Well it is a shocker I am sure to see that I have updated my blog for the first time in a year, but I wanted to let everyone know that I am on maternity leave until June. So if you are inquiring about any design work, know that I will not respond until June.

Meet our little girl! We love her so much.

If you have recently had a baby or are pregnant, I would highly suggest ordering some custom baby announcements!  These announcements are printed on metallic paper and are designed to coordinate with baby’s room decorations and bedding colors.  These are some of my favorite announcements, contemporary, yet fun and even a little girlie!

And what an adorable and squishy face – she is just precious.  The newborn photos were shot by Holli at Hollibphotography.com.

These invitations are just perfect for the simple bride who wants a unique touch to her invitations. The clean white background gives a modern feel, white the branches and leaves give an natural, somewhat carefree feel.

These invitations were printed on white linen paper and came in a long metallic envelopes.  We can add RSVP, Reception, Accommodations or Direction cards to these sets.

The best word to describe these is elegant.  They are just so beautiful and classy.  I think it is the simplicity of these invitations that make them so formal looking.  In fact these invitations came with no other enclosures! We printed these invitations on a cream linen paper.  There are some good close up photos below that show the texture of the linen paper.  If you are looking for a relatively inexpensive way to bring more class to your wedding invitations, using linen paper is a great place to start! And of course the bride wanted to use our guest list labels to address her envelopes.  We used a plain white label on the cream linen paper and it looked very clean and elegant.

Hank is the newest member of the Taylor Jill Team.  He does a lot of brainstorming for us.

We adopted him from a shelter last Thursday.  These pictures were taken on Friday, Jan. 28. My husband I were raking the leaves in our backyard.  We bagged 19 bags and did not even get to half of them.

I think this is the definition of puppy dog eyes…?

Then, these are the pictures I took this morning… yes, we went from beautiful 70 degree weather to 20 degree and snowing in ONE WEEK.  I love it.

You will probably be seeing more of this guy around!

Since its snowing like crazy outside, I am trying to warm up, by thinking about our outdoor weddings coming up this summer. Which brought me to this little beauties… fan programs.  These guys are the perfect addition to your outdoor ceremony.

There are a total of five petals, which are held together at the bottom with a ribbon color of your choice. The petals “fan” out to create a great little hand fan. Which is awesome for your guests during the sizzling heat of the summer.  Even indoor weddings can get a little warm in the middle of summer.  These programs are fun because not only do they allow you to add as much information as you need/want, but you can use as many petals as you want.  There is alot of creative freedom with these programs to add photos or info about the bride and groom.  And as always, they can be custom designed to coordinate with your wedding invitations!

These invitations are super unique and another DIY project.  When I first met with Stephanie to discuss her wedding invitations, she was certain she wanted something unique and fun.  She fell in love with the pocket-fold invitations, but decided she needed to go with something that would be a little more cost effective. When I showed Stephanie a birthday invitation I had designed using the fabric wrap, she loved them and decided them!

These invitations feature a designed announcement with a four inch piece of fabric wrapped around the center and tied with a bow. Stephanie’s colors were black and white with accents of red.  So while I began designing, she went in search of red fabric.  They turned out beautifully.  I was very impressed with the presentation of them as well.

Using a simple, yet elegant design for the invitation, opens up the door for so many options of fabric.  You could go completely crazy and fun or stay subtle and give your invitations a classy, formal feel.

Stephanie, thanks for being excited about new and fun invitations!  We love when brides are willing to try something new and be a little different!

For all of those Seniors getting ready to graduate – we design Graduation Announcements just for you!

Graduation Announcements and Senior Pictures have changed TREMENDOUSLY since I was a senior almost a decade ago!  Whew…. Photo sessions are way more fun and express the style and personality of the senior far better than the studio backdrop I stood in front of!  If you are still needing your Senior Pictures taken, I would highly suggest the wonderfully fabulous, Holli Brewer and her staff at Holli B. Photography. She took the photos used in the design of this announcement.

Back to graduation announcements.  When I graduated, I inserted a small wallet sized photo of myself, into a formal ancient looking graduation invitation that had a foil embossed seal on it.. blah… I so wish I had thought of doing something super fun like this.  Of course it would not have been near as fun, since my senior pictures looked equally as formal.

When you have this many wonderful photos, it is hard to pick, just one.  Thankfully, our designs are double-sided and we can use lots of your faves!

Happy New Year!  I hope you guys are enjoying 2011!  I sure am – we enjoyed the rest over the holidays and now we are starting to pick up again.  It is time for wedding invitations and save the dates!  Yipee!!!

These invitations are so simple and clean and contemporary looking. I am not sure what it is about them exactly, but I really do like them.  The bride was certain she wanted a contemporary style using black and yellow. We printed these on a smooth white cover stock and then mounted them on the black cover stock.  When you mount the invitation onto a matted color cover, it adds a little depth and texture.  It makes the invitation a bit more elegant and gives the invitation some substance.  We ordered black invitations with white inner envelopes, which are another way to class up any wedding invitation.

Let’s talk about inner envelopes for a second. They are a traditional item, that you are seeing less and less of these days, but there are a few good reasons and situations to use them.  The are used to hold the invitation and enclosure cards, inside of the outer envelope. And they can be useful if you are having an adults only reception, then you can address the inner envelope to the guest by name that are actually invited to the wedding. Also when you are sending an invitation to a single, but want them to be able to invite a guest, instead of listing that on the outer envelope, you address the inner envelope to Cindy and guest. Most of our brides tend to opt out of inner envelopes.

Jacey also wanted to use some unique wording for their response cards.  She told me later she received some funny comments and a few semi-confused guests.  So on one hand they are great and fun to do something different, but occasionally your guests may not know how to respond!

Direction cards with maps are always a great addition to your wedding invitations.  They are definitely helpful to your guests!

Enjoy your weekend!

Well I was finally able to get around to one of those things I have been putting off for months… updating my blog.  So here it is, the new fresh look of Taylor Jill Designs.  I really love the simplicity of it and the clean lines.  I hope you can enjoy it like I do!

My suggestion is to enjoy a huge bowl or ice cream while reading the blog, it is definitely my favorite way to read it! Feel free to leave a comment or email me about pricing and custom designs!

I am excited to hear from you!

Taylor Forester