I am so excited to introduce you to Melanie from Love Your Invite & SpreadtheLove! I first met Melanie when I found out about the Z-town Made folks. She is so personable and obviously a very inspired woman!
Melanie is graciously giving away one her ridiculously cute wooden postcards. Keep reading for more about Melanie & how to win!
When did you begin crafting/creating in general? When did you begin your current passion?
I remember painting my driveway in the summer with a bucket of water as a kid – I think that was my first spark of interest in creating personally pleasurable art. It kept me there for hours because I could make huge, trailing “paintings” over and over again. It would all evaporate away and I would start again – it was my favorite thing to do besides collecting rocks. However ridiculous it was, I think it really helped me learn and practice in the future to let go of the individual work and hold on to and love the process. Mess up, try again and never hold on too tightly.
I graduated from Kutztown University with a degree in Communication Design and a concentration in Illustration. I didn’t want to move to any kind of “big city” and my husband (then boyfriend of 4 years) was working in K-town so we stayed here for a while. I started painting freshwater fish on wood planks, worked at a coffee shop, and mentored with a sign maker named Jack Murray until the owners of Sorrelli Jewelry offered me a job as a designer in 2002. It was an awesome experience! I got to go to accessory shows in NY and design pieces that were sold in Nordstrom but, after 2 years, I got married and, upon return from my honeymoon, I had the overwhelming urge to quit and start my own thing. Without much planning I did exactly that and scrambled to create Love Your Invite pretty much in a matter of weeks. It’s all been a roller-coaster of the best/scariest times in my life…
Where do you find inspiration for new items? Tell me about your creative process for designing a new piece.
For Love Your Invite, it’s mostly inspired by the client. Sometimes they let me run wild and then I’ll get my best inspiration from the materials. I play with paper and sparkly things all day until I love what I see… it can be so much fun. I am also inspired by clothing and cool craft concepts from around the introweb. :)
For Spread The Love, it’s like a build up of things I store away in my mind. I watch a lot of documentaries and get inspired by random things. Sometimes one phrase can give me a great “head-movie” which gets shaped, spun and filtered and a week later comes out like laying an egg. Illustration Friday is also a fantastic source inspiration and practice. Mostly I like to play with humor and naivety.
What are you business goals for the coming year?
Love Your Invite will be in it’s 3rd year and I’d like to keep on truckin’. I hope to create a line of wholesale items this year and update my website a bit. My goal is to put 1/2 the money I make back in to the business and after that… pay for my car, vacations, dinners out and all things creative. Not very businessy is it?
Spread the Love will be in it’s first, fledgling year. I plan to wholesale to more stores around the area, and work really hard for the goal of eventually getting representation with someone like Lilla Rodgers. Cross your fingers for me!
So how can you win one of Melanie’s wooden postcards? You need to:
- be a resident of the US.
- visit Love Your Invite and check out Melanie’s custom invitations. Pick a favorite design feature or two. Come back here & leave a comment to let me know what your favorites are and what event (real or not!) you’d like to send out your invites for.
- for a second entry, click the “Share/Save” button below and add this post to your favorite social bookmarking site. HiP’s favorites are Twitter, Facebook, and Stumble Upon.
This giveaway ends March 6 at noon. A winner will be choosen at random.
Oh goodness, you know how long I’ve had my eye on these postcards!
LOL
In “love your invite”, I like the idea of the bird where the pages swivel on the brad. I could see sending that out as a Christmas card changing it to a white dove or a partridge. I love things with multiple pages that holds a secret within :-)
I eally like the understated elegance of the wedding invitation with the brown butterfly (moth?). I just have a “thing” about butterflies…what else can I say? This would be the perfect invitation for my 65th birthday party which is coming up sooner than I want to admit. Lovely…keep on designing your high quality invitations, Melanie!
Oh, that butterfly invitation is so beautiful! Very elegant & just my style…
Lauren’s last blog post..Hurry Up… But Not So Fast!
Love the little owls! I’m always a sucker for woodland flora and fauna! I’ll have to show these to my friend for her daughter’s 10th birthday, as she is the biggest owl lover I know!
I am madly in love with the baby shower invites with the owls. I would definitely use these for my baby shower… if I was expecting, that is :)
so many choices…i have to say my fav are the invitations with the red coral piece, beautiful.
tremundo’s last blog post..philadelphia phavorites
I also like the swivel aspect that you’ve used in a few of your invites. I was going to post the same idea as Rosie to use a Christmas bird! It would also be nice as a bluebird (of happiness):^) for a wedding. I think the eyelet/swivel is my favorite design element…there’s limitless ideas you could explore…an egg (new baby?), heart, house (house warming). Beautiful work!
