Ancient and Lovely Ginkgo Leaves

In her studio, Paula has been designing an invitation using Ginkgo Leaves. The leaves are beautiful and versatile, and because of their history, they are a strong botanical component on which to build an invitation design.

The Ginkgo is a "living fossil," whose relatives date back 270 million years. Because it is such an ancient plant, it has been important in many cultures, including the Chinese and Japanese. Confucius is said to have spent time reading, reflecting and teaching under such a tree – this has led the ginkgo biloba tree to have a special meaning in Confucianism.

“The neutral golden or green leaves pair easily with other design elements. The elegant shape makes it an ideal botanical to design with,” says Paula.

Weaving a Floral Theme Into Your Wedding

Your wedding theme does not have to be limited to just a color... How about incorporating flowers or other botanicals throughout your wedding? Every part of your wedding, from the invitations to the programs to the cake, can be inspired by a floral choice. For example, if you love red roses, an arrangement of real dried roses on a handmade invitation can be something that your guests have never seen. Not only is this a beautiful invitation, but it conveys that you are elegant as well as unique, and your event will be nothing less. Your rose theme begins in the invitation and is carried to your ceremony in your wedding flowers. You can also present red roses to your and your fiancé’s mothers during the ceremony. At the reception, you can echo your theme in menus on the tables and your wedding cake. The invitations are just the beginning!

Petalos di Pauli Signature Invitation

 Tiffany and Chocolate Brown Cake

 Petalos di Pauli Signature Invitation

 Black, White and Red Cake

Ceremony Magazine Event at Rancho Valencia Resort and Spa

On October 20, 2009 Paula Dulan Estes, owner and designer for Petalos di Pauli, set out "to be dazzled" as an invited guest to Ceremony Magazine's annual party for advertisers and friends of the magazine. Paula was honored to have been included. She has had a wonderful working relationship with Ceremony Magazine for some time now, and her work will be featured again in their next issue.

As promised the event was "dazzling." It was held at Rancho Valencia Resort and Spa.  The venue has been voted a Top U.S. resort by both Readers' Choice Awards and by Conde Nast Traveler, and is popular for both parties and weddings. Why are they such a popular venue for weddings? The resort's website reads, "The spirit of romance in Rancho Santa Fe began when Douglas Fairbanks and Mary Pickford rode horseback across the valley at the beginning of their great romance in the 1920's. This romance continues today at Rancho Valencia Resort. Forty acres of lush landscaping, bubbling fountains, dramatic views, impeccable service and award winning cuisine are the hallmarks of Rancho Valencia. This intimate and unique setting is the perfect backdrop for your wedding day celebrations."

What a perfect place for Ceremony to hold its annual party! The grounds were transformed by some of Southern California's finest wedding professionals such as Raj Tents and Wildflower Linen. The "Cuisine in Casablanca" theme was captured visually in beautiful teals, reds and oranges and deliciously expressed with foods prepared by exclusive local caterers.

For a lovely pictorial account of the event, visit our friends at Skybox Event Productions. Thank you, Amy and Jim Harrick for holding such a spectacular event! Look for our new South Asian Line of Invitations to be debuted in the February Issue!

Calligraphy

Ginny Moore owner of Calligraphy, Ink, calligraphyinkstudio.com , was intergral in the design of our popular LOVE invitation which is currently featured in Your Wedding Day magazine.  We recently asked Ginny about her work and this is what she shared with us:

Q: Paula has received great response to her LOVE invitation, which you helped design. What was your experience like working on the LOVE invitation?

A: For one thing, I loved working with Paula. She is so sweet, fun and artistic. She gave me an idea of what she wanted for the invitation, but she also really let me be creative with it. I have lots of different styles and even pen types I love to use in my calligraphy, but I rarely get to use more than one style per job. This is such a fun opportunity to get imaginative and really use lots of different looks together to play up the whimsical design.

