New Year, New Blog, New Website!

Happy New Year! I've been spending the last two weeks redesigning Wouldn't it be Lovely's website. The new and improved design includes all new product images, and brand new designs too! The best part, the blog is now on the same website! So if you've been spending time at the blogger version of Wouldn't it be Lovely's blog, have no fear! All the old content has made it's way over to the new blog and website! Be sure to take a look around and send it on to your family and friends! I'll be checking in tomorrow ON THE NEW BLOG with my new years resolutions! What are you're resolutions to begin 2014?

Holiday Check In

 Hi there kiddos! Just checking in mid vacation! I've been working non stop redesigning the website and blog, crossing my fingers that it'll all go up without a hitch on New Years Day! Hope you all had a wonderful holiday, I know I did! There is nothing more fun than days full of family and delicious food! My biggest gift hits were "Sex Panter Cologne" a la anchorman for my brother in law and the little cord keepers I made that just about everyone got! I think the favorite gifts I received were my new camera lenses and camera bag, dodo case for my iPad, and the watch and sweater in this photo! Hope you're holiday was full of goodies too! What were your favorite gifts?

Christmas Cards

It's Christmas time! This is the first year (in 6 years of living together and 3 years of marriage) that I have gotten my shiznit together and am actually sending out Christmas Cards! I've been toiling away addressing them all and am anxiously awaiting the delivery of the cards I designed from the printer (it seems like it's taking forever and I'm worried they won't get here in time for xmas!) Everything else is ready so as soon as they come I'll be sliding them in the envelopes and they'll be out the door! But man my hand is tired from all this addressing!
From now until the new year I'll be taking some time off from the blog (everyone needs a vacation!) but I'll probably drop in a post here and there and will surely be filling up Instagram with lots of holiday photos! My plan is to give the website a much needed face lift over the next two weeks, so if all goes well, I'll ring in the new year with a new website! Happy Holidays everyone, I hope you'll be enjoying your family, friends, tasty treats and general holiday wonder as much as I will be!

Bridal Shower Gift: Love By Numbers

I wanted to share with you the latest "Love By Numbers" design! This one has a map of Bentley University in the background, the place where the Bride and Groom met for the first time! Check out the previous versions of "Love By Numbers." They are all custom designed for different couples, the perfect gift for a wedding, bridal shower, or even as a holiday gift after their wedding. They are in the store if you're wondering about pricing and process!

Gift Guide: Deck the Walls

Time to deck their walls! I'm a big fan of giving art as gifts. Many people fail to buy art for themselves, which is a shame because I really believe what is on the walls of a room can really make or break it. Above are some great pieces for men, women, babies, the art enthusiast, the wood worker, the car lover, and the chef!

1.  Gold Ice Cream Cones: I love these gold dipped ceramic ice cream cones, 3D pieces of art bring great dimension to any art display! 
2.  Laser Cut Art: This is a great little art piece for the person who is into technology and graphics. the laser cut wood with color popping through is just so cool! 
3.  Gems and Jewels Watercolor: Frame up these little cards for a lovely little art collection, for the lady who loves bling! 
4.  Joinery Poster: This is a great piece of art for any wood worker or DIYer. 
5.  Laser Cut Letters: The perfect piece of art for a baby's room! Alphabet prints are always great for a kids room, and this laser cut wood alphabet is a great take on a classic.
6.  Ford Blue Print: Perfect for the man ow women who loves cars! This is really a perfect Dad or Husband gift! The blueprint really elevates it to art instead of the standard car photo.
7.  Kilim Painting: Such a pretty watercolor pattern! 

DIY Leather Cord Keepers

These leather cord keepers are a great last minute DIY Christmas gift! They are inexpensive and super easy! Each one only takes a couple minutes to make and you only need a handful of supplies. These make great gifts for the traveler and the person with more cords for their tech than they know what to do with! The full DIY is below:

Supplies & Tools:

1. Ruler
2. Heavy Duty Plier Kit for Snaps (you can get these at your local craft store they are about $20 and come with 5 sets of snaps) 
3. Exacto Blade
4. Martha Stuart Hole Punch (Also at your local craft store. It's intended for paper but I decided to try it on leather and it works AMAZINGLY and is so much easier than leather hole punches that you have to hammer. My husband was glad to get a reprieve from the pounding!) 
5. Scissors
6. Leather
7. Snaps

Process:

1. Cut pieces of leather 1in x 3.5in (this size works best for smaller cords, if you need them for larger cords, I would go for 2in x 6in and add another set of snaps)
2. Punch holes in the pattern shown above, use the medium sized punch for the ends and the small punch for the holes in the middle
3. Cut a line connecting the smaller holes as shown
4. Using the punch pliers, follow the directions that come with the Pliers to attach the snaps, it's pretty strait forward. 
5. Cut the ends of the leather to have a nice rounded shape.
6. Thread the bundled cord through the straps and snap them together! 
7. Done! 

