Wedding Suite Sneak Peak!

one of my besties is getting married in just a couple months and i had the privilege of creating her Wedding Invitation Suite. what an honor. i make it a habit to never post the actual invitation on my blog before the big day, because God forbid any random stranger think it's a good idea to show up (also, i always blur the address once i do post it!). i just don't want to ruin the surprise. 

but... i also can't contain my excitement when i finish everything and mail it out. it's such a good feeling to complete a project, and know that it's exactly what my client wanted. so here's a little sneak peak until the big reveal!

fresh from the printer, getting ready to be assembled

ready to be shipped!

i just CAN'T wait for this wedding. 

thank you so much Leah and Andy for allowing me to be a glimpse of your special day! love you tons!

tara

Challenge: 30 days of love making!!!

whoa, what!?!?! that's right people, i didn't stutter. i am going to challenge you to 30 days of love making. because i'm gonna do it and i don't want to do it alone. hhheeeee.....

i'm just like every other girl who doesn't like to do anything alone; like get ready for a party, shop... pee. so why should i want to do this alone? back when i turned 29 i decided to make a list of 30 things i'd like to do before i turned 30. making love to my husband everyday for 30 days was on that list. what better time to accomplish that goal AND give him a GREAT father's day gift ( i love two-fers!) than to lump it all into one. 

in all seriousness, i have been hearing a lot of stories about couples that just aren't making love. like, for YEARS. and i am just not ok with that. i mean, how can a marriage survive without intimacy? don't get me wrong, we are NOT perfect. there have been seasons when we were only intimate once a month... and when i was pregnant, if he even looked at me with his side eye i would get nauseous. seriously, i could only do it in the shower, his natural body odor (which i normally LOVE) made my stomach turn. now this might be too much information for you but i think it's important to talk about. and i'm not ashamed to share my struggles because there is probably someone out there who is going through the same thing. but my desire and my heart are to have a long, fulfilling marriage and sex life where neither one of us are settling with just being roommates. don't you want that too?

when thinking of a way to present it in some special package, rather than just blurting it out, i remembered stumbling upon this awesome 19th century packaging suite a while back and knew it would be such a rad way to break the amazing news. 

the bottom says, if you can't read it, "the fine print: i promise that, come hail or high water, i will prepare my heart to make love to you every day for 30 days. i promise to give you all of my heart, all of my mind, and all of my body in a loving and appropriate way to create oneness between us. i promise to put our intimacy above all else for the betterment of our marriage."

it truly is so important to prepare your mind, heart, and body for intimacy. a dear friend gave me some great advice about starting early in the morning, tell yourself you will be making love that night. shave your legs, shower, wear your matching underwear set, whatever it takes for you to feel comfortable. you know what they say, "men are like microwaves, woman are like crockpots"... so make the extra effort to start getting hot 8 - 10 hours before!

if you are interested in using this gift certificate you can download it here. 

i feel like this is going to blow my husband's mind away, i mean how happy would any man be to get something like this? so i want us wives to band together and die to ourselves so our marriages will gain from it! who's with me? anyone? 

i'm going to be posting weekly updates and i would love to hear from anyone who is willing to join me in this challenge. if you don't feel comfortable leaving a comment i would love to hear from you via email at taranuncio@gmail.com. 

i hope you will all consider this, it could change your marriage forever!

DIY felt iphone 4 cover tutorial

ok, i am so excited to share this with you! yesterday i made an iphone cover for my new phone and it has been KILLING me to wait until today to share it with you. for 1} i can't believe i made something so cool. (i'm not trying to brag, i just really can't believe it worked!) and 2} i'm going to share with you how i did it. 

i worked really hard on this tutorial of sorts, so i hope you like it! 

 i got my inspiration for this from etsy. the basic form i tried to recreate i found here. and i loved the hearts on this one. 

most of the supplies i had laying around, except the felt. i only had polyester felt and i really wanted wool so i purchased an 1/8th of a yard each of gray and yellow from Joann's. SUPER CHEAP!

if you'd like to print the tutorial, please click here. 

i've never written sewing instructions before so i hope you expert seamstresses won't judge me too much. if something doesn't make sense feel free to ask me and i will try my best to explain it better. also, i have a super old version of photoshop so my dotted lines are kinda funky. my computer is ancient but i am blessed to have one and also for the gift of craft!!!

i hope you like it. if you make one i'd love to see pictures!

