{Holiday 2013} reindeer cheer cards

 

 

I didn't make Christmas cards for our family & friends this year.  In fact, I couldn't even get it together to send boxed or printed Christmas cards & I ordered New Year's cards instead.  But I digress.  Happily, I did get to flex my creative muscles this holiday season!

Back in November, I committed to the Brooklyn Bride Annual Holiday Card Swap for the third year in a row.  I couldn't let down the creative ladies on my list.  I hauled out my natural card stock, various stamps & ink pads, & whipped up the snowy scene above.  You can't tell in the photo but the sweet reindeer is embossed in a sparkly gold for an extra special touch.  All in all, I was happy with my festive, wintery creation!

& that, my Koru family & friends, is a wrap for Koru Wedding in 2013.  It's high time for a holiday break!  After sneaking in a holiday wish or two, I'll be back on January 2 with regular blogging.  On behalf of Koru Wedding, I wish you & yours a Merry Christmas! 

Photo: Koru Wedding on Instagram

{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!

  

{St. Patrick's Day} chevron-style crafting

St. Patrick's Day has come & gone!  I enjoyed our annual St. Patrick's Day festivities of corned beef & cabbage dinner made & hosted by my sister & brother-in-law.  So yummy & such fun!

Just like we have corned beef & cabbage every year, I always make St. Patrick's Day cards for my family.  Traditions, traditions!  This year, I picked a simple, stylish chevron shamrock design on kraft paper card stock.  It was so simple to make using my Silhouette Portrait machine!  I picked paper in two shades of green & the Silhouette cut each into solid shamrocks & chevron shamrocks.  With a base of a solid shamrock in one shade of green layered with a chevron shamrock in another shade of green, I quickly & easily crafted this cute design for my St. Patrick's Day cards.  

As always, a big thanks to the greenest, cutest bear, Miss Siobhan, for her excellent St. Patrick's Day card modeling skills!

{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!
  

{Holidays 2012} Crafting for Our Heroes

To kick off the festive holiday season, I was really honored to spend the day crafting for a good cause with Jen, Emily & Louisa.  Jen kindly hosted us at her place where we gathered with mimosas, treats, & craft supplies galore to make holiday cards for Holiday Mail for Heroes, a great Red Cross program that distributes cards to veterans, military families & active duty service members around the world.  Crafting is always fun but crafting for a worthy cause is just plain wonderful. 

Not only did these ladies bring their amazing talent, they brought enough awesome craft supplies to make a well-stocked craft store blush.  You name the holiday-themed supply & we had it: stamps, punches, stickers, ribbons, embossers, etc, etc:

I have a real soft spot for snowflakes so all my cards featured snowflakes:

When the fun day of crafting came to a close, we made over 40+ beautiful cards for Holiday Mail for Heroes!  Here is a small sampling of the handmade holiday cheer that will be spread to our heroes:

A big thanks to Jen & the always adorable Humphrey & the too pretty Mila for hosting us in their beautifully holiday-decorated home.  As you can see, Humphrey & Mila are as cute as can be:

Last year, I sent one card to Holiday Mail for Heroes & I was so excited to send 40+ cards this year.  Big thanks to Jen, Emily & Louisa for making it happen!  If you would like to show your support & send holiday cheer to our military, it's so easy.  By Friday, December 7, simply send a signed card to:

Holiday Mail For Heroes
P.O. Box 5456
Capital Heights, MD 20791-5456

For more information & complete instructions (no glitter!), please visit Holiday Mail for Heroes.

Here's to hoping everyone's holiday season is merry & bright!

Etsy Weddings Event

Saturday was a beautiful Spring day, just perfect for heading into NYC with Jen of Jen Kim Made & attending To Have & To Hold, the first-ever weddings event hosted by Etsy.

Just beyond the white & cream ribbon entrance, the event promised unique items & plentiful inspiration for Brides, Grooms, wedding parties & wedding guests.

