Inspiring

An actual post about a project is just not going to happen this week. Though I'm off for a few weeks until I teach at a local community college summer program, I've still managed to pack as many things into my time off as I can, including designing for upcoming weddings. That's what has been taking up my time and I've loved it.

So while I meant to write a heartfelt blog about my brother's wedding and the extras that I did for it, instead I will write about something that has become near and dear to my heart: Pinterest.

If you don't know what this is, maybe it's time you checked out Pinterest. First, let me explain how to pronounce it. Think 'interest' with a 'p' - pinterest. I say this because I am pretty sure I pronounced it wrong the first hundred times I said it ("so have you heard of that new pin-TER-est site?").

Pinterest is a great place to find inspiration for anything - your house, clothes, books, parties, artwork, weddings. Anything. You can scroll through hundreds of pictures and save ones you like under your "pins".  So I'm able to find some great inspiration for invitations, among other things, and catalog all of them so I can easily access them in the future.

So I thought that this week I'd share some really cool wedding ideas I've found recently. I love each of them very very much. I'm so inspired by others' creativity.

First, a super cute Save the Date.

So so so simple. But so incredibly adorable. And look at that couple! I'll bet they live happily ever after.

Next up (yes, we're moving along quickly today), a wonderfully fabulous wedding invitation.

If only I had found this two years ago, it would have been the invitation for our wedding. It may have involved some more bright colors, but other than that, it's just perfect.

And while we're turning back the clock two years, here is what I would have done for a guest book. This idea makes my heart happy.

How cute is this?! I'm actually asking...did you just answer outloud? That's what I thought...it's SO cute. Instead of just having your guests sign a guest book, have them sign their names on their birthday. Now you have a record of your guests AND you know their birthday. I'm insanely jealous that I never thought of this.

So that's all I've got this week. Three simple ideas that I'm extremely inspired by. I think I will ask Luke if we can renew our vows on our two year anniversary (which is 1 month from tomorrow!) so I can use all of them. This sounds like a reasonable request to me. :)

Rew's Wedding Reception

I have a friend named Heidi, but 9 out of 10 times I'll call her Rew. It's because her full name is Heidi Rew. Are you following me?

Rew and I have been friends since our freshman year of college. Ten years later, I asked her to be one of my bridesmaids and here we are at my Bachelorette party in July 2009. 

I love this girl. You know how people say "she's the kind of friend that you can go forever without seeing and then just pick back up right where you left off"? Well, Rew and I aren't like that. We're the kind of friends that care so much about each other that we actually keep in touch, even though she lives in Atlanta and I'm in Michigan. She's the type of friend that I can talk to about anything from The Bachelorette to what we're learning in our lives (both with the equal amounts of passion). She's a rare type of friend and I am beyond grateful for her.

It's hard to mention Rew without also mentioning that we're a part of a very elite group. (We may be the only ones who consider ourselves elite, but just go with it.)

Here is our circle of friends, if you will (so corny...).

Rew, Rachael, Kauri, and Jenny

Kauri, Rew, Rachael, and I have all known each other since college. Most people at college seem to find their friends based on who they lived with. Not us. We found each other one fall night during our freshman year when we all happened to be on the same hayride. We're pretty sure we were destined to be friends.

I usually manage to see the girls twice a year, which is great considering I live 9 hours from any of them. Our first trip this year was to Birmingham to see Rach right after she had her daughter, Elizabeth (the first baby to come into our circle!). Our second will be when we all see each other at Rew's wedding reception in August.

You see, Rew is getting married to Mike in July. Check this fine looking couple out. 

(If you live in Atlanta, you may know these two...they're kindof a big deal.)

Mike and Heidi will be married in Hawaii in July - just the two of them. They'll honeymoon there and then come back to Atlanta for a reception with their friends and family in August in their backyard. 

Rew wanted a casual, backyard-ish, vintage type wedding invitation. She shared a couple of the plans she had for decorating the reception to help me gain her vision. A few weeks later, I was printing off her wedding invitations and sending them off to her. Here they are, in a picture I straight up stole from Rew's blog (which you can visit here).

I'm loving this type of invitation. Fun, casual...looking like a flyer or poster. I really think it gives off the you-can-kick-back-and-relax-at-this-wedding feeling. Which is pretty much what Rew is wanting for her backyard reception. 

I also love that Rew had people RSVP to an email (and the name of the email they created is presh). What a great way to save a little money. And please...who doesn't know how to email? 

I honestly can't wait for her reception and to officially welcome Mike into our little (elite) group. I may be planning a little ceremony. And there may be a certificate and welcome badge. Mike, get ready. 

Want to hear more about the value of custom invitations? Check out this post. 

Jackson's Birthday Party

If you have followed my blog at all, you know that I have a niece named Vivian Elle. She is precious. I love her and will now share a picture of her, just for fun:

Oh, sweet little thing.

