Celebrity Note Cards (or red carpet-ready stationery)

Posted on | January 10, 2012 | Comments Off

Last fall Sky of Blue Cards had the great honor and amazing opportunity to design couture note cards for über-adorable celebrity newlyweds Susan and Robin Williams (yes, that Robin Williams). Susan and Robin were recently married and what better time is there to get custom stationery than when you are beginning your life together? I wanted their cards to exhibit everything they are: fun, funny (obviously), beautiful (she’s drop dead gorgeous, by the way), kind, and mostly – deeply in love. If ever there were two people who belonged together, it’s Susan & Robin.

I had two designs which I had created for them and I loved them both. I could not decide which one to go with, so what the heck – I had both of them printed up. My personal opinion is that the 2-color is “Robin’s” and the 1-color is “Susan’s”. Susan says they love both of them.

The above photo is of the one-color letterpress card, 7″x5″. The paper is Crane® Lettra, 110#, in fluorescent white. The text is set in “Samantha Script” (Upright Pro & Swash) with the “and” set in “Samantha Catch Words”. I had way, way, way too much fun with the Glyphs palette on those swashes. Way. Too. Much. Fun. This card is printed with Pantone 483 brown ink. (Most who are familiar with my designs know I’m in love with that particular brown.) Their A-7 envelopes are 80# text/120gsm Pearlescent Bronze and they look beautiful with the cards. This card is elegant, chic, and call me crazy, but with all the swashes intertwined the way they are, it just makes me think of their love and their life, now fully blended together in matrimony. Lastly, you’ll see two little birdies gazing lovingly at each other… what could be better?

Above is their 2-color note card, 7″x5″. It’s offset printed on Crane® Lettra, 110#, in fluorescent white as well. The colors are Pantone 483 brown & Pantone 584 lime-ish/green. The text is set in one of my favorite fonts, Perla (Alternate & Regular). The corresponding A7 envelopes are an absolute perfect match – Eames Weave in Tivoli Green. The chunky, woven surface texture of the envelopes make a happy match with this lovely card. This one also sports two of my signature birdies.

It was such a wonderful experience creating these cards, and I want to wish Susan and Robin a lifetime filled with love and bliss… happily ever after.

xoxo,
Karla

All the beautiful photography you see here was done by the fabulous Darilyn Kotzenberg, of DK Design Studio.

Party-Throwing 101

Posted on | December 16, 2011 | Comments Off

By Guest Blogger, Julia Crager

I don’t know if you all know this, but Karla, besides designing amazing stationery for Sky of Blue Cards, is also an excellent party-thrower. I thought I would get her to divulge some of her party-planning secrets to help you all with your up-coming holiday parties, or to inspire you to throw one.

Julia: What are the go-to basics every party must have?

Karla: Fresh flowers. Food (you need less than you think). Alcohol & ice (you need more than you think). Camera (if you can remember to take pictures). Very important – something fun that ties the event together, whether it’s something guests take home, or something fun you can do at the party.

J: Do you have any tips for the invitation process?

K: We all know the invitation sets the tone for the whole entire event – it gets people excited for the party. So, I always tell my clients to envision their event and how they want it to look and feel. Picture everything from what you want to be wearing, to whether you will serve dinner, or just pass hors d’oeuvres, or whether you will you use paper plates or china?  Then make a guest list. If it’s less than 50 invitations, we can get very crafty and use all sorts of stamps and layer paper, etc. If it’s over 50 we think of our printing options. Should we print letterpress or offset? I always then go through the “Who; What; Where; When; Why;” so we don’t leave out any important information.

J: What are some party-planning tips that people might overlook?

K: On party day have absolutely NOTHING on your calendar other than setting up and preparing for your party. You have no time to go to the store that day, no time to get a mani-pedi, no time to take your kids to soccer practice. You should have everything you need for your party in your home and if you have kids or pets you should ask for help with them that day. Time never flies as fast as it does on party day. You are going at warp speed. My family actually likes to clear out of the house. I’m having fun, but I’m moving very quickly.

J: What was your favorite party that you ever threw?

