Celebrating Five-O, Installment #1

A fellow party lover and dear friend is planning a big event for not only her 50th birthday but her husband's as well. They now live in Maryland, used to live in Southern California and he used to live in Washington. So they decided on a location that friends from all of those places would love and that's the Napa Valley wine region. Four fun filled days of wine tasting, golf, fabulous food and maybe a spa treatment thrown in for good measure.

This is the first mailing that I have created for the celebration and I'm working on the next one right now. A "grapey" logo of their very own will be used throughout all the printed materials. Installment #2 coming next month!

Rockin Invitation

A Rockabilly themed baby shower is certainly one of the most unique I have ever heard of. I was happy to take on the challenge to create the invitation though. The mom-to-be knows she's having a girl so she requested pink with black & white and I went from there. I know the hostess Jill will have a rockin' good time ready for everyone!

The Happiest Bride on Earth

I knew it was coming. "Mom, can you make the invitations for me?" My daughter was the maid of honor for her friend Kendall and thus was in charge of the bachelorette party plans. For a gal that has always loved Disneyland, was obsessed with Tinkerbell, and goes there for her birthday every year, where else should the Bachelorette Party be? Duh.

What could I pull together in a hurry? Relying on the sneaky and fabulous photographer Sissel Byington, who captured Kendall & Brandon's engagement moments, I decided to use a couple of her shots. And then to go along with those photos a couple captions... just like every sports figure that wins some big championship we asked "Well Kendall, now that you've got your Prince Charming, what are you going to do next?" And like all those sports figures she answers "I'm going to Disneyland!" As I stared at the photo of Kendall walking her bike that brand new, beautiful ROCK on her finger seemed to say 'highlight me' so I added a little stick-on rhinestone and it really made the invitation rock. And it was magical!

Move is not a "four-letter word"!

Someone recently told me that people don't like the word "move". Apparently "relocate" is preferred. As if there's something wrong with moving. I suppose I'm not thinking that it conjures up the day when everything gets packed in boxes, a "moving" van comes and the sad goodbyes take place. Does "relocating" happen in an easier fashion?

Over a year ago we "moved" our daughter all the way up to Idaho. And I say "all the way up" because it was a long haul in a U-Haul on snow and ice covered roads! But her adventure was just beginning and we were so excited for her. Was it because she'd landed her first big job out of college and we were no longer paying tuition and other assorted bills? Well maybe. But honestly, to know she was launching into the world, and into her career that she had worked hard for, was thrilling.

We had our sad goodbye at the airport when we flew back home but my next little project awaited me. Her "I've Moved!" cards of course! So many people had asked "Now where exactly is Idaho Falls?" so that's what I started with... a map.

Okay, "move" does have four letters in it, but it's not a four-letter word.

The Thrill of Touching Paper

Inspiration for invitations sometimes comes from wandering through a paper store. I love to touch and feel different papers and that's how the creative thoughts for a birthday party invitation came to me. Not only the invitation but a direction for the yet to be decided menu as well.

While wandering through Paper Source I came upon one of their Japanese papers that made me think of the beautiful flowering pear trees in our yard which are sadly finished blooming. Nevertheless, the hostess for this birthday dinner party has a wonderful variety of dishes (pottery, china, porcelain, earthenware...) and I recalled a set that would go quite nicely with this paper so that sealed my decision. I was already envisioning the place cards on the table. One thought always leads to another and in this case it went like this - Japanese paper... Hawaii... Hawaii became a state 50 years ago... the birthday girl was born 50 years ago... skinny strips of paper look like chop sticks... Pacific Rim cuisine for dinner!

Thanks Marsha for letting me design my own dinner party invite! No I'm not really turning 50, I'm just telling people that so we can have parties. (Fingers crossed behind my back.) And I love parties!

Showering a Bride

My daughter's best friend recently got married. That's about the best excuse for a party EVER! A boudior shower seemed appropriate so when it came to the invitation I knew some lace must be included somehow, somewhere. And black lace led me to sangria, of course! That's just the way my mind works. Then I found the cute hanger graphic and that led to making padded hangers as favors that were hung on each chair thus becoming the placecard for each guest.



Capturing the evening was the bride's aunt, my friend and photographer Sissel Byington. Check out more photos from the shower at What's black and white and green all over? Ahhhh, what a night!

And the Oscar goes to...

The perfect excuse for a party is the evening of the Academy Awards. And oh the fun I've had creating those invitations! Theme options abound! Start planning your party now because the show is coming up next weekend!

One year we did "Grant's Chinese Theater" (instead of Grauman's, the famous one on Hollywood Blvd.) and decorations included paper lanterns, Asian inspired florals and Chinese take out for the dinner! Another year it was pure "Hollywood" with recreations of famous intersection signs in Hollywood, the "Spago" sign and Wofgang Puck's pizza. Maybe the most fun part that year was our own Walk of Fame with our guests' names on stars glued to the walkway leading to the front door. Every guest is a star in our minds!

Each year we have movie popcorn as one of the appetizers and movie candy for dessert. Custom printed popcorn bags and custom-made wine glass IDs are fun details. Movie posters from the past and the official Oscar poster for the year are also a must.

I always include a ballot with the invitation that must be filled in and submitted before showtime. Prizes for those that have guessed most closely to the actual results are something to vie for here. Sometimes the prizes are themed as well, sometimes not, but always the prize for the worst guesser is a box of Milk Duds, for picking all the duds of course!

Identity Crisis!

I'm having an identity crisis. Or maybe I have multiple personalities, in a completely sane sort of way of course.

Identity.. the business card that says who you are, what you do, what your style is. Nailing that is more difficult for oneself than for others. I can design your business card, but can I decide on my own? And then some words of wisdom from a dear friend.. "Oh I change my card every few months." So I probably will do the same. But I still want input from others so don't be shy about commenting.

Labor of Love

While pawing through my Valentine file I found an article from the February 1998 Food & Wine magazine that I had saved. It was written by the famous chef Julia Child. In 1948 Julia and her husband Paul began a tradition of sending personalized Valentine's Day cards to their friends. After a move to Paris the prior December they knew they wouldn't make the Christmas card deadline so Paul suggested "Why not send out Valentines?" And so for the next 25 years Paul produced a new card to send to their friends. No great surprise... Julia was in charge of the special Valentine's Day dinner!

I don't know if this will become a tradition for me, but I thought it would be a great way to let friends know I've started something new.

Launching!

My first post. Two new things in my life, I'm a blogger now and I'm starting a new business. But the rest of life needs to remain the same; my precious husband to lean on, my sweet dog Cory to talk to, and my fun and sassy daughter in Idaho Falls to chat it up with on the phone.

Valentine's Day is around the corner and my first project awaits me. I love red, but I'm thinking I'll go a different route.