oh happy day!

My good friend, Amy, is getting married this weekend! (The photo above is of an invitation I did for her stock-the-bar party earlier this Fall.) I'm off to Atlanta for the wedding and can't wait to see her. Hoping to get some good photos there that I can post for you. Stay tuned for those and all sorts of new projects I'm working on next week. Have a nice weekend, and Happy Halloween!

easy, inexpensive hostess gift

I love getting dinner invitations, especially to the Kelly’s house, where I am treated to the best gourmet cooking like it’s straight off Top Chef. But, with book clubs, staying with friends for out-of-town weddings, parties and dinner invites, it gets hard (and expensive) to come up with new and fun hostess gifts to bring along each time. I have this huge rosemary bush that I planted about a year ago. What started as little more than a seedling is now as big as a stuffed armchair. (Tip: they need plenty of direct sunlight!) So, I’ve started taking little bundles of rosemary with me as hostess gifts whenever I get an invite to someone’s home. I tie it up with some pretty ribbon (shown above with Martha Stewart Crafts Seam Binding in Apricot and Feldspar) and I’m done. It’s a great gift, and perfect for anyone who loves to cook and entertain. Do you have any ideas for easy, inexpensive hostess gifts? Submit a comment!

home style

While flipping through the October issue of ELLE DÉCOR, I came across a fabulous shop in their “Finders Keepers” section on page 70. From the photo there by Ed Ritger, jak home looks to be my dream store. Hopefully, they will open an online store soon! For my San Francisco friends, you can visit in person at 2423 Polk Street in Russian Hill. To get more information, please visit jak home on the web here.

big day for baby b

Things are a whirlwind here at beth perry DESIGN. Recently finished up some baptism invitations, pictured above, for baby girl B. Her parents asked me to design birth announcements first and liked them so much they asked for a set of baptism invitations. I used fantastic Crane’s Lettra paper for both projects. It’s specifically designed for letterpress, but we flat printed them. The paper is just so cottony and soft, it really takes well to any kind of printing method and the end result in iconic pink ink is beautiful – perfect for baby’s B’s big day!

country club chic

Gargyle’s site is awesome, mainly because of the great photos on the opening page, but also because of their well-edited mix of new, hard-to-find brands. They feature fabulous designers, some that you can’t get anywhere else online, and have both men’s and women’s clothing, accessories, jewelry, bags and shoes. It is simple and easy and uncluttered. And, I love their about us description: “At Gargyle, we’re devoted to vintage country club lifestyle and aim to revive and modernize its spirit. We love golf, tennis, concerts, parties… anything that lets us have fun with our friends and family.” I’m in!

PHOTO CREDITS: first two photos from Gargyle’s opening page; some items available from Gargyle in the third photo (clockwise from top left) – Flutter Cuff Sweatshirt Dress (Karen Walker), Blueberry Cardigan (YMC - You Must Create), Braided Nile Bracelet (Giles & Brother), Frances Baker Dress (Lorick), Button Skirt (Surface to Air), Studded Ribbon Flats (F-Troupe)

minted wedding invitation

A new contest is open for voting at minted! This time, minted asked the designers for "spring green" wedding invitations, using only green and white. It was a challenge to be so limited in color palette, but a lot of fun brainstorming ideas. Things are crazy here at beth perry DESIGN, so I ended up only having time to submit one entry, Lucky, pictured above. But, love how it turned out! Take a look at all the designers' entries here and cast your vote for your favorites - winning designs will be featured in a leading wedding magazine and will also be sold on minted's site! Keep your fingers crossed and vote for Lucky! Thanks so much for all of your support!

nigel peake letterpress print

Got this fabulous letterpress print in my mailbox the other day. It is a limited edition by artist Nigel Peake via Little Paper Planes. Little Paper Planes is an online store that features various artists’ work as well as limited-edition prints. The Nigel Peake print is part of Little Paper Plane's limited-edition series where new artists are featured on a monthly basis. Take a look at the Little Paper Planes shop and blog – both are great sources of inspiration with beautiful, new and original work from all kinds of artists. And, you can read more about Mr. Peake in his fantastic interview with Little Paper Planes or check out his own blog, by nigel peake.

