Tuesday, December 29, 2009

New Back Porch - Thank Goodness!











I've been wanting to have my back porch enclosed for a while. I don't even have a "before" shot to post, but it was basically screened in from the top to the bottom. Lots of dust, dirt, and wet floors whenever it rained. A major pain was what it was. So, we had it enclosed. It's nothing fancy but much nicer than before. My husband still has to finish painting the trim (it will all be white in the next week). In addition to the bench, I plan on adding a coat rack that we can use for our own coats or our guests can use when they come over. And, I was finally able to put up the little Christmas tree with white twinkly lights that I've been dying to add! A little late, but hey, the porch was just finally finished on Sunday. Better late than never!

Sunday, December 27, 2009

{The Birthday Boy} ~ Jack David!!!

Today is my nephew's 2nd birthday, and tonight was his party. It was a small family party held at my parent's home. There was not a theme for this party, rather a color palette of lime green, bright blue, and orange used throughout all of his party details. Check them out below!
Cute family - Mark, the birthday boy and my sister Becky

These are the matching thank you cards to coordinate with Jack's invite (seen below and also in an earlier post).

This is the party favor Jack gave to his cousin Charlie. It was a little white Chinese carton filled with girlie goodies for Char. I added the orange ribbon for a punch of color and the tag incorporating all three colors added some flare as well. Invitation also seen in picture.


Jack's party hat! Both my sister and I searched for white party hats that I could decorate. No such luck, so I made one myself. I attached a #2 that I made, and I found a fun, green, feathery "thing" at Michaels that I attached to the top of the hat. Lastly, rather than an elastic tie, I used the same orange polka dot ribbon seen on the favor box. Not bad for a DIY party hat!

Jack wore his party hat for about 2 seconds flat....just long enough for a cute picture (I had to bribe him with candy to get the picture....ha!).

The party menu and some of the cupcake toppers made from #2's I had printed and cut out by hand.



Cupcake toppers - J for Jack, #2, and his birthdate, 12.27. My sister put these in some of the dips and also in the mini ice cream pies she made for the guests.




One last party detail - his little gift from me and my husband. I had to stay in keeping with the party colors :o)

Thursday, December 24, 2009

Merry Christmas!

The tree has been trimmed, the gifts have been bought and wrapped, the food has been prepared....and now it's time to relax and enjoy the holiday with family! Merry Christmas from my family to yours! Enjoy the day!

MERRY MERRY MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Decorating: I Still Haven't Stopped!

How cute is he? I found this cute, sparkly reindeer at TJ Maxx a few weeks ago. He fits perfectly in a little empty corner I had open in my dining room. I love him! Unfortunately, so does Ginger....

I received some beautiful poinsetta plants as hostess gifts when I had my little Christmas party two weeks ago. Because I have a puppy that loves to get into EVERYTHING (and because poinsettas are dangerous if eaten) I put them in a basket on my bookcase and sat them up and out of reach of Miss G. They are right by the window and get lots of light. I think they look so pretty!

Monday, December 21, 2009

Decorating: {Last Minute Idea}

I know Christmas is in about four days but my mind is still swirling with holiday decorating ideas. Maybe it was all the snow (and extra time I had) this weekend. I found a little wreath in my basement (it was actually meant to sit on a stand with a candle in the middle of it). I, however, had other plans for it. I added a ribbon to this mini wreath and attached it to the back of the mirror in my family room. I also added some sparkly beaded garland that I purchased post holiday season last year at C & B (great sale). This was an easy fix for my bare mirror.

Saturday, December 19, 2009

Personalized Notecards for Mary & Company



These are the notecareds I made for my friend Mary. She requested 6 sets with 8 cards per set. I used 4 different designs and added different initials to each set. These were printed on white shimmery cardstock with a matching white shimmery envelope. I packaged them with a little Lime Design tag that says, "Made for you by Kate."

{Baby Boy's Nursery} - Sneak Peek!

My baby boy's nursery is not even close to being finished yet, but I figured I'd post a pic of what we've accomplished so far. Walls have been painted a light blue, expresso crib and dresser ordered and put together, white leaning ladder shelf added, blue and white striped rug, and a simple lamp (not in picture). That's it so far....very simple. I love this little room....it's so bright and sunny! More to come....I've got lots of projects planned for this little guys room!

Christmas Tags in Use!



I attended a Christmas party last night and put my Christmas tags to use! I'm happy to announce that they looked cuter than I thought they would. I wrapped a few gifts and attached the tags, which were for a white elephant gift exchange. I also attached a tag to a bottle of wine with a Christmas ornament that I brought as a hostess gift.