Gift Guide: The Fashionista

Some gift ideas for classy and fashion conscious ladies! Clothes can be a tough item to pick out for someone, so here are some great alternatives that will make any fashionista smile!

1. Velvet Clutch: Adorable for any outing, a wedding or a nice bar, I'm obsessed with this bag.
2. Paper Fashion Print: This is an x-coworker of mine, she is so super talented, one of her fashion illustrations would make a lovely addition to the walls of any home!
3. Perfume Roller: This little perfume roller can be filled with their signature scent and kept in her purse. It's one of the prettiest perfume rollers I've ever seen!
4. Lovely Heels: What can I say about these? Fabulous!
5. Brass Colored Pencil Holder: The loveliest pencil holder of all time! Perfect to hold the pencils for anything from writing notes to doing a little fashion sketch of their own!

Hand Lettering: If the Shoe Fits

There are so many good sales during the holidays! I keep finding the most PERFECT gifts..... for me. Drat only being able to buy for others.... but one pretty pair of shoes is ok right? They're on sale, so it doesn't really count as buying something for myself. I needed $50 more to get free shipping anyway. There are just so many ways we can validate purchases during the holidays! Love it.

Custom Designed Photo Postcard Save the Dates

These Save the Dates just went out in the mail and I couldn't be happier with how they came out! Andrea, the Bride was great fun to work with. She and her fiancé, Gerard, had taken some really lovely engagement photos and she wanted to use one of them on her Save the Dates. She had looked at some of the bigger websites, but none of the templates were quite right, either not what she wanted, or wouldn't work with the photo she wanted to use. That's where I came in!
We worked together to figure out the look she wanted. We decided on a nice matte finish with rounded edges for the paper. As for the design, I designed their logo by hand, sometimes an existing font just doesn't translate for a logo. For the address sticker, I laid it out to work as a round address sticker to tie in with their wedding logo. It came out with the right balance of formal and fun, perfect as the first impression of their big day!

Gift Guide: Furry Friends

Do our dogs know it's Christmas? Probably not, but they do know something's up when a big ol' tree is in the house and they aren't allowed to pee on it! We have two dogs and we spend way more money on them than we like to admit, but come on! Those faces! These are some of the things I'm thinking of buying our pups for Christmas, along with lots of treats and bones!

Dog Paw Dog Bowl: I am obsessed with this dog bowl! 1.) it's elevated which is great when our dog Truman splashes water all over the floor as he drinks (elevated means it'll evaporate instead of making water rings on my wood floors). 1.) It's amazingly cute!
Rope Leash: Love these pretty rope leashes from Fab!
Doggie Duvet: We swear by Molly Mutt! Instead of buying a standard doggie bed which usually run from $50 to $300, we buy these "Duvets" it's great because they are basically just the outer shell and you can stuff them with old close or stuffing from an old destroyed dog bed! An extra plus, they come in GREAT patterns and colors at a great price!
Tie Dye Collar: Love this collar with the gold accents, we bought a similar one a while ago for Lincoln and he looks so sharp!
Doggie Drink Fountain- Our dog Lincoln will whine at the bathtub and then jump in when you turn on the water, thats how much he LOVES to drink strait from the tap. This would be a wonderful doggie gift!

DIY Cheese Labels

I used to be a SUPER picky eater, so it is only as an adult that have I come to appreciate a good cheese plate spread. When hosting Thanksgiving, I knew I wanted to make an awesome cheese plate appetizer (mostly so I could justify eating cheese and sausage with honey and fig jam for dinner every day the following week). One of the parts of an awesome cheese spread are cheese labels, so people aren't constantly asking what everything is. I decided to DIY it, it was an hour project and came out great! These make a great DIY gift for the holidays too!

Supplies:

1. White Fimo
2. Fondant roller (really anything to roll out the Fimo, but I like the fondant rollers because they come with these rings to make sure that it's rolled a consistent thickness)
3. Thin Paintbrush
4. Brass Paint
5. Exacto Blade

Process:

1. Roll out the Fimo, I rolled mine to about 3-4mm thick 
2. Cut out the shape as shown, don't worry about making them all the same, I think the irregularities are actually what make them so charming
3. Lay out all the tags on a cookie sheet and follow the instructions for cooking on the Fimo. Cook in the oven until they are hard. Take out and allow to cool.
4. Using the paintbrush and brass paint, write out the names of various cheeses, I did the following: Chèvre, Brie, Morbier, Fontina, Parmigiano-Reggiano, Gouda, Cheddar, and Blue Cheese. With all these you should be able to cover almost any cheese option! 
5. Paint the edges of the Label, closing the rectangle at the bottom, don't paint the part that will stick in the cheese! 

