50th Birthday Book

Orders for bookbinding come few and far between these days, so when they do I jump at the chance, especially where there's a fun element in them.

This one, in it's gorgeous peacock blue cover matched the foil perfectly. The lettering was foiled both on the outside plate and the inside page.

Japanese binding is most suited to loose leaves as there is no need to sew sections together and the raw edges at the spine binding can add to the decorative feature.

These books or albums can be made as guest books or photo albums depending on the paper inside. This one is A4 in size and has 110gsm paper in. The paper is thick enough for guests to write their stories in and not have any 'bleed through' no matter what pen is used.

I love making personalised books and wish I did more. Sadly, the price of mass produced books makes orders come few and far between....except when people want something EXTRA SPECIAL and are prepared to pay for the time and effort bookbinders put into each one.

You can see more of my books and albums by clicking here

Wedding Thank You Cards

It's been a busy week.....Here's the latest items made to commission at the studio. A set of 80 Wedding Thank You Cards, foiled in a beautiful satin green......

The foil colours come in 14 colour which you can see here.

Foiling as opposed to simple printing gives an overall more classy feel.

Amy and Ian wanted something that would match the flavour and theme of their Wedding Invitations and Seating Plan.

You can see more of my Wedding Stationery at http://northyorkshireweddings.blogspot.com or on my flickr page at

http://www.flickr.com/photos/30445846@N06/sets/72157627904951060/ where you will find lots of ideas if you or anyone you know is getting married in the coming months. Email me (Sue) at inspiredbyscript@yahoo.co.uk if you have any questions. We are here to help.

I'm still here.....and not AWOL.....

It seems forever since I last posted here and to all intents and purposes it would be easy to believe I have given up on lettering altogether....but I've been busy writing articles for The Creative Spirit.

You can see the full set of my Motivational and Inspirational Lettering Art by clicking on the link HERE.

It's been great fun taking time off from conventional and traditional calligraphy and letting go and being a bit more free and easy with my letters. Quirky? Yes! Kitsch? Yes probably....and a whole lot of fun and everyone loves them! :o)

Over the winter, I need to get my website kicked into shape....both my http://inspiredbyscript.com site and my http://northyorkshireweddings.co.uk site. Both need a lot of time sorting out the chaff from the wheat. a great project for the dark evenings.

So I will be back soon....in the meantime you can keep up to date by visiting http://the-creative-spirit.blogspot.com see you there xxx

Inspired by Script on FLICKR

Just a quick post.....

Here's the link to my FLICKR PAGE

http://www.flickr.com/photos/30445846@N06/

Sadly, adding it to my side bar just didn't work.....

so make sure you bookmark it won't you?

Enjoy! :o)

Mini-Doodles....more Doodle Fun!

After posting about these doodles I thought I would also share some mini doodles in the hope that it would spur others on to have a go.

The advantage of doodling is that it takes very little time and even less in equipment. They can be picked up and put down on a whim. Most of all, they are fun :o)

The paper squares are pre-cut using a square punch and kept in a box ready for decoration. Below we start with a few flowers, a sun, a butterfly and a heart.....

And if you don't feel confident in doodle pictures,

you can always start with patterns......

Here's a close up of some of the mini doodles......

I LOVE hearts.....who doesn't?

And a simple flower design.....

Gestural patterns are good....

dots, swirls and wavy lines....

And, painting over the lines

in a haphazard way

adds to their delight....

Try them....I find them very meditative.

Perhaps I'll use these on some cards

as I have a few birthdays coming up soon.

REMEMBER: Don't take yourself too seriously or be too critical when doing these. The operative word here is FUN and try and connect with the child within :o)

Revisiting a Childhood Passion for Doodling...

I'm not known for my expertise in drawing and painting. I have drawn and painted in the past, but these days it take me all my time to paint between 2 lines. If I need artwork in any commission, I usually leave it to someone who actually calls themselves an artist. I have an ingrained saying in my head which repeats: 'If you can't (insert word here), don't prove it'. As in 'If you can't draw, don't prove it' (or something similar.

