{Halloween 2013} creepy cards

I love, love designing & creating cards & Halloween is no exception.  It's such fun to spread Season's Creepings to family & friends!  This year, I was inspired by whimsical Halloween-patterned papers I found.  Would you like to take a peek at my Halloween cards?

Skulls, witches, ghosts & bats!  Do you have a favorite?

Photography: Koru Kate for Koru Wedding

{Easter} bunny tails crafting

Easter has come & gone!  I happen to adore the celebration of hope & new beginnings.  So much so that we celebrated all weekend long!  We started on Friday with an informal celebration with my sister & brother-in-law & ended on Sunday with an official celebration with my husband's family.  We are so very lucky & blessed to share our lives with such incredible, loving people.

Like most holidays, I made Easter cards for our friends & family.  I picked a pastel palette, then created a Happy Easter banner above a bunny with a contrasting tail.  I called it a bunny tail card, my friend dubbed it a bunny butt card.  Whatever works!  

My lovely friend Jen of Jen Kim Made snapped the sweet photo above of my Easter card I sent to her.  Since I didn't have time to style & capture my Easter cards, I really appreciate the photo.  Big thanks to her!   

I hope your weekend was full of close family & good friends & happy celebrations!

  

{Valentine's Day} DIY Heart Photo Montage

I'm a firm believer of showing your love every day but showing a little extra love on special days like anniversaries, birthdays & holidays like Valentine's Day is just fine. & eek- Valentine's Day is one week away!  If you're anything like me, you may be scrambling to find a sweet, thoughtful gift.  May I present to you the quick, easy, inexpensive, meaningful DIY Heart Photo Montage:

All you need are memories, photos, double-stick tape & wall space!  Here are the easy instructions:

1.  Choose your photos.  My heart consists of 48 photos which created a large photo heart.  Adjust the number of photos according to how big or small you'd like your heart & order a few extra just in case.  Pick either a variety of photos from many events from the past year, from many special times over the years or from a big, recent event like your wedding or birth of your first child.   

2.  Print your photos.  The quickest route is to upload your photos to sites like Snapfish & pick them up one hour later at Walgreen's.

3.  Find a nice spot on the wall & make your photo heart.  Start with the longest row & apply each photo with double-stick tape (my longest row was eight photos).  Build upon your longest row, tapering down to a point below it & creating two arches above it.  

Viola- you have sweet heart for your Valentine!

My DIY Heart Photo Montage was inspired by Martha Stewart & I made it for my husband last year.  I assembled it while he was at work & surprised him with it when we got home from our Valentine's Day dinner.  He was extremely touched!  Whether you make it for your significant other, kids or parents, the DIY Heart Photo Montage will melt their hearts!

p.s. I can't wait to show you what little crafty Valentine's Day present I am making my husband this year!!  Details coming soon.

{Holidays 2012} maybe next year

I committed to two DIY holiday projects this year: Christmas cards & Glitter candles.  There's only so much one girl can handle.  My holiday-loving heart hasn't stopped pinning DIY holiday projects though.  I'm thinking maybe next year!   

The Christmas ornament shadow box is my latest find & as the easiest, most affordable option, it's the most likely to get done next year.  I'd go with white & silver Christmas ornaments to match my love for winter white snowflakes:

It pretty much drives me crazy that the photo isn't centered but I truly adore the golden wreath made of thumbtacks.  Yes, thumbtacks!  Made in gold or silver with the recipient's favorite color bow, the thumbtack wreath would make a lovely gift:

Mason jars may get a bad rap, yet there is no denying the simple beauty of the holiday mason jar.  Again, very inexpensive & very easy.  Just a jar filled with greenery, cranberries & floating candle.  Maybe I can squeeze this project in this year:  

 
Last but certainly not least is my very favorite holiday DIY project: the rustic crate centerpiece.  The centerpiece shown below features a vintage Pepsi crate filled with Mason jars, pinecones, greenery & holly sprigs.  I would be torn between copying it as exactly as possible or playing with the container & filler to make it my own.  I just LOVE this natural beauty:

By the time next Christmas season comes, I'm sure my DIY Holiday Project wish list will have grown!

Tune in tomorrow to see our humble home decorated for the holidays!

Photo 1: via;  Photo 2: via; Photo 3: via; Photo 4: via

{Holidays 2012} Spreading Holiday Cheer

I've done it again: I lost my holiday mind & decided to make our Christmas cards this year.  Even though I clearly vowed to never do so again after the insanity of last year.   Oh, & I signed up for a handmade holiday card swap.  Oh, make that two handmade holiday card swaps!  Yes, I knowingly committed myself to crafting 60+ Christmas cards.  Plus I'd already made 10 cards for Holiday Mail for Heroes.  As I mentioned, I lost my holiday mind!

