Going to the Chapel

I was thrilled to find out that two of my very close friends are getting married, and even more excited when they asked me to help create their wedding invitations. After putting together a few sample designs, they selected a typography-driven option that we tweaked to their liking.

Forgive the gaps – they’re Photoshopp-ed for privacy.

The invite and RSVP cards were printed with a regular inkjet printer. The envelope return address and RSVP address were screenprinted with a Gocco.

It was nerve-wracking to break out my PG-11 after four years of non-use, but it came back just like riding a bicycle. In no time, my dining room table was covered in screenprinted envelopes.

It wasn’t all smooth sailing – I ran into problems in the eleventh hour trying to address envelopes with my printer. The ink was streaking as they went through the rollers, leaving them unacceptably sloppy. So it was Martha to the rescue! I hit up my local Staples, who have a new Martha Stewart line of paper and office supplies. I found some fun shaped labels that I had no trouble customizing and running through the printer. Problem solved! I like the finished look with the labels much better anyway.

Congratulations, Abbey and Leticia!

This is not my last wedding-related crafting binge… expect more posts in the coming weeks!

Happy Valentine’s Day!

Regardless of your marital status, I hope everyone is enjoying their Valentine’s Day!

We keep it pretty low key here — we went to the shooting range (for real!) and then had a nice dinner to celebrate this past weekend. I wanted to do a little something special for him, especially after he had orchids (my favorite!) delivered at my office on Monday. He’s not huge on sending flowers, so it was kind of a big deal. But what do you get for a guy who doesn’t want anything on Valentine’s Day?

You make him Star Wars valentines.

Clockwise from the top left, we have ‘You’re the Obi Wan for me,’ ‘I wanna Leia,’ ‘Don’t close the blast doors… to your heart,’ and ‘Need someone to love? I’m-a-ya-doll-a!’ Yes, the puns are terrible, I’m aware. With the exception of the stormtrooper (saw that one on the net), the foul wordplay is all mine.

For the backs, I kept it simple… Leia and Han’s perfect exchange from The Empire Strikes Back. And coupons for cookies, foot rubs, and some uninterrupted ‘Clone Wars’ time. I hate that show.

Total cost: $0! I used Word to design the valentines, then printed them on cardstock that I had on hand. They were hidden in his lunch box, with his keys, in his car, and I sent the last one to him via interoffice mail. This all may sound silly to you, but I know for a fact he enjoyed it — he hung the Obi Wan valentine in his cubicle! I’m touched.

Besides the beautiful flowers, my favorite Jedi also got me a very thoughtful gift — fabric! And *owl* fabric, no less. I’m a little obsessed with owls. Apparently he’s taken note of the ceramic hoots that have taken over our house, and got me this charm pack made up entirely of different owl prints.

I need to think of the perfect project to use them for. 🙂

Crafty Christmas

Still toiling away on some stubborn Christmas presents… but I’ve had some time to finish up a few holiday decorations for the house in the meantime.

I’ve been taking stained glass lessons from my mother, an accomplished glass artist. My first project was a basic Christmas ornament. I love how it turned out!

Room for improvement, but I think I’m hooked. Already brainstorming my next (post-holidays) piece.

Project number two is a wreath made out of pinecones that I collected on our last trip to the beach. The sappy fingers paid off when I finally got around to finishing it this weekend.

The basic construction is as follows: styrofoam wreath form, wrapped in cheap brown ribbon. Add a bunch of pinecones, a ton of hot glue, and voila! The final product is more fragile than I had anticipated, so I won’t be hanging it outside as planned, but it looks right at home above the fireplace.

I’d love to show you a picture of the whole fireplace setup, but we’re mantle-less at the moment. We are in the process of trading out the ugly unfinished plank that came with the house with some gorgeous white granite — a steal from a local stone and tile place’s scrap pile. For the time being, though, our stockings are homeless!

Boo!

We’re getting into the swing of Halloween here at la casa Sticks. And nothing says “Welcome living, dead and undead” quite like a wreath o’ bones.

Full credit goes to Meg at Mega Spooky for her great tutorial. I couldn’t find the styrofoam skeleton pieces that she used, so I improvised. I bought two hollow plastic lawn skeletons from Michaels (with 40% off coupons, cha-ching). I can’t find a listing for them on Michael’s website, but it looks like Party City carries a similar item.

I actually planned ahead for once, and took some nice in-progress pictures for blogging. After quickly dismantling the joints with a Philips head, I collected my supplies… (Foreshadowing: note the glue)

Started arranging…

Arranged more…

And right about there is where it all went to hell. The glue I purchased was a complete disaster. As was the second kind I bought, on a repeat trip to Home Depot. And the hot glue I tried after that didn’t work either. After my quick little crafty project turned into an afternoon of frustration, I was ready to give up completely. Cue my lovely husband, who suggested that I try using his scary looking high-temp industrial glue gun. And voila! That did the trick.

He deserves credit for the rose in Bonehead’s teeth, as well. It’s the perfect finishing touch. He looks appropriately spooky under the glow of our orange porch light!