K: Wow. That’s hard. They’re all so fun. Okay. My husband’s 40th birthday a few years ago would have to be one. And, a few weeks ago I threw a “Holiday Cocktail Party, Mad Men Style”. Everyone got dressed up 1960s style and it was very festive. My girlfriend Theresa helped me organize that party because it was so big. Since all they do on Mad Men is smoke non-stop and nobody we know actually smokes, we thought it would so much fun (and very non-PC) to put candy cigarettes all over the house in little bowls. We found one local candy store that still sold them. People loved them like crazy that night.

J: What was your most disastrous party-throwing experience, if any?

K: I had a dinner party a few years ago. I was so deep in the weeds… so desperately behind, that I made my poor husband call each and  every guest to tell them to come an hour later. So embarrassing.

J: Any last words of wisdom?

K: Turn on some music, kick off your heels and clean up everything before you go to bed. You will not want to see it in the morning.

Office Jams

Posted on | December 5, 2011 | Comments Off

By Guest Blogger, Julia Crager

I’m getting ready to wrap up my time here at Sky of Blue Cards as Karla’s assistant (ah man!). I know I’m never going to find another boss as cool as Karla!! One of the first things we bonded on when I came to work for her last spring was music. Karla and I share a love for The Smiths, Nina Simone, Amy Winehouse, Adele, the list goes on…We often blast music while we’re working, and I wanted to share with you all some of our go-to favs. I hope they inspire and motivate you just like they do for us!!

Gettin’ Crafty

Posted on | November 8, 2011 | Comments Off

By Guest Blogger, Julia Crager

This week in the Sky of Blue Cards studio we’re boxing up samples to send to bright and friendly kid-centric stores all around the country. Karla has given me free reign to fill and decorate the packages, and my desk is buried in bows, blue tissue, string, markers, glue, paper cupcakes…

We’ve included cards, notepads, play date cards, candy…Look out! One of these packages might be headed your way!     Love, Julia

Beyond the Shock®

Posted on | October 5, 2011 | Comments Off

This month is Breast Cancer Awareness month as you know, and I ask that you consider the purchase of our very special Breast Cancer Awareness letterpress note card. My hope is that this card will serve as a visual reminder to both the sender and the recipient to help spread awareness for early detection, gather in support of those who are in the midst of their fight, and celebrate those who have been cured of Breast Cancer. Just like last year, Sky of Blue Cards will donate a portion of each and every sale of this card (sold in boxes of 6 or as single cards) to the National Breast Cancer Foundation, Inc. If you’ve recently been diagnosed or know someone who has been diagnosed, I encourage you to visit Beyond the Shock® to learn more about Breast Cancer. Beyond the Shock® is a collaborative breast cancer guide created by the National Breast Cancer Foundation, Inc. It is an extremely supportive online community where you can ask questions and get answers about this disease, as well as hear real stories from those who have been diagnosed and are fighting the fight. It is also a place where triumph, hope and life is celebrated. To know more, please visit:

Love to all,
Karla

Cartes Blanches

Posted on | September 30, 2011 | Comments Off

We released our “White-on-White” collection last spring at the National Stationery Show and it’s proving to be very popular with our retailers and our online customers. The cards are letterpress printed using 110lb., 100% cotton Crane Lettra paper with Pantone 7527 ink, which is more like a pale taupe color — but we’re still calling them “White-on-White”, okay?!!

I wanted to design something that was modern, yet not too sterile so I used one of my favorite fonts, Lady Rene — so pretty and lovely. Then I illustrated the delicate little twig shapes with little motifs that corresponded with each outside message.

I wanted this collection of six designs to include cards you could use for every day correspondence such as “Sending Love” and “Status Poste” {that one is our little wink to Facebook}.   But I also wanted to include designs that could be used as sympathy or encouragement cards, such as “You’re On My Mind” and “Positive Thoughts“. Also, there is one design in this collection which is a congratulatory card, and that’s the “Hip Hip Hooray” design. Lastly, the collection contains a thank you card design which says “Many Thanks“. All are my favorites (of course), but I’d have to say that “Status Poste” seems to be edging out the others by just a bit, in terms of popularity.

