New Wedding Collection - Diana for Library or Book Theme Wedding

My newest collection Diana is a fun twist on a library/book theme.  With this collection, you let your guests know that you refuse to stay quiet in the library!  Along with this theme, I have a few DIY-Bride-On-A-Budget ideas!  But first... my collection!!!!

The Diana Collection is an eclectic mix of corals, mint greens, oranges and yellows. The colors are pleasing to the eye yet also a unique combination. Perfect for a library or book themed wedding but equally as fun for a summer wedding with bright colors. Diana has it all - a modern twist to a traditional idea! As always colors are customizable for the Diana collection.

Interested in more ideas for a library themed wedding?

For an easy (and cheap) centerpiece idea - Buy decorative hardback books.  You can buy these at garage sale, thrift stores, used book stores... or borrow a bunch from the library! Or, go back to your high school days when you had to cover your books! Purchase pretty, decorative scrapbook paper, contact paper, wallpaper, etc. and cover each book with your theme colors!  Sprinkle some flower petals - viola! You have an eye pleasing centerpiece!

Instead of numbering your tables - name them after your favorite books! So instead of sitting at table 2, Aunt Millie will be sitting at the Pride & Prejudice table.

Need others ideas for a library/book theme wedding? Contact me and I will be happy to lend a book ... errrrr... hand!

xoxo,
Tara

Handmade Artist - Two Girlz Stuff

Everyone has a different story as to how they started crafting ... whatever your craft is.  Well, ladies and gentlemen I remember being in grade school and spending a lot of my parents money on school supplies.  I had to have the best of the best.  I had SO much stuff that my younger brother didn't have to buy any school supplies all through school... including college!  I had a love of paper, pens, pencils, folders, organization for as long as I can remember.

When Mr. K and I started dating seriously and I met his family I was introduced to the coolest thing I had ever seen... SCRAPBOOKING! It was actually a hobby that I could get away with buying lots of papers, stickers, markers, organizing things! I was hooked! The Queen of Scrapbook? Mr. K's cousin Aja.

Well, needless to say she's super talented.  I love checking out her blog for her cute ideas... check out her elf, Benson here.  Too. Cute.

On top of it all she is also an amazing photographer! She did our engagement photos that I showed in a previous post. (And yes... she's available for hire!)

But all that aside... *sorry got a little sidetracked* She makes the most amazing labels that are perfect for scrapbooking/cardmaking/journaling.  She recently just reopened her store after closing it down last year so that she could spend more time with her family... Did I mention her kids are A-D-O-R-A-B-L-E? Anyway - she had lots and lots of requests to reopen.  Her labels are practically famous!!!!

I bought some from her before her shop closed down and fell in love with them.  They are amazing quality and she cuts them by hand! I swear I thought she had some amazing-super-crazy-mass cutter! *Sigh* Just when I think I'm getting good... she goes and impresses the crap out of me!

If you are dying to try these labels... and you know you are... check out her Etsy store.

So cheers to you my-super-crazy-creative-cousin-in-law! You have amazed me once again!

FIND AJA:
Blog: www.twogirlzstuff.blogspot.com
Shop: http://www.etsy.com/shop/twogirlzstuff

xoxo,
Tara

Handmade Artist - Bella Card Creations

Today I met a new friend. Not just any friend, but a super-talented friend! Vera at Bella Card Creations is SO nice and her handmade cards make me drool! Here are just a few of her lovely creations:

There is something about pink, black and leopard print that is so super chic.

How adorable would this modern theme be for a birthday party, bachelorette party, bridal shower or even an incredibly chic, high fashion wedding? Hmmmm... Thanks Vera, you may have given me some inspiration here!

Oh how I wish I would have known about Bella Card Creations 2 months ago when a close friend of mine had her baby boy. She would have LOVED this card!

So not only can Bella Card Creations make super chic cards... she can also make soft romantic cards too!

