Christmas Card

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! Pack it up, pack it in, let it begin!

here is our Christmas card for 2010. i used the free pattern from Lovely Design and altered it a little to match our clothes. the amazing Jackie Wonders shot our family. hope your holiday season was a good one. thank you for reading my blog. if you're not a follower you should totally become one. wink.

now i need to clean out the kid's rooms and make room for stuff. Neighborhood Thrift needs to get ready cause i'm about to unload a bunch of gently used toys and clothes on them!

have any resolutions for this year? i haven't really thought about it. i feel like i should cut out sugar or something that will only last for a millisecond... i just don't get into all that reflecting and making broken promises stuff. one thing i would LOVE to really be serious about (and this is not uncommon to other days of the year) is to really, truly, and whole-heartedly seek a deeper relationship with the Lord. as a stay at home mom of two youngins i find it difficult to be consistent in my quiet time. like, i only read my bible for a couple days in a row, once a month. dude, i'm just being honest. i suck at making my time with God a priority. i'm beginning to find that there are idols in my life that are taking my attention away from the Lord, like looking at blogs, or social networking. i don't think i want to completely stop or anything, but i definitely think i need to "do my homework before i can go out and play", you know?

anyway, does anyone know of any good "bible reading plan/daily devotional/commentary for stay at home moms who only have a 5 minute attention span that won't make my OCD jump into high gear when i miss a day by having dates and stuff in it"? let me know if you do.

ps. here was last year's Christmas card. i also used Lovely Design's free pattern. i REALLY like her patterns. can you tell?

Heather & Aaron's Invitation Suite

this invitation suite is one of my most favorites to date. not only was it for my best friend, who i share an almost exact stylistic taste with, but there are also so many elements to it that very much speak into all the things i love. each piece is unique in it's own tactile way and we were able to incorporate so many fun little details into it all.

the invitation itself is backed in vintage floral fabric that the bride had to track down. she almost didn't find it and it was a miracle straight from the good Lord in heaven that she did.

the RSVP card was stitched with a zigzag stitch that matched the envelope and had the cutest little icons to help you select your meal option.

this map... oh, this map. this map is my one true love. we laughed together, we even cried a little. i almost dumped it but we made some changes and fell back in love. seriously, i gaze lovingly at this map. printed on craft paper and folded up real tiny into the cutest little envelope in all the earth. what's not to love?

can't forget the vintage stamps. the bride hunted these bad billies down and painstakingly applied each and every one, just so. doesn't it look wonderful? i bet people were so excited to see what was inside.

i know i was.

MARRIED: Anne & John

like, forever-ago.

man, it has taken me SOOOO long to blog about this wedding. in my defense, i did pack, move 6 hours away, and unpack my family in the past couple months. now that things have settled down i have to play some catch up.

first on my list of catching up is telling you about this beautiful wedding invitation that i made for Anne and John. the bride was referred to me by her wonderful mom and i am so glad i was able to work with her on this super fun design. her mom, Lori, makes the most beautiful aprons with vintage and new fabric and we traded a custom made apron for myself and a matching one for my daughter for the invitations. so. fun. i'll try to post pictures of them soon!

Anne and her family made the envelope liners from a stamp from Paper Source. they turned out so perfect with the design of the invitation.

full invitation suite: wedding invitation, RSVP postcard, envelope and matching wrap-around mailing label.

love it. hope you do too!

Super Hero 4th Birthday

super hero 4th birthday party (read: spiderman party masked as super hero party.)

see this blog post. :)

this lovely handmade cake was made by the one and only Kahea from the blog Tickle Cake. she's an artist turned cake decorator and she made this cake for me as a trade for her daughter's baby announcements. i love trades. they make me happy.

some of our close friends picked up some spiderman comics that we used as decorations around the room and on the cake wall. thanks chris and melissa!

bunting, of course. made out of comic book pages and the polka dot paper that lined the envelopes for the invitations.

my favorite part: the decorate-your-own-super-hero-cape craft. it was so cute seeing all the kids running around with their very own cape.

just a little sticky back felt and glitter foam board. i precut the fabric and hot glued velcro to the straps. i kept the craft was super simple because we had over 20 kids and it was a parent-assisted craft so i wanted to make sure it was fast enough for everyone to make one.

one of many spiderman gifts big A received. all in all, it was a hit.

Aaron & Heather: MARRIED!

there are so many wonderful details about these people, their relationship, and the wedding that i would not be able to list them all here in this blog. i will show you some pictures and you can find the rest and an amazing write up about the wedding here. i was honored to create all of the paper goods for the wedding and reception. heather and i worked together quite a bit on all this stuff and i was just blessed to get the time to sit and craft with my dearest friend.

these people, i love.

fabric backed escort cards.

hand sewn wedding programs.

fabric backed table numbers.

bunting. of course. to match this mini-bunting.

hand sewn guestbook instruction cards.

hand sewn cake cards.

fabric backed favor sign.

heather & aaron: God's face is already shining apon your marriage because you radiate with His perfect love. what a great example of what our marriage will be like to Christ you have already been and will be for many happy years. we are so happy to know you in this life and after.

all photography by the amazing jackie wonders.

Super Hero Party

big A is turning 4. when big A turned 3 and all the candles were all blown out from his cake, he started planning his 4th party. NO. JOKE. he said he wanted a spiderman party.

this is where i must make a confession: i hate character parties. i really dislike when the plates, napkins, cake, table cloth, and goodie bags ALL have the same picture of some character on them sucking the imagination out of small helpless children. so when big A asked for spiderman, i tried to find every possible way to convince him to choose some way cooler theme. (insert CRINGE here.) i know, i know... it's his party. don't worry, i am letting him have a spiderman party. i'm just doing my best to make it creative. the ONLY reason, and you will just have to trust me on this, that spiderman is not on the invitation is because i don't have the ability to draw him and there are no free illustrations out there that i could download. otherwise, there would be.

there will be a spiderman cake, and pinata, and even spiderman comic books as decorations. i am working really hard to ignore my inner control freak and just let my little boy be himself. but i'm not gonna lie, it's rough.

please don't hate me. i hope you like the invitation because it is one of my favorites!

Programs & Paper Goods

i recently had the amazing honor of designing and assembling all the paper goods for my very own bestie. so many hours went into the many projects for this wedding and it was truly a labor of love. the bride and her groom came up with all the ideas and i just put it all together. here is a little sneak peek. soon to come are the professional photos, which will be nothing less than stunning.