Merry Christmas!

i hope you all are having a wonderful Christmas!  here's the Christmas card i designed for us this year... sorry i couldn't send it to each and everyone of you... so i hope this will do!

i'll be off the grid for the next week, enjoying a little break with family and friends!

have a happy New Year!

all i want for Christmas...

i blogged my favorite things over on my events blog... i wanted to invite all my JDV readers over to check it out here: Blair Britt Events

{special order} custom necklace for a cause

a few weeks ago a sorority sister of mine sent me an email asking me to make a very special necklace for her mom... she asked me to make the following necklace because her mom had been in remission from battling melanoma, and then recently found out that the melanoma was back and now her mom is in the middle of cutting edge treatments to knock the cancer out again! she said that her mom's tag line is "hope."  she wanted something that she could wear throughout this new chapter in fighting this cancer... so we did a stamped disc with her inspirational word, this way she could wear it always, during treatments, on the good and bad days... and to remember there is hope!

we did the green stone because that's her mom's favorite color...

i really was honored she asked me to make this for her mom, it was especially meaningful to me because this past summer my mom was diagnosed with lymphoma.  a good part of summer was spent visiting my mom's FABULOUS doctor, playing chauffeur to and from chemo treatments, and of course shopping on the good days!  Cancer is such a scary word to those who haven't dealt with it personally or observed it firsthand with ones you love.  While it's not a walk in the park, it is something that builds family unity, and in our family's case strengthened our faith in God too... He really blessed my mom and our family in that she never lost her hair, never really was sick from chemo, and a few weeks back we found out my mom is in remission already!

i'm praying that my friend's mom can stay strong and have faith & hope that she will be healed... and i hope that my little contribution will be one that will help keep her spirits up through this chapter in her family's lives.

holiday madness! {sort of}

i will say that i love the holidays... i love them A LOT! but at times working in an industry that has such large mood swings with the seasons can be difficult.  i think the holidays are naturally such a busy time of year and on top of the regular hustle and bustle i run around like a crazy woman sometimes trying to reply to client emails, picking up supplies, dropping items off to my printer for holiday cards, going to the post office, fed ex, etc {that last one being my least favorite part}.... i sacrifice sleep, time with my husband {which thankfully he is pretty tolerant of}, and sometimes a little bit of my sanity...


i promise i'm not griping!


.... but when i see custom projects completed, hear the excited responses from clients, and get feedback from my readers and facebook fans - it makes it all worth it! making a client's day makes me so happy, there is something so gratifying about creating to help produce joy in another's life.... and that is why i do what i do.  sometimes my friends and family tell me i'm crazy, and maybe i am a little bit =), but i'm crazy about what it is that i do.  i'm crazy about creating!


here's a little eye candy from a few things that i've shipped out this week...

:: :: a monogram/ mommy necklace :: ::

mixed metal of gold and silver, 

the gold tag is stamped with the mom & dad's married monogram & anniversary date

the little silver disc has a hammered texture and then is stamped for their son's initial!

 :: :: italian christmas banner :: ::

for my parent's to gift to a christmas party hostess

{i left it unstrung because my mom wanted to choose her ribbon}

... don't you love the glittered letters? 

:: :: custom luggage tags {modern style} ::  ::

for a friend/client to gift to her brother's fiance and girlfriend 

{one loves purple and lime green & the other is a TCU cheerleader, hence the purple & white}

{i didn't get the best shots of these because i took them at night, so hence the flash on the casing}

:: :: sorry for the blur, i don't want her getting solicited :: ::

::  :: address side for the TCU tag :: ::

more goodies to come!

and thanks everyone for the christmas orders =)

{blog love} JDV hair accessory on Style me Pretty today

... one way to brighten up a monday is being emailed that a client's wedding was featured on Style me Pretty!  and what a great surprise today thanks SMP =)... too bad i've been crazy busy all day and away from my computer most of the day, so i'm just now posting about it.  even though my role as a vendor was pretty small in relation to the amazing photography, the gorgeous decor details, and of course Whitney {the beautiful bride}, i was very honored she asked me to create a custom hair piece for her and a headband for her cute lil' flower girl {and an oh so stylish one at that}!


a few months back Whitney contacted me to create a custom hair piece for her wedding day, she had emailed me this photo as inspiration, a hairpiece totally comprised of vintage brooches and other jewelry pieces.

