Announcing with Love...

Hey there!  So in between working full time, hosting Thanksgiving for 16, preparing for Christmas and making a baby, (sound like your lives?  I know I am preaching to the choir here) I have been working on a few stationery orders.  This one was extra sweet because it involved a picture of an adorable baby girl!  A dear friend of mine had her first baby a few months back, and she asked me to make the announcements.  I was beyond excited - I don't get to do these much!  She pretty much turned me loose with the design, and I gave her two options.  This was the final look!

I also designed some custom label wraps, which of course coordinated with the look of the announcement.  I have blurred out all some of the information here as to keep addresses private.

Here's a close up of the wording.

Of course as I am uploading these photos I am noticing that the soft colors aren't showing up very well.  Darn it.  Can someone give me lessons on taking photos of stationery??

 

Well, you get the idea anyway.  Sometimes my images look great, and other times they are hard to read.  Very frustrating.  Yes, I am venting to you all now I realize.  Probably TMI.  I am open to pointers!  Have a great Wednesday!

Holiday Tablescape

I know, I know - I am as sick of fall stuff as you are!  BRING on the Christmas decor!  But I was a day late and a dollar short in posting my Thanksgiving Day tablescape.  So... you have to endure the fall motif for one more post.  I drew a lot of inspiration from my Friday Favorites two weeks ago.  (I had a houseful last Friday, I apologize.  I didn't post my favorites, oops.  This is why I need to start scheduling my posts.)

I loved Finding Home's tablescape so much - so you'll see some resemblances here.  I used what I had to make it my own, and my many Thanksgiving guests (16 to be exact) loved the look.

I went to Hobby Lobby last week with the intention of buying burlap for the table runner, but alas - they were out.  I substituted with muslin - which you will see make a return very soon in a future post.

 

Almost everything I used I either had on hand, bought at the Dollar Tree or Walmart.    Those harvest plates?  Walmart - $2.50 apiece.  I decided to use this opportunity of hosting Thanksgiving for 16 to buy some new digs.  Of course, once Baby Boy H is born, we will be one short...

The prayer tag idea was from Finding Home.  I duplicated the prayer, and printed it on kraft paper, which I then crumbled up in my hand and smoothed out to give it a worn looking texture.

So now - Fall is officially over for me.  I spent last Sunday putting up the tree, working on my mantle, and starting to put out the rest of the Christmas decor.  I don't think it will all be completely finished until this weekend.  I can't wait to share some of my holiday projects with you - I have a lot planned!

Save the Date!

I have been hard at work over the last few weeks trying to finish some large stationery orders - and finally, they are done....and I am so proud!  One of my best friends is getting married in May, and she asked me to make all of her wedding stationery, starting with her Save the Date cards.  I was honored, to say the least, that she wanted me to have such a big part of her special day.  

I met with Kerri and her hubby-to-be about a month ago to discuss wedding color selection and invitation styles.  Kerri's favorite color is purple, and both her and hubby-to-be have a minor major love for stars (they even both have a star tattoo), so we knew I had to somehow incorporate those elements.  We decided on a design, and they turned me loose!!  

Starting with the envelopes, they wanted a more casual feel, so we decided to go with a kraft paper and custom label wraps.  

The card itself was designed and printed on white cardstock, backed with a deep eggplant.

The design was very "them" - it fit the description of what they wanted perfectly, and they were so happy with the results!  I can't wait to start on the actual wedding invitations!!!

Friday I'm In Love (and a Special Reveal)

I am thankful for a lot of things:  My family, this beautiful baby growing inside me.... the fact that you haven't ditched me in my absence over the last two weeks!  It's been a crazy few weeks here.  My family came to visit from NJ (pics to come), I was in the hospital for pre-term labor (scary, but turns out I was just dehydrated), and...super exciting - we found out the gender of the baby!!

So, before I get into my favorites this week, I wanted to share the joy and excitement with you all.  Yes - I have it all captured on video!  Want to know what we're having?  Watch and find out (please pardon my annoying voice)!!

We are so excited, and thankful, which beings me back full circle to my favorites for the week!  I am a glutton for punishment, and have decided to host Thanksgiving for 16 people this year.  So, this week, I have been frantically searching blogs for decor and recipe ideas, and I must say, I have found such great inspiration!

Laura from Finding Home has created the most beautiful Thanksgiving Tablescape!!  I love the mix of mediums, from the wheat, to the rustic wood, lace and tweed!  All of the photos on her blog show the detail - you have to check them out!  

These napkin rings are easy AND thrifty!  Christina from I Gotta Create shares a tutorial on her blog for these little beauties.  How adorable?  I love the organic feel (goes well with the wheat centerpiece from above)!  Hmm...my wheels are turning!

And once again - from my favorite recipe blog, Dashing Dish, comes this scrumptious Layered Pumpkin Cheesecake (with Gingersnap crust).  GET THIS - each delicious slice is only 185 calories!!!!  I heart you Katie!!

