Sam Allen Creates: April thru June 2019
The month of April focused almost fully on Mother’s Day preparations! Which I love because as a mama myself, I just love to celebrate mom’s of all kinds! The latter half of this quarter then went back to focusing on the summer wedding season!
April
There’s a lot to cover this month, so let’s get started!
Mother’s Day gifts
For this year’s Mother’s Day promotions, I created this card as a freebie for orders of watercolor portraits and papercut silhouettes! It was such a hit!
One of my most popular products for Mother’s Day is always my papercut silhouettes. I love drawing out these sweet profiles, their noses and eyelashes or maybe even their fur!
This year, I included a Buy 1, Get 1 Free promotion. It was such a great way to buy a set for grandma but then get to keep one for mama too!
My watercolor portraits didn’t launch until summer last year so this was their first Mother’s Day season! Each of these were gifts from the mamas to the grandmas… so sweet! Shop watercolor portraits here.
And then this was to honor the multi-generations of women in the Parker family! Not only did this make a great Mother’s Day gift, but also a great wedding gift! See more wedding day watercolor portraits here.
In April, I also made a great addition to my shop with the option of colored envelopes to my card collection! I really love the added color these bring to my watercolor cards! Shop cards here.
All of the following photos were from card orders in April alone! It was a busy and fruitful month!
And of course, I can’t forget to include watercolor tags!
And some green watercolor tags, scroll down to see the real wedding photos!
Before the month came to a close, I also made up several more sets of vow books for Stephanie Weber Photography’s gift sets for her wedding couples! I can’t wait to share more of these with you as Stephanie photographs them on the wedding days!
Speaking of vows…. I wish you could fully appreciate the size of these pieces, but wow, what a joy to work on these for Vivian’s wedding anniversary! I love when couple’s choose to document their wedding vows, hanging on their walls to be reminded daily of their commitment to one another.
Now on to wedding work! First up are a few in-studio shots from this California wedding! I love the classic black and white look… can’t wait to see the real wedding photos of how these were displayed.
I also got to design these wedding invitations for Carina and Gilbert’s Cancún wedding! I’m so excited to see how her photographer, Melissa Fe Chapman, documents their destination wedding!
And before I share the real wedding photos from these May weddings below, here’s some of my in-studio shots.. if you’ve been reading my blog these past few months, you may recognize some of these.
First up are these navy watercolor signs and name cards for an east coast wedding!
And then some dusty rose beauties for an Arizona wedding!
I’m still hoping for real wedding photos of these tent cards but here’s my own personal shots. Love this classic black and white look with the meal choice in gray.
And of course we can’t forget the styled shoots of the month!
First up is this shoot at Higuera Ranch with Styled Shoots Across America… I’m planning on sharing a full blog post on the day so here’s just a sneak peek, photos by Ty Pentecost Photography.
And another peek at this shoot at Rancho Pavo! This truly is my only peek so far as the shoot will be published soon and then I can reveal more! Photo by Golden Arrow Photography.
Artwork for Baby Girl Nurseries
And lastly, for the new babies! I love getting to paint up artwork for baby nurseries! I hope these new mamas find peace gazing at these paintings during those late night feedings… I know I memorized all the artwork in my son’s room during all those long nights! Floral letter paintings available here.
Or for a more custom piece, shop here.
May
On to the month of May! Of course the start of the month, included some more Mother’s Day gifts!
From papercut silhouettes…
…to watercolor portraits!
The month continued on to include a wide range of items. Like this one from a very thoughtful husband who commissioned this watercolor brush calligraphy painting of a saying he always says to his wife. How sweet is that?!
At some point I blinked and before I knew it I was sending out invitations to my son’s third birthday party! What a whirlwind!
In preparation for the summer weddings, I made quite a few table number signs in a wide range of colors! Love this first shot by Paul Blackmore Photography for a classy nautical wedding. Shop table numbers here.
One of my returning brides requested a matching “thank you” card to my printed cards that I released earlier in the year. I was more than happy to whip these up for her and create a new listing in my shop!
While I love my printed cards, I sure do love the fully handpainted cards too, like this gold bridesmaid card!
And here’s a few more brush calligraphy items, from tags for toy box bin labels to wedding placecard tags and tent cards!
Just in time for Disney/Pixar’s Up movie release date, I created this watercolor painting inspired by the film! I love how it came out so much!! Purchase a print for your home or to gift here.
I loved painting up this Sisters painting for my friend Trisha’s new home! This color combo was so fun to work with! I loved having the variety to work with.
Have you ever heard of a Jefferson dinner? It’s a dinner party where all the guests are encouraged to converse on a wide range of topics to encourage bonding between different groups of people. I loved getting to make up these topic cards for them!
And now it’s Real Wedding time!
Starting with the first weekend of May, Gabrielle and Cole’s east coast wedding! See more of their big day here.
© Dana Cubbage Weddings 2019 
© Dana Cubbage Weddings 2019
I adore the look of white ink on acrylic and was thankful for this project from my long time friend, Amanda! I plan to blog this wedding so stay tuned for more! Photos by Lorina Winter.
I also love this white and green color combo—especially when it’s my favorite shade of green! Photos by McCall Burau from Lucky Malone Photography
And another favorite wedding, this gorgeous blush and peach wedding in Arizona! So stunning! See more in their full blog post here.
Lastly, some classic black ink on white tags for this northern California wedding. Photos by The Allens Photography.
June
The beginning of June always centers around our little man’s birthday! This year we had a Paw Patrol themed party at the park! We also adventured around Santa Rosa Plateau with his Auntie Jess and took his birthday photos! One of which, with his favorite Bear, that I painted below. To see his photo shoot, take a look at Jess’ site here. Love!
After releasing my printed bridesmaid thank you cards in May, I received a request for matching best man and groomsman cards! And of course, I was more than happy to oblige!
And speaking of cards, here’s an assortment of the many cards painted up this month!
And some more watercolor calligraphy! Love these bridesmaid gift bags given by the bride during her bridal luncheon! Such a cute idea! Photos by Stephanie Weber Photography.
And now it’s Real Wedding time!
A sweet 10 year wedding anniversary party by Sarah Kovel Events.
And a pool side wedding with gold, blush and gray tones! Photos by Jane Decle Photography
And some acrylic table numbers for a California wedding! Photo by Brittany Taylor Photography.
Of course, the month of June couldn’t end without working on day of stationery for July! Here’s some sneak peeks of my own in-studio shots, but I hope to include the real wedding shots in my next recap blog post in a few months!
I also worked on two styled shoots during June that would be taking place in the month of July. I took some of my own photos before mailing out the packages so until my next recap post, I’d love to share my photos but just wait until you see the photos from the pros!
I loved working on this package of love letters for Stephanie Weber Photography. I started with applying a custom mix watercolor wash to the paper. A variety of brown and yellow tones to give it in a vintage book feel. Then I wrote out a few custom phrases as well as some longer letters to complete the look. The photos from the shoot are breathtaking! Can’t wait to share in more in its very own blog post.
This next suite was photographed in Colorado and then Texas in July, but here’s my sneak peek shots from June! I loved experimenting with creating the paper texture for the tent cards and wedding invitation.
Just one last bit of eye candy for you stationery lovers… I sent one of my favorite wedding invitation suites EVER up to Ariana Del Mundo in Canada to be photographed. She was a dream to work with and has such a sweet heart! See more of her work here!
Phew! That was a lot to cover! If you hung on through the end, wow! I appreciate you and your dedication to my heart for paper goods! Until next time… xoxo, Sam
