Nursery Tour

I've been waiting until the nursery is "done" to give you all a tour, but I'm realizing some things are just never "done" so this is what you're getting, and you'll just have to work with me.

There are a few final details and light fixtures that have yet to make an appearance on the walls, but overall...I'm comfortable saying Billy's room is complete.

It's become my favorite room in our house, and in the morning the light through the window is so beautiful I like to sit in the chair while I eat my breakfast, imagining what it will be like to have a little person in that room with me.

Morning light in the nursery :)

I love these shadows

Name art is available on my Etsy Shop

That "B" will be hung on the door (eventually)

Adorable rocking giraffe & basket of stuffed toys!

We found this print in different colors through Etsy, so I contacted the designer and she was willing to customize the colors for us! I'm in love. 

Print by Mandipidy

 A good friend had this made for us - it's even "me" in the rocking chair with short hair and a bow!! I love the saying and it's so special that she had this done for Billy's room <3 I am on the hunt for the perfect frame for it now!!

This is the most special piece for me in the nursery; my mom made Billy a quilt and embroidered all the squares with little Billy things - rocking horses, stars, B's and puppy dogs. It is absolutely stunning, not to mention soft, snuggly and incredibly sentimental. I had seen the progress while it was being sewn through photos, but when I opened it at the shower I still had to catch my breath. This is so beautiful, and so special. I know Billy will love it like I do.  

That's the tour!! I almost included more photos of the closet, but I figured you got your fill the other day with that post :)

Today I received shipping confirmation on our final Amazon registry order (which wasn't supposed to ship until July).

Billy's car seat is securely installed in my back seat and tonight we're going to get it inspected.

My bag is packed (though I think I'm going to repack it now that I have a better idea on what the weather is doing this month) and I've been having loads of practice contractions this week.

To top it off, Mom and Hubs have both mentioned a few Kurt sightings in the last few days. If you don't know the story about Kurt, check out my post on Parenting Without A Parachute about him – he's my guardian angel. When I see him, I'll know it's really show time.

I feel more ready than ever. Let's have a baby.

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Stork Craft Verona 4-in-1 Fixed Side Crib via Amazon
Newcor Premium Rosie Glider via Babies R Us
Bushel & A Pack Print: Mandipidy via Etsy
Dresser: DIY Curbside Find
Rocking Raffi Giraffe via Zulily
Billy Name Wall Art Decoration via Etsy
Mobile made w/ paper lanterns via Hobby Lobby & LEKA CIRKUS via IKEA
Curtains via HomeGoods
Quilt handmade by 'Nana' 

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Wedding Invitation Design

I've been meaning to post my wedding invite designs on my Etsy shop for a while now...and today I finally did!

These are a few of the wedding invitation designs I have done (including my own wedding) but if you have someone in need of any event invitation, please feel free to shoot me an email and let's talk!

My yellow paisley wedding invites :)  

My yellow paisley wedding invites

Island Wedding Invites

Island Wedding Invites

Starfish Wedding Invites

Ornament Swirl Wedding Invites

Orchid Wedding Invites

Orchid Wedding Invites

UPDATE: You can see all of my most recent design photos on the Design page of this blog and on Etsy. Thanks! 

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Save The Date: Carrie & Ben

I had the honor of designing an interactive save the date for Carrie & Ben last week, a wonderful couple to work with! They were hoping for a vintage, Euro-inspired, simple design...and I feel our collaboration hit the nail on the head! Be sure to check out the stop-motion video they created themselves - ADORABLE!! Congrats to Carrie & Ben!

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Orchid / Beach Wedding Invite

Just wanted to upload a quick pic of a recent wedding invite I designed for a friend!! Big congrats to them, the celebration will surely be a night to remember.

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Wedding Invites to Greeting Cards

As a graphic designer by education, I have a passion for design. It is no longer my career, but I do design wedding invitations freelance. (Hint: Brides-to-be, please email me) Math has never been my strong suit, so it's no surprise that I miscalculated the number of wedding invitations Bill & I needed to mail. We only needed 92 & I made 150 "just to be safe" (not smart)... but now I get to use all of those leftovers & make greeting cards! Here's how I do it:

1. Begin with wedding invites. In this photo the disassembly had already begun - they had sweet little silver brads up in the top holes & one rhinestone in the lower left corner.

 2. Gather a glue stick, mat stack, ribbon scraps & paper scraps.

3. Glue chosen mat piece to backer.

4. Poke corresponding ribbon through brad holes.

5. Make a pretty little bow.

6. Add the white scrap in the center & write your message. Guess who this one is for :) Surprise, MOM!!

The fun thing about these is there are SO many variations possible!!! Here's another version I created from scraps.

Making cards is fun and doesn't need to be expensive! About 80% of my card making collection of crafts is throwaways and scraps that others didn't want. Commonly at craft stores they will have stacks of scrap papers & ribbons - that's where I find my supplies. I love being challenged to be creative. Instead of walking into the store & buying the outfit on the mannequin, I like to dig & search & build my own creative outfit, and I mimic this philosophy in every creative outlet I have. I like to dig and experiment to create something fun :) I hope you create something fun from scraps too! If you have & want to share, I want to hear! Send me a tweet or just leave a comment below.

Happy Mother's Day to all you wonderful moms!!

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Alphabet Fun: B-O-Y

A very close friend of Bill and I had a baby shower today & naturally, I wanted to give her a very unique gift. She's not just any friend, she's Bill's best friend (other than me!) and she is the person who was with him and helped pick out my stunning engagement ring. See? Not just any friend.

This was grounds for a new idea in gifts and my latest obsession has been print and frame design/embellishment. I was first inspired by this post on Design Sponge. Ubabub creates simple, but stunning prints that are perfect for a children's room. This print particularly inspired me to do something very simple and elementary:

Pythagoras by Ubabub

Currently the condo is filled with IKEA artwork (I moved into the Bachelor Pad, give me time...) with a hint of deviantart but eventually I would like to have all my own work and the work of my friends surrounding Bill and I on the walls. There's something to me about having a piece created by someone I know and love that's just comforting, it's like they're here. The fact that almost all of my friends are graphic designers like myself helps too....

So for our mom-to-be best friend, who is expecting a baby boy on December 7, 2010, I wanted to branch from the typographic inspiration in the Ubabub print above. I decided to create an alphabet print, using a different typeface for every letter. I designed all of the letters in a heather gray and singled-out the characters "B-O-Y" in the alphabet. This is the print itself:

I wanted to personalize it further and embellish the mat of the frame, an idea I saw first on DIY Magazine's website. This is the finished product:

I had an appointment so I couldn't stay to watch her open her gifts, but I really hope she liked her print!! I am very pleased with how it came out, and it was a blast to do! I'm so grateful to have the talent and passion to create things start to finish and share them with others.

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Sharing the Cute: Print Design

I love finding new ideas on my favorite site (BHG) for my home & this one is too cute to pass up! I will definitely be thinking of something cute to design in type and printing/framing it for the condo.  I especially love the personal touch with the matting/frame. Stay tuned for more of this...

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