Most girls get a cute clutch...

I got a custom Sea Bag for the wedding!

We designed an icon for our save the dates, which we plan on using throughout the design of various things for the wedding. We're getting married in Pemaquid Harbor (where we got engaged), which is marked with the heart.


My mom got me a Sea Bag for Christmas a few years ago, and I absolutely love it. They're made in Maine out of recycled sails and have cute rope handles. I am trying to make as much of our big day as "Maine" as possible, so this bag was perfect. And, it will be a great way to tote around things on our big day. Not to mention, it will be a great prop in our pictures with Kim Potterf.

I emailed Amy at Sea Bags our wedding icon and placed the order. I opted for the "baby" bag, which is just like their medium bag with the addition of some handy pockets and a closure. A couple weeks later this beauty came in the mail:


I love my bag, and so does Pete. I'm pretty sure he can probably fit into it!


Thanks Sea Bags!

Experimenting with fabric flowers

My fiance was out of town all week, so I had lots of time peruse through wedding magazines and read up on wedding blogs. A friend of ours made some fabric flowers for her wedding, and they were so pretty that I mentally bookmarked the idea. She sewed them onto a sash for her bridesmaids and they looked so cute! Since I am only having a maid of honor, I figured I should be able to do something like this. There's no excuse, I don't have to do 5 of them.

I came across the "how-to" in the Summer 2009 issue of Martha Stewart Weddings, which is also online here. I made the peony, but she also has a garden rose and a zinnia. The instructions are simple, these were the first two I made--so I figure I can only get better. You can too!

I used some red cotton fabric and some tiffany blue silk blend fabric to test how they'd turn out. I plan on making some more, using some different textured fabric. Here's how the initial attempt turned out:


In the meantime, the wedding planning has continued! I purchased my veil, a flower fascinator and will be purchasing a sash soon with a gift certificate I won from Bronze Budget Bride and Buds and Blooms. I also ordered a custom Sea Bag to carry my things around for the wedding, it's going to be really cute. Now, we just have to get my groom outfitted!

Save the Dates for our Maine Wedding!

I am so excited to finally be able to share these with you. Our guests have received them, so I do not have to worry about spoiling the surprise.

I shared a sneak peak of the envelopes with you last week (if you follow via twitter and facebook). We created custom postage, wrap around labels with our wedding icon (the heart reveals the location of our wedding) and I also lined every envelope with a gingham pattern I made. The gingham will be a theme throughout our wedding, it's the fabric I'm using to sew our napkins...which is for another post! These envelopes were time consuming, but I LOVE them.


Now, for the full reveal! The invite contains a small red envelope, which contains a lobster bib for our guests. The bibs are printed with directions on how to eat a lobster in order to prepare them for a weekend in Maine.



A close up of the envelope, "Attire Enclosed." That's my favorite part. :)


For a little added extra detail, we decided to make use of the back of our save the date. Over the last few years, we've saved emails from friends/family and written down quotes about us as a couple. We always wanted to do something with them, and thought the back of our invitation was the perfect canvas for all the wonderful (and funny!) things people have shared with us.



These were a lot of work, but we had such a great time designing them together. It's hard to design your own invitations, especially when you're marrying a designer! But, we did it and we love them. Now, time to start our invitations! Photos are also on Facebook.

Welcome 2011!

Happy New Year! I can't believe 2010 has come to an end, and what an exciting year it was for me. In the last 365 days, I got engaged to an amazing man, moved across the country to beautiful San Francisco and found out I am going to be an Aunt within the next month (the spoiling has already begun)! My invitation business had a great year and I am beyond thankful for all the brides I had a chance to work with. Each year things get more and more exciting. I can't wait to see what 2011 brings to me.

I hope to bring you MANY more blog posts this year with wedding inspiration and various DIY projects. I'll be posting our save the dates soon, they're going out in the mail next week. I want my guests to see them first, and then I will share them with you. I'm so pleased with how they came out. Designing our own invitations has to be one of the hardest things I've done. Especially considering the fact I am marrying another designer.

To kick off 2011, I am putting my desk calendars on mega-sale. I have a handful left, so get one while they last. When they're gone, they're gone. They are regularly $12, but are selling at half-price for $6 on my etsy site.



In the meantime, here's the January desktop calendar for you to download. January's calendar is based off of my Marquee save the date. I have an invitation set to match this one now, it'll be going up soon!



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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1280 x 960

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