Friday, December 28, 2012

Be Thankful


Did everyone have a great holiday?? I have been so incredibly lazy these past couple of days. Working out this morning turned into a slow walk on the treadmill catching up on US Weekly...

I have, however, been busy working on some new wedding invitations I can't wait to share with you and lets not forget thank you cards! It's three days after Christmas so our grace period is officially over. Time to give thanks where thanks is due. Lucky for you I've added some new goods to the shop so hop on over and grab some thank you cards and get to writing!  

Friday, December 21, 2012

Southwestern Invitations



Remember when I told you 5,000 years ago about some awesome new colored pencil invitations I made? Do you also remember I kept promising and promising to share them with you? Welp, here we are and I am FINALLY showing them off. The truth is, they literally sold one day after I put them in the Etsy shop and I've been so busy I haven't had time to make another set! 

Anyways, the story behind these are pretty simple. I've been having fun playing around with my colored pencils and I was literally just doodling and came up with this fun pattern. I would say it's southwestern rustic! I think pinks, oranges and reds would look great in this pattern as well! Next time, next time...

Sunday, December 2, 2012

Say Thanks!


How was everyone's weekend?? Did you brave the real world and attempt any holiday shopping? The malls are OUT OF CONTROL. I used to consider myself a mall rat but whoa. Even I've been getting a little overwhelmed...

The only shops I will endure the crazies for are the paper stores. I headed out bright and early and hit up a few of my favorites and came home with some super fun stuff! I was really gravitating towards the pinks and blacks when I was shopping...not sure why that is but I LOVE how these simple thank you cards turned out! They're funky and colorful and a great mix of patterns. I added them to the Etsy shop so go grab them if you're in the market!

I know I promised you some more colored pencil creations and I WILL get them posted! I got distracted with the acrylic paints so you know how that goes...

Have a great week and make something pretty :)

Monday, November 26, 2012

Sketched Wedding Invitations


I'm so excited to share with you a new line of wedding invitations I've been working on! A couple of weeks ago I posted a stationery set of chevron cards I made in my Etsy shop. I've been getting such positive feedback from them I wanted to explore that side of design and come up with some invitations that were hand drawn as well. 

While most of my other invite suites are heavy on cutting and assembling unique and beautiful paper, these are more focused on a funky, artsy theme where the drawings and patterns stand out, not the paper. I used color pencils and paint pens because I LOVE the look of colored pencil more than any other tool. It can be soft or vibrant but never harsh. 

I'm so excited to add to this collection! Stay tuned because I'll be posting some other colored pencil projects I've been working on later this week!  


Sunday, November 18, 2012

Holiday Cards!


Well, hey there! Happy four days until Thanksgiving! I LOVE Thanksgiving because I am completely and utterly obsessed with pumpkin. And what better excuse to power through three jars of pumpkin butter than on Thanksgiving?!

The holidays crept up on me this year (don't they always?) but I've been working hard on some holiday cards for the past couple of weeks and I can't wait for you guys to see them. I have a nice little variety of Christmas and holiday designs so go check them out in my Etsy shop! 

Sunday, November 4, 2012

Birthday Gift Tags


So I was working on some Christmas card ideas this weekend (I know, I'm one of THOSE people. It isn't even a week into November yet...) and I came across my little cupcake wrappers a la Martha Stewart at Michael's that I've used for some past projects. With it feeling more like spring/summer than fall in San Diego I channeled that bright energy into some colorful birthday gift tags.

I put them up on Etsy so if you don't feel like making your own, you are more than welcome to mine :)

Monday, October 15, 2012

Brittany + Joe


I bet you guys thought I got buried alive by all my paper, huh?! Wow, it's been over a month since I posted but I have a verrrrry good excuse! I have been working on a very special project for an incredibly special friend. 

A while back I showed you the three options for Joe and Brittany's wedding invites. Well, here's the final product! They ended up going with the fringe cut coral and metallic invites with a green skyline. Remember my skyline sketch? Yeah, don't. Doesn't this one look amazing though?! 

