the valentine’s day shoot.

It’s all about the photos!

Selling stationery can be challenging since most of my marketing is done virtually through social media, newsletters and Pinterest.

Luckily, I love to plan a fun photoshoot. It brings me back to the days of working events. The decor was naturally, my favorite part. A photoshoot is very similar to decorating an event except it’s a smaller area. It is all about the details, after all…

What props do I use? What do I wear? How do I want the photos to look and feel? What is the color story? What is the vibe? How do I make my stationery stand out? What’s trending and how do I make it my own?

All important questions I ask myself before honing in on the theme. And then it’s time for Pinterest.

I use Pinterest as a general guideline. Finding a color palette I like. Seeking out poses I can imitate. And so on.

Now that I have those questions answered, it’s time to order props and gather my team.

I am so blessed to have found Anushka. She is pictured above! Anushka has become my right hand marketing buddy, social media master and creative therapist. We make monthly marketing plans and work together to execute each goal. She helps with outreach, newsletter creation, sharing her input on the new artwork I’m designing and so much more.

When it comes to these photoshoots, it’s really difficult for me to not be behind the camera. I am so specific about the look I’m going for and it encompasses all the things. How does the frame look, how do I look, how does the product look, Is the lighting right, etc. The questions never end really.

So now here I am modeling while my bestie Greg takes the photos. And he’ s so talented! But he’s not in my head. But Anushka kind of is. Having her on the other side of the camera, posing me and giving me pointers from the sidelines, is everything. Plus the 3 of us have such a blast while Greg secretly thinks about killing us both, probably. Love him.

Did we also moonlight as cake decorators for this shoot? Why yes, we did. Anushka found these cute cakes with some pink piping along the base in Stew Leonards and she picked up some store bought pink icing in a piping tube so that we could add a little more to the cake ourselves. And then of course, threw some cute raspberries and glitter on there.

Initially I wanted cherries on the cake so it was the same as the cake I painted in the card seen above. I did not realize that maraschino cherries are sold without the stems! Or at least the one’s that I bought were. So it’s all about a pivot. The stemless cherries weren’t doing it so these gorgeous raspberries from Trader Joe’s took over. Flexibility is key here to keep things moving and still get the shots. and it’s so cute so who cares that it’s not a cherry, right?

Thank you for reading my blog! I hope the content gave your eyes a visual treat and you’ll think of me for your future stationery needs!

I always a 10 card bundle listing so you can gather a handful of cards for those occasions that pop up on you PLUS you get a sweet discount when you buy in bulk!

Happy Valentine’s Day, love you all!

xx Stephanie

Goin’ custom.

I’m not here to tell you how much you “should” spend on your wedding stationery. That is certainly not my place and it also would mean, there is one right answer. Which there is not. 

The first question everyone needs to ask themself about all major decisions in life is, “What is important to ME?” [ what are my values? ]

Once you have that answer, your decision making process will become much smoother. 

Now if you answered the above question with any or all of the below, we might be a match made in heaven…

• Hand painted, one of a kind artwork

• Personalized details that are like no other stationery out there

• A beautiful, colorful pile of paper that will live rent free in my guests memories, forever

• Stationery that feels more like a keepsake

• Artwork I will want to frame and look at in my home

• Tells my love story

Now that we are an ideal client / vendor match, you may be shopping between different artists who offer similar services. There are so many talented wedding stationery artists out there and you have to find the one who’s painting style speaks to you and who works with your allotted budget. 

For me, I know right away when I look at art and design if it leaves an impression on me. One I keep thinking about and coming back to. And that’s when I know I want that art in my life. I need it, actually. If you feel that way when you look at an artist's work, you probably found your person. It’s a little like falling in love. 

One of my core values as an artist is not only to make invitation suites that will amaze your guests, excite them for your big day and make them feel compelled to hang your invitation up on their fridge or cork board. In addition to all of that, I want the artwork to live beyond the duration of time between being opened and attending your wedding day. After all, the wedding is just the beginning of this incredible adventure you and your person are embarking on. I aim to paint artwork that is so special, you want it printed especially on beautiful, archival watercolor paper in any size you want, to be framed and hung. Making your new house together, a real home. 

There are so many options when it comes to making your wedding stationery, forever art. I will provide you with all of these details and options when we begin working together or at the end of our time together so you can decide what works best for you! 

And in the meantime, if you read this blog post and felt an instant connection, let’s work together! I’m currently booking 2023 weddings from August - December and 2024 wedding clients. 

I can’t wait to paint your vision to life! 

the written word hits different.

I actually hated Valentine’s Day just a few years back. I was kind of like, too cool for romance growing up. I think I was embarrassed to want displays of love given to me? Why? I’ll take it up with my therapist and get back to you. 

Now that I’ve been married a few years [ 7 but who’s counting ], have 2 children, little to no time for romance and am most days just trying to figure out what the hell to eat for dinner that will sustain me until morning, I welcome some major displays of love and affection from my husband. It’s like needed and required to make the marriage work, honestly. 

