one perfect baby announcement!

{ baby Penny !! }

You can't imagine how fun it was to receive the cutest (ever) baby announcement in the mail from our wedding photog Jill Thomas :-)
I mean....really....Penny is beautiful, and the whole spread is so sweet!
Thanks Jill, and of course congrats.

:: peace & love ::

*Kristina from Lovely Morning reminded me with her post on Jill's announcement that I have been meaning to share it here as well!!! yay blogs.

retrieved rsvp's

{ blank rsvp postcard }
{ retrieved rsvp's }

The rsvp postcards are streaming in, it is SO fun to get a little handful of these guys back in the mail everyday! I have to say that the paper I chose is holding up well in the mail, and battered edge here and there, but over all doing really well!!!

1. I ordered some very cute toppers for mine and Wes' cupcakes for the wedding!

2. Found a lovely little dress for my bridal shower this Sunday at the bestie's house, on an un-expected trip to find workout clothes (love that).

3. Ordered striped straws for the margaritas, cupcake decorations and sprinkles.

4. Received this amazing poster to use at the wedding (let me tell ya, the colors on this thing are really beautiful!).

5. Signed up for my first 10K with the bestie for July 17th, we are REALLY excited about it!!!!!

That's all I can think of right now....

up next....girls night and origami paper crane folding over wine and cheese.

Pics up next week of the said sure to be cute bridal shower :-)

:: peace and love ::

DYI invites.

{ paper punching }

{ water color and paper punching } { the 'almost' finished invites !! } { snippet of tie dye paper..and a handsome king stamp } { they are done !! }

I told you the invites were here...and I had some crafting to do, here is just a little of it! Tie dye paper and an adorable lace paper punch (thank you Martha) for a little band around the package! Spotted envelope liners, and cute little stamps. Now....LOTS more water coloring, paper punching, embossing of the rsvp post cards, printing of the addresses on the envelopes and putting on the stamps (phew)....I'm happy things are coming together, I am really loving the final invites, but do think that maybe something is needed on those little tie dyed bands !?!

:: peace and love ::

*Invites designed by yours truly, with the expert technical help of a friend who is a previous graphic design major (seriously, I couldn't have managed all this with out her help!), and printing from Poor Richard's Press (although, unfortunatly I cannot recommend them, it took 2 1/2 weeks for them to get it together and get them copied (not even printed!)). never the less I love love love them.

some weekend and Monday doings

{ invites, pantone color swatches } { glass bowls on table, awaiting succulents }

{ a birthday gifted succulent finds a home }

So a test print has been accomplished and the yellow is too light with my open font. I am MORE than bummed out about this because I was loving (really loving) my whole idea with the liners and the yellow...blah blah blah. Alas, I am picking a new color, an olive green. Which I love, but it isn't yellow....(pouting). Can I also add, that these needed to go out (ohhhhhh) 2 weeks ago, and I am almost having an anxiety attack at this very moment about the timing of the whole thing.

I bought out absolutely every single glass bowl (small and med sized) that Michael's had to offer. I will be using these in conjunction with my cement Ikea finds to create lovely little succulent arrangements for center pieces on my long rectangular tables!!

I was gifted a lovely little succulent by a good friend for my bday over the weekend, and thought he needed his own little home in one of the small glass bowls. I think he looks mighty cozy and adorable in it! (don't ask me why my succulent is a 'he', it just feels right to call it that..ha).

I'm hoping that today I can get my invites printed (FINALLY)...emboss my RSVP post cards and find new paper to line my envelopes with so I can get them in the mail by the end of this week. That's my goal. Wish me luck.

:: peace and love ::

*more pics here.

Elum 'Poster' Invites!

Check out these fab letter press invites from Elum Designs!!! They kill me....so lovely and sort of retro looking, based off of classic concert posters, they are the perfect mix of bright and bold. I haven't decided if our budget can truly afford letter press invites....I would like to say yes, but, sadly I think not. I will simply admire their amazingness*....you even customize your colors....i was thinking mustard...mint...graphite and maybe a little blush....ohhhh pretty pretty paper.