Let them dry and either wrap them up as a gift, or use them the next time you host a party!

Gift Guide for Newlyweds

We all have some newlyweds to buy for! For the holidays or perhaps for an upcoming wedding! These are some great and thoughtful options.

Mr. & Mrs. Cutting Board: Because all newlyweds should receive at least ONE "Mr. and Mrs." (or Mr. & Mr. or Mrs. and Mrs. because this shop is awesome has those too!) and this one is so darn cute!
Love By Numbers: I custom design these, they're sold in my shop, all the dates, colors and wording are customizable, as is the city map in the background!
His & Hers Glasses: These are cute and simple little glasses by Kate Spade, so cute!
Anniversary Wine Box: This is an adorable little box that you can fill with wines for the couple to drink  on their anniversaries and then keep to store things that are special to them.
New Home Coordinates: This is an adorable customizable piece of art, with the latitude and longitude of their new home together!

Hand Lettering: Everything You Can Imagine is Real

 I love this quote. As a designer, it's a great reminder that if you can imagine it, you can make it happen.   After a week of gift ideas, I'm imagining a perfect holiday season! Bring it on December! I love Christmas, getting so see family and having lots of close friends in the area for the holidays is one of my favorite things!

Gift Guide: The Meat Lover

Though for most people these would probably be the perfect gifts for the men in their lives, but I have to say, I would be all over the monthly meat box!

1. Meat Shredders: These shredders are the perfect gift for the man who is all about making his own pulled pork! Delish!
2. Praise the Lard Print: Some art for the meat lovers! These are the greatest series photos!
3. Personalize Meat Brand: For the griller, a personlized brand so no one can mistake who cooked their steak to perfection!
4. Dehydrator: So no scrap of meat will ever go to waste! A dehydrator will make the perfect jerky, dried fruits and more!
5. Meat Smoker: The perfect add on to a grill so they can smoke their meat to perfection!
6. Monthly Meat Box: For the person who has everything, get them a gift that lasts all year! A monthly delivery of an assortment of delicious meat! 

Gift Guide: The Chef and Baker

We all know someone who is happiest in the kitchen making up meals and tasty treats for the people they love! These are some great gift ideas for the chef, baker, or dabbling cook in your life!

Spoon Stylus: This is a creative little gadget for the kitchen! The end of the spoon acts as a stylus on iPads and iPhones so they can keep their flour covered fingers off their screens as they cook!
White and Wood Kitchen Tools: These lovely kitchen tools would make the perfect addition to any kitchen!
Personalize Pie Dish: Personalize these lovely pie dishes with a perfect label or message for the cook!
Recipe Box: This is a beautiful box to store all the cooks best secret recipes!
Storage Canisters: Store all their ingredients in style with these cute kitchen canisters!

Gift Guide: The Technology Lover

Todays gift guide is for that person who seems to have every new bit of tech, so why not give them perfect accessories for their iPhone or iPad.

1. iPhone Zoom Lens: Perfect for the person who is always taking pictures with their phones!
2. Mini Photo Printer: This little printer can go anywhere to print out all their favorite pictures.
3. iPhone Walkie Talkie: A little fun accessory for your iPhone!
4. Cord Keeper: These are lovely little cord keepers to keep all the cords for their various devices perfectly organized
5. iPhone Dash Mount: Keep their phone secure on the dash as they drive around town!
6. Sporty Ear Buds: These are the perfect ear buds for the athlete in your life! 

Gift Guide: The Host & Hostess

 It's December! Which means everyone is looking for the perfect Christmas or Holiday gifts. The next two weeks will be a series of gift guides for all the different types of people we love! 

Today is all about the host and hostess, whether you're going to a party or just have someone who loves to throw the perfect get together, these gifts will be a hit every time!

