Alphabet Pillows!

Whenever I have a minute or two of down time, I often find myself on etsy looking through different shops at all the wonderful things. I'm pretty sure if I had a problem with shopping, that etsy would be the place I'd go broke. Unfortunately, Pete needs braces and I'd like to send him to private school...so my wallet will stay RIGHT where it belongs in my purse.

Look at how cute these initial pillows are from Hilary Cosgrove.




Each pillow is different, and is made from recycled suit-jackets. Some will have buttons, some will have a pocket--so cute that the detail from the coat become a part of the pillow. Hilary makes them from vintage fabrics, like herringbones and tweeds. You can purchase them here/

I'm considering purchasing a couple of these for my bedroom, but they'd make a great bridal shower gift as well!

Let there be cake!

I must have confections on my mind or something. I signed on to write this post and noticed my last post was about cookies. What can I say, I've got a weakness for sweets. Especially when they look so pretty with my wedding stationery designs.

I was thumbing threw my Martha Stewart Weddings magazine on the way to visit my family in Missouri this past weekend when I came across a cake that would be SO PERFECT for Wendy and Frank's wedding. I designed these invitations especially for them:

Buy a sample of "He Loves Me..."

Now, take a look at this cake from Martha Stewart Weddings and tell me it's not a match made in sugary, gum-paste heaven:

Image from Martha Stewart Weddings.

If you are feeling adventurous or are an experienced pasty chef, you can get directions on how to make this cake here. Martha claims that the petals can be made in four steps. Throw that apron on and you be the judge!

Confections + Invitations!

I was catching up on Design Sponge today, when I came across a post about Miette, an adorable organic bake shop in San Francisco. I was already sold on Miette when I landed on their home page to see an adorable logo and a cake that I wanted to slice right into. She (owner, Megan Ray) has all kinds of cakes (carrot cake. YUM!) and confections (two words: VANILLA MARSHMALLOW!) that I'd love to try. Her cookies are available for mail order... so tempting.

As I perused Miette online, I thought how perfect some of her cookies would be for a wedding shower or as a favor for out of town guests.

These lovely starburst cookies would pair up nicely with my boarding passes, don't you think?

Photo from Miette.com



And how about these Hydrangea cookies with a Garden Party themed event?

Photo from Miette.com

New invitation design!

Wendy and Frank contacted me back in December to design their wedding invitations. The couple will be having a formal ceremony in New York, with their colors being pink, ivory and black. Wendy loved the idea of using rose petals in her invite, so that's exactly where I went with it. The idea was to show petals falling from the invite down the entire pocketfold. It's appropriately named, "He Loves Me..."






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Here's a detail shot of the invitation design:

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Wendy and Frank were great to work with. They are one of my few in town clients, as the majority of my business is done with out-of-state brides. It's always great to meet with a bride face to face and see their reaction to their wedding stationery!

I don't currently have a save the date for this design, but I am making it my goal to add them for any design that does not have a matching "partner." If you'd like a save the date using this design, I can create it for you!

If you would like to purchase a sample of this invite, you may do so here.

Save the Date Etiquette

Brenda, over at Brenda's Wedding blog wrote a great post about Save the Dates. I get questions all the time about them, and Brenda does a wonderful job detailing the etiquette of Save the Dates. So if you have any questions about them, please go read this entry.

While you're over there, check out her entire blog--it's a definite one to bookmark for anyone planning a wedding. She posts daily, so you'll have your wedding planned in no time!

Luggage Tag Placecards

Because I offer Boarding Pass style save the dates and invitations, I get a lot of destination wedding brides. Jane and Tameez contacted me earlier this year to create boarding pass invitations for their April wedding in Mexico. We worked together to create passes for her guests and are finishing up her details at this very moment. The clock is ticking!

Because Jane, Tameez and all their guests will be boarding a plane and flying to Mexico, we decided to take the travel theme from the invitations into their wedding celebration by creating luggage tag place cards. The guests will find their seat by locating the luggage tag at their place setting. The best part? They can use it to make sure that their luggage makes its way back home. And with every future trip each guest makes, they will see their luggage tag and remember the amazing time that they had at Jane and Tameez's wedding!

I created one for myself, so even I will remember their big day in my future travels! :) The front has a screened back graphic of a tropical flower (which was on their boarding pass invitations) with room for the guest to write in their info:

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The backs are flooded with bold tropical flowers:

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Take it from your seat to your suitcase!

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Pure Genius

If there's anything I've learned over the years, it's that Martha Stewart never fails me. Whether it's an organizational tip, a craft or a recipe– she knows what's up! I was searching around online for wedding shower ideas when I came across the most brilliant idea: cupcakes in a jar!


Photo via Martha Stewart

FOR THE CUPCAKES
* Vegetable-oil cooking spray
* 1 1/2 cups plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour, plus more for muffin tins
* 1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
* 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
* 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
* 3/4 teaspoon salt
* 1 large egg
* 1 large egg yolk
* 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons warm water
* 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons buttermilk
* 1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
* 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

FOR THE FROSTING AND ASSEMBLY
* 12 ounces cream cheese, softened
* 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
* 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons confectioners' sugar
* 1 1/2 tablespoons whole milk
* 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
* 2 1/2 cups raspberry jam

Directions
1. Make the cupcakes: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat 2 standard muffin tins with cooking spray, dust with flour, tap out excess. Sift flour, granulated sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt into a mixer bowl. Add egg, yolk, water, buttermilk, oil, and vanilla to bowl; beat on low speed until smooth, about 3 minutes.
2. Divide batter among 20 muffin tins, filling each cup about 2/3 full. Bake, rotating tins halfway through, until cupcakes are golden brown and a tester inserted into centers comes out clean, about 17 minutes. Let cool in tins placed on wire racks for 15 minutes, then turn cupcakes out onto racks, and let cool.
3. Make the frosting: Beat cream cheese, butter, and confectioners' sugar with a mixer on medium-high until smooth. Beat in milk and vanilla.
4. Spoon 2 tablespoons jam into the bottom of each jar. Place cupcake on top, then top with 2 tablespoons frosting. Cupcakes can be stored for 1 day.


If you wanted to simplify it, you could cheat and go with a box mix and prepared frosting. And obviously, don't forget to accessorize your jar with a customized label to match your invitation suite. ;)

April is ready to download!

It's April, and you know what that means? May is on the way! This month's design was inspired by my "Event Poster" series, check them out here.



Click on the link below to download your desktop (a new window will open, either drag it to your desktop or right click and "save image as"):

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I've had a busy last few weeks, I apologize for the lack of posting. I'm in the middle of my busy season. In fact, I'll be posting some new invite designs in the next week, so you can see what I've been up to!