hello wedding - shower invites:

35

August 31, 2010

i blogged about our wedding shower last week, and thought i'd share the invites with you. they were really simple and easy to make for yourself if you have a party or an event coming up!

so all you basically need are the following:

- A6 flat card in your color choice.

- #1 baby envelopes. these from envelope mall would work too.

- resealable polypropylene / cello bags for A6 size cards.

- blank label sticker paper.

i printed on both sides of the A6 card and attached the little envelope on the right. i printed and cut out the little cards that went inside the envelope. (you could also order them to save time cutting)

the card goes into the clear cello bag, then seal it.

i created a wrap around label. i printed on the blank sticker

paper and cut it out so i could just place it on the clear bag.

all done! a view of the back.

and the view of the front!

for postage, i took it to the post office and they told me it costs extra to mail the plastic. so that was a bummer - it was .64 cents instead of the normal .44. but luckily they have pretty butterfly stamps out right now! :) but postage is definitely something i'd consider in the future before designing a card / invite.

weekly giveaway - Sumiko shop:

241

August 30, 2010

Evelyn is just the sweetest person you'll ever come across. She makes really beautiful pieces and lives in the wonderful ITALY! She runs (i'd love to live there any day) Sumiko shop, filled with pretty necklaces and earrings, I especially love her Charlotte brooches - they're so unique! This week you have the chance to win a $40 gift certificate towards anything in Evenlyn's shop! be sure to stop by and visit her at the usual social networking sites:

shop | facebook | twitter | blog

Hello! Please tell us a little about yourself! My name is Evelyn, I’m 29 years old and the mother of a beautiful boy named Brian. I live in a tourist town by the sea, in Italy. I spend a lot of time with my son, which is why I can spare the time to create and experiment with new things. I am crazy about travelling and would gladly travel around the world. I love adventure and unspoiled places… white beaches …the sun ... my dream would be to live somewhere warm all year round.

How did you get started making your beautiful jewelry? I have always had a passion for sewing clothes for myself, since I went to a fashion design school, but I also loved unique and original accessories, and I found such a joy in creating them, or seeing people wear them.

I never stopped creating whether it was clothes or accessories, but I decided to open my little shop only two years ago, around July 2008.

My collections vary greatly in style, but they all tend to be feminine, elegant and youthful. I love using vintage components, and sometimes there is a fairy tale touch to my jewelry.

Your pictures are lovely! What camera do you use? I bought my Nikon D80 a few months later that I realized that to sell on etsy, I had to have some quality photos. I never studied photography so all my photos are not really professional, but I do everything possible to improve them every day.

3 chances to win!

( COMMENT TO WIN )

simply visit Sumiko shop and leave a comment

with your favorite item from the shop.

( +1 EXTRA ENTRY )
twitter, facebook, or blog about this giveaway.
come back & comment with the link! if you twitter, please
tag it with @ohhellofriend so i can track your tweet!

( +1 MORE EXTRA ENTRY )
become a twitter / blogger follower or a facebook fan,
leave a comment letting me know which site you follow for an extra entry!
(note: please only comment once for what site you are a follower of)

giveaway ends on monday, september 6th at 8am, pst

please check back next week to see if you are the lucky winner!

ps: the winner from last week's giveaway from shanna murray

is #33 - kristen from Caindidly, Red.

Congrats! Please contact me to claim your prize :)

happy friday:

25

August 27, 2010

my 2 brothers, nicholas, and i just returned home from stockton - we were able to go be with my mom for her 2nd round of the chemo treatment. we went up there to support her as she also decided to shave her head. it was a really special time and moment for all us to share together. (the picture above is posted with her permission) she is quite adorable bald, and she stayed so strong through it all. she's also really cute with her little beanie on. for anyone who has gone through this with a loved one, i know you can relate with how precious it was to share in this with her. we laughed with her, prayed, cried a bit, held her hand, and told her how beautiful she is. i love my mom so much!

well, i thought i'd leave some links for the weekend too! what are your weekend plans? i have no idea what we're doing this weekend -- hopefully getting focused about what we need to do next for the wedding. i am quite disorganized and feel a bit overwhelmed. maybe i can convince nicholas to take me to the LA flea market for a little de-stress shopping ;) anyone want to meet up? hehe okay, on with the links:

- a really really awesome DIY ice cream pinata over at simply modern mom!

- sweet homemade carmel + fudge sauce and free printables at creature comforts!

- are you a jackie or a marilyn over at a diary of lovely. (i want to be jackie)

- bookmark katrina's blog over the next few weeks: she is having a blog e-course for beginners and it sounds awesome!

- another lovely course found through good measure blog: created by bonnie from Going Home to Roost, selling the handmade way is for shop owners or aspiring shop owners. she's offering a free e-book and she's also having a course starting in the fall!

