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.