Friday, April 27, 2012

unplug & unwind

a quote by ashleigh brilliant:

"sometimes the most urgent thing you can possibly do is take a complete rest."

after many months of working nonstop, i finally took a little time to unplug & unwind. my boyfriend knew the only way i was able to completely unplug is by putting me in the middle of the desert with no cell reception or wi-fi. what a brilliant idea!

so last week we headed out to joshua tree for a couple days of camping. the minute you enter this national park, it feels as if you're transported into another world. maybe it's because the joshua trees really do look like something out of a dr. seuss book. but, i also felt this sense of peace as we wandered throughout the park. we spent our days hiking and discovering different areas of joshua tree and each night the stars came out to greet us. it was A-W-E-S-O-M-E!!!

i wasn't quite ready to leave joshua tree and all it's beauty, but i definitely was ready for a shower and a ice cold beverage!  :)

Wednesday, April 4, 2012

arts & crafts party invites

this year, for my niece kayla's 7th birthday party, she's having an arts & crafts party.  when my sister first came to me for invitation ideas, my mind was a complete blank.  very unlike me when someone presents me with such a fun party idea.  

i'm not sure if i was just over thinking the idea since every year i have this need to top past invitations that i've done for her.  or perhaps, i've just been feeling a bit overwhelmed with my work load lately.

either way, i had to step back for a second and remind myself that simple is what makes my designs unique.

so here is how the arts & crafts party invitations turned out...

i created a fun and colorful paint splatter background, put all the info on a sheet of vellum paper as an overlay, and topped each invitation with a real paintbrush that each guest can keep and use.
different color paint brushes and envelopes were used to keep with the very colorful theme.
to see past invitations i've created for kayla, see the links below and let me know which one is your favorite so far.

Tuesday, April 3, 2012

scott + lori : wrapped up in love

i've known scott since i was in high school.  he was a friend of my sisters and quickly became like a big brother to me.  (he even left me with his nintendo game system and ALL his games when he left for college.)  i reconnected with scott via facebook a couple years ago and in doing so, he discovered that i specialized in custom wedding invitations.  when the time came, scott and his fiancĂ©, lori, got in touch with me to create their wedding invitation.  

scott & lori wanted wedding invitations that were simple, yet elegant and modern.  i immediately knew my "wrapped up in love" invitations would be the perfect suggestion.  this particular design has been customized and personalized a couple times over the past several years and each time it always looks like a brand new invitation design.  i love how each design reflects the bride and groom along with how they envision their special day.

here is how scott & lori's turned out...




i've been told that one of the favorite things about this invitation is how it's all self-contained so when each guest opens their envelope it makes for a very clean and pretty presentation.



love the idea of this reply card that lori had!

the added insert is always great for giving your guests any additional information to make their travels that much easier.  whether it's directions to the church and/or reception or hotel suggestions for those out of town guests.
a wedding set is never complete without the thank you note.  using just the couple's names allows for any leftover thank you notes to be used for a later time.