When you’ve been married awhile with children you know, your own needs can be forgotten while you prioritize the small people in the house. It’s crucial to make time for yourself and for your relationship so Valentine’s day has become one of those excuses to make time for ‘us’ and I’m all about it. 

When it comes to making Valentine's day special for you, that can look different for different folks. Some like to go out, some like to stay in. Some want to connect with communication, some want to connect physically. And some want both. It’s okay to be greedy on the day of love, you deserve all the kinds of connection you can get. If you’re like me, you know you can’t go wrong starting out with some hand written words of love, appreciation and adoration. 

Some of my favorite sentiments to write to my husband for Valentine’s day are…

Sassy + humorous:

“ To my sexy husband, Happy Valentine’s day! You are everything I want and need and I’m so lucky to have you by my side every step we take through this adventure called life. Thank you for loving me every day, even when I annoy the shit out of you. Let’s have some fun tonight ;)” 

Sweet + thoughtful

“ Dear John, I love you more than words can say. You are always there for me when I need you and I appreciate everything you do, more than you know. I’m so grateful for this life we have built together and can’t wait to celebrate our love together tonight. Happy Valentine’s Day!”

Go ahead and steal either one of those or combine them and give them your own flare! I’ll never stop believing in the importance of words. Written words hit different. 

the personalized gift we all need!

SANTA TRAYS! The perfect, personalized gift for only $50!

Logan asked me just the other day…

L: “Mom, after halloween is Christmas right?”

S: “Yes it is!”

L: “And then santa brings presents and we leave out the cookies and the milk?”

S: “That's right! On the special board, you remember?”

L: “Yeah and also we have to leave carrots for the reindeer”

So in short, these boards are so memorable for the littles ones and creating special moments with my kids is priority above all else!

The top left is the same on everyones boards!

The bottom right is where you get to customize the name [s] !

ITEM DETAILS:

• laser engraved design

• 1/4” thick wood

• rounded corners

• smooth edges [ no splinters! ]

• will last a lifetime if wrapped carefully for storage [ bubble wrap will do! ]

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TO ORDER:

• EMAIL INFO@STEPHANIETARA.COM

• Tell me the personalized first name[s] / last name you want engraved on the board

• Tell me your shipping address

• I will send you an invoice

• Once the invoice is payed, your order will go in the queue!

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the holiday gift edit.

Hi, I’m Stephanie and I’m addicted to gift wrap. I have an entire Pinterest board dedicated to gift wrapping ideas and I will dedicate hours to wrapping a gift just so. If you're like me, you always have extra ribbon and bows lying around to make a gift extra lush and exciting to open. It's just who we are and you can't stop us!

I’m so happy you’re here in my world of obsessing over details, playing with magical stationery and giving gifts!

Now that we’ve established we are all the same here, let me show you my favorite little creations for the holiday season! … GIFT TAG SETS! Each set features one of my original, magical little paintings of a nostalgic, cheerful and usually, PINK holiday scene.

They are all packed in clear boxes, 8 tags per set with precut ribbons! The paper that I print all of my stationery on is the MOST luxe. You absolutely will not want to throw these tags away.

Scrapbook with them or put them up on your cork board for extra, decorative cheer!

Sometimes I even use more than one on a gift JUST BECAUSE IT’S PRETTY!

"Not just to tie around a box"

That line reminds me of ‘The Santa Claus’ when the secret agent elves say,

"Tinsel, not just for decoration"

One of the best scenes in the movie, IMO.

Thank you for reading along and supporting a small business this holiday season!

Click below to shop my collection of holiday gift tag sets and more!

the holiday home edit.

Every family has holiday traditions and they are all special! For us, it's all about baking together and being in the kitchen...and this includes my kids! They always want to be around the grown ups and we love it! But sometimes we also need to keep the kids entertained while we get the adult stuff done like cooking dinner or pulling the cookies out of the hot hot oven ;) 

 Crayons and WASHABLE markers are always at the ready in my kitchen so I can distract the littles with coloring time at their little table at a moment's notice!

I consider myself to be a pretty decent baker aka great recipe finder and follower. I’m a LOVER of desserts so my taste is particular! I always tell my husband when we’re ordering dessert at a restaurant to stick with me. I choose the good ones ;) 

 It’s the same when I do my own baking at home. Reading recipes at night is relaxing and helps me learn what I like about certain recipes so I can easily spot them while researching. My favorite baker for cookies, cupcakes and cakes has been Sally from Sally’s Baking Addiction, for probably the last 5-10 years! 

 I’m going to link some of my favorite recipes from her for the holidays below, including the PHENOMENAL chocolate chip cookies from this photoshoot! 

The BEST chocolate chip cookies: https://sallysbakingaddiction.com/chocolate-chip-cookies/

Freaking amazing snowball cookies: https://sallysbakingaddiction.com/toasted-pecan-snowballs/

Part of the holiday fun in the kitchen is of course, the atmosphere! The festive music, twinkly garland and all the cozy holiday decor! This year I am so excited about my new holiday tea towel designs! 

