Etsy Crush | All Custom Gifts

Eli's first birthday is only two weeks away! Gah! In between crying my eyes out and being in shock I have been planning his party. I am a believer that kid's birthday parties should be simple and low key, especially the first (I mean he isn't even going to remember it!), but at the same time I love to throw parties.

I love an excuse to be creative with decorations and create cute little favors, color coordinate place settings, put together a kick-ass playlist, and cook up some yummy food for my friends and family. So far I think I have managed to keep things more on the sweet and simple side. The theme is Teddy Bear Picnic and I plan to put together some simple picnic-y food, throw some blankets on the ground and give out simple homemade chocolate chip cookies as favors (with adorable coordinating stickers of course).

One of the things I had my heart set on was cupcakes. I love cupcakes and I desperately wanted an excuse to create cupcake toppers with the cute teddy bear from E's invites (more on those later). So I decided it was the perfect time to finally buy a cupcake tower. I have wanted one of these for as long as cupcakes have been 'in'. But I had a hard time finding just the right one. I wanted it to be reusable, tasteful and more on the plain side so that I could use it for lots of different themes (I love for my parties to have themes).

Flower Cupcake Stand by All Custom Gifts

Enter the amazing Flower Cupcake Stand from All Custom Gifts on Etsy. As soon as I saw it I knew it was the cupcake stand for me. I was totally blown away when I read that they are made from PVC material. How could something from the hardware store look so cute an chic?? I love that it's clean white, geometric design will easily go from a child's birthday party to a stylish bridal shower and back again.

Now all I need to do is buy some picnic baskets, print the cupcake toppers, bake some cookies, wash all my blankets, assemble mini sandwiches............

Grace Not Perfection

Grace Not Perfection by Emily Ley

Wearing a lot of hats can be overwhelming and lately I feel as though I am wearing some pretty heavy hats and not necessarily doing an awesome job in any of them. Trying to be the best mommy possible to E, work on building my business to the point I can pay myself what I was making before at my 'real' job, being a caring and loving wife to my hubby - these are just a few of the 'hats' I feel like I wear on a daily basis.

I have always been a perfectionist (my friends and family lovingly refer to me as 'Martha Stewart') and I also have a knack for playing down my accomplishments and success. Despite my wonderfully supportive husband's best efforts I always have an 'I could've done it better' attitude. I suppose that this is good to some extent as it drives me to ever improve myself, but it can also make me feel stressed out more often then is probably healthy.

But I can not go on this way. Although it might push me forward, constantly beating myself up for not being 'perfect' takes all of the sweetness out of the things I have accomplished. And I have to remember that it is ok to be proud of what I have done. And if I don't get everything done in the day that I wanted to, or a customer doesn't like the design I made for her, or business slows down and I hit a lull - it's going to be all right.

Another invitation designer that I find a lot of inspiration from recently posted about this very subject on her blog. She challenged herself to a standard of grace instead of perfection. To me this means do the best you can and be content that you put your best effort forward, even though it might not be perfect. Because no one is perfect, everyone makes mistakes and hits road blocks, but you can't let that get in the way of your passion and fire to move forward and try, try again.

Download the 'Grace Not Perfection' image here.

Summer Flies By

Ice Cream Social Birthday Party Invite

It seems like just yesterday Spring was just starting to unravel it's fragile fingers and then suddenly August was halfway over. Time seems to fly by fast each year and this Summer went in record time. Now all I see on TV are ads for Back To School sales and previews for this Falls new sitcoms.

Summer is Wedding Season and this was by far my best yet. Of course I contribute a lot of that to the fact that I was working at building my business full-time and devoting all of my spare moments to designing, marketing, printing, cutting...etc. I learned a lot, my business grew and I am finally feeling settled into this new routine.

There is still a lot to do and finding the time proves harder than 'before baby', but I wouldn't change a thing. I recently designed the invitations for Eli's 1st birthday party, a mere month away. I am in shock that it came so soon and yet it seems like light years ago that I was pregnant, waddling around my house hoping and wishing that today would be the day our little boy would make his appearance. Now he is close to walking, eats spaghetti and is obsessed with climbing stairs. I was warned and yet so unprepared!

Balloon and Banner Birthday Invitation

Planning his birthday party has sparked a few new invitation designs which I am happy to add to my Baby and Kids section. I am hoping this is just the beginning of many children themed stationery items I will add to my shop in the coming months. Now that I hired a dear friend to help me with the website re-design I am feeling more confident (and less stressed!) that it will get done sometime this year.

Jammin'

Wedding season is in full swing which means there are not enough hours in the day! My office has been jammin' the last few weeks with invitation orders and some other fun stuff, like these darling jam labels.

Of course all work and no play makes for a boring Summer, so I have been doing a lot of traveling to show off my little (or not so little!) bundle of cuteness who has suddenly morphed into more of a little boy! It breaks my heart a little to see him grow up so fast, but watching him grow is awesome and oh so rewarding.

Some exciting things going on and coming up:

Check out my article in the newest issue of Vermont Bride Magazine! I will be contributing a little something in each issue to help with all of your invitation questions and quandaries.

Truly Noted just signed on to be a part of the 2nd Annual Vermont Bride Gala. I am so excited to be a part of this event! It is going to be at Boyden Farm and the theme this year is Alice In Wonderland. Unlike other wedding shows, this one involves each vendor to help bring the theme to life. I have been dreaming up all kinds of fun Wonderland inspired stationery items!

