Ahoy!! Belay yer carousin' and haul on over me matey!!

I love pirates and of course they're way cooler than ninjas!! Even though its not "talk-like-a-pirate day" yet...why not use a few AAaarrr's in the middle of a conversation just for fun. My best friend and I thought that for some reason on St. Patricks day we should say AAAarrrr! I think we share a pirate gland somewhere in our brains! Recently I've been working on a pirate birthday package that will include a pirate ship centerpiece, invitation, food labels and goodie favor tags! It's going to be an addition to my current vintage style pirate banner and cupcake toppers so I'll be sharing those items as soon as I get them photographed. Also if you want to learn to speak pirate head on over to Mango Languages they are now offering a free on line course til June 30th!! Impress your fellow 'swashbucklers' Aaaarrr!!!

Mermaid Real Party

It's a mellow rainy morning in Los Angeles today but that was not the case a few weeks ago for Elle's 4th birthday fun in the sea Mermaid theme party! This was no ordinary party - Anokhi contacted me at the beginning of the year with ideas about a party for her daughter and only a few months later we teamed up to create a version of my mermaid banner to fit her color scheme and match what she envisioned for the day. Anokhi sent along a picture for inspiration and when I opened my email there was this darling skirt which Elle would wear on her special day. I knew then that I would have to create something unique and special for her. I included her name at the end of the banner and created over 30 sea creature cupcake toppers among little mermaids that matched her banner. There were fish, crab, sea stars and sea horses! The details for this party are amazing. I LOVE how she incorporated the colors and the details of ocean life right on her backyard! Lots of sea stars among coral and even a seagull resting on a dock!! I know one day Elle will look back at these pictures and remember the sweetest day.

Crazy Mailing + Gorgeous Stamps

Lately I've been spending a lot of time at the post office! I think I've been going just about every other day for the past 3 months!! It's either me or my sweetie that graciously volunteers to drop off my packages :) The post office on La Palma Ave. in Buena Park is amazing! They have sweet staff, great hours - they close at 6pm and that's just perfect for me because I usually make it after a good hour of traffic. Just when I thought that people were using the post office less and less...it's beginning to prove more of a myth! I always see lines of patrons with boxes, letters, and lots of odd shaped things and sorts. The clerks behind their desks do an awesome job!

While standing in line yesterday I saw the coolest poster of their Garden of Love stamp debuting May 19th! I thought one of those stamps would be a gorgeous complement on a floral summer party invite or garden wedding envelopes. Check it out! I think I will buy a few for inspiration. I purchased the Jazz stamps last month because my husband and I love jazz and I think I will use them to embellish some of our photos and ticket stubs we will be gathering from this summer upcoming shows. Go buy a few and send some snail mail love.

Ladybug Real Party

I've been wanting to share this little cutie's 1st birthday party for a really long time! Alexa's ladybug party decorations were so much fun to create and her mom was super fantastic to work with. She contacted me thru my Etsy shop and we quickly got excited about planning for her daughter's 1st. She was so creative in all the little details she envisioned for her party and truly motivated me to create something special for her daughter. I created a jumbo version of my Ladybug birthday banner, Alexa's name banner, centerpieces that were inserted in candy jars, napkin holders, ladybugs that rested on her water goblets and leaf shaped seating cards! Her party was fun yet upscale with lots of candle light, roses and gorgeous lavender accents - major eye candy!!

Contest on facebook!

Just a quick post to spread the word of a super cool contest going on right now at Love Takes Flight facebook page! It is a destination elopement service for couples wanting to elope! Jill a super talented photographer has asked me to participate and I just loved the idea. If you leave a comment on her wall telling her who would you like to photograph with a stach...you may win 12 of my 'staches of fun! Go post and then go picture crazy!
Good luck!

Staches of Fun to come!

I'm excited about the new year! I had a great break and the holidays were lots of fun but I'm relieved that they're gone and I don't have to think about Christmas for another 11 months!! Every January I get really motivated and excited about what's yet to come and how the year is going to pan out...but I think that lately I've been thinking a lot of what I'm thankful for. I've been reflecting how on a day to day basis we touch the lives of other people and the impact we cause whether we think its minimal or grand. Year after year I thank God for having a wonderful and supportive husband and I can't be thankful enough for our love and our home. I want to make sure that I show those I love how they have touched my life and how very thankful I am of that! I don't want to call it a new year's resolution because it's not something I want to cross off a list...it's something I truly feel inside.

And since part of the new year has been about starting up something new and feeling creative I want to share some fun new crafts that we had lots of fun over the holidays with!! The mustaches on a stick!! I'm going to have an awesome time scrapbooking all the fun pictures we took! Take a look at the new designs!

Happy New Year!

Party Frenzy!