there's no place like home

I went home last weekend to see my family (and my Mom’s doggie, Jake). I really wanted to take time to get some photos of our house, which my mother is planning on selling soon. (She’s moving to a great 1930s-era home, and as a widow, the smaller space will be easier to deal with.) But, before the house my Dad designed, and which we moved into 2 weeks after I was born, goes on the market, I made it a mission to capture it in pictures. Well, I hadn’t been home in a while and my mouth just dropped when I saw the garden. My mother is the epitome of a green thumb and her hours and hours of work really show. She cried when she saw these, but she said they were happy tears.

first anniversary

Jason, the husband of one of my best friends, Caroline, e-mailed the other day and wanted to get some stationery as part of a first-anniversary gift for her. I was so excited to help, but it had to get done and shipped across the country in just a few days. (First of all, how thoughtful that he knew about paper as the traditional first-anniversary gift?) I came up with lots of designs, but Jason narrowed down the colors and final look from those for the finished product (pictured above). Love how it turned out! My late-night trip (or Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride) to the FedEx cargo area at the airport, where I begged the carriers there to please-help-me-get-this-to-San-Francisco-by-tomorrow, was worth it. The gift made it right on time for their anniversary celebration. I was so happy when Caroline told me how much she loved them. Definitely a fun project!

travelogue

Love traveling, and when I go somewhere, I research everything about it beforehand. Even if you’ve been someplace already, it pays off to get some inside scoop before you hit the road. There are lots of great travel magazines and guides out there today, but I think I hit the jackpot when I went to Paris a while ago with this little gem.

The eat.shop guides are fantastic – a real local’s viewpoint into the best places to spend your time in various cities. Highly recommended as an addition to the regular travel guides, these fun and colorful little books are easy to pack in your bag, no matter how stuffed. I wish they had one for my town; I’d buy it just so I could learn about some new places to check out. But, most major cities in the U.S. and world are covered - with more to come. You can buy yours here.

Pictured above is my copy of eat.shop paris with the Jouets Bass toy store page. The mobile was purchased at that delightful little Parisian shop (in the 6th arr.) and it’s part of my big office makeover project ’08. More on that soon!

i heart etsy

I am always raving to friends, family and strangers about etsy. It’s the best place to buy and sell handmade goods online. Featuring new and fresh independent designers, the site includes everything from fun dresses, handbags and jewelry to paper goods, baby gifts and kitchen towels. Lots of the designers use it as a way to jump start their small businesses – so there are always new discoveries and the prices are fair. There’s a lot of stuff on there, but don’t get overwhelmed. etsy offers great search features that make it easy to find what you want. Best feature: the etsy color picker! Awesome.

PHOTO CREDITS – clockwise from top left: Milkflower Tea Towel (flying rhymes), Gallery Dress (Emily Katz), forest-loves-olive tote (made by hank), Hand-Printed Pillow Covers (kalla), Gold hammered hoops (MAKE PIE not war), Waterfall Earrings (Sirene del Mare)

minted menu designs

I entered another design contest at minted, a site that features beautiful stationery from lots of independent, high-end lines. They hold contests where you design a stationery item or invitation that follows a theme. This month, the contest is to design wedding menus. beth perry DESIGN currently has four entries, pictured above and also linked below. Would love your votes - winners and runners-up get to have their designs sold on the site! Voting on a design requires that you first sign up for an account. Please click here to register. Or, see the entries at minted by following these links: Bibliotheque, Barbados, Eudora and Antigua. Thanks so much for your support!

hello!

Hi there! So, this is my blog! My plan is for this to be updated as much as possible - usually with different things I find to be inspirational or informative. I hope you like!

Thought I'd start with some photos of my recent trip to the beach at Fripp Island, South Carolina. Finally got a camera (fabulous Canon PowerShot SD790) that is not from the checkout aisle at the grocery store, so Fripp was the perfect place to break it in. The beach in early Fall is really gorgeous and I wanted to capture that as inspiration for some of my stationery and invitation designs.