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One of the many things I'm thankful for this year is the fact that my husband and I were able to move into a place of our own. We bought our first home and what a pleasant (and, yes, sometimes stressful) experience it was for us. We went through a lot of transitions this year. I switched day jobs, we built a house, and got a significant amount of debt out from under us (despite the frustrating experience of finding out I was a victim of identity theft). Regardless of these major changes, I'm so proud that we were able to pull it off this year! We went through a tough first 5 years of marriage, and now I feel we're finally getting the hang of it financially. With my current position at work, I'm not sure how much work I'll be able to get prior to the busy season, but I was at least able to pull this minor project off before the holidays. I'm so glad I was able to do it too! I'm so thrilled by the way it turned out. You can have it too if you follow these simple steps. I've included a how-to instructional guide below. DIY Chalkboard Niche Time: 2 hours - painting; allow 3 days to cure before writing/decorating Supplies needed: Sandpaper (I also used a sanding tool...would highly recommend) Rag Water Sanding Mask Painters Tape HEPA Vacuum Cleaner (there's a lot of dust!) Chalkboard Paint Paint Brush Mini Dense Foam Roller Paint Tray Chalk Our Blank Canvas Step One: Clean the Surface Before you begin sanding make sure you start with a clean surface. Wipe down with a damp cloth and allow to dry prior to starting the sanding process Step Two: Sanding the Surface We had textured walls, so we had to sand the plaster off the wall. Once everything was cleaned, make sure you have the proper equipment to start sanding. Since you are sanding paint, ensure you wear the proper safety gear. You'll experience a lot of dust; safety first! I vacuumed every few minutes to minimize dust and give my arms a little break. The edges were the most difficult portion to sand for me. Step Three: Clean the Surface (again!) Once you're finished sanding, you'll want to ensure that the surface is free from debris prior to painting the surface. Take a vacuum to the area again, and grab a rag and some water and wipe down the surface. Step Four: Prepare for Painting Ensure that your chalkboard boundaries are well taped. I thought I would be spray painting the surface when I started taping the walls with newspaper, but the newspaper isn't necessary if you don't want to be that careful.  .  Step Five: Painting the Surface Finally you get to the best part...painting your chalkboard niche! I started from the outside in. I think it worked pretty well with this method. Use a paint brush for the edges; use a dense foam roller for the middle. When there is a solid even coat on the entire surface, let it sit for approximately 30 minutes or until the surface is dry to the touch. Touch up as needed. Wait 3-4 hours before removing the tape/newspaper. Touch up as needed and wait 3 days before moving on to the next step.  .  Step Six: Curing your Chalkboard Niche After you've waited 3 days, the real fun begins! Take a piece of chalk and just go wild! Place light even coat across the entire surface and then erase. Now your chalkboard is ready to be decorated! To prepare for Thanksgiving festivities, I decorated mine with a autumn wreath my mom gave us as a housewarming gift in the center and a nice typography design I found online for inspiration.  .  Wishing you a home filled with laughter, friendship and great food this Thanksgiving!

A new mommy of a little, precious baby girl wanted to welcome her into the world by sending out birth announcements during the Thanksgiving season. We collaborated on this design coupled with a pretty baby pink envelope. The color scheme included a nice light gold accent to give it a little bit of a fall feeling to it. I really wanted to give it a soft, fun vibe. I decided to pull an element from one of my other designs (Bubbly Invitations) to give it that airy flare. It was a nice subtle add to an otherwise simple design.

Tired of serving the same cupcakes, cookies, and pinwheels for your baby showers? Try throwing a fiesta themed baby shower and serve tacos instead! This "Let's Taco 'Bout a Baby" shower is such a festive and fun way to throw a party. Besides, who doesn't love tacos?!  

When I got the prompt for this gender reveal party, I couldn’t wait! We went with a camping theme to incorporate s’mores as the focal point for the gathering. Tossing in the age-old nursery rhyme, “Twinkle, twinkle little star how we wonder what you are” just fit perfectly for this social event! To integrate the invitation theme for the party, we also designed some water bottle labels. The hosts creatively colored the letters on Hershey's Milk Chocolate bars to amp up the excitement for the big unveiling as people assembled their own s'mores. They revealed the gender by setting up paint filled balloons on a canvas. The expecting parents threw darts at the canvas while they were...

