6 months to go... DUN DUN DUN!!!

A huge thanks goes to our dear friend Raymond (who is the talented photographer behind the lens of these photos... and a huge apology goes to him as well for ruining his usual pristine and professional photography style with our weird poses and my token burger quote)... thanks for still being our friend after this. HAHA. As I continually promise, a few more of these photos will be coming soon but for now, why don't you head over to Raymond's site at Vivid Moments Photographers for some amazing shots of other couples =D. 

By the way, in my opinion the best part of this photoshoot was finding those two branches lying on the ground and putting them on my head as deer antlers... and my fiance being okay with that. Although he did veto the idea of me crouching over like a grandma and using the branch as a cane. Oh well, a relationship is all about compromise, and saving each other's dignity once in awhile. =P

In other wedding related news, I've been busy trying to design our invites lately... and it's been tough! I've realized I'm very indecisive about this sort of thing because when it comes to my own art, I'm very critical about all the minor details and it's never quite up to my ridiculously confused and ambiguous standards. haha. I don't even know what I want. Currently, I'm trying to hand-draw a sketch for our invites and I'm finding it hard to infuse all the different elements we like - "woodsy with a vintage flair with some cute cartoons but still professional and simple-looking" - without giving into the fact that realistically a perfectly harmonious blend of said elements does not exist.  In the midst of all this confusion, my tendencies for artistic perfectionism are kicking in. haha. HELP. 

There have been small victories though - mainly, the mint-green website banner that I designed (above) with those quirky little birds. I'm also quite happy with that random font that I came up with for our names which was my take on "woodsy + cute". Anyway, if you have any ideas for wedding invites using kraft paper (you know, the woodsy brown paper that looks like glorified cardboard), send me some links! I'd really appreciate some design inspiration right now =D.

Art Inspiration: Rifle Paper Co.

 So after about 4 days of on-and-off room cleaning, it's looking at about 25% done. You may think, "oh gosh Laura, that's it?" but for me, this is already a mini victory and one step closer to conquering the clutter! I stand by my word that I won't post any more DIY projects until I'm done cleaning, but I am allowed to post some ART right? haha.

While browsing nonchalantly on Pinterest - a highly-dangerous pastime for soon-to-be brides - I came across Rifle Paper Co. and totally fell in love with Anna Bond's cute yet elegant stationery. She creates all kinds of paper products for different occasions, and if you're a bride looking for some gorgeous invites, she can even do custom illustrations!

Now I'm pretty set on designing my own invites, but I'm not opposed to taking inspiration from others. I decided to try my hand at one of Anna's coaster designs since I had just found my tablet pen after a YEAR (room cleaning comes in handy after all!). 

Even though her designs are carefully hand-painted and I just drew mine with a tablet pen on Adobe Photoshop, I think it turned out pretty nicely! After my drawing was done, I used the texturizer tool (filter >> texture >> texturizer) and selected the canvas option to create that textured paper look. As a finishing touch, I added a part of one of my favourite verses about LOVE from the Bible (to read the full passage, see 1 Corinthians 13:4-8). 

I'm so happy to have found my tablet pen!! Now I can start drawing more on the computer! :) 

Just as a side note: I'm not trying to copy Rifle Paper Co.'s designs - it was more of an art exercise for me to see if I could replicate their hand-painted style using online tools. This was just for personal practice and that's why all the creativity credit goes back to Anna Bond! :) Even though I love how my version turned out, I wouldn't ever print it out to give to people because it's not my own design. 

I'm still learning so much about art. So... JOIN ME in celebrating the amazing work of other artists, and follow me as I develop my own style and journey along the road of artistic self-discovery! (Now if you said that last line in a deep, manly movie-trailer voice, it would sound so much more epic).