A Story Book Save The Date | Andrea & Spencer

Inspiration, as you may know, as you SHOULD know, is all around. Just like love =]. With that being said, what did people do before all the various social media outlets and image gathering gadgets[:)], I do not know. But anyhow. I was on instagram and found this beauty. It's a save the date stamped on a page from The Fellowship Of The Ring and it is presh! I, naturally, wanted to know more of the HOWs and the WHYs [mostly "Why didn't I think of that?"] involved in the making if it. After some back and forth emailing with the lovely Alexis, I found out that she made these for her sister's wedding. Also that Alexis, Andrea & Spencer [aka Bride & Groom] are huge fans of LOTR and geeks after my own heart.

Here is what you will need, if you want to make your own version of these:

• white acrylic paint
• pages from a book
• a design to apply to the pages

Alexis found the books at a second hand bookstore and ended up using select chapters of two, one is the LOTR and the other Harry Potter. The pages that made it were from the chapters: A Long-expected Party, The Fellowship Of The Ring, Many Meetings, the Unbreakable Vow...so cute! With the help of friends and family the pages were painted and when dry, they were

stamped. Alexis created the design of the stamp and had it made at Sparkvites. The back of the Save The Date holds a sweet personal touch, the story of how the Bride-and-Groom-to-be met. Turns out their families were friends all along!

Check out the amazingly creative Alexis at her Etsy shop - ATYPeICAL, where she draws up all kinds of wonders. Also, I got a sneak peek of the wedding invitation suite and we are all in for a treat. Can't wait to share that too!

Happy Tuesday Dolls and Happy Crafting!

Wedding Invitations | Artisanal Whimsy

I love WEDDINGS (like you didn't know) and with wedding season in full force, today's post only makes sense. This beauty comes to us from the crafty hands of my awesome co-worker Erin! She and her fiancé Tanner, are getting married this July, here in Washington. Erin created this complete invitation suite by hand, with a light box, a pointed calligraphy nib, and lots of sheets of paper. The calligraphy on all of their envelopes was also done by her. My favorite part about these invitations is the story behind the stamps. They are from the collection Erin and her mom gathered, while she was growing up. HEART-->MELTED

The envelopes are from Neenah Paper, the Environment line in ‘Concrete’.
The RSVP cards and map are on Neenah Paper, the Environment line in ‘Desert Storm’.
The invitations are on Neenah Paper, Crane's Lettra in Pearl White.

Have a Happy Wednesday and a Very Happy Wedding Season!

Wedding Invitations | Rustic Romance

One of my best friends is getting married in two weeks! I am so excited to be a part of her special day, it's going to be awesome! A couple of months back Sue, Sumi (her sweet sister) and myself had a craft day; we were putting together wedding invitations. I mean, come on, craft day + wedding + friends = a good time!

Sue designed and printed the invites, Sumi and I helped cut them out and assemble! With the help of cookies of coffee =]

Happy Wednesday Darlings!

Wax Pouring Chicks | for the love of candles

*This is not a sponsored post, I simply find joy in helping others. All opinions are my own.

Let's talk about the friends we make when we least expect, shall we?! This past December, Brian and I went to Cabo and we met some amazing people! Since then we've kept in touch and still reminisce about those sunny, lazy days spent by the pool, drink in hand. One of these people is Vanessa, from Australia! She recently joined her sister-in-law's business and today she is sharing her love of candles and how you can get your hands on one. Their candles are gorgeous and with plenty of scents to choose from!

Here is a little Q&A with her-

M: Tell me about your brand!
V: My sister in law Cveta created Wax Pouring Chicks last year with her sister and since then I have come on board to manage the business which is blooming, hence why we together are the ‘Wax Pouring Chicks'.
M: What sizes are the candles available in?
V: We have two sizes medium and grand that can be used for décor and we have favours in two sizes of petite and tall.

M: What are the different messages/labels you have available?
V: We have our standard labels of LOVE, HOPE, BABY, HOME, BATH and we also personalize candles to suit the individual. 

M: How can the candles be ordered and where can people find out more about your shop?

V: Anyone interested in our candles can follow us on instagram @waxpouringchicks, email us info@waxpouringchicks.com, or like us on Facebook at Wax Pouring Chicks. Payments can be made via PayPal; all prices are in Australian dollars.
M: Do you ship to the US?
V: We ship worldwide.

I was also told that the pictures below were taken at the wedding of a famous Australian (...wait for it...) footballer celebrity!!!

Happy Thursday Darlings!!!

