Calligraphy doesn’t exactly fit into our wedding budget, but as the idea of addressing invitations and thank you notes becomes closer and closer to reality, I’ve started looking into buying a custom calligraphy stamp. It all started with a slight obsession with these custom stamps. I would think about how exciting it would be when Peter and I bought a house and how fun it would be to get a custom stamp.
Then a few days ago I came across a stamp by an Etsy seller called Emililies on the Martha Stewart website.
{via}
Then I got nervous and started worrying that the stamp wouldn’t arrive in time for us to send out our invitations, so I started looking for other sellers.
{via}
{via}
{via}
Now I’m stuck wondering when anyone will get back to me and trying to figure out which one I like best. Which one would you choose? If you want to complicate the decision, go to their websites and look at all the other styles. Excuse me while I go check my mail–again.
Around Valentine’s Day I fell in love with these hearts from the Etsy seller Sarah and Bendrix, but I couldn’t bare to pay the $76 (item plus shipping cost to the United States) that she was asking.
{via}
So, I went to the craft store and bought a heart shaped paper punch and some thick red, gray, and cream card stock.
Luckily, just about everything I bought was on sale. Don’t you just love that about craft stores?!
When I came home I started punching little red hearts. My heart punch is different than the one used by Sarah and Bendrix. Mine has a more defined point, but I like that about it. I also love that it lets you see what you’re punching before you do it.
Fold several of the hearts in half, positioning them in straight lines on the paper. Leave space for one (or more) different colored hearts and a few that have not been folded.
admi
I spaced the hearts further apart then they were in the original piece, but this choice is just personal preference. I carefully glued the hearts into place, making sure that the lines seemed organized. In my opinion the concept is interesting because it is a balance of order (the rows of hearts) and disorder (the apparently random nature of the folds). If both aspects were disorganized, then it would probably look like a giant mess.
Here’s the end result leaning against a wall:
We assembled ours using Yes Paste and an IKEA 9×9 Ribba (Shadow Bow). The total expense was less than $20 and now that we own a heart punch I could make a second one for the price of the frame plus an extra $0.50 for the card stock. For the next one I may try putting the hearts closer together and using a larger frame that would allow a border the size a a photo mat. Thoughts?
Meg over at House Notes is currently having an Anthropologie Inspired Craft Off. I didn’t manage to participate on this round, but head over to her blog to see some pretty amazing stuff.
I’ve been trying to think of what to do for Peter for Valentine’s Day, but instead I keep finding things that I would love to receive myself. My mother always taught me that I should always give people gifts that I would want to receive myself, but somehow, in this situation I don’t think that rule applies. Let’s take a look.
{Sarah and Bendrix}
{Paper Finger}
{Sew, Mama, Sew!}
{Pretty Peonies}
No, definitely not boy gifts, but they would be great for a friend and several of them could easily be reproduced. Head over to Sew, Mama, Sew! for a tutorial on how to make the hand-stitched valentine.
What are you giving your significant other for Valentine’s Day?
Back in September I ordered a bunch of make up from an Etsy store called The All Natural Face. I promised to write a follow-up review but you may have noticed that it never happened. It took me a really long time to figure out how I really felt about this makeup. I was really impressed by their prices and their customer service. (To spark your memory, I got all of the samples below for only $10. You can read more about what everything is in my post about The All Natural Face.)
The samples that I ordered in September lasted me all the way until January, but when it came time to order more, I couldn’t bring myself to do it. My biggest qualm with the makeup is that it doesn’t wear well throughout the day. The eye shadow creases even if you apply the primer, the eye liner gets under your eyes, and the foundation and concealer vanish so that skin looks that same as it did when you first get out of the shower. I tend not to wear very much makeup so when I put something on in the morning I want it to last until I go to bed without needing to cake it on before I leave the house. I always think of Becky from Full House telling D.J. that the trick to applying make-up was to look like you’re not wearing any at all. I would love to wear this makeup all the time because of how affordable it is and how great it is to work with The All Natural Face, but since I want products that don’t require me to reapply, I’m afraid that I’m going to have to go back to Bare Essentials.
Has anyone else tried The All Natural Face? What was your experience?
I saw these silk shoe clips by B Poetic on Etsy today and fell in love. Aren’t these an adorable way to dress up a regular pair of shoes? You could wear a simple pair of heels to work and then slip these on and be ready for a night out with the girls–or wear them to work too! Plus, since you don’t have to know a shoe size to use the clips, they’d make great gifts for friends.
Images courtesy of B Poetic on Etsy.
