A Busy Little Bee!

I titled this blog post "Busy Little Bee" because that is what I have been since my last blog post, over ONE MONTH AGO!!  I apologize for my absence.  I know everyone has a busy life, but mine went through a period of overload.  When I say overload, I mean overload!  I was up to my ears in orders, events and life.  It was nutzo!!  My next few blogs will show what exactly I have been so busy doing.
In this blog I will show you some birthday invitations, a bridal shower invitation and a wedding set.  So, here goes:

My husband's best friend turned 30 this past week and his mom and sisters wanted to throw a surprise birthday party for him.  I was so excited to make these invitations for a couple of reasons #1, this guy and his family are nothing short of awesome, #2 I was looking forward to the challenge of creating an invitation that was not cutesy and girly, something I have yet to do.  So, below you will see the finished product.  I thought it turned out pretty darn perfect:

Lately I have been creating lots of invitations for birthday parties and showers.  Below is a bridal shower invitation that I finished up this week.  The wedding colors were pink and yellow, this cute cake invitation was the perfect fit for this event:



Finally, I want to show off my first set of wedding invitations from this season.  This bride was so wonderful to work with.  She was easy-going and organized and knew exactly what she wanted.  I met her at the Zehnders Bridal Show and her wedding set was the first set of the 2011 wedding season that I completed.

She chose the "Modern Floral" design and customized the color.  The royal blue she chose was a nice contrast to the white and I think that the designed really popped:

And of course, as a gift to the bride and groom, I commissioned Katie of Remaking Memories to create a Christmas ornament for them:

Stay tuned for 3 moer wedding invitations and some bachelor/bachelorette invites that will knock your socks off!

Brides, Babies, and Birthdays!

Lately I have been creating invitations for events other than weddings and I have to say, it has been quite fun!  I enjoy creating new invitations and these invitations are no exception:

Baby Shower invitations for a St. Patrick's Day shower - can you spot the 4 leaf clover?

1st birthday party invitations for a little cutie pie: 

Baby Shower invites for a mommy to be:

And some awesome bridal shower invites:

I am very busy working on finalizing invitations for the first spring weddings, stay tuned to the blog for more to come!

Fun, Fancy, and Fabulous

Previously I shared with you the invitations that I created for a bride having a peacock themed wedding.  The invitations were gorgeous, classy and lots of fun:

Then of course, Remaking Memories created this awesome magnet that I gave as a special gift to the bride and groom:

After the initial invitations were done, I met with the super creative bride and we got to work creating lots of other items for the wedding and reception.  We started with this menu card:

 I created several signs that were displayed in various areas throughout the reception:

 Then came the wedding programs:



And custom thank you notes:

The next piece of stationery was my absolute favorite.  Remember when I said the bride was super creative?!  Well, here is an example of some genius - - she had me create Wedding Mad Libs to be placed at each place setting!!  The guests filled out the Mad Libs in tribute to the bride and groom; how fun is that?!  I was so excited making these, I cannot imagine the fun that the guests had filling them out. 

The Mad Libs were folded and were placed under the menu cards at each place setting.  When each guest received their Mad Lib, it looked like this, ready to be filled out: (minus my finger holding it down, of course!)

Then, after the guests had fun filling in their goofy answers, they opened it up to reveal the 'Wedding Prediction' they had just created for the newlyweds:

I can see how this personal and unique touch can be treasured for years to come.  Great idea, Mandy!

And lastly I would like to share the seating chart that I created.  This 18x24 seating chart poster was printed and framed in a black frame.  The chart was stunning, just like the rest of the wedding details:

This wedding was filled with thoughtful, fun, and fabulous details.  And of course, the bride and groom are pretty fun and fabulous themselves.  Cheers to you, Mandy and Nick.  I wish you many years of wedded bliss!

Everybody LOVEs a Giveaway!

Valentine's Day is quickly approaching and since my husband and I don't do much for this holiday, I thought I would celebrate it with my fans this year!  I have decided to do a major giveaway this week, just in time for Valentine's Day.  The best part is, not only am I giving away something, but my friend Katie at Remaking Memories has decided to join in the fun as well.  Meaning, this givewaway will have TWO winners and TWO fantastic prizes!!

