The TomKat Studio Gift Guide

I was so excited when Kim, with The Tomkat Studio asked me to join the team again as the designer of the second annual holiday gift guide. (You can see the 2010 guide here) I feel so lucky to be in company with such talented women. Seriously! I'm one lucky designer! This project is fun, fun fun and full of talent! The 2011 guide is bigger and better than last year and full of ideas for everyone on your list. View the guide here.

Create H.O.P.E

logo design not by me, but so so cute, right?

I am so impressed when people use their talents for good and that's just what the creators behind Create H.O.P.E. Designs are doing. As it says on their blog:

"We are literally creating hope for millions of children and their dedicated caregivers with crafting"

Of course my talented friends and Izzy and Ivy Design are contributing. They have a beautiful pattern available for download and all the money goes to China Little Flower.


Want to get involved? Hope on over to the blog for more info.

the fall list

Remember this Summer List? We had so much fun checking things off and having some ideas of things to do when we were bored, so I suggested we make one for fall (and every other season from here on out). A lot of the "to-do's" are food to make, but I love the flavors of fall. I've already crossed off "make an apple pie" and oh my was it delicious. I'm a sucker for a crumb topping. Here's the recipe I used:


Apple Pie
recipe by Sara Burgess

Mix together:
5 cups sliced apples
1/4 c sugar, 1/4 c brown sugar, 1/4 c flour
3/4 teas cinnamon

Spoon into unbaked pie crust (homemade or frozen store bought)

Mix until crumbly and spoon over apple mixture:
1/3 c sugar
3/4 c flour
6 tablespoon butter

Bake at 400 for 35-40 min.

My notes: serve with vanilla ice cream and caramel sauce. Oh my!

the quiz

click to enlarge

Remember this shower? I was recently trying to come up with a few ideas for bridal shower activities, (in my mind "activities" sound less lame than "games") and this fun quiz came to mind. I thought you may want to see the questions we asked so you can adapt it your upcoming showers. As always, if you need help designing coordinating elements for any kind of event, I'm your girl. 

logo update

I've said it before and I'll say it again. I love working with repeat clients. It's just so nice to know the company, the taste of the client, the colors and feel of the branding etc. I feel like the projects always go so smoothly. Jessie is one of my favorite and most talented clients. I am so grateful for her friendship and her trust in me to take care of her design needs. A few years ago I designed a logo for her photography company and as a smart business owner she came to me for an update. She wanted to keep the branding she had built over the years, just freshen the look. I am crazy about this new logo. If you are in need of a photog, check out her work. It's beautiful and she is beyond amazing to work with.

golf party

Have I ever told you how great my hubby is with birthdays? He always goes way over the top with surprises and every year I feel bad about whatever lame thing I planned for him. Last year was especially lame. I'm going to blame it on the new baby, a first year law student, moving to a new state with no baby sitters etc. I remember thinking "next year will be awesome" and I think it did turn out pretty well. For me, it's all about planning ahead. I can't do much the day of, but if I'm scheming for a few weeks and scouring the internet for ideas a happy birthday is easy to plan. I love throwing parties, so I planned a golf themed party, golf being one of todd's favorite hobbies.

the spread: In addition to the food I used some wheat grass, golf balls and tees for decor

These cupcakes were so fun and easy to make. The sand is graham cracker crumbs, the greens are sanding sugar, flags are fruit rollups and the golf balls are little candy pearls.

That's right friends those golf balls have Todd's face on them. I couldn't decide what theme I should go with for the party, but when I saw this post and Rebecca's idea to have golf balls printed I couldn't resist. I printed with ParGolf.com because they had small quantities available and they were the best price I found.

menu
"club" sandwiches
"par" faits
"chip it in" chips

golf cupcakes
teriyaki spinach salad
IBC rootbeer and cheery limeaid

october 2011

Can you believe it's October? Seriously every year flies by faster than the last. I love fall; the flavors, the colors, the holidays. I'm excited just thinking about it. I'm hoping to post some of my fall findings and fun here on this little blog in the next few months. Maybe even a post dedicated to my favorites.  In addition to fall love this month I will:


· Post about a fun golf themed birthday party I threw for the hubby
· Add (at least) two new products to the etsy shop
· Dress my little guy up for halloween. He's going as a cow and is crazy about the costume. He is even mooo-ing on occasion
· Show you some fun invitations for an upcoming baby shower
· Take my first annual girl's weekend with my BFFs.
· Be a better blogger