All six designs come with corresponding Kraft paper brown envelopes. All of our White-on-White cards are sold as singles in a cello sleeves, however we do offer the Status Poste, Sending Love, and Many Thanks cards as boxed sets of eight as well.

As always, I hope you enjoy them as much I enjoyed creating them for YOU…

Toodles,
Karla
xo

Custom Auctions – Endless Summer & Groovy Shagadelic

Posted on | September 21, 2011 | Comments Off

It occurred to me the other day that I’ve never shared two very fun custom design projects Sky of Blue Cards created for Sacred Heart Schools in Atherton, CA. For the past two years, they have hired us to design custom invitations along with the accompanying pieces for their annual auction fundraiser. Both times they gave us excellent themes to work with — the first year was all about the 60s and the second year was a surfer/”Endless Summer” theme. I had such a great time working with their auction guru Theresa Rowland to come up with each and every piece you see here (click images to see them larger/more detail):

The next ones are from the year prior with a groovy 1960s theme!

Zoe’s List

Posted on | August 29, 2011 | Comments Off

A very smart, very organized little girl is using our one of our notepads to schedule her day! Her mom sent us this photo this summer.

Translation (not that you need it):

• Get Dressed.
• Feed the dog.
• Get shoes.
• Get lunch.
• Get jacket.
• Go to camp.

As a list-maker from way, way back, I can truly appreciate her commitment to the daily check-off list. Way to go Zoe!

You can buy all our kids’ products on our website or in your favorite stationery store (and if they don’t carry our products, ask them to contact us!). Our kids’ notepads are $7.50 each. We also offer matching bookplate sets and playdate card sets for $7 each. We have six themes appropriate for all ages. The one Zoe uses is called “Fish Friends” and the full set of products is pictured below.

Perfectly {Letter} Perfect

Posted on | April 1, 2011 | Comments Off

One of our favorite stores where our cards are sold is right here practically in our own backyard. Located in the heart of Palo Alto on University Avenue, Letter Perfect is locally owned and operated by the lovely Gwen Gasque and she fills her store with all sorts of beautiful paper treasures. When I tell people around here that they can buy my cards in Letter Perfect, I always get comments like, “Oh, I LOVE Gwen!”. Her store is warm and inviting and filled with all sorts of delights – greeting cards, elegant fine stationery, gorgeous albums and journals, and custom stationery for every imaginable occasion. We feel so proud to be a part of this store. When they first started carrying our line, Gwen told me that they did a little window display of our products, which was a dream come true for me. In fact years ago before I started Sky of Blue Cards, I would walk by Letter Perfect, or stop in for a card, and I would just dream of having my cards sold there one day.

Letter Perfect is the proud winner of many awards and local reader polls, as evidenced in the banner in the photo above (pssst, those are our note cards and thank you cards).

Gwen’s mission for Letter Perfect is “To create, inspire, and share beauty, quality, and service.“

Next time you’re in downtown Palo Alto make sure you stop by Letter Perfect, where you are sure to find the perfect card.

More Birthday Line Lovliness…

Posted on | March 3, 2011 | Comments Off

Here are some more beautiful shots of our new birthday card line. Major props to Darilyn of DK Design Studio.

keep looking »

Recently Written

• Celebrity Note Cards (or red carpet-ready stationery)
• Party-Throwing 101
• Office Jams
• Gettin’ Crafty
• Beyond the Shock®
• Cartes Blanches
• Custom Auctions – Endless Summer & Groovy Shagadelic
• Zoe’s List
• Perfectly {Letter} Perfect
• More Birthday Line Lovliness…

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Sky of Blue Cards is small but growing greeting card manufacturer of chic & whimsical letterpress & conventional printed stationery, greeting cards, gift wrap, & specialty products for moms & kids. Our mantra? Paper goods that fit you. All our paper goodies may be purchased on our website or in your favorite local stationery store (if they don't carry our line, please ask them to contact us!). We also offer couture design — working with you to create your very own special piece. Thank you for visiting us. We're so glad you stopped by!

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