Happy 4th of July

Hope you all have a safe and relaxing 4th of July weekend. Eat lots of picnic food, play with sparklers and sink your toes in the sand. We'll see you back here on Monday, until then, I'll leave you with a gorgeous sparkler send off from Long's Photography.

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Long holiday weddings

I love weddings situated over long holiday weekends, like Memorial Day Weekend! The timing can be very convenient for traveling guests, and the destination can serve as a nice little vacation for out of towners!

Your wedding events will have a little more breathing room as well, and won’t need to be crammed into a blur of two or three days. Not only will you have your rehearsal dinner and wedding day bliss, you’ll also have a few days afterwards to recoup and visit with family and friends in town.

Holiday weekends can be very busy though, so if you’re thinking of trying this for your wedding, reserve your weekend on guests’ calendars early by sending festive save the date cards well in advance!

Have a wonderful and relaxing weekend everyone!

The photo above from Kent Meireis Photography Blog.

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Handmade for Mother's Day

Mother’s day is one of those holidays where a handmade gift will only do. But if you’re as busy as I am, you may not have time to start a DIY project for mom. Etsy to the rescue! Check out some of my favorite handmade items from the best place to buy & sell all things handmade.

Links: black pepper soap, potato sack market bag, porcelain mug, succulent basket, tin picture frame, tiny mexican planters, papercut silhouette, sweater brooch, recipe box.

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I’m signing off to start the Easter celebrations with lots of family. Have a sweet and relaxing weekend!

I’ll leave you with a few fun Easter centerpieces you can complete to spruce up your spring décor before the guests arrive!

All photos courtesy of Martha Stewart.

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Valentines at Bold Loft

Have you seen these adorable sets of valentine's mugs from Bold Loft? There are so many designs to choose from, and each one makes me smile. Plus, who doesn't need another coffee mug around the house, especially if you can match your hubby or fiance!

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Holiday yarn wreath at Starbucks

I was in Starbucks last week for a consultation and spotted this unique rendering of a holiday wreath. I refrained from taking a million pictures of it from every possible angle, and instead, put it on my mental to-do list and came home to google it... turns out many other people have already done just that. I googled "starbucks yarn wreath" and a whole pile of comments and photos of these things came up. I found this post from the Inspired Kara blog, complete with directions on how to make your own!

Even though this is obviously a holiday project, it could always be adapted to wedding decor by using shades of ivory and gold yarn and ornaments or even bright white and silver!

I am definitely making one of these, especially since all holiday decor is 70% off at Michael's this week!

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Ornament favor tree

It seems like the latest trend with place cards is to hang them in a pretty fashion, instead of the usual table setup. I really like this because it adds so much visual interest, and can really enhance the style and setting of a wedding. Combine this with a favor and you’ve killed two birds with one stone… which is where the ornament place card comes in!

Inspired by the endless selection of ornaments at Anthropologie, and the romanticwish tree featured in many weddings, the idea of a favor tree was born.

The ornaments vary in pricing, but most are well below $10.00. String a solid ribbon or cord through each of the ornaments and a small tag (these are from etsy seller oldtomfoolery) with each guests’ name to complete the look.

The tree branches can be an inexpensive and eco-friendly way to display all of your guest favors, and come in many shapes and sizes, depending on your area. The photo below illustrates a wish tree that caught my eye, and could easily be polished off with sparkly sentiments.

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Our first christmas ornament

I love getting out the boxes of christmas ornaments every year after thanksgiving. Each one brings back a special memory, and is a pleasant reminder of how much we have grown in life! Your first Christmas ornament as a new couple is no exception, so why not commemorate it with this beautiful Lennox Cake Ornament! It has that timeless look, with it's hand painted ivory fine china, accented with 24 karat gold, and is a steal right now for $29.99!

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Shopping season begins!

Thanksgiving already?! This means, when I return to blog land on Monday it will officially be December… and we will have exactly 23 days to get all of that Christmas shopping done. Oh dear lord! In honor of that, here are a few early Christmas ideas from my favorite online shop… Etsy!

Have a safe holiday, and good luck if you’re heading out to shop Friday morning!

Advent calendar pouches by nuvonova

doggie ornament by ClayGrey's

ivory felt stocking by rikrak

noel cards by rubypress

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Holiday goods at Etsy

I don't know about all of you, but I love holiday stationery and gift tags. Having pretty paper and tags in my hands makes finding and wrapping gifts less of a chore!

I'm in the process of uploading some new designs to Etsy, so check out the stock of holiday items offered by RSVP Invitation Studio!

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Pumpkin Palooza

I just wanted to share a quick photo of my mom and me after finishing our papier mache pumpkins, the ones from the class I posted about a few weeks ago... here. At the time of the photo, the inside of our pumpkins had not been painted yellow, which will give them a spooky glow at night!

It was an exciting class, I learned a lot, and was featured with a few other students in the local paper. I'm definitely going to make more, maybe once I get some down time.

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