Customizable Party Invites

With Thanksgiving just a day away, it is officially the holiday season which = parties galore. I love this time of year when everyone puts down their normal routine for awhile and makes a special effort to spend time with their loved ones.

I made an invitation for our Friendsgiving feast last weekend and had so much fun doing it I decided to create a few more. I recently stumbled on a site called PicMonkey which is not only (mostly) free, but very user-friendly. I sprang for their 'premium' service which gives me access to some of their more advanced graphics and fonts because for the price of $5/mo - or $3/mo if you buy a whole year at a time - I figured it would be worth it.

I've had a lingering cold all week so on the doctor's Mike's orders, I took it easy yesterday and whipped up these fun invitations by drawing from inspiration around the web. I love receiving an invite via snail mail, but sometimes we aren't on top of it or don't want to spend the money in printing and postage and for that I've found an emailed invite does the trick.

Below are the four invites I created ready for your customization by following these steps:

1) Right-click on the invite you want below and select 'Save Image As' on your computer.

2) Go to picmonkey.com and select 'Edit a Photo' from the banner at the top of the screen and choose the saved invite from your computer.

3) To add text, select the text icon from left-hand menu, pick the font you want, and then press 'add text'.

4) From here you can change the size, color, and position of your text to fit the invitation. Under the invitation below I've listed the font type and html code for the color I used in my examples if you want to copy those. Using the html code is the easiest way to get a specific color and can easily be changed here (this box will pop up when you select 'add text')

5) Once you have all your information in & positioned correctly, save it to your computer and you're done!

Cheers

Font: Quicksand
Color: 544a43


Candy Cane

Font: Sue Ellen Francisco / Tall Dark and Handsome
Color: 000000 (black) / ffffff (white)


2014

Font: Geo Sans Light / Learning Curve

Color: 000000

Art Deco

Font: Quicksand
Color: d38e00

Cheers everyone! Have a wonderful Thanksgiving.

Much Needed Vacation

That's right! Nine full days of holiday cheer and not a tax form in sight. 

Today is day three but I started my vacation with a living room and kitchen full of my favorite people for a little Friendsgiving celebration. Mike and I divvied up the leftovers knowing that more turkey is just a few days away but were definitely hoarding the apple pie and enjoying it slowly over our perfect lazy Sunday yesterday.

Today has been a whirlwind of to-do's but it feels good that it's only Monday and I have the laundry done, oil in my car changed, and the house clean. 

Mike and I are sneaking away to Davis for a feast with his family on Thursday but I hope to squeeze in as many house updates and crafty projects as I can before I have to back to work. On the list is:

+ a closet/spare bedroom before and after

+ holiday party invites for readers to download and customize

+ an IKEA art makeover

+ some kitchen drawer pizzazz

+ a wedding moodboard

+ and some DIY gifts 

Stay tuned... I'm off to watch the Niners whoop the Redskins. 

Elegance

"Do you know what elegance is? 

It is not only what you're wearing,

 it is how you wear it, 

who you are inside. 

It is the way you decorate your house, 

what you surround yourself with, 

what books you read and what your interests are."

-Carolina Herrera

Sometimes elegance is associated with snobbery but I think the way Carolina describes it is such a worthy goal and a resolution I plan to stick with this coming year. At 25, I realize I'm still very young but something happened this year where all-of-a-sudden, I feel like a grown up. 

But don't worry friends, I'm not planning on abandoning my goofiness any time soon -- I just want to be more mindful of my thoughts and how I present myself both at work and in my personal life. 

I know it's only November, but what personal attributes are you hoping to focus on this upcoming year?

Three Things

one//two//three

Ah caramel leather... so soft, creamy, and classy. 

For a while there, Mike had a ton of back-to-back weekend trips where he didn't want to lug his suitcase around but also couldn't fit everything in his backpack while also carrying his computer. The solution? A weekend bag. 

These. drawer. pulls. Need I say more? 

Lastly, I'm kind of sad that Mike works at a job where flip flops are considered appropriate because I'm a little obsessed with these shoes. Good thing weddings are the perfect excuse to buy something expensive that you will only wear once + I love how they look with a grey suit.

