My Good Things Jar 2013

As the year draws to a close it's easy to focus on all the negative things that have happened throughout the year. 

I saw this idea sometime in mid December 2012 and was determined to start one for myself.

The concept is simple. It costs very little to put into action And will help you realise it's the small things in life that bring the joy and reflections of all the good things that happen Throughout the year.

Take a Kilner jar or something similar, This could be a pretty box or container with a lid like a teapot perhaps And starting on January 1 fill the jar up with pieces of paper writing on each piece anything good that happens. 

                                     

Then on new years eve of that year open up the jar to see all the good stuff that has happened that year. I am surprised and impressed with how full mine actually became. With all the bad news in the media and the normal struggles of everyday life it's easy to become entangled in the web of negativity. 

I'm thinking of creating some of these jars for my brides and grooms And will call them wishing jars. Guests can write on pieces of paper or card and add them to the jar. The bride and groom can then open the jar and read the messages from their friends and family. 

Why not start the jar for 2014? I think you'll be as surprised as I was as to how much good stuff happens. I wish you all the very very best for 2014

If you are on Facebook.... come and join our dedicated group: Good Things Jar 2013

Lance Cpl Ben Hyde - We Shall Remember Them

In memory of all those lost in battle.... but in particular Ben. The people of northallerton will NEVER forget.
Special warm hugs to John and Sandra today who lost their only son and who have devoted their time to the Ben Hyde Memorial Fund to raise money for others and their amazing courage and determination to see the 'Justice will be done'. We are all behind you xxx http://www.benhydetrust.org.uk/about-ben

Lance Corporal Ben Hyde was one of six Royal Military Policemen who died on24"'June 2003, killed by a mob in a fire-fight at a police station in the town of Al Majarr Al Kabir Southern Iraq.

A week in the life of.... Sue Simpson..... Anything can happen!

As most people who know me and are familiar with Inspired by Script know, the studio is open Tuesdays - Saturdays, so I try and catch up with my Blogging and paperwork on a  Monday. 

During busy times it's hard to blog as each job is completed and so I'll try at least to do a once a week post. Finally, I seem to have caught up with all the orders and this week (hopefully) I'll be spending time creating some new designs :-)

First item on the agenda last week were some table names for Nicky and Adam.... these are their Wedding Invitations so they had to match......

Again the gorgeous Kingfisher Blue foil was used and Nicky & Adam 

named each table after a type of butterfly.... lovely!

Then there were some Kingfisher Blue place cards to do 

for another Bride to match these Invitations here

who had chosen the same colour scheme......

I was at a Wedding Fair the week before and was approached 

by the lovely Constance from Connie's Cakes 

This is her work below and you can see more on her website

BY CLICKING HERE!

Connie makes the fab figures and her lovely mum bakes the cakes! 

Her and her mum had seen my Egg Cups 

and wanted me to do not only Egg Cups,

but a matching Bride and Groom plate and mug too.

I had to admit I hadn't done plates before,

but there's a first time for everything....

The plates were probably easier than the Egg Cup and Mug put together :-)

Then it was on to Enna and Stephens 

'On the Day' stuff.

I'd already made the Wedding Post Box,

And cut the hearts for the Seating plan....

but the Seating Plan is one of the last things to be made 

as my clients have to wait for last minute replies to their invitations.....

I took the inspiration from the hanging hearts,

which I really loved and worked well....

And .... there we have it....

The finished seating plan :-)

Then, some lush violet paint was mixed.....

And the place cards completed. 

Phew! A wide a varied week for me. It's so nice sometimes to do bits and pieces. It sort of keeps my mind flowing and my enthusiasm going. Don't get me wrong, I love creating the Wedding Stationery, but the 'On the Day' stuff is just as important to me. Variety id the spice of life.... or so they say :-)

And so came the weekend and I want to share this magic moment with you. .... Whatever the weather, Steve and I were determined to get out in the fresh air and blow off some cobwebs.  These days we seem to work all day everyday and find very little time for ourselves. So we decided to pack a picnic and get ourselves off to Studley Royal. (near Ripon, North Yorkshire). 

Steve especially had never seen Deer running free. At reception we were told the that even though they had around 300 deer there, the chances of seeing them were pretty remote..... but he managed to spot one and get a pretty good picture.....

And further on and round the corner..... we were blessed with this......

Whoooooah! That must be the whole damn herd then! 

I LOVE those MAGIC moments, do't you? 

Don't forget....

My website is at

  http://inspiredbyscript.co.uk

And you can call us on 01609 776 866 

during opening hours.

