Sondra's Ink

Our Mad Teaparty : Alice in Wonderland

2011-06-09T15:30:00.003-04:00

Our Alice in Wonderland "Mad Teaparty" to celebrate Kate's 7th birthday! It was a BLAST!

Photos taken by the lovely Lynell of Lizzie Photo!

Please click on the photos for a closer look.

Food and beverages...

Don't worry... nobody grew or shrank at this party!

My good friends were also there to assist me!

Allison Bower (the very talented Makeup Artist)

and Dee Mitchell from Elements of Elegance

Here is our lovely photographer, Lynell,

a rare treat that she is in front of the camera!

Pictured are Allison, Dee, Lynell, and Me!

The Mad Hatter stocked the "Mad Hattery" with

foam top hats and all the fixings to decorate them.

We had cute photo props like

the Queen's smile and the Cheshire Cat's Smirk.

So the kids wore their hats and used the smiles...

And so did the grown ups!

Some of the characters who

made an appearance included...

The Red Queen

The White Queen

A deck of Cards (The Red Queen's Guard)

Dweedle Dee & Dweedle Dum

The Cheshire Cat

A couple more White Queens

A couple of Alices

The March Hare and The Mad Hatter

And all kinds of other characters!

We're all MAD here!

The Queen's Croquet Court was also a big attraction!

Flamingo mallets of course!

And hedgehog balls in true Wonderland tradition!

The Wonderland characters were the wickets!

Random Shots from the party!

We painted some roses red...

No, the Red Queen and the Mad Hatter

are not normally this chummy...

But the March Hare and the Mad Hatter are best friends!

You... Inked

2011-06-08T21:20:00.000-04:00

Here are the latest drawings I have done!

"You... Inked" Holiday Cards 2010... a small sampling

2010-12-17T09:16:00.000-05:00

Another custom drawing and Alice in Wonderland themed invites coming soon!

2010-04-13T21:55:00.000-04:00

Pictured here is the gorgeous Kasey with her handsome fiance Kevin.

This happy couple is getting hitched this weekend! They have a wedding party of 22 people!!

I drew them all! That was one HUGE wedding but it was also lots of fun to draw.

Coming up soon I will be posting my Alice in Wonderland inspired wedding invites.

Right now I am in the design stage but am so excited to share them with you

(but only after the bride-to-be gets the first peek of course).

On Spring Break!!!

2010-04-01T02:46:00.005-04:00

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Hello all!

I am currently on Spring Break with my family! We are so excited to be going to Disneyworld!!

I will be returning to the office on April 12, 2010.

I will intermittently be checking my email while we are gone.

Thanks so much for stopping by my blog!

Sondra Davis

On eightWest!!! Woohoo!

2010-03-31T12:32:00.000-04:00

Another custom drawing and some crazy cool zebra stripes!

2010-03-30T23:33:00.000-04:00

Below is the lovely Inna and her fiancee' Alexander.

I love that I was able to do something different with their pose. And her dress is quite lovely!

Below is a crazy cool hot pink, zebra themed, poker cards for the trendy Ashley Larcher!

Next I will be drawing her bridal party for her wedding programs.

Above: Outside when pocket is closed

Above: inside when pocket is open

Lindsey & Justain...

2010-03-30T07:58:00.003-04:00

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Gorgeous American girl (her dad is here in Holland, Michigan) goes to the UK to attend Oxford, where she meets gorgeous guy... Justain (pronounced Justin but a British spelling).

Lovely Lindsey contacted Graceful Expressions to address her invitation envelopes and stumbled upon Sondra's Ink through Jenn's website. Lindsey hired me to create an absolutely elegant invitation suite, programs, menus, and other reception goodies.

But Lindsey also hired me to do some fun custom drawings... I was excited to post these but I had to wait until after the wedding so the element of surprise was not lost! I am also DYING to see her professional wedding photos and her couture wedding gown by Austin Scarlett.

Above: The final Rehearsal Dinner Invitation

Above: Another version of the Rehearsal Dinner invitation (it's always raining in London).

Above: The "Welcome to Chicago" card that was in Guest's hotel rooms with Garret's Popcorn.

Above: The cover for a custom DVD that Lindsey made for her Bridesmaids!

Below: A few Facebook photos of Bride & Groom!

A Texas Wedding... Inked!

2010-03-26T10:00:00.002-04:00

One of my newest drawings for a sweet Texas couple!

