10/08/2010

{happy weekend!}

Happy Friday everyone! Â I’m heading out a bit early today, since my husband came down with a really nasty cold (or maybe the flu?) and I’m doing my best to take care of him â€“ and try to squeeze in a bit of housework (something I’ve sadly neglected over the last couple of weeks while things have been bananas-level busy). Â I’m also hoping to swing by a food truck cook-off a bit later today, and then later this weekend we’re hoping to accompany our friends and their adorable 6-month-old son on his first apple picking and pumpkin patch expedition! Â Hooray for 3-day weekends, all very much needed to catch up on my to do list and give sick husbands some time to feel better. Â But in the meantime…

…a few links for your weekend!

Did you see my guest post at Oh, Hello Friend? Â It’s all about pretty calligraphy…
Speaking of pumpkins… yum!
These typography installations are stunning beyond words
I want streamers and birthday pie for my next birthday!
AÂ new online magazine full of beautiful photographs and interiors
Loving these kitchen conversion prints!
DC-residents, there’s a screen printing class coming up soon â€“ if you’re interested, check out the details here!

…and just in case you missed it, a summary of this week’s posts:

BBQ-themed engagement party invitations
Nicole + Steven’s awesome wedding invitations and day-of details
Spanish style laser-cut wedding invitations
Baby announcements are always so cute!
Welcome a new addition with these baby congratulations cards
My Crafty Bastards round-up, along with comfy blankets and beautiful ceramics

That’s it for me this week â€“ but I’ll be back next week with more 2011 calendars, a few more Halloween cards, and of course beautiful wedding invitations. Â Since it’s a long weekend here and in Canada (Happy Thanksgiving!), I’ll be back with new posts on Tuesday. Â I hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

{image credits: emmy lou photo via mary ruffle}

10/08/2010

BBQ Engagement Party Invitations

A fun party invitation seems like the perfect way to help end the week, don’t you think? Â Particularly when we get to combine the joyfulness of an engagement party with the yumminess of a backyard BBQ. Â Bonnie from Tenn Hens Design created the fabulous invitations and labels, and the family provided jars of BBQ sauce (based on the family recipe, of course) as favors!

I’m also totally loving the burlap table linens and succulent centerpieces in vintage tins â€“ simple, yet really lovely all together. Â Thanks so much Bonnie!

{image credits: tenn hens design}

10/06/2010

Welcome Baby â€“Â Announcements!

I thought I’d continued today’s baby theme with a few baby announcements that have caught my eye over the last couple of weeks. Â First up, Â Brandi from Sweet Harvey sent over a custom baby announcement that she recently created in a modern pool and orange color palette. Â And how cute are those tiny little baby feet?!

{sweet harvey}

Kathleen from Twig & Thistle created these gorgeous letterpress baby announcements for her new niece. Â I love the simple layout and flower details â€“ so pretty!

{twig + thistle}

Also in the photo baby announcement category, this blue baby announcement from Duet Letterpress would be perfect for any baby regardless of gender:

{duet letterpress}

Back in the non-photo category, I couldn’t resist these elephant baby announcements from Pearenthetical Press. Â So cute!

{pearenthetical press}

I love this floral baby announcement from Bella Figura â€“ the design is based on one of their wedding invitations!

{bella figura}

If you have a baby announcement or birthday party invitation that you’d like to share, please feel free to e-mail me!

{all images from their respective sources}

*Bella Figura and Sweet Harvey are two of my fabulous sponsors; for more on my editorial policies, please click here.

10/05/2010

Nicole + Steven’s Wedding Day Details

As promised, I’ve got a few more details that Nicole was kind enough to share from her wedding earlier this year. Â If you couldn’t already tell from the invitations, Nicole and Steven are quite the crafty couple â€“ and I’m completely in love with all of the details that they came up with for their wedding, including the incredible table number displays and guest book!

From Nicole: Escort cards for the reception were laid out on the bar for the guests to find their seats, and we provided dessert cards for the small buffet of sweets.

Our table numbers were inspired by a J. Crew storefront design â€“ they were super easy, but very time consuming, to make. Â We kept the table centerpiece arrangements simple, but there were four different options depending on the table size.

Each centerpiece and table number involved the nail and string table number, a candle holder, and a floral or succulent piece.

I’ve been a reader of Joanna Goddard’s blog, A Cup of Jo, for a while now. Â When she got married, she had a series of people blog about their secret to a happy marriage. Â Steven and I decided it would be the perfect for our guestbook.

Instead of having a list of names, we thought it would be so sweet for all of our loved ones to be able to offer us some advice. Â For the kids attending the wedding, we created to something to keep them occupied for a little bit.

We used confetti for our getaway, and sealed the confetti in small bags with some thread to match the table numbers.

Nicole has documented all of the elements on her own blog, Design Curiosities â€“ so you can check out the dessert bar and confetti exit in action right here, the guestbook and centerpiece arrangements here and here, and the amazing table numbers (along with some DIY instructions) right here! Â You can also read Nicole and Steven’s cute proposal story here. Thank you so much Nicole and Steven!

{image credits: nicole | design curiosities}

p.s. Just a reminder â€“ if you have a few moments, would you please help answer a few questions for my annual reader survey? Â Thank you so much!

10/05/2010

Modern and Creative DIY Wedding Invitations

Nicole and Steven had an incredibly cool concept for their save the dates (a personal scavenger hunt!), so when Nicole sent over the invitations for their wedding this past April, I knew they would be fantastic. Â These invitations were Â a collaborative DIY effort, as Nicole and StevenÂ designed, printed, cut, folded, embossed, glued, and even sanded their entire invitation suite together â€“ check out a photo below for some of the many tools involved with the project!

From Nicole: Â The first step in deciding what our invitations were going to look like was deciding what we didn’t want them to look like. Â For us, that meant throwing out a lot of those invitation standards that scream “wedding.”

The invitations were a definite blending of two very different design styles. Â Steven usually has a very sterile and rigid way of designing, while I am drawn to strong patterns and bolder colors.

Each piece had a unique texture and feeling. Â The invitation itself was very understated, composed of only typographic elements and printed on the same light gray stock as our save the dates.

The RSVP card was the polar opposite. Â We chose a bright yellow color and complementary patterns on the front and back.

We mimicked the ribbon from the RSVP on the map card by wrapping a sheet of paper around wood veneer and notching the end. The flourishes that we used on the map enclosures were a more current take on the classic book ornament.