I am seeing a trend in the styles I like! I am in love with the animal prints and pops of color. I'm pretty sure my hubby wouldn't be to thrilled to get a hot pink and zebra print card for his birthday... but maybe I can get it for him to give to me on MY birthday? :)

Wouldn't this card make a cute bachelorette party invitation? (Did I mention that she can customize the wording for you?)

It's no surprise to most of you that I am an avid crafter and I do love making handmade cards but for some reason I can NEVER get my cards to look like hers - no matter how many tools, embellishments or tricks I learn. Her shop is filled with so many cute cards I couldn't decide which ones I wanted to post on my blog! The best part? She also can custom create cards for you!

So Vera at Bella Card Creations - Cheers to you for being so talented and making the rest of us envy all of your creations!

XOXO,
Tara

Will You Be My Bridesmaid? Notecards.

One of the newest items in my store (which is open now - but will be celebrating its Grand Opening in February)! These adorable Will You Be My Bridesmaid? Note Cards in your choice of color. Each set comes with 5 cards. 4 are for "Bridesmaids" and one is for "Maid of Honor" but can be altered for your bridal party.

The New Renee Collection

Table Setting Ideas: Bridal Cookie * Cake & Dessert Table: Amy Atlas * Bouquet: Roses and Dreams * Stationary: Diva Gone Domestic * Money Gift Box: Lacey Claire Designs * Bridesmaids: Image via Raina Dawn Events


The Renee Collection is a perfect blend of casual, rustic chic and whimsey fun. Perfect for your outdoor wedding the Renee collection features beautiful apple green and brown prints with old-fashioned fonts.










Hope you enjoy the newest collection!
XOXO,
Tara

Keep Your Other Half Organized

Honey Do THIS Honey Do THAT!!! I feel like my husband is so amazing at doing so many things but it seems like when I ask him to do something... it kind of goes in one ear and back out the other. So I decided a "Honey Do" mini notebook was the answer! Now I can write things down as I think of them and he has it in front of him... in black and white! Out of fairness - I thought I should have a Mrs. Honey Do notebook as well. Of course, he will probably lose it as soon as I give it to him.





These adorable mini notebooks will be available in my store... which should be opening within the next few weeks!!! YAY!!!! :)

Wedding Shadow Box

I am trying so hard to get rid of all of the "extras" that have accumlated since our wedding. I am so afraid to throw stuff away because I keep thinking "what if I want to scrapbook/display/reuse that in future?" I decided that another way for me keep some of the momentos from our wedding was to make a shadow box to hang up in my studio. (Doesn't "studio" sound so much more official than "craft room"? I think that's what I will call it from now on!) Anyway, I put this together and I think it all turned out SO pretty!
This flower with the rhinestone brooch in the middle was from our gift box. It was so pretty!

I got a little bubble happy and had tons of leftover bubbles. So I threw one in there... compete with the tag.

Also included was an invitation and our monogram cake topper. Lots of shine and sparkle in this little box!

Overall, it was an easy but fun project. I loved making it and found the perfect place to hang it up. How did you go through your wedding stuff and decide what to keep?

XOXO,

Tara

DIY Christmas Ornament - Leftover Invitations

So - I am going through wedding withdrawal. I can't help but feel oddly connected to all of those bits and pieces that are left from my wedding. Extra flowers, candles, cake topper, sashes, etc. Over the past year, I meticulously picked each detail and in a flash it was all over. One of the hardest things for me to get rid of was all of those leftover invitations. Yeah, I kept a couple for scrapbooking but I just couldn't bring myself to throw all of the rest away! So set out on a mission to find an easy (inexpensive) way to use some... throwing them in the trash is just way to hard!!!!!
I happened across Jen's blog: Simcoe Street and found her super easy DIY Ornament tutorial and immediately had to try it out! It was so easy that I made 4 of them in an hour. I plan on keeping one and the other 3 are gifts for our parents.

Now I feel *little * less bad about throwing away about 20 unused invitations! It will be a treasured ornament for many Christmases to come!

