Baby shower fun

A co-worker is due in October, and a couple of ladies organized a surprise shower.  I was in charge of e-mail invitation and the actual card we gave her at the shower.  

We usually come up with personalized cards for birthdays at work, so we don't have to buy generic cards, and I'm in charge of executing.  I found the bottle, binky and toy on a free vector site, and constructed the rest pretty quickly.  

Have you noticed I am getting good use out of my craft sewing machine?  I just cut a 12x12 cardstock in half and then folded it again, and it fit into a 6x6 envelope I already had on hand.  The square scrapbook papers were a cinch to sew on, and they are reminiscent of a baby quilt or baby blocks (one of the organizers made a cake that looked like blocks).

Grandma 'Jima

A week in South Lake Tahoe- it was beautiful!  The vacation was also a family reunion for my mom's side of the family, and I tried to stay on top of "documenting."  I made it a point to take portraits and candid shots...but in a place like Tahoe I of course also enjoyed the beauty of nature.

This was one of my favorite shots.  The family rented a pontoon boat one day and we had lunch at Emerald Bay.  We had time for a little jaunt, and I was entranced by textures, shapes and colors of the trunk.

Time to play

I love the combined textures of thread and paper.

The tan colored base for the first card and the mint paper were finds at porridge papers, right here in Lincoln.

I am a huge fan of gray right now, and I love the cool combination of these two colors.  Here are some close-ups to give you an idea of how textured the paper is.  (Also shows the back of the card.)

I dare you to check out this post at ohsobeautifulpaper.com and not be inspired.

My little buddy is a foot away from me.  Time to play for a few minutes...

Golden Birthday, Part II

Of course, if you know R, she likes fun gifts but also more elegant ones.  Thanks to a few favorite blogs, I found just the right inspiration.

Design Sponge is one of the first blogs I discovered, and my go-to place for variety in posts.  I was enamored by these Anthropologie cards the site featured, and was inspired to create my own gilded stationery for R.  I love the combination of gold detail and juicy summer color blocks.

Maybe a month or so ago I started following The Small Things Blog, then found out her sister has a blog called From My Grey Desk- where I saw this post featuring her five favorite things from the past week.  The "Q & A a Day" book seemed perfect for R.  When I found the book at Barnes & Noble and saw the gold-edged pages, it became even more fitting.

I enjoy receiving and giving themed gifts like this.  Having a theme can help bring everything together and shows the thought behind some of the choices.

Golden Birthday Part I

I love themed gifts (see the black and gray gifts I received).  For Mother's Day I gave my mom a bunch of gifts she could use while on her walks- a t-shirt, water bottle, and cross-body purse.  I chose a turquoise, black and white color theme for my sister-in-law's last birthday.  Themed gifts are fun because having constraints can be both helpful and challenging.

Recently R celebrated her golden birthday (aka "Angel Birthday")- she turned 27 on the 27th.  All of her gifts were carefully picked. 

I found the little notepad at the Omaha Summer Arts Festival at the beginning of June.  R would appreciate supporting local artists/businesses, and the sunny yellow still fit in the "golden" theme.  The gloves I had purchased at Michael's in the spring.  She has a new home and a large backyard to take care of.