:: peace and love ::

CIRCUS*CIRCUS

I have 2 posters framed above the couch in our living room....and I have been staring at these same prints since I was about 16...yes it's been a while.. It's most definitely time for something new!!! I think something circusy* would be just the ticket ;-) I found most of these just by google image searching 'circus posters' and the top two are from ebay...bids are placed, and I can't wait to switch out the old for these new pretty prints! Something else that would be interesting are old concert posters....hmm

:: peace and love ::

coloring in the sun : )

{Alice...and some pretty yellow shavings}

I spent my morning yesterday before work playing with my new colored pencils and Alice In Wonderland Coloring Book....yes, that's right. I love to color. With the exception of some v. expensive handbags....I got everything I asked for for Christmas...and lots of wonderful time spent with my family : ) The weather has been just beautiful here on the CC...although I will say, that winter is one of my fav. seasons...and the summery temperament lately has me feeling shorted on getting to wear my boots and scarves.....however, I will accept the beautiful weather (haha)....and enjoy it with hiking and spending time in our yard (coloring...of course).

Happy Friday lovelies!!

:: peace and love ::

holiday gifting....

Sorry for the shameless plug which is this post about the AMAZING Aveda holiday packages going on right now......but really, you're welcome, because they are honestly awesome presents and I would love love to get these as gifts...oh ya the point....your friends will like these as gifts too! The Himalayan Glow soy wax candle with the aroma of organic clove, vanilla and cinnamon it's the most lovely aroma (i bought 3 all for myself...shhh...that's just ridiculous). The 7 points of balance--where you get all 7 mini sized chakra balancing body mists (which is awesome because your body needs different chakra balancing on different days..so having all 7 is ideal). Lastly the Ritual of Relief package which includes the Hand and Foot relief (plus 2 travel sizes of each), given the price of the package it's like you are getting the travel sizes free......

On top of the general good deal, and awesome products....one of the reasons I love Aveda so dearly is that they partner up with different countries and cultures around the world to sustain their economy and find truly organic and quality ingredients for their products. Each holiday season for 3 years now Aveda has partnered up with the Nepali visionaries and organizations to produce the beautiful handcrafted paper for the gift boxes of all our holiday packages....not only that but the beautiful images of this amazing culture inspires Aveda's entire holiday decor!! Read more about the partnership HERE...it really is a fun story, and one of the many reasons I love Aveda's mission !!!!

:: peace and love ::

*there are many more holiday packages, see here.

baby * Sprinkle * sign

I went to by bfff's baby sprinkle this past weekend, and made this fun sign for the festivities!!! I used three different colors of paper from Michael's and simple cut and pasted it together. I think it turned out really cute, the colors were blue and orange....we had more of those tissue paper 'poufs' placed all around and blue lemonade...delicious cookies that were very festive with blue and orange icing and spelling out the baby's name (Hudson) made by Ashlee's family!!! Ya to cute parties...and ya especially to a new 'almost' member of the Loughran family!!

:: peace and love ::

whimsical elements

Some lovely details for this lovely Monday morning (I say lovely even though the parking lot out front is being re paved...it's noisy and it smells.....argh). Loving all things paper for wedding decorations...and thinking that these sweet little scalloped pouches full of deep red cherries are beautiful and look mouth watering! Happy Monday everyone : ) (( pics from Martha Stewart ))

:: peace and love ::

Mok Duk

Loving these fun, colorful and casual invites from Mok Duk!!! There will be no cream or ivory...no ribbons or bows made of silk here.....and do I see a bit of mint green and yellow...all topped off with the brown paper envelopes!!!! *sigh*...well they are very pretty aren't they!
We are getting ready to make some big decisions for the wedding so I'll be posting on those shortly. It's hard to settle on one thing when it comes to those big decisions.....I only get to make them once...I start getting nervous hoping I'll make the right one (am I being silly!??!) haha.
Happy Tuesday....gosh it's been a while since my last post...feeling a bit busy and slightly un inspired blog wise!

