Holiday Greetings!

I've been debating this year about what to send as my Christmas cards.  Do I send the usual cards I pick up at the store or do I make personalized cards instead?  Some of my favorite cards to receive are the personalized ones from friends and family but they are a dilemma for me as I am not married or have children and fell that I don't really have anything to showcase in my picture.  I do have a couple of friends who have taken pictures of their animals and used those instead.  An idea...

Anyways, I've been looking through various photo card websites and some of my favorites have come from Shutterfly.  Shutterfly has so many options that you can use for your Holiday cards.  They have Christmas, New Year, and general Holiday cards available.  They have so many designs to choose from that it makes it hard to just pick one.  Here are a few of my favorites.

While looking around at the different options, I also noticed that Shutterfly has Christmas Invitations available.  A great way to incorporate a picture into your family get-together for the holidays.  Here are a couple of those that I like as well.

Another fun project that I like that Shutterfly offers are their Photo Calendars.  I did one of these a couple of years ago for my parents with various pictures of us from the previous year and they really enjoyed having it.  As you can see, this is a great way to showcase your pictures and share your memories with friends and family.  I highly recommend doing something like this for your family and friends.

Which Holiday cards do you like?  Are you sending a personalized one this year?  I hope you're Holiday season is going well so far!

Images: Shutterfly

British Week - Union Jack Bunting

For the last day of British Week, I wanted to share with you a fun project I did recently for a party I had with some of my girlfriends.  We try to get together once a month and have a dinner party where everyone brings a dish.  Sometimes we choose a theme and this month was British Nite.  We had fish and chips, a ploughman's platter and a great autumn fruit pudding for dessert.

Since I hosted the night at my place, I decided to make a bit of themed decor to hang around my apartment.  I made banners with the Union Jack flag with blue papers and red Japanese tapes.  As an added bonus for British Week, I decided to have a download for all of my readers of these banners.  Here are some shots of the banners and how I used them for British Nite, but you can use these in many different ways to add a bit of British flare to you party or home.  Thank you again for joining me for British Week and I hope you have a great weekend!

Download: Union Jack Banner

Images: vintage yankee

British Week - Etsy Favs

Today for British Week, I thought I'd share some finds on Etsy that have a British theme to them.  What I love about Etsy is that anything you think of is probably made by someone on Etsy and you can do a simple search to find it.  I even found a Union Jack Dress Form and Wedding Invitations with a British theme.  How awesome are these great items!

Items: 1. Queen Elizabeth II Cross Stitch  2. British Race Car Print 
3. Union Jack themed Wedding Invitations  4. Union Jack Dress Form

Items:1. Union Jack Gift Tags  2. God Save the Queen themed Magnets 
3. Union Jack Brass Ring  4. Union Jack Bunting Kit

F. Scott Fitzgerald + Coralie Bickford-Smith

First off, I would like to apologize for my absence over the past couple of weeks.  I have been extremely busy at work this month and have not had the time to post.  I promise that will change in the coming weeks and I should be back to regular posting from now on.

Now to the good stuff! If you haven't seen these by now, I am completely smitten with the new set of book covers that Coralie Bickford-Smith has produced for a series of F. Scott Fitzgerald books.  These books are reminiscent of the 1920s and exude very high taste and class.  I love the art deco designs she uses and the gold, white and black tones.  I think these are going to be added to my list of 'pretty books' to purchase some time soon!

Images: Coralie Bickford-Smith

HRM Queen Elizabeth Stamp

This week I am coveting this poster of a stamp of Queen Elizabeth II from Sixx Design.  This would be an amazing addition to my living room and would help to quench my thirst for some England in my life right now.

Image: Sixx Design

love my dog...

I love this letterpress print from etsy seller tagteamtompkins.  It showcases a quote to live by and I like the look of the woman in vintage clothing and her Scottie dog on a leash.  This would be a good piece to purchase and hang next to my new Notre Dame Rose window print I finally got framed last week!

Image: tagteamtompkins

Rifle Recipe Box

Today I am coveting the new recipe box at Rifle Paper Co.  The boxes are made from salvaged hardwood and take about three months to go from tree to finished box.  They are gorgeous the floral print box is on my wishlist along with these cute Rifle recipe cards. 

Images: Rifle Paper Co.

Yellow Owl Workshop

I saw these fun postcards last week while on vacation over at the Yellow Owl Workshop. Wouldn't they be the perfect set to buy for the Benevolent Postcard Society group that I am involved with? I will definitely have to put these on my list of postcards to purchase and send out. There is also a lovely set of France postcards as well!

Image: Yellow Owl Workshop

Pinwheels

I loved this fun spring party I saw yesterday over at Once Wed. Aren't the pinwheels over the table cute?


Image: Once Wed by Charlotte Jenks Lewis

Sara and Tom's Wedding Invitation

As you may remember, About a month ago I posted about my friends Sara and Tom's Save-the-Date postcards. So last week when I received my invitation, I knew they would be just as creative and artistic. Well I was completely right! Sara and Tom blew me away again by how personal and artistic they could make their invites.