Wine Tour 2011

This weekend I attended a Wine Tour in Erie, PA. The Lake Erie Wine Trail is so much fun. I have been there once before but did not know that there were so many wineries in one area! There are over 20 wineries going through Erie, PA into New York.
My mother, grandmother, aunt and best friend all traveled to my house and then we were going to tour the wineries. Come to find out... the Harvest Wine Festival was happening so we bought tickets.
I love putting together little momentos of our trips so I made these books to go with our tour.
I printed out the front cover matte and stamped grape vines on before attaching to the hard cover.

Inside conttained a pocket that I made and stamped "my wine". Inside the pocket I added stickers that I made (each with a different color and last name initial) so that when we bought a bottle of wine, we could label it with our sticker so we knew which ones were ours.

The stickers were made using my cricut and adhesive sticker cardstock.

The pages were put in by using my binding maching. I had a list of the wineries that were on the wine trail with the food/wine they were serving. Also inside were "wine tasting notes" so that we could remember where we bought each bottle of wine and how it tasted. It was fun making these and the girls LOVED them! We had a blast at the wineries and then went to a casino that we passed on our way there. It was so much fun and I am glad I got to spend quality time with family!

Groomsman Gifts

UPDATE: My Groomsman Labels have been receiving a lot of attention on multiple websites... including Pinterest. There for I decided to put them in my store for those of you who are interested in purchasing custom labels for your own gifts. I can customize these with different colors and wording according to what you need!

I have a lot to say today! :) On a wedding related note - I wanted to share a Groomsman Gift I put together. I wanted to surprise the guys with a "shot of love" the before the ceremony. I had one of my bridesmaids take these down to the guys' hotel room before we left. It was a great way to let them know that "yes" this was my special day that meant a lot to me but that I didn't plan on taking the day too seriously! It was all about fun! I think it had the effect I was going for... the guys loved them!

I thought my wedding colors were a little too girly so I did a different (but complementing) color combo: ivory, gray and mint green. The tag looks like a vintage movie ticket.

I think these would also make great "party favors" as well. I am thinking about doing something similar to this for a Big New Year's party we are hosting these year. Of course, I will be doing a new design - so stay tuned for that in a few month! :)

Welcome to the Candy Shoppe! Candy Buffet Labels.

As *one* of my wedding favors for my guests, I will be having a candy buffet. I am one of those super crazy brides that wants all of the details to be perfect. All of the candy that is in the candy buffet is going to be pink, ivory and silver/grey. Tonight I made my labels to go on each of the jars that we bought for this beautiful candy buffet. Designed, cut, assembled by me just wasn't enough!... I had to add a bit of bling to my labels so individually placed a line of rhinestones on each one for some sparkle.

I will be adding silver ribbon to each of these and then am in the process of designing a sign to onto the candy table. I am so excited to see the final result... and of course - after the wedding - I will share the final look with all of you!

PS- I apologize for the bad photos. I was in the living room watching a movie with my fiance while working on these and I had bad lighting!

Are you having (or did you have) a candy buffet? Was it all color coordinated to your wedding colors?

XOXO,

Tara

Wedding Monograms

I have found that one trend no wedding can do without is the Wedding Monogram! I have done over 50 monograms for my own wedding. (Of course, I ultimately decided on just one.) It is so exciting to see my name combined with Mr. K's. I have had to make a serious effort to not go overboard!
In the meantime, I have had lots of requests for custom monograms to be made for my customers. I have so much dreaming up new ways to do monograms. I thought I would post a few of my designs for all you readers out there.











Monograms are the perfect touch for your wedding stationary: invitations, menus, programs, thank you cards, etc. I have also had lots of Brides ask me for a plain black and white high resolution image that can be used for Gobo machines to put their monogram on the dance floor or a backdrop. It can be used for home decor items too! Towels, sheets, pillows, candles, etc. Regardless of what you want to do with your monogram make sure that it expresses your style! If you would like help creating your own monogram, contact me! I only charge $10.00 for your own custom monogram. With this you will receive a monogram in your custom colors and a black and white monogram. They will be emailed to you as high resolution files for your own use!

Happy Planning!
XOXO,
Tara