Stephanie's Baby Shower

Two weeks ago I co-hosted a baby shower for my dear friend, Stephanie! She is due with her first baby - a girl - in a few short weeks. Doesn't she look fabulous?

I'm sharing all the lovely details of her baby shower on Inspired Honey Bee. You can view the post right here! 

All this year I'll be a monthly contributor on Inspired Honey Bee. You can read January here (valentine cards), February here (gift I made for Stephanie's baby girl).

Popping the other question

Today I'm sharing a project that was done several months ago that I've yet to share. Since it tops the list of Michelle's Favorite Projects EVER, I thought it would be ok to share during the September Creative Challenge! 
 ~
When it comes to weddings, the most important question is will you marry me? Second to that, in my mind, is will you be my bridesmaid?  Even before he asked the big question I had already been thinking of who I'd ask. I adore my friends and cannot imagine such a big day without having them there by my side. 

Of course I wanted to do more than just ask them; I wanted to do something creative and FUN! When I saw these confetti invitations on Oh Happy Day! my creativity wheels started to turn. After a few weeks of searching for other fun ideas, I came right back to these party poppers.

To make the poppers, I used Oh Happy Day's easy to follow instructions. I also used her awesome "twist me" template. The only minor difference is that I used regular paper and book binding glue. If you make these, I recommend printing on label paper like she suggests!

Creating the inside of the poppers was my favorite part. First I came up with a clever saying:  the time has come to POP the other question will you be my bridesmaid?  Using Word, I created 1 inch circle text boxes. For each popper I made 2x the circles so that they would be double sided. I printed the circles in color on cardstock and got busy punching them out with a 1inch circle punch. I then glued them all to a piece of twine, as seen below.

What fun would a party popper be without confetti? That's right it would be a party pooper! Using scraps of colorful paper, a flower punch and my regular ol' hole punch I went to town on making confetti. Each popper was packed FULL of colorful confetti.

I was fortunate to ask most of my lovely ladies in person. Witnessing the party poppers was so.much.fun!! Here are some action shots of Jnelly. Note: I made each girl go outside for this. Over the years I've learned confetti and glitter are outside toys.

In addition to the party poppers, I wanted to make something a little more sentimental. It was important for me to share with  each girl why I asked them to be part of this special day. I also wanted an opportunity to set my expectations, promises (mainly to not turn into a bridezilla) and a heartfelt thank you. This idea was inspired by this post by Elise of enJOY it.

I settled on making each girl a small book using these mini accordion book kits from Paper Source. I purchased seven different colors of the books, but used the same cover paper and ribbon for all of them. Included in each kit are the instructions so I won't bore you with the how-to. I was happy with how they turned out! I especially love how bright and cheerful they look!

Here is a peek inside of one of the books:

In case you're curious, inside the book:

front: pictures and a personal message to each friend. I cropped all the pictures to 2X2 inches and printed several on 8.5x11 paper to save on cost.

back: printed on cardstock and cut to size with

As you can probably tell, this project was a labor of love that spanned a few weeks and several episodes of Say Yes to the Dress. It was time well spent and I am so happy with the outcome...cause it is important to share that they all said YES (phew!).  I had extra poppers and asked B if he wanted me to make some for his g'men and he said uhh, no thanks! Party pooper ;) He opted for calling each guy to formally ask them. So far they've also said YES!

This post is part of my September Creative Challenge. Follow along as Inspired Honey Bee and I do something creative Monday - Friday all this month!  

Adventures in Costa Rica

I traveled to Costa Rica to attend Melissa and Parker's beach wedding. I am fortunate I was able to attend their wedding and visit Costa Rica - it's amazing! As promised, here is a little more about the trip...

On Friday evening, I flew from SFO to Denver where I met up with a majority of the wedding crew. We flew on the red eye Frontier flight into San Jose, Costa Rica (flight is 4.5 hours). Once we arrived in San Jose we took a 25 minute flight in a puddle jumper (whose pint size terrified me and threw my nausea for a loop. my eyes were closed most of the flight.) to Tambor where we stayed during our visit. 

The crew piled in two vans and headed to Tango Mar. A few of us shared a villa at Tango Mar and the bride, groom and their families rented a gorgeous house just down the beach. This is the view from Tango Mar - paradise!

