"that's what she said!"

well actually, that's what they said!  

more quotable cards just added to the "in a card" Etsy shop.  

check it out...

"Quote No. 26" by in a card on Etsy

"Quote No. 27" by in a card on Etsy

"Quote No. 28" by in a card on Etsy

"Quote No. 29" by in a card on Etsy

"Quote No. 30" by in a card on Etsy

"Quote No. 31" by in a card on Etsy

the possible, impossible & miracles

i love this...

*image courtesy of candyblackdesign.com

possible can be done immediately
we're already working on the impossible
but please allow 48 hours for miracles

i think this saying would make for a great backdrop for the studio or better yet, for the front door entrance!

fortune & love

came across this lovely quote today and thought i'd share...

a quote by ovid:

"fortune and love favor the brave."

i think it makes for a great mantra!

single card draw

i turned my 3 card casino invite into a single, more economical, version for a soon to be 21-year-old, hayley.  i was able to fit all the party info on one card but still keep the small size of the invitation so it doesn't lose it's almost life like version of an actual playing card.

feel free to contact me if you are interested in purchasing these invitations.

forever cherry blossoms

i love postage stamps!  however, i'm not a collector of them.  i actually like to use my stamps and i'm always buying the prettiest ones currently available, whether at the local post office or online at usps.com.

every once in a while, i fall in love with an absolutely beautiful design and i pretty much stock up until they run out.

my current favorite is this cherry blossom centennial forever stamp.

maybe it's the pink or maybe it's the cherry blossoms, but either way, these stamps go very well with all my stationery goods.

little love nest is growing

i had a request recently for my "little love nest invitation" to be turned into a "we're expecting" announcement.  a quick horizontal layout adjustment and you've got these adorable little announcements...

a fun way to announce a new baby is on the way

my simplewear shop has been super busy lately. with mother's day around the corner, i've had lots of requests for my "loved and spoiled by" onesie to help announce a new pregnancy. these onesies will surely surprise all the soon-to-be grandparents as well as the soon-to-be aunties and uncles.

"loved and spoiled by" onesie by simplewear on Etsy

"simplewear gift wrap" by simplewear on Etsy

i've even had a custom request for a "i heart grandma & grandpa" based on my "i heart mom" and "i heart dad" designs.

i love the little addition of "coming soon december 2012" on this onesie. it makes the onesie that much more custom and special.

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!  :)

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.

kayla's baby shower invitations

kayla's birth announcements

kayla's 1st birthday party invitations

kayla's 2nd birthday party & her brother's baptism invitations

kayla's 4th birthday party invitations

kayla's 5th birthday party invitations

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 fiancé, 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.