Material Profile: Concrete

one//two//three//four//five//six//seven

One of my favorite things about decor is the way it evokes certain feelings based on the materials used, amount of light, and color. I love a happy space but there is something about a solid and isolated interior that I find beautiful.

Concrete is one of those materials that I keep coming back to again and again. Although I traditionally equate concrete with floors, I see it popping up all over the place from kitchen counters to bathrooms to fireplaces.

I can't really imagine Mike and I tearing out our wood floors downstairs, but I did find this tutorial over on Little Green Notebook that has me thinking about how I could incorporate a faux concrete finish into our home and I'm thinking the perfect place would be the mantel a la this guy:

I'm not exactly sure how I would do it, but am thinking that as a 'phase 1' makeover, I could build a box out of wood to go over our existing mantel and then apply to faux finish to it. I would consider making a solid mantel out of concrete but I'm not sure what is behind the drywall and a solid concrete block would definitely need to be anchored on studs.

What do you guys think about concrete in the home? Just a phase that will look outdated in a few years or is it here to stay?

Kitchen Before & After

Mike and I actually finished the kitchen a few weeks ago but I hadn't gotten around to taking a few 'after' photos until this weekend. I love the way the dark paint adds contrast to the cabinets and brings the whole kitchen out of the 80's. The new hardware (both internal rollers/guides & external hinges and pulls) is the icing on the cake for us. Not only do the elongated pulls look more in-proportion to the cabinets, but now our drawers don't fly out whenever we need a fork!

Isn't it amazing what paint can do?

Modern Retro Living Room

Inspired by my post on black and white stripes the other day, I decided to create a mock living room using polyvore with some of my current favorite pieces. I'm calling this vibe 'modern retro' and think it would look amazing with a few natural accessories to complete the look. I don't know if Mike would go for it... What do you think?

Olin Rug // Murphy Couch // Accordion Side Table // Sputnik Lamp

Keeping with my determination to expose myself to more art, I also found this portrait by Stephanie Vovas that would look amazing in this living room. The retro vibe and the lady's green eyeliner would tie it all together perfectly. 

I'm an {Art} Committment-Phobe

If your house is anything like mine, you have tons of frames and nothing to fill them with. Art is that one aspect of decor that stumps me yet I don't feel like a room is complete without it. I'm drawn most towards art with simplistic shapes and words but feel like those options are very 'safe'.

I want to be adventurous in design decisions but the price tag of most pieces leave me paralyzed. Questions like, "What if I don't like it three years" or "What if it doesn't mesh well with what I already have" make pulling the trigger near impossible.

As I was staring at the bare frames on my picture rails I just installed in the master bedroom, I started to brainstorm how I could expand my collection and develop an eye for what I like. The best option I could come up with is I need to start exposing myself to more art. I have an idea of what speaks to me, now I just need to expand on it.

These three are currently in my collection and make me smile or inspire me in one way or another everyday. Do you have any tips on how to curate a collection you are proud of or secret sources of affordable art? Please share.

WRDBNR // Andrew Miller // Three of the Possessed

Tufted Headboard for Under $200

While the cat's away, the mice will play redecorate. This past weekend was amazingly productive with three days of nothing planned. I honestly can't remember the last time that happened but it was just what I needed to re-discover my creative side. I mainly focused my efforts on our master bedroom and bathroom with a few other projects thrown in there and am quite happy with the results.

The biggest item on my 'to-do' list was recovering our headboard. I bought this large canvas while living in the apartment but was never happy with my first upholstery job. The 'before' fabric was our previous duvet cover and while I loved the pattern, the stretchy fabric and design didn't lend itself well to this use. You can see in the picture below how the pattern wasn't straight and it looked saggy.

If you have a queen, you will want to get a 36" x 72" pre-stretched canvas. These can get really expensive but I found one at my local art store on sale for about $110. I've seen tutorials where people just used a large wooden frame but the actual canvas was a must if you are going to tuft it since you will need a backing for the buttons to hold on to. The other option is to get a piece of plywood cut to this length but I wanted something light that I wouldn't have to anchor into the wall (especially something to consider if you are renting).

