DIY - Card Holder

We decided we wanted a pretty bird cage to hold all of our cards on our gift table at the wedding. I started looking around for one that would fit into our decor, but they were all a bit out of my very small price range. So, I had to get a little crafty.

I ended up finding the perfect one at Ross for only $9!!! Only problem was, it was not the perfect color.

All it took to transform were a couple coats of paint, some sand paper and a little TLC and we had the perfect little card holder!

The moral here, it doesn't have to cost a ton of money to get exactly what you want. Sometimes, it just takes a little bit of paint and some love! Don't be afraid to D-I-Y!!!

E Designs: Window Treatments

Last year after they purchased a new home in Murrells Inlet, SC my aunt and uncle asked me for some design advice for their master bedroom. They have a bay window that they were uncertain how to treat and wanted some help.

The Problem

After reading their "problem", I spent some time coming up with a window treatment solution for the window and then took the design to the next level so they could get a feel for what could be done with their space.

The Inspiration

I began the process, as I do with all of my designs, by finding photos for reference and inspiration.

The Mood Board

Next, I pulled fabric swatches, a color palette (this one was based on their existing palette in the room) and some accent pieces (tables, lamps, art, etc) and created a mood board to give them some ideas of items that could be added to the space to pull the room together.

Lastly, I created a mocked up photo of their space using some of the items and treatments to give them a visual reference of how the space could look with my ideas implemented.

The Solution

For E-Designs such as this, I provide not only what is shown above, but also a PDF with links to all the items that I have used and a full write up with suggestions for pulling the space together on your own.

My aunt and uncle put their project on hold for a while, but based on the feedback I received on my design for them, I got the feeling we'll be seeing some of my ideas come to life when they are ready to finish it up!

Step Five: Invite Your Guests

We all know there are a million kinds of invitations out there to chose from and these days just about anything goes! I think it's important to at least read up on wedding invitation etiquette before starting your invite shopping so that you can determine what traditions are right for you and the direction you'd like to go. (Check out these articles on The Knot, Martha Stewart Weddings, Real Simple Weddings.)

Personally, I don't think there's anything out there that says you have to send out a formal invite, reply card, map, etc., however these items do tend to be the main components of a wedding invitation. For our wedding, we decided to include a hand made invite, reply postcard (already stamped) and info card which included details about our reception and address to our website. It's really up to you what you'd like to include and how you want to do it. Heck, these days just about anything goes. (I've even heard of people sending Evites to save some trees!)

A couple of things that I suggest keeping in mind when designing your wedding invitations:

1) Pick a motif and carry it through. Find something that represents you and your wedding design and use it on your invitations and other stationary elements too. You'll be pleased when you see all of your stationary come together as a cohesive design.

2) Design your invitation to reflect your wedding. If your wedding is formal, you probably want to pick a more formal motif and include more traditional elements such as a reply card in an envelope rather than a postcard or RSVP online. But, if your wedding is more on the casual side, you can use more playful and whimsical designs and traditional elements can become optional.

3) Think about postage! The bigger you go and the more elements you include (bows, cards, envelopes, etc.), the more postage is going to cost. This adds up quickly! So be conscious of how much you want to spend on postage and include this number in your stationary budget in the beginning.

4) Don't keep people guessing. If your wedding will be a little out of the realm of what people are used to, you should find a nice way to let them know. For example if you plan to have adults only, dessert and champagne or cash only bar, these are the types of things that would be nice for your guests to know in advance so that there is no confusion. (The last thing you want are hungry guests with no money to buy a drink!)

For our invitations, we hand made each and every one of them which took some time! But, it gave me a good excuse to recruit my girlfriends and with their help, we got them all done! (Thanks ladies!!) Our design was simple, on one side there was the invitation and on the reverse was a pretty pocket which housed the information card and the stamped reply postcard.

I found a beautiful handmade paper at Paper Source called "Peacock" and used it along with a feather stamp in my design. I carried the same paper through into the programs and thank you tags at the wedding.

I must admit, I loved our invites. They turned out so pretty and each one was filled with a lot of love!

Happy planning!

Ups and Downs.

Yesterday was one of those days! It was ups and downs for me.

First the best up... I booked my very first Day Of Wedding Coordinator job! I am so excited. The wedding is in April and I'll be working with the daughter of a lovely co-worker of mine. I can't wait!

Next I hit the gym, another up! I've been doing really well so far this year and am very proud of myself for it! (Although let me tell you, I'm ready for all of you resolutioners to get out of my way! I mean I'm proud of you for trying, but you're making the gym almost impossible to navigate. Ugh!)

Finally, when I got home I discovered that my Facebook and potentially also my MSN email accounts had been hacked. Ick! There's nothing worse than the feeling that you've lost control.

So, on to a new day and hopefully many more ups!

Happy hump day to you all!
~E

Wishing Tree

One of my hopes in getting our wedding published on Style Me Pretty was that other brides might be inspired by some of the things that we did for our day like I was by things other brides did for theirs.

So, you can probably imagine how excited I was when I saw this adorable San Francisco Wedding on Style Me Pretty and they had a wishing tree much like ours!

Theirs.

Ours!

 Not trying to claim that we inspired theirs, but how fun to see a similar guestbook idea used in another wedding!

For ours, we found two cool pieces of Manzanita branch, filled in moss where it was missing and secured them into a pot with plaster of Paris. Then, we punched out little paper leaves and asked our guests to "Leaf us a Wish!" It was a very easy project and was so much fun to read through all of the wishes post-wedding.

We're looking forward to looking back over them for years to come!

Louis Blue How I Love You!

It's been a while since I've had time to play in Polyvore, so I decided to take a few minutes today and put together a set inspired by an awesome Wisteria chair.

The chair is the Updated Louis Chair in Blue and my oh my am I in love! I want one for my office!

But alas, I don't have an extra $280 at the moment, so I'll just have to make up dream rooms for it to live in instead!

Happy Tuesday!