Jennifer's Joyful Boutiqe, Obsession du jour

It's almost November, which means J. and I are getting ants in our pants to find out whether the baby is a boy or a girl.  November 22 is the big day, which means I can finally start shopping for things like clothing, decorations for the nursery- you know, the priorities.  And that's why I've started trolling etsy for the cutest baby gear I can find... you know, just in case I don't get enough at my baby showers :)



Today, my obsession is with the etsy store Jennifer's Joyful Boutique!  Ok, so maybe some of these goodies will be a better fit if "its a girl" than for a boy, but I'm still having fun window shopping either way!  And key wedding tie-in:  this could be just the place to find your flower girl a hair accessory or a little thank you gift for the little ones in your wedding.



Ok so on to what I am in love with.  First, the custom art- such an affordable way to personalize a nursery!

Or what about a hair flower?  Brides love them, and what better way to add a little pizazz to a white flower girl ensemble for $7.95?  Or in my case, what better hair accessory to foist upon your baby (they can't stop you!) while you take 1000 pictures?  Yeah I'm going to be that mom.

 I'm also really loving the little clip and bow holders- also hand painted.  I live in a tiny house so I'm really into objects with dual purposes- and this is the perfect combination of decoration and storage.  It also makes it easy for your toddler to pick out what they want to wear, since everything is on display.  Maybe even teach them to put things away?

Definitely head over to Jennifer's Joyful Boutique to check out all the adorableness happening!  All images courtesy of Jen!



Disclaimer: this is totally my opinion and I was not compensated in any way for sharing this post.  However, I do actually know Jen- she's awesome- you will love working with her!

DIY Mercury Glass- FINALLY!

I remember well how last year at this time, I was itching to find a good tutorial for DIY mercury glass.  Alas, everyone who had tried it said the same thing- it's very tough to do and very difficult to get a good result.  That is, until I came across this post at Domestically Speaking.  Maryann (who I'm dubbing genius of the century) came up with a great trick to take basic glassware from this:

to this:

The trick?  Spraying droplets of water on the surface before the paint.  Why didn't I think of that??!!  I solved my own problems by hitting the discount stores, but you could get major mileage out of inexpensive craft store or ikea finds, which would allow you more uniformity too.  Love it!  Head on over to Maryann's blog, Domestically Speaking to learn more!

Newspaper-Style Menus

You may recall a few weeks ago I shared some rehearsal dinner invitations I made for my little brother's big day, using antiqued baby pictures and an art-deco Chicago style theme.  Since their rehearsal dinner is at a steakhouse featuring checkered table cloths and old-Chicago styling, we decided to carry the theme through by making dinner menus that looked like old newspapers.  Look how cute they turned out!!  I'm a little in love, not gonna lie...

The fonts are all art-deco style fonts I found on dafont.com, and for this project I featured March Madness, Deco Card and Herald Square.  And the baby photos are the sames ones from the invitation.  All in all, these took me about an hour to make, and I'm just going to print them on plain paper on a color printer and leave one at each place setting- the fact that everything is a little bit casual only makes it that much better, I think!



Are you working on any fun projects right now?

The Luckiest Girl in the World!

I know, we're still working on getting those images fixed- I'm sorry friends!  But I've got a REALLY great excuse I swear.  J. and I have been working hard to get a tenant into my condo, which in itself has been a project.  But the big news is twofold: (1) I just got a NEW JOB! and (2) we're expecting our first baby and we finally hit the 12 week mark so we can share the news!!!



The bliss is beyond measure.  We are ecstatic!  I mean, a baby, that alone is awesome.  But to be able to also say that after two years of working at it, I've finally found the perfect position for my career path (and they think so too)?!  It's all happening at once and it's almost too much- almost, but not quite- I embrace it with open arms.



So yeah, I'm sorry about the images, and I swear we're working on it.  The One! will go on!  To make up for the missing images, here's a shot of our little bean at 7 weeks 3 days to tide you over...

SO HAPPY!!  :)

Progress! (and patience)

So you may have noticed... The One! just got a fabulous makeover from Designs By Kassie- and I just want to say right now, Kassie works quickly, is super responsive, has wonderful creative ideas, and was very reasonably priced.  I am so excited about our new look and hope you like it too!



Of course, while I was working with Kassie on the new design, all my old images stopped working.  Where did they go???  Here's what we do know- it wasn't Kassie's fault!

We think we figured out where they went (hello old server) but you may need to bear with us for a few days while J. and I get them back for you all!  But we sure do appreciate your patience and hope to have some good surprises for you in the next few weeks!!



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For the Love of a Good Menu

Anyone who has ever watched Top Chef knows how important presentation is. That goes for menus too- a great looking menu enhances the food and gets your guests psyched for eating. Mmmm I'm hungry just thinking about it. I've seen menus done in donzens of great ways, but my current obsession comes from my friend R's wedding. Girlfriend printed the menus using her home printer on standard-issue brown paper bags- perfect for carrying home the wedding favor post-celebration! I think this is such an adorable idea for outdoor, winery, barn, or really any kind of rustic wedding. But I also might use these for my next BBQ!  Or, someday, maybe I'll make little lunch bags for the first day of school- I can see kids loving them too... and brown paper bags cost next to nothing.  Oooh the possibilities!

Check them out and tell me you're not in love too...

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photo by me- from R's wedding!

 

Are you considering making menus for your next celebration?

Amazon Mom- For People Who Like Discounts!

No silly not that kind...



I just learned from the lovely lady over at 320 Sycamore, about a pretty kick*ss program called Amazon Mom where anyone who cares for a child (aunts, uncles, grandparents, sitters) can sign up and get FREE Amazon Prime for 3 months!  That's FREE stwo day shipping with no minimum kids! 



Of course, this is going to be super handy for all the brides out there.  And if you happen to also be a mom, there's some great kids deals like diaper discounts (its 30% off diapers and wipes)- but I'm planning to use my 3 months on CHRISTMAS SHOPPING! 



And nobody even paid me to write this.  I'm just really enthused!!



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