congratulations graduate...

on Saturday, one of my best friends graduated from Cal State University, Fullerton with a Bachelor of Arts. she is an INCREDIBLE artist and is basically going straight into the credentialing program with hopes of investing in art education throughout her future.  Rach and i met in the spring of 2008 when i had been living in Orange County for approximately 7 months and had virtually no friends (that is a slight exaggeration - but you get the point). on March 30th i moved into a super sketchy house in Stanton and met Rach - my new roommate (she had the master suite, and YES i was jealous! that room was SERIOUSLY huge!). anyway...we only lived together for about 6 months, but it was the perfect foundation for an amazing friendship that we are confident will last a lifetime. i am poor and still paying off my student loans (i'm probably going to be saying that until i'm 40, so get used to it!), so i needed to get a little creative with my gift. i framed an "R" print for her and then created a card listing 25 reasons i love her and included a $25 check. i think she like it and appreciated the effort (although i am sure it doesn't even begin to compare to the diamond necklace iPad or massage...someday i'll be able to give that kind of gift, right?!?!!).   

find your seat...

every once in a while I get to do a project for an "unknown bride" - somehow producing for a client i have never met makes me feel SO MUCH MORE LEGIT! ha! meghan is one of Amber's brides and she had a last minute design need - so with some direction on color and general style, i created this seating arrangement for the nuptuals that will take place on Saturday! we are still working out final details on size, etc. but with that much text on a single page, simple and clean is my motto and i definitely think i accomplished that.

Congratulations Graduate!

one of my best friends in the ENTIRE world is graduating from MED SCHOOL next month! i know, insane right! who graduates from Med School? smart people. smart people with a WHOLE lot of determination. Anna definitely falls into that category. she has worked SO VERY HARD for this and it is time for us to celebrate this INCREDIBLE ACCOMPLISHMENT in her life. I personally will be attending the actual graduation ceremony in addition to the festivities...and i cannot wait! i was at Anna's graduation from Jr. High and High School (we graduated together from Grossmont High in 2003) so it seems only appropriate to watch her walk across the stage to receive her doctorate. WOWZA. Anna Rae Garcia, MD. sounds FABULOUS!

this announcement was printed on crisp white paper and some black and crystal jewel embellishments were added. i also created coordinating address labels and return address seals to create a seamless package. Anna was happy with the outcome AND it saved her a TON of money (i cannot believe how much they charge for graduation announcements - RIDICULOUS!)...now it's time for mexican food and LOTS of gifts! 

SO MANY CONGRATULATIONS my dear friend. iloveyou endlessly!

Trustee Board Dinner...

i have mentioned my actual job here on the blog more lately than usual - BUT - i promise i'm still working on fun side jobs...more on those coming SOON! yesterday i sent out the "trustee board dinner" invitation. i work at a church - so there are boards - and each year members go off the board and new members come on the board and we have a dinner. back in the good days, it was a catered meal and everyone really enjoyed it. now it is backyard picnic potluck style and everybody still enjoys it (everyone except probably the people bringing main dishes - or people who have already worked all day at their real jobs...you know...most of us!). i didn't have much time to pull it together - i got the request for an invitation when i arrived at work (aka approximately 8am) and the host wanted the invitation out by afternoon. sounds like a lot of time - but i had about 10 projects in line in front of it AND a 2 hour meeting to attend. SO it may not be my ALL-TIME BEST WORK - but overall it's alright and definitely WAY better than the typical church potluck invite!

hawaiian retirement...

my boss Kathy is retiring after over 30 years working at Ev. Free Fulellerton. she is an ICON around here and undoubtedly one of the most amazing women i have ever had the privledge of working alongside.  she has invested in me and has been such a huge support and encouragement to me throughout the past 3 years...she is a faithful leader and a dear friend.  she is having a plethora of retirement celebrations and then heading on perhaps the most AMAZING cruise ever...including several stops in Europe {jealous!!} but i have the honor of hosting a gathering for all the administrative assistants along with Leslie Green - the previous admin in my position.  we are throwing a simple and sweet hawaiian themed lunch and sincerely hope it will be a time Kathy treasures. 

busy weekend in the bow world...

this weekend 3 MAJOR things happened...