I seriously can't wait for her wedding because I know it's going to be full of personal detail and of course, great company. 

Congratulations Joe and Brittany!

Wednesday, September 12, 2012

Gift Tags


It's definitely safe to say I am a paper hoarder. I'm obsessed with water colors and I'm a paper hoarder. I have a REALLY hard time throwing away any scrap paper. Even if it's the smallest sliver, I still think that 11 days from now I will get a brilliant idea and NEED that tiny piece of paper.

I needed a cute tag for a present I was giving the other day but I didn't want to do a whole card. I went to my scrap drawer and made a super simple tag just using a piece of kraft paper and scrapbook paper. I punched a tiny hole at the top and attached a burlap string and there you have it! How cute would one of these be tied to a mason jar for a holiday gift? Another great thing about using scraps is a lot of paper is double sided but with most of the products I make, you only end up seeing one side. This is a great way to stretch your resources!

I made this set and put them up on Etsy so go take a look!  

Monday, September 10, 2012

Personalized Card Set


How was everyone's weekend?? I was a busy girl. I got crazy with the paper. I just found way too much great stuff on sale this weekend and I can't wait to share it all with you! 

Can you believe we're almost halfway through September?? Where did this year go...It's almost the holidays! Everyone's getting cards from me this year :) I'm all about keeping the stress levels low and the crafting projects high. You should think about doing the same! Homemade gifts are the BEST and I feel like no one expects them nowadays so they are double special. Grab your 40% off coupon and head to Michaels. Let me know if you need any ideas! 

Anyways, one of the sweetest people I know is getting married this weekend and I wanted to make her something that had her new initials on it! I think for a girl, seeing her soon-to-be initials in real life is both scary and insanely exciting so I loved watching her expression when she opened the personalized cards I made her! Just FYI, the ones in this post are a set I made with my initials and put up on Etsy but hers looked almost exactly the same...sweet, simple and personally hers!

This would be a great project for the holidays! The best part is searching for paper that fits the recipients personality and from there it's up to your imagination to run wild. I fully support busting out the watercolors as well ;)  

Sunday, September 2, 2012

Watercolor Card Set


HAPPY LABOR DAY WEEKEND!!! I hope everyone is doing something fun during these gorgeous days. I have lots of card ideas I want to bring to life but the pool is looking prettttttttty enticing right about now...Oh! And if you are a Jo-Ann fabric and craft store lover like I am, they have some GREAT sales this weekend so you should check them out :)

Here's another card set I added to my Etsy shop this morning. Holla to the watercolors! I just made a fun little pattern up the sides of each card and added this flower stamp in the middle for a fun everyday card. 

Alrighty, get off your computer and get outside and do something fun! Happy crafting and relaxing!

Saturday, August 25, 2012

Oh, Hello...


Well, hello there! First things first, if you guys haven't liked my page on Facebook or started following me on Twitter, you need to do that because I am ALL over those things! You will be way more up to date on all of my new paper creations and more importantly, get to see pictures of Rudy doing his thing. I'm BAD at updating my blog. Bad, bad. 

Anyways, I'm not sure if you've heard but I have become OBSESSED with watercolors. I loved them when I was in elementary school and I have rekindled that love times a million. I can't put them down. Now, don't be fooled. I am NO artist. I can bust out some awesome polka dots and mayyyyyybe a sunflower, but that's about it. For now... 

I made some super cute and super simple fill-in-the-blank invitations showcasing my watercolor talents and they're up on my Etsy shop so go take a look! I also added the cute "hello" cards on this post and a bunch of thank you cards using the World Market paper since those have become super popular! The shop is FULL so check it out. 

Also, I know it's probably pretty evident but I highly recommend World Market for paper. I love their paper and I just buy the rolls and go crazy with them. It's a cheaper way to test out some ideas rather than buying the individual sheets of scrapbooking paper and the patterns are SO wild and different.

