MountainGate Country Club Puts on a Show

Sunday evening, Petalos di Pauli was a featured vendor at MountainGate Country Club's Fall Bridal Show and Open House. We loved sharing the spotlight with our friends at Emily Rose Papers, a great company we always enjoy collaborating with. We welcomed a steady stream of exuberant brides, showing and telling them about our products and services.

Paula Estes with owner of  Emily Rose Papers

Wedding invitation--maroon with intricate gold detailing

Escort cards displaying the artistry of our calligrapher

Located in Los Angeles, MountainGate Country Club is an extremely beautiful location for weddings and receptions, combining elegant indoor and outdoor event spaces with a spectacular view of the Santa Monica Mountains. Paula noted, "Our flagship line of botanically embellished invitations definitely help set the tone for such a magnificent and lush garden-like setting."

MountainGate Country Club outdoor ceremony location

All in all, the show was a tremendous success--with enticing hors d'oeuvres prepared by the MountainGate chef, stunning decor, and so many other exciting details--made possible by the contributions of talented, top-shelf event companies we'll be highlighting in upcoming posts.

Thank you, MountainGate, for hosting a wonderful Fall Bridal Show event! We look forward to many happy returns.

~Jaimie

Ladybugs Abound at the Getty Gardens

I've always had a fondness for ladybugs, easily won over by their stylish, polka dotted outfits. Many cultures view the ladybug as a symbol of goodluck. And a client recently commissioned our calligrapher to incorporate one into the design of their custom wedding invitation!

photo by bazylek100 

Each year Getty gardeners release ladybugs on the jacaranda trees and azaleas to eat aphids during the spring months. They buy them from insectaries that sell them by the thousands. The gardeners put water on the foliage before releasing the ladybugs. When they emerge from their cold-storage sleep, they’re thirsty and will stay around and eat aphid if there is water to drink. What an awesome arrangement!

photo by jemasmith

For more interesting behind the scenes knowledge about how the Getty cares for its gardens, you can take a tour led by their horticulture staff. This Friday, May 7, check out “Getty Gardener’s Perspective” a special event celebrating National Public Gardens Day. The tours start at 11:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. at the Getty Center, and at 11:00 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. at the Getty Villa.

With all the spring beauty that surrounds us, stay tuned for more posts inspired by the wonders of nature.

Sincerely,

Paula Estes
Botanical Artist and
Friend of Ladybugs

Images used under a Creative Commons license.  

Our Madame Chocolat Greeting Card

What is more luxurious than fine chocolate? This Petalos di Pauli handcrafted greeting card was designed especially for Madame Chocolat after owner chocolatier Chef Hasty Torres raved about an invitation design in my portfolio. Hasty wished for a similar design but one that would bring chocolate to mind.

We made this card hers by bringing in Celadon Green that colors the walls of her Beverly Hills chocolate factory and boutique. We layered papers of the same metallic cream and brown hues that her fans will recognize as signature Madame Chocolate packaging. Finally, we used designs from Hasty's exquisite truffles as our inspiration for the cover and interior design.

This card will remind the recipient that chocolate is wonderful… in any language! “Chocolat” is adorned with hand calligraphy, the word chocolate translated into a baker’s dozen different languages. The finishing touches included the elements that Hasty loved about my original design, a variety of real garden flowers, Swarovski crystals and other 3-dimensional ornamentation. I think Hasty's card turned out Delightfully Sweet!

I became a true fan of Madame Chocolat after attending one of Hasty's chocolate workshops. Words cannot begin to express the pleasure of that hands-on experience. There is so much to learn and love about chocolate. Her place is filled with chocolate delicacies I hadn't known existed and it turned out to be perfect for gift shopping just before the holidays.  If you love chocolate or just want to learn more about it, I recommend you attend her upcoming workshop this Sunday March 21st,  in celebration of American Chocolate Week. Let her know Paula sent you.

This CHOCOLAT card and other handcrafted stationery are available for purchase at the Petalos di Pauli On-line Boutique.

Happy American Chocolate Week!

Sincerely,
Paula Estes
Botanical Artist and
Lover of Chocolate

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!