GreenLeaf Press Christmas Boutique

It is December already! Unlike the highstreet, we don't allow ourselves to get in the festive spirit until this month begins, however now that it is here we won't hold back, woohoo..

To prove it we are pleased to announce the opening of our Christmas Boutique, our first venture into selling directly online, eek!

This year our Holiday cards have been inspired by everything from hand knitted jumpers to Nordic folk art.
Take a look at our store and let us know what you think of this year's designs:

http://greenleafpress.bigcartel.com/category/christmas

We will also be posting up some of our favourite christmas decorations and gifts from across the internet over the next few weeks, starting with this little selection, enjoy!

Clockwise: Cute mushroom candles from Heals, Fab christmas pud rubbish bags available from Nigel's Eco Store. Elizabeth Cook reclaimed wool robin from The Natural Store, plantable seed decorations, recycled glass baubles and recycled card crackers- all from Nigel's Eco store. Stackable fair trade santa dolls and growing grass christmas tree are both available at The Ethical Superstore.

Summer, weddings and berries..

It's June and the bumblebees are buzzing around our lavender bushes, we are dreaming of pick-your-own-berries and outdoor events!
Our friends' blogs, too, seem to have drifted off into hazy day dreams of picnic weddings and rustic British country charm- we have pulled together our favourite images to share with you, with some great links to be found below:

{images courtesy of Country Living via The Natural Wedding Company,

Not Mass Produced, Not On The High Street and GreenLeaf Press}

Felt Corsage from SevenSeventyOne Design, available in several colours on the Not Mass Produced Website: www.notmassproduced.com

Personalised hanging wedding signs by Delightful Living on Not On The High Street: http://www.notonthehighstreet.com/delightfulliving/product/personalised-hanging-sign-for-weddings

A6 Flat Invitation on straw paper with recycled cotton rag envelope available from us! (Please get in touch to find out more)

{images courtesy of Emily Quinton Photography}

The stunning engagement shots above were taken by Emily Quinton with styling by Charley of London Bride. Find out more about working with this talented duo:

http://emilyquinton.com/blog/

{images courtsey of Green Wedding Shoes, iDIY, The Traditional Flower Co,

Not On The High Street and Cox & Cox}

For similar hand painted wooden signs and personalised flower crates, follow the link to Not On The High Street above.

Seasonal flowers arrangements and accessories available from The Traditional Flower Company, http://www.traditionalflower.co.uk/traditional/

For these flower petal confetti cones and other lovely gifts check out Cox & Cox http://www.coxandcox.co.uk

The 'upcycled' flower caddy is a DIY project on the iDIY blog (please follow the link in our right hand bar)

{images courtesy of GreenLeaf Press, Ruffled, Style me Pretty and Milomade}

Our current season range of stationery is available to view on the main GreenLeaf website, www.greenleafpress.co.uk.

The beautiful handstitched love token was created by a bride whose wedding featured on the fabulous vintage wedding blog, Ruffled: http://ruffledblog.com/

Finally this recycled paper garland and recycled confetti are handmade by Evie Milo in Scotland. Milomade recycled paper goods and jewellery are available to buy from; http://www.makers-online.co.uk/artist/milomade

GreenLeaf Stationery Sample packs

Fresh off the press here are some shots of our latest sample pack.

This bespoke pack, requested by Philippa and Monty in Bristol contained 5 items of stationery each from two of our design ranges.

The couple requested a colour palette of vibrant pink and leafy green and the stationery was printed on a selection of our cotton, straw and feather papers, for them to choose from.

If you would like to receive your own tailor-made sample pack, please get in touch.

A pack similar to that above containing five items each from two design ranges costs 6.50,

and we do not charge extra for colour changes.

To find out more contact us on info@greenleafpress.co.uk or call Jemma on 07824 860 682

A speedy green affair!

Phew what a week! Amanda and I were approached by a
client at the end of last week who needed their invites,
erm now- eek!!


Our bride and groom to be have decided to get married asap-
this June, in fact and needed our help to let their friends and
family know quickly.


We happily got on with production and with the help of our
shiny new printer, needle and thread, set about making this
great variation of our jardin birds design- the colours chosen
by our bride have certainly put us in the mood for Spring!

We have asked our bride, Nicola (if she gets the time) to

write a piece for the blog on her super fast green wedding

plans- looking forward to her reply...

Jemma x

{images of wedding dress available at Green Union, courtesy of the Green Union Blog}

We are very excited to be part of the Green Union wedding directory, particularly as they have given us a rating of 9/10 for our green credentials!

http://www.greenunion.co.uk/weddings/8170stationery_invitations/index.html

A fantastic website packed full of great green suppliers and tips, Green Union also has an informative blog and their own eco chic boutique selling everything from candles to wedding dresses. Keep up to date with their blog here:

http://www.greenunion.co.uk/blog/index.html

Make and Do!

On the subject of DIY we love the fact that most of our green brides do have that desire to be creative and get stuck in. Not for you the 'off the peg' wedding or keeping up with the Jones'!

We see some great projects when looking for inspiration and we will be sharing these with you along the way. To begin with we have found some great workshops, both locally, and in the capital, where you can learn valuable new skills to make your wedding your own!