That's all for now! Make sure we become BFFs on Facebook and Twitter (click the links on the left side of the page) so you can be the first to know when I attempt a watercolor elephant painting ;)

Saturday, August 18, 2012

Metallic Fringe Wedding


Good morning! More importantly, HAPPY WEEKEND! I am up eaaaaaarly ready to get these two days started but first, lets get back to business and see Brittany's 3rd wedding invite design.
This concept was the very first thing that popped into my head when I started designing. Don't ask me why...it just happens! So, I have these fringe scissors, which are seriously the greatest things ever. You should go out and get a pair even if you have no desire to fringe anything. Trust me, you won't be able to stop. 
As you can see, I have two layers of paper (4 if you count the backing and wording) and I chose a gold glitter and a coral/salmon color. Remember I told you about her color scheme? Lots of bright colors, metallics, etc. I used my fringe scissors to fringe up the sides of the paper and then I just layered them on top of one another. Looks sooooooo cool in real life. And who can forget the "probably not drawn to scale, is that even the LA skyline?!" sketch at the bottom :) All in all, there are quite a few steps to this design but it's relatively easy to assemble, and looks pretty amazing in the end! What do you think??
**I'm also going to let you in on a little hint. I had originally planned to do this with tissue paper because I think fringed tissue paper looks awesome BUT one bump to the paper and it's totally bent :( Tissue paper is really fragile and while it looks good sittin' pretty on a desk, it would never hold up in the mail. I haven't given up on it, I just think sturdy paper is much better for this project, and it still looks good!

Tuesday, August 14, 2012

Cupcake Wrapper Wedding


It's time for day 2 of Brittany's wedding invitation choices! When we had one of our mini consultations, she referenced the tone of her invites as a "sophisticated child's party." How great is that? Told you she was creative...

Well, I kind of ran with that theme and as you know, I love me some cupcake wrappers. I found these at Michael's and they have a really cool, colorful design on them. In order to make them lie flat, I cut them to the center and it created a really cool fan look. (To see some birthday cards I made using this same technique, visit my Etsy shop!)

I originally wanted to have the cupcake fan in the center of the invite with the wording over the top but it wasn't cooperating with my vision so I ended up making it peek out of the corner. I love it! I added a burlap tie and there you have it! Another way to play this up and make it even more creative is to print the wording on colorful paper like a yellow or teal. I kept mine more neutral because I really wanted the colors in the wrapper to stand out but it's fun to play around with.

This design would be PERFECT for a picnic wedding, birthday party, baby shower...really anything! Since there are SO many options for cupcake wrapper designs, this is really one of those ideas that you could take anywhere. 

Sunday, August 12, 2012


Hey there everyone! Another beautiful weekend down :( but I have some great new wedding invitations to share with you so :) for that!!

One of my greatest friends, Brittany, is getting married next year and I cannot WAIT for her wedding. Her style is so unique and she is soooooo creative so I know it's going to be an amazing night. I feel like I have a lot to live up to designing her wedding invitations but I'm feeling good about them so far! 

I made three designs for her to look through and get her juices flowing. You'll see that all of them have a common theme...the Los Angeles skyline. She wanted to incorporate that into her invites and since I'm not an artist, just a paper fanatic, I quickly sketched the skyline onto the invites. With that said, if you are from LA, don't knock my drawing! It's simply there for ideas sake and I will not be responsible for producing the final sketch...thank goodness ;)

This invite is super simple. The top 3/4 is just some cool paper I got at World Market, and the bottom is a crumpled paper bag. Most brides that come to me have no idea what they want until they see it, so I try to come up with a little of everything. Brittany's colors are really bright...teal, coral, metallics and golds...and she's also incorporating a lot of vintage aspects into her day like old glass bottles so I thought this invite encompassed a lot of those themes. 

So, there's option one! I'll be sharing with you the other two designs I came up with and then tell you which one she picked! 

Tuesday, July 31, 2012

I'm back! I'm feeling refreshed, invigorated and ready for some new card designs! I know I promised wedding invitations in my last post but I had to share this wedding card first. I made it for the wedding I went to in North Carolina last week and little did I know the theme was very rustic and included antique flowers, mason jars and burlap. PERFECT! My card fit right in...