But Vivian has other members in her family too. Let me introduce you to her older brother, Jackson:

Jackson will be 3 this month. He is an adorable little boy. He likes making up games. He loves to read. He calls me Uncle Jenny and then laughs at himself. And he is seriously the most well spoken almost-3-year-old I know.

Together, Jackson and Vivian have bumped me from the "Not sure if I'll ever not be awkward around children" stage to the "Kids are the greatest (in moderation)!" stage. (Whether or not I ever make it to the "I need me a baby!" stage is still TBD.)

But on to the invitations...

My sister-in-law came to me last month and asked if I'd make invitations for Jackson's 3rd birthday party. He was going to have a rocket themed party and she gave me this blog post as inspiration.

My mind started racing. I went over a million different ways that I could do the invitation in my head. I was genuinely so excited to make them. I mean, it's my nephew's 3rd birthday party. They had to be good.

At this point, I really wanted to go into the entire process of making this invitation, but I opted instead to  give you the highlights:

-Ordered green and blue (Envelopments!) card stock to start the invitations.
-Decided to try to find a patterned piece of paper to add another dimension to the invite.
-Couldn't find patterned paper at Hobby Lobby...or Michael's...or Joann's.
-Couldn't find a rocket ship cutout to use.
-Became frustrated.
-Borrowed a Cricut from my mom.
-Made 15 star cutouts and 15 '3' cutouts in about 5 minutes.
-Found patterned card stock in old pile from about five years ago.
-Did celebratory jig around kitchen.
-Assembled invitations.

I can honestly say that this project was one of my harder ones (most likely because of the expectations I put on myself - envisioning my nephew harboring bitter feelings well into his old age because his auntie didn't put together an invitation that he loved). But it was also one of the projects I was most satisfied with in the end.

Here is Jackson to display the final product for you:

He never told me if he liked them or not, but I think he seems pretty pleased in the pictures. :)

Here are some close-ups, taken courtesy of my brother-in-law:

The font is so fun (it's called Stereofidelic) and I adore the wording. RSVP to Star Command? Please. Too cute.

The next picture is my favorite. I thought my brother-in-law was just going to take a couple of quick shots of the invitation, but no. His creativity kicked in and he came up with this little gem of a picture:

Jackson has been talking about his rocket party for a while now - may it be just as much fun as he's hoped it would be!

To end this blog post, I want to introduce you to the newest member of Jack and Viv's family. Here is little Charleston. He's just two and a half months old and as cute as can be.

Oh, and little Charlie's already told me that he wants me to do all of his birthday party invitations. It was amazing...truly a miracle. A two and a half month old that chose to talk only to make this one request...what an advanced child! :)

Conor's Baptism

You may remember Melissa from this blog post. She used me for her baby shower invitations and was my first official customer. She is now my first official return customer as well. She contacted me a couple of months ago and asked if I would do the invitations for the baptism of her son, Conor. Um....yes, please.

What else can I say about this girl that I haven't already said? She is great and I love her. She is one of those people you want around when you have a bad day and you just need to stop, turn to someone, and say, "please say nice things to me now." She would do it and you would immediately feel better.

Mel gave me a price range and a color scheme and let me go to work (have I mentioned that she's super easy to work with?). Here's the final product:

(Confession: I have a really hard time thinking of things to say about each picture. Not just with this blog post, but every single one. I feel like I should have some witty comment or grand statement about the picture. I don't. Forgive me. I will try to get better.)

The best part of the whole process was that after I had dropped off the invitations to her and we were saying goodbye, she says, "Well...I'll be calling you again...maybe for Christmas cards!"

Oh, Mel. You are the best. :)

Class of 2011

I graduated in 1999. 1999. In other words, last century.

Working on a project for Kate, a sweet girl who is just graduating from high school, reminded me over and over that I am...well...not as young as I think I am.

I was reminded of this 75 times as I printed off each graduation announcement for her.

You are old. You are old. You are old. You are old.

But how can I be old? It feels like just yesterday that I was the one graduating from high school. It feels like I was just posing in pictures with friends in my cap and gown. It feels like I was just going to visit colleges, taking my final exams, and taking those final trips with friends over the summer.

It was a great time and when I reflected back on my own high school experience as I put together her announcements, I smiled as I realized that this was just the beginning for her. I remember thinking my life was over as I cried in my driveway, hugging my four closest high school friends. And then it just kept getting better and better. As I worked on these graduation announcements, I said a prayer that life would be the same for Kate.

So here is Kate's graduation announcement. Her family has been very special to Luke and I over the years and I was more than happy to make her graduation announcements when her mom asked me to.

The front...

(I have to stop and say that I took these photos, which means they are not in any way professional. These invitations will be sent to the one and only Amy Sayre, who will take photos of them that are way better than what you're seeing here.)

The back...

Is the black and white flowered card stock not the cutest thing ever? 

This little graduation party invite was tucked into the Portable Pocket, along with one of Kate's senior pictures. 

A huge thanks to Kate's mom, Donna, for letting me play a small part in her daughter's graduation. :)

Congratulations to Kate and all of the 2011 graduates!