Q: You mentioned your different styles of calligraphy.  We have had customers ask us why they should pay for a calligrapher if they have a computer.  Why should someone use a calligrapher instead of printing addresses out with their computers at home?

A:  For one, etiquette and tradition require hand-addressed envelopes for wedding invitations. Even if you can’t afford a calligrapher, the envelopes should be hand-addressed, even if it’s by the bride or a friend with nice handwriting. It stands out as such a personal touch in a world of emails and texting. Another reason is calligraphy really makes a statement. When your envelopes are beautifully calligraphed, it says to the guests that you take great pride in this event and it is something to be greatly anticipated! After all, the envelope will be the very first thing the guests see as a glimpse of the wedding! A gorgeous, hand-calligraphed envelope is striking and memorable. Finally, using a calligrapher greatly reduces time and stress over one of the most worrisome aspects of planning a wedding: the guest list. Calligraphers have been saving busy brides hours upon hours for years and years!

Thanks so much Ginny!

Working with Organized Light

Andreas Castaňeda is a talented photographer and a very nice person. His company is called Organized Light. I had the opportunity to work with him recently, and his photos were beautiful. Here is what Andreas wrote on his blog about our shoot:

Sep 17
Unique. Botanical. Beautiful. Artistic.
A few weeks ago, I had the great pleasure to photograph the creative work of Paula Estes, owner of Petalos di Pauli http://www.petalosdipauli.com/. Paula Estes, is a Botanical Artist who combines paper with natural elements to create unique stationery, invitations and gift wrap. Paula specializes in incorporating real flower petals, leaves and grasses into her designs. Her custom designed event stationery consists of coordinated ceremony and reception pieces, such as programs, menu and table cards, as well as complete invitation suites. Her work has been featured in magazines including Ceremony, Your Wedding Day and Special Events Magazine as well as being featured on Lifetime Network's Get Married with Colin Cowie in a segment called "The growing trend in bridal of going green."

Paula's hair and make up were done by Tara Dowburd-Luftman, a well sought after Make-up Artist and founder of Make Up Therapy www.makeuptherapy.com, a stylist studio that caters to red carpet events, film shoots and luxury weddings. On my drive back to the office, I was thinking about how I am always surprised at the amazing talent that is out there, and I feel blessed to have the opportunity to work with such talented folks that love what they do and do what they love. The images below are of her amazing work. Take a look and visit her site to see more of her custom work.

YWD Magazine

Hitting the newsstands today, September 29th is the Fall/Winter 2009 edition of Your Wedding Day Magazine. This edition features Petalos di Pauli! It was an honor for Paula to be chosen for this photo layout highlighting several different invitation designs. The magazine is available at Borders and Barnes & Noble. Check it out!

Wild for Zebra Grass

What's new from the Garden and Studio of Petalos di Pauli?
Zebra Grass!

Photographed by Organized Light

Consider this post an Obsession Confession. I just can't stop loving the celadon and yellow corkscrewed blades, created by wrapping them around a chopstick and drying.

Photographed by Paula Estes

Zebra Grass is prolific, yielding heaps of fun fodder for naturally beautiful gift wrapping. A perfect pairing with Recycled Kraft Boxes. It's stunning in the garden and on a gift makes a dazzling finishing touch.

4 Reasons to Write Thank You Notes

1. One does not need to wait for November to be thankful. Writing thank you notes can help us experience a sense of gratitude in our everyday lives year round.

2. Being grateful can make us aware of our blessings and thankful for them.

3. Writing a personal thank you gives us the opportunity to relive the pleasure that caused us to be grateful in the first place.

4. Writing thank you notes can serve as a stress reliever, forcing us to slow down and enjoy a few moments of quiet.

Why not express your sentiments in one of our beautifully handcrafted thank you cards, ordered off-the-shelf or custom designed to match your personality or wedding stationery.

How to Make Grass Place Card Holders

Fountain Grass was a wonderful, sustainable, not to mention creative, choice for place card holders. We trimmed bundled blades to size then secured the ends with pairs of gold plated rhinestone beads, which were easily removed for reuse after the event.


