throwback christmas card

Every Thanksgiving, I help Grandma Bev put together her nativity arrangement in her dining room.  It's one of my favorite traditions.  This year, we needed something in the basement, when I stumbled upon a family photo from 1978.  One thing led to another, and I designed a fun throwback Christmas card for Grandma Bev.  She mailed out 100 cards, and received probably that many cards or phone calls about the card.  I'm so glad it was a hit.  She's already planning what she wants her card for 2014 to be.

2013 christmas card

I like to put a lot of time and effort into Christmas cards (see our 2012 card here).  It's oftentimes the only point of contact I have with friends and family who live far away.  This year, Sophie wrote another engaging letter (she's such a creative little pup), and we used some photos my sister took for us back in November.  Here's to a wonderful 2014!

Farmhouse Kitchen Design

I'm working on a freelance project for a friend, and spent tonight researching light fixtures and then got sucked into kitchen land (imagine that).  Below is a glimpse into what I'm planning.  It's a forever home in the country with many of years of use in the future.  The materials I've chosen so far are super durable and embody timeless style.  Let's hope she loves it as much as I do!  Sidenote:  I'm still new at this whole Polyvore thing.  I'll get it mastered at some point...

Classic Farmhouse Kitchen by rachelhaugo on Polyvore

Erin's Wedding Invitations

My friend, Erin, is getting married this August.  She's such a cool person, and I'm so happy for her!  She's a Kappa, too, and I've always thought of her as my little sis since she was smaller than me and was a school year (and pledge class) younger than me.  She even lived with Josh and me for a few months after she graduated from Iowa State.  Anyway, I digress.  So, she's getting married, and asked if I'd help out with her wedding stationary   Since that's one of my favorite things to do, I was more than happy to help!  I showed her the invites I made for Cody and Tiff, and she loved them.  I did a little customization to personalize Erin's invitations, but here's where I landed this week (without changing the fonts or the artwork from Tiff's invite template; that might come later).  I'm really looking forward to her big day!

Wedding Thank You Cards

Cody and Tiff's wedding has come and gone, but this week I worked on their wedding thank you cards.  The thank you cards are below (along with images of their invitations and programs) and I love how they turned out (their photographer, Shana Drake, did a beautiful job!).

thank you cards

wedding invitations

wedding programs

2012 Christmas Card

I love Christmas cards.  I love designing and mailing them, and I love receiving them.  It's so fun to have all of them displayed.  While I don't have a plan of attack on the card display yet this year (I'll figure out that later), I do have my Christmas card designed and sent to the printer.  I downloaded the chevron background for free here.  I used my favorite fonts:  Lavanderia and Century Gothic.  And I had to incorporate grey because I love it very much...and then sprinkled in a little lime.  We didn't have time to get Christmas photos taken this year, so I used one from our shoot last year with Amanda from APL Photography on the front.  The back of the card has photos I've taken over the year on Instagram.  Sophie wrote the letter on the back (I simply transcribed it for her since it's difficult for her to type).  I'm using OvernightPrints.com to print them.  I've used them a lot over the past few years and am always happy with their work.

So, check that off the holiday to-do list.  Now I just have to wrangle up all my addresses...and go to Costco to purchase stamps.

Babies, Babies, Everywhere

Next weekend, I'm hosting a baby shower for Emily.  I'm super pumped and can't wait to shower her with love (and lots of food).  I made her baby shower invitations on a whim one Monday night with nearly all supplies I had on hand, spending only $8 at Archiver's on three sheets of scrapbook paper and a white pen (some of my leftover envelopes from a past Christmas card were dark gray, so the white pen was for addressing them).  Here's a quick shot of them.  I love how they turned out (Lavanderia and Century Gothic are my go-to fonts currently) and can't wait to put together all the things I want to do for her shower. 

DIY baby shower invitations

Per Emily's request, I am not going crazy on this shower.  The invites literally took me about three hours to make from concept to completion.  I'm really trying to stay simple, and incorporate things I already have or borrow from some of my resourceful friends.  I've been stashing away lots of great ideas on my Pinterest baby shower board, but here are a few I'm loving.

(source)

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And in other news, we found out last week Josh's sister is preggers!  Yesterday, I got to spend the day shopping with her for maternity clothes, and talking about some nursery things.  I'm so excited to be an auntie again - I'm a REALLY good auntie!  May 5, 2013 can't come soon enough!