Beautiful flowers everywhere!

In addition to the wedding activities, we spent two days at the pool and beach. This sign is no joke! The waves were fun and relentless. We all got knocked down by a rough wave or two (or three in Layna's case, in addition to her run-in with a jellyfish).

We were able to take pictures in the water thanks to Dave's rad waterproof camera case (which I can't seem to find a link of. He bought it at REI). This is my favorite of the wave photos!

The day after the wedding a few of us went on a Super Tour coordinated by the resort.  The tour took us through mangroves where we also saw lots of birds and a spotted manta ray. We then took a walk through Curu Nature Reserves where we saw tons of animals up close and personal.

 

Of all the animals we saw, the monkeys were my favorite! Here is a white face monkey:

 

And here is a spider monkey:

We had a great tour guide, named Layna, who pointed out all the animals (if you ever need to phone-a-friend regarding animals, pick L). We had an official guide who also pointed out animals, trees and plants.

After the nature preserve we got to jump off the boat and snorkel. There were tons of fish! Especially when the guide gave them a little snack, as seen in this picture. 

The last stop on our tour was tortuga island where we had lunch and cervesas while relaxing in the sun. White sand beaches and turquoise water make for a good place to relax! 

Hands down the best part of the trip was spending time with some of my favorite ladies. Amazing how much has changed since our reunion six months ago!

Up next: photos from Melissa and Parker's wedding day!

all photos courtesy of jnelly

Sikora's in the City

Well hello blog. I've missed you. Life has been busy so I've been away. Now it's time to catch up!

Last weekend Stephanie and Mark (aka the Sikora's) spent the weekend with us in the city by the bay! As always, we had a great time with them. The weather was absolutely perfect and the weekend a good balance between activities, relaxing and lots of laughing. 

Here are a few picks from the weekend...

Friday we spent the day in San Francisco with the bay area's newest resident, Sandy, shopping, eating and walking. After lunch we stopped at Blue Bottle for lattes and a cookie!

me, Sandy and Stephanie

 Saturday we headed to the wine country. At the recommendation of several people, we visited the Russian River area. Awesome smaller wineries, friendly people and free tastings! Here we are at Hook & Ladder winery.

Stephanie, B, Mark, Ashlee and me

 Sunday morning we got up early and headed into the city for the KP 5K in Golden Gate Park. That's right all star employees thriving on a Sunday morning! Here we are flexing with some characters from ETP.

The race finishes across the street from Ocean Beach. We walked over to the beach and tried to put our feet in. Don't be fooled, the water is still freezing even when the sun's out.

Mark and Stephanie

For their arrival, I made Stephanie and Mark welcome cards and small gifts. 

This was Stephanie's third visit to the bay so I made her a photo collage to welcome her back to the city by the bay! I printed the collage on a 5x7 and made it into a card. I got her a bottle of Sofia bubbly to enjoy while here.

Since Sikora is close to Sequoia, I wanted to make Mark something to do with the national park. I mentioned this to B and using his mad photoshop skills, he transformed a photo from our trip to the park this fall. Isn't that awesome? I printed the photo on 5x7 and made into a card with wood grain paper. At Cost Plus I put together a 6 pack of local area beers for Mark to enjoy while in town. I used the same wood grain paper to wrap the base of the 6 pack.

Thanks for the fun weekend, Sikora's!

hip, hip, hooray!

I feel fortunate to be surround by awesome people - family, friends and coworkers. I am continually inspired by these people and hope I inspire them too! I wanted to give a little shout to two ladies who deserve a hip, hip, hooray and a thank you for continuing to inspire me.

{jnelly}

In the summer of 2007, Jessica followed her heart and moved to Portland, OR. I was lucky enough to drive out with her in the filled-to-the-brim truck. Her move (and a few other things) inspired me to pick up my things are try life on the west coast as well. Even though we were in different cities, it was always nice to know someone understood what you were going through (and was in the same time zone!).