Hopefully coming soon- a new website for Truly Noted! In between invitation mock-ups I have been plugging away at a new web layout that will feature a cleaner, more streamlined look. And of course some new invitation designs! I have tweaked the Truly Noted logo a bit, too, which is going live on my Facebook today!

Hope you are all enjoying this fabulous Summer weather and maybe when the season starts to wind down I might find a little more time to do some blogging! ;-)

Oh, hello there!

Despite my lack of blogging lately, I am indeed still here. Not only am I here, I am officially working my butt off. I figured being a work-at-home-mom would be a big job, but I never figured on working harder than I ever have in my whole life. And yet, I love every single moment of it!

Each day whizzes by and each morning comes too soon. Some days it is a struggle to get down to my office and do much more than stay barely on top of the projects I have already. Then there is the occasional afternoon where inspiration strikes just right and I manage to whip up a few more designs for the Etsy shop.

My goal was to have 50 things for sale in my Etsy store, and I am excited to say that as of today I have a total of 60! Now I have the goal of going through and getting rid of some old designs that no one seems interested in and reviving others. Gotta keep it fresh!

Here is a sampling of some of the new stuff in the Truly Noted shop.

This Tree On A Hill design reminds me of the view out my front door. Majestic, yet somehow soft looking mountains on the horizon and a lush tree that makes you feel like there is a breeze even if there isn't one. The colors I picked are some of my favorites, but I think this would look dynamite in a few other Summer and Fall color combos as well.

I have done a few skyline invitations in the past and have wanted to add a line of them to my shop for a while. This is the first in a series of simple and classy cityscape designs I hope to introduce over the next month or so. I love the idea of a wedding in the big city, with the bustle and the grand buildings adding to the excitement and buzz in the air! Boston is a city I have visited many times and the old-fashioned banner illustration seems to fit the feeling there.

I have also been trying to add more Baby Shower invitations to the mix. Wedding season has been so busy that this area of my shop sort of sat on the back burner for a few weeks. But I want to really try and pump up this portion of the shop, as well as start adding in birthday party invitations to the mix. I just finished a few new baby shower designs and this Red Umbrella design is my favorite! I love umbrellas and I love the bright red and navy combination. It's modern and sweet with just a touch of humor. I think this design would also work for a bridal shower as well!

So that is what I have been up to the last few weeks. Hopefully I will have time to post some more new designs soon! Or you can just check out the shop. ;-)

Orange You Glad It's Summer?

I recently had the honor of being included in a wedding inspiration photo shoot featuring some of the area's top talent. Kathleen of North Photography and Merriam of The Little Purple Cake Shoppe hatched the idea over cupcakes and set out to gather all of the necessary details to make it amazing.

The orange and lime theme is fresh and colorful- perfect for a Summer wedding on the lake! I love all the light and airy details plus the antique touches that add just the right amount of romance. Hints of teal make the orange and lime really pop and adds just enough contrast for a truly gorgeous setting.

But enough talk and on to the photos! But first, here is a list of all the area professionals that were involved:

The Little Purple Cake Shoppe

Just Weddings Floral Design

Fiori Bridal Boutique

Truly Noted Stationary

The Grand Isle Lake House

North Photography

The shoot took place at The Grand Isle Lake House in Grand Isle. It is a beautiful spot overlooking the lake. Set away from the nearest town it is a serene and peaceful location. It also offers rooms for your guests to stay in and booking the entire Inn is definitely the way to go and offers you the most bang for your buck. My Brother-In-Law was married here a few Summers ago and I can say it was one of the most memorable weddings I have ever attended!

I designed a pocketfold style invitation for the shoot, but it is not your traditional pocketfold. I took a patterned pocket and adhered it to the inside of a folded invite. I love the bright green floral pattern with the hints of orange and the faded, antique illustration with the bride and groom's names.

Gorgeous floral bouquet (and all other flowers) were done by Just Weddings Floral Design. The teal and lace wrap really make this bouquet special.

Dress and shoes provided by Fiori Bridal (my favorite wedding dress shop). The necklace and earrings were custom made by Fiori as well- something I never knew they offered, but what a fabulous service!

These gorgeous cake jars from The Little Purple Cake Shop look so yummy! I also designed a menu for the place settings.

I love the idea of using oranges (or any kind of fruit or vegetable) for the name cards. I cut these leaves out of metallic paper and they are attached with colorful pins. Such an easy and fresh way to make your tables special.

Fun, custom labels hung off of the cake jars.

Merriam and I collaborated for the Bride and Groom signs. I created the frame and name part and she painted the wooden signs for them to go on. I love the ribbon and floral touches!

Etsy Crush | Recycled Ideas

Plantable Birch Tree Leaves by Recycled Ideas

Eco-weddings are becoming more and more popular as we realize the impact every facet of our lives has on the environment. Couples have an increasingly large selection of eco-friendly products to choose from and products like these plantable paper birch leaves make it easy to make the jump to being 'green'.

From Etsy shop Recycled Ideas, these charming plantables also come in flower and heart shapes, among many other unique offerings, and are full of flower seeds such as poppy, cosmos and black eyed susans. I am particularly drawn to the leaves pictured above and think they would make lovely favors for a nature themed wedding. Or string them onto a large branch and invite guests to write good wishes for the happy couple. Then after you read through them they can be recycled in the backyard for a beautiful display every Spring to remind you of your special day.