Now that you've seen the inspiration, let's see who's making the invitations...

Erin Jang!

I found her is the weirdest way, but I'm so glad that I did. Thank goodness for Google. I can't imagine anybody else doing them now. I'm in love with her freelance work that she has on her blog and I'm even more in love with her "day" job. She is the one who suggested doing a poster-sized invite and I'm so excited that she did. The invite itself will be 8.5x11 and will be mailed in 9x12 kraft envelopes with matching labels. Can't wait to share the actual invitations! If they're half as cute as these, I'll be over the moon.

{back}

{front}

{poster sized wedding invite!}

For our little fish...

Look at the great board that the mystery author over at Veiled Vows made for me. We're throwing a swim/water themed birthday picnic for Lillie. The board is perfect and included many images I have on the blog or saved in my files. It must be fate! 

Thanks again!

Oh and if you don't read her blog, you should. It's great!

You only turn 5 once...

which is why I'm planning on throwing my only child a HUGE ridiculous party. :)

 Lil's birthday is at the end of June and she never gets to celebrate with her school friends because of that. So, to make up for the fact that mommy and daddy didn't get busy earlier, I tend to throw her very large complicated over-the-top birthday parties. They're a blast to attend, but they kill me! I'll be tired for a week afterwards, but it's totally worth it...for the most part. Anyway, this year with her turning 5 AND starting Kindergarten in the Fall, we're having an even bigger one than usual. I don't know who will be in her class next year, so I'm inviting BOTH classes from her school, so that's 32 kids to start with. Then add the 10-12 kids of our good friends outside of school and you've got one hell of a par-tay! We're renting a local park/house for the party because our backyard isn't flat enough for kids to play and have the bouncy house that she so desperately wants. I was going to do a Mexican Fiesta theme at first, but decided to spend the money I save on not having to buy a bunch of Mexican themed decorations on another bouncy or I can have the ice cream man come by. How cute is that? So, these images below are some that have been shaping the party in my mind. More to come in a few...

Birthday Party Inspiration

Lillie's birthday isn't until next summer, but since before her birthday this year, I've been planning on having a Candy Land/Candy themed party and this picture is now my inspiration for Lillie's party. In fact, Amy Atlas's website is full of wonderful pictures of dessert tables and candy bars. 

la la la laaaaa...

{Anita Calero via here}

Happy Birthday to me, Happy Birthday to me...

Happy Birthday dear Kaaaaatttttte

Happy Birthday to me!!!

I can't believe that I'm 30! I've been looking forward to this day for a whole year. I'm also pretty excited that we've been married for 5 years today as well. Boy, where did all the time go?

p.s~ if you're still looking for gift ideas, anything that the cake is made out of will do just fine.

 

Birthday Present #1

Enough with the wishes, I need a present! 

So, I purchased one of those fantastic machines for myself today and I'm beyond excited!

{here}

I know what everybody will be getting for Christmas. Notecards! As if I needed a reason to throw a party, but now I can make my own invitations. Oh, the possibilities. I can make ALL of this now. Yay! If only I could find a free Illustrator/Photoshop disk. :)

{paperandcloth}

{MWilson}

{Orange Beautiful}

Birthday Wish #3

I'll take them both, pretty please with a cherry on top!

Who doesn't need a washed leather jacket?

They finally brought their kitten heel boots back! I've worn mine out!

Now, one of these will be a gift to myself. One of them is probably going to stay on the WISH list for right now, but it's fantastic, isn't it? Being an adult stinks! I'd buy it in a heartbeat about two years ago!

Birthday Wish #2

Another one of my current obsessions are custom books by Good Stock. I'm going to dedicate a whole day of posts to Kim's wonderful books in September, but I'm so excited that I have a call with her tomorrow to discuss a couple of books that I want to make. I found her through Design Mom and I've been in love with her work ever since. These pictures are just a couple of the books she has on her blog and she also has tons of examples on the Good Stock site. Make sure you check out her blog, she posts all sorts of neat little things that inspire her and also old books from her family and others. Book making really runs in her family. You should see the darling book her grandmother made for her own wedding!

Anyway, I am super excited to talk to her tomorrow about all the neat stuff that can be done. I'm hoping to make my daughter a book for her first year of school...and as many of them after that as I can!

 

This "Golden" book was done by a woman for her husband for his birthday(24 on the 24th). It included letters to him from all the important people in his life. How great is that?? 

This is the "accordion" style book that she's introducing soon. I'm hoping to use one or more of these to announce some big news in the near future. It's very hard for me to keep a secret, but I'm going to try really hard!

Birthday Wish List #1

This beauty (or a close cousin of hers) is right at the top of my birthday list. 

I LOVE LETTERPRESS. I love the feel of the paper, the touch of the impression, I even like the way the back of the paper looks when it's pressed! The deeper the impression, the better! I must have looked at Mr. Boddington's website 1000 times in the past 6 months. Not only is letterpress beautiful, it looks rewarding to create. I need a hobby very bad, because if I'm bored I'm useless and I get nothing done. I've got my husband 90% convinced that he should buy me one, buy me Illustrator/Photoshop (already bought me a rockin' Mac for Christmas) and let me set up a studio in our basement. I just need to find a couple of classes to take or somebody in my area to teach me and I'm in business! Anybody have any helpful hints or advice on what kind of press to buy?

Happy Birthday to....

ME!!

In celebration of my "Golden" birthday week, I'm going to do a countdown of pretty things that I've had my eye on lately. 

BTW, in case you aren't familiar with a "golden" birthday, it's when you turn the age of the date of your birthday. So, I'm turning 30 on the 30th and very excited. I love the idea of a golden birthday, basically because it makes my birthday an even bigger deal! My sweet husband is hosting a dinner for 30 of our friends at our favorite restaurant Chez Fonfon on the Boule Court in the back.