Who is Golden Apple??

I've been doing lots of supplier focus posts recently, and realised it was about time I told you all a bit more about me!

So here goes....

Who am i?!
I'm Leah (or sometimes Leela)
Girlfriend, best friend, daughter, sister, granddaughter, hostess, perfectionist, hopeless romantic, doodler, dreamer, collector of all things vintage and quirky.


How did I end up making wedding stationery?!
I love to make stuff. Put a piece of paper and a pencil in front of me and I will doodle all over it. My exercise books at school were covered in my swirly inky doodlings.

I am mad about stationery - pens, notebooks, diaries, post it notes, cute paperclips, notecards, postcards...... In previous jobs I was teased for being so mad about stationery, but i'm guessing nobody complained if they got me in the Secret Santa, after receiving lots of lovely Paperchase gifts year after year! My boyfriend has now banned from going into Paperchase, as it's impossible for me to enter stationery heaven without parting from many of my pennies!

After doing lots of different jobs (graphic designer, marketing manager, hen night specialist, restaurant and cocktail bar manager...) and being mad about weddings the answer was clear - combine my two loves to create unique and quirky stationery!
My invites had to be individual and quirky though... I can think of nothing worse than a ready made card with a "wedding invitation" foil sticker, diamante buckle and stuck on flowers from a packet! So i sat down with my sketchbook and fine liner ink pen to design my very first invitation, and the rest is history!

Random stuff!

I like to dye my hair bright colours. So far this year I've been pillar box red and am currently bright coppery orange.

I'm very snobby about cocktails. My favourite cocktail is a Caipirinha. It's made with limes, sugar and delicious Brazilian Cachaca, which is a liquor made from sugar canes. Although Caipirinhas are my favourite I will usually order a Margarita as I'm so fussy and there are only a few places that can make the perfect Caipirinha!

My favourite colour is Dove Grey, and I also love soft vintage pastel colours like Dusty Pink or Duck Egg Blue.

I love Breakfast at Tiffany's and have watched it over and over. I think that Audrey Hepburn is so stylish and beautiful.

I live in Leicester, and unlike most people who live here I actually like it! Probably because i've explored it's history and know lots of random facts and stories about it!

I collect vintage clothing, shoes and accessories. My favourite items are my teal 1950's ballgown, burgundy 1960's clutch bag with brass fittings and my dainty brown 1950's court shoes with big black bows on the toes!

One of the best things about my job is when i first meet with a couple and we share our ideas and thoughts - i love to seem them getting inspired and excited about what we can create to make their stationery unique and personal to them.

Leah x

Golden Apple
Creative design, Stationery & Wedding Invitations Leicester
Click here to visit the site

....and they lived happily ever after! New Fairytale range!

A couple of Christmases ago my brother bought me a gorgeous vintage necklace featuring a big old vintage key. I was wearing it yesterday and got all inspired to create a new invitation design!

Here's what i came up with...



















Love is the Key
The design was created from an illustration and features a hand cut key, attached to the card with rustic string for a vintage feel.

I was then inspired to go into full fairytale mode and came up with this....



















Princess & The Frog
The beautiful princess about to kiss her frog prince! The card is finished with tiny diamantes on the tiara.

And finally...



















It Fits!
That magical moment when Prince Charming slips the glass slipper onto Cinderellas foot!
Finished with clear fine glitter for a bit of sparkle.

Leah x

Golden Apple
Creative design, Stationery & Wedding Invitations Leicester
Click here to visit the site

{Supplier Focus} - The super gorgeous Sienna Grace Design!

I recently came across the fabulous Sienna Grace Design Facebook page and after browsing through her site I fell head over heels for her gorgeous venue dressing service! Her designs are so creative, fresh and unique, and I just love how she has found so many different ways to utilise her gorgeous pom pom designs, especially the super cute Teacup Centerpieces (see below.)

I asked Leeanne a few questions to find out more...

Who are you?
Leeanne Andrews, Wife, Mother, Full time juggler of never ending list of jobs, eternal optimist and lives in a land of fairytales and sparkles.