All in a Day's Work

A few months back, I posted this photo of me on Facebook (shot during how-to photography). 

The shots below are the professional images from the shoot.  Thank goodness the focus is on the wood tray and not on my awesome hair!

Make a wood tray (source)

And here's a picture of the tray looking beautiful on location photography...

Make a wood tray (source)

Cassie's Wedding: Part Two

It took a few hours for all five bridesmaids, mother-of-the-bride, and the bride to get ready at the hotel the morning of the wedding.  The hotel was kind enough to let us get ready in the bridal suite before the wedding.  After sipping on mimosas and nibbling on fruit all morning while we got ready, it was finally time to get Cassie in her beautiful gown and ride over to Black Bear Crossings on the Lake to take photos before the ceremony.

 

First look

It's very important that the bride stay hydrated.

We took a break from professional pics.

The personal attendants attending to the bride

Amber flew in from St. Louis and made it in time for photos.

The ceremony was perfect.  The weather was just like the rehearsal - high 80s with a light breeze.  Jake's cousin officiated; Cassie's mom's cousins sang; Jake tried to kiss Cassie a little too early (once the unity candle was lit).  You could feel the love, and everything was perfect.  Then, the wedding party loaded up in a party bus that took us to the reception.

The grand entrance for the new couple

Kyle and Erin were able to make it to the wedding, so we had a little Wayzata High School reunion.

I had worked on Cassie's Wedding Tree and presented her a prototype for her bridal shower, but I was even more pumped to have the final product ready for the reception.  I'm really happy with how it turned out, and I think everyone enjoyed it, too.

The Wedding Tree Instructions

The reception was lovely.  The food was amazing.  I had the steak, and ate every bite of it...and then Cassie's vegetables.  Like I said, the food was amazing.  Also, even though Josh had class until 3 that day, he still drove the five hours to make it to the reception.  It was wonderful to see him and have him share with me in Cassie and Jake's special evening.

First dance

Josh made it to the reception!

John and I were buddies walking down the aisle.  Heidi, one of the other bridesmaids, and I thought it would be funny to take a picture with John.  John is 6' 8" and Heidi and I are both about 5' 3" tall.  Another fun fact:  John also attended Wayzata High School with me and Cassie, but we didn't get to know one another until Jake introduced us in when he, Cassie and John were in undergraduate at St. Thomas.  I love how this world is so small!

So, that's the end of Cassie's wedding.  It was beautiful.  I loved seeing all her friends (most of whom I also knew) and family (who I love very much).  Dancing with Josh was also wonderful.  I'm so happy for Cassie and Jake and can't wait to share even more special moments with them for many more years to come.

Cassie's Wedding Week

It's Cassie's wedding week, and things are really coming together!  I have 50 wedding programs completely done.  They turned out exactly as I thought they would, and I'm really proud of them.  I should have them completed by tomorrow night.  Here's a little sneak peek.  They evolved a little bit from the original version I made.

Also, a big shout-out to my mom who has been helping me.  She's an excellent paper folder, glue applier, and corner cutter.  Thanks, mom, for all your help.  I couldn't have done this without you - you're the best!

I ordered the materials last week, and am really happy with the quality and price of everything.  The cardstock was buy one pack of 50 sheets, get one for $0.01 at Michael's.  The organza ribbon was from Paper Mart, and was the perfect purple (and the organza is great for bows - super pliable).  And the wood sticks were from Discount School Supply.  The ribbon and sticks arrived in record time:  the sticks arrived in less than 24 hours (without rush shipping), and the ribbon arrived in three days.  Thank heaven for that!

Cost breakdown:
$8.00 [200 sheets of cardstock]
$15.03 [500 wood sticks]
$31.02 [4 rolls of 1-1/2" x 50 yards of ribbon]
$10.00 [glue]
$64.05 TOTAL

I'm making 160 wedding programs, and I'll have lots of leftover wood sticks, ribbon (I may return two rolls since I over-ordered), and cardstock.  Who knows when I'll need them for another wedding? 

Manicures

Sometimes, I have to get manicures for work.  It's hard work, but someone's got to do it.  Here are some shots of my hands in motion.