:: peace and love ::

Linda & Harriett lovliness

I've been admiring Linda & Harriett's work for sometime now...especially loving their citron zig zag note card and the lined envelopes they offer! I'm craving a fresh idea...craving to choose or find something that is new...and un done. I just don't want all my choices to directly mimic things that have already been done....hmmmm? If anyone knows of a lovely modern, fresh and whimsical paper goods and invitation company please let me know!!!
**I'll be posting more later...but Kelly from yes, please had an *Amazing* wedding that I gushed about in a previous post had also decided on growing her own succulents and using them as centerpieces. The pots that she found were perfection and exactly what I was hoping for...she was kind enough to tell me she got the pots at Ikea (!! perf. we were just there!) and I was able to snag quite a few this weekend for myself. THANK YOU KELLY....I feel so happy to have found those (at $3/ pot no less....it would never have gotten cheaper than that!). See the pots used in her wedding here. : )

:: peace and love ::

Engagement Party Invites :: Ordered!

A HUGE thank you to Sonya at West Willow for graciously helping me decide on a final design for our party invites!!! Maybe it's silly to want them to be a certain way...but it's sort of the first thing I get to do as far as wedding design is concerned and I was really excited to pick out colors, fonts and designs!!
I'll be posting their prettiness once I get them in the mail, although I did post a little snippit of part of it! (don't want to spoil all the fun right!?)

:: peace and love ::

Reading-Learning-Loving

I just got this book the other day, and am kind of in love with it. First of all, I love Bobbi Brown. She's an amazing business woman and entrepreneur...her products are so beautiful and well thought out and I love her way of creating flawless yet natural makeup looks for every person!!
I would highly recommend it if you love makeup and the art of application. It's a fun read and a great tool to have on hand : )
Happy Weekend Everyone!

:: peace and love ::

2009 Calendar *Finally* Aquired

Wes and I are **always** a few days (days....if we're lucky) late to the calendar game. We never get one ahead of time...nooo...and rarely get one in the first few days of the new year. I am makin' changes this year and just ordered this pretty little calendar off Etsy. It is only January 2nd, imagine that!!! I've got to say that I'm a little bit proud of myself for taking the initiative...hahaha. It is funny though, how hard it was for me to pick one out. I seriously looked on Etsy for an hour and a half to two hours, and finally decided on this one by Up Up. I knew that we wanted something we could hang on the wall, something that had a space for each day to write in and something that was cute. I'm happy with my very affordable selection, the colors are adorable and it comes with a custom clip that I will be using as my method of hanging the individual sheets on the wall, not to mention that perfection of space where we can write notes!!! The best part is that we (I...) didn't wait until February(ish), to the point of desperate(ness) where you end up picking something out at RiteAid and hating it all year!! Yeah to 2009...it's already a more organized year : )

:: peace and love ::

Enjoy Your Christmas Cards

We all get wonderfully beautiful Christmas cards this time of year...all ours are currently up on our fridge, but I thought this was a super fun way to be able to enjoy them and admire them all season long with out crowding your refrigerator with papers, cards, magnets and grocery lists!!!
Happy Holidays everyone.........and especially happy Friday!!

:: peace and love ::

Cotton Studio

How delightful is this letter pressed greeting card? There are so so many lovely cards on Cotton Idea Studio's site, but I loved the powder blue with black contrast (and the little stars of course!) on this one!
This coaster would be perfect for a birthday party....I was initially thinking for a baby's birthday, but actually, they would be delightful for any one's. I know that I would be over joyed to see these beautiful coasters at my party! Hmm....that's not a bad idea is it? I'll add them to my ever growing Christmas list (Wes will be so happy....haha).

:: peace and love ::

Taste Chocolate

I happen to absolutely love these business cards!!!!!! The front where it's all chocolate brown with the baby blue and the little 'bite' taken out at the corner...how cute is that seriously!
Not only does Taste have rad business cards, they have a pretty fun website, check that out here.

:: peace and love ::

Flush Designs :: Courtney Keefe de Jauregui

Some lovely designs by Courtney Keefe de Jauregui of Flush Designs. Fabulously crafted, beautiful and inventive!! I love them!

:: peace and love ::

Susan Connor :: Scrapper's Batch

How adorable are these little packs?! Susan Connor from hey susy posted these little packs of fabulous scraps called Scrapper's Batch full of hand drawn papers for scrap booking, card making, collaging and illustrating. I love all the colors and prints, they look like so much fun to play with! Get them here.

:: peace and love ::