I love how the used two pigeons as the main graphic for the top of their invite and how on the reply card they used their cat Paisley again and show her waiting for all of the replies to arrive. When I asked Sara why they used pigeons she said "I love pigeons! You see a lot of doves in wedding iconography, and pigeons are 'Rock Doves'. They're urban and wild, but beautiful! They're monogamous, and homing/carrier pigeons will fly for very long periods without food to get back to their home or mate!"



Another great idea that you don't see on the reply card is that they ask you to send in a song request for the reception. What a great idea and the perfect way to get your guests more involved with the party.

Images: vintage yankee

Galison goodies

A couple of weeks ago I entered a contest that Galison/Mudpuppy had via their email list. They have a new design of desk accessories called Songbirds that they are debuting on their site and the contest was to name the tune that is incorporated into the new design. I emailed back my answer, not thinking anything about it and got an email a couple of days later saying that I was one of their winners!


I received a package from them this past week with the new Songbirds products and I have to say that they are very cute and colorful. They have everyday journals, sticky notes, social notes and mini journals available in the line. You should head on over to the Galison/Mudpuppy website as they have some great desk accessories and office supplies that would brighten up any office.

Image: vintage yankee

Birthday Package

This past week I received some new Japanese tape that I had ordered and I decided to put it to good use by decorating my friend, Melanie's birthday present. Melanie loves to bake, so I got her a necklace with a Kitchenaid Mixer charm and a muffin tin charm on it. I put it into a small white paper bag that I had and embellished with my new tape and some red twine. Melanie also loves fish, so I added a couple of fish stamps too. Didn't it turn out cute? Have you embellished any presents lately?

Pictures: vintage yankee

Sara and Tom's Save-the-Dates

My friend from college, Sara, and her fiance Tom are getting married in May and I was so excited to receive their Save-the-Date in the mail a couple of months ago. Sara and Tom are both very artistic. Sara writes the online comic, Hey Pais, about her adorable cat Paisley and Tom dabbles in the comic arts as well. Sara and Tom designed the Save-the-Dates themselves and had them printed by Greenerprinter. Aren't they great? Now I can't wait for their invitations!





Pictures: vintage yankee

Valentine's Day Freebies

Here is a round-up of all of the Valentine's Day freebies and DIY projects I've seen this holiday. I used the cute Twig & Thistle goodie bags to put my heart shaped cookies in today for my co-workers. They were a simple addition to the normal plate of cookies.


Twig & Thistle's Valentine's Day goodie bags

oh, hello friend's you are loved postcards

June Craft's You're Tweet V-day card

Benign Objects' Love Coupon Matchbooks

Love. Obsess. Inspire's Gift Tags

Danielle Thompson's Because nothing says "I Love You" card

Nice Package's Conversation Candy Bar Wrappers

Ruffled's Vintage Valentine Card

heysusy*'s From Me To You mini gift cards

The City Sage's Lace Valentine's Day cards

Valentine's Day Garland

This year I decided to spruce up my living room a little bit with this easy to make Heart Garland from Martha Stewart. I took various types of pink and red paper and used the template provided to cut out different sizes of hearts and affix them together. I hung them over the two windows in my living room to add a touch of color. A simple, cute idea to brighten up the room for V-day!


Picture via Martha Stewart.

Hammerpress Valentine's

Today's inspiration comes from the letterpress and design studio Hammerpress. You may recall I first saw them over at 100 Layer Cake with my favorite wedding invitation and since then, they've been all over the wedding and design blogs. Today I am loving their one-of-a-kind Valentine's cards. They are fun and whimsical and not your every day run-of-the-mill card. How fun would it be to receive one of these in the mail?







Pictures via Hammerpress.

Jen Corace

I finally ordered my 2010 calendar this past week and I couldn't be more excited with the choice I made. I honestly can't remember where I first saw Jen Corace's work but needless to say, it is gorgeous. The 2010 calendar that I purchased is by her through the Art Star Gallery in Philadelphia. I first saw it online and the pictures are amazing. I love her use of color and the elegance with which she draws her Victorian era characters. Here are a few of my favorite prints from the calendar. She also has a couple of limited edition prints available as well. Enjoy!

February

March

April

May

Pictures via Art Star Gallery.

Tartan Illustration

Look at this great illustration by Julia Rothman that I found yesterday over at Design*Sponge. How cute is it! Mental Note: find this print to purchase and frame at home.


Picture by Julia Rothman via Design*Sponge.

BYW Notebook

Part of any class that you take involves notes and notebooks. Lots of copious notes and hand cramps are usually just part of the learning process. You know that going in. So, as part of my participation in the Blogging Your Way e-class, I decided to find the perfect notebook to use to take my many notes along the way. The notebook I decided on was found in the Anthopologie sale and cost me a whopping $3.95. I love the painted flower design on the front and the stitched binding. Perfect for my many lists and notes about blogging.


Picture via vintage yankee.