{images courtesy of The Make Lounge}

http://www.themakelounge.com/ The Make Lounge, London N1, hosts fantastic crafting workshops on a one-off basis, making it easy to pop along and pick up fab new skills on anything and everything- think frilly knickers, cupcakes and everything in between!

They take private parties and have already hosted many hen parties, why not get your girls together and make your table centres, favours or fascinators?

To find out more about future workshops or booking a hen party contact:

create@themakelounge.com or tel: 020 7609 0275

Closer to home for us is the lovely Landbaby at the Bluecoat, Liverpool. This beautiful craft shop is set in the courtyard of the Bluecoat Arts Centre and not only sells some stunning handmade goods from a wide range of local designers, but Claire also runs some fantastic workshops, from making your own corsage to making wax paper flowers- as Amanda mentioned in the last post, these would be a great alternative to cut flowers! A gallery of past workshop work and info on upcoming workshops can be found on their facebook group page (apologies for the huge link):

http://www.facebook.com/?ref=home#!/pages/Landbaby-at-the-Bluecoat/89408539268?ref=nf

{images courtesy of Landbaby at The Bluecoat on Facebook}

For a great opportunity to take a look at local craft designers' work and demonstrations, Leaf Tea Shop & Bar are hosting 'Make Sundays' in Liverpool on three Sundays this Spring, again details can be found on their facebook page:

http://www.facebook.com/?ref=home#!/event.php?eid=324850372152&ref=mf, we look forward to seeing you there!

A Quintessential Garden Wedding!

As the warmer seasons of spring and summer now approach it’s no surprise that we decided to create a style board all about the quintessential garden wedding. It is definitely a favourite here at greenleaf press!

The rustic dining table and quirky ‘pucker up’ images set a blissfully cheerful scene... full of the handmade and personal collaged to create something truly romantic and charming. For us there could be nothing better than the thought of an intimate soiree with pretty decorations, great food, good tunes, and your very closest family and friends to help whirl your special day into a night of dancing under the ambient light of lanterns and a starry sky (Lantern image from www.cocokelley.blogspot.com ).

The principal colours of this scheme are plum, cherry, and a blush pink, with a saffron and cinnamon accent. But we think it is always nice to have an additional colour surprise and so have added the sage and mint making it a wonderfully refreshing palette.
As this is your special day why not make a very unique statement and have a wedding logo or monograph designed as a personal signature to be applied to your stationery, favours and mementoes. Most design or stationers will offer this as a bespoke service, we certainly do... just ask!

On the subject of stationery ... we chose ‘Jardin-birds’ in cherry and plum, from our ‘Jardin Collection’, printed on a beautifully tactile straw paper this is a simple but bold and versatile design. We just love it placed alongside the birdie print confetti bags and bird nest place tags (Img’s again courtesy of the fabulous wedding blog www.stylemepretty.com ) and add the wonderfully scrumptious birdie cake and vintage china from www.utterlysexycafe.co.uk and the whole décor scheme is becomes very site specific.

Handmade paper flower arrangements will easily compliment or be a great alternative to real flowers. These delicate and sophisticated designs are made from old newspaper and wallpaper, you can find the tutorial at www.yvestown.com/ . Crochet knit, sew, felt, sculpt your own buttonholes or hair accessories and don’t stop there for DIY projects... simply search ‘Google’ and discover a vast selection of free tutorials and inspiration to make your day one of a kind.

Our Spring Collections: Elegance

To create our Elegance range we have drawn on a range of very classical influences and have stuck to a muted palette of mist, chocolate, blush, chalk and mint. We think the following board perfectly complements our ‘Elegance Furl’ sleeved cards:

images courtesy of Zoe Lingard Photography, Green Wedding Shoes,

Emily Quinton Photography, Cox & Cox

We have found some great green suppliers to help you achieve this look in a green way:
Vintage China can be hired from a range of businesses in the UK, our local supplier is Pebble In The Pond, based in Cheshire, the girls are able to provide a beautiful range of vintage china table ware and accessories for an Afternoon Tea style reception. www.pebble-in-the-pond.co.uk
Online British small business Cox & Cox provide a range of stunning wedding gifts and accessories, including the paper masks and handmade love birds shown here. www.coxandcox.co.uk
Emily Quinton is a green UK wedding photographer who not only takes stunning shots but also works hard to reduce her environmental impact, Emily also writes a great blog, find out more here: www.emilyquinton.com/blog
The beautiful button bouquets and corsages shown are a great green alternative to imported cut flowers. Button bouquets are popular in the US, but we can’t find any producers over here- let us know if you come across any. Alternatively ask a creative friend or relative to make one using scrap fabrics and recycled buttons- a great wedding present and long lasting memento of your day.
The Heart Project is an organisation based in South Africa and it is committed to providing sustainable employment to women from the poorest areas of S.A. They produce beautifully crafted felt products from toys to wedding favours. Visit their website www.theheartfeltproject.com to find out more, they have a list of UK and online stockists, one of our favourites is www.ecochiccollection.co.uk.