1. Cheese Labels: every party is made better with the perfect cheese plate, why not give these little labels to make it even better!
2. Coasters: Every host needs coasters, and how lovely and unique are these wood laser cut versions? They are perfect little pieces of art.
3. Slate Place Cards: This little package includes these lovely little slate place cards with wood bits to hold them up and chalk to write in the name of each guest. 
4. Wine trays: The perfect addition to any party, these little trays hold your wineglass so you can actually eat your apps on the go! 
5. Glasses: a lovely gift for a couple, these adorable Mr. & Mrs. glasses will be a welcomed addition to any bar cart or kitchen.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving! This is our first Thanksgiving in our "new" house! It'll be small, Chris's family will all be in Connecticut so it's just a couple of my family members, I'll be posting some pics of baking our feast on Instagram @wouldntitbelovely, so be sure to check in and see how it's coming along! I'll be enjoying all the holiday festivities, so no posts on Thursday or Friday. Be sure to check in on Monday, the first week of December will be full of gift guides for the holiday season!

Kitchen Reno in Process!

Above is what our kitchen looked like when we bought the house. Notice the lovely brown cabinets, off white appliances and linoleum counter top. My favorite was the time machine sized microwave (that didn't work) and overall dark and depressing feeling! We didn't have the budget for a fancy shmancy full overhaul, so I had to get creative.  We did a couple things right when we moved in a year ago. We painted the cabinets right away, then got a new counter top and some new appliances as the year went on. The past two weekends have been all about the final touches! I decided to move around some of the upper cabinets and we're adding some open shelving and a new backsplash as you can see from the pics below! I can't wait to share the final room when it's all done! I feel like it's finally all coming together to be exactly what I wanted! (How much do you love that picture of my Dad? We had been doing the backsplash all weekend and were both feeling the aches and pains!)

Wood Trim, Keep It or Paint It?

Sources from left to right, top to bottom, one, two, three, four.

I just saw the third picture in the collage above and it got me thinking about wood trim. The trend right now is to paint ALL THE WOOD EVERYWHERE in your house white. When the hubby and I moved into our house, thats what we did, but that's because all the trim in our house was CRAP. If your wood trim is thin, and not great quality, strait builders grade trim, by all means, paint it, it's makes a world of difference. On the other hand, if you have beautiful, heavy. well made trim, do not, under any circumstance paint it. It may look great for a while, and make you feel modern and trendy, but in the long run, you'll regret it, and future generations will rue the day you decided to do it. As shown in the pictures above, you can have a trendy and modern looking home and keep your beautiful wood trim!

Hand Lettering: Fit as a Fiddle

I've had a song from "Singing in the Rain" stuck in my head for what feels like weeks. One of the lines in it it "fit as a fiddle and ready for love" which is just kind of adorable and sweet.

On a personal note, for some crazy reason, when I got home from Russia, I decided that the way to beat jet-lag would be doing a project. A project that would keep me from taking naps. What project you ask? FINALLY FINISHING THE KITCHEN!! Which involves taking down all the upper cabinets, moving them around a bit, and building shelves so I can have an open shelving area, doing the tile backsplash, and touching up all the painting I did right when we moved in! Starting it with only two weekends before Thanksgiving has put me on a serious timeline! So this weekend I need to get busy! It's about 1/2 done and I'm getting pumped for it to be complete!

Custom Wedding Logo Sign

Today I wanted to share one of my favorite little extras for a wedding, custom signage! I made this lighted wooden sign for Elaine and Steve's wedding. It's a wonderful extra decor element for the bar, seating card table, or in this case, the gift table. It's designed to look like all the other elements from their wedding day (see the links below for all the other elements I designed for their wedding day). I love design elements like this because they are great even after the wedding day! Now they have this lovely sign to hang on their walls of their New York apartment!

Other design elements for their wedding can be found at the following links:  invitations, design process, save the dates, guest guidebooks, programs, place cards & holders, word bubble signs, confetti bags, and favors.

Smart Shelf Ideas

I'm am a collector who never seems to have enough storage, which is why I LOVE smart shelving ideas!

1. Art Shelf: If you're someone with a large art collection, or who has a hard time putting holes in your walls, the art shelf is a great solution. You can layer all your art pieces, photos, and little do-dads to make a lovely little collage. I love how this home owner used a clamp lamp on the edge of the shelf! It's such a smart solution when you may not have room for a table in the corner but still need some light
2. Little Corner Shelf: This is such a great solution when there isn't enough space in a bedroom for a side stable, this little corner shelf gives you just enough room to hold a light, a book and a glass of water! 
3. Over the Door Shelf: If you have a small bathroom like me, this little shelf over your door is a smart way to take advantage of unused space
4. Ski Shelves: My Poppop loved skiing and we have a couple sets of antique skis and I have never had any clue what to do with them. I love the idea of turning them into shelves! It keeps the house from feeling like a mountain lodge but still incorporates a fun element of surprise into an art display! 