Presenting Mr. and Mrs. Jonathan and Alexandra Schneider,

who got married yesterday in DisneyWorld!

Congrats you two!!! Have a great honeymoon!!!

Click on the drawings so see them larger and in more detail (give it a minute it's a big file).

Above is the entire wedding party. The bridesmaids gowns are Jenny Yoo in Peony Pink.

The gorgeous couple. She is wearing Maggie Sottero.

Photos of the bride and groom (upper right - four pics) and their bridal party.

To make it easier on me, there are two photos of each person (great idea Alexandra).

Can you find who's who in the drawing from the photos?

eightWest Wedding Party at Notos...

2010-03-25T02:38:00.007-04:00

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Well that was a fun crowd tonight at Notos! I went to meet a couple friends, to network, and to check out the space. I am so glad I went! I had fun at the event and then had a fun dinner with Dee (Elements of Elegance) and Amy (Amy Carroll Photography). A big "THANK YOU" goes out to the Channel 8 group at Bar Louie for picking up our tab. What an awesome gesture and a huge surprise! Good people and good times!

So anyways, onto the reason for this post. As most everyone knows, my favorite part of my job is drawing "You... Inked by Sondra's Ink." It's fun, unique, and truly one-of-a-kind. I have just begun marketing the line around the Grand Rapids and Holland area and I have been sort of stuck as to how to get the product in front of people other than through placing ads. So... tonight I went to Notos to see my friends with a goodie bag in hand for the show hostesses! Yep... I made custom note cards for Terri DeBoer and Rachael Ruiz along with some other samples. I think they turned out super cute!!!

Pictured below are the drawings.

Above is Terri and Rachael... it was really fun drawing people I see on TV every day!

Above... the lovely Terri DeBoer.

Terri has three teens and a busy career, soooo much to talk about there!!

I definitely want to hear her stories because I can probably relate to many

since I am also a mom (of four) with a passion for my work!

Above is the fabulous Rachael Ruiz.

My husband and I have been watching her career change over the past several years
and it's really great to see her in such a fun role on eightWest!

I also love that she is a working mom with a little one, it will be cool to get her perspective on life in general!

Chrissy... 2010 "You... Inked" bride

2010-03-09T09:00:00.001-05:00

Chrissy is sweet and sassy, a totally trendy bride. Her colors are hot pink and um... more hot pink!

We purposely did not draw in all the dress details so it can be a surprise to keep the groom (and guests) guessing. But this is the style of the dress, strapless with pick ups. Check out her shoes in the RSVP pic.

I am now in process of drawing her entire wedding party, but for now, here is the bride & groom!

New Logo for my friend Allison Bower, Makeup Artist Extrodinaire!!!

2010-02-06T17:12:00.002-05:00

I just finished up a super cute new logo for my friend Allison Bower.

She is an awesome person, great mom, and very talented glamour girl!

Enjoy these super cool images...

This is Allison...

This is her brand new logo...
(click on the image to see it larger and in more detail)

These are the lovely models from September's Bride in Holland. Makeup done by Allison of course!

We cordially invite you to attend the most elegant wedding event of 2010...

2010-01-25T20:32:00.003-05:00

The first annual Grand Rapids Experience is an elegant wedding event
spotlighting some of the most talented and sought after wedding professionals in West Michigan!

Be sure to visit Dee Mitchell (Elements of Elegance), Jennifer Buck (Graceful Expressions Calligraphy), and myself, Sondra Davis (Sondra's Ink), and ask us how we can make your wedding more beautiful, more personal, more unique, and more worry free! Between the three of us, we offer full wedding planning, partial planning, day of coordination, floral design, wedding stationery design & printing (invitation suites, programs, place cards, etc.) , and calligraphy (addressing, escort cards, seating scrolls, etc.).

Brought to you by Brooke Sheldon (Lilybrooke Events), it is going to be an upscale event that proves to be more than just an ordinary wedding show. It will be an extraordinary event you will not want to miss!

We hope to see you at the Grand Plaza Hotel, downtown Grand Rapids, on Sunday, March 7, 2010 between 12:00 pm & 5:00 pm.

One of my personal favorite photographers, Lynell Shooks (Lizzie Weddings), will be on site showing off her amazing skill behind the camera. One of the reasons I admire Lynell so much is that she captures the feeling of the wedding day, preserving it forever in emotional and storytelling images. She is truly an amazing woman, an awesome photographer, and a lovely person.