I originally went with one layer of batting but decided to add an extra layer to make it softer and let the buttons stand out more. For a queen size you will need about two and a half yards for each layer which will run you around $3 a yard. For the fabric, look for something sturdy that can stand up to being stretched and stapled. Being cost conscious, I went for the sale section and found this lovely blue linen for $4.99 a yard and bought three yards so I'd have extra to make the buttons.

From there you want to staple each layer at a time to the back of the frame with staples about 3" apart making sure you are pulling the fabric tight all the way around. Once the frame was covered, I leaned it against the wall and broke out my large level to mark where I wanted my buttons to go. I decided on a grid pattern so I marked a dot every foot after I had measured 6" in from the edge.

For the button detail, I liked the look of the same fabric so I bought a kit at the fabric store to make my own. This was probably the most tedious part of the whole process but worth it in the end for the look I was going for. The directions on the back are pretty self explanatory but I definitely recommend getting the set with the little tools to make forming the fabric around the shell easier.

Once the buttons were made, I went to town with some needle and thread making sure I pulled the buttons as tight as I could before tying them off on the back side (this is where having the thick canvas as the base really came in handy). I used a basic cotton thread and looped it four times to make it really strong.

Originally I was contemplating using a patterned or brighter fabric but I love the how the blue is subtle next to our white duvet, dark wood, and grey accents.

Black & White Stripes

Black and white is my 'neutral' of choice and when combined with a timeless pattern, it's always a win-win in my book. That runner would be a great swap for a more traditional linen or burlap one and already has me thinking about how to incorporate more eclectic pieces as part of the wedding decor.

Good Taste

I usually don't have time to read through the actual articles in fashion magazines but there was an exception when I was getting my hair done a few weeks back. Unfortunately, I don't remember the name of the article but it was in the October issue of Elle. The author of the post was writing about letting go of controlling what her young daughter wears and how her girl surprised her with an excellent sense of style that the author attributed to her parenting... the article was a little condescending but also very real.

What really stood out to me was the following quote: 

"With taste comes exclusion; 

once you know what is good,

what is bad starts to feel like an assault."

The quote stems from a mother worrying about putting to much emphasis of style in fear that she would alter her daughter's view of the world, but I think the quote extends beyond fashion. Although "assault" is a bit dramatic, I have definitely experienced this in my own life as I've taken a greater interest in design and interiors.

Photo / Michelle James

Classic + Contemporary

You know that one house you always come back to for style ideas? It's no surprise that for me, it's Jenna Lyons' NYC townhouse. These pictures are a few years old (and she has since sold it) but it still captures that perfect mix of classic and contemporary. What else would you expect from the creative director of J. Crew? That black claw-foot tub with gold hardware... I die.

I actually had a dream the other night that our fireplace was redone and had a pair of those horns hanging on it but they were copper. Is it weird that I dream about the fireplace and not that amazing shoe collection? 

Our townhouse may never look like that on the outside but it will be one classy piece of property by the time I'm done with it (although it may take five years and serious raise).

Does anyone have a favorite house tour that they draw inspiration from?

The Prettiest Corner of the Yard

Having an entire house to redecorate can be overwhelming and paralyzing but I've found that just focusing on one small area at a time works really well and this corner of our back patio was just begging for some love.

I ended up taking Friday afternoon off and found myself outside wanting to get my hands dirty so I headed to the garden store. November isn't the best time to start a container garden but living in an area where it never snows and rarely gets below freezing does have its advantages.

This is also an excellent example of re-using what we already had. The bar with hooks and metal container was from the apartment's kitchen, both planters we already had, and the small bbq set was a gift from Mike's parents (the bbq is just out of the shot to the right). The wood and metal lanterns are a favorite end-of-season-sale find from none other than Safeway! At $7 each (down from $34), Mike and I couldn't help but buying out the remaining stock. I love how they glow with battery-powered candles inside.

As for what I planted, the white planter is sweet basil, the dark grey is organic spearmint, and sadly I can't recall the name of the tall purple plant or it's little white flowered companion but I know they grow well in direct sunlight. Here's to hoping they don't die while I'm away at training in Chicago this week... Neither Mike nor I have a green thumb but we're trying here :)