Save the Dates...

are OUT, DONE, FINISHED! : ) . I am so excited.  It was a long design process plenty of changes. I went with the magnets.. When some of my bridemaids and I were putting them together.. I just couldn't believe it.. Sending the Save the Dates time was here.. There could be no changes made.. It kind of was a leap for me. It's real now.. It's happening.. and now people know about it!! : ) .Pictures soon!

Will you be my...

BRIDESMAID! : ) . 
      I really never thought of how I was going to ask someone to be my Bridesmaid.  I thought you can just assume and talk about it with them.  Lol. Well, I have learned that this is not the best way! Why not give them something to be excited for? I decided that I would "officially" ask with a card.  That way they would have something to keep and remember it by.  
     I wanted them to be personal and pretty.  I couldn't really find what I was looking for at stores.  I mean do they even make will you be my Bridesmaid cards?? Lol.  I don't think so.  That meant I had a DIY project on my hands! 
     I got most of the supplies from Hobby Lobby.  I went in not totally knowing what I wanted.  These kinds of things just come to me I guess.  I buy the supplies and I make it happen! I knew that they were going to be nice, but they turned out better than my greatest expectations!  I did all the work myself. haha. I asked Mr. Bloom to help once and he said,"Why don't you get your bridesmaids to do it?? Isn't that what they are for??"  I had to laugh at that one.  Since I guess he might not of realized they were FOR the bridesmaids.. haha. 


My Supplies:

• 1 Pack of  Ivory Cardstock Cards
• Letter Jewels

• Single Jewels

• Card Stock
• Glue Dots
• Envelopes

• Fiskars Premium Line Trimmer

• Home Printer

     I designed the cards using Adobe Illustrator.  I went through a couple of designs, but I wanted something simple.  I used the colors that match the wedding.  I had a few printing mistakes and the paper was getting eaten for some reason! But I think my printer was just malfunctioning since I was excited to get these done! haha.  Seems that way sometimes.  

(Just so you know, everyone has malfunctions! It's not just you!!)

     So, I started with the plain cards. I decided that the ivory was a little too plain, even after my design.  (I did look for orange cards at Hobby Lobby, but could not find them, so I made do, and liked it better)  So I cut the paper to size and posted it on my card with glue dots.  I am so in love with glue dots! They are amazing.  I tried the glue runners and they do not like me! The glue dots hold very well and they are thin, so it doesn't make the paper bumpy.. 

     I did the same on the inside of the card.  Since I was doing the Tiffany for the wording I didn't see it necessary to do anything other than the Orange and Ivory Cardstock.  

     I printed their names on the front.  Without the first letter of course.  It took a couple of tries to get it perfect, but it happened eventually! Then stuck on the Jewels! I put "officially" on some, because I had already talked to them about it.. on the others it just said "Will You Be.." 

     The inside of the card was made to say Bridesmaid of course.  My initial plan was to put one jewel in the middle of the word, but I didn't care for it.  I can see the bling in me coming out in everything I do! Haha. So, here is what I ended up doing...

     I couldn't have been more happy with them!  It was very easy to do! The hardest part was the messages! Haha. I wanted to say the perfect thing! 

Here is them done...

     Lastly, I printed their names on the tiffany envelopes! For the last personal touch.. 

I LOVE THEM!! 

     Another DIY out of the way! 

Or So I thought! haha..

     Well, I decided to post my designs on The Knot!  I really wanted some feedback and I thought that would be the best place to get it.  Only a couple of things were mentioned that they thought I should change.  Things that I totally agreed with and just had not thought of first.  Everyone loves the monogram, which I am very happy with.  They liked the colors and the whole concept.. It definitely gave me the feedback I was looking for.  So, once I play around a bit, I will post them again! Trial and Error people! That's what wedding planning is all about! I want everything to be perfect. Less than 8 months away and I think I have plenty of time to play around with the designs! I'm sure I won't be saying that for too much longer! haha.. 

Design Time is Done.. Or so I think!

Here we are again.. This time with different invites, monograms and save the dates.. I had no problem really designing these things, because I love designing.. If it could pay the bills full time, it is all I would do! I am definitely open to designing things for people on the side... haha. ; ) . So, here I am, posting the Save the Date, Monogram, and Invitation.. 


-The Save the Date: The only thing I changed since I last posted was the font.. I wanted it to match.  Of course our picture goes in the blank spot! 
-Monogram: Pretty much the same, it's just that the R's are changed.
-Invite: It is alot different.. I am hoping that people think it is pretty.. it kind of goes with everything.. I am going to definitely need confirmation that the design is pretty.. 
-The font for the R&R is called Adorable.  I got it from a free font website..
-I am pretty sure that all the script is "Adorable." I really like the font.. Seems very simple...

Looks Like More Design Time...