A refined batch of glimmery gold and mint wedding invitations was in the stars for this couple! The overwhelmed bride came to me and said, "Do what you think looks best." So we just sat together chatting about her plans for the big day as I started designing. The eager bride and groom's vision for a nice spring wedding started to became a reality as I sat with her and designed while she was describing all of her plans. She wanted something simple and sophisticated... nothing too over the top, but elegant at the same time. Luckily I'm also a close friend of the bride and groom and was able to also sneak in and take a few photos of their big day. Although, some of these photos are taken by the talented photographer.  This beautiful venue is located in Magnolia, TX, a town on the outskirts of Houston. It was nicely tucked away from the hustle and bustle of big city life. This was probably the most fun I've had at a wedding! I even convinced my husband to dance which has never happened. So hats off to you, bud!

This design I did ended up slightly 'Pulitzer-esque.' A similar pink watercolor rose wedding invitation design was brought to me to 'sort of' mimic. Below you can see a few inspiration photos to pull the look together. For those of you who might not know, Lilly Pulitzer is most popular for her line of brightly colored *typically watercolor inspired* 'resort-ware' clothing. Her story is quite interesting. In short, she eloped in 1950. Her and her husband settled in Palm Beach, Florida. They owned an orange grove so she started a juice stand, but her clothes would always get stained. She decided to make herself some brightly patterned dresses to mask the stains. Her clients fell in love with her dresses and soon she was selling more clothes than juice and her fashion business blossomed quickly! Her clothing was seen being worn by Jaqueline Kennedy in Life magazine and many other elite family members in the 1960s-1980s!          Sources: Style Me Pretty, Tumblr, 100 Layer Cake, Hey Wedding Lady   I can relate to this sort of 'unplanned' idea to starting a business. When I was planning my wedding, I was a DIY bride. Between supporting myself through college with a slew of jobs that could equate to almost a full-time job and planning a wedding my last year in college, I was DIY-ing my wedding together. It was ironically my escape from my hectic schedule. I got a thrill when I slowly saw everything fit together like an art puzzle. So I was quite surprised and deflated in June when I finished school and got married in the same month. Everything ended so suddenly; I didn't know what to do with my life! Soon a few of my friends also got married, and I began getting calls about planning weddings! How much did it cost? How did I pull everything together? How did I organize? How did I know when to do what? Where did I get my invitations? ...When they learned that I did almost everything on my own, they asked if they could get my help! I was newly married and unemployed...not to mention baying back my college loans were just around the corner. Invitations seemed to be the lowest financial investment for me. I began designing their invitations with the knowledge I learned in my Graphic Design class in college. After designing a few friends' invites...it didn't take long before I was doing it for local people and soon Etsy shoppers. I didn't seek out this opportunity in paper goods. It sort of just fell in my lap, and I honestly wouldn't trade my venture for anything else to date!

Just for you! We put together these Good Friday wall papers for you to download! "It's a good day for a good day!" Happy Easter weekend everyone! Mobile Wallpaper | Desktop Wallpaper

Little Cal is turning one! I can’t believe it has been a year since I designed this itty-bitty baby’s birth announcements. My how time flies. This little bunny dug into his first cake with his own bare hands at his first birthday party. All moments were captured for his 1 year debut by his proud mama; complete with custom donuts and adorable Peter Rabbit cookies.   The Decor While I didn’t design any of the party décor for this party, I still wanted to give my dear friend and loyal customer props for putting this creative theme together herself. She had put cute water bottle labels on her party favors that featured a charming design of Peter Cotton Tail and Jemima Puddleduck. The labels said “Thank you for celebrating the Tale of Cal’s 1st Birthday with us!” She also put together a cute bunting sign that said, “Cal is one” The decorations were beautiful, Julie! You did it…again. The entertainment The entertainment for the party was a bunny petting zoo. As you can see, Cal was intrigued by them in the play pin.     The food Everyone was invited to brunch, but to keep with the bunny theme, Julie made some orange chocolate covered strawberries (click here for the recipe!), beautifully adorned cookies, candy, donuts, and, well, of course, cake!   If you have a little tyke that has a birthday coming up, and, if it happens to be during the Easter season, this is a great birthday party idea! You can easily find candy to fit the theme and a lot of your design elements will be easy finds since those beautiful pastel colors, soft flowers, and bunny home decor pops up during the spring.

