Turquoise Day for Miss D, Part II

Oh. Did I forget to mention that the day ended with a Tiffany box? A little one. And you know what they say about small packages!

Turquoise Day for Miss D

Just for fun I made a lavender-filled sachet for my daughter a few weeks ago and mailed it to her to brighten her day. She loves all things turquoise. And yellow has been a standard in her wardrobe for years. She wears it well. I imagine this fits right into her closet colors!

Yesterday was her birthday. A fabulous day from beginning to end, she reports, and filled with turquoise colored gifts from her boyfriend. Yep, turquoise gifts.

Upcycle Madness! Denim Pennants!

I have not lost my mind. But I am in a recycle/up-cycle/re-purpose/renew kind of mode. It started a few weeks ago when I decided I should go through my closet and toss some dust-collecting clothing items into a give-away bag. I ran across a couple pair of jeans that have really gotten to that frustrating point. You know. They are great when you put them on right out of the dryer, but sit in them for an hour and the tush area is saggy? Baggy? Just what I need!

But denim is precious somehow. I couldn't part with the jeans, I had to recycle them. So here goes. Denim wedding pennants. I think this will be a great prop for wedding photos, a fun bridal shower gift, a cute wedding ring carrier for a ring-bearer (tie those wedding bands on the ribbons!), and something fun to decorate the newlywed's home.

I'm working on another one with red glittered "Love" and I think it's gonna be too cute too!

Sugar & Spice, Babe

Portfolio plumping time. Baby announcement ideas needed. And a fav photographer of mine Sissel Byington was sweet enough to share a precious photo from a recent shoot of hers. Taking the background of a baby shower invitation I did a while back, I created this. Of course I've got one for baby boys too. Snips and snails and puppy dog tails, of course! (the names have been changed to protect the innocent... baby from all those cooing fans!)

How does that party happen?

I've blogged before about the twists and turns my mind takes when I'm in party planning mode, but today I thought I'd be specific. And the party most fresh in my mind is the Groovy one in my last post.

My beautiful friend Danielle just turned the big 5-0, which means she was born in 1960. So 1960 and all the hipness of that era started the party planning process. A cool blue and green napkin I found helped me determine the color scheme, and a font that just screams "1960's" found it's way into the invitation. Those beaded curtains that hung from doorways and windows in the sixties was how I came up with the accent strand on the invite itself, and I hoped I would find the perfect "curtain" that I could bring into the party decor. I hit pay-dirt at Cost Plus the day before the party! Fabulous.

A signature drink for a party is always a fun idea and the mojito fit perfectly into the scheme. One, it's the right color, green; and two, it's one of Danielle's favorite drinks. With this group of friends just sitting around chatting and eating makes for a fun night, but for this party I felt we needed an activity. Poetry reading. Yep, poetry reading. I asked each of the gals to write a limerick about the guest of honor which seemed simple enough to me. Five lines, that's all I asked for. There was a little balking at first but by party-time these women came up with the absolute funniest, sweetest, wittiest poems! It turned out to be the best part of the evening.

Maybe I should have thought a bit more before I settled on blue and green as the theme colors because when it comes to flowers blue is tough. I cruised over to the local nursery to see what I could find. Thinking the only blue flower I might find would be a hydrangea, which says "grandma" instead of "groovy". Don't get me wrong, I LOVE hydrangeas but they're just not right for this party. I wandered around with hopefulness and there with the herbs and tomato plants were mint plants! I decided that I could put them in a few containers and tuck some white flowers in tiny vases in between and at the end of the evening I could send the plants home with the guests. The perfect party favor for a 60's party is a little "weed" (I crack myself up) and since mint is a main ingredient in mojitos it fit right into the theme! And at the very very last minute I came upon a bunch of flowers that I also used in the decor, and something I had never seen before, Scottish Thistle. Thanks to Danielle for telling what they are or I would never have known! How weird, they are blue and green!

And that is how that party happened.