Well, who woulda thunk it! I am changing pretty much everything! BUT not for the reason you might think... When I started designing my invites and things, I had the trial for Photoshop and Illustrator on my Mac.  Well, when I bought the Creative Suite, it was planned that I was going to share it with someone and they had a PC.  (It is easier to turn my Mac to a PC using a program called Boot Camp.) Unfortunately, little old me thought it was going to be as easy as 1,2,3... Or that's what the person chatting with me on Apple.com would of liked me to believe.. For a couple hundred of dollars, yes easy as 1,2,3.. Without a couple of hundred dollars it was going to be 5x^-2y^10 over 2x^-1(-3x^-3y^-1)^-2.... (Sorry, had to.. haha) So, I have now put the Creative Suite on my brothers computer.. Problem is.. All the Mac Fonts are not accessible to me. Zapfino=OUT.  My logo is ZAPFINOOO!!! What is a girl to do? Well, Re-Design Everything.. It means new Monogram, New Invites, New Everything.   Now, I have based everything off those dang swirls and it will be as close as I can get it! With some help from free fonts online, things should turn out nicely I am hoping.. Wish me luck!

Design Time...

     Well, I decided that for my Save The Dates I wanted to do Magnets.  Since the Save the Dates I created in my earlier posts were two sided, I had to redesign them.  I pretty much did the same concept, but I made it a little bigger.. I designed them, then I ordered 10 of them on Vista Print.  I paid for the 7 day shipping, but it actually got to me in about 3 days.  So, I definitely liked that.  The quality is very nice, but I just thought it was a bit plain looking. Well, I could change that since I designed the things! Lol.  I went back to the drawing board! I created them on Illustrator and finished them up with Photoshop.  I am very happy with how they came out.  I was going to order them on Vista Print again, but when I went to order they were more expensive.  So, I decided that I would wait until the large magnets went on sale again.  It really isn't the price of the magnets, but the shipping.. The first time I ordered them, they were 65 cents a piece.  I can hold out for that! I know I might get impatient though.. I used a random picture for the mock up.  I am going to put an engagement picture on there whenever we take them in February.  I think these will go out in March.  

(I am aware that the 4 is misplaced!)

    I was also feeling very crafty tonight and finished my Bridesmaids Project.  They came out so cute! I could not be happier with them.  I took pics through the process and will post them when I get the cards out.  I can not wait to share them with you! 

9 months to go.. : ) .

     Wow, I am in trouble once again in the blog world... It has been over 2 months since I have blogged and I'm a pretty sad with that.  But in my defense... I did pick up another job to help with wedding costs, so I pretty much work everyday. So, by the time I get off I barely have time to get things done before it's bed time! Or if I am off in the morning, I sleep in.  I am sure you all can find it in your blog loving hearts to forgive me. : ) . Keep reading if you do, because I have LOTS to catch you up on!

     The Dress: I have it in my possession! The emailed me in October and said that my dress came in early.  And that they could only store it for two weeks.  So, we paid it off and picked it up.  My mom thought they keep it till the wedding, but I don't think that would be the best idea for their back room.  I had to clean out my closet and I am proud that I haven't opened it up since I got it.  I hear that lots of brides forget how their dress looks, but I definitely remembered.  I put it on at the bridal shop to see how the veils looked and it was just as gorgeous as I remember.  That day was Bridal Day.  We had an appointment with the Bridal Shop and the.....

     Cake Vendor!!! : ) . So, we have another check! My dad was supposed to come to the bridal shop and the cake vendor, but work had him on the other side of town.  I was disappointed, but in the end I knew he wasn't meant to be at the Cake Shop.  Haha. The budget enforcer would have been having a tough job!! My mom and I were horrible together! Lol. We were saying yes to everything! We designed the most beautiful cake. It really is going to be a nice cake.  I incorporated the swirls on the invitations and the monogram.  Mr. Bloom mentioned to me once that he likes the "quilted" look, so I also incorporated that.  The cutest of all is the fact that every other layer is orange butter almond.  The cake will be ivory and tiffany on the outside, then when you cut it open it will be orange. One of the cute details! The second layer will have our monogram on it.  Our cake lady is making the monogram out of Swarovski Crystals, so that when all is said and done we can keep the monogram off of our cake! (She's giving that to us as a wedding present!) The cake tastes amazing, and it's going to look amazing.  So, we put the deposit down and there you go!! 

     Next, I am working on a craft for my Bridesmaids.  Just to let them know it is official.  I decided that I needed final decision on them by the end of December.  So, I used my smarts and changed some things and picked 5.  I hope that is not too many, most are practically family.  I hope that will cut back on the drama. haha. We shall see! I will def post pics of that process.. 

     Anyways, let me post this blog before it's less than 9 months to go! haha.  I apologize for my lack of blogging, but I definitely will try my best through this busy time to post as much as possible.  Thanks for forgiving me and reading. ; ) .