I wanted to try something new so I attempted to wrap the braided burlap around the peach paper in a nice little border but that turned into a disaster. It was looking a little haphazard so I will need to go through a few more practice runs before I feel confident with that look :)  

Overall, I love how this card turned out and I will definitely be making a set to add to my Etsy shop. Weddings always sneak up on people so they're a great card to have on hand!

Wednesday, July 18, 2012


Guess what, guys?! I'm going on vacation tomorrow! I haven't been on a real vacation in almost 2 years to the day. As much as I dislike packing my 56593849873 hair products and hoping they don't explode in my bag, I love seeing new places and I can't wait to get going tomorrow!

This blog is about cards, not vacations, so I'll get to the good stuff. My only child dachshund, Rudy, is getting some minor surgery tomorrow and I decided to make the vet a thank you card for everything she has done for him. To say he's a medical handful would be an understatement so the fact that she actually said "he's my favorite dachshund" was a BIG DEAL. 

I've been really into doilies lately. I wanted to find some colored ones because I think the white ones are a little harsh sometimes, but Michael's only had these so I'm working with what I've got for now. I folded the doily over the spine of the card so it carries on to the back which I really love. I showed it to Rudy and he seemed pretty interested in sniffing it out so I take that as a seal of approval.

With that said, if you want to see what happens to my hair in the humidity, follow me on Instagram (Richelle Hawley) and I'll keep you updated on my vacation adventures. If not, I will be back soon and I'll show you some great wedding invitations I've been working on!

Friday, July 13, 2012


Whoa...it's been way too long!! I promise I will never ditch you like this again. Except for maybe next week...I'm going to North Carolina for a wedding!! I promise I will come back with new inspiration though. 

Speaking of inspiration, I moved last week, hence the lack of new posts. Luckily the new home of "Richelle's Paperie" provides ALL KINDS of new scenery so I'm pretty excited about that. Lots of birds, lots of trees, oodles of dachshunds!! I'm in heaven.

Anyways, I got this owl stamp on sale at Michael's a couple of weeks ago and I swear I have been hearing owls in my sleep. He's been haunting my dreams so I knew I needed to get moving on making a card based around this little guy. 

My aunt is visiting and she actually gave me the inspiration for this design! In typical Richelle fashion, I had visions of doilies and burlap floating around my head but she is a teacher and she said that teachers are always getting surprise gifts from parents, students, etc. so they're always in need of thank you cards. She suggested something really simple that she can keep in her desk and grab in a hurry, yet something that still looks handmade and unique. Teachers are some of the craftiest people I know so it's only appropriate that their thank you cards reflect their style.

I stamped the brown owl on a crumpled paper bag and used this really neat floral paper from Michael's as a background. I used a "thank you" stamp in corresponding brown ink and there you have it! They are so simple, yet they have a little extra "oomp" that plain store bought cards do not have. 

I added them to my Etsy shop so go take a look! I'm also having a little summer sale on Etsy so if you're in the market for some cards they are all 50% off! All of this sweet, sweet sunshine called for a sale! 

Wednesday, June 27, 2012


How cute is this?! I received an order for some birthday cards (not "manly" ones, thank you very much) and I had specific instuctions for a design based around the first card I ever made. Check out the birthday section for that blast from the past! 

Anyways, they loved the mini cupcake wrapper but wanted me to incorporate some rustic elements so I ditched the bedazzles for some strips of burlap and a simple birthday cake stamped on a paper bag.   

They are sooooo delicious in real life :) I love them so much I made an extra set and put them in my Etsy store so go take a look if you're in the market for some playful birthday cards to have on hand!

Friday, June 22, 2012



Happy Friday everyone!!

One of my best guy friends has a birthday coming up soon and normally I wouldn't be so obsessed about sending him the perfect birthday card but this year is a little different. A couple of months ago when I was showing him some of my designs he asked "Do you ever make anything more manly?" I remember just kind of laughing and protectively petting one of my precious burlap bows but in actuality the answer to that question was a simple "no!"