after seeing the style lace wedding dress she had chosen, i knew i wanted to soften up the hairpiece by incorporating some vintage looking lace trim... so i scoured some local vintage shops and went online to find the perfect little floral jewelry pieces to create these!  once Kacee Geoffroy worked her hair and make up magic on Whitney those little hairpieces in my opinion complimented her bridal style just perfectly. {i might be biased though} =)

after seeing Whit's wedding photos, i am totally in LOVE with Wildflower Photography's work too, here are a few of my favorite shots they captured!

as this was a one of a kind piece i created for Whitney, and since my custom items are made to order, you won't find them in my etsy shop - if you are interested in a hair piece like this, please feel free to email me directly and i would be so happy to create the perfect accessory for you! JDVdesign@gmail.com.

and of course thanks to Whitney for allowing me to help accessorize her on her wedding day! =)....  those two other pretty ladies on each side of her are her sisters, and the one on the left is her big sis Morgan, i'll be showing you Morgan's wedding invites pretty soon! so thankful i get the opportunity to work with this fabulous family again! =)

{holiday} custom *typographie style* christmas cards

hi everyone!


sorry i've been lacking in the blogging department recently... but i do come bearing photos for you in an attempt to make up for it! this is not a "oh-woe-is-me story" but please excuse my absence as i was rear-ended the week before thanksgiving, i'm fine, but it's been a lot of shuffling my car to the body shop, to the dealer to repair other non-related issues, entertaining the idea of selling this one and buying another one, research, car shopping and test-driving, all of this on top of life and everything else that goes on this time of year with the holidays... so needless to say i haven't had a ton of time to blog.  so i'm sorry i've kept my readers hanging... but i've been trying to catch {or at least deal} with this curveball that's been thrown at me... i really hadn't been thinking about buying a car until my accident.  anyhow, that sums up where i've been the past two and a half weeks!


now on to the Christmas Cards...


here's one of the recent christmas cards designs i finished up for a couple celebrating a new baby on the way in 2011!  however i can't reveal the whole thing as they are friends of our's and i know that they aren't in the mail quite yet! =)

 what i can say is, we centered their photo and i designed a "frame-like" boarder around their photo using different fonts, colors, and words that represent Christmas time...

it was so fun to mix up the lime and evergreen colors with the cardinal red and all the eclectic fonts!

we paired them with kraft recycled brown paper envelopes {think trader joe's shopping bag color}, then i designed and had a custom rubber hand stamp made for them {with their family name and address} to use for their Christmas cards and any of their other social stationery, all they have to do is change up the ink color and it'll become a totally different stamp!


if you are interested in me designing Christmas cards for you, the cut off to order them is quickly approaching on Sunday, December 12th!  email me at JDVpaperie{at}gmail.com if you're interested

{new paperie item} more colorful luggage tags

introducing the Bamboo luggage tag line!

these will be going in the paperie shop soon... and remember you can totally customize the color scheme of the background, text, and the shape around the monogram.

right now i have them listed for $7 for one tag, but soon i'll be offering 2 tags for $12

 {since we all know that us gals don't just pack one bag when we travel!} =)

what a great gift idea for Christmas or even for a newlywed's luggage... and yes, if you're wondering, i can make these in styles that would appeal to guys! just email me and i can set you up with a custom design! 

{new paperie item} 4 custom address stamps listed

just wanted to stop by to give you all a quick update about 4 new stamp options just listed in my paperie etsy shop... these would make great christmas gifts for any new home owners you might happen to know, or some newlyweds sharing their first home together, or even for yourself to adorn your christmas card envelopes.... that's how these designs came about actually! some christmas card clients wanted a custom address stamp to use for their christmas card envelopes... i fell in love with all four designs so i thought i'd offer them in the shop!

the great thing about these stamps is that they do it all!  use it to stamp blank business cards, use them on letterhead, or even blank stationery cards.  the fabulous thing about rubber stamps is if you get bored with your paper or ink color you can easily change those out to keep your info and look fresh and unique!

here there are -

:: ::  the Sassy  ::  ::

::  ::  the Rustic  ::  ::

::  ::  the Traditional ::  ::

::  ::  the Formal  ::  ::

happy shopping!

come shop and see me this weekend!

hi everyone! i wanted to share this weekend's holiday boutique info with you... i'll be selling my goodies at the Wedding Pantry in old town Tustin this saturday, along with some other vendors from 10am - 2pm.  come see some one of a kind items i've created exclusively for this weekend's boutique! also, the taco dawg food truck will be there to serve lunch!  if you're free come by and get some of your Christmas and/or wedding shopping done!

ps. due to prepping for for the boutique and due to a car accident recently in {yes i'm fine, a little sore, but happy to be safe} i'm going to put my 30 day blog challenge on hold till i make it through this weekend, so please check back next week as i'll start the challenge back up again.

