WIN!!! An Engagement shoot Styled by Elephantshoe

We are soooooooooo excited over here at Elephantshoe Stationery Studio!!! This is the first year that we will have our very own stand at The Wedding Expo from the 31st of March to the 1st of April at the Coca-Cola Dome in Northgate Johannesburg.

Last year we were apart of the design process for the stand of our friends over at Blackframe photography and together we ran a super cool competition at the expo for all the newly engaged couples. The competition was such a hit that we have decided to offer it again this year. And . . . here it is

WIN! An Engagement shoot styled by Elephantshoe Stationery Studio, photographed by Blackframe Photography. Simply visit our stand K29 at this years Wedding Expo, The Coca-Cola Dome on the 31st of March 2012 or the 1st of April 2012 , purchase any one of our products on display, enter your shoot concept, like us on facebook and you will be entered into the competition. 

The couple with the best concept for their engagement shoot will be chosen by Elephantshoe and Blackframe photography on the 16th of April 2012 and notified via e-mail. The winner will be announced on both our blog’s and Facebook pages. 

Check out the shoot that we put together for last years winners, Lauren and Royston. Their concept was La Dolce Vita. 

This year the winners will also receive, one photo that the couple can use as their save the date, one A3 canvas print (excludes mounting or framing), one A4, two A5 and Four A6 high gloss or matte photo prints.

TERMS&CONDITIONS

This competition is open to South African residents only. Elephantshoe reserves the right to select the winning entries at its sole discretion and their decisions are final. The shoot will take place in Gauteng, South Africa. Date to be arranged between both Elephantshoe and the winner. The winners are expected to provide the basic clothing requirements according to the shoot style. Elephantshoe will provide various props and stationery to enhance the look and feel of the shoot. Included in the prize is one photo that the couple can use as their save the date, one A3 canvas print (excludes mounting or framing), one A4, two A5 and Four A6 high gloss or matte photo prints. The prize excludes the following: Travel costs, Hair and Make-up. The winner agrees to competition entry information & the shoot images being displayed on both the Elephantshoe and the Blackframe blog.

Handmade Coasters - Perfect for your Home & as a Personalised Wedding Favour

It wasn't long ago when Nicola from the prettyblog asked the question on facebook, "Which DIY's would you like to see on the blog?". Liezel Kriel replied saying that she would like to know how to make custom coasters from photographs. Annerine Van Schalkwyk replied, "Enigeiets wat in en om die huis gepas en gebruik kan word.." and Nicci Le Cok replied,"DIY's for party favours please." 

Sooooo we have combined these concepts and today we bring you a super easy, super fun DIY that can be used in your home and as a party/wedding favour. We have included a printable in this post with 

1. Quirky colourful sayings, and . . . 

2. Easy to use frames for you to completely customise your coasters with your very own photographs. You can use photos of your family, pets, friends, engagement shoot, wedding photos etc. {As a reference we have used a range of insanely cool photos from some of the wedding shoots of Blackframe photography. I particularly love the idea of using your photobooth pics too.}

Simply download our Printable PDF at the end of this post and follow the easy steps on how to put these coasters together.

Use these handy coasters to protect your furniture from liquids and to show off your favorite pics.

SHOPPING LIST : Photo Paper, Thin Cork Sheets or Cork Flooring, Spray Glue, Sticky Back Plastic (the kind you use to cover schoolbooks), Ruler, Kraft Knife, Cutting Mat

QUIRKY COLOURFUL SAYINGS : DIRECTIONS

1. Please print pages 2-4 of the downloaded document onto a photo quality A4 paper. {inkjet printing is recommended}.
2. Trimm across the dotted lines so that you are left with only the artwork for the coasters.
3. Apply the sticky back plastic to the frontside of the artwork or you can have this laminated instead to protect your coaster from cool drink and coffee, tea spills.
4. Spray glue the back of the artwork and apply it to the surface of the cork sheeting.
5. With a ruler and a kraft knife cut out each coaster by trimming along the solid colour. 
6. There you have it. Coasters ready to give as a gift or use in your home. 
7. If you are giving as a gift, tie beautiful twine or ribbon around a stack to keep them together. 

PHOTO FRAMES : DIRECTIONS

1. Please print page 5 of the downloaded document onto a photo quality A4 paper. {inkjet printing is recommended}
2. Please print page 6 of the downloaded document onto a thick A4 card.
3. Trimm across the dotted lines on page 5 so that you are left with only the artwork for the coasters.
4. Print out the photos that you would like to place onto the coasters onto a photo quality A4 paper. {inkjet printing is recommended} Make sure that they will be small enough to fit in the space. These coasters are 9cmx9cm.
5. Use the templates on page 6 in order to cut out your photographs to the right size and shape to fit into the frames.
6. Apply spray glue to the back of your cut out photos and stick them to fit into the the blank frames from page 5.
7. Apply the sticky back plastic to the frontside of the artwork or you can have this laminated instead to protect your coaster from cool drink and coffee, tea spills.
8. Spray glue the back of the artwork and apply it to the surface of the cork sheeting.
9. With a ruler and a kraft knife cut out each coaster by trimming along the solid colour. 
10. There you have it. Coasters ready to give as a gift or use in your home. 
11. If you are giving as a gift, tie beautiful twine or ribbon around a stack to keep them together.

Once again all of the cute photos you see in this post were photographed by our besties over at Blackframe Photography. The imagery in the coasters are a range of photos from their wedding collection. Visit their blog to see more of their great work.

Happy Coaster making. 

love Sam x x x

from the "Elephant factory"

follow us on Twitter here.

{DOWNLOAD PRINTABLE FILES HERE}

We Love {Fun Props}

There are so many different & fun props that you can use in your styled couple, engagement and wedding photography shoots. In particular we love these vintage bicycles {they add so much charm} and can also be customised to tell your personal love story with stationery like banners and signs.

Visit our contact page and pop us a message if you would like to find out about HIRING a vintage bicycle for your shoot or IF YOU WOULD LIKE US TO DESIGN the stationery props for your shoot.

Photography credits for the images above from top to bottom, left to right : PHOTO 1, PHOTO 2, PHOTO 3, PHOTO 4, PHOTO 5, PHOTO 6