Travel: Moscow, Russia

So I'm back from my quick trip to Russia. It was very much like what I expected and at the same time, not what I expected at all. Winter in Moscow is grey. Very grey. The architecture was not at all what I expected. The city center is really amazingly beautiful, and the architecture is a lovely mix of styles, and  Red Square is pretty amazing. I missed a crazy protest in Red Square by just one day (it would have been a crazy story to have seen that!). I bought myself a beautiful set of Russian nesting dolls which are now living among with my other travel nick-nacks. I just have to say a little something about all these pictures too:

1. Saint Basil's Cathedral: thats me, I really cant get over how cool this Church is, I just love all the detail and color.
2. The buildings in Red Square are amazing, just look at that brick work! 
3. So I had to snap this pic, you can see a little rainbow hidden in the mural on that building. I like to think it's a little gay pride despite all the persecution going on there at the moment. 
4. I love the lamp posts on this street, I also love wide walkways like this where no cars are allowed. You never find streets like this in America, a place catering completely to pedestrians. 
5. Me and a co-worker getting a pic with Stalin and Lenin looks alikes, just because it's ridiculous that there are people dressing up to make money from tourists like us.
6. Spotted this man walking his dog with his itty bitty kitten sitting on his head. 
7. My perdy new nesting dolls! 

Winter Wedding Details

1. Winter Cake   2. Car Wreath   3. Winter Berry Place Cards   4. Cotton Centerpieces   

5. Cotton and Pine Cone Bouquet   6. Fur Wraps

Winter weddings never seem to get much press, but there are so many lovely wintery elements that you can work in to make your wedding special and memorable without just falling into the obvious snow flake trap. I love the idea of bringing in leafy wreathes, cotton elements, wood pieces, winter berries and fur wraps to create a cozy and wintery feel!

Hand Lettering: "Follow Your Heart But Take Your Brain With You"

I love this saying. It appeals to my practical & dreaming heart!

I just got home from Russia late last night, I'll share some photos with you next week!

I'm getting excited for the official start of the holiday season! Because even though they are already playing Christmas music on the radio, I refuse to start listening until AFTER thanksgiving! I'm hosting Thanksgiving in our new house this year for the first time! Have I ever cooked a Turkey? No. I'm more excited about decorating and making it all look pretty. The turkey can't be that hard right?

Sneak Peek: Save the Dates

I've been toiling away on some save the dates, we're making sure they go out BEFORE the holiday card onslaught. It's a photo postcard, so most of it is done on the computer, but to give it a little something special, I decided to hand letter their names and wedding logo. This is a little pic of me working on it while Lincoln snoozes on the couch. The full reveal will be in the next couple weeks!

Fireplace Fillers

1. White Books   2. Colored Books   3. Log Ends   4. Log Sides   5. Miscellaneous Whimsy   5. Bones

We have one fireplace in our house, and unfortunately, it's not in the living room. It's in the man cave. Also, when furnishing the mancave, we kept our old, VERY comfortable couch. Alas, that couch has is a lounge sectional and the only place in the room that couch fits, puts the lounge extension part  in front of the fireplace, which means we will pretty much NEVER light a fire in it. So, I've been trying to think of fun things to do with it! Because it's the man cave, the bones are calling to me, but I fear that our Mastiff Truman would decide to gnaw on them, so I think the logs or the books would be the best idea. I've got to give this some more serious thought!

DIY Book Profiles

I don't know if I've said this before, but I LOVE books. I love the feel and smell and curling up with one for hours. That being said, I have a plethora of books, even though I've more or less converted to the kindle, books still seem to accumulate in our house. I had some old books that would never be reread, so I decided to do a little art project.

I have a thing for silhouettes, and I saw these book letters at Anthropologie, and decided I could do something similar but with profiles of me, the hubby, and the dogs! I think I like the dog ones the best! something about their profiles just works better on display. I think these would make great DIY Christmas / Holiday gifts for family members and friends! They could also be a great addition to a wedding display!