1. Ashley and Curtis officially became Mr. and Mrs. Wilson. Their venue was SPECTACULAR

They both looked AMAZINGLY happy

The favor boxes added a FUN POP with that black and white polka dot ribbon to each placesetting  

And the candy bar looked SPECTACULAR thanks to Kirsten Lockhart - gifted aunt of the bride! She took my designs and made them look like an expensive affair!

From what I heard, the wedding was gorgeous and everybody had a really great time! So happy for Ashley and hope she and the hubs have a WONDERFUL honeymoon in Hawaii! (I might be jealous!)

2. My dear World Changers teammate and friend Emily hosted a bridal shower for her roommate Sara Ellis (soon to be Mrs. Sara Swope - marrying Tyler Swope - and no we're not related - but YES I do have a first cousin named Tyler Swope - did you get all that?).  She used e-vite  to create her invitation but needed a few extra design pieces to pull it all together. Her invitation had a funky spring flower vibe to it and Sara's wedding is navy blue and yellow - so I combined the two concepts and created some printables for Em. They are nothing spectacular, but the bingo board was pretty cute!

3. Finally, my BEST childhood friend Anna who is graduating from medical school in less than a month now officially mailed her custom designed graduation announcements...and then promptly boarded a plane and is now enjoying a {several years late} honeymoon in Italy. Ahhhh so jealous! The graduation announcement deserves a post of it's own...but my oh my a lot got done this weekend in the bow world! AND it all happened while I sat on my couch and watched trashy television. It does NOT get better than that!

Lollis...

You've seen LOTS and LOTS of the pieces for Ashley's wedding over the past few weeks - but Ashley and Chazz are getting married TOMORROW so their wedding bliss is nearly behind us.  Earlier this morning the girls were getting massages and now they're probably moments away from the rehearsal dinner...they are SO close to being Mr. and Mrs. Wilson!

Here is the final touch of wedding wonder I created for their big day...labels for the lollipops in their candy bar.

I promise I'll show you professional photographs of the wedding as soon as they're available - but it could be a LONG time - so savor this final sweet treat!

Certificates of Achievement

every once in a while i do a design project for my actual job (you know, the one i work full-time, in an office) and yesterday was one such day.  i work at a church and my boss is in charge of the Stewardship ministry here. yesterday was CROWN graduation and (as every good graduation does) the students needed certificates. SO...i quickly created some that matched the overall design scheme we used for Crown this spring (the ones Crown provided were painfully boring). I think these have just enough pop!

a wine bottle guestbook...

ashley and chazz (aka curtis) are getting married THIS weekend, and we are still pulling together all the little details to make her day spectacular! yesterday we finished the "wine bottle guestbook" - ashley is of the opinion that guestbooks have absolutely no purpose, so etsy inspired her to create a guestbook with more lasting value.  ashley and chazz are having their guests sign wine bottles that they will open on their anniversaries in years to come. darling idea - and i think it turned out REALLY cute!

a pillow for Shalina...

several weeks ago (sometime in March to be specific) i hosted a bridal shower for my friend Adri-Anne who is getting married THIS MONTH! AHhhhhhh! yay! her wedding colors are orange and turquoise, so it seemed only appropriate to decorate the shower in the same palette. HOWEVER, orange and turquoise are NOT my colors, so i knew the investment in decor was for the shower only. Shalina saw these napkin squares which I used as a runner and fell in love claiming the napkins as HERS! she decided she wanted a pillow for her couch, and I happily obliged.

i think it turned out really cute AND i realized how INCREDIBLY EASY it is to make pillows...now if only i could find some really cute napkin squares in a fabric that I LOVE...we'd be off to the races with new pillows for me!!