Pink Chevron:

This year has truly been one of those years that I feel like my creative well has dried up. Life lately has been consumed by family, hospital visits, more hospital visits, traveling for hospital visits and my little toddler Victoria. When my dear Aunt approached me to help her plan a Bridal Shower for her future daughter-in-law I just couldn't say no. The perfectionist in me needed to help her make it perfect and special for the bride-to-be, and I knew it would be the perfect distraction from my day to day. It would take up all of saved up energy, but I'm glad I made the time for it! Enjoy!

Stationary Design / Fresh Linen Press

Cake / Cake Designs by Edda

Straws / Hey Yo Yo

Rentals / Imperial Party Rentals

Seeing Owls:

For the past year, Owl patterns have been all the rage. I've been seeing them everywhere from invitations, to fabrics, to iPad covers, Pottery Barn even had a whole line of gear in a beautiful pink and brown pattern, even Michael's had a selection of Owl themed items in their dollar section. When Kim from Everything Etsy approached me to submit some printables for one of her roundups, I couldn't refuse! I've been a fan of her web site for such a long time! So I decided to join the bandwagon, and design an Owl Theme Mini Party Kit! Here is the finished product! Read Kim's post here!

 

   Download the Party Kit Here

Set includes

Invitation

Two Inch Tags

Blank Tent Cards

Napkin Rings

Fabric Lust:

So to continue the post about 'V's playroom, eventually I'd love to make bench cushions for the Expedit Shelves. This way, there will be a comfortable place to sit, especially for grandparents. I was really excited when I found this great tutorial on how to make them! I have zero sewing skills, and this tutorial by IHeart Organizing was right up my alley! Now comes the hard part. Which fabric to use!!

 

See all the great fabric selections from this store!

You can order samples for a $1 each!

 

V's Playroom:

After my husband was diagnosed with cancer, we knew our lives would be turned upside down. We knew there would be a lot of hospital stays, so we had to make a special place for our Victoria  to play.  Back in September I had started looking for ideas on kids modern playrooms. We knew the most cost effective way to go was IKEA, but we didn't really like the kids furniture because of the colors. So we found pieces that could easily be incorporated in a kid's room, and still be useful afterwards. It's still a work in progress, but at least she now has a retreat while daddy is busy getting better.

 

1. Expedit Shelves 59.99

They are the perfect height so she can easily access her books and toys.

 

2. Skubb Bins 14.99 for set of 3

Perfect for holding her lose toys, while keeping them well hidden

 

3. Gladsax Frames 7.99

I designed the posters and got them printed at a local printer

 

4. Lack Side Table 9.99

We didn't like the children's table, and this side table was the perfect fit for a third of the price.

 

5. Mammut Children's Stool 7.99

Adds a touch of playfulness to the room

Etsy to the rescue:

Little side projects have been a nice distraction during these last six months. Normally I don't have time for much, between day job, hospital runs, and my active 2 year old, but I made it a point to find the time and help a friend who needed ideas for her daughter's birthday party. I had less than a week to round up the details to bring it all together! Thank goodness she fell in love with a theme I already had in my Etsy Shop!

 

You can get this design here!

Boo:

I love Halloween, it's my favorite holiday, even more than Christmas. Now that I have a little girl, I have an excuse to over decorate! I'm head over heels in love with Paperglitter's Halloween Party Kit, not to mention the website's new fabulous make over with tons of new products! The kit is perfect for a mini pre Halloween party with the kids, specially since this year it lands on a Wednesday!

 

 

 

 

Cherry Blossom:

These last couple of months have been fun as I've been designing a few custom party themes and invitations! It's always a nice creative break from my day to day job! This one was a Cherry Blossom theme for a special bride's Bridal Shower. The Maid of Honor wanted matching papergoods, which included Invitations, Menus, Table Numbers, and tags for the dessert table and favors!

 

{Photography taken by Bride's friend Michelle Hernandorena-Garcia}

{Shop for the Cherry Blossom DIY Party Kit here}

Bee Party Printables:

I finally got around to adding a new item to my etsy shop! The Vintage Bumble Bee Party Kit from my daughter's birthday! Enjoy!

Buy it here!

Favor Bag Tutorial:

I dont consider myself a very crafty hands on person. I can cut and punch things out, but dont ask me to sew, or build things! So I was pleasantly surprised at how easy it was to make these favor bags with a custom iron on. Here is a close up picture of the muslin favor bags I created for my daughter's birthday party.

I ordered the muslin bags from Celestial Gifts, they have a wide variety of sizes, and the prices are very affordable.  I bought these iron on transfers from Walmart, but you can find them at any office supply store, Michael's Craft Supply Store or order them directly from the internet. I used Illustrator to create the design, but you can use MS Word to create text, and even import clipart. Click here for a free download of the design I created, if you are planning your own Bumble Bee Theme Party.