Except that I do truly love designing & making cards :-)

For the Brooklyn Bride 6th Annual Holiday Card Swap handmade card swap & the Brenda's Wedding Blog Handmade Holiday Card Swap,  I created my Natural Holiday card with kraft paper card, snowflake border stamped in white & holiday message handwritten in silver:

On the inside of every holiday card design, I kept things simple with a handwritten message in silver & the finishing touch of a snowflake stamp in white:

For our family & friends' cards, I created two designs.  The first is my Let it Snow card with red card stock, silver snowflake border stamped in silver & holiday message handwritten in silver: 

The next design is my Merry & Bright card- so different for me & really jazzy & fun!  I used red card stock, fine silver glitter & silver metallic pen:  

Every holiday card was tucked into a coordinating envelope & sealed with cute snowman stickers:

Designing & making our Christmas cards was quite the project!  One night, the entire house was covered in silver glitter from top to bottom, including our pup.  There were definitely moments when I was tempted to give up & buy cards but all in all, it's great fun to step away from the computer & tv to be creative.  I love crafting & spreading holiday cheer to fellow crafties, family & friends!
  

{Real Great Outdoors Wedding} Alycia & Daniel

Is there anything more romantic than a First Dance on a dance floor of green grass?  Not much, my friends, not much.  A natural, laid-back wedding in the Pacific Northwest showcases nature's stunning beauty in shades of green.  Trembley Photography is sharing this nature-lover's dream wedding with us:

Alycia & Daniel are kindred spirits who spend their free time wading rivers, catching fish & appreciating nature.  They love nature as much as they love each other so they decided to create a wedding celebrating both.  The wedding vibe was simple & indie.  Nature served as their wedding venue: a gorgeous green clearing with a small lake surrounded by majestic woods.  The Bride was a fresh, natural beauty with her flowing chiffon gown, her flower crown & lace flats while the Groom kept things casual in pants & a shirt complimented with suspenders.  A carved wooden sign pointed the direction to the lakeside ceremony.  No further decorations were needed when they said "I Do!" on the lake's dock.  Afterwards, a painted wooden sign pointed the way to the reception where a tented area kept the drinks & food safe but the tables were set under the sun & the green grass served as the dance floor.  The white tables had alternating DIY centerpieces: goldfish swimming in bowls & goldfish swimming in bowls resting on ferns & wildflowers.  The wedding cake was decorated with fresh ferns & flowers & topped with a bear cake topper.  A perfectly natural wedding!         

Congratulations, Alycia & Daniel!

VENDOR LOVE:
Photography: Trembley Photography  /  Submitted via Two Bright Lights  /  Wedding Cake: 
Morning Side Bakery

Desert Delight

We're experiencing such a heatwave on the East Coast that I feel like we just might be living in the desert!  I'm not complaining as I love summer.  However, the desert-like condition does explain why this original cactus centerpiece caught my eye:

So colorful, striking & different!  The cactus are very cool but the colorful tins really make this centerpiece.  Add the papel picado & a good margarita to achieve perfection!

Bonus: if you're looking for an easy, budget-friendly centerpiece, you've found it!  For a different look, you could collect vintage tins or for a varied look, collect tins of different colors & sizes.  Get creative! 

Now excuse me as I daydream sipping a cocktail on the shores of Cabo San Lucas . . . 


Photo Sarah Yates via





 

Easter Spots

Last weekend when my husband mentioned Easter was the following Sunday, I thought it was an April Fool's joke.  I'm serious.  Where is time going?!  Once I checked the calendar & established that he was not kidding, I was left with one night to craft homemade Easter cards for our family. 

Yikes!  No time to shop.  Quickly, I grabbed blank cards, colored pens, patterned papers & scallop paper punch out of my craft armoire & came up with a little something like this:  

A sweet, simple design with just a touch of sparkle: 

 I designed each card around the favorite color of the recipient, like this green palette for my Mom:

 The cards may have been a rush job but I like the pretty spots of color & patterns:

Happy Easter, Happy Passover, Happy Celebrations to you & yours!

Photos by Koru Kate

green crafts & wishes

St. Patrick's Day is special to me, it means more than sipping a Guinness & wearing green.  As a kid & through adulthood, my Mom always prepared us a traditional Irish dinner of corned beef & cabbage.  Now that my Mom has fled lovely Jersey for sunny California, my sister keeps up the tradition & hosts our corned beef & cabbage dinner.  It's always a fun night! 

I can't cook to save my life but I'm handy with paper, scissors & glue so I started a little tradition of my own: making & sending St. Patrick's Day cards to our family & friends.  I enjoy creating a design, making the cards & sending them with love.  This year, I went a modern route by making different, random designs with four, pretty green ribbons & sprinkling in a green shamrock or two.  Each card was unique which was pretty fun.  I put a little dash of Irish love into each & every card!   

The lovely Miss Siobhan kindly agreed to model my 2012 St. Patrick's Day cards.  Of course, there she is up above proudly displaying one design.  Here she is with a few more versions:

Because I'm a sucker for finishing touches, each card was sealed with a cute green shamrock:

I wish I could send a card to each of my wonderful readers!  Since I can't, I've chosen this St. Patrick's Day wish for you:

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Photo 1-3 Koru Kate Photo 4 Seed Factory