happy holidays during this sad time

For the next few weeks, I will be responding very slowly to emails due to the holidays coming up. I will still be responding and getting work done, just at a slower pace than normal. I have also been having problems with Gmail. If you do not hear back from me within 48 hours, please email me again or leave me a message on Stella Bella Invites Facebook page.

I also wanted to comment on the horrible events that transpired yesterday in Newton. My heart swells with sadness of the innocence lost. I am a teacher and it angers me to think that anyone could actual go into a school and hurt innocent children. Every teacher I know would lay down their lives for their students, just as they did in Newton. Those teachers, the principal and other staff members courageously saved their students and are true heros. My heart and prayers go to the families who lost their sweet young children, and also to the families whose children witnessed these horrible events. I wish that as a country we can find a way to stop these senseless slaughters and learn from what has happened. I don't want to get political, but there are issues that need to be addressed to ensure that someone can never walk into a school again with a semi-automatic weapon and hurt our innocent children in the one place they should feel safe. I hope that everyone this holiday season holds their love ones close and no longer take their families or friends for granted.

Sincerely,
Christine

Free Holiday Printable

Here is a free holiday printable to help brighten your days. I just uploaded mine to snapfish and picked up the 8x10 print at Walgreens, same day for less than $5.00. Also looks great in a frame as a gift! Just click and save!

 {Bright Blue}

{Lime Green}

 {Bright Pink}

{Bright Cherry}

 {Sand}

{Forest Green}

Letter from Santa- Free Printable

The Santa Letter is back! It is free to download and print. Enjoy!!

Click here to download!

Thanksgiving Weekend Sales and Savings!

Email us at stellabellainvites@gmail.com or message us on Etsy if you have any questions!!
Etsy Shop

Printed Cocktail Napkins

I had great success at an Art and Wine festival with printed cocktail napkins. I hadn't had the time to get them ready to show on the internet until now. You can purchase the designs in my Etsy shop. Custom designs are available. Email us for a custom quote if you would like something different or a different quantity. Here are the images of the designs below:

I have also decided to change the name of my Etsy shop to Stella Bella Paperie, since it is not concentrated on Invitations, but more on other paper products. It will be a side division of Stella Bella Invites. Check it out!!

I will also be posting some new work (Save the Dates, Engagement Party Invites and Birthday Party invites, that I have recently given to clients!)

I am hoping to stop neglecting this blog!!

Modern Whimsy Holiday Card Design- Minted

I have always enjoyed entering Minted's design challenges as they push me as a designer and allow me to use and extend my creativity. Last holiday season, my design "Modern Whimsy" won an Editor's choice award.

Here are photos from Minted's website and you can find the card here

Holiday Card Designs 2012

Another Holiday season is upon us! I love this time of the year and have designed some lovely cards to order for your family and friends. All orders include printing and envelopes (liners are optional and at an additional cost). Here are pictures of the designs I will have in my Etsy shop tonight, I have also included a color chart incase you would like other colors and the pricing guide. If you are located in California, sales tax will be added to your order. All shipments are $10, or you may pick up locally in Burlingame, California.

My Gingerbread family card can be customized to show your family, it can be just two (or one!) we can also add a reindeer for a pet if you would like them represented. This card is great to have a full bleed photo backer on it, so your family members can easily frame the card after the holidays with no writing ruining the picture.

Gingerbread Family

Holiday Lights

The New Mr. and Mrs.

Pawsome Holiday

Silent Night Baby Announcement

Multi Photo Holidays

Peace Love Happiness

Other Color Choices and Envelope Colors

Please email us if you would like a custom card designed especially for your family and your pictures!

Envelopments New Shop Online Feature

We are thrilled to announce the newest addition to our services. You are now able to order Envelopment paper directly from Envelopments through our Envelopment shop:

This allows for a tighter budget to be able to afford the amazing paper line. You can play around with color choices, templates, design ideas and view all paper products available.

My favorite feature is that your able to see the paper color on the actual item. Great for deciding what you would like to have for your invitation set up.