Here are some simple instructions:

1. Make sure to print your iron on using an inkjet printer (But follow the instructions of your iron on paper)
2. Always iron on a hard, flat surface (not a padded ironing board), I ironed them on the floor. Just make sure you place something underneath to protect the surface. 
3. Once you have cut out the design, lay it on top of the muslin bag. (To make sure the muslin bag surface was flat and neat, I pre-ironed all my bags)
4. Place the sticky side down onto fabric, and apply the heat. (Follow any specific instructions on the iron on paper you are using, since they all vary) 
5. After about 60 seconds of constant heat, your bag is done!

I would recommend getting an extra bag for practice, we learned with our first bag that our iron wasn't hot enough and the iron on transfer bubbled!  

This is great for any type of favors for showers and even weddings.

Bee Party:

 I finally got the time to go through my daughter's First birthday party photos. When I started planning her party eight months ago,  I wanted to design something special & unique for this celebration. I figured when she gets old enough, I may not have a say in the theme of her parties. I loved the idea of a Rustic Bumble Bee Theme, and we were touched by the opening line of The Bee Movie - According to all known laws of aviation, there is no way a bee should be able to fly. It's wings are too small to get its fat little body off the ground. The bee of course flies anyways, because bees don't care what humans think is impossible. My daughter was born at 26 weeks, and overcame many obstacles to make it to her First Birthday, so we knew this would set the tone for her Bumble Bee Theme.   

I designed all paper goods, including the invitation, tags for food, the banner, and the goodie bags. For the kids’ goodie bags, I ordered Muslin Bags from CelestialGifts, and then designed a custom iron on logo, that read “Thank you for Buzzing by”. The goodie bags contained bubbles, bumble bee tattoos, sunflower seedling starter kits, and The Bee Movie.

My creative friend from Paperglitter was kind enough to offer her help and make three Beehive Piñatas for different kids’ age groups. This helped a great deal since there were about 30 kids ranging from ages 3 to 10.

The dessert buffet had lots of treats, besides the birthday cake, it included honeycomb cereal, honey teddy grahams, yellow gumballs, various flavors of candy sticks, and chocolate and vanilla cupcakes by a local baker, Golosinas. I found wooden letters at a local Michael's store to spell One. 

I worked very closely with my friend from The Posh Nosh Cakery to design a cake that had a hint of the Bee Theme without being too caricature like.  

Photography by: www.denisecruzstudio.com

Color Straws: HeyYoYo

Papergoods: Fresh Linen Press

Victoria's Baptism:

When I started designing all of the details for Victoria's Baptism, I knew the color had to be Robin's Egg Blue or Tiffany Blue. Being that Im not a fan of the color pink, I wanted a color that would be elegant yet feminine. I had been looking forward to her Baptism for a long time, so I truly enjoyed planning this small event for forty. The Invitation and other papergoods designed by Fresh Linen Press.

 {Mini Chocolate Mousse Cups by Gilbert's Bakery}

 {Vanilla Cupcakes}

{Raspberry Lollipops}

{Chocolate Truffle Favors by the The Posh Nosh Cakery}

{Photography by Brooke Nelson Sharpe}

{Click here to purchase Vintage Tiffany Blue Party Kit}

Unique Series:

First, let me apologize in advance for yet another baby related post. It seems that's all I notice these days. I couldn't help but to share this unique series from the talented eye behind  Sugarleaf Photography. Everytime I find a unique way to document a pregnancy I can't help but to feel sad that I didn't have the time or the chance to document my own. So to all of you new expentant mother's out there, don't wait, start documenting now!

{See the entire maternity series here}

Damask:

I'm in love with the latest dessert table featured over at the Amy Atlas Blog. Besides loving beautifully designed parties, it reminds me of the colors and pattern my hubby used 3 years ago for a surprise birthday party he threw for me. Poor, sweet thing, I must have been obsessing over black damask and green so much he ended up using it on everything from the invitation to my cake!  

{Above photos via Amy Atlas}

{Invitation design by the hubby}

Wedding Bells:

I finally finished one of the bridal invitation suites I was working on. And when I mean "complete" I mean, invites printed, glued, assembled, including calligraphy on the outer envelopes! With a full time job, there was some night scheduling in order to finish everything on time for getting everything in the mail. I was specially happy that the bride loved the way the invitations came out, and at a budget she could afford. I remember calling several print places and remember getting this reaction when requesting a quote "Oh, so you want a $2000 invitation for practically nothing? That's impossible." I think that with a little creativity and perseverance, anything is possible.

Items ordered for 125 sets from Paper Presentation:

Coco A6 Pockets:  $180.70

RSVP Envelope in Tropical Green: $21.25

Flat 5x7 Backing card in Tropical Green: $40.00

Outer Envelope in Tropical Green: $31.25

Flat 2x3 card for outside Label: $20.00

Printing (which included custom cutting): $235.00

In order to keep the printing cost down, we opted for

Digital printing rather than Thermographic printing