Since it's snowing like crazy right now, I'll be wrapping presents and baking cookies all day! Ahhhh....I'm thankful for a day where I'm forced to stay inside and take care of fun holiday chores :o)

Wednesday, December 16, 2009

{Details} ~ My Baby Boy's Nursery

February is just around the corner, which means it's almost game time! This boy will be here before I know it! I've been working on his nursery like crazy. My husband had off the week after Thanksgiving and he finished clearing out the room, which we used as a junk room up until that point. He also painted it and put together the crib, dresser, and shelf. So far it looks really nice....very simple....I love it!
For the last few weeks, I've also been working on designing/ordering some things for the room. I just wanted to share one of my latest finds from Etsy. It's a monogrammed pillow and matching onesie. I haven't received it yet, but I think it's going to be adorable. I plan on placing the pillow on my rocker in the nursery, and the onesie I plan on using during his newborn photo shoot. I choose fabric #9 for my pillow and onesie (a little tough to see because the pic is so small). Can't wait til this package arrives!

COMING SOON:
  • Back porch pics (it's finally being enclosed!)
  • My nephew's 2nd birthday party details
  • My baby boy's nursery decor / nursery projects
  • My baby shower invitations (yes, I'm making them)

Saturday, December 12, 2009

Holiday Cards 2009 - Pink and Green!




These are the Christmas cards I made for myself this year. I put a picture of my puppy, Ginger, on the card. I also include some of the lyrics from Charlie Brown's "O Christmas Tree" because the trees I made kind of remind me of Charlie Brown trees. In retrospect, I wish I had left the lyrics off to make the card look a little more simple, but after printing 54 of them, I decided to just keep them the way they are. Lesson learned - the simpler the better!

I LOVE the look of pretty envelopes with beautiful address lables just as much as I love what's inside the envelope. So, I made little scalloped return address tags for the back of the envelope (cupcake topper design) and rectangular address labels for the front. I had these printed at different times and the colors came out a little differently each time. Second lesson learned - print all pieces in one shot to avoid difference in ink colors!

Christmas Cards!




These are the Christmas cards I made for my mom and sister. My mom really wanted a picture of the entire family from our summer vacation on her card but my brother-in-law Mark wasn't there this summer due to his coaching job at James Madison University. Poor guy was working while we all relaxed on the beach. So, I kept her card picture free. Maybe next year she'll put a pic of me and Becky's little boys on her Christmas card :o)

My sister lives in Virginia, and they had a huge snowstorm about a week ago. My nephew is a tough guy to take pictures of because he is constantly on the go and won't pose for a picture, but Becky was able to snap this cute candid shot of him in the snow. His cheeks are all rosy in the color version of the picture, but the black and white looked better with the colors used on the card. And I love the reindeer on his hat! He's my boyfriend (shhhh....don't tell Bo) :o)

Holiday Shindig


WINTER WHITE COSMOPOLITAN:

  • 1.5 ounces Stoli Cranberry
  • .5 ounces Cointreau
  • 1 ounce lime juice
  • 1 ounce white cranberry juice
  • 3-4 frozen cranberries

Combine ingredients over ice in a shaker. Shake and strain into chilled martini glass. Float 3-4 cranberries on top for garnish.

ENJOY THIS YUMMY HOLIDAY DRINK!

I posted some holiday invites with a chandelier on them that I sent out a while ago. Last night was my party and I made some other pieces to coordinate with the invite. My husband made a pitcher of Winter White Martinis (my favorite....had "one" last year at Bone Fish Grill during the holiday season and fell in love...couldn't have any this year but enjoyed serving them to my friends!), so I made a martini menu to sit next to the pitcher. I also made an appetizer and dessert menu to sit on the island next to all the food.

Monday, December 7, 2009

Bridal Shower Invitations


I made these bridal shower invitations a while ago for Jen's bridal shower. She is getting married in Florida on the beach and her colors are green and orange. I incorporated a pretty green patterned cardstock with palm leaves on the invite because of the location of the wedding. Green and orange are a hot color combo for weddings right now!

Saturday, December 5, 2009

Cupcake Toppers!


My friend Karen had a scrapbooking party a few weeks ago and asked me to make her the cupcake toppers I had posted a few months ago. She requested that they be made using fallish colors and say, "Happy Scrapping." I also added one that said, "Crop til you Drop." She used them in the chicken salad sandwiches she made for the event....adorable!