 I originally launched these last January for Valentine’s day and they became a bestseller! When my customers tell me what they like, I keep it coming! I have 2 magical holiday designs to choose from…or don’t and just splurge on both! They are all hand painted by me and printed in the US on cotton flour sacks. 

 I love gifting tea towels with a bottle of wine or home baked goodies to our child care workers [ who are like family ], teachers and friends! They’re also great for coworkers and family gifts! Every year these towels can be pulled out to bring some cheer in the kitchen! 

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homemade vanilla extract!

If you’ve been here awhile, you remember back in 2020 when I first posted about making your own homemade vanilla extract! I gave you the material links and provided the free download for the cute labels you can stick on each bottle! I’ll review all the details below so you can join in the fun again this year! I know I will be handing these out to just about everybody I know!

Below are two different blog post links!

• Check out THIS BLOG POST to get a free coloring printable for your kiddos!

• Check out THIS BLOG POST to get the vanilla extract rundown!

If you make these, please post and tag me on instagram so I can see the festivity!

Thanks for reading!

xx Stephanie

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CLICK HERE FOR THE FREE vanilla extra label sheet download!

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real wedding, Lauren + Daniel.

photo credit: Pat Furey Photography, @patfureyphoto

Look at that LOVE! It’s radiating. I could barely contain myself as I scrolled through this wedding gallery for Lauren + Daniel. Lauren inquired with me awhile back about her wedding stationery and was what I call an ‘ideal client’ which means, she loves gorgeous, hand painted artwork and wanted it everywhere! I was so excited to start working with her. Plus Lauren and Daniel got married at The Roundhouse in Beacon, NY which is one of my favorite Hudson Valley towns! I’m still waiting for someone to invite me to a wedding at this venue because that food is divine and the atmosphere is classic upstate NY vibes.

Lauren was a dream from start to finish! She was both confident in her wedding vision and also comfortable with letting me take it and run with my creativity to bring her stationery to life. I love when people come to me with their color palette, florals and all around ‘vibe’ for their celebration of love and know I’ll be able to design the perfect paper goods to tie it all together! I created vow books, a welcome sign, signature cocktail sign, escort cards, menu card, table number cards, itinerary and map card combo, welcome bag hang tags and finally, the Ketubah [ which can be seen in the photo above! ]. Designing all of these pieces together created the perfect cohesion throughout the entire celebration. Their wedding was romantic, playful, nature filled, etherial and full of love!

Below are some of my favorites from the gallery!

Photo credit: Pat Furey Photography, @patfureyphoto

vintage postage for your invites.

Using vintage postage on your envelopes is like telling a story. There’s something magical about those little squares and rectangles with the squiggly edges and endless variety of small photos and artwork within them that makes a letter in the mail even more special. We often forget the magic of snail mail and it’s one of the reasons I’m so passionate about mailing wedding invitations, as opposed to sending them digitally. I do see the appeal to virtual invites. More convenient, more cost efficient, etc. All of that is a personal choice and I’ll never tell another person what is right for them. But what’s right for my clients is creating a personalized stationery experience. And it truly is an experience. When you receive a tangible wedding invitation in the mail, what do you do? You stop. You open the envelope a little more carefully than you would with say, a credit card statement. You slowly lift the flap to reveal the beautiful, cherished invite tucked inside. You slide it carefully out of the sleeve to see who sent you this invitation to celebrate their life, love and new adventure. Where will the celebration take place? What will you wear? Will it be a DJ or a band? Does it even matter when you get to dance the night away? It’s a moment to stop. To pause everything. It’s like a little vacation has been planned for you and all you need to do is show up in the outfit. If that doesn’t sound fun, you have come to the wrong place!

Before the stamps are applied, I go to work investigating the perfect combination of postage artwork to reflect you, your wedding and your style. Like I said, the postage is telling a story and it’s almost like a clue to your guests on what is to be revealed inside! I have an array of vintage postage sources. Some will custom curate a collection for a fee, based on the design details provided. Other sources offer the postage individually by design and I do the curating myself for each client!

• Please note, the cost of vintage postage is more than double the amount of standard USPS postage due to their covenant nature. They also require more time to source, curate and apply, so this is to be considered when thinking if your timeline and mailing date!

With vintage postage, one thing to keep in mind is the application. Normally they come in a sheet with a dried adhesive glue on the back side that needs to be moistened in order to stick. It’s not like the sticker style of our modern day stamps! The way I apply the vintage postage is by first tearing the stamps apart using the dotted tear line. I then set up a moist sponge and a cup of water next to me so I can continue wetting the sponge as needed. I then dab the back side of the stamp on the moist sponge until it feels damp, but not too damp, and then it can be stuck one the envelope! A tweezer is optional at this point for holding the damp stamp but I feel comfortable doing this with my hands.

