wouldn't it be fun

To move into a new house with big wooden doors...

{photo found here}

and with beautiful globe lighting above the kitchen table...

{photo found here}

It might have a huge walk in shower...

{photo found here}

And grecco-style dumbells so that working out could become "mythic"...

{found here}

The master closet might be totally chic...

{photo found here}

And the desk might have incredibly unique accessories...

{found here}

Someday the extra bedroom might get re-done in anticipation of a new resident...

{photo found here}

And in the meantime our family and friends could open their mailbox to find a sweet little announcement of our move into the new house with big wooden doors...

{photo found here}

Quixotic Designs: Invitation Compilation Debut

{all boxed up and ready to be mailed}

I think by now it is safe to post pictures of my recent creations without spoiling the surprise for anyone involved... so allow me to introduce you to what the philosopher refers to as my insane procrastination effort: baby shower invitations.

Technically, there were six different variations of the design that got mailed out and two different stamp designs. But, for all intensive purposes I think of the invitation as having 3 main variations with a little something extra thrown in for the {great!(grand)parents}, the aunts, and the uncles-to-be.

All of the invitations sent out had four essential components: The letter-pressed lion invitation with blue ink (printed on sustainable bamboo paper) from Smock; a personalized letter-pressed elephant enclosure card from Dingbat Press; a hand stamped, double-sided light blue insert that included directions to the shower, registry information, and a special request for guests; and one or two *super cute* stamps from Cakespy's Zazzle shop.

The elephant enclosure cards were not just for looks - - I especially want to orient the shower towards personal relationships and I thought I'd lay the groundwork by asking the guests to share something personal. I included the guest's name(s) on the bottom of the envelopes to add a personal touch to the invites and just in case someone fills out the card but forgets to sign, the new parents will know who it was from!

There was a "ruffle ribbon" version:


{at the very end I ran out of white ruffle ribbon and had to use a bright ivory ruffle ribbon for a couple invitations *technically* yielding two variations - - fortunately, the ivory looks white until compared directly against the actual white ribbon!}


There was a "jungle leaf ribbon" version:


{Since the ribbon was reversible, it *technically* yielded two variations.}



There was a "paper bag" version:


no frilly ribbon just a cute little paper bag to hold
the lion invitation, the elephant enclosure card, and the blue insert.


There were 7 extra special invitations for the parents-to-be,
three aunts-to-be, two uncles-to-be,
two sets of grandparents-to-be,
and one pair of great! grandparents-to-be.

For them, I put the invitation in an unsealed "inner" envelope, then encased it in blue tissue paper, and housed the whole shebang in a special little box. Partly I did this because the little chartreuse boxes were just so cute (but too expensive to mail to everyone!). But also it was important to me that these invitations not get too banged up in transit. After all, if anyone is going to save these invites it'll likely be someone especially close to the parents-to-be and the new baby.

And there were two stamp variations:

A "cuppies & owl" stamp version and a
"where the wild (and sweet) things are" stamp version.
{I really wanted to use these stamps too
because they're soooooooooooooooooo cute
but there just weren't enough invitations to merit the extra sheet.
I'll have to think of something else to mail! wink, wink}

All in all there were 29 shower invitations.
I can't wait to see how many people show up to the main event!!

speaking of...

I love this idea for "recycling" or re-using wedding decor after the fact. I've already got fabric incorporated into my wedding invitations and, perhaps as a result of being so giddy about my idea, I've gotten obsessed with fabric as a complement to any sort of invitation (not that it works best in everycase but I do love an element of the unexpected!).

I've also gotten pretty attached to this idea for a spin on the traditional "guestbook". And it is so nice to have someone else's tips and tricks from their own trial run. The tip about ink that washes off easily is actually what sealed the deal for me falling hard for this idea!

{I think this "leaf your print" bit would actually be soooo cool for a baby shower as well. Just sayin.}

Speaking of baby showers and weddings, this idea fits sooo well with my plan for my own eventual baby shower (in ten years, of course). If I weren't already so totally attached to my baby shower plan, I'd enthusiastically follow suit and scatter empty books around the wedding for people to fill. Although, now that I think about it, I've actually got something kind of similar lined up for the wedding... hmm.. no spines but a blank canvas meets comic books sort of thing. Well, more on that later, I guess. :)


Lastly, I'm still loving this photo shoot (and most balloon photo shoots for that matter). The only problem with photos as good as these is that I fall in love with every little detail - - in this case, I've fallen hardest for the now-impossible-to-get dress. Isn't it fabulous?! I never would have chosen it otherwise but with the balloons it just pops and is perfect. Wow. And, did you notice that guy is wearing a sweater? He's rocking it pretty well... I'm impressed. I don't think my Luke would ever get into a sweater.

Two things.

1. These invitations are really, really cute. I {heart} them very much.


2. {This Blog} is amazing. I've been following Cannelle Vanille for several months and, again, all there is to say is that Aran is incredible.

