First Place : Salutations in Charlotte, NC

This invitation suite is simply gorgeous —delicate, romantic, and oh so elegant. I absolutely love the palette, which is subdued and very nicely balanced, making this a design that would appeal to both men and women. And the patterned pocket fold presentation really makes this suite special. I would feel like I had just received a lovely gift if I received an invitation to this wedding.

1st Runner Up : Luxe Expressions in Atlanta, GA

This letterpress invitation is so vibrant and fun, perfect for an ’80s themed celebration. The design is versatile and could be used for so many different types of occasions, but I love it as a 40^th birthday party invite. The message it sends is, “I’m turning 40, I am completely fabulous, and you are going to have an absolute blast at my party!”

2nd Runner Up : Judy Paulen Designs at Bloomingdale’s in Manhattan

This suite oozes class without being staid, and the fantastic color choices and patterns give it a very modern feel. I love the playfulness of the language on the reply postcard and rehearsal card, too. And the incredible, colorful patterned envelope liner is a detail that just had to put this invitation in my top three.

You can see more images of the winners and get more details and information about the individual suites over at Smock’s blog. Thank you, Smock, for the opportunity, and congratulations to the winners!

images from Smock Paper

I’m so excited to welcome Sweet Harvey Letterpress as the newest advertiser on Paper Crave. I’ve been a fan of Sweet Harvey’s letterpress lovelies for some time, and I always look forward to what Brandi Powell, the owner and creative behind Sweet Harvey, will design next. Adorable baby shower invitations and birth announcements, wedding invites, art prints, business and calling cards, bookplates, greeting cards, moving announcements —you can find a little bit of everything, all of it lovely, at the Sweet Harvey shop.

images from Sweet Harvey Letterpress

The wedding invitation itself was styled to look like a torn page from a book. The deckled edge, typography, and little bunny silhouette illustration are perfection.

So much playfulness in this suite, including replies that were Mad Libs fashioned to look like vintage Western Union telegram and programs that were made to look like a vintage book.

images from Hello! Lucky

Erin Jang of The Indigo Bunting created these absolutely swoonworthy, southwest inspired wedding invitations for the Santa Fe, New Mexico wedding of Melisande and Charles, and I’m loving the bold, southwestern palette and patterns. Inspired by Navajo rug patterns and mariachi outfits, Erin designed a wedding suite with a stylized, modern look that speaks to the cultural history of the American southwest. The patterns and bold color palette are echoed through all of the pieces in the suite, from the wedding invite to the RSVP cards.

images from Erin Jang / The Indigo Bunting

I’m absolutely delighted by these quirky, fun invitations from Akimbo. Recently opened by designer and fellow paper addict, Alicia Murphy, the Adelaide, Australia based shop, which serves clients worldwide, specializes in creating clever wedding and occasional invitations and announcements, and a line of greetings and stationery is on its way soon.

Akimbo’s lineup includes invitations inspired by everything from ’80s mixtapes to breweries and board games. I think that my favorite design has to be the Laundromat invitations (above), which feature sewn fabric invitation “cards”, a laundry themed RSVP, and mini bottles of suds. So much fun!

images from Akimbo

As mentioned, I added several birth announcements from Minted to the shop this week, and Minted is currently having a pretty great sale on kids birthday invitations, baby shower invitations, and birth announcements. Save 15% on your order through the end of August with the code SUMMER15.

Above, clockwise, from top left: Tallulah Birth Announcements by Guess What?, Mod Quilt Birth Announcements by Potts Design, Naomi Birth Announcements by Alex Elko Design, and Spring Luxe Birth Announcements by Letters by Lauren.

P.S. I’ve added a couple of new doodads to the site this week. Every post now has a Facebook Like Button and a Tweet button (have a look below to see), so it’s easier to share the paper goodies that catch your eye.

images from Minted

If you’re looking for absolutely adorable personalized party invitations and other party goodies, then the Imprintables shop is a must see. Based in Sydney, Australia, the Imprintables online shop was created in 2006 by Nathalie Rivet, whose philosophy about parties and other celebrations is to make it about the person and to let them know how much they mean to you on their special day by keeping it handmade and adding a little bit of love wherever you can.

If you’re not the creative type, then Imprintables can help you build a party filled with items that add a special, personal touch. All invitations in the shop are printed, cut, and packaged by Nathalie, and many of the other items in the shop are handmade, too. Imprintables ships to the United States, and if you’re in Sydney, Newcastle, Melbourne, or Brisbane, Australia, you can also order yummy coordinating cupcakes and frosted cookies from Hello Naomi for your shindig.

More paper goodies from the shop:

images from Imprintables

Recently, I featured Alice in Wonderland tea party bridal shower invitations by designer James Prunean of OOXX, and I wanted to follow up by featuring one of his custom designed wedding invitation suites. These invitations were designed for Amanda + Sam, and they have a beautiful, atmospheric quality that’s very outside the box for wedding invitation design.

Amanda, the bride-to-be, approached James with the request that the invitations fuse her Canadian / Christian background with her husband-to-be, Sam’s, Indian / Sikh background. The couple had multiple events planned for their big day, including a henna party, a Sikh ceremony, and a Christian ceremony, plus receptions for both ceremony days, and James’ challenge was to create a suite of invitations that tied all of the events together. I really like how he incorporated symbols from both cultures/religions, and the deep, purple-y red watercolor tones are simply gorgeous.

images from James Prunean

Okay, so I may have to bump navy + pink as my current top color obession after spotting these aubergine + fuchsia lovelies by Wiley Valentine in my inbox. How rich and gorgeous are these colors, and coupled with the ornate pattern? Absolutely stunning.

The custom wedding invitations, created for a client of one of their retailers, Molly’s Paperie, are based on Cohen from Wiley Valentine’s Luxe Album and are flat printed on 100% tree-free cotton paper. The custom suite also features a fantastic script font and completely swoon-worthy coordinating patterned envelope liners. Are you ready for more aubergine and fuchsia invitation eye candy?

images from Wiley Valentine

Hello, Buttermilk! I am completely taken with these cooking / kitchen themed bridal shower invitations that Molly from Paisley Quill created for her soon to be sister-in-law’s bridal shower. What about this custom designed suite isn’t fantastic? I’m digging pretty much everything about it, from the unexpected palette of bold red-orange, yellow, navy, gray and soft pink to the angled type, patterned envelope liners, and coordinating recipe cards.

You can check out more of Paisley Quill’s wonderful invitation work here. And these woodland themed wedding invitations are a must see, too. Now, more cooking-themed invitation eye candy!

The angled type was carried over to the envelopes, too. Love!

images from Paisley Quill