After three years of helping keep Portland weird, Jess decided it was time to move home. As we all know, this economy is not friendly for the job seeker. Jess took a leap of faith by accepting a temporary position to move back. Within a few short months she scored a full time position (with full benefits) at the Children's Hospital! 

hip, hip, 

{paper: carolyn gavin greenhouse, cricut: jubilee}

Jnelly, aka Janelle, has always had an eye for art, design and style. It's no surprise her degree is in Interior Design! When the housing market tanked, she was let go from her Interior Design position. As a way to make some money she used those talents to open an Etsy shop and start a photography business. 

Jnelly's most recent accomplishment was turning her business into a LLC. That's right, she's officially official! Big step, lots of paper work but I know it will be totally worth it. I look forward to watching Jnelly Photography grow. Someday maybe we'll be in the same city...she can be the photographer, I'll be the wedding planner and "on the side" we'll make cards :)

hip, hip, 

{paper: carolyn gavin greenhouse  , cricut: jubilee}

I am thankful for family & friends.

 Let us be grateful to people who make us happy; they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom.  ~ Marcel Proust

i am thankful for my loving family. 

i am thankful for growing up in a house where i had to do chores, didn't have sugar cereal, was put on skis as soon as i could walk and always had at least one pet in our family. 

i am thankful to have inherited nice handwriting, thick hair, sense of humor, positive outlook on life and a strong work ethic. 

i am thankful to have an older brother who protected me from intimidated mean boys on the playground at south lakewood elem, would rollerblade to c+c music factory with me, and is now a fabulous professional (and my personal) mechanic. 

i am thankful, and proud, to be the third generation of my family to graduate from the University of Colorado. we are a family of buffaloes (fans, that is). 

i am thankful for so many amazing friendships. 

i am thankful for the inspiration, humor, encouragement, motivation, and love you all bring to my life.

i am thankful for all the memories we've made and look forward to many more.

Baby Bunting Banner

Over the weekend one of my college friends,  a soon-to-be mama, was in San Francisco with her hubby. They are expecting their first baby, Georgia Leigh, on January 22. Since this was the last time we will see them before the big day, a few of us went in on a gift for them. In addition to this adorable owl and a few classic children's books, I made them a baby bunting banner (say that three times fast!).

 I was inspired to make this by none other than the Inspired Honey Bee who made a similar banner for her besties' baby shower. While I'm still not 100% sure what to call these cute banners (bunting banner? pennant banner? flag banner?), I settled on bunting banner because when you say baby bunting banner you can't help but smile.

Wanting to make the banner bright, colorful and girly, I settled on the pack of paper called Greehouse by K&Company. Not only is the paper really cute, it's also double sided with a large pattern on one side and a smaller coordinated pattern on the back. 

Using the Cricut, I cut 4.5 inch circles from 6 different patterns of paper. Using the same 6 patterns, I free hand cut 12 flags. I then used the Cricut  and plain card stock to cut out 4 inch letters to spell 'Georgia Leigh' in white and a shadow in brown. Since the banner paper was so bright, I knew a shadow on the letters would help them stand out better.

Once I had everything cut out, I layed out all the flags plus their corresponding circle to make sure I had them in the best order (don't want flags of the same color/patternright next to each other!). Then I got busy gluing all the pieces together.

After they all dried I folded the top of the flag back to create a small flap. Using these flaps and a small piece of clear tape, I attached the flags to a long piece of hemp cord.

 

Once the banner was complete - photo shoot and all - I accordion folded the flags with the hope of keeping the letters in order and the strings tangle-free.

I had tons of scrap paper left over, so I made this card to go along with the gift.

Only Prettier

Last month I flew to Denver for the weekend to attend my 10 year high school reunion. While I was sans B,  I was plus 5 of my very best friends (and one boyfriend, Dave!). We rented hotel rooms downtown and arrived early to snack, chat and finish getting ready together. We also took turns flipping through the yearbook and my senior year scrapbook. Here are a few gems from back then...

Homecoming

Prom

Senior trip - Cancun

Post-college, Corona Street roomies

While I was excited to see quite a few people from our class, to me the real reunion was with these ladies. They are what made my high school experience so memorable. Although we've all spread our wings and taken different paths, it's nice to know when we are together, we all pick right back-up where we left off. I'd say we're all exactly the same, only prettier.

Here are my favorite pictures from the reunion...

 

Inspired Honey Bee

I've been meaning to write about my cute, crafty friend Debbie for a while now. Actually, I wrote about her once, but that was just a mention. She deserves a whole post and here's why...