So basically I saw his upcoming birthday as a chance to show him that Richelle's Paperie can, in fact, appeal to the male population. It's the perfect project to get me ready for when a groom comes my way looking to design wedding invitations! I know it's bound to happen sometime. ;)

Anyways, I headed over to my beloved World Market and picked up some great ikat paper. I've been wanting to try out that pattern for a while and I think the blues and greens make it more masculine. I literally sat at the table for over an hour trying different embellishments and color combos of ribbon but I just wasn't getting that "I'm for a dude" feeling I was going for. In the end I settled for a really simple burlap braid and a paper bag stamped with a cool "Happy Birthday" graphic. Hey, at least I didn't use any ribbon or bows...huge accomplishment on my part.

In the end, the finished product might not scream "manly" but it's like Tim Gunn always said on Project Runway, you have to stay true to yourself in your designs. HAPPY BIRTHDAY KEVIN!!   

Monday, June 18, 2012


Since I started making cards last year I realized there are two specific groups of people (well, girls, naturally) who are the most fun to work with on designs...brides and new moms. Their enthusiasm is mind blowing and I LOVE IT! I mean, I get it. Brides are planning THEIR day and new moms just acquired some adorable bragging rights. It only makes sense that they would be so excited about going all out for something that showcases these milestones. 

A while back I got this cute baby footprint stamp on sale at Michael's and I made some thank you cards. I've been so busy with wedding invitations and thank you cards lately that I wanted to add some diversity back into my collection so I whipped out the baby stamp!

Instead of making them too specific I decided to keep them gender neutral with the blue and red paper (another great Michael's find) and emit any kind of wording all together. That way they're perfect for anything "baby!" They would make great shower invitations, birth announcements, thank you cards, etc.

I put a set of 8 up on my Etsy shop so go take a look!   

Saturday, June 16, 2012


I finally got my Etsy shop up and lookin' good! It was in desperate need of a facelift so I enlisted the help of Jamie at Fresh Lavender Designs and she brought Richelle's Paperie back to life. Make sure you check out her shop while you're there because she makes some of the cutest logos, including mine. Even if you're not in the market for a logo, take a look because she's pretty ah-mazing!

Right now I just have some fan favorites listed on Etsy but I will make sure to keep you updated on all my new stuff. I'm almost finished with some super sweet baby cards so I will get those posted soon!

Happy weekend!!!

Wednesday, June 13, 2012

Elizabeth + Craig


If you had told me 10 years ago that I would be making one of my best friend's wedding invitations, I would have said you were craaaaaazy! But here we are...just a couple years shy of that first milestone reunion and my BFF is getting married!!! 

So for the past couple of months I have been using her and her finace's names to create all of my mock ups for brides to get their ideas flowing when they have their initial invite consultation. Well, these are the REAL deal...the winner if you will. Like I told you a couple of posts ago, she basically told me what elements she wanted to use and I made a couple of designs for her to choose from and this was the culmination of all that creativity! 

This invitation suite is very soft with the cotton ribbon and pale pink paper and the burlap tie and braid adds that rustic element to it. Overall, I'm obsessed with them and can't wait to deliver these beauties to her!

Congratulations Elizabeth and Craig!!! Counting down the days until September 1st!

Sunday, June 10, 2012

Rustic Chic Wedding


I happened to stumble upon this great company called Simply Natural Event Planning and I've been drooling over their pictures all weekend! They have executed so many beautiful events and I definitely recommend checking out their site. Even if you're not planing a wedding, the pictures are to die for and I even got some ideas for decorating my house!

"Rustic Chic" has become a hugely popular theme with today's weddings. Most of my wedding suite collection fits into this category since I love using earth tones and burlap so I hope this trend sticks around for a while! I got the idea for this specific suite when I saw a table setting featuring a burlap runner with a gorgeous floral fabric runner on top of it. It was a super long table and they had added antique candles and flowers positioned down the center. It was the runners that I couldn't take my eyes off of and I thought "that would be perfect for an invite!"

