Heeeeyyy honeys!

Thursday: this is dope, we are closer to the weekend that we are from it. That can ONLY be good news right?!

Ok, so this morning we are talking botanical stationary. Yes, botanical.

Now, before you run away looking kinda creeped out by this crazed 'plants are SO friggin awesome' face I've got on this morning (no offence, botanist readers) let me just proclaim this right here, right now: botany is like, a MAJOR trend for 2015.

Stationary (obvs), hairstyles, reception styling (no really, the more plants the merrier), even the bride's gown! Plants are everywhere and we just adore it.

Now, for the rock n' roll chicks, don't bail on me! Just 'cause I said botany, doesn't mean we're simply talking sweet ditsy floral designs (although there will a little of that later!), but let's kick thinks of with the bright, the bold and the in-your-face botanical designs that are RULING the stationary world right now...

Left: Lisa Hedge Right: Minted

Word.

The bigger the statement the better. Go for huge blooms, on ultra natural looking papers, using either super brights or dark, rich tones for the florals and for heavens sake, go for a bold font. Chunky, striking typography offsets any delicacy of the flowers in a super, and I mean SUPER, rad way!

Left: Wedding Paper Divas Right: Best Friends for Frosting

We are head-over-heels for that last design. The symmetry is insanely cool. I mean, kaleidoscopic botany? You better believe we swooned!

You know what else we're head over heels for? Shades of dark mauve, paired with violet and peach. This winey palette is just everything right now, and makes for a gloriously unusual botanical design.

It's so sweet it almost looks edible. In fact, I'm pretty sure I wanna eat it. Is that weird?

Left: C Warren Design Right: Flickr

And of course, by definition, 'botany' is all encompassing. If flowers just don't do it for you, and you'd rather opt for succulents (more on that trend here) or hell, if you're more root vegetable inclined, just go ahead and run with it.

If I had a quid for every time I say it... (But, you totally know I'm gonna say it again): it's your day. Seriously, whatever floats your boat!

Plus, hello!? These watercolour root veg designs are just gorge.

The colours though. For real, we're in love!

That said, botanical designs also gain a certain grown up sophistication when you desaturate.

I know, right? Who knew, but it's true, black and white florals/leaf designs are kind of a big deal.

Splashes of pale rose pink and I'm gone. Straight to heaven.

We're also TOTALLY loving the addition of butterflies to some of these graphics. I basically just wanna feel like I've lost myself in one of those huge indoor gardens. So pretty. So natural.

And of course, y'all KNOW how much we love a good envelope liner here at FBrides HQ (No? You didn't know that? Read more here) and a huge bloom is hands down our favourite way to rock the inside of your envelopes.

So psyched to mention that the awesome designer behind the majority of these envelope designs, Citrus Press, has made her envelope liners available as instant downloads from her Etsy shop! So, you can now easily print her designs at home yourself to stick into your envelopes if you've already bought your stationary. Click the image above for a link through!

So rad and they just add that ultra-luxe element to any invitation suite. Power to the snail mail. It doesn't get any dang prettier!

Ok. So now onto some of the more delicate horticultural designs...

Left: Refinery 29 Right: Scientific Illustration

Aren't they just on point?!

Think wholesome vegetables, wild flower meadows, all the colour of an English country garden, the wistfully muted greens of sage leaves... Man, I can almost smell it, it's that good!

Seriously though, when is Spring arriving?

Pair pale minty greens with inky navy, vibrant grass shades with sandy peach and be sure to incorporate a splash of this summer's most popular colour, sunshine yellow, it'll just give everything a delicious pop.

Left: Midnight Marauders Right: The Pretty Blog

The scrawling fonts are just a perfect pairing for these more gentle botanical designs, allowing the florals to frame the elegant lettering wonderfully.

I totally need to have a garden party now to get this outta my system!

And for those honeys that have already sent out the all important invitations, here's just a couple of seedlings from an entire garden of botanical inspiration that's hitting our Pinterest feed right now...

(Like what I did there? It's a tough job, but someone has... Who am I tryna kid?!)

From escort cards pegged with a little sprig of something green to a dessert table backdrop of botanical prints (I died, seriously, it's SO good!) let's just say it simply: plants on paper? It JUST WORKS.

Now go, have yourself a great day. The weekend is nigh!

Peace + Love

Clare X