What do you do?
I run a venue dressing service based in the midlands. Everything you see is designed and handmade by myself. We pride ourselves on offering unique designs you won’t elsewhere.

























What was the last project you worked on that you were really excited about?
I am always so excited to do any project. I did a 60th birthday party last week. It wasn’t a party as such it was a private dining room in a lovely restaurant. It was nice to see my work transform the room on a more intimate scale.

What do you love most about what you do?
Oh gosh i just love making things pretty, i love letting my creativity run free. It’s my passion and seeing everything come together at the end is so rewarding. I always stand a look for a little longer than i should and feel a great sense of pride when i have finished dressing a venue.

























What inspires you?
My daughter inspires me in more ways than she will ever know. Also my surroundings, fellow peers, colour and a determination to offer service beyond expectations.

What is your favourite colour and why?
Green, all shades apart from dark forest green. It’s just fresh and reminds me of the outdoors and crisp fresh air i just love it!


























I like to treat myself to a frosty Margarita at the weekends… what’s your favourite cocktail?
mmmmmm a Long Island Iced tea – tastes just like cola ice pops and reminds me of my childhood

Favourite treasured possession?
My memories, i know its cliché but i have enjoyed such wonderful times with family and friends and have so many more to come i will treasure them forever.
























And finally… anything else you’re itching to tell me?
I am super excited about some new designs coming soon and also a little online store, so watch this space!

Thanks Leeanne! :) If you want to find out more click here to visit the Sienna Grace website.
You can also become a friend on facebook, or follow on twitter.

I am so excited to see the new designs, and am really looking forward to having a nosy around the online store!

I hope you've enjoyed today's supplier focus and if you'd like to be featured here please get in touch - email info@goldenappledesigns.co.uk

Leah x

Golden Apple
Creative design, Stationery & Wedding Invitations Leicester
Click here to visit the site

{New design!} Hen Party invites!!

Just designed these super cute hen party invites, complete with partying hen!




































The cards are double sided, hand finished with rounded corners and feature my illustration of a very happy hen!

They're £5.75 for a pack of eight, including envelopes, and you can by them here.

Leah x

Golden Apple
Creative design, Stationery & Wedding Invitations Leicester
Click here to visit the site

{Supplier Focus} - Onefiftyone Productions, Wedding Videos - Special offer

Hello!

I would like to introduce you to "Onefiftyone productions", a wedding videography company set up by some friends of mine. They are great guys, and to help build up their portfolio, they are offering their DVD package (worth £1500) for only £350 to the first three couples to contact them quoting "Golden Apple".

Wedding videos are a fantastic way to document your special day, and capture the special moments that you would like to remember forever. Your day may be quite busy, there are little moments that you may miss out on during the course the day, and a wedding video is a great way to ensure that you capture these moments, whether it's the tear in your mums eye during the ceremony, or the drunken uncle's hilarious dancing at the reception!

In the package you would receive:

On the day:
- Two videographers, with two television, broadcast quality HD cameras
- Coverage of the whole day, from the Bride getting ready, guests arriving, the wedding ceremony, signing of the register, informal filming during photos, the speeches, the first dance, and the reception right up until midnight. We'll make sure that we capture every special moment that you may miss during the course of the day.

After:
- Full editing, which you would be involved at each step via emails over font choice, music and colour schemes.
- At the end you will receive a nicely packaged dvd containing all the memories from your wedding day.

As a new business, Onefiftyone Productions are offering this package at a hugely discounted rate to allow them to build up a portfolio with examples of their work. If you would like to see some proof of their technical ability just email to recieve some examples of their work.
There is no catch so get in touch with Jonathan today by emailing jonathan.wright84@gmail.com or call 07875 231365.

Leah x

Golden Apple
Creative design, Stationery & Wedding Invitations Leicester
Click here to visit the site

For Japan - With Love - Bloggers Day of Silence

You can also get your Japanese Charity notecards here - 100% of the proceeds will go to charity!

