Lari & Chantel Christmas Cards 2011

Vir die laaste 3 jaar al maak ek kerskaartjies vir my suster, Chantél en haar vriendin/kolega Lari, wat hulle aan hul kliente uitdeel. 

Dit is nou al 'n groot storie en die verwagting raak elke jaar groter, dus moet ons elke keer 'n haas uit 'n hoed pluk :-))

Ons "brainstorm" so bietjie voor die tyd om 'n tema, look & feel te bepaal en kom dan bymekaar vir 'n fotosessie (waar ons sooooo baie FUN het) waarna ek die kaartjies ontwerp.

Die fotosessie het hierdie jaar baie goed uitgewerk itv tyd en ek kon dit neem toe ek onlangs in die Kaap was.

Ons het by Bloubergstrand bymekaar gekom op die perfekste en mooiste dag! Lari en Chantel was vol grappies en dit het my werk baie maklik gemaak! Hier volg 'n paar fotos wat tydens die fotosessie geneem is asook die finale ontwerp van die kerskaartjies. Baie dankie aan PaperChefs in Franschhoek vir die printing en vinnige en awesome diens!

 Links is my suster Chantél en Lari is regs, so mooi julle :-))

Save the Date

Sending a save the date as an email is a clever yet cheap way to inform your guests of your upcoming event. For a wedding it is best to send it out 4-6 months in advance. It started as a wedding-related custom, but it is now used by individuals, businesses, and organizations to announce the date of any formal event, from wedding anniversaries and grand opening ceremonies to baby showers and kitchen teas. Save the dates are growing wildly in popularity and it is a must have to your stationery collection.
To order your design contact me on merciamdesigns@gmail.com

French Petersham Ribbons for sale!!!

It has been a while since my last post, but there are new and very exciting things on the way in the next few months! I want to share with you a new side to my business. You can now buy French Petersham Ribbons directly from me!! I am super excited about this! The pictures below are of the current stock I have.
It is available in 5, 10 and 20 meter bundles.
And the best news is that it’s of high quality and really affordable!

You can use these stunning ribbons to decorate almost anything and instantly add a French flair. You can use it for gifts, around candles, flowers, cards and as decoration throughout your home.

But my personal favourite is to use it at your wedding or any special celebration. It will add the most beautiful detail. From your flowers to table setting and invites to candles. Try a combination of widths and designs. How stunning!!

Contact me on merciamdesigns@gmail.com for a price list or to place your order.

Above image by Mare Rootman

Above 2 images by Mare Rootman

Wedding Invitations

Here are some more beautiful Wedding Invitations I've done recently. These Invites cover a wide range from DL's and Square Cards to Invites with photographs.
If you want to order something similar, please email me on merciamdesigns@gmail.com for a free quote. All colours, trimmings and overall theme of each invite can be changed to fit your style and special day! Have a fabulous week everybody!

These are a few of my favourite things...

On Friday and Monday I watched yet another 2 episodes of Oprah. But not just the normal show, it was Favourite Things!! Since it was her 25^th and final season it was her ULTIMATE Favourite Things!!! All I can say is WOW!

It definitely inspired me to share with you some of my favourite things.

Some of these things are timeless and some just make me smile whenever I see it- like white roses and white candles.

Every month I can’t wait to buy the new SARIE. I especially love Nataniël and Marita Van Der Vyver’s articles. The magazine has a fresh, clean look and the recipes are great.

Then there is Masquerade… When you are in Franschhoek you have to go to this shop. It is the most beautiful shop filled with gifts, linen, antiques and anything French. I love anything French and dream of going to Paris in the “near” future.

Petersham Ribbons, Issey Miyake Perfume, Brown Leather Boots and La Motte’s Sauvignon Blanc Wine are things I like to “splurge” on.

Gossip Girl is my favourite series and I just love New York and Barefoot Contessa’s easy and delicious recipes made me love and appreciate food even more!

So these are just a few of my favourite things…that excite and inspire me every day in a special way!

Winter Inspiration

Today’s post is a bit different and about something that inspires me!

With winter approaching fast I couldn’t wait to make my first pot of soup to comfort the cold! I just love soup -  from vegetable and pea to potato but my all time favourite is butternut soup. It definitely inspires me on a cold rainy winters day!

Quite often I watch programmes on the FoodNetwork.

I am especially inspired and love Ina Garten’s programme Barefoot Contessa.

Catch it on FoodNetwork (channel 185) weekdays at 8h55 and 16h00 or have a look on her website for more http://www.barefootcontessa.com/

She hosts the show from her beautiful house in the Hamptons. Her recipes are easy, full of flavour and she always encourages you to use the best quality ingredients you can find/afford.