This is certainly an assembly step that can be done in a DIY fashion if you are one who enjoys small, tedious tasks. You can also do the sourcing on your own using Etsy, amazon and eBay. If you are not one to enjoy these kinds of tasks or simply don’t have the time, I am here to offer the service!

Assembling the wedding invitations that we have worked on together is absolutely exhilarating for me! After curating all of the design elements for weeks or even months, seeing it all come together and sealing the deal with the vintage stamps is *chefs kiss *

If you’d like to work together, fill out my inquiry form!

summer 2022 projects.

It’s been the busiest summer I have had in all my years of being in business! After the 2 years of shut downs and isolations, it feels really good to see people gathering and celebrating again. I absolutely love creating beautiful art and stationery for my clients and have truly missed it so much! Here is a bunch of the incredible artwork and designs I’ve painted for my wedding clients and for my products line.

I have mentioned in years past, in July, I release a lot of new holiday products to my wholesale platform because typically retail shops and big box shops are ordering for holiday between June - September. I have another blog post here with some of this years holiday 2022 paintings and newness! Can’t wait for you to shop my new holiday collection so soon! You can join my newsletter at the bottom of this page to always be the first one hearing about new product releases!

San Miguel de Allende map.

This map of San Miguel de Allende was a true labor of love. So many beautiful illustrations with such detail to capture. This couple, Gaby + Mitch, had a lively, cultural, detailed and gorgeous vision when they came to me for their stationery and I was immediately inspired.

The questionnaire form I sent to Gaby + Mitch provided so much insight and personality into my ideas. One clip from the questionnaire responses was: “We have two venues in San Miguel de Allende-- a beautiful house called Casa Cariño with amazing views of the city, where we'll do the ceremony, and Sierra Nevada Casa del Parque, which is a small hotel with a large green space, where we'll host a tented reception. We want a more formal, upscale feel for the wedding itself-- black tie optional, but without feeling overly stuffy. We want great food, lots of lights, lots of flowers (whites, greens, pops of orange or blue), and for it to feel like a romantic, intimate dinner, especially since all of our favorite people are traveling to be with us for a long weekend! I also want it to feel really personal with little nods to our relationship, and focused on our love. For other events (welcome party and rehearsal dinner), we want a more Mexican flair-- bright colors, Mexican textiles, colorful dishware, tacos, tequila, etc! We are also going to do a parade through the city the day of the rehearsal dinner with mariachi, large puppets that look like us, a donkey, etc. We'd love to have some of these elements, and the beautiful church in San Miguel, in our invites.” This paragraph painted such an image in my mind, and San Miguel certainly helps with that. It’s such a picturesque city, I would LOVE to go one day. Maybe I’ll crash this wedding… ;)

Along with that gorgeous visual and organized plan [I was super impressed!] there was more! This part really made a mark on me and I wanted to be sure to keep it at the forefront of my designs. Gaby told me when she was in high school her mother and sister passed away. In her engagement ring, “Mitch added some really special touches to the ring-- my mom's diamond and a small orange stone on the inside of the ring, because orange was my sister's favorite color.” I was clear how important orange was to them and for their wedding, so I made sure to include it in every way I could.

As always, every aspect of this map was painted by hand, including all the lettering. The original paintings I create for each couple I work with are how I make sure to truly customize each couples stationery so they have a creative, artistic and therefore exciting, one of a kind experience with me.

Below are some photos of the individual paintings before they were combined digitally to create this gorgeous map!

Interested in working together on your own wedding map? Inquire here!

Christmas in July.

If you’ve been following me for awhile or even just 1 year [ lol ], you know in July I start to get ready for the holiday season! I actually “start” in May / June and by July I’m already receiving lots of product from my printers and filling orders for my retailers! Lots of shops, big and small, shop 4-6 months in advance for holiday so ensure they have all the greatest items for you all to shop for once November 1st arrives!

This year I painted a pink, modern snow globe and hand lettered “merry af” with watercolor and decided that was my holiday journey. Sort of an eclectic, pinkmas, nostalgic Christmas aesthetic. I’m not always sure what it means or if it makes sense but once things start to come in from my printers and I see in together, I love what I’m seeing. Gotta trust my creative gut and shut off my brain sometimes.

If you’re a retailer and you have just stumbled upon this post from Pinterest or instagram, you can shop all my holiday products wholesale through Faire here!

If you are one of my consumers, join my newsletter to find out when all holiday will be released!

P.S. there are someee new holiday items in my shop now! Check out the collection here!

a mural.

I don’t always use watercolor, and when I don’t, it’s a mural. Okay that’s not true, this is my first mural. But I did very much enjoy and feel a creative surge working with a totally different medium than I normally do. Painting large scale is first of all, way way different from my 8”x10” paintings. And using opaque house paints was a real curve ball. It took me months to conceptualize what, how, where, the colors, everything about this mural for Logan’s wall. He started telling me more recently that he loved rainbows and wanted his room to “be beautiful” and have a rainbow on it so that’s where the side wall idea was born. I wanted a little curve of color bleeding into the back wall so when he falls asleep at night he can look over at the colors.