Leah x

Golden Apple
Creative design, Stationery & Wedding Invitations Leicester
Click here to visit the site

♥ Sunday Joie de Vivre - Tea ♥

Welcome to my new weekly blog post... Sunday Joie de Vivre.
Each Sunday I will be sharing things that I love and the simplest little things that make me smile and brighten up my day.

This week's subject is Tea. I love nothing more than to get out the beautiful Burleigh teapot that my Nan bought me for my birthday a few years ago and fill the kettle. I have an old fashioned hob top kettle. It's pink and I love the cheerful whistling sound that it makes when the water boils!



















I then throw in a teabag (earl grey, assam or darjeeling) and cover it with boiling water and wait.... three minutes later it's ready, and after a splash of milk (no sugar!) I fill my cup (which is either a china tea cup or a glass bodum one) and enjoy a delicious, lovingly prepared cup of tea! If i'm really treating myself i'll dunk in a couple of biscuits (i love gingernuts and bourbons!).



















If I can't really be bothered with the whole teapot experience, I'll make a mug of tea in one of my favourite mugs, either the "Piglet" one that my Dad bought me, the "Moomin" one from my mum, or the "Pig of Happiness" mug from my brother. I love the pig of happiness mug, as it's cute illustration always makes me smile! As you can probably tell, I like pigs!





































Tea is great for all occasions... when you're sad, catching up with friends, with your breakfast, when you're poorly or with a piece of cake. I also love a green tea after yoga and start every day with a shot of Teapigs Matcha Superpower Green Tea.

So what are you waiting for... stick the kettle on and relax with a lovely cup of tea!

Leah x

Golden Apple
Creative design, Stationery & Wedding Invitations Leicester
Click here to visit the site

Design work for The Sweet Bar by Sweet as Chocolate Fountains

I've recently created some design work for the new Sweet Bar, from Sweet as Chocolate Fountains. They wanted a fun, vintage feel and i thought that this Rosewood font with pastel pink and apple green was just the ticket!

Flyer design:
























Advertising board:
























Sweet labels:



















Banner:

I'm also designing them a fabulous new website - look out for it over the next few weeks!

Leah x

Golden Apple
Creative design, Stationery & Wedding Invitations Leicester
Click here to visit the site

Love ♥

My favourite film of all time...



Audrey Hepburn and George Peppard are the loveliest on screen couple, and I love Audrey's fabulous Givenchy outfits.

I want to spend a whole day doing things i've never done before... like drinking champagne before breakfast!

Favourite Quotes

"If I could find a real life place that'd make me feel like Tiffany's, then - then I'd buy some furniture and give the cat a name!" - Holly Golightly

"You know what's gonna happen to you? I am gonna march you over to the zoo and feed you to the yak." - Mag Wildwood

"I'm like cat here, a no-name slob. We belong to nobody, and nobody belongs to us. We don't even belong to each other." - Holly Golightly

"Cross my heart and kiss my elbow!" - Holly Golightly

Facts about the film..

- Her couch is half an old-fashioned bathtub.
- In 1961 Tiffany & Co opened their doors on a Sunday for the first time since the 19th century, so scenes could be shot.
-In the first scene of the film Holly lingers outside Tiffany's, breakfasting on coffee and a Danish pastry – a testament to Hepburn's acting abilities, since she hated pastries.
- The famous black dress worn by Hepburn in the opening scenes of the film was designed by Givenchy and sold for $807,000 in 2006.

Leah x

Are you guilty of BLURKING?

I know I am! But 'what's blurking?' I hear you ask?











Blurker:
A Blog Lurker. Someone who reads a lot of blogs but never posts any comments.

I discovered Blurking the other day whilst reading the blog of wonderful photographer Lucy Stendall, and realised that I too am guilty of regularly reading blogs that I love and am inspired by, but very rarely sharing the love with a nice comment!

At that moment I decided that I too would stop the dreaded blurking, and from now on I will leave lovely comments on all of my favourite blogs, which will hopefully bring nice big smiles to my favourite bloggers faces! We all need a bit of encouragement every now and then and it's great to hear feedback from our readers!