I honestly can't remember when I first met Debbie. We both work for KP, but in different departments and separate buildings. We are both part of a larger department, so I see her at the monthly birthday celebrations. Someone mentioned that Debbie and I should be friends, I wasn't sure why until I met her. Debbie is sarcastic, super organized, thoughtful and CRAFTY! Our first friend date was for happy hour where we talked college, jobs, boyfriends, running and then began sketching out invitations, programs and cards we'd made. 


I knew we really were friends when Debbie asked if I had made plans for my birthday. It was on a weekday, so she figured I'd have a happy hour after work and kept the day free. I don't even know if she remembers that but it meant a lot to me. Ironically, something came up and she wasn't able to attend, but the thought meant the most! 


Since then we've had craft days, encouraged each other during a half marathon, chatted/laughed through many work celebrations and continued to share ideas for cards and parties. Just before the holidays we had a craft day at her house and included the boyfriends. They'd met but never hung out, however have a lot in common. While Debbie and I cut, glued and chatted the guys talked sports and watched episode after episode of LOST. 


At the beginning of the year Debbie told me she started a blog. I gasped - partially with excitement and partially with surprise that I didn't already know about it. She told me that her first post was still in the works and she'd let me know when it was up (phew, I hadn't missed anything!). 


Her blog is called the Inspired Honey Bee, where she shares what inspires her to create cards. I was completely blown away when I read her first post, because it was about her inspiration to start a blog and was dedicated to me. A very sweet post, especially considering how much she continually inspires me too! 


In the last few months, life has been excitingly busy for Debbie. In February she got engaged to her equally cute boyfriend. And in April they bought a house together. Within that time she also was making several trips to the Central Valley to be with her brother who was having serious health problems. Now that he is thankfully on the mend, the Honey Bee is back to blogging! 


It has been fun to chat with Debbie about her wedding planning. I tried to sell my coordinator services to her, but who am I kidding, she's an amazing planner herself! To help shape their special day, Debbie put together an awesome inspiration board (see it here). They have several hygrenga bushes in their front yard, so I think that is a perfect flower for her to continue to be inspired while planning, and reminded of their wedding for years to come! 


This weekend the happy couple is having an engagement and housewarming party. I am so bummed that I'm going to miss it, but I know that B will represent us well. I made this card for him to take along: 

I look forward to many more creative adventures and laughs with the Debbie. Especially in her new craft room! Yep, I'm pretty jealous of that room!

Follow the Inspired Honey Bee here: http://inspiredhoneybee.blogspot.com/

Friends don't let friends...

craft drunk. 

Hilarious Easter card I received from a crafty friend. 

Portland

Last weekend Brian and I took a trip to Portland, Oregon to visit friends. We planned the trip for that particular weekend, as it was Jessica's birthday. Not only is Jess in Portland, but Brian's best friend Bill lives there as well. I also have two good friends from college and Brian knew two other guys from high school. Who knew we were so popular in Portland? 


Highlights of the trip: 

• Being greeted by Jess at the airport - full of energy and excitement to have us in town. She even made us cute little welcome bags complete with snacks, water and toys! 
• Meeting Bill. I've heard so many stories and sheenanigans including this infamous character. He completely lived up to all the great things I've heard. 
• Dinner and margs at Por Que No -amazing!
• Walk along the riverfront on a sunny day, admiring the trees in full bloom. 
• Spending a totally girly day with Jess including shopping, manis/pedis, great talks and as always, lots of laughing. 
• Night out in Portland to celebrate Jess and meet up with other friends.
• Sunday brunch at the Teuber's. 
• Walking the trails at the Nike campus.
• Shopping at the Columbia employee store.
• VooDoo donut.
• Hot Wok! 

As we sat at the airport on Monday, we agree that it was a great trip. The perfect mix of seeing good friends, touristy things and relaxing. This was my fifth trip to Portland, and I've always had a wonderful time. Thank you to all our wonderful friends for showing us your city!

Jess and I with the pretty trees along the waterfront

View of Mt Hood from Jess' work

Happy Birthday Jess!

Me and B out in Portland

Sunday morning brunch with Lisa - cheers!