All photos and text

(c) Sue Simpson

Catching my breath! - A full and busy week at the Pixie's Magic Cottage....

I have to admit... Vintage is really

'Not my thing' however I couldn't help springing into action

when a friend needed an extra pair of hands.....

First the seating plan.....

And then the menus.....

To be honest.... when I had made them, I was quite taken with them.

Perhaps the soft greens and pretty pinks, brought out the romantic side of me?

I was asked if I could print peoples names on 

Wishing tree tags and 

still cut them out as hearts.......seems I can :-)

Then of course there was Gill and Peters

Dragonfly Inspired Invitations to make

You can read all about them here

The dragonfly really lends itself to the 

gorgeous Turquoise/kingfisher  Blue foil

Then there was an Order of Service to make

for Nicky and Adam, who get married in just 5 and half weeks.

they were made to match a previous order of Invitations......

Again... the gorgeous Kingfisher Blue foil 

is proving to be very popular! 

The I realised it was my son and daughter-in-laws

4th Wedding Anniversary.

I just HAD the urge to design something in Paper Cuts for them,

using a floating frame so that their stunning wall colours show through,

wherever they decide to hang is.....

And... last but not least....

A design for Lindsi and Kyle.

My very first order n Black Foil....

Adding some stunning and vibrant 

Hot Pink Ribbon, warms up the black.

Sexy or what?

And here's the order:

Wedding Invitations, Evening Invitations

and RSVP cards.... all done and ready to go.....

Tomorrow is the Wedding Fair at The Golden Lion Hotel, in Northallerton. Thankfully close by, so I can have a bit of a slow start.....Blimey! I think I need a holiday :-)

Want to be amazing at blogging? Here's how!

OMG! I just climbed out from under my rock and realised I have not updated this since long before Shakespeare wast a boy... You would not believe the fairy dust I have to clean up. But I'm sorry you'll just have to take my word for it..

I am totally and utterly flat out with an awfully big adventure, personal projects, just generally being Snow White to my cats, my day seems to be packed from 8am to sun down and beyond. I am not complaining though. life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you're going to get.

I swear on the bones of my ancestors to post at least once a month. Well, I'll try. What do you mean you don't believe me?.

As composed in The Lazy Bloggers Post Generator :-)

Actually.... the raw truth is... I've been snowed under with orders, I've been wrapped up with a pretty intensive and mind blowing on-line course, I've been developing 2 websites, working with others to mentor new businesses in the Wedding Industry and I've developed an awful addiction.... to Pinterest! 
SEE HOW ADDICTED HERE!  Ohhhh and in my leisure time, me and Steve are loving being Grandma RaRa and Grandpops.... and then there's the Zumba Classes! TOTALLY ME! 100% and my way of resting my brain from all the Bridal Business stuff :-) 

I'm over the moon that so many of my Blogger friends have found me on facebook and I'm fnding it far easier and instant to update on there than writing a whole blog post.... which I never seem to get round to doing.

So... if you're missing me.... come along and join in the banter on FB... or pop over and see my latest work on Pinterest. 

Until my next post.... MMMMMMMwah! 
Sue 'Pixie Sue' Simpson 

Personalised Wedding Stationery Made To Order - Gaynor & John

Well, we thought we had got away with it virtually scott free, but last nights snow really did come down. 

We decided to walk to work and after a bit of snow shovelling 

and a liberal sprinkling of salt.... it was business as usual.

This week has been particularly busy and there's been 4 Wedding Orders go out... probably my all time high for any week, since I started... and in fact this month is set to be the busiest ever!

Sometimes, someone comes through the door and has a clear idea of what they want... and yesterday, such a thing happened, quite by accident. 

Do you remember these.... The one on the left was one that a Bride had ordered off the internet. The Bride 'thought' she was buying from a UK company. The problem was, when they came they were all in polish or some odd language! They were reasonably priced yes, but actually came from China and it would cost a fortune to actually send them back!

You can read all about Kayleigh's experience on an earlier blog post titled Brides on a Budget - BEWARE!

The Wedding was pretty close, so I offered to try and sort something out for her. This is what I came up with.....

Kayleigh's Wedding Invitations came ina wrap around cover and we decided to keep these... and come up with a design that you could see poking out of the top corner.

Gaynor immediately spotted these and said "I want mine in wraps too!"  Now I hadn't made the original ones and the size was not standard to our UK paper sizes.... but with a big of jiggery pokery, I somehow managed to come up with something that fit....

