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Cards!

Talking about cards is one of our favorite pastimes here at eInvite's Insights. However, I recently came across a fantastic archive which offers another genre of cards: playing cards.The Yale University Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library is home to the Cary Playing Card Database, an archive freely available through this link.

While one may never have thought to look to something as simple and ubiquitous as playing cards for visual inspiration, the contents of the database are rich with examples of bold patterns and detailed ornamentation. What I find interesting is the contrast of said bold and detailed patterns with others in the collection; there are plenty of examples of equally visually striking patterns, though wrought from nothing more than lines of various weights.

Have a look!

Cirque Du Noir and the folks of eInvite

{images l to r: guests lisa crislip, j.fatima martins, chad sirois; musician valerie thompson of goli; eInvite photographer amy demar; eInvite artists: emily quillen and scott boilard; vip passes courtesy of checkerboard; louie despres and his wife tina zlody; angela cannistraro and myself,
and the art fusion audience, all images here by louie despres}

Our recent frolicking at Cirque Du Noir was such an enjoyable night. Every year we get dressed up in our finest noir and celebrate for a good cause. The premise is a simple one, with a huge artist community right here in town, the Worcester area is thriving with talent. We gather them up, watch them create incredible collaborative pieces before our eyes, while auctioning off donated pieces of art from many other generous and talented artists. All this happens while listening to incredible music. This year Esthema and Goli of Boston joined us for the haute evening of incredible creativity and fantastic costumes.

The event was actually inspired by all the creativity surrounding us at work. From this pool of amazing friends and creative spirit, the event became a reality. In its third year Cirque Du Noir has grown so much and we are so happy, as proceeds from the event support the Worcester County Food Bank. Our sponsors like eInvite and Checkerboard help to make the night a success adding the details that make it special. The VIP passes, programs and printing donations were customized for the event. Thank you to all that came out to enjoy art, music in the spirit of Halloween and giving back to our community.

Cirque Du Noir was Sunday evening, followed by a Halloween themed celebration at our annual company picnic the day before. We are just a bunch of party people here. We are now looking to Friday, which will bring yet another costumed day of fun!

Halloween favorites

Michelle's fun post made me want to share a few of my favorite halloween cards and accessories on eInvite!

We Summon You for Hallow's Eve Inspiration!

{images l to r via: einvite.com, cheeseclothe welcome beautifully used, ghosts: martha stewart, cookies: good house keeping, fabric flora: dragonflys and stars and mask: sarah thomas designs}

Halloween is such a fun holiday for children and adults. The folks here at eInvite tend to get a little hokey around Halloween and have a lot of fun. This invitation shown above is from our digital invitation line, perfectly priced for a fun event like All Hallow's Eve, and sets the tone perfectly for a night of childish fun. You get to dress up and eat absurd amounts of candy. When I see elegant Halloween ideas, I am really drawn to them, like this mask by Sarah Thomas Designs. You can even make something out of recycled pieces from around the house. Autumn is vibrant in New England and it is also a time we can all reflect on the passing summer, rustle through the leaves and think about the approaching holidays with family, hopefully while stopping at a neighbors for some warm cider and apple bobbing!

Keeping Current with Wedding Trends

{j.crew: gown, bridesmaid dress, flower girl dress, bracelet and tuxedo}
{photograph of wedding rings: michèle m. waite}
{flowers by sprout, worcester}
{sneak peak of unveiled invitation suite by checkerboard}

The current trends are so great for wedding. I am really into the understated hues and soft earthy tones. With a little accent of black or chocolate, these hues make a big statement. These colors are also elegant and timeless, so I have a feeling they will be with us for a while. Weddings are also trending toward the creative, organic, personal expression and an explosion of fun. Photo booths with great silly accessories are everywhere. Flowers are full of texture, like the ones shown here. These are such an amazing example of pulling color right from nature and running with it.

The invitation suite {a sneak peak to you readers of eInvite's insights}, features an oversized satin ribbon that just begs to be touched. The respond offers room for the recipient to write a personal note back to the bride. With a surge in guests not responding these days, the selections in Unveiled offer a creative prompt that in turn creates a very personal prelude to the wedding. How wonderful to open a response that includes a note from your favorite aunt, rather than seeing that she has chosen chicken over steak! The typography and the "stories" on the items in this book are so fresh. We look forward to offering them soon.

