The New Addition to our Family ~ Ginger!

Introducing GINGER, our new beagle puppy! This all happened very quickly. Bo and I had been himming and hauling for a while over whether or not we should buy a dog and had listed pro and con after pro and con. There were several dogs that we thought would be a good fit for us if we were going to take the plunge, and a beagle happened to be one of them. Ironically, a family friend of ours just happened to be looking for a good home for his four month old beagle pup the other day. He and his wife have two young children and both have full-time jobs and well, let's face it, puppies can be pretty demanding for the first year or so. In any case, I saw his post on FB for anyone wanting the pup, and I called Bo immediately. We talked it over (actually I begged but what does it matter:o)) and decided we'd like to meet this sassy little lady! She's a doll, and we are enjoying her very much! I'm not going to lie, she's definitely a challenge and pretty high maintenance at times, but she needed a good home and how could I resist that sweet little puppy face? I'm a teacher, so it's perfect really....I'm off all summer and Bo and I do not have children yet, so she'll be getting plenty of love and attention from us!

Americana Themed Bridal Shower Invitations

These are bridal shower invitations I made for a friend of my mom who is throwing her soon-to-be daughter-in-law a small bridal shower. The shower is being held shortly after July 4th and the decor is going to be Americana. I used a shimmery white paper with a beautiful dark blue shimmery patterned paper with stars. I also added "starry-eyed" bride-to-be and used a dark red font to highlight important words to tie everything into the overal theme of the shower. The outer envelope is also a shimmery white. I think they are very fun and festive yet classy!

Wedding Anniversary = June 22nd!

My first wedding anniversary is in a few days, so I thought it would be appropriate to post a related project that was just completed a few weeks ago. This is not something I made, rather had someone make it for me (I am not that crafty!). Bo and I ordered a monogrammed aisle runner for our big day last June. Loving monograms the way that I do, I really wanted to find a way to use this monogram in our home without it being cheesy. So, after contemplating several ideas, I decided to have the runner made into a Christmas tree skirt. I chose the cream quilted fabric, thread colors to coordinate with the original monogram, and mapped out a design with chocolate brown ric rac (still not sure how I feel about the circles....I think I would have liked it better if they were limited to just around the cut-out hole for the tree, but I guess it's kinda cute and too late now anyway!) and had a seamstress put all of my ideas together. Can't wait to put this around my Christmas tree this year! You can see the runner pre-tree skirt in the above pics.

I'm also working on another random project for my new home that involves some of my favorite wedding pictures and an old window! I'll post it when I'm finished!

Baby Signs

{Credit to Abbey of Abbey Press (http://www.abbeypressonline.com/) for Baby Sign idea}

I did not come up with the idea to make the baby signs you see. My wedding invitation designer, Abbey of Abbey Press, created these cute signs for my sister when she had my nephew Jack. They were adorable, and I thought they were such a cute gift idea for a new mom. So.....a lot of my friends have been having babies lately, and I've been making the signs as gifts to take to the house when I go to visit the baby for the first time. I always find great frames at Kohls that complete the look of the baby sign. The best part is that Kohls always has great sales, so this gift is budget friendly and personal for my new mommy friends!

Monograms - {I L.O.V.E them!}

I have a serious thing for monograms. I'm a sucker for them as a matter of fact! I had to send some thank you notes recently, so I made simple cards with my initial on one, my full monogram on another, and my last name on the last one (not pictured b/c I've already sent those out!).

Family Reunion Itineraries

I've been working on itineraries for my friend Chantelle. She is planning a reunion for her family at the end of June. In addition to the actual itinerary, she also asked me to create a sticker for the bag she would be placing all the details and directions in for her guests at the welcome reception. She chose a very pretty metallic gold paper. She also loved a patterned cardstock with a reddish paisley print on it. I tied the patterned cardstock into the pieces by layering the itineraries on top of it and adding a thin strip of it to the side of the stickers. Also, I created a design that her husband will be turning into a t-shirt for all the guests. Can't wait to see the way they turn out. Send me pics Chantelle!

Desk Calendars

I haven't posted in forever! I moved into a new house a few weeks ago, and it's been keeping me super busy! Not much time for anything else. However, I did manage to squeeze in a few extra minutes to make this cute little desk calendar. I recently gave one to a friend as a birthday gift with a little stand to prop it up on. Of course I made one for myself as well....it's a cute addition to a desk or a refrigerator.