Supercalafragalistexpialidociously so.

booksbooksbeautifulbooks

It is obvious, I'm sure, that my philosopher and I love books.
In a lot of ways, he probably loves them more than me
but at a certain point the minute differences are irrelevant.

Our home will always be brimming with bookshelves and piles of books
and we'll continue building a library for as long as we can.

I come by it honestly for sure.
Growing up I thought everyone had a living room
decorated with floor to ceiling bookshelves
stacked two or three rows thick.

As I got older I came to realize
that, in fact, not everyone loves to be surrounded by books.
Weird. To each her own, I suppose but I can never escape the feeling
that a spine-less home is cold and empty.

It is just so strange to see bookshelves with huge gaps of open space
a paperweight here, maybe a coffee table book there, a couple of picture frames...

However, despite my love of books - particularly beautiful hardcovers -
I have been trying to reconcile my desire to emulate this (with a twist)
with the guilt and sadness I feel in taking a razor to a masterpiece.

I suppose it is about artistic endeavors...
you have to break an egg to make an omelet...
and so on and so forth...

We'll see if I really have it in me to follow through with my plans
for these lovely, dusty hardcovers I found at the Still Waters book sale this year.

pretty paper and other things

The philosopher received a little gift in the mail yesterday from Amazon (read:mymom). What is it the philosopher loves to get more than anything else? Kisses? Close. But the answer is books. He's a voracious reader, that one. This time he received The Age of Wonder, a book concerned with the history of science. It actually looks really, really interesting! {Maybe I'll sneak in a few chapters before he gets a chance to cuddle down with it!}

Anyway, one of the most wonderful things about the book so far is the beautiful, beautiful dust jacket. The pictures online seriously do not do it justice. It is phenomenal... for a dust jacket anyway. In most ways it highlights the color scheme I'd like to incorporate into my wedding invitations... along with some greens and maybe some amethyst or papaya for kicks. I really wish I knew how they printed that gold. I've been asking around and I'm pretty sure that is not a letterpress possibility. But, if I can swing it, gold will make its way into the wedding invites (etc...) nonetheless!

song of myself, and yourself, and their-self...

{one of Bella's designs via Snippet & Ink}

This morning as I sipped my coffee and swooned over beautiful paper samples I've collected in the name of wedding research I realized something interesting: the paper samples from Bella Figura demonstrating their choices for paper color and ply all feature quotes from Walt Whitman's Song of Myself. Coincidence, eh? Just another, absolutely unnecessary, reason to LOVE BELLA FIGURA.

fever

{photo from Cynthia Warren via here}

Today I have invitation fever!
It is wonderful yet difficult.
Of course, the philosopher keeps reminding me
that no one but ME cares about the invites.
The most important, if unintended, part of his reminder:
I CARE.

Although I do wonder if it is true that I will be the sole appreciator
of our will-be lovely invites.
After all, I've saved special invitations I've received over the years
either because the people who sent it are special or because the invite itself
was just too spectacular to part with.
Who knows... maybe a few of them will escape the trash bin.

Right now, these are a few of the things inspiring me:

{smock invites}


{Twig & Thistle invites}


{Studio on Fire Invites}


and these {from Chelle Paperie}

heavy metal

{photo found here}

I've got a thing for metal... copper, pewter, and gold in particular.
It started with paper actually.
I'm ultra obsessive lately about invitations (I have been for a while now)
and I've ordered quite a few paper samples in the name of research.
My favorite paper sample came from this wonderful site.
It is handmade Indian silk paper with raised copper dots.
The photo {found here} DOES NOT do it even the least bit of justice.
It is gorgeous. Fantastic. Amazing. Magnificent. Incredible.
I love it.
And, it made me begin to love copper. Copper everywhere.
Copper appliances, copper mailboxes, copper pots and pans.
But then, before I knew it, I was finding myself drawn more to
pewter.
I still LOVE the paper but copper appliances and cookware
are quite the hassle to keep clean.
Pewter, on the other hand, is sturdy and low maintenance.
And, I happen to think, it has a wonderful rustic charm.
Flatware, stemware, carafes...
they would all look so lovely next to a colorful pottery dish set.
But then, before I knew it, I was finding myself drawn more to
gold.
Gold, gold, gold, gold.
I've never really been big on gold before.
But now I just can't get enough of it.
Gold jewelry, gold china, gold picture frames, gold stationary...
At this point, I still love all three.
But I think I love gold the most. I mean come on.
Just look at that ring.

best wedding invitation ever. period.

Check it out at Oh So Beautiful Paper or DIY Invitations

Smokin' Hot

As some of you may know, I am in the process
of planning my wedding to the philosopher
and I am happily obsessed with
creating our invitations, stationary, and various ephemera.

That said,it doesn't take a wedding-crazed dreamer
to know that Studio on Fire is fierce.

Check out their latest beast design:

I just love the dinner and thank you cards for this suite!


Other recent creations from the studio include:





and {my favorite yet}




Truth be told, I'll be going in a different direction with my invitations.
But seriously. These sets are so hot they're burning my socks off!