 

& the event delivered!  I was instantly enamored with the sweet lace number accented with a blush pink flower belt:

Fresh flower bouquet alternatives like fabric, silk & wood were quite cool but a stunning ranunculus paper bouquet to last forever & ever stole my heart:

Oh, sweet little vignettes were tucked in every nook & cranny, chock full of vintage & handmade items for creating a stylish wedding:

Why hello, sparke & shine tassel garland:

Wow, wow.  To Have & To Hold vintage book cut-out!!!: look closely:

It wasn't all about the Bride & Grooms!  As a pet lover, I thought the ring pillows outfitted for a furry bridal party members were fabulous:

Bravo to Etsy & its artists for supporting same sex marriages:

Once.  You're only a Bride & Groom once jetting off on your honeymoon so why not travel Bride & Groom-style:

They had me at good-bye with the too-cool-for-school pink vintage typewriter:

  

Last but certainly not least is a great quote about marriage:

This post shows only a snippet of the items available at the event & the event only showcased a fraction of the items available on Etsy.  Please visit Etsy Weddings for handmade & vintage wedding inspiration & shopping!

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

Dear Hero, Merry Christmas

I began crafting holiday cards this weekend but before I started the cards for our friends & family, I made one special card.  I don't know the recipient personally.  I will never meet this person.  Yet this person is my hero.


I crafted this card with care, appreciation & love for our U.S. military servicemen & women.  Penned to "Dear Service Member," my card included heartfelt thanks & holiday wishes.


I sent my handmade card to Holiday Mail for Heroes, a wonderful organization that collects & distributes the holiday mail to U.S. military service members, veterans & their families throughout the United States & the world.  Imagine how much an extra dose of holiday cheer & gratitude may mean to brave soldiers protecting our freedom, many of whom are far from their home for the holiday season.  Thanks to the Red Cross & its partner Pitney Bowes, now we have the golden opportunity to shower our heroic, deserving military men & women with some extra love & attention during 
the holiday season.   


Sounds good, yes?  It's easy to show your support & send holiday cheer to our military.  By Friday, December 9, simply send a signed card or letter to:

Holiday Mail For Heroes
P.O. Box 5456
Capitol Heights, MD 20791-5456

For more information, please visit Holiday Mail for Heroes.

I was inspired by Chandra of Oh Lovely Day to participate this year; I hope this post inspires you to send a card!

Card & Image (apologies for low light!) by Koru Kate

Crafty {Belated} Birthday

Belated Birthday Gifts & Wishes 

for Jen of Craftiness NOW

At Koru, the inspiration & celebration of new beginnings involves weddings 99% of the time.  But beginnings come in many forms like births & birthdays.  & I like to celebrate them all!!!

My friend Jen of Craftiness NOW is no exception.  When she announced her birthday bash in August, I eagerly started a birthday project for her that involved her love of pink & crafts.  Then I was unable to attend her party (boo-hoo) & I stalled on my crafting.  We finally made plans last week & this was the fire I needed under my crafting butt to get this project done.

Let's call this project Inspiration Canvas Set.  I found inspiration on Pinterest but (stupidly) I didn't actually pin the source but the basic canvas, letters, paint idea is similar to this pin.  I wanted something simple & sweet to decorate Jen's cute apartment & inspire her with some well-chosen words.

First things first was a trip to AC Moore.  I loaded up on 4 baby canvases, wooden letters & paint.  Because a throng of sorority sisters had depleted the supply of wooden letters to make their paddles, I was forced to rethink my words.  I ended up with my original words of Love & Hope, plus the new additions of Joy & Wish: 

I painted two of the canvases with a few coats of Ballet Pink because Jen loves pink & the other canvases with Vanilla for a nice contrast:

The "toughest" part of the project was painting those tiny letters.  For most of the letters, I painted them before I glued them on the canvas.  It wasn't easy keeping them in place to paint them.  I didn't paint Wish until it was glued on the canvas for that exact reason.  Then I ended up with pools of extra paint on the canvas.  I can't decide which method was best:

Before too long, my birthday present idea turned into an actual birthday present that I'm pretty proud of:

I wrapped these cuties in a cupcake gift bag & paired them with pink wine & presented them to Jen at our little dinner & dessert party.  I'm pretty sure she liked them.  Hopefully, all of Jen's birthday wishes come true because she deserves each & every one!

FYI, with the right words, these could be a great engagement, wedding or baby decoration or gift.  Think Marry Me with the couple's name, wedding words like Forever/Always/Love/Heart or the baby's name, birth date & stats.  Be creative & have FUN!