Who wouldn't want to snuggle next to a cuddly little woodland animals? A client of mine brought me an adorable inspiration for a woodland themed baby shower. I just couldn't resist getting started right away! Our Woodland Baby Shower Inspiration: Image Source:  Beau Coup We knew these cute little creatures would have to debut in the invitation somehow. So we got our handy pen and pad and started drawing! We loved the idea of the little creatures gathering together for a party in the forest. I think it was depicted quite splendidly. We hope that little Elijah gets to grow up in as friendly and loved environment as we'd like to imagine this little family of furry critters do together in harmony. Source:  Sweetly Chic Events

Should transformers get car insurance or life insurance? ...ok ok I know... bad joke. But, at least this four year old won't have to worry about either one of those things for quite some time. This adorable little tyke knows how to keep his parents on their toes. When his mom asked what type of party he wanted, he eagerly stated he wanted a surprise party for his fourth birthday. So they 'surprised' him with a transformers birthday party at one of the many locations for Wonderwild, an indoor playground that can be rented out for parties such as theirs. I just had to jump on this opportunity to design his very own Optimus Prime themed invitation complete with the details about his 'surprise' party. Happy 4th Birthday, Beau! Hope it was all the surprising goodness & fun you expected. :)  

Filling the tree with gifts & spirited ornaments....homey spices....glorious sales....joyful hymns....perennial stop-motion TV classics....ugly Christmas sweaters....What more can you ask for in the month of December? This year I have an ugly Christmas sweater day at work. I thought I'd share a mini tutorial on how I made mine! It didn't turn out very 'ugly' but it was still fun to make! It's about the same price as the ones you can find online, but it's a lot more fun and memorable to make your own. What's even better... no sewing is required & mine only cost about $25! Much cheaper than a lot of the ugly sweaters you find in the stores and online. Here are the supplies you need: Long sleeve cotton shirt (I live in Texas so it may be hot even as a long sleeve!) 1/2 yard of funky fabric Heat-N-Bond - I had some left over from another project, but you only need enough for the size of your design 1 Pom pom Puff paint (or fabric paint) Cute ribbon 1/4" wide Fabric marker (I tried using a fabric pencil, but since its a knit fabric it didn't work so well. I used a different method in this tutorial but I think the fabric marker would work even better.) Ironing board & iron How to Make Your Own Christmas Sweater: Print of your design to the size you want it. You'll be cutting it out so keep that in mind when selecting your design! You can print the pattern for the design used in this tutorial at the bottom of this post! Cut loosely around the design to give you a good idea on the sizing for the Heat-N-Bond. I had words that I wanted to put on the bottom in paint, but you can also do the same with the lettering. (Alternatively, you can do what I did. Cut the letters down to the outer portion and hold and trace around in the place you want it on the shirt.) Place your design (facing up), fabric (wrong side up), & Heat-N-Bond on top of each other. Cut the fabric & Heat-N-Bond slightly larger than the design. Iron the Heat-N-Bond to the wrong side of your fabric. The best method I've found is to press and hold. Don't move the iron around too quickly. NOTE: One side of the Heat-N-Bond peals off. Be sure your ironing the sticky (textured) side to the fabric. Otherwise, you're going to have a nice permanent piece stuck to your iron. Let the fabric cool. Now that your design is firm, cut out your paper design and trace the design on the paper backing. Cut out your fabric design. (Do not to use your fabric scissors. The stickiness from the Heat-N-Bond will ruin them.)   Grab your shirt & place it onto your ironing board. I like to iron it out before pressing my applique to get rid of the Houston humidity to make sure the shirt is ready for adhering well. Peel off the paper from the Heat-N-Bond. The back should be nice and shiny. Place your design (shiny side down) where you'd like it on the shirt. Press and hold until it is well adhered to the fabric, especially along the edges. Now if you wish to save your sweater from fraying over time, outline your fabric with fabric glue. I also filled in my letters with fabric glue. In the tutorial, I didn't feel like trekking to the store to buy pens so I just outlined the letters I printed out and filled in the letters, but if you had washable pens, you would outline the letters with a pen instead.BEST PRACTICES:- Take one direction at a time- Keep in mind which hand you are painting with and work the opposite end. - Paint into the shape to seal it.   Now the fun begins! Add your accessories and enjoy!   I had a great time miking this sweater! It wasn't very difficult or nearly as time consuming as some might think. Download the design in this post here.

