Cards, Cards and More Cards

With my newest obsession of Photoshop Elements, I have made a few really fun projects for myself and friends. I've already posted my own family Christmas card, but I also made a card for my friend Leslie who just had her baby. She wanted to do a combo Xmas card + birth announcement, so we went for something simple that I found on Pinterest. All I had to do was download the PSD template, spend hours doing what I'm sure a real photog could do in 2 minutes, and voila! Card ready for print.

Front (pic taken by the Dad!)

Back

It's the Holiday Season at the Sheep Camp!

My husband Mat's family has a ranch in Utah (aka the Sheep Camp) and this year we went there to take Christmas card photos. While I'm no big fan of getting my picture taken these days, I have to say the scenery and backgrounds were gorg.

The Old Cabin at the Sheep Camp. Mat & I are in a fight over which is better: this black/white OR...

This in-color edit?

The fact that Dexter is laying down is a success... looking at the camera is just asking way too much. 

Awwww, mother-daughter moment.

Somehow, she is the Dexter Whisperer.

Mat & his siblings

After the blood, sweat and tears involved in this photo shoot, here is our finished Christmas card:

Front

Back

I found these ridiculously adorable cards on Etsy, and the REAL photographer from the Sheep Camp photo shoot took the front picture. The real photog also happens to be Mat's cousin and she is, in a word, amazing. She did all of our engagements and wedding photos and is basically da bomb. Book her while she's hot. She is a real photog; Mat and I are wannabe's.

Ho Ho Ho!

Well, Christmas has come and gone, and so has my money! My Christmas present to myself was my super fancy (to me) DSLR camera. I got the Canon Rebel EOS T3i - definitely an entry-level but totally capable DSLR. It came with a standard 18-55mm kit lens, but I'm planning on upgrading to the EF 50mm lens in either the the f/1.8  or the f/1.4 depending on how rich I'm feeling. So far, I'm pretty much a noob. My husband keeps hogging it because he actually has some working knowledge of how to use such a fancy camera, but I have taken control of the editing process so maybe we make a good team after all. For those of you that use Photoshop Elements, you know all about actions. I am obsessed. They're easy to use and give your photos that professional look that amateurs always drool over. So far, I've only dabbled in the free ones... I ain't no profesh. But I did find a million awesome ones at The CoffeeShop Blog.

Snow day in SLC! 

Oh how Dexter wishes he was off leash...

My husband's adorable cousins at his family's Christmas Progressive Dinner. 

Mat was practicing with filters on our camera. He's so artsy fartsy.

More artsy fartsy from Mat... ahem, Mathew Raymond Photography. 

Christmas morning with Mat & his sister Alli.

By the way, here is the best post-Christmas pin I wish I would've seen pre-Christmas. And, be sure to check out your local craft stores. I know Michael's and Hobby Lobby have awesome sales post-Christmas!

It's Turkey Day!

Happy belated Turkey Day! With the holidays coming (and going), if you're anything like me you're doing your best not to host. While I may not be hosting, that doesn't mean my planning skills are going to waste. Ohhhh no. This is a lifestyle, people. So this Thanksgiving, I helped my mother-in-law set-up and decorate, Pinterest-style.

The tablecloths were $10 from Bed, Bath and Beyond. I stopped by Harmon's on my way and spent a few minutes arranging the center pieces. 

Don't forget how to "properly" set the table! 

I got this super cute banner FO FREE from a cool party site I found on Pinterest. I searched for "Thanksgiving Printables" and came across an awesome Pin with a few different options. Then, I just printed them out myself and hung up with clothes pins attached to brown ribbon.

Alli & Grandpa Etcheverry haming it up!

It's amazing how a few minutes on Pinterest and some flowers can really perk up a room. Printables are my favorite way to brighten up any party to make it look more party-official.

Leslie's Adorable Mustache Bash!

As a friend of many pregnant women, I've thrown a baby shower or two in my life. With the advent of Pinterest, my party throwing has been getting exponentially better. While part of me wishes Pinterest would have been around for my wedding, the rational part of me knows it's best it wasn't… I don't know how brides today don't drive themselves crazy with all the ideas, options, and possibilities that are all over the Pinterest universe.

While wedding planning is a whole other story, Pinterest has led me to be able to throw some pretty great baby showers. In October, my friends and I threw a pretty bomb Mustache Bash for our preggo friend Leslie. We did a brunch shower complete with mini quiches, cinnamon rolls, pancakes and… a mimosa bar, of course! 

My advice for throwing any party is to first think of your theme (clearly). Once I nail down my theme, I start thinking of all the "extra" things I will need. In this case, I knew I needed invitations, banners, mustache photo props, etc. That's when I turned to Etsy. I knew I would want some sort of cute, original invitation, so why not get a whole suite? It's usually not too expensive, and Etsy has pretty much anything you could imagine. In this case, I found a few Mustache Bash invitations I liked, then looked at each shop's listings to see which offered me the most bang for my buck. That's when I came upon the listing by Owlie Powlie. It included more than I could even see myself using, while still being ridiculously cute and in budget. 

Mustaches & lips attached to red-striped paper straws really made people laugh!

We bought these fun juice bottles from Ikea for $4 a pop. Can't go wrong with that! 

Plus, I bought the white frames for super cheap at Ikea as well. 

Annie made adorable onesies with an assortment of ties ironed onto them. 

We strung them above her fireplace with twine and clothes pins with a banner from the Etsy suite below.

One rule of thumb: an Instagram hashtag is a must. It might seem silly, but it's so much easier for guests to see all the pictures from the party in one location.

My favorite part of any party planning is the food tents. While having food tent labels may seem like somewhat of an extravagance, they usually aren't too hard to make and really make your party look Pinterest-worthy. These were editable so I was easily able to type the food names into the template before printing.

Tracy is way too awesome and made these mustache cake pops!

I was able to find a Living Social deal for the BEST bakery around, One Sweet Slice. They actually won "Cupcake Wars" on the Food Network! They made these insanely adorable cupcakes, and even died the blue frosting special to match our shower. The "Wet Your Whiskers" part of the cupcake topper was included in the Etsy printable suite. Tracy, being the Queen of Scrapbooking, made the amazing accordion-style backings you see. We simply glued them together, and then hot glued them to a lollipop stick, and voila! 

Also included in the listing were these adorbs party toppers. We gave them backing paper and attached them to wood skewers, which we then placed in vases with flowers for added decor. 

The spread: pancakes, mini quiche, yogurt with berries, mini cinnamon rolls, cupcakes, mustache sugar cookies, and mustache cake pops. 

No Mustache Bash is complete without a PHOTO BOOTH.

The mustaches, lips and ties came with the printable suite. We cut them out and used ribbon for the ties and wood skewers for the mustaches. For the "booth," we taped up a plastic tablecloth in a corner of the room, and then hung some red paper doily-thingies for some added pizazz.

Two more things: Thing 1. While it may seem expensive, a professional photog really helps to make the day special. That way no one has to be running around with a camera around their wrist or neck, and your pictures turn out so much better. We got SO lucky by hiring the amazing Haley Hodges! She was wonderful and really captured the spirit of the event. Thing 2: This party's theme was very easy to do. With a Mustache Bash, you really can't go overboard with the antics. It's a FUN, playful theme that only gets better the more cheesy, mustaches you add. I mean really, the opportunities are endless… as is Pinterest! 

Photography: Haley Hodges Photography
Printables: Owlie Powlie
Tablecloths, dish ware, plastic flowers: The Dollar Tree!
Cupcakes: One Sweet Slice