New custom christmas card design. Examples of four revisions for one job

2009-12-01T22:28:00.002-05:00

These are all four revisions of this Christmas card design. You can see how subtle differences make it even more personal. By changing the way the characters are standing, their facial expressions, and the props we decide to include, it makes all the difference!

Revision One:
Take notice of the font choice, the way the individuals are standing, Jennifer's facial expression, Steve is holding a plain coffee cup, and finally, the dog and cat are both accurate, albeit boring, renderings...

Revision Two:
They are now in a loving embrace their hands over her baby belly, Jennifer's dress is a bit more trendy, Steve is now holding a cigar, and the cat is now has more personality (batting at an ornament). The text has been changed to a bolder, all uppercase font.

Revision Three:
We went back to a coffee cup (he can't smoke around his pregnant wife for heaven's sake!), but now it's a holiday cup. They both have faces with more expression, Jennifer's eyes are now open, her nose is more defines, and she has a smirk on her face. Steve also has different eyes than before, a different mouth, and less curvy eyebrows. The bulldog is now wearing antlers to make him a more lively character. We have also changed the font once again.

Final Revision. Number Four:
For the final changes we decided to make Steve leaning more into Jennifer, almost like a hug with his head pointing more downwards towards her. We changed his eyes so it seems like he is focused on her instead of looking off at something else, his hair is lighter, and his nose is a bit more defined.

Introducing the new name.....

2009-10-02T09:34:00.001-04:00

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Officially the new name is You... Inked by Sondra's Ink. Congrats Renee Cross!

However, since the name was so similar to Rebecca's submission, I decided to give Rebecca a consolation prize of $40.00 in free Sondra's Ink product!

I am excited for the new name, I think it's clever.

Thank you to everyone who submitted a name.

Top five contest entries

2009-09-28T17:33:00.002-04:00

Ok- after consulting some of my business associates...
Our top five picks are below.

1. You... Inked by Sondra's Ink
2. Totally You Inked by Sondra's Ink
3. Happily ever rendered by Sondra's Ink
4. Personalized Portraits by Sondra's Ink
5. Pronounced by Sondra's Ink

Please vote off to the top right. Keep in mind these drawings are done for more than just weddings. I also do party invites, Christmas cards, baby showers, etc. The name should encompass all uses of the custom drawn line.

Please vote for your favorite off to the right...

2009-09-24T14:36:00.003-04:00

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Which font do you prefer? The top font, bottom font, or neither? Please vote now in the poll over in the right margin...

Question: Why do I set up the custom drawings backwards?

2009-09-14T12:16:00.011-04:00

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I have been asked many times why I always have the drawings backwards from how the bridal party actually stands in front of church.

The answer is... because it just seems to look more balanced this way! The guys are larger and their clothes are all black, it makes them appear heavier on the picture. The brain wants to process images from left to right and when the dominant image is on the right, it seems to mess with the flow. I do reverse the image if the couple requests it of course.

See the sample below. I'm interested to see which set up most people prefer so drop me an email at admin@sondrasink.com.

1. The way I usually draw them

2. The way they actually stand

NEW custom drawings from 2009 weddings...

2009-09-11T13:34:00.011-04:00

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Here are a couple more custom drawings from this year. The first drawing has two versions. One is with her wearing her bird cage veil, and the other is without. Click on the pictures for a closer view. Enjoy!!

CONTEST from Sondra's Ink Design & Printing...

2009-09-09T10:50:00.028-04:00

Submit a name idea for our custom drawn character product line and if yours is selected, you will receive a $100.00 gift certificate towards any Sondra's Ink designed or printed goods. The new product name must be original.

To enter please leave a comment with your entry.

Contest will be open until Friday, September 18, 2009.

The winner will be posted on Friday, September 25, 2009.

In case you don't know what the custom drawn line is all about...

This is our line of custom drawn couples, individuals, and wedding parties! Completely customizable for all different sizes, ethnic races, and personalities!

This line features a custom drawing from photos and/or descriptions of the individuals.

Custom Pocketfold Invitation Suite

2009-08-11T17:25:00.015-04:00

The gorgeous English Tudor styled St. Clair Inn, on the banks of the St. Clair River, was the location for Rene & Jeff's May 2009 wedding (more about the inn below). Using the Inn's logo as a starting point, I was able to create a luminous, yet understated, picture for their invitation suite. I love the results! The pocket folders are shimming gold leaf, the inside papers are all shimmering ivory. The invitation and outer tag are both layered with the shimmering ivory and a luxurious dark espresso stock that matched the brown text perfectly. Click on the photos to enlarge them. Use your back arrow to return to this page.