I love a traditional rainbow but we already had a color story in his room so I made the executive decision to go rogue with the colors. I did bring him with my to the paint store and ask him which colors he wanted and then showed him swatches for approval. I put together a rough concept on computer paper so I had the general line work to reference when I was drawing it out on the wall in pencil. Logan was there for that part and he approved of the idea. I even let him paint some of the wall with me so he could be part of the process and feel proud when it was all done. I paint with Logan often and he follows my instructions pretty well at this age now, so I felt comfortable having him do some painting “in between the blue tape lines” with heavy overseeing on my part.

One of the hardest parts of being creative is you want to do everything from start to finish and not have anyone mess with your idea and your process. But I always want my kids to grow up having practiced and experiencing moments like this so they can become artistic little people, too. So I intentionally push aside my own controlling ways, with boundaries and guidelines and a time limit, to allow for these special moments to take place.

Logan did come into the room when I was making his lunch and start painting green in a spot that was not supposed to have green. I could have lost my mind that my original color plan was destroyed, and trust me I did in my mind. But I knew in the end it would be okay and I more so focused on explaining to him that he needs to have an adult present when he’s going to paint on the wall. Since I mean, that’s not a normal occurrence, obviously.

The mural took 2 days on and off working on it. I also definitely would use a better quality paint next time since these needed about 3 coats before I felt they looked complete. I would also work on pressing my tape down a little harder to make cleaner lines but all in all - I love it and Logan does too. His room feels inspiring, adventurous and warm. Everything we want for our little, wild boy.

Thanks for reading!

xx Stephanie

re-introduction.

Hi! I am Stephanie, the artist behind all the paper goods you will find here! It’s been awhile since I wrote up a fresh introduction about myself and in my line of work, I think it’s way better to get to know me a bit. There’s a lot of communication that takes place between my clients and me during our time working together and I aim to make each one of them feel totally comfortable sharing their honest thoughts and feel like they can trust me as their guide. We are creating core memories here!

So let’s get into it. I love indulgent experiences. A delicious meal, a great bottle of wine, a gorgeous facial or relaxing massage. My husband and I fell in love over our shared obsession with food and not so ironically, he owns restaurants and I worked for him way back when. A friendship turned into a romance, my favorite kind of love.

I’m extremely practical and logical. I analyze just about everything I come in contact with. The way a store operates, the conversation I had with my neighbor. It never ends. Which is why I actually need to watch a show or have music or a podcast on while I’m painting, to stop my brain from constantly churning. If something doesn’t make sense to me, I need to figure out why it is happening or make it stop. Literally. I like to think it’s one of my best and also maybe one of my most irritating qualities, maybe just for my husband ;)

I have 2 sons, currently ages 4 and 1.5. I was terrified to become a boy mom. It sounds silly but I was like, I’m a girl how am I going to know anything about a boy? Meanwhile, I do have a brother and boy cousins and friends…also I’m married to a man. Just a little bit of ridiculous, irrational anxiety for ya. Turns out though, I love raising boys and their sense of energy and adventure is inspiring. I won’t lie, parenthood is the hardest journey I’ve ever been on and in ways I didn’t expect. Parenthood is also, what made me work harder and smarter and what motivates me everyday to grow this business and show my boys that following your passions, even with struggles and uncertainty and fear, is worth it.

My favorite activities to do on the weekends when I’m in “mom mode” are putting together some kind of sensory, creative activity for the kids. With no surprise I’m sure, I am a total crafts and projects parent. I am always setting up paints, ooblek, coloring stations, water activities, baking with my oldest, anything you can get your hands into and get messy with. My fondest memories of childhood are being outdoors, adventuring in my backyard, finding bugs and using my imagination. Playing in my giant barbie house and using stickers as “art” on the walls. Transforming the bottom of my closet into the “apartment” when my barbie collection outgrew the barbie house and they needed more space to live. I’m cracking up as a type this because I am the same to this day. When I see Logan creating an imaginary world in the playroom with his trucks and dinosaurs, I am at total peace and feel like all is right in the world.

When I’m in “Stephanie mode,” my favorite activity is, surprise surprise, painting! It’s a funny thing now that my job is all about creating and painting but I also just enjoy painting for fun. My husband will tell me “go out, see your friends, take a break” and I’m like, this is my break. I’m a total introvert at heart and feel the most charged with energy when I’m holding my paintbrush. Outside of my creativity, I now find great pleasure in running literally any errand without my kids! It’s a freedom I miss most about pre mom life so it’s important that each week I take some time to get in my car sans little boys and go somewhere. Usually it’s target or the post office but I make sure to grab a fun drink and soak up the time. And as I mentioned, getting a massage or facial is always an activity of choice. I love self care and practice daily that if you don’t care for yourself first, you won’t be able to care for others. I have to care for a lot of people, so I need to fill my cup first.

