happy friday: weekend reading

To wake up this morning and read Jack and the Beanstalk to my son and his classmates (I got the biggest smile and hug from him when I was done), get home to some pretty William Arthur envelopes to make them stunning with calligraphy, and get a text from my hubby that says "You rock mama.....I love you" MADE MY MORNING!!! :) It all felt right and balanced - being with the ones I love and doing what I love. And the text - icing on the cake ;) Thanks babe! *blushing*

When I heard about the book 'The Big Enough Company' I was drawn to it because it's all about creating a business that fits in your own space - the right mix - giving your all to your clients and business partners while fulfilling your personal goals and needs as well.  

I am just a few pages in but learning quite a bit already and  hope to cozy up this weekend to read more. I'll post a review and my thoughts once I am done! 

Happy Friday!! You rock too! :)

mm ink photo shoot prep: color inspiration

Woooooo-weeeeeee! Wedding season is in full swing here at MM Ink, and I love the variety of ink colors I am working with (brides are loving copper, gold, navy, charcoal, and all shades of green) and the calligraphy styles I am doing! I have also been busy with logo designs for some wonderful business owners getting ready to launch/relaunch their brand. I love them all and I cannot wait to update the website with new invitations, monograms, branding work and features!  A massage is definitely high on the priority list too ;)

I am also working on the next MM Ink photo shoot for the website and my marketing materials. This is an exciting process for me but a bit challenging putting together the right color palette, props and stationery to showcase my work. So I have prepared the to-do list and I am working on the color palettes for the shots. Here is a look at the inspiration for one of the color schemes. I love these colors!

Top left pinned here
Top right pinned here
Bottom left pinned here
Bottom right pinned here

happy friday: art and lettering fun

This week, I spent a bit of time finalizing my plans for calligraphy workshops that I will be attending this year. Continuing education and honing my craft are very important to me; and I am looking forward to learning new techniques and enjoying the time with other calligraphers!  My first workshop for the year is next month with Yves Leterme, an amazing contemporary calligrapher from Belgium. The workshop will be all about capturing that energetic feeling in your lettering - I cannot wait!!!!!! I'll be sure to post pics of my lettering adventures and fun practicing!

While planning, I went through my work from a calligraphy convention I attended last year and I really enjoyed the watercolor and lettering workshop I did while there. It was a 1/2 day session and this picture below is one of the mini projects I worked on. Fun! Fun!

Happy Friday!

Artwork and Calligraphy by MM Ink

mm ink's place cards on the wedding chicks!

It is such a special treat to see my calligraphy on The Wedding Chicks blog! One of their posts today features a Masquerade styled shoot with lots of purple and gold - gorgeous! And I love the green accents throughout; including the ink color I used for the place cards.

So hop on over to the Wedding Chicks blog for the full post and all the stunning photos! A special thanks to Wedding Chicks, Janie and Dana!

Calligraphy by MM Ink

Photography: Katelyn James

Event Stylist: Dana Fitzgerald

Floral Design: Janie Medley

calligraphy work: monograms

I love designing monograms! I usually start by doing rough pencil sketches of my ideas and then get working on the hand lettering using ink. Or sometimes I just go for it with ink and see where my hand takes me.  Here are some monograms that I have done for several of the sweet couples I have had the pleasure of working with (you can see more samples of my monograms here).

Have a Happy Easter weekend and I'll be back with a post next week!

Calligraphy by MM Ink