The daytime cards were to be a bit more fancy and were to be enclosed in the wrap... my concern was that with all the extra card and the ribbon, they wouldn't fit in an envelope and until I had actually made them up, I couldn't be sure whether they would or not. Sometimes, Brides ask you to make something that' seems on the surface and easy enough task, but coming to make it can turn out impossible. 

Fortunately they do fit!

The Evening Invitations are printed and foiled on thicker card.
Card that would be just too heavy for folded cards. It was dark outside, and no matter how hard I tried, I just couldn't get the lighting right for good photos of these, but they are different, gave me a challenge and turned out pretty well I think.

For enquiries about this or any other item you see on my blog, contact me using this CONTACT LINK  or by clicking the contact tab at the top of this page.

DON'T FORGET! You can keep in touch with us by

 'LIKING US ON FACEBOOK'

All posts and photos (c) Sue Simpson

The Truth About The Wedding Business - Part 1

If I had listened to my business adviser, when I first started all those years ago, I would be where I am now.... only I would have got there quicker!

As many of you know, I've been a Calligrapher and Lettering Artist since 1988. My work has been wide and varied. Some jobs you want to do, others were quite frankly a pain in the bum. Each had it's own merits and challenges.

Professional, qualified, Calligraphers are getting pretty thin on the ground. We are becoming a specialised industry. While there are still plenty of Calligraphy Groups around, they are more 'interest' groups rather than anyone wanting to take on work and use their skills.

I live in North Yorkshire. The county is wide and spread out. Fewer people even know what a Calligrapher does these days, never mind needing their services and the ones that do are pretty reluctant to pay a decent hourly rate for the work involved.

"Surely, you just pick up a fancy pan,

 filled with ink and write, don't you?"

I wish it was that simple. The 'in' joke amongst Calligraphers is that you can become a brain surgeon in less time! And actually, it's not too far from the truth!

I remember, when John, my business adviser with Action For Blind People suggested I specialise in Wedding Stationery, I laughed! At the time I was lucky enough if I did 1 or 2 wedding orders a year. The thought of ditching all the other work, in it various guises, made my stomach churn. I just about made enough to keep the doors open at the studio. To ditch the small amount of work that was coming through seems nothing close to madness!

I resisted.... well, I actually, didn't resist fully, I made more of an effort as far as I was concerned, made up some Wedding Invitation portfolios and got them into shops.... the business didn't come my way and I continued to take on small jobs, which took a great deal of time and effort, but had very little reward.

I did this for a further 3 years. I did it till I could take no more. I felt the life was sucked out of me and this also coincided with the break-up of what I thought at the time was a 'perfect' relationship (Please excuse me here,while I laugh my stripy socks off!).

For the following year I took stock of not only my life, my relationship (and the no good for me characters, I seemed to attract!) but my business and my feeling towards that too. I'm a big believer in "If you always do, what you've always done, you'll always get, what you've always gotten!". Things had to change... I had to change! My attitude and my fears regarding my work had to change.... and change it did!

This wasn't over night... it was a long journey and there's lots to tell.... so I'll write more about this in another post...

I have things I need to 'get off my chest' and most of all, I hope my story, in time will give hope, inspiration and motivation to others. 

Personalised Birthday Card For My Mum!

It's been the busiest week ever!

And it's my mum's birthday tomorrow...

So the card was done in a hurry,

with not a spot of hand lettering in sight....

Plain and simple.

14.5 cm x 14.5 cm

Hand Made by Sue Simpson
at the studio of
Inspired by Script

Personalised Invitations and Wishing Tree Tags

Paul came to see me after we had first met some moths earlier. He'd been married for year and clearly didn't want or need Wedding Stationery.

What he did discuss was whether I could make some Birthday Invitations.... but with a twist.

Paul explained that it was not only his 50 th Birthday, but after 3 long years, it was also the end of his 9 year old sons treatment for Leukaemia. Therefore they were having a joint celebration!

Here's what we came up with....

Paul came back a little later and wanted to have a wishing tree instead of a guest book, then guests could wrote their wishes for both Paul and Thomas and would be a lasting reminder of their special day.

This is what I came up with......

I foiled the cards in 3 different colours....

Green, Purple and Blue.....

I then came up with a little poem...

OK so I'm no poet Laureate! :-)

The poem read:

Choose a card, Green, Purple or Blue,

Write on a wish, you want to come true,

Tie on string, attach to the tree,

Whisper those words and you let them go free!

It was nice to see the Wishing Tree and tags being used for something other than Weddings. In March, it will be used for a Baby's Christening :-)

We at Inspired by Script want to congratulate Paul on his
50 th Birthday and sending lots of love and special wishes for Thomas's continued health.