For mine I just used checkered brown ribbon that I already had, but there are so many options for this design. You could use the actual fabric from your runners or just find really great ribbon that compliments your color theme. Burlap comes in all different colors as well so it would be fun to experiment with red or black or whatever your colors are! For the RSVP card I just made a burlap bow but you could always use fabric if you decide to go that route. As always, so many ways to customize this design and I think it's perfectly simple for that "Rustic Chic" wedding. :)    

Tuesday, June 5, 2012


This must be the week of good manners! Everyone seems to be wanting thank you cards lately. Well, I am more than happy to oblige. 

I was about to extend my "recycle your resources" lesson but lucky for you I got a new idea to share. :) I decided to use one of my favorite embellishments: burlap! I am OBSESSED with braiding it. You should try it. All you do is get a piece of burlap at the fabric store (I got mine at JoAnns) and you can pull it apart and do all sorts of fun stuff with it. I have a whole list of ideas to try out...

Anyways, I made a nice messy braid and used it to border the patterned paper against the kraft and finally finished it off with a rustic "thank you" stamp. Super easy and customizable. Don't forget your "P's" and "Q's."

Saturday, June 2, 2012


I think a big part of being a good crafter is learning how to use your resources and stretch your materials. There really is soooooo much you can do with what you have, you just have to try new stuff out! 
I received an order for some thank you cards and got my favorite design stipulation of "make whatever you want" so I recycled one of my favorite stamps and kept it rustic with a bit of a pop. 
It's always so hard to see in the picture but this is the same stamp I used for one of my invitation suites but instead of using brown ink I used hot pink embossing powder! The pattern looks awesome in real life and is subtle with a great contrast against the kraft paper. I stamped the heart on a crumpled brown paper bag and then added a burlap bow. Here's a hint: I only glue random areas of the heart to keep it from lying flush against the card. You know how I feel about flat. :)

Thursday, May 31, 2012


I have really been jonesin' for some new stamps lately but when I was perusing my vast collection the other day I realized I completely forgot about this little beauty!
If you remember a while back I made a wedding invitation suite using this stamp and colored it in with a pinkish, reddish mahogany colored pencil. Well, given that I have a nice big box of colored pencils I knew this stamp was all too perfect for a new project.
I received an order for some simple everyday cards and in the past I've always used actual premade cards but for these I just cut out some kraft paper and made my own!
I didn't even bother messing with the embossing powder. Just good old brown ink and some colored pencils. So easy and cute! What colors would you try out for the flowers?

Saturday, May 26, 2012

Victorian Country Wedding


I want to send you off on this beautiful Memorial Day weekend with another wedding invitation set!

When my best friend and I sat down for her invite consultation she simply flipped through my designs and said "I like this, and this and this" and essentially built her dream card using elements of every invite. Wow, who's the designer here?! 

I took all of her ideas and made some mock ups and this was one of them! She didn't end up picking this design but it's definitely still worthy of a post. :) 

Thursday, May 24, 2012

Boho Wedding


I know, I know...you're probably thinking "Geez, what is with her and her obsession with that Cost Plus paper?" 

I promise this is the last time (for a while) that I will design something that showcases this incredibly amazing and beautiful paper ;) You have to admit though, the contrast between the kraft paper and the teal paper is looking pretty good. I was messing around with my new corner punch and I wanted to use a paper that complicated, not competed with the punch design and it just so happened to work great.  

I'm kind of thinking that this would be cute too if I got rid of the burlap tie and reformatted the font so there was room for a small brown bow. Ideas, ideas...

Monday, May 21, 2012

Wedding in the Woods


I got this really neat leaf/bush/tree/open to your interpretation stamp and I've literally spent the last two months trying out different paper and ink colors to get a great combo going. No matter what I tried I couldn't get that "feeling!" 

I was in my inspiration room the other day, aka the shower, and it finally came to me. Why complicate it? Keep it kraft and neutral. Kraft paper is my go-to base so I don't know why I didn't think of this combo sooner but I have to admit I love the way it turned out. It would be perrrrrfect for an outdoorsy forest wedding. 

