Thank You

My mother is amazing. But, as all mothers {myself included} sometimes do, she nags. Not in a "you're horrible" way, but a "it's the right thing to do" kind of way. So, somewhere in the last 30 years she's instilled a serious sense of I MUST MAIL THANK YOU NOTES PROMPTLY in me...

...like my wedding invitations were written & mailed within days of our wedding. Long story, but we were moving cross country and I didn't want to risk holding off with the excitement of the move lingering!

And, so this Thank You note thing has created these imaginary etiquette rules (I think I created them myself anyway) and I feel the thank you has to be in the mail very quickly. I don't want to forget {because I know that realistically CAN happen} and God forbid any money (specifically checks) are involved because I cannot cash a check until a thank you has been mailed...crazy. I know.

I love receiving mail. I love making stationary. I love someone saying, oh I got your letter in the mail today. So, I don't begrudge sending thank you's, and honestly, I LOVE receiving them. So, my birthday was in the beginning of the month and I had this lingering "I have to mail thank you notes" feeling, I remembered seeing a great post on embellishing stationary on the Jones Design Company, and was inspired to use a similar technique.

I used plain white stationary, used my computer to print off a simple but sentimental message, and then used Stickles (what Emily had recommended) to add a glittery special effect along the edges. Simple, and project was complete within a nap-time. Phew. {I'll check that item off my list!}

And if I could, I'd send all of you a thank you for reading. It makes me feel good to know I'm not writing these posts for myself!

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A new home for baby Jesus

When my husband and I were first married my brother & sister in law gave us the Willow Tree Nativity set with Jesus, Mary & Joseph. I absolutely love taking out my nativity and setting it up each December. Each year, I intended on adding to the collection, but only ended up adding the Shepard & Animals. I've mentioned (I suppose for a few years now) the prospect of getting the creche, but I felt like for what it was, it was a little expensive and something that could be made....

So, after probably 3 years of talking about it, my husband and I ventured to my favorite store (Lowes) to pick up the supplies so he could make it for me. Ironically, this trip was extremely stressful and I later called my best friend to tell her I could have divorced him right there in the store....We searched high and low for exactly what I wanted, and we just couldn't find it...finally on a random trip down the very last isle in the store, we came across the most feasible option and picked up what we needed. In a few short hours, my husband had used my design to create my vision...I was impressed and glad he had all his fingers after a few near mishaps with the table saw! After a few coats of spray paint, I'm pretty amazed with the results. I think at some later point, I'd like to put some antique glaze over top in hopes of making it look a little less crisp...

I have to add that in a strange twist, (talk about irony) my sister in law ordered me the matching Willow Tree Creche so baby Jesus would have a home....I couldn't believe that the very day we were constructing our own, my sister in law purchased us the real one. Later today I'll be heading to UPS to mail back Baby Jesus' second home, and instead Lauren is ordering me the Three Wisemen (so I will have the entire set!) 

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Stationary: Something you CAN make yourself!

For many occasions, I think it's easy to create your own stationary! I've made stationary for numerous friends for their weddings, I even made my own wedding invitations. I've given stationary for Christmas gifts...basically, I think paper products are an easy and fun way of expressing yourself!

A few years ago when I created this invitation for my dear friend Amy's fall wedding, DIY invites were non-existent. So, using large sheets of drawing paper I found at AC Moore, I individually trimmed down the pieces of brown paper to create a folder to hold the invitation. We finished it by tying a piece of dried wheat grass (I think that's what it is anyway) onto the exterior with a piece of sheer brown ribbon. Doesn't it look so rich & like fall?

I created these invitations for my parents. The night before my brother's wedding, they hosted a boat cruise for all of the guests (the wedding was on a Sunday, so this gave everyone something to do Saturday night.)  I love the summery look & colors. I printed the invitation onto a piece of vellum and then attached it to a coral piece of card stock with a bright striped ribbon. I trimmed all of the paper corners with a rounded corner punch, SO easy, and love the effect!

One of my earliest invitation projects was this invitation I made for my great friend Nicole. Her (now) husband is Japanese, so we were trying to come up with a way to contain all of the pieces of paper we'd be sending...I hate opening beautiful invitations (that people spend a LOT of money for) to have a huge clump of papers falling all over the place! She mentioned she had a bunch of origami paper, I think her husband's mom gave her, we trimmed the paper into strips and then personalized each one with the guest's name.  I think it tied everything together nicely, and brought a touch of the Asian theme into the invitations.

I even made my own wedding invitations. I finally wised up and used Envelopements, which I ordered from the website Paper Presentation.  I printed everything onto a slightly sparkly beige paper, and used black ink with touches of gold writing as well. Each exterior had the guest's name written over top a gold "B" (my new initial.) The Envelopements are a great way of containing all the extraneous papers that need to be included in invitations, so in the pocket I included the RSVP Card/Envelope, the Reception Card, and a Travel Detail & Directions card.

I made a similar and gorgeous invitation for my brother & sister in law's wedding. They used a slightly pearly paper, ever so slightly off white, which splashes of pink & green. On the exterior we printed the bride & groom's names. Again with Envelopements everything is contained & in one place. For this invitation we included a card with information about things to do in the area around the wedding. It truly was a destination, and with the boat cruise the night before, it was a great way to meet people before the wedding, and to catch up with family you don't get to see all the time. I digress, the overall tone of this invitations was formal with a touch a fun. I love the colors, don't you?

If you're thinking of creating your own wedding invitations, I recommend checking out websites for pictures and ideas of things you like (and don't like.) I tend to prefer invitations that are a little different, but still convey the right tone. I recently created invitations with a my friend Jean, who will be married this winter (so I'll share with you once they go out) but her invitations tell a fantastic STORY, and I hope the guests take the time to really observe and see what they're looking at!

You can easily order paper off the Internet, the two companies I prefer and tend to use are Paper Presentation and Paper Source. Envelopements come in a wide variety of sizes and colors, they aren't always cheap though (just to warn you.)

I use Microsoft Word when I'm creating invitations. Use the program that you are the most comfortable with. I'm certain that ANY word processing program will work, don't forget to play with margins, spacing, and font size. Definitely pick the right font!! You can download free fonts off the Internet very easily! My favorite place to download fonts is the blog: Kevin & Amanda. They have really great fonts and best of all they are FREE! Creating your invitations is a great way to personalize your wedding but also a great way to save money. Make sure you give yourself plenty of time, weddings are stressful enough, don't bite off more than you can chew!

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