taylor-made news

Erin Ink gifts

Through one of the other blogs i contribute to, The Pyrex Collective, I recently "met" quite the talented lady... ErinInk! I have always loved her blog entries on the collective, and that lead me to her ADORABLE etsy shop. And I could not resist ordering some magnets from her to brighten up my 'fridge! She is SO amazing, in fact, that she even included a 5 x 7 print of my favorite pattern Butterprint! Not only is she sweet, but she did her research.

I couldn't wait to show off my new magnets! (please excuse the other clutter)

To my surprise, they were much bigger than I expected, but that is in no way a bad thing. I LOVE them!And as for the Butterprint print... ... it has a happy home with its family members 

Please go check out Erin's shop and buy something NOW!

copycat craft

while going through our wedding registry i saw a GORGEOUS monogrammed pitcher from pottery barn

 
and although i did register for it (and have already received as a gift) i thought, "hey, i can make something like that"

i love monograms, i love kitchen things, and i love making stuff... so why not?

i started by spray painting a clear pitcher i picked up at a thrift store

 
then i gathered my supplies

 
a "k" stamp, paint, and paint brush

 
i simply applied paint to the stamp

 
and stamped it right on

 
and it's as easy as that

 
cute right?

MIA no more

TWO MONTHS.

for two whole months i have been nowhere to be found... but fret not, i have returned!

there is just too much to talk/blog/update about, so i will try to pick up where i left off and also include some details from all the exciting things going on, like, oh i dunno... getting MARRIED!!

if you read this blog (first of all, thank you SO much) please hang with me as i try to update this blog. i really have missed it so much.

guest book

where in the world has the time gone? we are officially 19 days away from the wedding!!! i couldn't be more excited/anxious/thrilled! that being said, i know you will understand why there has been zero blogging on my part lately, and why there will be next to no blogging until after the big day. but in the meantime, since wedding stuff is the ONLY thing on my mind lately, here's a little sneak peek at a wedding project.

i have been looking for a unique guest book for our wedding and after running into a lot of "roadblocks" i decided it would be easier, cheaper and more practical to use a photobook and let our guests sign that. This way we have a coffee table book that has messages from our loved ones from our special day.

i ordered it from one of my FAVORITE  websites Paper Coterie! (they even sent an adorable freebie necklace)

 
so without further adieu...

 

the first page is a picture of us from our first date in 2007!
 
then pictures from our proposal

 
followed by our engagement shots with white pages for signatures and messages

 
and i just loved the back...

 
because it is not "the end", it is just the beginning for us!

erin sunday gifts

i am the lucky winner of a giveaway from Erin Sunday and i had to show off the goods. erin takes some really great pictures... and i am the proud owner of FOUR of them!

 
she is also crafty and made me some goodies: a headband, a bracelet and an amazing felt flower brooch!

 
they are so cute and i just had to try them on asap!

 
 

quickie diaper wreath

remember the Mama Project? one of the amazing mothers, Priscilla, had a baby boy recently and i was invited to a baby shower for them! and let me tell you, he is the most precious little thing. i almost brought him home with us, but i'm sure his sweet mom would have noticed.

to celebrate this baby coming in to the world i made a diaper wreath

 
i added lots of goodies from her registry and tied it up with blue and green ribbon

 
it was nice seeing everyone and i was thrilled to be invited!

Birthday Banners (and invites)

My dear friend Bethany is turning another year younger and she is a lover of theme parties (and let's be honest, who isn't) so she is throwing a beachy/seersucker birthday party. And i was so flattered that she asked me to help her put together the invitations and decor!

She had the cutest idea for invites

 
(don't you love the seersucker bow?!)

and i played off her great theme and put together a banner for the "party room"

 
i used my cricut to cut out the letters and the crabs and she is using all primary colors.

 
i think it turned out so cute!

 
I can't wait to show you pictures from the party!

leftovers make a meal

one of my best friend's called me a few months ago (yes i'm just remembering to post this) and said "hey, i'll be in town tonight... can i stay at your place". i didn't even hesitate to say yes, but then i was faced with the dilemma of what to feed him. he had been driving all day and night and i knew he was hungry but i had nothing to feed him. haha

then my creativity kicked in. i had one cooked porkchop sitting in the fridge, and with about an hour to prepare i had time to whip up a batch of cornbread.

 
while that was cooking i got to work on the porkchop.

 
i decided just a porkchop on a plate wouldn't be any good (and i noticed that looks like a bite mark, but i promise it hadn't been eaten haha)

so in to the chopper it went.

 
i added some bbq sauce, mixed it all together and made mini-sandwiches!

 
i may be partial, but i thought they were great. and i'm pretty sure my friend enjoyed them too (although as tired as he was, he would have eaten cardboard)

a few days later i made a cinnabon cake and there are no words. just delicious pictures!

 
 

an apple a day

what can $6 and less then an hour of your time get you?

 
new kitchen decor!

i had to return some wedding things to the dollar tree (my mom and i double bought haha) and since they don't give refunds, i only had in store credit. well if you know me, you know i have NO problem keeping busy in a dollar store.

 
i got two frames, two sheets of moss, and two apples... for $6!

while the frames were drying from a coat of antique white spray paint i glued the moss to the glass in the frames.

 
and i needed some weight to hold it together during the drying process, so i used my favorite "paper weights"... pyrex!

 
then my awesome fiance cut the apples in perfect halves for me

 
i added some coordinating ribbon and up they went on the wall

 
 
so there is my dollar store craft and it barely took any time at all!

 

dog days of summer

 
the dog days of summer are in full force.

either i have been working like a dog....

or i've been sick as a dog.

i have been battling strep throat all week in an effort to of course get back to work (haha) but mostly to prepare for our second wedding shower this weekend!!

which reminds me, i never shared our first wedding shower. so stay tuned for all that and more (there's my "news voice" coming in)

i promise i will have more posts to come, just let me catch up with life a little bit.

and in the meantime, you can hop over to The Budget Savvy Bride and check out my post about our "save the dates".