Supplies:

1. Old books
2. Pretty paper, I bought mine from Paper Source and decided to stick to a metallic and neutral color pallet
3. Modge Podge 
4. Paintbrush
5. Sandpaper

Tools:

1. Bandsaw (though I imagine you could do this with an exacto blade, the bandsaw is just faster!)

Process:

1. Make profiles of the people or animals you plan to use, scale them to fit the book and trace outline onto the cover
2. Cut out profile using a band saw or exacto blade
3. Sand edges of the book cover
4. After cutting the edges, the were browned by the band saw, so I decided to lux them up a bit like really nice books and spray paint the page edges gold. As you're covering the books, just go crazy with the spray paint and make sure the book edge is fully gilded. Give it about an hour to dry. 
5. Trace new book shape onto the paper you plan to cover the book with. Cut around the edges leaving a 1/2 inch boarder.
6. Brush Modge Podge onto the paper and smooth it onto the book. Do it one piece at a time, i.e. the back first, then the spine, then the front, smoothing out the paper as you go.
7. Fold the extra paper over the edges of the book, you will need to put slits in the paper to accommodate the curves. 
8. To make the inside cover looks finished, Modge Podge the first and last pages to the cover. 
9. Cut a 3 inch piece of paper the length of the spine and Modge Podge it onto the book, curling the ends around the edges of the book.
10. Let dry and display! 

Wedding Rice Toss Alternatives

1. Push Pop Confetti   2. Rose Petal Toss   3. Confetti Toss   4. Bird Seed Toss   

5. Cap Guns   6. PomPom Toss

I love when couples run down the aisle after they say "I do" running through rice, I think it's stuck in my head from watching Cinderella a million times as a kid. Though we all know how bad rice is for the birds, there are some great alternatives out there now! I'm not a huge fan of bubbles, but these are some great rice toss alternatives! I think the little guns and pompoms are my favorite. I just made some little birch cones to hold rose petals for a wedding a couple weekends ago and they were so much fun and made for great pictures! 

Baby it's Cold Outside: Off to Russia

I leave for Moscow, Russia on Sunday! It's a short work trip for Reebok (my day design job if you're just tuning in), it's a big market for us, and we're going to check out the area! I've never been and really don't know what to expect other then that it will be pretty cold and that I'll need to keep my political opinions to myself! I'll be sure to post pics once I get back on Friday! Have a great weekend!

Wedding Photo-booth Chalk Word Bubbles

Another little extra I designed for Elaine and Steve's Wedding were custom chalk word bubbles. One of the things Elaine was most excited about for her wedding was the photo-booth. Though the photo booth supplies most of the props for their photo-booth, we wanted to guests to be able to "say something" in their pictures. Hence the chalkboard word bubbles! I made them out of wood, with a chalkboard front, wood border, and leather handles on the back. These are some of the pictures from the photo booth, Chris and I are the ones on the right! The photo booth company was also able to include the wedding logo at the bottom of the photo strips which was a great way to tie it all together! Other design elements for their wedding can be found at the following links:  invitations, design process, save the dates, guest guidebooks, programs, place cards & holders, confetti bags, and favors.

DIY Bathroom Vanities

1. Rustic Table   2. Board Table   3. Mid-Century Modern Dresser   4. Antique Dresser

Our primary bathroom is small, but has a BIG bulky single vanity that is much too ornate for my taste. I've been trolling the websites for Lowes, Home Depot, Overstock, Ikea and others for a nice single vanity for under $500, but nothing has really been striking my fancy. Which has me thinking about DIYing it. I love the idea of turning an existing piece of furniture into a vanity. Between our house and my parents house, we have a couple of vanities that just might fit the bill. If I coated them with marine grade shellac I think it could be pretty awesome! What do you think?

DIY Throw Pillows

Sometimes the easiest way to refresh a room is to make new throw pillows. It's an easy way to introduce new patterns and colors into a room without spending too much money. I had bought some Merrimeko fabric last time I was in Boston and decided it would be a fun print in our living room. Since it was a little pricy I bought just enough for the fronts of two pillows, figuring I could use some cheep fabric for the back. I paired it with a basic striped fabric I bought from Ikea and some pompom trim I had laying around, I'm pretty happy with how they came out!

When it comes to choosing fabrics, patterns and colors for throw pillows, don't stress out about it too much, things don't have to match perfectly to look great. My Mom always jokes that I don't like anything to match because I never want to buy furniture, plates, or linens in sets, I like to mix and match to get something that feels unique. My basic rule of thumb, make sure the scale of the patterns and color pallets feel like they could be friends, they don't need to be twins or even siblings, they just need to look like they could hang out together and have a good time! See the full how too below.

So let me preface this DIY by saying I am by no means a pro at sewing. I'm awesome at strait lines and basic patterns, but it's something I do out of necessity, not love. So I'm sure there are better and more "by the book" methods to make pillows, but this is mine and it has worked pretty well! I avoid sewing in zippers because I find them annoying and I hate changing the foot on my sewing machine, so this is a great way to make pillows for a beginner (or lazy) sewer!