Being a parent feels to me, like being two people. I’m still just Stephanie. A woman who loves being silly and dancing to loud, usually inappropriate music, with my family. But I also adore being with my kids and find their little hands and minds totally fascinating and adorable. I don’t feel like the two Stephanie’s need to necessarily become one. I aim to make time for both and be present in each one while I’m there.

I run my business out of my home studio Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday. The other 3 days I’m with my family. Having a reprieve from both roles is how I find the most success. I often get asked how I run this business and raise the kids and there’s no secret. It’s having child care, a routine and staying focused. Oh and a therapist, of course! My love of therapy is endless and I’m on a mission to get everyone I know into therapy. I look at it as “me time.” Who doesn’t want an entire 45 minutes each week, that’s all about you? Your goals, your struggles, your time to learn new communication skills and tools for success. It’s magic. It’s hard work and it can be overwhelming at times to realize how much power you have in your own life but once you harness it, you can have the life you always dreamed of. I know because I feel like I’m there in so many ways.

This post became way longer than I planned but there’s so much I love to share with people so they get a sense of my passions, my values and my work ethic. I will never let one of my clients leave an experience unhappy. There is tons of communication and open discussions about budgets, printing methods and all the options you have to choose from in order to create a really person, stationery experience. One of my top priorities will always be, how do we make this artwork live beyond your wedding day? And in answer to that, many of my past clients will mention their love story illustrations, map designs and newly, the custom Ketubah’s. All of your stationery can be mounted and frames as art for your home and these in particular, are absolutely beautiful hanging in your home.

My product line was born because I am constantly bursting with ideas that have to come out through my hands and my brush. I used to paint a bunch of random nonsense as I tried to learn my painting style and what I enjoy painting most. It’s a never ending journey but I’ve learned a lot along the way and have a more thought out product line now than ever before. I release new collections seasonally and also randomly when I have a new idea. I truly aim to create art and products that I myself will use inn my day to day life or use as art and decor for my home. Family and entertaining has been a big inspiration behind my most recent endeavors, like my kids coloring placemat pads. I want to have fun while including my kids and that always brings me back to art. There’s no age limit for coloring so these pads are really for everyone. I love seeing all my friends, customers and family use and enjoy these creations of mine so thank you all for being here and supporting a small business.

I hope you enjoyed getting to know a little about me. We are constantly changing as we evolve and move through phases of life which is why I love doing a reintroduction from time to time to see how my business, my family and I have grown. Below are some random photos of my life because I’m all about the visuals.

xx Stephanie

is it worth it.

Why invest in wedding stationery?

Why are you spending so much money on paper? Why are you spending so much money on invitations when they just get thrown away? This is true, invitations get thrown in the garbage. But why do we spend money on a delicious meal? An expensive bottle of wine? What all of these fleeting experiences have in common, is they are making us feel something. We feel satisfied while eating the meal. We feel warm and fuzzy drinking the expensive bottle of wine. We feel happy and full of love while looking at our wedding paper goods, especially the personalized kind.

But let’s discuss how “just” paper can evoke feelings of happiness, warmth and excitement that will last a lifetime.

My entire marriage, my husband and I have gone back and forth about light colored rugs. Him: “they will get destroyed.” Me: “but I like it.” - and this is the epitome of my business and the products I create.

Invitations, greeting cards, notepads, wrapping paper - all of these beautiful paper goods get trashed pretty quickly. So why make the investment? I’ll tell you why. 

The way I see it is, you are investing in the feeling. Aesthetics are a huge part of our lives and how we feel when we are anywhere. In our home, at a hotel, in another city or at our wedding. It’s a sensation in our bodies that evokes a feeling of comfort, happiness, excitement, joy. It can also do the opposite but we are in the business of happiness here. We are making core memories. 

This feeling derives from the rug beneath our feet, the color of the walls, the artwork we are seeing, the texture of the paper we are holding, opening an envelope a little more carefully because it is adorned with a wax seal and feels *special* - these moments are magical and they light little fires in our soul, even if for just a brief moment. And in my opinion, life is all about these fleeting moments of excitement and magic. 

So when you are wondering why you should invest money in wedding stationery, remember this [and I’m speaking from experience here]. When you walk into your wedding venue and take a look around, you will be waiting for that feeling. The spark, the magic, to light your soul up and make this day feel perfect and memorable. The little details like beautiful table number signs on the dinner tables and the big welcome sign draped with flowers or the gorgeous seating chart display that becomes an experience for you and your guests, this feeling is worth it. It will stay with you for a lifetime. The aesthetics around us are part of the experience that is life!

spring 2022 projects.

There is always so much beautiful artwork being painted in the studio each season and I decided to showcase it all in one place! These seasonal blog posts will act as a home for any passerby’s or followers to see what we have cooked up that season, what kind of new artwork is available and what wedding projects we either completed or are currently working on! Many of these paintings become custom portraits for clients, new card or product designs for our paper goods collection or commissioned artwork for companies like home goods and tjmax.

Looking to add some color to your walls? You’ll always find fresh, brightly colored artwork in the shop!

