We are moving!!! NEW WEBSITE & NEW BLOG.....

www.hummingbirdcards.co.uk

Hello to all our blog followers. Just wanted to let you know that today we have launched our brand NEW WEBSITE! It has taken quite some work and we really hope you will love it.

You can buy some of our lovely products online including: Our New Laser-cut bunting, Photograph Albums, Mobile Decorations and our beautiful Laser-cut butterfly framed artwork!

Here is a little taster but please come over to the site and check it out for yourself.

Please note that this blog will be moving sites, and we will no longer be posting to this blog site...so please come and follow our new blog here: http://www.hummingbirdcards.co.uk/blog

Beautiful extras from BHLDN

We are loving all the beautiful decorations now available online from the fabulous BHLDN, if you havent checked them out visit the website http://www.bhldn.com/ from the creators of ANTHROPLOGIE you really can't go wrong. They have a beautiful array of delicate decorations..our favourites are the paper fans...just beautiful for your guests at a hot summer wedding, or decorating tables in eyecatching displays. We also love the fabulous vintage cashier's key stakes..perfect for numbering wedding tables!

Vintage bird cake toppers...

Paper Decorations in subtle hues.

Little boxes of delight, vintage silk flowers and all sorts of bits to get creative with.

Lovely little good wish paper pennants

Love these vintage forks stamped with Bride & Groom ... lovely keepsakes!

Printed cotton tapes

Delicate Porcelain blooms..perfect for table decorations, to give a vintage feel.

Love, Love, Love these vintage cashier stakes...perfect for Table Numbers!

Old fashioned paper pinwheels..in patterned papers and a range of colours.

Hand crinkled and hand clipped...hang them, create centrepieces

or simply use them to keep cool!

Add a little tealight and you have a beautiful subtle glow on every table.

These are so effective!

ENJOY!

Simple but stunning floral ideas...

We loved this posting from our friends over at Before Your Big Day.

If you have reached the end of your budget but still want a stunning floral display
try choosing one type of flower, buy from a wholesalers or flower market and arrange them yourself. Arrange big beautiful bunches or add some beautiful velvet ribbon or lace trim to tie up a small bunch into a bouquet. Effortlessly simple and totally chic! We are loving the Baby's Breath (Gypsophilia) we think it will look lovely Georgia!! ...so delicate and pretty!

In the studio today....

Spring & 'Wedding Season' is a busy time here in the Hummingbird studio & today is no exception!

Here's a quick snap of one of our work benches right now.. covered in invitations waiting to dry. These are laser cut quartz hearts with a beautiful cosmetic coloured paper inlay, each finished off with a small stunning diamante. Quite simple, but really beautiful! One of my favourite parts of what we do is getting to see wedding stationery finished & perfect before it gets sent off to excited Brides & Grooms...all beautifully wrapped and packaged in one of our keepsake boxes!

The Wedding Diary: a veritable treasure trove!

Having made the decision to have our wedding reception in the garden & having (after a bit of a hunt!) found a perfect traditional, canvas tent style marquee means that the fun can now begin! I can finally start to create, hunt for & make decorations & other little bits of gorgeousness that my head has been full of for months now.

My first must was to start to hunt for lots of vintage crockery. I've already got quite a few heirloom pieces which I've had hidden away, but I've started to collect lots more so we've got enough for our garden party wedding!

I love to visit antique fairs, junk shops & car boots! & they've proved to be a great source for vintage tea cups, milk jugs, tea plates & teapots! I even picked up a few pieces last week at Newark.

Its been great fun bringing home bags and boxes of treasured finds and carefully cleaning & storing them away. In the studio we've all got our personal favourites.

Suzi loves this hand painted teacup!

Its onto the 'Cake' next & Mum and I are getting together tomorrow to chat over recipes, cake tin sizes and of course the decoration!

Royal Wedding

Tying the Windsor Knot

Congratulations

So we've seen the dress, although not as exciting as a McQueen dress could have been it was very beautiful & traditional! Inspirations from Grace Kelly's dress when she married Prince Rainier of Monaco perhaps! Chief bridesmaid and sister Pippa looked amazing, her dress was just stunning!

We watched the arrivals of other Royals...including Sir Elton John with David and of course David and Victoria Beckham. David complete with the wedding must have accessory - in hand - a Top Hat - will that ever be worn today I wonder!

So now we wait for the THE KISS!!

Celebrate the royal wedding for a good cause!

Dress like a Royal bride, for a fraction of the price, as Save the Children and Mary Portas’ Living and Giving stores stock up on designer wedding attire.

World leading fashion designers Matthew Williamson, Stewart Parvin (Queen’s dress maker), Eleanor Ofori and Jenny Packham have all stitched their seal of approval to Save the Children Week by donating wedding dresses and accessories, to be sold for a fraction of their original price.

To celebrate Save the Children Week, which happens to coincide with the Royal wedding week (25th April - 1st May 2011), the charity has decided to transform six of their shops into ‘reduced price designer wedding boutiques’. These shops , two of which will include TV retail guru Mary Portas ' hugely popular Living and Giving shops in London and Edinburgh, will be offering brides-to-be the chance to be married in a designer frock for a fraction of the price.