Peace, Girlfriend!

roovy! And groovy party-ers too. These fun friends embraced my silliness of creating a groovy entry into Pebblestone (our outdoor living space) that matched the invitation to my dear friend Danielle's birthday party. I added "Happy 50th Birthday Danielle" in vertical strands to a 60's style curtain I found at Cost Plus (love that store!) Danielle is the fun one on the right and the other two, Nancy and Renee, were overachievers in the limerick writing department! Lots of tears of laughter and joy!

I Scream

am in charge of a little ice cream thingy at church this week. No great surprise, my way of looking at a "little ice cream thingy" means a full-fledged party with a theme! And also, if anyone is going to go to the trouble to bring all the goodies and set it up one certainly wants people to eat the ice cream. Sure, it's best to say "no" to desserts most of the time but if the presentation is fabulous then it's harder to resist the temptation. So I'm shooting for a great presentation that will make it a true party and cause folks to dig in! The classic "I scream, you scream... " and we all know the rest, will make an appearance in pennant bunting form. Here's a preview..

Red, White, Blue & BBQ

It's a wonderful thing that our Founding Fathers managed to Declare our Independence in the summer. I love my country and I love that we traditionally celebrate it with outdoor gatherings. May your weekend be filled with patriotism for the red, white & blue... with a little barbecue too!

Gee, a Party!

She was born in 1960. That crazy decade of Flower Power and The Dating Game, Beatniks reciting poetry and Peter Max posters. Of course she was too young to really know what that was about but it's still a fun theme to go with. Pretty Groovy!

Damask

Folks are looking for just about everything in a damask print. Still! Picture frames, totes, dresses, tables runners, invitations and even baby stroller liners are all popular search terms these days. Not only did I design an invitation in damask, I decided it was time to change my header to a turquoise damask too!

Tradition, Tradition

Traditionally the wedding season starts in June. But it seems nowadays there is no true season for weddings. I frequent the blogs and I've seen the most fabulous, to die for, autumn and winter weddings. But since I'm a traditional kind of gal, I thought I'd post a rehearsal dinner invitation to start off the traditional wedding season that has a fun and festive Mexican theme.

A Girly Grad

Obviously tough enough to play volleyball for her high school, this beautiful grad is also a girly girl. Her mom knew she would want something totally feminine for her graduation announcement instead of the classic, order-from-the-school type. Not bound by the high school's colors, I decided to go with the flow of the pink, black and white volleyball in the photo and the mom approved. The shimmer of the soft pink paper and kitsch paper topped with the vellum made it fun with a touch of elegance.

The Graduates

A sea of graduation announcements have arrived in our mailbox. More than any other year I can remember. High school grads, college grads with their bachelor degrees and master's degrees, and all of them deserving of a celebration. Well, you know me, I think a party should be planned because the sun broke through the fog before 10 am!

Our niece is one of the high school grads this season and her mom asked if I could whip up a simple invitation for the post commencement gathering. I'm partial to the school colors of red, black and gold so it's no surprise I had these yummy red Envelopments envelopes on hand. And a feminine and fun font matches Laura's personality. Congrats to her and all The Graduates!

Quack

He sees me. She's taking a dip. He sees her. She's done swimmin'.

She's getting her feathers in order. He's after her. She's had enough. "Where'd she go?"

Today she showed up! For the past two weeks a male mallard has come to visit but he's always been alone. Less duck poop, that's for sure, but I've wondered about where his lady might be. Hiding out with her ducklings? Trying to stay safe from the coyotes and other varmints? Is she injured? Oh I pondered. Okay, I worried! I was so happy to see her today that I nabbed the camera and tried to be a stealth photographer. Now that I know she's okay they can leave for good. Messy, messy.

Linger Over Lavender

A remembrance of a party. A favor. And this one lingers for a long time and is quite useful. The dried lavender inside the sachet keeps bugs at bay and the quotes of love, life, friendship can inspire. Your closet never looked and smelled so good!