See below a slew of photos and as always, never hesitate to email if you’re looking for something custom! info@stephanietara.com

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Every season, aside from keeping up with my project deadlines, I make an attempt to study what is trending and introduce a new concept! I love to inspire future clients with fresh stationery ideas for their weddings and events. This spring I played with layering watercolor artwork printed on vellum and colored paper. I would love to continue with this idea and showcase it with different paper colors. Below you’ll see the beginnings of the idea! Let me know if you love it!

the wedding map.

Show your guests a good time before they arrive for the good time!

A map is a beautiful and helpful piece of stationery to include in your wedding invitation suite that outlines the area you are inviting your guests to stay in. On the front, I’ll illustrate all the amazing locations you want to highlight for your wedding weekend, along with any other places in the area that would be fun for your loved ones to visit during the in-between hours.

The investment is in the artwork which means you also get a gorgeous new art piece for your home! I can print the map artwork any size to be framed as a special keepsake.

the love story.

Welcome to the home of the love story! Am I positive I was the first artist to bring this concept to life? No. Art has been around for such a long time, for the most part every concept has been thought of already and is now being recreated in a different way by each individual artist. However, I do remember years back as I was developing my map style, I had a client ask me if I could create a map that laid out some details about this person’s son and daughter in law as a special piece for their wedding. In that moment for my business and I, the love story was born. So I guess the credit actually goes to this wonderful mother! I am grateful for that beginning because over the last few years I have continued to grow this concept into what it is today. A gorgeous, keepsake piece of artwork that my newlyweds absolutely love to hang in their homes to tell their story!

How does the love story work? It starts with the two of you. Where did you meet and how? We go through each monumental moment in your relationship and can include as many details as you’d like! Where was your first date? When and where did you move in together? When and where did you get engaged? Do you have any pets? What is your favorite hobby to do together or place to go together? Where are you getting married? - I will paint anything you want to include!

Pro tip: I will recommend having the love story printed on poster board for your wedding so it is more durable, on an easel for example. And then printing a separate print on beautiful, archival watercolor paper to frame as the art in your home. This allows the ‘forever piece’ to resist all the changing of hands and travel. We don’t want wear and tear on your beautiful new art!

My obsession with the love story is a few things. First, it’s so fun to think back about your story as a couple and be able to look at it in your home everyday. Decorating is a real thing and I’m bigggg into decorating with meaning and intention! The love story covers both. Second, imagine showing this to your children and having them be able to look up at the story of their parents love as they grow? The romance, sweetness, thoughtfulness and all around true love vibes you’re creating in your home are indescribable. And third, I love to see the artwork live beyond the wedding day. So much love and creativity goes into the stationery for your wedding and it’s amazing that it lives on in the photographs. But it is extra special to have actual art from it!

Below are some examples of love stories I have created in the past. Mostly we use them for a save the date but lately [ and finally! ] my clients are wanting to print these larger to hang at the wedding as a welcome sign and then bring home with them after the wedding.

what is the wedding day itinerary?

It’s the day before your wedding. You have spent months maybe even years, planning this day slash weekend. There have been a lot of moving parts. Times to coordinate, outfits to buy and rooms to book. Your guests are arriving for the rehearsal dinner the next day and then plan to stay overnight so they can wake up and be in the vicinity of the wedding venue for the big celebration! Now how on earth does everyone know all the details of these upcoming events?? How will they get from the hotel to the rehearsal dinner? Or from the hotel to the reception? All good questions. Cue the itinerary card.

First things first, your wedding website. I personally think having a wedding website is a great resource for both you and your guests. Once you send out your invitations, the wedding date, location (s) and times are nailed in stone. Or at least, they absolutely should be! But with ceremonies sometimes being in one location and the reception in another or people traveling for the wedding and are unfamiliar with the area or maybe don’t have their cars, an itinerary is going to break it all down for them and the wedding website is there for backup! You can update the website live and at a moments notice so I always recommend having one for emergencies! But I’m also old school when it comes to paper goods and think a tangible piece goes along way, too.

There are 2 ways to use an itinerary card. The first option, is to include the card in your invitation suite and mail it to your guests. The second option, is to have it at the hotel waiting for each guest to grab and be able to review the details of the day or weekend on site.

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Now let’s list out the details that could be on your itinerary card / schedule of events.

• WELCOME DRINKS - date, time, location

• REHEARSAL DINNER - date, time, location, shuttle information

• HOTEL - this would only be included if the card is being mailed to each guest so they have booking information

• SHUTTLE - this is included if guests are staying in hotels and need a shuttle to and from the ceremony / reception

• RECEPTION TIMELINE - some couples like to include a timeline for the reception, outlining the time of the ceremony, what time cocktail hour begins, what time toasts are happening, when dinner is being served, when the first and last shuttle will depart back to the hotel and if there is an after party

• AFTER PARTY - if the couple is throwing an after party, either at the venue or at another location, informing guests where and what time the party is taking place and how they can expect to get there and get back to the hotel is helpful

• FAREWELL BREAKFAST / BRUNCH - date, time, location and any other information you’d like to include

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I am a big fan of ‘leading the people’ especially in a crowd. people will rely on a schedule and a person to lead the way. The itinerary gives them an idea of what to expect so they can plan accordingly. You want to consider everyone and their busy lives and remember that they have devoted all of this time to come and celebrate you, so don’t leave them with any questions!