These place card holders were part of the Elegant Tropical Rainforest tablescape featured in Special Events Magazine.

Other dried grasses or natural elements can be used to create a similar design. You'll need at least 2 stems or blades to form a slot for holding the place card, and the right sized bead to fit over the ends. Or jute or wire could be used to secure the ends; the possibilities are endless.

A Night In Bollywood

The Los Angeles Chapter of the Association of Bridal Consultants (ABC) presented a stellar South Asian experience at the beautiful and upscale Tanzore Restaurant in Beverly Hills.
I loved the combination of high energy and exotic beauty created by the lighting, music, colorful tents and stunning floral arrangements.

Gaylord’s Lotus Room, a banquet facility which sits adjacent to the restaurant, was designed specifically to allow this type of event to cast its own thematic influence.

A rhythmic performance by NDM Dance Troupe, choreographed by Nakul Dev Mahajan of “So You Think You Can Dance” fame provided a break from handshaking and card trading and an opportunity to devour appetizers and enjoy the show. Fans of the tasty Indian finger food made second (possibly third) trips to the buffet.

The climax of the evening was the live drumming performed on top of hypnotic tracks played by DJ Shark. A lot of us had no choice but to put down our handbags and beverages and give in to the thunderous beats that lured us onto the dance floor.

Tanzore Restaurant is not only known for its India Modern or Fusion cuisine, the American Institute of Architects (AIA) announced it winner of the Los Angeles 2007 Restaurant Design Award. I encourage you to take a tour and experience the sensual sophisticated ambience for yourself. There are many options for hosting gatherings. Nikki Sood, director of sales and events, can coordinate large festive events for up to 400 guests or intimate gatherings of 10 in a multitude of settings. Most private rooms as well as the Bar/Lounge are well equipped with features such as BOSE speakers, flat screen TVs and projectors.

“A Night in Bollywood” turned out to be a talented sampling of premier special events industry professionals. The combined expertise of these showcasing sponsors created a fun and memorable experience that I will gladly share with my local clients who might need some or all of their services for their own upcoming celebration. Events like this make us proud to be members of ABC Greater Los Angeles. Thank you to the following businesses that made the event a success:

Sid Khera, Aspect Lighting

Jeffrey Bullied, Jeffrey Bullied Photography

Minal Chaudhary, Mehndi Artist

Doyle Borden, My Flower Guy

Anupma Parks, NDM Productions

DJ Shark

Maurice Walsh, Raj Tents

Nikki Sood, Tanzore

Mini Red Roses

Red Roses deliver classic beauty to fine stationery. Each unique stem . . .

renders a hand fashioned invitation into a one-of-a-kind work of art . . .

and compliments . . .

your choice of color palette.

The Special Event 2009

The lush rainforest of Latin America and the colorful costumes of its indigenous people inspired this tabletop design—a conception of Nesly’s Floral Design & Events. When the company principal Nesly Palacios invited us to participate in the recent Special Events’ Tabletop Gallery, we couldn’t imagine a theme more suited to our area of expertise than “Elegant Tropical Rainforest.” All of the elements that were included in the design represented facets of nature!

From the centerpiece—a tall banana tree surrounded by orchids and other tropical favorites—to snakeskin chair covers and pebbled dishware on feather place mats there was no lack of jungle inspiration. We mounted our menu cards on tree bark and embellished them with blades of bejeweled fountain grass. As a finishing touch they were each topped with a beautifully beaded butterfly.

Nesly’s vision was to create a table to suit a themed event for a corporate client or a bridal couple “looking to celebrate their nontraditional nuptials.”

Nesly’s team included: Chameleon Chair Collection, chairs and chair covers; Designer Specialty Linens, linen; Events by JEM, design; Petalos di Pauli, place cards and menu cards

Beautiful Church Estate Vineyards

Maja Church Haggstrom hosted an elegant garden luncheon last month at the family owned Church Estate Vineyards . We were delighted to be among the guests who enjoyed libations and live entertainment in a picturesque setting that included a handsome boathouse flanking a swan-graced lake.