Now....I have a bug.....something I can't seem to shake off.....and it all started with a set of these.......

They are water based, brush pens....

innocent enough.....or so they would have you believe!

Add to these a permanent fine line pen and a water brush,

start to doodle a pattern, fill in with colour and add water

to give this effect.......

Of course, with my background in lettering, and nothing seeming to be complete without letters of some kind....I just had to add some Motivational quotations.

I found these to be really addictive. They sent me way back into my childhood of long winter days sat at the table drawing and doodling, with nothing more than paints, pencils and a sketch pad to keep me happy.

It seems that some things never change. I am still easily satisfied....just give me the colour and the water and remind me of those 'Special Quotes' that keep me going when times get tough.

I had no reason or ultimate goal for these when I first started them. I was simply flying free and having fun. I had no intentions of showing them to anyone.....but they have materialised into......drum roll please.....

Fridge Magnets!

Scanned and printed onto magnets, which will be for sale in the Gallery of Inspired by Script for £1.50 each.

At the moment I have more backgrounds and ideas than I have quotations. I love collecting quotes and especially motivational and inspirational ones.

How wonderful it is sometimes just to change direction, even if only for a little while. Thought of childhood are bringing back nostalgia and happy times with my family. The quotations remind me of the need to stay positive, no matter how bleak the world looks at times.

What is your favourite motivational quotation?

Vintage Order of Service and Menu

The last things to be made for any wedding, apart from the seating plan (See them here) are the Order of Service and Menu.
These Vintage Style Order of Service and Menus were done to compliment the Vintage Wedding Invitations seen here

They are both A5 size, approximately 14.7cm x 21cm

Cream hammered card with white inserts.

Inspired by CREATIVITY

I love working to commissions, but now and again it's nice when you get a little bit of 'me' time. I also love doodles and gestural marks.....so at the end of the last Wedding order I had time for a little play......

Creativity comes from having an open mind to new ideas,
Constantly questioning the established rules

Though rarely does it come on those days

When you set out to be creative - Raymond Blanc

I'm not sure what I will use these for just yet, or even if I will use them at all....but I certainly had fun playing for a while and I'm sure that with a little more play, something will develop.

All spruced up....

It's really hard to believe it but I have been down the yard for 9 years and in this studio for6 1/2 years! Not only did the inside gallery need a spruce up, but the outside was also in need of a good lick of paint.
The purple door was just the colour I was looking for and with a new sign in the entrance to the yard, customers are finally getting to know where I am and what I do. I love the new look :o)

What a difference a new floor makes!

For quite some time I've been complaining about the lighting in the Gallery at Inspired by Script. We have thought about a few ways of making this better.....but it was only when I was looking in from the outside I realised that it was the flooring that was absorbing the light!

Well, after being in the present building for 6 and a half years...

I decided the old lady needed sprucing up

and it was time for a change.......

WOW! What a difference! We really can't believe

how much more space

we seem to have.

The room not only looks cleaner and more inviting,
but wider too! MUCH wider!


Some times the smallest changes....

Can make the biggest differences....

Isn't that true in life too?

I did get a bit of a shock when I got into work today though....

forgetting about the new floor....

I thought I had been burgled :o)

Maintenance wise, it's gonna take more work....

I hate cleaning at the best of times....

but I think that it will be a small price to pay.

Happy Pixie!

Shaun & Mandy - Made To Order - Hot Pink and Silver Wedding Stationery

I've already blogged about these gorgeous Wedding Invitations over at my Wedding Blog by I just had to share them on here....

I was asked to make the Wedding Invites using Hot Pink Ribbon and printed insert and silver Foil Decoration to the card. We thought that Hot Pink foil may be a little overpowering.

