Oh My How Time Flies!

It seems like just the other day I made these sweet birth announcements for my newest little cousin, Layla:

I met this little sweetie when she was 1 month old.  She was just a peanut and did what all babies do - sleep and eat and repeat.  Cute, but less than entertaining.  Fast forward one year and now we have an adorable, active little girl who loves to show her toothy grin to all of those around.  I am grateful to have her and her mommy staying with me while they visit Michigan and I am also so excited that I was able to create the invitations for her 1st birthday party!

Layla's mommy has great ideas, it is so nice to have a clear direction to work with when designing an invitation.  The design process was super simple and the result was an invitation that is just as fun and vibrant as Layla herself:

I have also been working on several small projects this week.  Several times I have blogged showcasing stationery elements of the wedding featuring this invitation:

Below are thank you notes that I created to coordinate with the rest of the invitation suite: 

This invitation was a take on that same design, just a different color scheme.  I always love to customize designs, this time was no exception:

This week I am working on some wedding invitations, bachelorette party invitations, and some place cards that are so unique, they will knock your socks off!  So, as always, stay tuned!

HOPE

This past weekend, a local Relay for Life was held and several of my friends and family were involved with the event. 

Unfortunately, these days, most everyone knows someone or has someone in their family that is, has, or was battling cancer.  This awful disease is everywhere and thankfully there are many organizations out there working dilligently to find a cure.

This year, I donated several items to be sold at their silent auction.  My favorite item that I donated was this photo art:

I also donated 2 ceramic trivets:

One mosaic cross:

And a set of photo art notecards: 

Together these items brought in $65!  Every little bit helps and I am glad I had the opportunity to give to such a great cause!

Etiquette, Trends and Some Help from my Friends

The rules of party etiquette have changed over the years. Prior to the Internet, many people swore by the rules and books of Emily Post.  Her etiquette guidelines were the bible of party planning and any doubtful brides sought out her books for advice.  As a matter of fact, when I first got engaged, a dear friend of mine mailed me a copy of her book as an engagement gift, it was wonderful!  Everything I needed to know about weddings was right at my fingertips and I was able to look up the "rules" on any questions that I had.

These days rules have gone out the window and it seems that a desire to be different and unique is a resounding theme amongst many engaged couples.  Thought many are eager to break down the traditional wedding barriers, there are some etiquette rules that still ring true.  One of those is the idea of a nicely addressed envelope.  Many brides these days have tossed aside the idea of hand addressing invitation envelopes and opting to either use address labels or have addresses printed on envelopes.

I personally think that invitations do not have to be hand addressed.  Though I feel etiquette is important, I also feel that some rules are silly and not necessary.  My dilemma is not to hand address or not, it is that printing addresses on envelopes has become a rather tedious and expensive task for me.  I am having a hard time finding a quality printer that does a good job printing on envelopes and have sadly been through 3 different printers in an effort to find one that works ok.  My question to all of you readers is, how important is the outer envelope to you and is offering this service something that I should continue to do?  I am asking you all, after all, it is your opinion that matters!

Summer Vacation - Finally!

Finally, summer vacation is here for me!  I always look forward to re-charging my batteries in the summer and this summer I especially need it.  I have been so busy these past few months, I could barely think straight.  I have to also admit that I let my organizational skills slip a bit and I was not too thrilled with myself for this.  So, my plan with my new freedom is to rest, relax, and re-organize!  Hopefully I can come up with some new systems to help streamline the invitation business and hopefully I can even come up with some new designs!

Now - to the good stuff!  Below is a photo of a bridal shower invitation that I created.  This invitation was for a friend of mine at work.  Her summer wedding colors are pink and yellow - these cheery invites were the perfect invite for her shower!

Next up is a seating chart that I created for a bride.  I created all of the stationery for this wedding - I love it when I am able to create all elements of the wedding and am able to carry over a theme.  I especially love to do that when the bride chooses such a gorgeous design, everything just looks so nice all pulled together.  This seating chart was printed as an 18"x24" poster, framed and was displayed at the reception venue.  Not only does this serve a function, but also adds to the reception decor:

This invitation features the "Sour Apple" design - one that many brides have chosen and one that looks good in any color scheme.  This simple, clean design is a great way to feature your wedding color scheme without over doing it:

Next up - some inspiration!  Aren't these tulips amazing?!  I took this photo at the Lincoln Park Zoo in Chicago and I am dying to come up with a creative way to use them!!  Any ideas from my readers out there?!