At lunch guests were seated eye level with tree tops. The panoramic view included the gardens and lake below.

Our company designed the menu-programs for the event. They carried the hydrangea theme of the invitation and completed the magnificent tabletops. It was quite an honor to collaborate with the talent of Cameleon Chairs, Mille Flori Florist, and Wildflower Linens.

The menu was the vision of Pauline Parry of Good Gracious Events. She had me from the start with small cube boxes filled with steak fries drizzled with truffle oil! They were one of many creative and delicious passed hors d'ouvres served lakeside.

Ladies Night Out

On Wednesday, June 10 we surround ourselves in chocolate at Madame Chocolat of Beverly Hills. From 6pm to 10pm ladies will be singled out to receive special attention, namely hors d'ouvres, specialty drinks, chocolate tasting, entertainment, raffle, and a shopping experience that includes a brand new collection of botanical note cards from Petalos di Pauli.

Come and enjoy a night out with the ladies. . .
Leave with a gift bag.

Wednesday, June 10th 6-10pm
$10 per person for entry
Tickets must be purchased in advance on-line

Email us at ladiesnightout@petalosdipauli.com
for a chance to win 2 free tickets.

Church Estate Vineyards Garden Luncheon

When Farla Binder asked us to design an invitation for Malibu’s Church Estate Vineyards we were delighted to put our Petalos behind such a magnificent garden-inspired event.

Setting the tone for a venue that resembled a Monet landscape put Petalos di Pauli’s production team in another panorama of sorts-mountains of vibrant hydrangea petals destined to fill some 150 invitation boxes.

Lead designer, Paula Estes, chose to feature hydrangeas because of their shades of blue and purple, which satisfied the event’s color palette. She also factored in the petal size, which was perfect for creating a floral band on the front cover of the invite. Paula echoed those design elements in the program-menu and it harmonized brilliantly with the gorgeous décor of Cameleon Chairs, Mille Fiori Florist, and Wildflower Linen. Stay tuned for stunning photos of the Church Estate Vineyard Garden Luncheon. The venue is truly a garden lover's paradise.

Our hydrangeas are locally grown under a certified green pest-control program and are processed with renewable wind energy. We love teaming them with Green Seal Certified papers to create beautiful and eco-friendly results. For more information on natural, eco-friendly petals send us an email.

How to Gift Wrap Japanese Style

Custom wrapping is a great way to tie in beautiful papers used in your invitation with other areas of your special event. Present a fabulously wrapped present as a gesture of gratitude to your bridal party or add elegance and intrigue to your table top with wrapped favors your guests get to take home.

Using handmade papers and Mizuhiki paper cord, we show you a quick and easy technique inspired by the Japanese sense of style. We snapped pix while attending a hands-on workshop at the National Stationery Show. We had limited workspace so we had to execute this project on top of papers that went with the next project. Keep that in mind as you discern the images that illustrate each step.

Materials: Handmade papers such as Unryu (sheer mulberry paper with strands), Double-sided tape, Mizuhiki paper cords, a box.

Create a strip of paper from accent paper: Fold edge over 1
1/2" to 2", Moisten fold with wet cotton ball, Gently pull apart

Begin wrapping box with main paper

Position accent paper strip on top of on main
paper

Continue wrapping box, using a tiny bit of tape. Fold
in the ends as you would a typical gift wrap.

Tie 3 strands of Mizuhiki cord in square knot, then tuck the
ends inside the knot.


(Side View)

(Top View)

Our instructor was gift-wrap and Japanese papercraft expert Vicky Mihara Avery, producer and instructor on the Origami Workshop DVD lesson "The Japanese Art of Gift Wrapping." Using handmade papers from Mountain Valley Paper Company and Mizuhiki paper cords, Vicky shows how to layer, pleat, and tear papers for fast, easy and elegant results.