Day 2: Meaning behind your blog name.

well, in short the name of my blog is the name of one of my two businesses... Joie de Vie Jewelry, Accessories, & Paperie.  now if you want the "Blair" version of the reason i named my business Joie de Vie keep reading....

in high school i chose to take french classes rather than the ever so popular spanish classes, it was a way to bump my way up on the list of students who had applied to my high school, since there was a long waiting list of people wanting to attend.  they figured living in so cal, most people would want to take spanish, however, since my mom and brother had both taken french i fancied the idea of speaking french like them... i always loved how fancy french expressions sounded, especially one in particular: "Joie de vivre".... here's what wikipedia say's about it:

Joie de vivre (from the French joie, "joy"; de, "of"; vivre, "to live, living"; "the joy of living") is a term sometimes imported into English to express a cheerful enjoyment of life; an exultation of spirit. Joie de vivre

"can be a joy of conversation, joy of eating, joy of anything one might do… And joie de vivre may be seen as a joy of everything, a comprehensive joy, a philosophy of life, a Weltanschauung. Robert's Dictionnaire says joie is sentiment exaltant ressenti par toute la conscience, that is, involves one's whole being."^[1]

In English common usage, the phrase is sometimes corrupted to joie de vie. ^[2] This would translate to "joy of life" or "zest for life," rather than the more affirmative "joy of living." Joie de vive is another common spelling error.

i believe that living life to the fullest is the only way to live it! so, this quickly became one of my favorite french expressions... however, when it came time to name my business, the domain "joiedevivre.com" was taken by some darn San Fran hotel chain {and they took JDV.com too} but that company deserves it because their hotels are pretty great! so i decided to be one of those "english speakers who corrupted it to Joie de Vie." =)  my goal in my business was to create and do things that would help bring joie or joy to my client's lives!  and that's how and why Joie de Vie was picked for my business and blog name!

oh and if you are wondering how the heck you pronounce it...  sound it out: Jwah-duh-vee =) bet you didn't think you'd get a french lesson out of this post!

Day 1:Introduce, recent picture, 15 interesting facts.

introduction eh?

well, my name is blair britt, it used to be blair schron when i started this blog... funny thing is my older brother's name is britt schron, it was totally normal when i was blair schron... then i married a man with the last name BRITT... creating an ongoing joke in my family about me being "blair schron britt" and my brother being "britt schron"... and on facebook it's even more confusing.... ok enough with confusing you about my name =)

justus and i at a friend's wedding in september

i'm blair britt, i married my husband justus over 2 years ago and we live in orange county, where i was born and raised, and hope to live for a long time to come! we have a circus {as we like to call it} that consists of 3 animals: Sparky the handicapped goldfish who has been in our care, for better of worse, for more than 6 years now.... there's Chi Chi the chinchilla that i acquired a year after Sparky, thinking a chinchilla would be the PERFECT pet while i was still in college, needless to say, she's really fluffy and soft, but not like having a dog or cat.  Third and finally we have Misty our ragdoll, fluffball, and totally gorgeous cat.  she is so spunky, acts like a dog half the time and is our little buddy, she gets the royal treatment and yes she is the favorite of the three, sorry Sparky & Chi Chi!

my 15 "interesting facts" + 1 

no. 1 - in case you haven't noticed, i don't like to capitalize unless i'm trying to make a point, i'm not the best proof-reader of my own work {hence typos occasionally}, also i'm not the greatest with punctuation, but i still write regardless.

no. 2 - if you asked J, he'd tell you i'm a busy body, if you ask me, i'd say i have creative A.D.D

no. 3 -  i own two small business:  Joie de Vie Jewelry, Accessorries, & Paperie  and  Blair Britt Events

no. 4 - i started my college career at Long Beach State as a graphic design major, and i ended up graduating from the University of Southern California with a degree in sociology {which now i wish had been graphic design} oh if only i knew then what i know now.... =)

no. 5 - i'm missing both of my upper lateral teeth and have had two fake teeth on a bridge for 10 years now

no. 6 - i'm the youngest of 3 kids, my older brother Chris is 40, Britt the next oldest is 36, and i'm 27 - quite the generational gap {and yes i was planned}

no. 7 - i love the idea of reading books, but i always ruin them by reading the last page when i'm about 3 chapters in, i always want to know how it ends... i guess to determine if i should keep reading

no. 8 - i have 5 nephews, so the pressure's on for us to have a girl when we start a family