A few days ago I saw an episode where Ina made a Roasted Butternut Squash Soup.

Yesterday I had a go at the recipe that I got from her website and WOW! It was the most delicious Butternut Soup I have had (not even to say “made myself). This recipe is so good I just have to share it with you! It is so easy to make!

You’ll need:

3 –4 pounds Butternut, peeled and seeded

2 onions

2 McIntosh Apples (any Red apple would do)

3 tablespoons of good Olive Oil

Salt and Freshly ground Black Pepper

2 – 4 cups of good quality Chicken Stock

½ teaspoon good Curry Powder

Preheat the oven to 180°C

Cut the Butternut, Onions and apples into cubes that are all the same size. Place it on a sheet pan and toss it with the Olive Oil and 1 teaspoon of salt and ½ a teaspoon pepper. Roast for 35 to 45 minutes, tossing occasionally, until the vegetables are soft and tender.

Meanwhile, heat the chicken stock to a simmer. Take the vegetables out of the oven when they are done and place it in batches through a food processor. Add some of the Chicken Stock and coarsely purée. When all of the vegetables are processed, place it in a large pot and add enough/the rest of the stock to make a think soup. Add the Curry Powder, 1 teaspoon of salt and ½ teaspoon of pepper. Taste to make sure there’s enough seasoning. Heat and serve!

Ina serves the soup with some condiments like Scallions, Banana, Roasted Salted Cashews and Flaked sweetened Coconut.

I just served it with a few slices of good toasted Garlic Bread.

It is just awesome!! Have a warm, inspiring and comforting winter ahead!

(Pictures of Ina and her house from House Beautiful Magazine, Original Photographs by Simon Upton, these images were scanned on http://www.barefootcontessa.com/)

(Pictures of my soup taken by me)

Happy Easter 2011!

We've Moved!

Hi everybody, sorry for being so quiet! Yes we moved.
Our new "Home Sweet Home" is in Faerie Glen, Pretoria, Gauteng.
I only finished unpacking all our boxes on Monday! My "new" office is set up and ready for business!

Moving Announcements is very popular overseas. It is used to let family and friends know your new address and other details. I think it is such a fun and easy way to send out as a emailer even to colleagues and business contacts. The design can be used in so many different ways and you can really have fun with this!

If you need a design quote, idea, inspiration or just want to say hi, please let me hear from you!
You can still mail me on merciamdesigns@gmail.com
Have a great Wednesday!

For Your Party

Ever wished you had stationery to round off your table setting for a dinner party?
Look no further! The latest range to form part of Mercia M Designs is a stunning stationery set and can be used for any party.

It is made up of the following: (see pictures from left to right) DL Menu, C6 Invitation with Envelope, Name It Tags, Seating Tags and Place Mats.

The Menu, Invite, Name It Tags and Seating Tags allows you to write in your special menu, guest names etc. The Range is printed on a beautiful off-white paper, is available in English and Afrikaans and each item is sold seperate in packs of 25.

For more information, prices and orders contact merciamdesigns@gmail.com

More Invites & Stationery ;-)

Today's post is a very personal one - my very own wedding invites & stationery!
All of my friends and family knows how I love anything French. The magazines, websites and blogs I often visit simply had too many things I rrrrrrrrrrrrrealy liked. There is a shop in Franschhoek, Masquerade, that I visited as often as I could during my lunch hour for inspiration for our wedding.

I ended up choosing white, soft cream and shades of grey as my colour palette and went for a French Country theme. I made up a big file to keep everything together in 1 place. It was filled with pictures, mood boards, ribbons, ideas, quotes, invoices and every little detail.

I also had a few challenges when planning our wedding, as my fiancé Ferdi was living all the way up in Limpopo. We had many telephone conversations and emails in the months leading up to the big day.

We first sent out save the dates – a C6 sized printed card with a magnet on the back to put on the fridge.

My mother helped me make the invitations as we had to make a fabric sleeve for each invite and the pages of the invite had to be sewn together. It came out awesome :-)

For the stationery on the day I made the ceremony program as a little booklet with the pages sewn together.

At the reception I made my own “canvas” for the table seating. I got a wooden frame and covered it with fabric with the seating cards sewn onto it.

The menu, placed at every second chair, was made up of 3 pages tied together with a ribbon and placed in the shape of a fan. The favours we gave our guests was the wedding cake, placed into perfect little cake boxes, which we made a big feature of.

