HOME · MOUNTAINCOW MONTHLY NEWSLETTER (JULY 2009)

Clam bake
Here in New England, summer time means clam bakes. It’s a great way to throw a party with lots of fresh seafood and anything else that you like thrown into the pot. Our invitations range from playful to sophisticated, and all feature maritime themes.

Our PrintingPress design is simple and graceful. A teal starfish sits at the top of an Ivory A7 card. We added the invitation text in teal using the Benjamin Caps font and the Alyssa Afternoon font, both of which are from Fonts & Graphics for Weddings. We increased the paragraph spacing to give the text an airy look. We printed the address in teal and lined the Ivory envelopes in Teal for an added splash of color.

For elegance with a kick, try our PrintingPress Platinum design featuring our Creamsicle stationery. We added a border image of an orange coral reef and then added the invitation text in a floating text box using the Benjamin Caps font from Fonts & Graphics for Weddings. We increased the text box’s horizontal and vertical spacing to give the text a clean look. We added the words “peterson family clam bake” in all lowercase letters using the Isabelle font from Fonts & Graphics 2 directly into the main text area. Since the border runs all the way to the edge of the card, we used our printer’s borderless printing feature to print onto the White A7 cards. We lined the envelopes in Ecru for a polished touch.

For a more casual gathering, try our PrintingPress Extreme 5.0 design featuring our Orange Zest stationery. We added a 1.25 inch custom border to the invitation and filled the border with a custom pattern of blue and white stripes. We added an image of an orange crab and floated the image in the bottom right corner of the card. We used the Sample Color tool to give the border a 2 point inner pen in the same hue as the crab. We added the invitation text in the same orange using the Times New Roman font in all lowercase letters. Since the stripes bleed to the edge of the card, we used our printer’s borderless printing feature to print onto the White A7 cards. We added Sky envelope liners and crabby stripes (orange & blue) Personalized StationeryStamps.

PrintingPress sample
(click to enlarge)

PrintingPress Platinum sample
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PrintingPress Extreme 5.0 sample
(click to enlarge)

Falling in love
If you’re planning a wedding for the fall, invitations are probably on your mind right now. We’ve got beautiful new pocket invitation designs that will have your invitations in the mail in a flash. Whether you’re planning a traditional or unconventional affair, you’ll find a design that will work for you. The PrintingPress and PrintingPress Platinum designs use our Complete Pocket Invitation Sets, so ordering the stationery is a snap. And we now offer envelope liners in the A8 size, so you can add the extra detail for any size Pocket Invitation.
                   
Our PrintingPress design features a classic color scheme of Metallic Slate, Coral and White. We started by adding an image of a white lace flower on a coral background to the top of the White invitation card. We added the invitation text below in grey using the Benjamin Caps font from Fonts & Graphics for Weddings. We added the bride and groom’s names using the Isabelle Tall font from Fonts & Graphics 2. We used a double-stick tape gun to adhere the invitation to the Coral backing card, then mounted the set to the Metallic Slate A7 Portrait (rounded point flap) Pocket Folder. We used the Isabelle Tall and Benjamin Caps fonts on the White directions enclosure card and on the White response card. We created coordinating seals with the lace image and the bride and groom’s names. We used the 4-up feature to print four 2.25 x 2.25 inch seals onto White A7 cards and used a rotary trimmer to cut the seals down to size. We used a double-stick tape gun to adhere the seal to Coral 2.5 x 2.5 inch custom cut cards and then mounted the pair to the Pocket Folder’s flap. We lined the Metallic Slate envelopes in Coral and added Custom Image StationeryStamps using the lace image and the couple’s names. The assembled invitation exudes uptown elegance.
                                
Our PrintingPress Platinum design updates a traditional design with an exciting splash of color. Most of the pieces are Ivory with a few key elements in Mandarin Orange for pizzazz. We added an orange ornate Victorian frame to the top of the Ivory invitation card. Next we used a floating text box to add the couple’s new initial “A” in grey to the center of the frame using the Benjamin Caps font from Fonts & Graphics for Weddings. We added the invitation text in grey below the monogram using the Alyssa Afternoon font from Fonts & Graphics for Weddings, with the bride and groom’s names in Benjamin Caps.  We added two grey lines on either side of the “to” that joins the couple's names for added grace. We used a double-stick tape gun to attach the invitation to the Mandarin Orange backing card, then mounted the set to the Ivory A8 Portrait (pointed flap) Pocket Folder. We repeated the same text style on the Ivory directions enclosure card and on the Ivory response card. We created coordinating seals with the Victorian monogram and the couple’s names using the 4-up feature to print four 2.25 x 3.125 inch seals onto Ivory A6 cards. We used a double-stick tape gun to adhere the seals to Mandarin Orange 2.5x 3.375 inch custom cut cards and then mounted the set to the flap of the Pocket Folder. We lined the Ivory A8 envelopes in Mandarin Orange for an added splash of color.

For a bold, modern invitation, try our PrintingPress Extreme 5.0 design. We started by adding a cluster of orange coral to the bottom left corner of the invitation. We added a pair of blue tropical fish around the coral. We added the invitation text in orange using the Times New Roman font in all lowercase letters. We aligned the text to the bottom right margins and increased the vertical spacing to spread out the lines. We used a floating text box to add the bride and groom’s names in orange separated by a blue ampersand above the reef scene. We added a 0.125 inch overprint and printed the invitation onto a White A7 flat card and then trimmed the card to 4.75 x 6.75 inches using a rotary trimmer. We used the Sample Color tool to match the text colors to the coral and fish.  We used a double-stick tape gun to mount the invitation to the Midnight backing card and then stuck the pair to the Metallic Mandarin Orange A8 Landscape (pointed flap) Pocket Folder. We added the same blue and orange text (and a stray fish) to the White A7 directions enclosure card, and added fish and coral to the White 4-bar response card as well. We paired the response card with a Midnight 4-bar envelope lined in Metallic Mandarin Orange to really pop. We used the Label stationery type to print a full 8.5 x 11 inch sheet of 2 x 3.25 inch seals with the coral, fish and the couple’s names. We used a rotary trimmer to separate the seals and then used a double-stick tape gun to adhere the seal to a Midnight 2.25 x 3.5 inch custom cut card. We mounted the set to the Pocket Folder’s flap and paired the completed invitation with Metallic Mandarin Orange A8 envelopes lined in Midnight. Note that since we used metallic envelopes, we used our laser printer to print the envelopes. If you don’t have access to a laser printer, use Midnight envelopes instead. We added Custom Image StationeryStamps with the seal design to bring the tropical experience to the outside of the envelope.

Monogram mayhem
PrintingPress Extreme 5.0’s fabulous Character palette doesn’t just make it easier to adjust the text in the main text area of your invitation; it also gives you quick and easy access to controls to adjust your monograms. If you click on a monogram, the Character palette will change to look like this:

You can use all of the standard text controls to change the font, color, and style of your monogram. You can also use the Left Overlap, Right Overlap and Size Relative to Middle controls to adjust the letters in your monogram. Click in the Left Overlap field and use your mouse wheel to finely adjust the placement of the left initial relative to the middle letter. Click in the Right Overlap field to adjust the right initial. Click in the Size Relative to Middle field to adjust the size of the side letters while keeping the size of the middle initial constant.