Install crown moulding on your cabinets

Install a tile backsplash

Add a ceiling treatment

Add a frame to your frameless mirror

This is a perfect example of what a crappy manicure looks like.  I forgot about this shoot...and my nails show it.

Make ikat wall art

And this is an excellent example of why it's important to lower your voice when speaking in public (video link here).  Note to self:  lower your voice when on camera.  I guess when I'm nervous, it shows...


Here's an image from a few years back, before manicures were a requirement for how to photo shoots.

Install a tile backsplash

Summer Reading...and a Kitchen

Last week, I finished 50 Shades of Grey (talked about reading it here and here).  It didn't end how I'd anticipated.  That's to be expected, I'm sure.  That's probably why it's one of three books.  I'll start the second book next week.  This week is impossibly busy with two days of propping, two days of photography, and then Josh starts law school on Sunday.  I'm already exhausted, and it's just Monday.  However, I pitched a kitchen story and drop zone story today, and they were approved and I'm really looking forward to seeing the design through to photography.  Also, here's a link to a really cool post on creative ways to use subway tile.  I love subway tile and think it gets a bad reputation because it's so classic (and some people think that's boring).  I find the post inspirational.  I hope you do too.  Below is a little kitchen eye candy for your viewing pleasure.

Love the white, yellow, and aqua in this kitchen.

Cassie's Wedding Tree

A while back, I told Cassie I'd like to help her with her wedding stationary or anything she needed help with before the big day.  I was thrilled to work on the bridal shower invitations, especially since I couldn't make it up to Minneapolis due to attending Kappa Convention in Florida.  One thing Cassie wanted was a wedding tree at the guest book table (where people stamp their fingerprint as a "leaf" on the tree).  It seemed easy enough, so I agreed to make it.  Finding a tree vector image was actually pretty fun, and then last night I put it all together.  I've spent the last few weeks researching the best way to print the image, but after LOTS of research (and dumb-sounding phone calls), I finally found the best way to print it.  One of the scrapbook stores in town offers color printing and copying of 12x12-inch scrapbook pages (and they use good paper and ink so the image doesn't fade).  So, I designed the wedding tree to fit a 12x12-inch page.

Then, I went to Michael's last night to find a frame for the wedding tree (hello, last minute...), only to learn that all the 12x12-inch frames are ugly.  I was going to opt for a rectangular frame and then have a matte made for it, but the matte would take 10 days to get...which means I wouldn't be able to give it to Cassie this weekend.  And then, I had a brilliant revelation.  When I went to bed, I casually looked up at the art I have above my bed.  It's our monogram...and it's in a giant frame from IKEA that conveniently has a 12x12-inch opening (it's actually a bit smaller than that to allow for some overlap with the matte, but it's pretty darn close).  So, I'm saved (as long as the Minneapolis IKEA store has the frames).

Here's the artwork.

Cassie's Wedding Tree

And here's the frame I plan to use.

IKEA Ribba frame

I'll take a photo later of what the combo looks like together.

Last night, I also finished the prototype for Cassie's wedding programs.  I plan to round the corners and print them on ivory cardstock, but this is the general concept for them.  Also, don't point out how I put the year as 2013...I already know.  I'm working on all 2013 stories now, so I think it's 2013.  I've made the edits (now that the prototypes are already printed). Once Cassie has her ceremony order decided, I'll add the order of events on to the front of the fan.  The wedding party is listed on the back.

Front of Cassie's wedding program fans (artistic photo version)

Front and back of Cassie's wedding program fans (boring photo version)

And here's the inspirational artwork above my bed. 

IKEA frames and DIY artwork

And now, I'm off to drop off materials with my builder downtown, print the wedding tree at the scrapbook store in Ankeny, and then drive to Minneapolis...

Baby J's Birthday

Baby J turns one on August 1.  I can't believe she's growing up so fast!  When she was born, I wanted to make a little birth announcement wall hanging, but I ran out of time.  So, one year later, I'm getting around to it.  I hope Jessica and Baby J like it!

Wedding Invites

Tiff came over tonight and we worked on her invites.  I like where we're at (here's where we were last week).  What do you think?  I like how they've evolved.  I think I like the ivory background best, but the charcoal is nice, too.  I'm going to test out how they print tomorrow.  I'm guessing the dark is too dark and the colors won't contrast enough, but we'll see.