Star of Wonder

Good grief! I cannot believe that Christmas is only a few days away and I haven't blogged in MONTHS!! I officially have a full time permanent job here in Winston-Salem working for Wake Forest University and it is a very fast paced, busy, demanding and exiting job. Sadly, that doesn't leave room for blogging all that often.

The Mr. is busy being a first year Dr.  Lately we get to see each other about an hour or so a day! So the "down time" I do have, I spend with him or at least try to spend time with him before he either starts snoring or leaves for work.

Needless to say, I have a feeling my New Year's resolution will be more blogging...I have lots of side projects I have been working on that I would love to put up on the blog and show you all.
 
In the meantime, here is a little something I have been working on for the holiday season.

When we moved to Winston-Salem we noticed seeing these stars around town. On front porches, downtown, on WFU's campus and even atop the hospital.

photo via Flowergardengirl

 

 

 

photo via Digital Forsyth

photo via WFMY News

We soon found out that these stars are Moravian Stars.  The Moravians are German Protestants that came over to America in the 1700s and settled in parts of Pennsylvania and right here in Winston-Salem, NC. (They make some amazing cookies, sugar cake and other baked goods)  It is said that the star was taught as a geometry lesson but soon became a part of the Christmas Advent season:

“reminds us of God, who caused the light to shine out of darkness and of the light which is the life of humanity. It reminds us of the promise of Abraham that his descendants would be more numerous than the stars; we are reminded of the star that pointed to the 'great and heavenly light from Bethlehem’s manger shining bright.' The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. This is the message of the Advent star, which also points to Jesus, who said, 'I am the bright and Morning Star.' It is the star of promise, the star of fulfillment, and the star of hope.”

Hey, maybe I could redesign that Moravian Star into our Christmas Card.  I am eager to buy my own Moravian Star and hang it on our front porch year round to remind me of the hope we have in Jesus not only at Christmas but every day.

And HOPEFULLY you haven't given up on my little blog and you'll be back in 2012 to see more!

Redesigned Rehearsal

This week is my shout out to all things Becca with Rebecca Rose Events.  We are only 2 more sleeps away from the Rebecca Rose Events & Amy Lynne Originals grand opening shindig and I am so excited.

Becca approached me back in July to design some rehearsal dinner invites for a bride & groom she was working with.  Of course I jumped at the chance.  These two were having a Texas {groom} meets North Carolina {bride} bbq dinner at the perfect venue-WinMock.  I have already expressed my love for WinMock here and of course I hold a soft spot in my heart since I had my own wedding reception in a barn. {American Village in Montevallo, AL}

photo from my reception via ToDobyAmy

 So for this lovely bride & groom I knew the colors were coral & brown and the theme was casual, rustic and fun.  We definitely wanted a shout out to the barn and everything else would be clean and simple.  So maybe I could redesign that into an invite that expressed all those things in one.

all information has been changed to protect the innocent

And after seeing the photos from the actual event I think the invite was a perfect sneak peek into what this night was all about.

Styling by Rebecca Rose Events photos via Jessica Lobdell

Makes me want to have a party in a barn again! Y'all come back ya here.

Taking Care of Business

So just yesterday I blogged about the Triad's very own Becca of Rebecca Rose Events and the genius behind Ever Lovely.  Well I am so honored that this wedding planner extraordinaire has given me plenty of business this fall and even bestowed the honor to not only create her open house invites but also her new business cards!

Now that the office signs are officially up...

photo via Rebecca Rose Events

 Becca has new business cards & notecards to hand out to all the lovely brides and grooms out there! Feel free to swing by on Thursday, October 20th from 5 to 8pm to pick one up!   I'll be there ready to redesign that if need be.

Chevron business card

Gray business card

Green business card

Gray flat notecard

Congrats on your continuing success Becca! Can't wait to toast on Thursday!

Circle the Date!

If you live in the vicinity of Winston-Salem, NC then you better circle this date, Thursday, October 20th.  I had the pleasure of designing the grand opening invitation for the lovely Becca of Rebecca Rose Events & Amy of Amy Lynne Originals.