PaperChefs in Franschhoek did the amazing printing of all our stationery, even the cake boxes too. They are the best! Our amazing photographer on the day was Maré Rootman, I included some of her pictures (everything on page 2 & 3). She made us feel so relaxed and at ease in front of the camera.
The stunning flowers was done by my sister-in-law, Anja Maree, which made it so special! A big thank you to everyone!

23 October was a perfect day filled with love, laugh and happines. It was an amazing moment when we walked into the reception as Mr & Mrs Maree. When I looked around me everything was exactly like the picture in my head. A warm, romantic, cosy and inviting atmosphere, beautiful white roses, candles everywhere and stunning details rounded off with a French festive mood. Our day was everything I dreamt of and more!

Handmade - Gift Cards

The third part of my fabric handmade range is my beautiful gift/greeting cards.
There are 3 different sizes available: C6, DL and Square (150 x 150mm).
A beautiful uncoated off-white paper is used with a smaller fabric topped with a design, sewn on to it. There are 6 designs to choose from and 3 different fabrics for the back panel. Cards can also be customised if the material is supplied by the client. There are no printing on the outside or inside the cards, which helps to keep the costs at a minimum. Each card comes with a brown or matching off-white envelope and slides into a clear cellophane sleeve.
For more information, prices and orders contact merciamdesigns@gmail.com

Handmade - Fabric Gift Tags

Part of my handmade range is the Fabric Gift Tags I make.

The 60 x 110 mm tags are available in 2 different shapes. Each tag is sewn onto a beautiful uncoated off-white paper card that gives you a space to write your message.

There are 4 different types of fabric to choose from, but the tags can also be customised if the material is supplied by the client.

Each tag is finished off with an eyelet and ribbon, all in perfect colours to match your choice of fabric.

For more information, prices and orders contact me on merciamdesigns@gmail.com

Handmade - Fabric Gift Bags

As some of you may know, for the last month or so I have been working on a "handmade" range.

At the moment the range is made up of gift bags, gift cards and tags.

It is a very unique and feminine range.

Fabric Gift Bags:

There are 6 different sizes available (see pictures from left to right).

1. Small / Jewelery Bag (100 x 150 mm)  

2. Medium Bag (150 x 205 mm)  

3. Wine Bottle Bag (120 x 380 mm)  

4. Large Bag (220 x 360 mm) suitable for books and picture frames, chocolates and other delicacies.

5. Travel Bag (200 x 450 mm) suitable for shoes (2 pairs) or underwear when travelling.  

6. Xtra Large Bag (320 x 460 mm)

A strong naturally coloured Calico is used and each bag is finished off with Petersham ribbons on the side, which can either be made into a knot or bow. The bags can also be customised if the client supplies the ribbon. These handmade gift bags will add a special touch to any gift!
Contact me on merciamdesigns@gmail.com for more information, prices and orders.

Mini Adventures

Mini Adventures is a company based in Franschoek and provide tailor made wine tours in the Winelands area. From Paarl, Stellenbosch, Tulbagh, Franschhoek and Paarl. Marguerite, the owner, personally takes her clients on these special tours in her Mini Clubman.

I started off by designing her logo, keeping it plain, bold, edgy and modern.
I designed various promotional items for her including a business card, emailers, special promotion emailers, a brochure and a booking card.

I think Marguerite's idea is very original, fun and a must when planning a visit to the amazing Franschhoek!!

Makietie

This design was done for a very special friend.

Delmarie and her mother, Mariana, started Makietie from their love and passion for flowers and decor. Makietie means party or festivity in Afrikaans.

They specialise in doing flowers and décor for Weddings, Birthday Parties and Corporate Functions.

I designed a logo for them and from there we made a stunning 55 x 55 mm business card. This size is a great alternative for the standard 90 x 50 mm cards.

I also made a letterhead they could use for quotes, invoices and letters.

The colour palette they chose was a sage green and chocolate brown, it works perfectly! I am so happy with the end result :-)

Wedding Invitations

The invites featured in this post is each so unique in its own way.
The first pictures is from the invite I made for Kathryn & Ryan. The colours of their wedding were turquoise, cream and yellow. The invite is made up of 3 pages and tied together with a turquoise and cream satin ribbon.
The second invite is that of Grazia & Sotirios. It was an A4 size folded to DL. The “white print” of the pattern on the outside is a process called clear coating. The Monogram on the outside and invite text inside was foiled in silver. The rest of the printing inside the invite was printed in a soft grey and the invite had no need for other embellishments to finish it off – it was stunning!
Both sets are printed (and foilied) with PaperChefs in Franschhoek exclusively.