I’ve spent a few hours this week carefully cutting down some new custom, screen printed save the dates (scraps above). Full photos will have to wait until the bride has a look, but I thought the leftovers on my cutting mat looked rather sweet.

I also added a few new save the date designs to the shop. They were designed a while back for Paperless Post (the middle design is available here), and the other two may or may not make appearances at PP in a few months. I’ll keep you in the loop!

The above picture is a sneak peek of another custom invitation for a couple having a destination wedding in Mexico. We explored lots of options and ended up with this design, based on embroidered flowers and printed on recycled papers. More photos to come when the light cooperates.

And lastly, we assembled some welcome booklets (above, previously, the hang tag programs) for a wedding we wish we were attending in Phuket, Thailand, and Katelyn assembled a big order of Wildflower invitations (below).

I’m so thrilled to have my invitation work featured (twice!) in Southern Living’s wedding issue, which is on stands now. On the left there is the Border invitation, with the Eleanor invitation over on the right!

Thank you, Southern Living!!!

Does anyone else feel like January is flying by? If you are able to catch a break this weekend, we have some links for you to check out!

+ Leather handle by Nu interieur | ontwerp via Bloesem

+ Oh So Beautiful Paper has been running some informative posts about the printing process. Check out the latest ones on letterpress printing, die-cutting and offset printing

+ Artwork by Lynne Woods Turner via Design for Mankind

+ A lovely collection of Valentine’s cards by Rifle Paper Co.

+ Screen printed infinity scarfs by little minnow designs, shown above

+ LOCAL STUFF: Third Friday in Durham! In addition to galleries downtown, the Golden Belt studios will be open and Only Burger will be serving dinner out front. // “A Sense of Place” interactive art installation by Michelle Gonzalez-Green at The Carrack // It’s going to be warm, so the Raleigh Flea Market might be a great place to check out!

Have a good weekend!

It seems fitting to end the year with one of my favorite projects — my 2012 collection for letterpress invitation company Bella Figura. This is my third year working with them, and designing the collections in the summer/fall is always really fun (and hard to keep secret). The new collection launched yesterday, and here are my designs!

Thanks for reading Mint! It’s been a wonderful 2011 and I’ll see you right back here the first week of January. Happy Holidays!

On Saturday I’ll be at Rock & Shop in Durham, NC from 12-5! There will be 100+ designers and crafters selling their wares, not to mention food trucks, live music, and beer. I can’t imagine a better way to finish up (or, uh, start) your holiday shopping. At the last minute and just for fun, I had some fabric printed with four of my patterns at Spoonflower, and then had them sewn into tea towels! Today we’re busy ironing, ribbon-tying, and tag-hanging. These are limited edition, so come on down to the market to get yours! I’m looking into options so we can hopefully add these to the online shop at some point. We’ll also have the full selection of our everyday and holiday notecards on sale, as well as our invitation book to flip through (the online shop will be closed on Saturday, but will be back on Sunday). Also pictured above… a sneak peek of my collection of  new Valentine’s Day Invitations, launching on Paperless Post soon! Yes, I was working on Valentine’s Day this week.

Tonight, be sure to stop by Golden Belt, which is an old textile mill turned live-work-shop-eat space (and where I moved my studio this fall). Golden Belt has an entire building dedicated to artist studios, and the artists have been super busy getting ready for tonight’s 12×12 show. Each participating artist created 12 original 12×12″ works of art, all of which will be sold for $200, with part of the proceeds benefiting The Center for Child & Family Health. Above, some artwork found in Chapel Hill this week — wall tessellations by Leigh Suggs at the Ackland Museum Store and a close-up of Lauren Salazar’s installation at the Hanes Art Center.

And lastly, a few close-ups of our home. The mobile is a new addition to our sunroom, and we finally hung more pictures on the walls (the one on the left is in our retro seafoam-tiled bathroom). It’s hard to believe we’ve been in our house for over a year! We’ve done lots of improvements — small things to most people probably, but big things to us, and are slowly collecting furniture and artwork we love. The house to-do list is never-ending! But, I’m learning to accept that most projects can’t get done in a weekend, and maybe next year I’ll have more courage to share our attempts at improvement on Mint! There’s something nice about the year coming to an end, isn’t there? Fresh starts, new projects… onward and upward.

Bella Figura has been playing with some styling, and I love the new spin it gives on my Pyramid design. Fun, right? You can see more on their Flickr page.

Also, a quick peek of my 2012 Bella Figura collection, launching soon!

All photos: Bella Figura

A round-up of gift-worthy items from some of our featured sponsors!

1. Good Timers Ceramic Mug by Kin Ship Press / 2. North Carolina Necklace by Vespertine / 3. Thunderbird Ring by Ruby Lane / 4. Zig Zag Postcards by The Change Factory / 5. Western Meadowlark Specimen Letterpress Print by Mossière / 6. Spring Court Velcro Trainers from Smallable / 7. Snow Angel Letterpress Cards from Felt & Wire / 8. Peaceful Snowflake Cards by Juniper Berry / 9. Looking for Beauty Print by Creature Comforts / 10. Hana-Hukin Kitchen Cloth from Uguisu

Thanks, all! Sponsors help make Mint possible, and I am so grateful for their support. If you’re interested in advertising on Mint, please get in touch by emailing ellie at mintdesignblog dot com, and I’ll be happy to give you all the details.

Some good ones from some of our favorites (with the holidays on the mind)!

+ Fun and colorful geometric wrapping paper from Forma via Oh So Beautiful Paper

+ These prints from Swallowfield would make the perfect gift! We especially like the one pictured above, via Bloesem

+ Ink + Wit’s wood cards are so unique, and we really like the gold envelopes!

+ Silly Buddy’s dog bow ties via Design Sponge

+ Ship & Shape is a beautifully curated shop and has a variety of gifts for the holidays (or yourself!) via Wit & Delight

+ We love the classic cases JCrew is carrying for the iPhone, along with the handsome DODOcase for the iPad

+LOCAL STUFF: 2nd Friday Artwalk in Chapel Hill // Prime Cut at The Fish Market Gallery // Object to Image at Trough This Lens // Luis France at The Stone Center // Phil Cook & His Feet Saturday at Local 506 // The annual UNC Student Print Sale is today (Friday) from 11am til 9pm on the 3rd floor of Hanes Art Center!

Have a good weekend!

One of our favorite sponsors Felt & Wire has some really great gifts for everyone on your list this year. They also have a large selection of cards and tags that would put the perfect finishing touch on any gift! Here are some of our favorites for the holidays, and be sure to check out their entire shop!

1. Heart Cushion Cover / 2. Holiday Music Card / 3. Yellow Candle Holder / 4. Kids Letterpress Color-in Clock / 5. Recycled Canvas Bucket / 6. A Year in Caps 2012 Calendar / 7. Fern Art Print / 8. Italian Grapes Journal / 9. Letterpress Holiday Cards (set of 6)

Thanks F&W! Sponsors help make Mint possible, and I am so grateful for their support. If you’re interested in advertising on Mint, please get in touch by emailing ellie at mintdesignblog dot com, and I’ll be happy to give you all the details.

Our notecards make terrific stocking stuffers, if we do say so ourselves! As an added bonus, get 20% off your order of Hello Tenfold holiday cards (Joy/Warmest Wishes/Season’s Greetings/Peace), this week only, using the code HOLIDAY20.