Are you guilty of Blurking too? End it now - it only takes a second! :)











Leah x
twitter: @leahgoldenapple

Golden Apple
Creative design, Stationery & Wedding Invitations Leicester
Click here to visit the site

I Love Lucy! {Supplier Focus}

I'm not talking about the fabulous 50's sitcom, but the oh so inspiring Lucy Stendall photography!

As a fellow lover of all things vintage and quirky, Lucy got in touch with me last week, and we instantly hit it off! Like me, she is a hopeless romantic and loves all things... love!


















I asked Lucy a few questions...

Who are you? Lucy Stendall. Dreamer. Photographer. Wife, Sister and Daughter (not necessarily in that order)...

What do you do? I am a portrait and wedding photographer based in the East Midlands and taking commissions nationwide to capture images of couples and their nearest and dearest that are real, honest and creative with a touch of whimsy and a splash of vintage. My Husband, Tom, is my assistant and biggest fan and together we shoot a combination of digital and film photographs.

What was the last project you worked on that you were really excited about? Carly and Andrew's engagement photos spring to mind {you can view these on my blog}.
I found some disused farm buildings, dug out some old props and brought along our medium format film camera for some bonus photos. The couple were amazing, we had great fun and they gave us lots of creative free reign...I'm really pleased with the results.

What do you love most about what you do? I love the power that a single image can have to move and stir up the soul. I have a huge emotional attachment to images and a sense of nostalgia and storytelling of sometimes extravagant proportions. Photography allows me to record that for others to keep forever. I also love it when I meet someone as a client who then becomes a friend.

What inspires you? Light, emotion, a glance, other people's conversations {especially on public transport}, romance, the details of a well told story whether it's shared in person, in a movie or through photographs, good old fashioned sweet love.

What is your favourite colour and why? Purple. I don't know why, but I know I like it and I buy a lot of purple things. Sometimes I only like things because they are purple and that's when I have to rein myself in.

I like to treat myself to a frosty Margarita at the weekends… what’s your favourite cocktail? Espresso martini is my cocktail of choice.

Favourite treasured possession? I almost left this blank as I don't think I have one...all the things I can think of are not actually possessions, they are either people, dogs, moments or emotions...the other things are just stuff I could live without if I had to, though I might cry if you take away my photographs {I am quite fond of those}...so I'll put that.

And finally… anything else you’re itching to tell me? I just ate the most amazing piece of cake x


















Want to know more? Click here to visit Lucy's facebook page, which features photo albums of some more of her gorgeous shoots, or click here to visit her blog!

I'm looking forward to seeing some more beautiful images from Lucy, and can't wait to work on some fab projects with her in the future!

*************Update!**************

Lucy has done a blog about me too, and I love love love it! Click here to read it :)

Want to be featured here? Email info@goldenappledesigns.co.uk

Leah x

Golden Apple
Creative design, Stationery & Wedding Invitations Leicester
Click here to visit the site

{All images featured in this post belong to Lucy Stendall - please do not copy or reuse them without the owners permission}

Shearsby Bath Wedding Fair - 27/2/2011

I had a fantastic day at Shearsby Bath wedding fair on Sunday, and met some lovely couples with some great ideas for their wedding stationery!

I decorated the top table with place cards, favour boxes, menus and a table sign in a silver and green colour scheme.

Here are some pictures from the day...



























































































To view the whole album, click here!

Leah x

Golden Apple
Creative design, Stationery & Wedding Invitations Leicester
Click here to visit the site

Gorgeous vintage ketchup jar...

I found this fabulous old Heinz Ketchup Jar in a charity shop today, for only £1! Check out my personal blog, I saw this & thought of you to have a look :)



















Leah x

Golden Apple
Creative design, Stationery & Wedding Invitations Leicester
Click here to visit the site

My gorgeous old Heinz ketchup jar!

I found this in a charity shop today and fell in love with it's quirky, vintage charm!





















It was only £1 and i am going to use it store rice! I'm now on a mission to find more vintage jars for my pasta, lentils, couscous and beans!