Sueyeon & Alex | Save The Date

You may recall this lovely couple from my Instagram. They are both dear friends of mine and I cannot be happier to be a part of their May wedding. These two met on my 25th birthday and have been together ever since =]. Sue is a girl after my own heart; an interior designer, super crafty & creative, and has the biggest heart. We met at what we refer to as "the worse job we've ever had" =] and became instant friends. Alex, I've known since the fifth grade and we've always kept in touch.

Today, for inspiration, I'm sharing their Save The Date. Sue designed it herself and had the lot printed at Overnight Prints. The place offers an UV Gloss option, which she added to the text on the front and their names and date on the back. They sent them out as post cards in the mail. The cards were designed in Illustrator and measure at 5.5"X4.24" [with a 0.0635" bleed].

Fonts used: INTRO, SOFIA, CHANNEL

Happy Wedding Wednesday Darlings!

The Wedding Album

Our amazing photographer has done it again! The wedding album is here and it is so so beautiful! See some pictures here and here =]

Happy Tuesday Everyone!

Groomsmen Invitation | Free Printable

Catching up from last week's wedding crafts, it is time for a cool groomsmen invitation printable from Angela & Ryan's wedding. Find their other hand made wedding crafts HERE and HERE.

Ryan wanted to ask his friends in style and have a little something they can keep and of course, drink! The inspiration came from Ruffled. I love the etched shot glass and how easy it is to do. Ryan used a letter cutout and some etching cream; just paint, let it sit for 30 minutes and that's it! The supplies: boxes from the Container Store, shot glasses and alcohol from BevMo, Armour Etch and crinkle paper from Michaels.

The Groomsmen Invitations were finished off by adding personalized name tags. Gotta love boys and  the nicknames for their friends =]. For more Groomsmen Invitation ideas go HERE.

Download GROOMSMAN

Download BESTMAN

Download GIFT TAGS


Happy Monday Guys!!!

Bridesmaids Invitations | Freebie

I'm back with another beautiful detail from Angela and Ryan's upcoming nuptials. It's Angela's bridesmaids invitations. They were made by her and inspired by the groomsmen ones, but for those you'll have to wait until next week =]

Supplies: glass flutes and champagne from BevMo, white paper boxes from the Container Store, crinkly paper, glitter & ribbon from Micheal's. Two of the boxes had to be shipped, Angela used UPS [USPS does not allow liquids] and the pretty boxes arrived intact.

She used contact paper to make the clean cut line on the top and also to cut out the letters. She then used two coats of gold glitter paint, let it dry and removed the letters and top tape. These are very cute and so personalized, I might just have to make some for my girlfriends!

The best part? Ang is sharing a little card printable!!! Isn't is great?!

Download WILL YOU BE MY MAID OF HONOR?
Download WILL YOU BE MY BRIDESMAID?

Happy Wedding Wednesday Dolls!

Save The Date | Angela & Ryan

Two dear friends of mine are getting married this year. It made my day when I got both their Save The Date in the mail on the same day. They are both DIYdivas, just like yours truly, and super creative. Naturally, I just know it, they are going to have some pretty amazing wedding crafts and I am here to share them with you! SCORE!

Today is all about Angela and Ryan's Save The Date. Angela and I met at WSU, in the Interior Design program and have been friends ever since. She designed and executed the whole project on her own. This is how:

She created the design [front&back] and the face of the magnets in PhotoShop. The cards were then printed at Swifty Printing in Seattle and cut to size 4"x6". A super important note from Angela: "Don't try to buy 4x6 or photo envelopes after Christmas. Everywhere is SOLD OUT :(". She finally did manage to find envelopes at a craft store, I believe they were 5"x7".

The magnet was a very nice touch. It is currently on my fridge! She used ProMag Adhesive Photo Magnets [assorted sizes, pack of 5, $3.99 @ Office Depot]. The design was printed on 8.5"x11" Avery label paper, then put directly on the magnet sheet and cut. If your paper is tearing on the edges during cutting, you might have to cut them out individually and then stick them together.

They wanted a very Pacific Northwest look, Ryan's sister helped capture it in their beautiful engagement shoot [with freezing November winds]. Angela wore the colors of the wedding and braved the cold weather.

Their semi-destination wedding takes us to Blaine, WA. She wanted to hint at the location, but not give away the venue. It was done with a map, the inspiration for which came from here. She took a Google maps image, print screened it, highlighted the blue water in photoshop, and made a new layer to paint it solid blue. She created a modern and clean map with a bold navy color matching her shirt. Ang also designed a modern compass, different from the traditional ones, which were too nautical looking for their style. The fonts used are: Edwardian Script, Bernhard Modern, Eras Medium.