These two women are some of the Triad's finest stylists in town.  Lucky for you they are now both in the same place. They have joined forces and now share an office space on historic Burke Street. {Read more here}

photos via Sally Gupton

 Becca has an amazing eye for turning weddings & events into affairs! {May I direct the members of the jury to exhibits A, B, C}

Photos via Nia Capri Photography

Photo via Jessica Lobdell

Photo via Sally Gupton

 And Amy takes flowers and literally creates magic. {Don't believe me-feast your eyes on these concoctions}

Photos all via Amy Lynne Originals

So what happens now that these two share a creative space? -THIS, this is what happens. Please check out their Red photo shoots:

Photos via The Red Balloon Studios

 And this, and this and this! {You can see more from all three photos shoots}

So knowing that these two together are rock stars and they have a love for the color red, we decided to take a photo from their Red photo shoot collaboration and redesign that into a fab grand opening invite.  The front side of our invite looked like this:

And this was the back side of the invite!

Circle the date, grab your champagne flute, wear a red dress, scarf or heels and join us for a little shindig!

Turtle Power

Hello out there!?  I apologize for being so quiet. I hope I still have some followers.  I have a lot of fun things that I have been working on that I need to show you so I can get you up to speed.  First up: Turtle Power. 

I got a redesign request to create a baby shower invite reflective of this adorable little nursery.  I honestly can't get enough of these pictures. Have fun checking out this precious space.

Tell me this nursery isn't absolutely bananas?  I am drooling over the neutral stripes on the wall, the mix of fabric on the baby bumper and bed crib skirt, the baskets on the built in bookshelf and of course those lovable turtles.  I zoned in on the turtles b/c they obviously are a focal point of the nursery and really tie in the color scheme so nicely. 

Hey, maybe I could redesign that sweet little nursery into equally as sweet little baby shower invite.  Please note the names have been changed to protect the innocent!

Don't worry, I haven't caught the baby fever just yet but I do think I can glean some redecorating ideas from that nursery.  That reminds me I feel a redesigned room by room post coming soon!

{Featured} Floral Loveliness!

Who knew this was my feature week online! My wedding flowers are being featured online today over at my AH-MA-ZING florist's, Alison Kynerd Thomas, new blog. Please hop over to her new blog and check out her magic.  She is the lady responsible for this and this and of course this.

Welcome to the Blogosphere Alison and we can't wait to see what other outstanding arrangements and designs you will be working on. Hey maybe I might even redesign some of your bouquets!

{Featured} How Lovely!

I am so honored! My new friend in town Becca, of the fabulous Rebecca Rose Events, featured little ole me on her Ever Lovely Blog. She has done such an amazing job of welcoming me to the Triad area and sending me freelance jobs along the way. Her taste is impeccable, not to mention that I can't get enough of her two adorable pugs! Hop on over and check it out here.

Keys to a Happy Home

Well we have been in our new house for over 2 months!   We still have several rooms to update and decorate but it is starting to feel like home.  Even on the days when the Mr. has to work a night shift at the hospital, I look forward to coming home.  I think one of the happiest moments was getting our keys at closing and hooking them on our keychain.

I came across a large oversize skeleton key at this cute vintage/consignment store here in town, Retale. {Every item has a story}  I mean check out how amaze balls this store is from the street.

photo via Retale FB page

I am still kicking myself for not buying that key.  I am crossing my fingers it is still in the shop and will try to find it this week. Because just look at all the fab, decorative things you can do with skeleton keys.

1. Framed in a shadowbox-easy and awesome {photo via Hollysrollercoaster}
2. Another shadowbox but with sheet music behind it-get it keys/music keys!  {photo via etsy shop Country Chic Cottage}
3. Please look at this creative way to decorate a bookshelf, I even love the keys in the vase {photo via Country Living}
4. Okay I am utterly in love with this bouquet-vintage & romantic {photo via The Bride's Cafe}
5. Matching guest table idea, little notes tied to keys aka-"Keys to a Happy Marriage" I totally stole/altered the title for this post by the way {photo via The Bride's Cafe}
6. And I absolutely adore this idea for escort cards-BA-NAN-NAS {photo via United With Love}

There are so many reasons why I am digging these right now. The key alone feels like it has a story to tell, a secret to unlock and a code to crack. They are vintage, mysterious, romantic and intriguing.

Hey maybe I could redesign that vintage skeleton key into a simple "We've Moved" card.  If you know me well enough then you probably walked to your mailbox in the last couple of weeks and got our card.  I chose a simple key/heart motif and I used green to match our front door/shutters.

To everyone who received our card-Home really is where the heart is and pieces of our heart are all over the country in each of your homes! We miss y'all!