfast

F. Favorite color: Green

G. Gold or silver: Yellow Gold

H. Height: 5'9" flats; 6'+ with heels!

I. Instruments: Tone deaf (seriously)

J. Job title: Associate Creative Director

K. Kids: Nope (but a puppy is kinda like one)

L. Live: Vintage Condo in Chicago

M. Mom’s name: Mariellen

N. Nicknames: KelG, KEG

O. Overnight hospital stays: Nope

P. Pet peeve: Smoking. Whistling. Loud Breathing.

Q. Quote from a movie: "Luke, I am your father." (My husband gets that one a lot)

R. Right or left handed: Right

S. Siblings: 1 younger brother, by 9 years!

T. Time you wake up: 7am'ish

U. Underwear: Yep

V. Vegetables you dislike: I eat them all!

W. What makes you run late: According to my husband, I "dilly-dally" around the house.

X. X-Rays you’ve had: Do teeth count?

Y. Yummy food you make: Turkey Tacos

Z. Zoo- favorite animal: Monkeys