Graduation Announcements for my brother

this week, my little brother graduated from high school. 

i left my kids and husband at home early tuesday morning to make the 6 hour drive down to San Diego so i could be there for this special moment in his life. on the drive down i laughed thinking about all the silly moments we've had together and i cried thinking about how he is all grown up and those silly moments are so few and far between. if you were driving next to me you probably thought i was looney. well, i am. a little. 

my brother was born when i was 11 and i was in the labor and delivery room. the moment he came out i vividly remember a wave washing over me and i could not contain the love nor the tears and i knew i was forever changed by this tiny person. over the years we have enjoyed such a special bond and at times i get nervous that that bond will be lost now that he is an adult living his own life. i so desperately want to grasp for it but i also know i need to let him go. 

i am so proud of him, he's made such mature choices in his life so far and i trust him to continue making those good choices. i know he will make mistakes somewhere along the line and i will be here if he needs me. i am committed to praying for his future, his education, his love for Jesus, his future wife and family, and his dreams. 

i had the privilege to make his graduation announcements and i loved every second of it. my sister chose a folded card with a photo by Jackie Wonders. 

my sister also wanted the inside to be a timeline listing his accomplishments during his 4 year in high school. he's been very involved in sports, and also music even though it's not listed. we are very excited for him to have been accepted into UCLA with a partial academic scholarship! woot. woot. so so proud.

myself, the GRADUATE, and my older sister

Mike, i love you and i am so excited for you to start a new season in life. i'll miss picking on you in person but now that i have an iphone i can pick on you on ichat! YES! 

you. are. the. best. EVER.

custom bunting

my first custom bunting order!!! woo hoo! i was contacted shortly after opening my etsy shop to create a custom bunting that said "JOY". the only thing my client requested was that it match the color scheme of black, brown, and dark red like the colors in her home. i had so much fun putting this together and am super thankful she loved it!

i think my favorite details is the medium size black ric rac as a border around each flag.

or the micro-mini pinwheels. i love them both. 

if you are interested in custom bunting please contact me for pricing. they are the perfect decoration over a baby crib with your child's name, or even a big kids room that needs that extra little something. i've also made a few for weddings as sweetheart table decorations or just for photos props. 

MARRIED: Sarah & Joshua!

Sarah & Joshua were referred to me by my super good friend, Cherish. i was so excited that they entrusted me with a little piece of their wedding and i'm so in love with the design she picked. Yellow & gray are my favorite color combination right now (it's my bedroom's colors) and i just love how simple she wanted everything. Sarah was truly a no fuss bride and pretty much gave me total control. easy peasy.

(please excuse my terrible photography. it is not my strong suit. hopefully my work shines through the poor pictures!)

invitation suite

invitation

map, directions, and wedding registry information

RSVP postcard

congratulations Sarah & Joshua! it was a joy working with you. may your marriage be blessed!

if you are interested in having me create your wedding invitation suite, birthday party invitations, graduation announcements, baby announcements, or personal stationery, i would be delighted to help you! feel free to email me at taranuncio@gmail.com.

now that my shop is open...

i would love some honest feedback. i put 3 new bunting in the shop and i'm feeling a little clingy. i think it's because it's scary to put yourself out there and not know what people are thinking! ah! so bare with me as i figure out all this new business stuff. 

so what do you honestly think about the bunting i've made? do you like the colors, style, PRICE? (i have no idea how to price these things, what would you pay for one?) 

i know i'm totally being the needy high school girlfriend who calls every five minutes and just breathes on your voicemail right now, which can't be good for business... but i figure i want to make a product that people will fall in love with and feel good paying their hard earned money for. everything i've read says you need to be confident and not ask for comments and stuff.... but there aren't very many other people selling these types of things for me to use as an example. 

so, will you walk through this process with me as i am the guinea pig? 

thanks for understanding. love you all!