With doors opening at 09:30 am on Wednesday 27th April Save the Children’s aim is to offer brides-to be the chance to wed in designer style at up to 60% off the designer price tag, whilst raising vital funds for the charity. There are a number of designer pieces from the likes of Amanda Wakeley, Dillon Wallwork, Emmy Shoes, Benjamin Roberts and Caroline Charles, all accessible to any bride-to-be-on-a-budget.

Mary Portas said:
“It may be Kate Middleton’s special day but this week Save the Children are giving you the chance to have your own royal wedding without the royal price tag. Our shops are filled with fabulous dresses and accessories and we would love you to make that all important purchase whilst helping the most vulnerable across the world at the same time.”

Save the Children Week is taking place to raise funds for children as part of the No Child Born Without a Chance Campaign. Every donation is precious and will help fund supplies for children all over the world.

Save the Children’s Bridal Shop at Mary’s Living & Giving shop for Save the Children Week will be held from Wednesday 27th April – Sunday 1st May.

For more information on the discount stores and locations, click on www.savethechildren.org/uk/borntoparty

Unlocking the secret’s of the Royal Ring

If you are as stunned as us by the beauty of Kate Middleton’s engagement ring and would love to know more about this precious gem, such as why it is blue, how it is mined and its importance over time, then read on…

In celebration of the forthcoming wedding of William and Kate, and given the close affiliation it enjoys with the British Royal Family, the Sri Lanka Gems and Jewellery Association has come up with a treasure trove of a new website dedicated entirely to the Ceylon Sapphire – the stunning stone at the centre of the most talked about engagement ring in Britain!

The website is full of interesting facts, statistics and titbits about this stunning stone, which has long been recognized as the signature of the late Princess Diana after she handpicked it from Asprey and Garrard for her own engagement. Other highlights on the site included the fascinating journey of the stone from Queen of Romania to Christies, and the depth of its symbol of power, wisdom and loyalty.

Read more on the website - It certainly has us dazzled!

Where do we get our inspiration from?

This is a question we're regularly asked!

As we look forward to launching our new website we are also looking ahead to new season designs & ideas. We love to spend a day being inspired & this month we took a trip to Newark Antiques Fair.

Newark is just incredible! It's amazing what a day browsing for new ideas can do to ignite your imagination! The fair is one of Britain's best for anyone interested in anything antique, vintage or shabby chic!

Definitely worth a visit. It's just huge (covering some 100 acres with around 4,000 stalls!) so no matter what you love we're sure you'll find something to buy (we did!)

Collectable Cards from Tony at Fox and Moon

www.foxandmoon.co.uk

Newark is just one of the fairs organised by the iacf (International Antiques & Collectors Fairs!) You can see where & when other fairs are being held this year over at their website.

From the walls to the cake stand...

...Californian brand goes graffiti style!

If you have a playful sense of humour and are planning a wedding with plenty of surprises, then Californa-based dessert shop Sweet & Saucy may just have something for you. This fabulous store specializes in custom-made cakes, cookies, cupcakes and other delicious desserts, and offers a colourful range of fun and quirky styles and flavours.

The brilliant graffiti range was what really caught my eye; what a novel way to celebrate your love as a couple in a truly modern and different fashion!

Melody Brandon, owner of the Sweet & Saucy Shop, also runs regular classes at the shop’s pastry school and there are plenty of recipes on the website to try out for yourself.

Very tasty!

Is paper the new gold?

Stumbled across a brilliant blog the other day 'The Heart of Paper Cuts' and just had to share it with you all. It celebrates paper cutting, as the name says, but really brings a sense of magic and mystery to this ancient art.

Whilst so many of the incredible creations caught my eye - it was a fabulous paper ring that really stood out. Who knows, this could actually become quite popular as a novelty for brides, or even worked into a display on the 'big day'. Either way, there is no denying the work and skill that has gone into this little gem.

Have a browse at the blog as there are hundreds of themes aside from bridal and you can spend a good while looking at all the creations. I just loved the intricacy of the paper cutting and thought it would complement the delicate laser-cutting works of The Hummingbird Card Company, too. Items from 'The Heart of Paper Cuts' are on sale on Etsy.

Photography Competition Winner

CONGRATULATIONS!

to the lovely Liz & Paul Howarth of Calverley, Leeds. After we ran our competition Liz and Paul sent us some gorgeous pictures from their big day at the beautiful Bagden Hall in Wakefield on March 2010. We hope you enjoy your champagne that is on its way to you!

We loved their pictures of the Table Plan cards which they tied to willow branches, they then used the same branches as a message tree later in the evening. Guests left messages throughout the evening until the tree was covered at the end of the night, and all the messages are now mounted in one of our beautiful photo albums with images from their big day!

Here are a few extra images they sent us of there beautiful day. It looked stunning!

This is Liz's grandad - who just turned 96! We love this picture!

Liz & Paul chose had the 'Wedding Letters' Invitation from our Boutique Laser-cut collection, in alabaster with aqua inlays and ivory ribbon, co-ordinating Menu and Table Numbers, Dove placecards, Table Plan cards, Message Tree cards and Thank You Cards.

Pictures are all by Chris Chambers http://www.chrischambersphotography.co.uk/ who can be contacted on 07905 853155

We absolutely love to see your pictures, and see how your stationery looked, so if you have any you want to share with us drop us a line at info@hummingbirdcards.co.uk and we may well do a blog posting on you too!