The St. Clair Inn has a total of 78 guest rooms (38 historic rooms and 40 modern rooms), a restaurant, lounge, spa, fitness room, and an indoor swimming pool. It also has Banquet and Conference facilities to accommodate intimate groups of 10 to large groups up to 200. This historic gem, built in 1926, is a true piece of Michigan history.

The Price as pictured above:
Pocket folder in Shimmering Gold Leaf: $1.50 each
Inner invitation on Shimmering Ivory: $1.25 each
Layer of Dark Espresso cover stock: $0.25 each
RSVP postcard printed (double sided) on 120lb Shimmering Ivory: $0.75 each
Front tag layered on Dark Espresso cover stock: $0.25 each
Additional Reception Enclosure on Shimmering Ivory: $0.50 each
Shimmering Gold Leaf Envelopes printed with return address on back flap: $0.35 each
Assembly: $1.50 each (+ postage for RSVP postcards)
Guest addresses printed (from Excel Spreadsheet): $0.25 each

Custom Kid's Ceremony Coloring Book

2009-08-10T18:18:00.017-04:00

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These super cute (and totally custom made) ceremony program/coloring/activity books are the perfect memento to give your child/teen wedding guests! Puzzles are all customizable, all fun facts are based on the bride & groom, and a simplified version of your ceremony is included on the inside cover. Assembly is included.

Cover (front on right and back on left)

pages 1 (left) and 10 (right)

pages 2 and 9

pages 3 and 8

pages 4 and 7

pages 5 and 6

The prices:
$50.00 for a custom design that you print yourself *
or
$1.75 each for white cover stock outer & standard white copy paper pages. Plus $20.00 design fee *.
or
$2.25 each for cover & all inner pages printed on white cover stock. Plus $20.00 design fee *.

More options:
Add $0.25 each for custom colored/shimmery cover stock covers.
Add $0.25 each for small pencil tied with ribbon.
Add $0.50 for crayon bundles tied with ribbons.

* This design fee includes three revisions, additional revisions are $5.00 each.

Custom drawing for a custom guestbook.

2009-07-23T07:55:00.004-04:00

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A custom drawing for Lisa & Brian! Click on the picture to see it larger.

In a pinch...

2009-07-22T13:32:00.027-04:00

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I am not a photographer... and I never will be. But in a pinch I am happy to report that I can fill in if I need to.

My new wedding clients, Stacey & Charlie, wanted a photo to seal their pocketfold wedding invitations. Between the crazy weather and the popularity of their wedding photographer, there was no opportunity available for a professional photo session before the invites are to be mailed (they need to be mailed by the end of this week). Stacey looked through her photos and could only find casual shots- none of which were a good match for her gorgeous invites.

So... I offered to take some shots in my back yard and by the pond in our neighborhood. The weather cooperated for the most part while they were here (it began pouring within minutes of them pulling away)!

Not too bad for a 15 minute photo shoot, some sprinkles, and an army of skeeters attacking us!! Of course it does help that they are a stunning couple!!

Alternatives to Wedding Traditions: First Dance

2009-06-13T11:26:00.007-04:00

As a non dancer myself, I would have loved nothing more than to come up with something other than the dreaded first dance. So... thank you to Offbeat Bride for posting this cool "Wedding Dance for Non-Dancers".

Whitney Lee is the photographer for Stephanie & Kevin's recent wedding.

Stephanie says: "I guess the main thing that made our wedding offbeat was that we tried to do things because we liked them or because they were important to us, rather than doing things because they're just always done at weddings.
We had a "First Rock Band" rather than a first dance. This was because we love Rock Band and we do not love to dance. It's definitely one of my best memories of the night; my husband on guitar, me on the drums, and all our friends and family surrounding us and belting out "Living on a Prayer." Exuberance all around. It was awesome."

Sondra's Ink Side Note... I do enjoy watching first dances very much, in fact they normally make me feel all mushy. I just happen to have been born with no rhythm and a serious case of stage fright.

Real Wedding Inspiration: Libby + Jeremy

2009-06-07T20:56:00.025-04:00

Libby & Jeremy

09.06.08

I HOPE YOU ENJOY THE DETAILS OF THEIR SPECIAL DAY.