Sunday, May 6, 2012


I recently received an order for some Thank You cards and how convenient is it that I just got all that cool paper from Cost Plus I was telling you about last week?!

I made a set of six, two of each design, and not only do they look beautiful but they were seriously so easy to make! I contemplated adding some burlap or another embellishment to them but the paper really speaks for itself so I let it! 

They are so striking in real life. I think I'm going to experiment with tissue paper next! As always, I will keep you posted. :)

Wednesday, May 2, 2012


Lately it seems like I have been eating, breathing and dreaming wedding invitations. They have definitely taken over my creative life in a very positive way!

Anyways, I was at Cost Plus World Market today seeing if I could pick up any new inspirations and I found this beautiful paper! Isn't it amazing? The contrast between the teal and brown is so rich. I've been really inspired by bright colors and big patterns lately. 

As I've been working on my invite designs, I've also realized that I love working with paper bags so I think you're going to be seeing quite a bit more of them :) I think they add that extra handmade feel that you don't get from plain, flat paper. Granted it smells like it might catch on fire when I'm using the embossing heat gun, but the finished product is totally worth it.

I picked up some other great papers today so keep watching for some new paper good creations! 


Monday, April 23, 2012

I saw this heart stamp when I was out picking up some paper and I love love loved the great pattern on it. I crumpled up some more paper bags (my new favorite hobby) and went to work. 

I have been wanting to try something new with my burlap so for the details card I ended up braiding the burlap! It looks super cool in "real life" and it gave me a great idea for a new invite set. 

I know this paper looks blue in the picture but it's actually a soft gray and the contrast with the brown looks so good! I also tried it using a coral paper and it looks awesome. This is definitely one of those versatile sets that would look great with any color scheme. I think I'll try it using fabric for the heart and accents and see how that turns out...

Happy Monday! ;)

Saturday, April 21, 2012

This particular set was something I had in mind almost immediately when I wanted to start branching out and designing wedding invitations.
The invitation and matching "thank you" card are both embellished with a crumpled paper bag (which you will see again in a set I'm working on right now!) I just love this look. It has that rustic feel and creates such great dimension. I picked the pink polka dotted paper because it compliments the neutral theme really well but I think it would look great with any color scheme. 

I'm thinking blue paisley or a really vibrant yellow would work too! So many ideas running through this head :)

Monday, April 16, 2012


I saw this stamp and instantly starting contemplating what colors I was going to use for the flowers. I have a monster sized box of colored pencils (hello, elementary school) and I love coloring in my stamps to give them a little something extra.

I wanted this set to look really soft and antique so I used a lot of brown and mahogany. For the RSVP card background I crumpled up a brown paper bag to give it some dimension. I used four burlap strips side by side to outline the details card and tie it in with the invite itself.

I've already made some samples using other color themes like gray and yellow and they look sooooooo good! It completely changes the tone of the invite to fit the wedding.

Sunday, April 15, 2012


Does this flower stamp look familiar? It should! I have used it for everything from personalized cards to thank you cards and now wedding invitations.

Since stamps are sort of my version of graphic design I like to be creative and not just ink up a stamp and put it down. I love playing around with embossing powder and colors and placement.

This picture doesn't do this set much justice but the paper is this perfect sunflower yellow and the stamp is really soft against it. These would be great for a beach or sunset wedding.

Saturday, April 14, 2012


So I was at the fabric store one day looking for paper and nothing was catching my eye. I had an idea to do an invitation that was inspired by a great picnic birthday party at the park. I pictured pink lemonade in mason jars, sunflowers on the table...really soft and delicate stuff.

Well, I was just about to give up and head somewhere else when I got a great idea to use fabric instead of paper! I'm all about that texture so it was a perrrrrrfect idea. I got myself a rotary cutter and some beautiful pink paisley fabric and went to town.

I'm so happy with the way this set turned out. It is exactly the way I imagined it and there is sooooooo much fabric out there the possibilities are seriously endless with this design.