Whether you’re a seasoned invitee or the first of your clan to accumulate a rock on your finger, starting the wedding invitation search can be quite overwhelming sometimes. One thing you might notice is that many of the invitations you see offer several different wording options. But, what do these different wedding invitation wordings all mean? Is there a method to the madness! The easy answer is, yes! For several reasons… Here we discuss the reasons why, and hopefully help you make your decision easier when you decide to jump into the world of paper goods and planning. Reason 1: Each portion of your wedding invitation wording has its own importance. Each portion of your wedding invitation wording has its own importance. Here are a few items to make sure you mention, even if you do not want to go the traditional route on your invitations. The Host Line Usually someone is generally funding a large portion of the big day. The host line is one of the many forms of gratitude you can offer in appreciation in hosting such an important event in your lives. The Request Line The request line lets your guests know how traditional and religious the wedding is. “request the honour of your presence” is traditional and religious, whereas “request the pleasure of your company” is located at a non-religious institution. Bride & Groom Line Of course, you’re guests want to know who’s wedding they are being invited to! And knowing tradition, it’s not quite as easy as you would think. Here are some etiquette tips when it comes to this portion of your wedding invitation wording. Use the word “to” between the bride and groom. Unless grammatically, it doesn’t make sense. Date & Time Line Obviously, your guests need to know what day and what time to show up! But that’s not all this tidbit of information entails. The time is very important! It determines whether you are expected to serve a true meal or just appetizers at your reception. It also lays the setting of how people should dress. If it’s an evening soiree then people are more likely to dress more formally than if they were planning to attend an afternoon brunch wedding. Location Line Not only does this line provide the opportunity for your guests to begin making travel arrangements (if they need to), it also offers them the capability to take a look at pictures of your venue online to find out how formal they need to dress. Unless noted on the invitation, someone attending a barnyard wedding will more than likely not show up in an evening gown or tux. RSVP Line (optional) If you plan on creating a wedding website for your guests to respond to the invitations, then a response card can be nixed from your invitation suite…which is pretty sweet! It saves you the money on postage for the response return and card..not to mention the hassle of keeping up with all of them! You’ll have a live update daily of who has and hasn’t responded. If you are inviting more people less likely to know how to use the good ol’ Internet, you may want to opt into the traditional response card anyway. If you choose not to include a reply card, alternatively your wedding invitation wording can include a rsvp line at the bottom to inform guests where to leave their reply. Reason 2: Your guests don’t see your wedding planning like you do. Source: Oh How Darling Blog No one more than the couple planning the wedding (and possibly your wedding planner!) knows every aspect of your big day. Your guests don’t and can’t see your plans like you do until they come into fruition on the wedding day (which might be a good thing at times)! This is one of the very few tangible things your guests will have to go off of as a reminder, and as a guide to know what key elements (including your design & wedding invitation wording) you want them to take out of your wedding and reception. Reason 3: Tradition and etiquette aside, your wedding reflects your personality and style as a couple. Source: Wikimedia Commons  Your invitations are more than likely going to be one of the simplest, and cheapest items to keep as a memoir of your wedding day. Not only is it a first impression for your guests, it is also a unique representation of who you are as a couple.