VENDORS

Cupcake Tower & Small Cake: DeBoer Bakery, Zeeland

Wedding Gown: Casablanca, September's Bride

Bridesmaids Gowns: Watters&Watters, ordered online

Groom/Dads/Groomsmen/Ushers - Bunny Tuxedo, September's Bride

Ceremony: Calvary Reformed Church in Holland Heights

Reception: Boatwerks Waterfront Restaurant on the lawn

Stationery: Sondra's Ink

Photographer: www.clevercreationsphotography.com

Band: Names of James

Makeup: Smooch Beauty Boutique

Florist: Flowers Etc.

Fave part of the wedding decor:

The flowers were absolutely amazing, but our own touches were my favorite aside from that...

1. We had our guests sign antique water skis instead of a guest book. My dad is an antique collector and so the pair of water skis we used for our wedding was from his 10-plus pair collection. I inherited my love of antiques from him and so that was also why it was special to me/us. We moved to Colorado in October and the skis didn't fit in the car. They will be mounted to a wall in our next place though! They turned out awesome!

2. We put the place cards in a large 6' piece of driftwood my mom found on the beach.

We plan to turn the driftwood piece (which we had sawed lines into) into a photo holder...

The wedding was obviously nautical themed...it turned out so AWESOME!

Fave moment of the actual wedding day/night (most memorable):

We didn't see each other before the ceremony, so the moment I entered the sanctuary and caught his eye, I never looked away. All the way down the aisle...I was so happy!

Another of my favorite moments was the "little girl dance". Instead of a wedding party dance, we had our four flower girls dance to "shake your booty" with us and we threw up a bunch of boas and beach balls..

it was SO much fun!

Any advice to future brides?

Enjoy the planning - I had a "no fuss" rule. If we started fussing, we simplified and moved on.

Also, stick to your guns. the "us" details were my favorite and differentiated our wedding from the next.

Last, remember you can aim for perfection but you have to accept that a kid may scream or a bridesmaid may have bad shoes...get over it! It's so much more than that... :)

Any bloopers?

No real bloopers actually! I thought our 4 flower girls could be problematic (2 age 3, 2 age 5) but they were PERFECT! They dropped every petal and were adorable!

But...Jeremy was warm and his hands swelled with nervousness so it took me a bit to get the ring on!

Affordable handmade formal dresses

2009-04-30T07:51:00.010-04:00

Wow! There are so many things I want to blog about, but so little time to do it now that wedding season is upon us! But for this great find I am going to take the time and just do it!

Anybody who follows my blog knows my oldest daughter is one-of-a-kind. She aims to not be like everyone else when it comes to everything, especially formal events. With prom coming fast for us, we found ourselves looking again at vintage dresses to makeover into the perfect unique dress. But this time I knew it would be hard to get the alterations done since it's also super busy at September's Bride and their seamstress is most likely crazy busy.

This dilemma prompted me to get creative and to do some ETSY.com searching using the "homemade" and "vintage" tags...

What I found blew me away!!! Seller, Cherrypievintage, had a gorgeous dress listed for $130.00 and it was handmade. The problem is that it was tea length and Lexie had her heart set on floor length. So I "convo'd" her and asked if I could purchase one full length and in Lexie's exact measurements for $150.00. And she said YES!!! Better yet, she had it done over the following weekend, shipped it for $8.00, and I got it two days later!

From start to finish the entire event took place in seven days!! My question was emailed to her on April 8 and I had the dress in hand on April 15! Better yet, it fits Lex like a glove (I will post the pictures of her in the dress after prom).

Even better... she could have even done it in a custom color for the same basic price if we had wanted that option! Unbeleivable value and service!!!

Of course this made me think that it would be really neat to have custom handmade bridesmaids dresses! And it's so totally affordable! We are planning to alter the dress after Prom into a tea length semi-formal dress so it can be worn again someday.

WOW! Taylor Grey Photography

2009-04-10T15:00:00.009-04:00

Those of you who follow my blog already know I LOVE posting pics of my kids- they are all sooo cute after all! But I was really excited to see these gorgeous shots of my oldest daughter.

These are a few of the photos that Kerri, from Taylor Grey Photography, took.
Aren't they stunning??? I am so fond of the urban edge that Kerri has.

Lexie will be a Senior next year! Where has the time gone???

All better!

2009-03-16T14:28:00.003-04:00

Are you sick of my kids yet? Here they are again!