Supplies & Tools:

1. Fabric (I made 15x15in pillows, so usually 1/2 yard of fabric for a pillow is more than enough)
2. Thread that matches your fabric
3. Sewing machine
4. Fabric Scissors
5. Pompom trim (optional)

Process:

1. Cut front square of fabric, cut it about 1inch longer and wider than you need for seem allowance
2. For the back, I like to make a pocket to slide the pillow into so I don't have to sew in a zipper. So cut two pieces of fabric the same height as the front, but the length of the two should only be about 2/3 the length of the front.
3. Finish one edge of each of the back pieces of fabric (the long edge) see photo above.
4. Layer the front fabric and back fabric with the good side facing each other, making sure the two back pieces take up the same amount of space as the front, they should have a couple inches of overlap to create your "pocket" style pillow case.
5. Pin the edges of the fabric for sewing, if you are using trim, pin that along the edge as well. When pinning, put in the pins horizontal to where the seem will go so that you don't need to remove them as you sew!
6. Once you've sewn all the edges, remove all your pins and turn it right side out! Slide in your pillow insert or stuffing and you're good to go! Yay pillows!

Outdoor Wedding Ceremony Decor

Outdoor ceremonies can be so memorable and unique! Though it can be stressful checking the weather every day leading up to your ceremony, when you get a beautiful day, nothing is better! One of the challenges of outdoor ceremonies is deciding how to decorate and define your ceremony space. These are some of my favorite ideas to make your outdoor ceremony memorable.

1. Streamer Pew Markers: This is such an easy and inexpensive alternative to floral pew markers, and after the ceremony they can be great fun in photos!
2. Program Mailboxes: I love this idea to hold all the programs at at outdoor ceremony. It's so sweet and a great way to keep them from blowing away on a windy day!
3. Door Aisle Entry: I've seen a couple iterations of this idea. You can even set them up in such a way that two of the ushers can hold them before the bride starts walking down the aisle, blocking her from the guests until she reaches the aisle, then moves them aside before she starts her walk down the aisle. That way you can still have a grand entry in an outdoor setting!
4. Hanging Garland: Hanging ribbons or garland from trees is a great way to add a little extra romance to an outdoor ceremony. They add something special to the site and make for great pictures.
5. Hanging Lace Rings: This is a super simple and impactful decor idea. Just buy embroidery hoops in a variety of sizes from a craft store, stretch lace in them and then trim the extra around the edges. When you hang them from trees they can be a lovely backdrop as you say your vows, or create a perfect picture spot.
6. Balloons: Using large round balloons placed around the perimeter of your seating area helps define your ceremony space, creating a more intimate feel. Make sure not to use too many, in a setting like this, less is more!

Hand Lettering: "It's Kind Of Fun To Do The Impossible"

 I'm pretty proud that this is my first Walt Disney quote thus far. The hubby and I have the "Disney Love" deep in our bones. I've been having some serious Disney cravings lately. It's been almost two years since we've been do Disney World, which is a LONG time for us (granted, we've been to Disneyland and Hong Kong Disney in that time, but those were short day trips and don't quite satisfy the craving). So, on Tuesday night, I decided to tag along with my Aunt, Uncle and little cousin, on their trip to Disney world.... THIS WEEKEND! It was a little cray cray finding a flight and figuring out what to with the dogs since the hubby is on his way to China. But, WHEN THERE'S A WILL THERE'S A WAY, and I really wanted to go! SO this afternoon I'll be on my way to Disney World! It's my happy place. Hope you have a great weekend, but if you're not at Disney, it won't be as good as mine.

Custom Wedding Programs

These were the custom programs designed for Elaine and Steve's wedding. (Other designs for their wedding can be found at the following links: invitations, design process, save the dates, guest guidebooks, place cards & holder, confetti bags, and favors,) As we had the "Guest Guidebook" which included a huge wealth of information, we wanted to keep the programs concise and simple. We made sure to include information for the guests to share their photos via Instagram and WedPics so the bride and groom had great wedding pics from the get go! 

Wonderful Wallpaper

 1. Triangles   2. Lobsters   3. Graphic   4. Polka Dots   5. Dogs   6. Stripes

Wallpaper. When we were house hunting a year ago, every house that we looked at that had wallpaper meant HOURS of work taking it down. There was not one time that I saw wallpaper and thought "Cute!" instead it was more like "Holy floral funhouse!" We lucked out because the only place that has wallpaper in our house is the basement hallway/laundry area, and second bathroom, and yeah, it's pretty bad. Here's the thing though, in the last couple years, wallpaper has made a come back! There are so many AMAZING options out there! Even removable wallpaper for those of you in the renting world! The flocked dog wallpaper pattern above is to die for. Though the downstairs bathroom/ hall/ laundry area is not on my immediate to do list, I'm hoping to tackle it sometime this year, and I am definitely considering wallpaper!

