{happy weekend!}

Well, hello Friday!  I can't believe that this is the last weekend before Thanksgiving!  Next week I'm heading down to my mom's house in Florida – the first time I've been home in more than 3 years, and the first Thanksgiving that I'll be spending with my mom since meeting my husband.  See, my dad lives just outside of New York City and my husband's family lives in upstate New York, so we mostly end up splitting our holidays between those two sides of the family.  Now, for this year's Thanksgiving holiday, I'm really looking forward to nice weather and sunshine instead of snow!  But in the meantime…

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…here are a few favorites from the week:

I'll be here on Monday and Tuesday of next week, and then for the rest of the week I'll be re-running some of my favorite past invitation and save the date features.  So don't forget to stop by next week!

{image credits: cassia via mary ruffle}

Advent Calendars

I didn't grow up with the tradition of doing an advent calendar, but I love this idea of wrapping a secret message around a wooden thread spool:

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Check out the full instructions for the spool advent calendar over on Just Something I Made.  But for those of us who might not have the time to DIY an advent calendar, Mibo is offering a free downloadable version:

Mibo-Advent-Calendar

Are any of you doing advent calendars?

{spool calendar via you are my fave, mibo calendar via benign objects}

DIY Housewarming Party Invitations

I love these last-minute invitations that Jen created using free paint color chips from her local Green Depot:

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Paint-Chip-Housewarming-Invitations3

In addition to being a quick, easy, and totally creative to invite a few friends over for a housewarming, I love the use of the vintage typewriter!  Such a perfect idea for a housewarming or informal dinner party for a newlywed couple that perhaps used a typewriter guest book in their wedding.  I love the Color Me Happy theme, too — you can check out more from the party over at the haystack needle.

{image credits: The Haystack Needle}

Illustrated Ceremony Programs

I'm in need of something fun and pretty today, and I really can't think of anything more fun than these wedding ceremony programs and thank you cards from Nisee Made.  Aren't they just beyond adorable?

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Nisee-Made-Wedding-Ceremony-Program2
Nisee-Made-Thank-You-Cards

Love the little heart detail between the two tails on the thank you cards – so cute!  The illustration details are wonderfully whimsical – just what I needed for today!  Check out more from these two projects, plus the couple's ridiculously sweet rehearsal dinner invitations, over on the Nisee Made blog. 

{image credits: Nisee Made}

Dutch Folk Art Birthday Calendar

This calendar from The Beautiful Project isn't a traditional yearly calendar — it's a calendar to help keep track of all your loved ones' birthdays!  In designing this calendar, Jeanette from The Beautiful Project was inspired by the relatives of her Dutch husband's family, who all keep similar calendars around their homes.  The calendar features original illustrations based on Dutch folk art motifs and months written in Dutch, with two months printed on each page: 

Birthday-Reminder-Calendar2

Each 8-page calendar is printed on Mohawk Superfine recycled 120 lb paper and coil-bound.  Jeannette recommends hanging these calendars in the kitchen or bathroom (hey, it works!) with a pen placed nearby and letting friends and family fill them out themselves.  Find 'em in The Beautiful Project shop right here.

{image credits: The Beautiful Project}