I love fireworks. LOVE them. As a child, I loved driving down to the riverfront each July 4th with my family to watch my humble hometown's display along the Ohio River. Even though Evansville is a fairly small city, we always had a top notch show. I loved how the lights reflected off the water, and how we could literally see sparks fly off the barge in the middle of the river where they were setting them off. After college I moved to Cincinnati and was thrilled to discover the amazing WEBN display on Labor Day. Once we sat close enough to get actual physical debris from the fireworks flying into our faces!

Today at the local ABC (Assoc. of Bridal Consultants) luncheon, John Greer of Zambelli Fireworks International presented to the group about hiring their firm to set off fireworks at your wedding. YES, I said FIREWORKS AT YOUR WEDDING. I can't even imagine the coolness. I have chills just thinking about it. They can do custom colors, shapes, and all sorts of fantastic stuff. How amazing would it be to have your own PERSONAL fireworks display on the night of your wedding?! You are probably thinking it would cost a small fortune, but surprisingly it's pretty affordable to hire them for a decent display.

Contact John at 513.478.6475 or JohnGreer@zambellifireworks.com for more information.

Fireworks over the Ohio River in Evansville.

Last weekend my family visited us here in Cincinnati, and my mom brought my 5 month old son the most wonderful gift from my Great Aunt Vernie: a hand-painted china baby bootie. Aunt Vernie (Urban's Great-Great Aunt!) is 82 years old, and has been painting china for 40+ years! I hope that I am still creating 40 years from now. I love the dainty cursive writing she used for Urban's name, birthday and height/weight and the vintage look of the flowers. What makes this gift so utterly special to me is that my identical twin sister and I have little booties with our names and birthdays painted on them from Aunt Vernie as well. I got mine out to compare with Urban's, and the painting is just as beautiful on the the new bootie as it is on my 32 year old one. What sort of handmade gifts do you treasure?

Rarely does the post office create a stamp that I love, much less promote, but the current "King and Queen of Hearts" LOVE stamp is just perfect. I adore the theme, and the subtle colors look great with many different envelope colors. These are standard first class rate ($.44) stamps, so most likely it is not enough to mail a typical wedding invitation which is 2 ounces (a $.61 stamp). However, if you don't mind giving the post office a $.27 tip, you could put both the king and queen on your invite for a fabulous wedding look! I'm not sure how long they will be printing these, so stock up while you can!

amo-ink proudly welcomes our latest addition, Urban David Owens, born August 23, 2009 weighing in at 6 pounds, 4 ounces and measuring 20" long.


photo by Mike Beyer, 2 weeks old

The past three and a half months have been a bit busy, but now that we've settled into a routine, and Urban has graciously agreed to help out at the studio while mommy goes to work. His best skills so far include cooing, drooling, rolling around on the floor by my desk, and smiling sweetly at potential clients that walk into the studio.


photo by Leslie Ober, 3 months old

It's amazing how much a new baby changes your life - now my mind is even BETTER at mulit-tasking, thankfully! It feels good to be back into the swing of things at the inkery, and I know Urban is also excited about the change in scenery.


photo by Christine Beyer, 3 months old

One of my favorite projects I've completed in the last three months was Urban's birth announcement. I can't take all the credit for it, however. Daddy is responsible for the photography as well as the silly puns...



Please feel free to stop by the studio to meet Urban and say hello!

Good friends of mine, (and clients!) Jocelyn and Joey were married at the beginning of May. Their stationery was a joy for me to create - Jocelyn had a very good idea of what she wanted, and her design ideas were just exquisite. We went with a color palette of pale pink and black, with frilly vintage and lace details. The main driving force in her suite were dainty little silhouettes of she and Joey that master silhouette artist Karl Johnson created for them. The result was a classy set of pieces that really reflected the feel of the day. Click HERE to see a sampling of the amazing photos from the day by one of my faves, Neysa Ruhl.Joce and Joey even hired a local silhouette artist to create adorable little silhouettes of their guests as favors at the reception! This amazing lady was 80 years old, and told me that she started creating silhouettes at age 50. Can you imagine starting and perfecting a completely new (difficult) skill half way through your life? She is my new hero. Here is the silhouette she did of me during the reception. I must say, she did a great job, and my hair looks pretty cool:More photos of their stationery set to come later in the week!

I am excited to announce a fantastic event being hosted next month by the Reading Bridal District - the Runaway Bride 5K Race on May 16. Whether or not you are a runner or a walker, it could be a fun challenge to accomplish (with your groom and bridesmaids!) as you are getting in shape for your big day. There will be a free t-shirt and a delicious pancake breakfast by Vonderhaar's after the race. It should be lots of fun, and costumes are encouraged - there are even prizes for the best dressed bride, groom, bridesmaids and groomsmen! There will also be a Kids Fun Run - so you can bring your flower girl and ring bearer as well. A portion of the proceeds will go to Kenzie's Closet - a non-profit organization that helps girls with dresses for proms and homecoming dances. Runners and spectators are encouraged to bring dresses with them to donate. Volunteers from the organization will be on hand to collect them.

You can download a registration form HERE, or stop by my office to fill one out. I am actually entered in a contest to see which RBD shop can recruit the most participants, so please indicate that I referred you on the form, or I can initial the form if you fill it out in my office.

We hope to see you on the 16th!

Lately there has been a lot of talk about being environmentally friendly in all aspects of life - and in the stationery industry, most focus has been placed on using recycled content papers, soy based inks, etc. SPRANQ Creative Communications (based in the Netherlands) has come up with a font that uses less ink - up to 20% less ink by putting "holes" in the letters - that you can download for free HERE. Not sure how much brides will be requesting the use of this font on their wedding stationery - but it is definitely an interesting concept. I may start using it on all contracts, invoices and proposals and see if I can tell if it is saving me toner!