Memorial Day Sale! $10 off any koozie or tote bag order

Happy Friday friends! I hope everyone is gearing up for a fun Memorial Day weekend. We will be sneaking off to our friend's mountain house in Como, CO. It is right near Fairplay, which boats some of the best fly fishing in the country. Not that I have held a rod in about 20 years, but my husband started fishing last year and I can tell he is excited to get outta dodge for a night.

In honor of this long weekend, I wanted to offer $10 off any koozie or tote bag order in my shop. There is a minimum order of $84 to use the discount code. A girl still has to eat!! ;) 

Gift for a Princeton Grad - custom stationary

As the busy month of May wraps up, I can't help but think of all the high school and college graduates who will be walking the stage in the next few days. I can remember my High School graduation like it was yesterday. Out of nearly 600 students, I was one of 2 kids going to Texas Tech University. It was a bit intimidating but I just had a feeling Lubbock was the right place for me and I'm so glad I listened to my gut. Flash forward 5 years later (yes, 5! I took a victory lap when I changed my major, sorry Dad.) My college graduation was a bit of a blur, I was so over school at that point and was ready to start a career and get my own pad in the big city of Dallas! 

When a very stylish Dallas Interior Designer asked me to design a custom stationary suite for her client, I thought it would be such a fun project! The client's daughter would be graduating from Princeton University and she wanted to set her up with notecards and a custom Tiger pattern to be used as an envelope liner. Since the client already had an eye for pattern and texture, we settled on a henna inspired tribal tiger. After a long day of drawing tigers, I put together this plan for the client. 

The client asked for a long rectangle notecard featuring the Tiger pattern and a small pattern design as an accent. One fun request was a custom paperweight using the Tiger pattern. I ordered the paper weight from this adorable Etsy Shop, When It Rains Paper.  The process was so easy, I'm considering getting my own Rook Design paperweight made! Here is another look at the finished paper weight. 

We used a soft cotton feel cardstock for the actual notecards. It has such a great finish that feels luxurious but still allows for even pen flow while writing a sweet note. The client seemed really happy with the final outcome, such a great custom gift for a new graduate! 

Friday Freebie - Thank you for celebrating with us signs

Happy Friday peeps! It's been a busy month celebrating my birthday, our 5th anniversary and then Mother's Day. My poor husband. We did not plan out how hectic the month of May would be for us when we were selecting a wedding date. Being 7 months pregnant this year, we kept the celebrations to a minimum, but I for one plan to blow it out next year with an epic (hopefully Caribbean) vacation. 

I'm busy putting together some props and a shot list for a big Spring product photo shoot. I've been wanting to add a variety of items to my Etsy Shop for going on 2 years now. So its about time I got my but in gear and launched a new line of goodies. Stay tuned for custom cutting boards, shot glasses and other fun favors!

For this week's Friday Freebies, I put together 3 simple 'Thank You for celebrating with us' 8 x 10" signs. These would be great at your wedding by your guest book or a basket of favors. Or you could use these signs at a shower on a table with parting gifts. 

Below is a look at each sign, which are sized to 8 x 10." Just click on the link below to download the file you would like. Then print at home or send to your local printer and pop these in a frame!

1. Thank you for celebrating - distressed white wood background
2. Thank you for celebrating - chalkboard background
3. Thank you for celebrating - pink watercolor background

My Top 5 Favorite Bridal Shower themes

bridal shower image

Recently a customer asked me to design a Winery Themed shower invitation for a bridal shower she was hosting. This got me thinking about all the bridal showers and events I've attended in the past, and which events really stuck out in my mind. And it has to be those events where every detail has an element of the theme. From place cards to signage, I love when a hostess takes the time to tie the whole event together.

In that spirit, I wanted to pull together my Top 5 favorite Bridal Shower Themes. And of course, some gorgeous photography to get you inspired. Lets kick it off with:

1. Winery Theme. Who doesn't love booze at a shower? The guests need something to distract them during that downtime when the bride is opening gifts. A few great wine themed ideas are this "Guess the number of Corks" game. And use all those old corks in a vase for easy decor. A great and inexpensive favor would be wine stoppers. I love World Market for unique wine accessories. 

2. Fiesta/Mexican Theme - I don't know if its because I am from San Antonio, and the sight of paper picado makes me want to celebrate, I can't help but love a good Mexican themed shower. Basically any color under the sun can work for this event. I love using Mexican blankets as table runners. The easiest buffet to plan is a taco bar, and if you need some Mexican themed event koozies, you know where to go! 

3. Brunch and Bubbly - I love this shower theme as it is so easy to recreate at home. Start with a fabulous mimosa or champagne bar. Creating a menu around the bride's favorite breakfast foods is easy too. Mini quiches, donuts and muffins, even this cute Parfait Bar. Because parfait sounds so much cooler than 'yogurt.' Download the cute Parfait Bar sign here. A great brunch shower game is to have each guest bring a recipe and then bundle them up for the bride as a group gift. 

4. Garden Party - this theme is pretty great because you can take the menu and decor wherever you like. I recommend setting up outdoor tables and splurging on flower arrangements to create that magic botanical vibe. For the menu, I like pasta salads and dainty Giada type food. These caprese skewers are adorable. I love these modern floral invitations from Minted for this theme too.

5. Black and White (Kate Spade Inspired) Shower - I love me some preppy design. And chic black and white stripes never go out of style. The key to this theme is black and white stripes with hot pink accents. And wherever you can sprinkle in some gold confetti, do it! I'm not a huge fans of shower games, but this bridal bingo is pretty cute. I also have a Kate Spade Inspired Invitation in my Etsy Shop here.

Be sure to check out my Pinterest "party ideas" board for more inspiration photos for Bridal showers, bbqs and more!

Friday Freebie - safari theme party free printables

Happy Friday! This week has been a busy one. I've been working on some logos for an apartment complex in Texas see a sneak peek on my Instagram! As well as planning and designing an invitation for a baby shower I am co-hosting in June. The theme is "A New Adventure" as the mom and dad are big world travelers. (They recently moved back to Denver after living in Switzerland for 2 years). I came across this image on Pinterest, and it is definitely the vibe we are going for.

I'll share some more of that invitation once it is finalized next week. Stay tuned! For this week's Friday Freebie, I was inspired by the Safari Passport stamps I recently did for an Etsy client. I went in a slightly younger direction, gearing these printables towards the under 5 crowd. Available for download are:
1. 5" patterned circles. You can either print these out and string them up as a decorative garland, or attach letters to these to form a personalized backdrop.
2. An alphabet pennant banner. This PDF contains all 26 letters, so you can combine them to form any word or name. I think this would be cute spelling out "one" or "two" for the kiddos age, and attaching to the highchair for a great smash cake photo. 
3. Safari Animals. This file contains 4 friendly safari animals for decorations. 
4. 5x7" Food table signs. These various signs are sized to 5" x 7", so you can print them out and pop them in a frame or stanchion around the food! I even included a "welcome to the jungle" sign for your entryway. 

Here's a snapshot of everything included. Hope this comes in handy for a jungle themed birthday or baby shower!