Today's brides are so lucky to have all this stunning eye candy, and oh the ruffles and baubles!

Don't miss eInvite on GILT for Wedding Weekend!

{homepage of Gilt Groupe}

{image via Gilt Groupe. visit Gilt to join the party!}

You are invited to the Gilt Groupe Wedding Weekend! We have partnered with Gilt featuring Checkerboard and eInvite designs. Eight beautiful ensembles with luxury envelopes and premium liners will be featured alongside, Sylvia Weinstock cakes, Vera Wang and Alexander McQueen gowns and everything from hair and makeup at Privé to a glam honeymoon in Bali.

Sale ends 3/15 MIDNIGHT EDT

Happy New Year Wishes

The very best New Year wishes from everyone here at eInvite in West Boylston, Massachusetts. Thank you so much for giving us the honor of creating your invitations and announcements. We look forward to 2010.

Noroc, Salud, Sláinte, À la votre, Beifall, Acclamazioni, Saluté, Aclamaciones, Jambo, Prost, Chia, Gëzuar, Shucram, Genatzt, Gan bei, Serefe, Na zdraví, Skål, Maljanne, Jamas, Kassutta, Okole maluna, L'chaim, Budmo, Apki Lambi Umar Ke Liye, Kampai, Saha wa'afiab, Sanda bashi, Salam ati, Mabuhay, Na zdrowie, Saude, Na zdorovje, Choc-tee, Oogy wawa

...and in most places all over the world, the word "cheers" is one that is pretty universal.

{If you don't see your language here, if you could add the word/language you use for "cheers" in the comments, that would be wonderful!}

Season's Greetings

We hope your holidays have been full of mirth and magic!

- the eInvite.com crew

Image: "Graphique" card by Checkerboard.

Happy Holidays from eInvite!

We took a little break from the holiday rush to run out and play in the snow.

To all of our customers, vendors, friends and families...
Happy, Happy Holidays from the entire staff of eInvite!

Cirque Du Noir 2009

{scott boilard working his octo-magic with "deep sea" in the art fusion}

{jessica burhans illustrator extraordinaire sketching away}

{payal kripalani and derek ring work magic in minutes}


{derek ring on the dark side, recently featured on behance and fuel your creativity}

{creative black attire winners, 2 of which were our own scott boilard and jessica burhans}

{esthema of boston}

{liz charbonnier, erin wolczik and emily quillen and cynthia woehrle}

{artistic guests rocked the creative black, todd rawley and aaron white,
both winning contest prizes}


{scott boilard and me, michelle may having fun in the fusion, oooo check out the hat I made at a workshop at sprout before the festivities, graciously hosted by cathy walsh}

{andreea waters getting caught in the shot of guests watching the art fusion}

{extraordinary flora and candy du noir by Cathy Walsh of SPROUT}

{this handmade "ghost rider" mask by scott boilard definately won some votes for best costume}

ALL OF THESE AMAZING IMAGES BY THE VERY TALENTED

LOUIE DESPRES

Sunday night at Bocado in Worcester was filled with creativity, as the folks from eInvite stepped out onto the dark side to support the Worcester County Food Bank. {Yeah, we party like rockstars!}

You all were invited...Live violin from Onur Dilisen and then the rest of Esthema joined him to set the tone and kick off the evening. We celebrated with a live art fusion, a silent art auction, and prizes for best creative black attire. There is always next year...

additional pix can be view here

eInvite at the pumpkin festival

{eInvite at the Life is Good pumpkin festival circa 2005}

Experience the new Einvite/Join the party on Facebook

{click for larger image}

Come join the party on Facebook! A great way to learn about seasonal promotions and hot new items on eInvite.com. In celebration of the launch of our new fandangled website, we're offering


$15 off any purchase of $100 or more with the code FALL15. and...

offering free shipping on orders of $75 or more through September 14th!

Checkerboard is also offering FREE printed return address on select holiday cards!

We are so very excited about our new site.