DIY Wood Marquee Sign

I hung some art in our dining room / my office when we moved in, and every time I looked at it, I felt like it needed a little something more. I decided to make a wooden marquee sign because really, who doesn't love marquee signs? I wanted to make it out of wood, to change it up a bit from the norm. Then came the question of what the sign should say. I decided on "Whistle" because it's one of my favorite sounds, when people whistle it reminds me of my Poppop and always makes me smile. Plus it's a saying for an office, reminding me to "whistle while I work"! See all the photos and the full "how to" below.

Above is a better pic of me working away in our dining room/ office before I met with a new client last weekend. Now, onto the "how-to"! All I have yet to do is buy a pretty cloth covered extension cord so it looks nice and I can plug it in! Just a heads up, this is the kind of project where some wood working skills are probably necessary! I usually try to keep it easy so that anyone can do it, but that just wasn't going to happen this time around!

Supplies:

1. Wood, I used oak, but I would actually suggest pine, because finishing all the edges on the oak was a pain in the patoot because it's such a hard wood.
2. Round string lights, I got mine from Target, it's a string of 25 lights, so I had to make sure that 25 lights would make sense on the word I chose, so keep that in mind!
3. Hanging hardware

Tools:

1. Jig saw
2. Router
3. Drill
4. File
5. Sandpaper
6. Staple Gun

Process:

1. Print out your word to scale and lay it out on the wood, trace with pencil.
2. Rough cut with a jig saw or band saw. I rough cut it first, then went back in to get closer
3. Use a rough file to clean up the edges
4. Using a router, round top edges
5. Go back in with a finer file and sand paper to finish out all the edges, the router usually can't get in the tight corners. 
6. Drill holes for the lights. On the lights that I bought, there was a little clip on each one, I broke that off so that they would be round and fit into the holes I drilled perfectly.
7. Take out bulbs, insert all the light sockets into the holes.
8. Attach hanging hardware, measure up from the bottom so that it hangs level, I put mine on the H and L
9. Staple down all the wires so that they are hidden when you hang the sign
10. Screw in all the light bulbs
11. Hang it up and enjoy! 

Unique Engagement Rings

1. Oval Antique Ring   2.    3. Bario Neal Asymmetrical Ring   4. Round Antique Ring 
5. Rose Gold Custom Ring   6. Cushion Cut Small Diamonds

I'm all about gold engagement rings at the moment. When I got engaged 4 years ago, the gold trend was just in the beginning phases. Now, it has started to take off. I love gold in the vintage, classic and modern styles. They just feel lovely and classic. So maybe thing twice before you get the ever popular platinum ring, give gold a chance!

Hand Lettering: Sink or Swim

 I can't believe it's almost the end of October. I'm trying to get in all the projects that I need to be able to do outdoors or have the windows open for before it gets too cold! I'm dreading the coming winter and the fact daylight savings is almost upon us! I HATE turning the clocks back, loosing those daylight hours makes me feel like I'm loosing valuable working time! Also, walking the dogs in ther evening is 100% not fun to do when it's dark! Plus, theres something about dark evenings that make it harder it be productive when all i want to do is curl up under a blanket and read a book! That being said, it's sink or swim and I guess I am just going to have to deal with it like we do EVERY year. Blech. So, I will be enjoying every hour of sunlight and warmth before the winter is truly upon us!

Custom Wedding Place Cards and Log Holders

These are the custom place cards and holders I made for Elaine and Steve's wedding last month. (Some of the other elements can be seen here: invitations, design process, save the dates, guidebooks, confetti bags, and favors). We incorporated birch design elements into many places in their wedding, and these custom place card holders were another great opportunity to use birch. I made sure to cut the perfect amount of slots for all of their place cards, and we placed them on a bed of moss for a little extra design detail. We used this lovely wood grain embossed paper, and used the same design language that we had developed in all their other paper goods. One of the extra details I like to include on the place cards are the dinner choices on the back of the cards to make life easier for the servers, as very few people actually remember which box they checked on their RSVPs!

Lovely Curtain Tie Backs

1. Feather   2. Agate   3. Rope   4. Dog   5. Gem   6. Hook and Rope

I've been thinking about making new curtains for our bedroom, and with new curtains comes new tie backs. Though tie backs can some times feel dated, there are some great fresh and modern options out there. These are some of my favorites.