Below are examples of wedding timelines and schedule of events I have created for past clients.

real wedding, Dorsa + Merlin.

This wedding was a DREAM to design stationer for! When Brogen, from Brogen Jessup Photography, came to me about working with Dorsa + Merlin on their wedding stationery, for a destination wedding in Antigua - it was a no brainer. I adore Brogen’s photography style - her colors, her styling, her candid perfection. And now I adore Dorsa + Merlin, too! What a special couple. Dorsa was so organized and excited about all the stationery details and we worked really hard to keep with her vision and color story. When it all came together, I was so happy but what made me happier was knowing that Dorsa and Merlin both genuinely adored all of the paper goods and felt it really spoke to their love and their big day.

The stationery we designed together:

A modern, invitation suite with a dusty pink enclosure card and white foil printed details on the inner flap. A gold foil printed printed invitation on biscuit stock with a hand drawn floral design. Half arch, black reply card with white foil printing and a custom wedding logo drawing spread across multiple pieces.

Modern, day of signage. Table number and signature cocktail signs printed on handmade paper with hand drawn art. Original vow book designs printed on handmade dusty pink stock.

Some photos below from Brogen!

new home, studio + easter.

We moved! If you’re new here, I’ve been talking about moving for so long it was becoming like a prank, on myself. I didn’t believe it would ever be real and the threat of working out of my dining room for the rest of my existence was looming way too close for comfort. But it happened. So here’s the story - we bought a house right before the housing market absolutely sky rocketed and we did a total renovation. Was that the original plan? No. As is life, right? But it was certainly for the best! It was an older house and needed lots of refresh and love , which we gave plenty of.

The studio. I’m in the first room when you walk into my house with a door to keep cats and tiny children away from all my precious materials and paintings. The basement is half a flight of stairs away, housing all my paper goods that I sell mostly wholesale but also direct to consumer on etsy! It’s such a perfect arrangement, I am so grateful for this new space and expansion. As my business grows, the space needs to grow with it and now it feels right. First and foremost, organization is functionality is at the core of my decorating. It can’t just be pretty it has to also be accessible. So I bought these awesome shelves from Ikea that you could link together so I added as many as I could to fit my back wall leaving my tons of space to organize the various wedding, art, paper and other little details of my business. I have a table for my printers and two tables put together to paint, scan and spread out all my current projects. Plus there has to be a spot for plants. Currently I have 4 in here but I plan to add more as I settle in!

The home. I don’t even know where to start and I may need to add to this blog as time goes on. I designed the whole thing with my husband. He has a creative eye, too and we have very similar taste so we mostly agreed on every decision and where we didn’t, we compromised. “Cozy” is my choice word. “Boho, eclectic, zen” would be the others. I am the master of comfort. I will always choose the best blankets, softest pillows, plush rugs and lots of faux fur throws. You’ll see all of this as you move through my house. I’m still working on decorating and we still have furniture needs but we want to slowly grow with the space. Let the home tell us what each space needs during each phase of our life with a growing family. I plan to live here forever so there’s no rush in my eyes to get it all done so quick.

Easter. We rented tables and chairs so we could comfortable seat all 26 of our family members. We were never able to invite both sides of our family to one holiday before and we finally can! We won’t always do that but it is nice to have the option. I obviously used my easter table runners on top of some butcher paper to cover the top of the table and dress it up! I grabbed a bunch of flowers from trader joes and put together little bud vases, which I have had for years because I love a good table scape! And then to finish it off I gave everyone an Easter coloring placemat sheet because adults love to color. And I was proven correct because every single person at some point sat down, grabbed some crayons and began coloring their placemat. Sometimes you just need a little break from all the socializing but you don’t know how to take it so, take a color break! It’s the perfect disguise.

Behind our center fire place, we have some open space in front of our kitchen island, so that is where we added our rental table and chairs to accommodate all our family members! I used my easter table runners and coloring placemat pads to make a fun, whimsical setting. the flowers are all from Trader Joe’s and I just have a million little bud vases that I’ve been collecting for years, it’s a problem, I’m aware. Moving on. Everyone ended up really enjoying coloring the pads, not just the kids! This was my secret plan all along. Adults LOVE to color and it made the table even prettier as everyone's artwork came to life.

Our hand painted, cottagecore easter print was used one our table runner, cotton tea towels and a cute little card! We love using these products in our own home which is how we know you’ll love them in yours. I’m very particular about what I will design because if I don’t want it, I won’t sell it.

If you want to shop my tea towels, table runners, placemat pads or any of my paper goods products, you can click the link below!