Casino Theme Shower Invitations

I took inspiration from these vibrant Vegas-themed invitations and played on my girlfriend's future last name (Sigerich) to create a casino-esque theme for their couples shower.  "SigeRICH in LOVE" was the tag line for the invitations and other creative elements of the shower decor.  The casino/Vegas theme is great for a wedding shower with lots of uses for HEARTS and CLOVERS (lucky in love, the lucky pair . . . )!  

I tried to emulate the typography-style invitations and stationary I've been eyeing in stores and on other blogs of late.  I used the following fonts, all either free from dafont.com or standard on a Mac:   

• AdamGorry - Lights - hard to tell from these photos, but looks somewhat marquee-like)
• Brush Script MT
• Charcoal CY
• EcuyerDAX
• Ecolier_court

My apologies for the blurry photography . . . Playing cards served as both a decorative tag and a method to relay registry information:  "Don't roll the dice, make a sure bet at Macy's & Williams-Sonoma."  I attached the cards with red and white Baker's twine. 

OMG (congratulations!)

We have arrived at an exciting stage in life and feel oh so happy to celebrate wonderful news of babies and marriage with our loved ones!  I created these note cards to express this joy to our friends.

Burnin' Love Valentines

Happy Valentine's Day!

I took inspiration from a matchbook greeting card I saw at Papyrus for my Valentines this year and re-created a version of my own.  I LOVE the matchbook, heart-tipped matches, and "burnin' love" message.

Sending you wishes for a HOT Valentine's Day!  :-)

Ode to Cards of Valentine's Days Past

February arrived today -- where does time go?!  January seemed to speed by especially fast this year because of the delightfully mild winter we've been experiencing in the Midwest.  Keep it coming!

To celebrate February's dawn, a look back at my handmade Valentine's Day cards from the past two years . . .

2011

2010

Stocking Christmas Cards

After some encouragement from the team at the River North Paper Source, I decided to enter their store's holiday greeting card contest.  I adapted my String of Hearts Valentine's Day card design to the holidays with a string of stockings and snowflakes.  Paper Source's Modern Snowflakes gift wrap helped me inject a good dose of PS flavor to the design.

I lined red A7 envelopes with liners cut from the Modern Snowflakes gift wrap.  I drew a template for the stockings and then traced and cut these from the gift wrap and red card stock.  Decorative tape lines the edge and metallic silver brads connect the two pieces.  Snowflakes stamped and embossed in silver and silver Stickles glitter glue embellish the "string."

I punched holes in the foot of the stockings and used silver twist-ties to attach the bells (forgive me -- the only non-PS item on the card ;-).  I couldn't resist adding a coordinating label to address the envelope.

I used PS' shimmer silver card stock for the front page, and moss card stock for the back page.   The message "Merry Christmas," stamped and embossed in silver, completes the card.

I love card-making, and really enjoyed having this card contest as motivation to make my holiday cards extra-special!  

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!  Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday for many reasons . . . quality time with family and friends, extra-long weekend, the start to the next month of holiday festivities.  It is also a special time to reflect on the long list of blessings we have in our lives.  Let's make more time to give thanks for those blessings (little or small) every day of the year!

I created these correspondence cards for this Thanksgiving holiday.  I sent a few in the mail to friends with a note about how thankful I am for their friendship, and also sent a batch to my extended family's celebration (I celebrated with Mr. B's family this year).  Everyone wrote their blessing and my cousin read them aloud before Thanksgiving dinner.  So sweet!

I printed card stock with the message "I am thankful for . . . ", stamped a turkey rubber stamp from Paper Source, and decorated with my new obsession, Stickles glitter glue!

Among many other blessings in my life, I am thankful when I find time to craft and express my creativity!

  

About to Pop! Invitations

Invitations for Mary's "About to Pop!" baby shower kept in the grey/purple/turquoise theme.  I used Paper Source's gravel card stock and diagonal folder enclosure in luxe white, which has a bit of texture.  I designed the circle border design in my very unsophisticated design software -- Apple's Pages.  

Registry information was noted on the diagonal space (see above) with a sticker made with circle and scallop circle punches and a Xyron sticker maker.

In lieu of a greeting card, guests were encouraged to bring a book with a message to Baby P on the inside cover.  I conveyed this message with a poem and included a book plate (aka sticker) for guests to use inside their book.  To make the book plate, I printed "From the Potters' Library" on Avery labels and embellished them with an owl stamp.

Check out the great books/greeting cards Mary received!

String of Hearts Valentines

I took inspiration from a card I saw at the grocery store for my Valentine's Day cards this year.  The construction was fairly simple as I purchased the ready-made felt heart stickers from Michaels Crafts.  Decorative paper tape from Martha Stewart Crafts lined the card's front edge.

I scored the top page with a bone folder for opening ease, and connected the card's first and second pages with red brads.

Happy Valentine's Day to all!

Black & White Stationary for a Colorful Girl

When my friend Liz "commissioned" me to make her a stationary set in the ever-classic black and white combo, I used this project as an excuse to purchase the Flourish rubber stamp that I had been eyeing at PS.

I stamped the Flourish in a repeating pattern on white card stock, which I cut to fit black card stock with a scalloped edge.  I used Stickles glitter glue to add a few subtle dots of sparkle to the stamped pattern (difficult to see in these photos).  Stickles triggers fond childhood memories of the Christmas sweatshirts my aunt and I decorated with puff paint - yikes!  I will definitely have to find another use for this stuff!  Halloween costume, perhaps?!  I digress . . .

The Flourish stamp reappears on the envelope flap.

I was thrilled to find a use for this odd-shaped magnetic case that PS gave away at one of their workshops.  The robin's egg blue gives the stationary a pop of color and a polished presentation. 

A big black bow seals the deal!

Happy birthday, Liz!  If you read my blog before our celebratory dinner on Friday, you will have to act surprised about your gift! ;-)