Here's another Fall Tablescape that I absolutely fell in love with from Aimee at It's Overflowing!.  Pottery Barn, eat your heart out!  LOVE the antlers and Peacock feathers - this is gorgeous!

And finally, there is something to be said about simplicity!  How great are these Acorn Napkin Rings by Kim at Savvy Southern Style?  They look so great with the gold acorn napkins - adorable!

If you were featured, feel free to grab a button from my sidebar!  I hope you enjoyed sharing in our baby excitement! 

Friday I'm in Love with a Touch of Grey

Well...don't I have quite the song title collection going in my post header this lovely Friday morning?  I now have the Grateful Dead song "Touch of Grey" stuck in my head, and I think it may be there all day.  LOL.  That's ok - I love that song anyway.

Now that I have gone off on a total tangent, let me get back down to it!  There are some weeks when it gets to Friday morning, and I realize that I haven't had a whole lotta time to blog surf that week, and it gets down to the wire.  This was one of those weeks.  So, this morning, I just started poking around to see where my mood takes me.  Today, it went grey - probably due to the blustery weather I woke up to this morning.  In any case, I was really feeling these projects today, they called to me, and they are beautiful.

This Key Rack was my inspiration for all of today's picks.  Rosemary from Villa Barnes did such a wonderful job on this.  It looks so aged - like it's been around for a hundred years!  

I am just loving Jaime Lyn's Bedroom Makeover over at Crafty Scrappy Happy.  Girl - good for you for having the guts to paint your bed - I need some guts like that.  I have a dining room table in much need of some TLC right now!!  Thanks for the motivation - this room is gorgeous!

Melissa from Shabby Love turned this old crib mattress into a beautiful inspiration board for her craft room.  Not only do I love the mattress, but I love the items she uses for inspiration - so creative and gorgeous!  

OK, so we all know where I stand on Nurseries right now - I'm a might bit obsessed.  Doesn't this room look like it came out of the pages of a Restoration Hardware catalog?  Kristine from The Painted Hive not only did an amazing job with the room, but her photographs are beautiful as well!  Rooms like this are the reason I cannot decide on a theme for little peanut's nursery.  There are too many beautiful options!!

And last, but not least, this New York Subway Sign Dresser brings me back to my days of working in Manhattan.  I love that city, and any daily reminders I get of it make me smile.  This dresser from Lindauer Designs is no exception! 

If you were featured, feel free to grab a button from my sidebar.  I hope my favorites have brought you all the inspiration that they brought me!  Have a fantastic weekend!!

19 Weeks and Getting Antsy

Aahh, baby love!!  Momma's belly is growing fast, and I am getting very antsy to start the nursery.  Next Friday is a big day - we find out what we are having!  Our ultrasound is actually on Wednesday, but we have decided to do things a little differently than last time.  

My parents, sister, brother in law and little niece are all coming to visit from NJ next Thursday, so.... we decided to get the gender sealed in an envelope and plan to do a "gender reveal" party on Friday.  After the ultrasound, I will drop the envelope off at my friend's house, and she is making us a cake for the party.  The inside of the cake will either be pink or blue, but we won't know until we cut it!!  We have invited family and close friends over, and we will all find out at the same time.  Waiting those extra two days will be torture, but being able to share this moment with everyone will be so amazing!

So, I have been frantically pinning nurseries, and now think that I have had way too much time to think about it.  I can't decide what I want (for a girl anyway - the boy is decided on).  Here are some of the fun ideas I have added to my ever growing baby room pinboard.

This is the aqua and yellow (with some other colors thrown in) vintage kick that I have found myself in.  I think this is the direction I am leaning for either a boy or a girl.  

Via hartandsew.blogspot.com

Pinterest via Tabitha Snyder

Via belleandboo.blogspot.com

Via spearmintbaby.com

 Via Thompson Family-Life

What do you think?  I believe I'm kind of in love with this look. 

Halloween Wrap Up!

I know you are all sick of Halloween, as am I!  I just couldn't help doing a little wrap up of the big day.  This year, Addison decided that she wanted to be an angel for Halloween AND this year, I decided to make her costume.  My initial thought was that it would be a cheaper alternative, however, I quickly realized that I ended up spending the same, if not more than if I had just bought it.  

BUT - I must say that this was her best costume yet, and I was really proud of my efforts!  I didn't make the wings (bought those), but made the dress and the halo.  Look at my little angel!!

Front

Back

Close-Up of the Flower & Feather Detail

Halo

Me and Addie

I decided to go as a Pregnant Woman, LOL

Love this picture!

Sweet Innocence

Addison had such a blast Trick Or Treating!  What a great Halloween we had!  Lots of fun and candy.  I have to try to keep my hand out of Addie's candy bucket - I think that's the real challenge!  Next year, I will be planning two costumes!  One for Addison and one for the little peanut!

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