It's party weather isn't it!?! My birthday was last week and for some reason it's always been my official start of summer and the time when I look forward to warm nights under the stars, outdoor music festivals, wine and lots of BBQs in our backyard! I've been just crazy over party banners lately! Can't get enough of how cute they are hanging from my wall and swaying back and forth in the light summer wind. I was at the UCLA 30th annual Luau a couple of weeks back and absolutely loved the hula dancers and the flowers and it inspired me to create a hula theme party celebration kit! I picture the cutest outfits and the freshest of pineapples being served at a lovely little girls birthday party. And for me well it also makes me wish I was in Hawaii but this summer our pool will most likely suffice our splashing cravings. My awesome photographer and friend Ayumi shot some pictures of my work and of course she makes them look so awesome I can't believe I made them!

On another note isn't there something totally adorable about owls?! I know hoots are just the cutest thing right now! And since I'm in a total party frenzy mood I did an owl party kit too!! Whhooo is having so much fun? Me! Hahaha! Ok maybe I'll just let the pictures do the talking!

Magazine Fun

Last month I was contacted by one of the editors of Southern Minnesota Magazine that was super sweet and interested in my Damask Mint Matchbooks. She included the matchbooks on their current issue of Venus! A magazine dedicated to everything women and lifestyle. She did a great job on picking items for her article "Personalize your Party" and she explains how Etsy.com is an amazing way to shop for just about anything you need for a little fun soiree! My mints share the page with some outstanding Etsians and I'm just so honored to have been chosen for all Minnesotans and the world to see :) My print magazine is coming in the mail but I couldn't wait to share the news so here it's a shot from their website!

So new...so brand new

Couple of "new" things in my life happening right now...one of them is starting to look more exciting as I explore it more and more. Facebook. Yeah I'm probably one of the last people in the world to join right?! well...I'm doing it to reach out to people I don't get to talk enough and also to promote my businesses on Etsy. I also gave my Weddings etsy shop a new look. I had previously posted about an awesome idea that began about using better pictures to expose my work. It's been rrreaally hard to choose which pictures go up on etsy and which don't because I have so many favorites. I decided that I definitely want to continue doing this for my shop...it just looks really pretty to me and I hope others find it fun to look at as well.

I didn't want to neglect my cards either so I turned to my toolbelt and cardstocks and began crafting. It made me feel so relaxed and at peace. I'm totally in love with the new October Afternoon "Fly a Kite" and the "Thrift Shop" lines that I just can't get enough of them!! I have to start thinking of father's day cards soon so if you got any ideas for masculine cards let me know!!

Fab Sunday

I want to share a little more of the project I told you about on my last post. It all began with the idea of exposure. Just like thousands of Etsians out there...we make these beautiful items that take hours to make using an endless list of tools and techniques, most working at wee hours of the night because we already have a full time job...or two! We try to stay on top of whats the latest and whats trendy in our industry and then after our "gem" is beautifully done we try to target those people that love what we've done with our hands and hope they buy it!

Well its really not easy to do. Truth of the matter is I've learned that there is a lot more to Etsy than amazing listings and the people behind their product. The way we communicate via a conversation message with some one from another city, state or country is our true window to the world. The fact that someone reached out and told you they love your work and are willing to buy is an amazing feeling. To have someone add your item to their favorites is more than rewarding.

It is why many of us are constantly looking for ways to Jazz up our Etsy store and I've noticed through blogs and tips that most exposure relies a lot on photography. "What is beautiful is appealing"...that's a given. In photography creativity flows and transmits uniqueness and beauty to whatever it is on the other side of that lens. So I started thinking I need to find something appealing to my items on my shop and well...great photography is my hope! As I've mentioned before my friend Ayumi is a fabulous photographer and a coworker and we often (ok more like daily) spend at least 20 minutes talking about weddings, crafts, sewing, packaging tape, cards, blogs, photoshop, crepe flowers and the list just goes on and on...We decided we would do a photoshoot using my wedding invitations and models! Yes I also work with 2 gorgeous girls that are my students and were more than willing to participate on our shoot. Both Grace and Teo have young, inspiring and beautiful faces that will perhaps not get you to run out and get married so you can purchase one of my wedding invites....BUT...will definitely make you click and appreciate both human and craft beauty. These are a couple of back stage photos but plenty of more to come...

Teo and Ayumi early Sunday morning at LACMA

Grace and Ayumi steps of LACMA

These lights that once lit up famous streets of Los Angeles are now

a gorgeous display that light up at night until dawn (6:30am to be exact!!)

Sakura

My friend just thought me a new word! Apparently I've been so crazy over how beautiful Cherry blossoms look around my neighborhood. Almost every day at sunset I drive by this beautiful park in Cerritos that's filled with cherry blossoms and the light shows off the darkness of the branches and the hues of white and pink tops. The park is an amazing inspiration and I always picture an elegant and simple wedding venue so I felt inspired to create a wedding invitation with the "Sakura" theme! I used soft shades of pink and a delicate diecut of a Cherry blossom branch for this 6x6 invitation. My professional photographer Ayumi was sweet enough to photograph my invite! She also lives near a Sakura filled park!! she kidnapped my invite for the weekend and came back with the most amazing pictures! She is extremely talented and if you are ever looking for fun and modern pictures of you or your family you have to check her out! I'm super thrilled to be working with her on a project I will soon give you more details of...but for now let me share our work!