The contest features these fabulous items - one 4"x10" photo art:

 and a pendant made from Remaking Memories:

All you have to do is enter the contest and you could win!
Here are the details:
-The contest runs until Thursday, February 10 at 8pm

You can enter the contest by simply commenting on the blog and responding to the following question:
What do you love most about Valentine's Day?

My favorite thing about Valentine's Day is that it brings us one step closer to spring!

You can receive extra contest entries by doing one or more of the following:
- +1 entry for following my blog
- +1 entry for following the blog at Remaking Memories
- +1 etnry for being a fan of my facebook page
- +1 entry for being a fan of the Remaking Memories facebook page

Be sure to share with your friends!
(Be sure to leave a comment for each +1 entry, so that it "counts".  Meaning, leave a seperate comment if you are a facebook fan, blog fan, etc.)

Another ONEderful birthday invitation!

Recently I was asked to create another 1st birtday party invitation.  I love making these, they are so much fun to make!  This invitation was for a little girl named Chloe whose Mommy happens to be super sweet.  Chloe's Mommy and Daddy were so easy to work with, we were able to create her invitation very quickly.

The invitation was creating using shades of pink and silver, and I opted to include a photo (courtesy of Elizabeth K Photography, whoop!) of the birthday girl.  The finished product was so sweet and perfect, just like Chloe:

 Happy 1st birthday, Chloe.  I hope your party today was loads of fun!

Bridal Show

Last Saturday I had the opportunity to host a booth at the Zehnders Bridal Extravaganza in Frankenmuth.  This was my 3rd year at the show and I cannot get over how it gets easier and more fun each year.  I remember my first year at the show, I was a nervous wreck and I was not very prepared (though I thought I was at the time!)  My sister and my best friend helped me that day and we sat proudly behind this sad looking booth (though that day I thought it was the best, ever!):

After starting the invitation business, I began to learn.  I learned a lot and I learned quickly.  That first year I created invitations for a handful of weddings and it gave me enough courage to give the bridal show a try again.  So, last year I went back to the show with a stronger display, better invitation designs and a much larger portfolio.  I had much success last year and as you can see, my display had more to offer, as well!

After wrapping up a very busy 2010, I was ready to roll at the 2011 show.  This show was great for many reasons.  I had a plethora of samples to show.  My portfolio has now grown to the point where I cannot even show you everything I can do/have done because there is so much.  I was feeling much more confident this year and I really have my act together, much more than I did a couple of years ago!

This year I was finally equipped with a solid logo, a display board for my samples, plenty of coupons, pricing lists, etc.  The look was awesome and I have never felt more comfortable with the business and work that I was representing.

One thing that made this year different from years before was that this year I actually had a few customers that came to the show looking for ME!  A few clients were referred to me from former satisfied customers.  This experience was very humbling but also very, very exciting!  I am so excited that I am steadily working toward developing a strong business that allows me to make so many people happy!

So, here are the photos from this year.  Again, MUCH improved!

Now the show is over and it is back to business.  I have already whipped up some bday party invites this week (blog post to come) and am in the midst of working on some other super cool projects.  So, stay tuned, as always, there is more to come!

It's Christmas!

Things are feeling festive around here today!  All of my presents are wrapped, projects are done, it is now time to sit back and relax and soak up the joy of this Christmas season.  I am very grateful for the productive year that I have had.  I have been very busy, learned a lot, and am growing creatively and professionally as the days go by.

I'd like to share two projects with you that I completed last month.  Earlier I hosted a contest on my facebook fan site and the winner won 75 free Christmas cards!  The winner chose the design "Christmas with the K's":

I also had the opportunity this fall to work with a bride that is nothing short of fabulous.  Her wedding sounds like it is going to be just as fabulous so, of course, she needed some rockin' invitations.  

Here is the finished set:

The invitation is black with white and teal text and of course, the grand peacock image is on the right.  The invitations were coordinated with a teal metallic envelope which was the perfect extra detail.  The RSVP card featured the same image in teal with teal and black text with coordinating white envelopes.  And of course, I had ordered a coordinating magnet from Remaking Memories as a gift for the bride and groom.  It was the perfect accessory to the entire set.

 Cheers to the bride and groom and to all of my 2010 customers.  I have had such a great year and I am looking forward to the excitement that 2011 will bring!