• We have worked so hard to bring you a site that looks fantastic and is super easy to use.

• We have a new navigation with cool search categories, like color, price,
manufacturer, and paper weight. see below:

{click for larger image}

• Our personalization enhancements put your name in lights so easily and within seconds.

{click for larger image}

• Our selection of manufacturers from Kate Spade, Martha Stewart, Marmalade and over 20 of the most reputable and trusted names in the paper industry. Crane, William Arthur, Checkerboard and Birchcraft to name a few. Check out our new site and let us know what you think!

and remember...

New Holiday From eInvite!

Now that the chilly weather is starting to set in a bit, I’ve been thinking more and more about the holidays. Eeek…I know it’s seems a bit premature, but I just can’t help myself! It’s especially hard since, here at eInvite, we’ve been releasing some really fabulous designs for the holidays. Below is just a small sampling of some of my favorites…

{click image to see more designs}

InStyle flowers and eInvite Invites

Floral selections

paired up with eInvite's floral invites

{shown: california poppy, pink orchid, amaryllis all by eInvite, and

sweet pea by Checkerboard}


On InStyle Weddings today, I noticed the floral choices while checking out the latest scoop. One after the other were representative of our floral watercolor invitations on eInvite.com! We also have other interpretations of the flowers. Whether your choice is bold graphics or soft watercolors, if you are going with a floral theme for your wedding you will find a "bunch" of florals to choose from!

NY NY

Just back from New York... details to follow! For now, a taste of typical NYC with a sea of yellow cabs and a deli stand with gerberas. Also, shots from inside Javits Center at the National Stationery Show.

Sand and Sea: A Wedding Aquatic

As refreshing as cool, clear water, aqua and teal tones are always a perfect compliment to rich ivory, sand, and gold tones. The stunning Crane & Co. Ecru Lettre Kensington Card invitation ensemble with "Peacock" ink (center left) and the rich teal Dots & Stripes Border card by eInvite that could accompany as the save-the-date (center right), are the pieces that first inform guests of your aquatic affair. Whimsical octopus earrings from Anthropologie are an unexpected delight. Beach glass vases of varying heights would pair nicely with sea grass braided storage baskets holding programs or fans (bottom, both from West Elm). Finally, Brides.com offers ideas for a seaside placesetting, with plates that seem to hold the ocean's bubbles, and sand dollar cookies as a cute take-away favor (top left and right).

Where's the BBQ?

Lately, I’ve been enamored by the aroma of BBQ wafting through the spring air! It can’t help but conjure up images in my head of warm sunny afternoons spent with friends, gathered around the grill, eating roasted veggies, burgers and hotdogs. BBQ’s are a great excuse to sit back, relax and take a breather from the weekday grind. Here are some fun and quirky items that would spruce up any back yard grill fest! My particular favorite is the cow creamer, which could easily serve your favorite BBQ sauce!

{Images from L to R}
Spread The Love Lable from Etsy seller Miss Pickles Press
Cow Creamer available at Williams Sonoma
Bull invitation by Checkerboard Ltd. available at eInvite
Back-to-the-Farm Glasses available at Williams Sonoma
Bucket Grill available at Crate & Barrel
Country Barbecue Chop Plates available at Williams Sonoma
Mustache Handkerchiefs from Etsy seller Avril Loreti
Pirate Chefs T-shirt from Etsy seller Jon Wye
Vegetable Skewers available at Crate & Barrel

Brides of Autumn

{collage images via sweet paul, who I just love!}

{invitation via eInvite}

While all of us are enjoying the warm sun of spring, brides of autumn may have other temperatures and colors playing in their minds. Inspired by the palettes offered in the photographs of Sweet Paul's blog, here is a collage of autumn inspiration. All images found via Sweet Paul, who is a seriously talented food designer and quite a crafty guy. Black details can add the most amazing hint of drama to almost any color palette. This invitation by Rytex-Mission via eInvite goes all out with sophisticated black.

Whether there is a subtle hint or a bold presentation, pairing a natural palette with noire is just stunning.

Graduation Invitation Sale

{15% off select graduation invitations on eInvite from now until May 19th }