- i've (finally) decided on a dress! well, two. ;) i will wear this one at the reception and am borrowing this vintage dress from ruby for the ceremony! what do you think? :)

that's it! happy weekend to my dear friends. see you on monday. xo.

swoon / glamping:

25

August 26, 2010

i went camping many times as a child, and i'm a fan. it's a good time to get away from technology, from the everyday routine of life and get out in the wilderness and get some peace!

so when i stumbled across miss b's post about glamping, i immediately swooned over these fabulous pictures and this idea of luxury camping from the resort at paws up. if you're headed towards greenough montana, consider glamping it up at their resort or going old school in a tent. (a definite upgrade from sleeping bags and floor mats!) you'd definitely have to splurge as tents + resorts start at around $500/night. still a fun idea :)

hello wedding - our wedding shower:

64

August 25, 2010

last weekend we had our wedding shower that my mom threw for us. something about my mom: she is one of the most generous people i know. she loves to give. so when we had our shower and i asked her if we could get an ice cream truck, she didn't spare any expenses. we had a yummy taco guy, king kone ice cream, and a photo booth. the photo booth was technically free since my bro and i own it ;)

our dear friend ruby was there and snapped some shots of the party. i am so grateful she thought to take pics and her photos are so legit. most of all these photos are by ruby ellen!

some pics of nicholas + i:

^ little ethan and christian getting their icecream.

my beautiful mom.

sweet friends: ruby + linda.
brave, true, and soul.

bravey + truey, with all their toys my mom gave them, hah.

my ring :)

yum!

other fun shots from around the party:

all the pics were taken by ruby!

i am sure she is for hire for any event ;)

the party was at my mom's house. we are blessed with great friends - my mom's friends all were there to help her since she's not her full 100% with the chemo. friends came, made punch, made salad, baked pies, set up the tables and chairs. one of her friends got us a great deal with the table + chair rentals: only $5/table and $.50 cents per chair! haha, when my mom told me i was like, what can you even get for .50 cents these days? apparently you can rent a chair. what a great deal!

we had so much fun and i think the guests had fun too. i am glad that is done though: now we are going full force into wedding planning for the next 30 days! i am excited but am just ready to be married, you know what i mean? some days i am tempted to just run down to the court house. and we just want to go on our honeymoon so we can go to the harry potter theme park! ;) xo.

inspire lovely / lost + found:

28

August 24, 2010

beautiful images found around the web with no owners!

if you know where these are from, please leave a comment

and i'll credit the images :) thanks!

source

thanks drifter + the gypsy!

source

thanks drifter + the gypsy!

source.

thanks anna!

source

thanks Mademoiselle Poirot!

source.

thanks anne!

weekly giveaway - shanna murray:

203

August 23, 2010

i'm sure you've seen these lovely decals around the blog world - they are the coolest decals you will ever come across and they can be found at shanna murray's shop! i love the designs and the phrases. also really love her styling for the photos :) shanna is a talented illustrator and and artist - all the decals are illustrated by her! this week, shanna is giving away a generous $50 gift certificate towards anything in her shop! be sure to check out her site and her blog!

3 chances to win!

( COMMENT TO WIN )

simply visit shanna murray and leave a comment

with your favorite item from the shop.

giveaway ends on monday,august 30th at 8am, pst

please check back next week to see if you are the lucky winner!

ps: the giveaway winner from last week's giveaway

from Ionkoosh was #92, flor! please

contact me to claim your prize :)

happy friday:

32

August 20, 2010

hi there! it's another friday, goodness these weeks are passing by like nothing. i don't know where august went! still working on invites, hoping to send them out very soon. hopefully i can post some preview pics :)

the lovely images above are from the very talented photographer, christian cruz: in his recap of renegade la! the more i see from him, the more excited i get that he is shooting our wedding. can i just talk about the amazing people helping me with the wedding? i am getting the most amazing vintage furniture rentals from jeni at found vintage rentals. (her beautiful furniture is featured in an utterly engaged shoot!) cathie from ampersandity is addressing our envelopes with her beautiful calligraphy. and my sweet friend, ruby (from cakies) is my everything person! i get her opinion about things and ask her for ideas: she is amazing :) and seriously: i think if i am learning anything, it is to trust in Him. i am overwhelmed by the generosity of others, by love, and by abundant blessings. even though i doubt and stress, it ends up working out and how can i not but attribute it back to Him? i am reminded of His goodness and mercy each day.

well, what are your plans for this weekend? saturday, my mom is throwing us a wedding shower. she has been working hard, despite her chemo side effects. she really wants to have this shower for us. she's the best mom ever.

then on sunday, we are going to a taping of "let's make a deal" ... you can win cash prizes! actually, if anyone in the OC/LA area wants to go, tickets are free and they are filming through September! you can go here for the info + sign up for free tickets ;)

well, i hope you all had a wonderful week. see you bright and early on monday! xo.