Sam Allen Creates: January to April 2021
This year may still have a few months left in it, but I’m already looking back and reflecting on the start of the year. After the lack of weddings in 2020, there was lots to celebrate this year and I have so much work to share with you!
January
January is usually a slow period for me but there were quite a few fun projects that came up! Take a look…
Bridesmaid cards
After selling these cards for years, it was high time to update my bridesmaid card designs and capture new photos!
Custom Painted Last Name Signs
I always love getting to put a fresh spin on my current designs… like turning my Evergreen Last Name Signs into a larger piece, complete with mountains and a forest of trees, to be given as a wedding gift.
But the classic Evergreen Last Name is still a favorite of mine, especially when paired with a mustard yellow accent! 🎥 Watch this painting come to life here.
Or even the original Floral Letter Last Name Sign! This was a fun color scheme to work with, different than the usual request and I loved getting to work on it (also purchased to be given as a wedding gift)
Word of the Year Painting
Have you ever chosen a word of the year to set your intentions for the year? When I shared mine on Instagram, I had quite a few requests for me to write out other people’s words. It was so fun to freely letter like that… for this particular one though, they loved how I wrote their word so much that they commissioned it to be painted up with flowers!!
Watercolor Portraits
Moving on to watercolor portraits, these first two were created as memorials for an infant and pet loss. Truly an honor to be able to work on pieces like this. And then the wedding portrait paintings were created as 40th wedding anniversary gifts!
Watercolor Brush Calligraphy
And then let’s wrap the month up with some brush calligraphy including a peek at my post for National Handlettering Day!
February
The month started with the long overdue reveal of our baby girl’s nursery! Peter Pan has always been one of my favorite Disney movies and I loved bringing this theme into the nursery… combined with a boho look and feel! See the full reveal in my blog post here.
New Products
One of my favorite parts of having an Etsy shop is how approachable we as sellers are! When this lovely bride reached out to create personalized menus for her wedding guests, I jumped at the chance to make it happen! It was a product that I’ve been wanting to make for years and I’m so happy to finally have it as an offering for my brides! See how the bride used these in her wedding in the April section below.
And I was happy to make her this custom painted Sip and Be Seated sign as well!
Envelope Calligraphy
And since my brides love dusty rose paper goods, another bride had me address her wedding invitations! As a graphic designer herself, she created her own invites, but it was a true honor that she chose me to address her envelopes—and then later, her wedding placecards!
More Wedding Paper Goods
From welcome bag tags to custom watercolor cards, table numbers to placecards… wedding season had finally arrived and it came in full swing!
Watercolor Peony Painting
After taking Esther Peck’s Peony class months prior, I finally completed the painting of peonies and greenery! I love learning new techniques and I’ve used this method of painting peonies so much ever since. 🎥 Watch this painting come to life here.
Real Wedding: Vow Books
I can’t end this month’s section without sharing these captures by Stephanie Weber Photography! I love how she gifts my vow books to her wedding clients. Such a thoughtful and appreciated gift.
March
Spring arrived with the month of March and I got to work on some really fun projects, some of which had been on my painting bucket list for years! 🎥 Watch these eggs come to life here.
Custom Watercolor Paintings
Speaking of all things spring, I loved creating these watercolor paintings for a baby girl’s nursery!
Canvas Photography Backdrop
After some spring cleaning, I rediscovered these canvas boards I had purchased to turn into more photo backdrops. First up, a pink one! 🎥 Watch this canvas painting come to life here.
Bridesmaid cards
Can you see how much my bride’s love dusty rose?!
Envelope Addressing
These little beauties were addressed for a destination wedding in Kenya! Wow!
Wedding BTS
While I don’t photograph every project that crosses my desk, I do try to photograph the ones whose Etsy listing needs updates or if I plan to share on social media… and some of these are just to remember the project to show future customers.
Vow Books
More vow book and wedding photography from Stephanie Weber!
The month of March is also the time of year that I start prepping for my Mother’s Day promotions, including creating a new Mother’s Day card to include as a free gift for painting purchases. 🎥 Watch this card design come to life here.
Mommy & Me Portrait
And lastly, a personal project. Painted from a photo that Stephanie took of my daughter and I after our fall family photo session. The original photo was taken in the parking lot, Lily was cranky and had a tear rolling down her cheek. It was such a tender moment and I wanted to recreate it in painted form (and without the tear 😂). 🎥 Watch this painting come to life here.
April
Now here comes the month that is full of Mother’s Day gift prepping!
Papercut Silhouettes
Here are a few sibling silhouettes… I loved how the last pair ordered individuals of the children as well! 🎥 Take a look at my paper cut silhouette process.
Floral Letter Last Name Sign
Purchased as a gift for a friend’s first Mother’s Day! Love it! 🎥 Watch this painting come to life here.
Bridesmaid cards
Moving back along to wedding goods… let’s start with bridesmaid cards (notice my new dusty pink backdrop?)!
Wedding BTS
More keepsakes, signs, gift tags, and placecards made for a lot of May weddings!
If you recall the personalized menus above (and from the Real Wedding below), I created them in navy for a May wedding and finally got them listed in my shop! See listing here.
And for that same May wedding, she had me write out their favorite cities as their table name cards! I love when couple’s personalize their table names!
Real Weddings
A lovely pink wedding in the heart of Charleston! Photos by Kate Dye.
Vow Books
Real wedding photos from Stephanie Weber Photography.
Speaking of vow books for Stephanie… she needed a restock so I got to work creating a whole new batch for her… reworking past designs and coming up with a new one! Each set is purposefully neutral in nature to be able to work with any wedding theme and color scheme, as when she first meets the couple (and gifts them the vow book set in their welcome package), they may not know the look and feel of the wedding yet.
Watercolor Portraits
And lastly, one more Mother’s Day gift to share… this one is so near and dear to my heart as it was created for the mother of one of my closest friends! We combined quite a few photos to create this full family portrait. The original photo was of the main couple’s wedding so we kept their gorgeous floral and geometric archway but updated the photos to add the kids that have aged and been born since the wedding! Such a great idea! 🎥 Watch this family portrait come to life here.
This wedding portrait combined a few photos as well, since at the time, the wedding hadn’t happened yet! But with the bride’s own dress fitting photos and some stock imagery of the bridesmaid dress, we were able to create this portrait as a gift to her maid of honor and sister! What a touching and heartfelt gift. 🎥 Watch this bridal portrait come to life here.
If you made it to the end of this insanely long blog post, THANK YOU!
If you are interested in purchasing any of the above, don’t hesitate to reach out via my Contact page or directly through my Etsy shop: yournewfriendsam.etsy.com