Later this week I'll share more of their lovely wedding graphics, which will include FREE PRINTABLES! Happy Monday Guys!

Country Wedding Invitation | Christmas Ornament | DIY

Merry Christmas Lovely People! Hope you are all having a great time celebrating with family and friends. Brian and I are headed to my parents house, but before we go, and as promised, I wanted to share the last wedding invite turned ornament I made this year. Here it is, last but certainly not least, the ornament I made for my lovely maid of honor Amaleah.

Alright, for this ornament I used: one invitation, scissors and a rotary cutter, one glass ornament, one round pencil, some dried flowers, hot glue and gun [not pictured], thin green ribbon [not pictured].

First I cut up the invite into strips and then I wrapped them around the pencil to make little spiral paper ribbons.

Next I added the dried flowers and the paper spirals to the glass ornament and put the top back on.

For a more finished look I wrapped the green ribbon around the top cap and secured it with hot glue. I also tied a small bow and hot glued that to the front of the cap. A small piece of ribbon was also added to the top loop of the cap so it could be hung.

I hope my little Christmas crafts have been entertaining and helpful to you. I am taking a little break for the rest of the week and heading out to see Brian's family. I'll see you darlings on Monday!

Happy Christmas!

Beach Wedding Invitation | Christmas Ornament | DIY

Afternoon Dolls! Could you have possibly guessed that I would have yet another invitation turned ornament to show you today?... Well I do, I SO DO! At first I thought I'd just do a compilation of all of them but, NAH, these turned out way too pretty not to be shown individually =]. I made this beauty for our dear friends Michelle and Robert. They had a beach wedding [as much as you can have one in Seattle] and I wanted this ornament to reflect that. Michelle was also one of my bridesmaids.

At this point you are probably familiar with the method, but I will show you what I did anyway. What you will need for this beach themed ornament: one wedding invite [cut up into strips of different sizes], scissors or rotary cutter, one round pencil, tiny seashells, one round 3" glass ornament, hot glue and gun [not pictured], thin ribbon in color of choice [I bought mine at Joann's, for $0.50 per roll].

First thing I did was to fill up the ornament about half way with some pretty shells I bought at Micheal's [you can also add sand first and then shells, but I didn't have any sand on hand]. Next I twisted all of the paper strips around the pencil to make spiral ribbons. When I was done with those, I added the twists to the glass ornament.

To finish if off I wrapped, the thin gray ribbon around the top cap and secured with hot glue. I tied a bow out of that same ribbon and hot glued that to the presumed front of the ornament. I also tied some of the same ribbon to the top loop of the cap, to hang the ornament from. I used the same brown polka-dotted paper bag as gift wrap =]

There you have it dolls one more, but certainly not the last, wedding invitation turned Christmas ornament. Hope you enjoyed this one! Let me know what you think and if it's something you might do!

Happy Monday Darlings!

Peacock Wedding Invitation | Christmas Ornament | DIY

Surprise! Today I have another wedding themed Christmas ornament! I just can't get enough. I made a few for my friends and don't worry you will see all of them! This one I made for Ashley, one of my bridesmaids. ENJOY!

 
This girl, if you can't tell, loves her some peacock's feathers. She made this beautiful wedding invite all on her own and I almost felt bad cutting it. Ok! So for this little project I used: one wedding invite + RSVP card and envelope, one glass ornament, one round pencil, scissors and/or rotary cutter, one peacocks feather, a small flower paper punch, hot glue and gun [not pictured], thin gray ribbon [not pictured]. I was also hoping to use some lamb's ear branches, the grayish sticks in the picture, but ended up not...

First thing I did was to cut up the invitation into strips of various sizes. I left the pink paper intact, so I could use the paper punch on it.

After I had cut out the strips and flowers, I moved on to twisting the paper strips around the pencil in a spiral. I did these one at a time and it took f.o.r.e.v.e.r!

The easy part came next. I added the pink flowers, the paper twists and lastly the peacock's feather to the glass ornament and replaced the top back on. To finish things off I wrapped a piece of thin gray ribbon around the outside of the top and secured it with hot glue. I made a bow out of the same ribbon and hot glued that too, to the presumed front of the top cap. I wanted to have something to hang the ornament off of, so I added a piece of the ribbon to the top's loop.

I used these awesome polka-dotted brown paper bags and some white tissue paper to gift wrap this beauty. What do you think? Would you make this for your friends, or yourself?

Happy Thursday Dolls!!!