I’m curious when Melanie graduated from K-town? That’s where I graduated from -BFA Communication Design 1990. :^)
Lovely, lovely work!
Lynn’s last blog post..Bold Petite Fern Leaf Pendant
I love the little bird one! I also love the butterfly invitation. Beautiful!
wow! thanks everybody for your awesome thoughts!
– a christmas and blue swivel bird will be absolutely be made – thanks for the great inspiration! i love the egg, house, heart ideas, too!
– yey, owls! thanks for the love… they love you, too.
– Kutztown, 2003 BFA Communication Design as well! :) i actually just moved out of K-town after 9 years! not far though, just to New Jerusalem.
thanks for the awesome pa support – h.i.p. is so great!
xoxoxoxo
melanie
Melanie’s last blog post..
I really love the baby shower invite with the owls on it. I just have a thing for owls lately for some reason. Maybe since we found out there was a family of them living in our back yard.
Anyway I would have loved to send them for my baby shower, but my baby is already born. Since I never had thh baby shower maybe I can have a belated baby shower. :)
I like the brown buttefly invites; they’d be great for a friend’s baby shower.
I have been in a relationship for 13 year and still have not married him. Why your wondering well three children came first the jobs. And thats just the way its been. But if i did find time to have a wedding i would love to send out the peacock invites and made sure no one would through them away. Because if they have been special people to me to invite to my intimate wedding day then they would be appreciative to the art in the invitations
I love the peacock themed wedding invitations, but not beacuse they’re beautiful- I love them more for the way that they are worded- the bride and groom’s names right there in big type. Just an event between those two people- not overly formal, just a really elegant, modern take on the wedding invitation. Most definitely something I can see myself buying when my big day rolls around!
:)
Hillary’s last blog post..Destash Antiqued Crochet Trim
my favorites are the handstitched fall leaves (i’m designing wedding invites for a fall wedding coming up – that’s a nice twist on a classic!), and the red coral boxed set.. so beautiful!
twitter: http://twitter.com/jennevius
I love the owls, and I would possibly use them for my child’s birthday party. Thanks!
I love this idea. A true keepsake! All the ideas are good. What about an intricate peace sign with your dutch flowers. Mr hedgehog is cool!
Melinda Orr
Orrtec Designs and Pink Ocean (beads & supplies)
Melinda Orr’s last blog post..Artsy Insect Green and Brown Button
Are you kidding me? Pick a favorite or two? How is that possible? It’s all amazing! The embroidery! The ingenuity! I love the owl baby shower invite…I love them all! It’s a veritable visual feast over there! They would all be great for the invites for my upcoming family reunion!
nfmgirl’s last blog post..Sunset 03-02-09
Whooo couldn’t love those owls, but the periwinkle blue with the flower is awesome too. They all are really! I’d use mine for a really special garden party.
Sara Smedley’s last blog post..Napkins – set of 2 – Stoplight Spots (white on cherry)
I love the wedding design they did for the Phipps Conservatory. I would want something similar for my wedding reception!
chani.adams(at)gmail.com
great cards! There are soo many designs I love. But I think that the bird design is the best — so unique! And the bird is truly relaying a message for you. I would like to use this for a graduation event in May. thanks!
I absolutely love the baby shower owls and the bird invitations- so adorable! I would certainly use the bird for an outside spring/summer party.
The Lights, Camera, Party invitations are perfect for a graduation party…with the stars being the graduates, of course…I think this theme would be fun to carry throughout the entire party planning, thanks for the awesome invitations!
I really love the owl cards from the site! They are so adorable. I would send them out for a birthday party.
such beautiful invites – make me wish my life was fancier/required more invitations! I love the bird invitation and think that swivel grommet is so clever. I would send that for a graduation party or any kind of spring/summer soiree!
Leah’s last blog post..Journal with Vintage Covers featuring Maps of Kansas, Colorado, and the Oregon Trail
I love the lavender colored one with the silver faceted buckle and silk ribbon! My good friend is expecting and these would be great for a baby shower – if the paper and ribbon were complimenting colors of pink for the little girl who’s on her way!
Hope’s last blog post..One Good Woman
I love the bird save the date cards in the gallery!
love the butterfly invite! Absolutely beautiful!
=) melanie
melanieadey at hotmail dot com
melanie’s last blog post..Wordless Wednesday
Her card creations are so beautiful. I like the buckle and crystal accents! Our Garden Club hosts a Rose Luncheon every year and one of these invitations (floral) would be perfect for the occasion.
Many thanks, Cindi