Wednesday, October 12, 2011

DESIGN*SPONGE TOUR: birmingham

Did ya'll see this? Get excited because ... 
Grace Bonney and the Design*Sponge team are coming to the 'ham in 3 weeks! They will be doing a craft demo of -

 how to make a great cupcake/cake display stand and how to customize it in several ways (new techniques we didn’t show in the book or online) for the holidays.

I am super excited and a group of girls are going if you are interested too! Will you be attending? For full details and how to register click here

Thursday, October 6, 2011

BLURB BOOKS

Since we received our final disc of pictures from Heidi back in March, I have been slowly working on designing our wedding albums. I have been really excited about designing this book for several reasons ...
• I get to choose which pictures are in it
• It is a great way to have all your pictures in one place rather than individually printing them all
Blurb now has an amazing InDesign plug-in that allows designers to customize their book any way imaginable


The books arrived a month ago and they are gorgeous. No, not because it is millions of pictures of Brandon and I, but because of the quality. I chose image wrapping for the hard cover, their new pro-line uncoated paper for the interior, and the largest square size available - 12"x12". The large size was quite surprising, but amazing. I love how vibrant and bold the pictures are. 


I would definitely recommend Blurb to everyone - it is not just for weddings. There are so many choices and templates (for the non-designer) to choose from that it makes the process really fun, and straight forward. Here are a few pictures of my blurb book:





you can see the rest of the book here

For the parents I chose a smaller size, 7"x7", and it turned out just as cute, and much easier to handle! I think they have really enjoyed having all the pictures in one place for easy browsing. You can tell the proportion differences in both sets of pictures.

Friday, September 30, 2011

PHI MU ALUMNI: fall phi-esta

I wanted to share these fun gift items I designed for my college sorority's fall membership drive. It was themed "PHI-ESTA" and held at a local mexican restaurant. I designed these pink (of course!) koozies and labels for cupcake boxes as a 'thank you' for each girl. I think they turned out cute, and delicious!



Please let me know if you, or your organization, is interested in any design work! Please feel free to contact me anytime.

Thursday, September 29, 2011

FABULOUS FINDS

Through this amazing new website called Pinterest (not sure if you have heard about it yet), I have discovered some awesome products that have instantly been added to my 'wish list' or other boards. By repinning the new item you are lusting over, it almost feels as though you did actually purchase it! It is amazing. 


But, what is even better is actually purchasing it ... getting to personally bond with the new item ... to have and hold, from this day forward. And that I did with this new, beautiful gold camera strap! I first saw this one on Pinterest through a friend:
I love the colors, fringe, and style this bohemian strap can add to your camera. But after browsing through the seller's Etsy shop I then discovered a metallic gold one! And then, I just couldn't resist. Here she is attached to my dslr:

please excuse the iphone photos

I never would have found these beauties without Pinterest! [FACT: Pinterest can be dangerous to the check book AMEX] Here are some of my other fabulous finds I am currently obsessing over:




Do you have any fabulous finds you would like to share? 

Thursday, September 22, 2011

B&A: the STUDY - DONE!

Well ... after several weeks of "I am going to post pictures soon" and "this is my weekend goal", I finally have pictures of the updated study. Last, I shared pictures of the new china cabinet and I was waiting to add some final touches before I revealed the rest of the room. If you remember, the study/front porch looked like this when we first moved in:
It was a deep sage green painted over wood paneling. The darker tone made this small study seem even smaller. I really wanted to lighten up the room and update it so I decided on vertical stripes to play off of the existing paneling.
 my first, of a several, coats of white paint
The final stripes with Brandon's "old faithful" desk he found in the trash dumpster. The room looks so lonely, right?! And here is the final room:
I purchased this dark stained, masculine desk at I.O. Metro and it quickly replaced "old faithful." Being able to lift that chunk-er and move it out was the hardest part! The new desk is the perfect size for the wall and adds a heavy piece to anchor the room. 
I found these modern, mint green lamps floating the blog world and I was immediately hooked. I love the geometric shape and variety of colors Robert Abbey offers. I knew this saturated tone (pistachio) would look great with the soft stripes and I thought the trendy style would provide great contrast for Melrose's rustic decor. 
 This is a beautiful picture of two elders in the oldest tribe in Africa, Masai, taken by the talented Eric Chapman (he also shot my bridal portraits that Abode Love featured!) I love the colors, history, and composition in his original photograph.
 butterflies are always cool and trendy ...
 I found this framed doily at a local antique shop in Homewood
 also surrounding - Brandon and I on the honeymoon, my favorite pet, Greta, and a series of crosses I transfered from graves while traveling abroad in Ireland
War Eagle! Brandon and I celebrating our National Championship win in Arizona.
 Here is the reading nook! Can't say I have used it much so far ... but I hope to! I can imagine a cold winter day where I curl up with a good book and a glass of wine ... yes, one day soon. 
 Don't laugh - I know my orange tree is a little shabby right now, but give him a little time and he will flourish (hopefully!).  I was so ecstatic to find this extra large white planter at Target. I wanted something simple, but large enough to make a statement.
I love this vintage inspired moroccan foot stool I found at At Home in Homewood. It has a tad bit of orange in the pattern so I have started echoing that around the study. One thing I love about a saturated color palette is that is allows you to add as much "pops of color" as you would like. 
A view of the "reading nook" from the den (through the old window). I ordered this flowers poster from this fabulous Etsy shop that prints large format photographs in half tones. This creates a black and white dot pattern that almost seems vintage. I framed it in a simple poster frame from Target

I decided to bring that orange into the china cabinet as well. I found some beautiful taper candles to place on the giraffes. 
Check out that bowl of rope! Remember my inspiration? After seeing that picture, I decided to use this punch bowl I registered for as a part of my decor while not in use. Can I say resourceful? And space saver?
That's it so far! There is still a few tid bits I would like to add, but I am really happy with how the study has turned out so far. Thanks for tuning in!