Design only fees can be purchased, so you can still have the beautiful custom design that you dreamed of, even with your tight budget. We can still print if you need it, or you are able to take 90% off the papers to a local printer.

Since many people tend to skimp on their reception items, because budgets are dried up by that time, this allows you to save and DIY with professional papers!

Summer Sale!

From July 10th to July 31st, Stella Bella Invites is offering 10% of all orders placed! This is a great time to take advantage, if your having a summer wedding and need reception items or would like to place a custom order.

Shop News:

- Christmas designs will be posted in September for early bird purchase pricing
- Ready made invitation designs will be available in October
- Will be on vacation from 8/11-8/19 for one of my best friends weddings. If you need items for your August wedding, we can still get them done, just need to do them early!!

Stella Bella Invites was on Huckleberry Karen Designs:
Karen was my florist for our 2010 wedding and was amazing. I recommended her to my best friend who used her for her March wedding. Karen did a beautiful job of photographing the reception items that were made. If you are getting married in the bay area, seriously hire her!!!!

Here are a couple pictures from her blog, you can see the rest here:

Wow! I have neglected this blog!

Hi all! I am alive and working hard, which is why I haven't been posting anything on my blog. It has been a crazy six months. I had some huge orders, finished up my Master's in Education thesis (on Kindergarten Readiness), finished long term substituting in a kindergarten class and also have been working on expanding my business. I have been doing a lot of behind the things stuff and can't wait to show the final products to you (with great photography).

I am also working on revamping my logo, christmas designs and expanding my wedding lines. I am really excited to now be on summer break from school because that means that Stella Bella Invitations gets my full attention.

I will be having new blog posts starting July 1st!

Happy New Year!!!

Welcome 2012! I hope everyone has had a wonderful holiday season and rang in the new year safely! 2011 was not a good year for me personally, so I am looking forward to 2012 being a much better year! Business wise, 2011 was amazing, we branched into Holiday Cards and Baby Shower Invites. I am hoping 2012 will be an even better year. Some things to look forward to from Stella Bella Invites:

1. PRICES- They are staying the same for wedding invitations! I feel these prices work great and are both economical and reasonable. For Wedding Invites, my price sheet lays out the options.

For Single Layer invitations/announcements (Save the Dates, Baby Showers, Bridal Showers, Announcements) the pricing is as follows:

25 cards- $70
50 cards- $110
75 cards- $151
100 cards- $180
125 cards- $209
150 cards- $250
175 cards- $292
200 cards- $334
It includes thick white envelopes, we can add color envelopes for an additional charge. I always put 10 extra envelopes with every order!

If you need less than 25 or more than 200 please email us for a quote!


2. CUSTOMER PORTFOLIO- For local brides, I have a new folder that contains, price sheets, etiquette tips for invites, wording options and addressing tips. For my non-local brides, I will email you all these wonderful documents to help with the invitation process.

3. ETSY STORE NEWS- I am debating closing my Etsy shop and opening up a more traditional website to order from. I am really disappointed in what I have been seeing on Etsy lately and I want to be able to offer a more streamlined ordering process. Look for a new storefront by the end of 2012!

4. DIY KITS- I started these last summer and I will be expanding them this year. Clients will be able to buy a design printed invite/announcement, that clients can run through their own printers at home. I will have sample kits available that clients can use to see what paper works for their home printer and if they can print smaller sizes. I have done quite bit of these orders but not through Etsy which was my goal. It was too confusing to purchase it through Etsy. Look back to the blog in the future to see how to purchase the kits!

5. PARTY PRINTABLES- I have been making party items for clients and not posting them (bad me!!). I am going to start offering the designs where clients can print at home. They will include stickers, tags, table numbers, favor boxes, banners, etc. Great to add a more personalized touch to your shower or event!!

5. FREEBIES- After the success of the Naughty or Nice Letter from Santa, I will be providing a freebie a month! They will range from a printable invite design, to party items! If you have any suggestions please let me know in the comments!!

Also here are my New Year Resolutions for Stella Bella Invitations-
1. Be more creative
2. Blog more
3. Stay organized
4. Continue to grow

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!