I really love how this design turned out. I like using lace as a subtle accent and I think the way it peaks out from behind the green patterned paper and contrasts with the brown paper looks perfect. It isn't overwhelming and adds an antique touch.

I get a lot of inspiration for my designs from burlap (as you can see from the background!) and I actually just bought a yard of it and pulled the strings off to create the ties on the invite and the details card. You'll be seeing me use quite a bit of it because it's soooooo versatile and creates such a great rustic look.

I gave you a sneak peek of some of the wedding invitations I've been working on but now that they're finally turning into complete sets, I wanted to share them in more detail!

They're definitely unique in the fact that they are homemade and look homemade. No two invites are 100% the same.

A lot of people ask me how I come up with the designs and I really don't know how to answer! I find inspiration everywhere and then go on a hunt for paper and embellishments to bring it to life. I'll tell you one thing though...you know I hate the "flat" look so even if you can't see them in real life, you can trust that they've got some dimension. :)

Monday, March 26, 2012


Wow...I take the prize for the world's worst blogger. It's been way too long! I promise it's for a good reason though....

I have been working crazy hard on creating some wedding invitations!! A bunch of my special friends have been getting engaged so what better motivation to try something new!

The designs at the right are just a few of the ideas I have come up with. Along with the invitations I've also created RSVP cards, enclosure cards and thank you notes!

I seriously can't even tell you how much fun I have been having making these. I've been playing with lace and ribbon and burlap and fabric! They make me so happy when I look at them :)

**Thank you so much to my sweet friend Elizabeth and her wonderful fiance Craig for letting me use their names!!

Wednesday, February 22, 2012


I know it's only February, but I am getting so excited about summer and summer parties!

I made this invitation a little different than my other ones because I wanted it to look kind of rustic to get you in the mood for a great outdoor BBQ! I took a brown paper bag and crumpled it up for the center piece so if you saw it in real life it has great definition.

I also wasn't ready to retire my Valentine's Day ribbon so I incorporated some of that too! This design would also be great for a bridal or baby shower!

Summer countdown...3 months!

Tuesday, February 7, 2012


I can almost taste it. We're getting so close!


This is definitely one of my new favorites. I loooooooove the lace :)

Sunday, February 5, 2012


Getting closer!!

Even if you're not a fan of the big day, you have to admit that the cards are fun and happy to look at :)

Tuesday, January 31, 2012


Only 14 more days until my favorite "holiday!!!" Ok, so I know Valentine's Day isn't an actual holiday, but what's not to like about a whole day devoted to love?

I'm a huge fan so naturally I couldn't wait to get started on some Valentine's Day cards. The first one I made is really playful with the red and black contrast and the sparkly heart in the middle. I know just who I want to give it to :)

These next two weeks are going to be fun and busy! I can't wait to show you all my day of love creations.

Wednesday, January 25, 2012


I love it when I get a request for a set of cards and the buyer simply says "they love dogs!" I thought of all sorts of ideas I could do with that theme but I decided to stick with something simple that followed my card philosophy :)

I used thicker jute on this card and I really like how it turned out. I embossed the paw print and stamped the initials using regular ink to give it a contrast and I couldn't be happier with the way it turned out.

And the recipient loved them! So my job here is a success and I'm excited what else I can make with this great stamp!

Tuesday, January 17, 2012


My boyfriend's sister got me some great paper for Christmas so I started working on some birthday invites.

The invitation on the left is turning out to be one of my newest favorites. It's even cuter in real life. The colors are sooooo pretty together and just like the other invitation I made a while back, I love that you can just write your event information straight onto the invitation.

It takes me back to when I was in elementary school :)


Tuesday, January 10, 2012


I love making cards for my friends because they give me so much freedom to do what i want, and i get to add a little bit of their personality to the designs as well!

one of my best friends asked for an assortment of cards: thank you, "i'm sorry," just because...

I included some oldies but goodies in her set and also created a few new ones! The "you're the best" card is one of my new favorites! I laughed when she requested an "i'm sorry" card (and didn't ask for further details) and decided to take a happier approach on the message.

I definitely think the recipient will forgive her after getting that card. :)