My Stationery Cupboard

I absolutely love anything made from paper. Well, not anything, as in, I don't 'love' kitchen roll or receipts particularly (although they are very useful). No, I mean the stationery variety of paper. My love affair with all things paper started when I got married. I had assumed that I would get terribly excited by dresses, shoes and flowers, but the thing that I enjoyed choosing the most were the invitations. I spent hours with a wonderful stationery designer, Charlotte at Chartula, honing my dreams into the most exquisite invite I could imagine. The budget would not stretch, but I decided something else had to give instead of my precious, albeit ephermeral, invites (my husband did not look impressed when I asked if he actually needed a new suit...). And so my interest in papery stuff began!

Every snowflake was painstakingly designed, and laser cut, by a very patient Charlotte!

My next foray into the world of stationary was for Fifi's christening. I used Chartula again, but their 'Create' range, which is much cheaper and simpler. However, simple is not a term I am hugely comfortable with, so I decided to rev the invites up with a hand drawn map with directions to the church and the party afterwards. I spent over a week drawing, painting and printing the maps, and thought it wouldn't be too much to ask Mr. G to do the envelope stuffing whilst I went and had a bath. A few days later, I found the pile of maps under the sofa. Yes, Mr. G had forgotten to put them in the envelopes, and they had somehow found their way under the sofa....I'll leave the subsequent conversation up to your imaginations.

Chartula Create Invites

My 'never before seen' map!

Having run out of social events to post invitations to, I have had to make do with correspondance stationery. I have sourced some really sweet cards, ribbons and stamps from all over the place, but here are some of my favourites.

I source a lot of my cards and stickers (for sealing envelopes) from Etsy, as it tends to be cheaper than the UK (most shops are based in the US), and a bit more creative. I had a phase of sealing letters with a wax seal, but it takes ages and is a bit messy. However, it looks quite fun! 


Fifi also has been horribly spoilt when it comes to children's stationery. She has a few adorable thank you notes and gift tags for when she goes to parties (yes, totally for me, she would rather eat them). These are from Fraser and Parsley, which make a good range of things for children, and are not too expensive. For her first birthday, we had an Alice in Wonderland theme (see the blog post here), and the invites and party bags were accordingly OTT...

From Etsy, for details see below

By Loralee Lewis, available through Etsy

♥  Chartula bespoke stationery, or Chartula Create, ready to order laser cut stationery


♥  Fraser and Parsley, bespoke and ready to order stationary

♥  Alice in Wonderland Party bags, by Aunties Jammies, from Etsy 

♥  Alice in Wonderland invitation, by Loralee Lewis (at present she is updating her website, but she should be back up and running soon!)

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