As a special gift, I invested in 20 bespoke Keepsake boxes which not only make it a pleasure handing them over, but personalised and with matching ribbon can be used as a keepsake box to be used afterwards to keep the Bride and Grooms cards and memories in. I also offer them for sale to Brides who have bought their stationery elsewhere.

I made a matching Silver Foiled tag and the Hot Pink Ribbon just make the box look fantastic. The Bride and Groom seem to like it too.

I was also asked to make little cards for this wedding order, asking the the nicest possible way for money instead of gifts....this is a difficult one for newly weds today, but with an increasing number of people setting up home before they get married, I think people are no longer offended by this and lets face it, it relieves guests from having to come up with something special.

Gone are the days of 25 sets of bathroom scales, 6 toasters and 3 kettles.

Made-To-Order, personalised, foiled, Wedding Invitations.

One thing we are proud of at Inspired by Script, is the ability to come up with new and fresh ideas, based around what the client wants.
These cards started out as the 'Simply Stylish' design. but the customer wanted it 'Foiled' and with a Hot Pink, organza ribbon.

I had already done a similar design for Hannah and Robert but without the ribbon and in a different format. Because each Bride and Groom is unique it's nice to be able to work with them to create something that fits their personalities and no two designs work out exactly the same, so they have something that is not only unique but very personal and it's nice that they feel a very big part of that.

I have been using 2mm, satin ribbon, but I've found that keeping them tied tight has become too much of a problem and so I've switched to Organza ribbon and I think it looks fantastic!

The outside of the card is foiled with the Bride and Grooms name in Silver and the insert is printed in hot pink to match the ribbon. The cards measure 15cm square which gives them an overall more elegant look.

The price of these cards including envelopes are on special offer at the moment and are £3 each on orders taken before the end of September.

For further details, contact me (Sue) on inspiredbyscript@yahoo.co.uk

Another, Beautiful, Seating Plan from Inspired byS...

North Yorkshire Weddings - Blog: Another, Beautiful, Seating Plan from Inspired byS...: "Another seating plan, this time in beautiful Ivory and soft green, and with a few red hearts, sprinkled about to match the Egg Cups . Th..."
To continue reading and see pictures click here

'LIKE US' on Facebook!

Along with many, many, other fantastic businesses and creators,

Inspired by Script has it's very own Facebook page.....

and now.....we even have our unique and simple URL!

http://facebook.com/InspiredByScript

To keep up to date with all the goings on at the studio....come along and 'Like' us.

If you can't visit us in person, this is a great way to stay in touch and be the first to know our latest products.

We are happy to connect and promote other makers too....so make sure you add a comment on our wall! See you on the 'Other Side' lol.

A Personalised Birthday Card Using Cut Letters and Foiled Print

It's some time now since I bought my Foil Machine and Plotter and I must admit that it's taking some time to get to grips with the plotter....but I'm a winner not a quitter and quitters never win.

The programme has a language of it's own and they don't come with a user manual. I think they expect anyone who uses one of these to be 'In The Know' so to speak....so it's been a steep learning curve, but fun along the way.

It's my Sister-In-Laws Birthday on Monday and I decided to try and excel myself and use both the Foiler and the Cutter in one design.... I just didn't think it would take me a day to create it lol.

First the foiling way printed in a gorgeous hot pink and then the cut lettering was done making sure that the letters were cut within the already printed design....a lot of mistakes and trials to get this far :o)

The letters will come in handy as next year I'll just glue the cut ones onto a piece of card....well it's a thought! The name came out in one piece as I made sure that each of the letters was connected to the ones either side.

I then trimmed away the bottom edge of the card and inserted a beautiful purple to set off the lettering. I just love the shadows made by cut letters don't you?

All in all, I'm over the moon with the results, but unless someone wants to pay me a days work or I get pretty much faster at these I will not be offering them for sale at the Inspired by Script studio or on the website.

They are however stunning and if you are on my birthday list, I may very well repeat these cards for my friends....time permitting of course :o)