*    *    *    * are we having fun yet?? *    *    *    *

no. 9 - i used to do extra work in college - you can see me in the movie Dare Devil, the OC, the first episode of CSI Miami, and the short lived show American Bandstand.

no. 10 - i'm right handed but i shoot a basketball better lefty

no. 11 - i am VERY random, just ask my friend's about the voicemail i leave them

no. 12 - i am a realtor, just not working in that industry anymore

no. 13 - if i could live in another generation it'd be in the 1950's - post war, everyone living the good life, cute fashion - c'mon the poodle skirts and saddle shoes, suburban life, great music!

no. 14 - i am an insomniac yet i love sleep, i never can get enough of it, but maybe that's because i stay up all hours of the night....

no. 15 - i'm looking forward to being the kind of mom mine is to me {love her}

plus one - 

i love to create.  the reason i said earlier that i have creative A.D.D. is that not a day goes by that i don't have a new creative project on my mind.  i'm constantly thinking about, planning or dreaming up ways to create something i've seen or an idea i have mapped out in my head and it's just waiting to be brought to life.  i'm the kind of person that if i think i can make it rather than buy it, i will... and i mean that in the most humble way =)  i believe that God gives everyone gifts, sometimes it takes us longer than others to know what those gifts are... and i believe i was given the gift of creativity.  i love to create beautiful things, whether it be a necklace to adorn a bride on her very special wedding day, or the paper goods to announce the arrival of a couples' most precious first born child, or it could even be creating and producing an elaborate design theme for my clients' wedding day - i take great pleasure in them all!  i have such a passion for using my creativity to make people's lives more enriched and joyful, and if i can succeed in serving others in this way, then my mission in life is being accomplished.

see you tomorrow!

30 day blog challenge

in an attempt to become a better blogger and to help my readers get to know me a little better, i'm joining the party... the 30 day blog challenge party! ok, well maybe it's not a party... but it can be if you'd like to join me! i visited a friend's blog this week and thought "wow, she's on top of it, explaining the name of her blog, things about her, really fun stuff...." then i scrolled down to find the reason behind her well written and well thought out posts... she's doing the following 30 day challenge... and i've decided i would like to do the same {thanks Ash for the inspiration}!  to all my blogging friends, i invite you to join in the challenge or the party, whichever you'd like to think of it as.... if you decide to do it, let me know because i'd love to follow along!


i'll be back tomorrow with my first post of the challenge!


If you do want to follow along and do the Challenge, too, here are the topics:

30 Day Blog Challenge

Day 1:Introduce, recent picture, 15 interesting facts.
Day 2: Meaning behind your blog name.
Day 3: Your first love.
Day 4: Your parents.
Day 5: Your siblings.
Day 6: A picture of something that makes you happy.
Day 7: Favorite movies.
Day 8: A place where you've traveled.
Day 9: A picture of your friends.
Day 10: Something of which you are afraid.
Day 11: Favorite T.V. shows.
Day 12: What you believe.
Day 13: Goals.
Day 14: A picture you love.
Day 15: Life motto/inspirational quote.
Day 16: Dream house.
Day 17: Something you're looking forward to.
Day 18: Something you regret.
Day 19: Something you miss.
Day 20: Nicknames.
Day 21: Picture of yourself.
Day 22: Favorite city. 
Day 23: Favorite vacation.
Day 24: Something you've learned.
Day 25: Put your iTunes on shuffle; name the first ten songs.
Day 26: Picture of your family.
Day 27: Pets.
Day 28: Something that stresses you out.
Day 29: Three wishes.
Day 30: A closing picture and something of which you are proud.

{recent project} baby samantha's birth announcement

yep, another recent project!  i've been so behind on my blogging and i know how much my readers enjoy seeing what i've been up to, and it's no fun when i'm not updating the blog, so... consider this week me trying to make up for my lack of eye-candy filled posting in the past few months...

now, i'd like for you to meet Samantha Grace.... =)

 miss SG, as her mama lovingly calls her is the cute little bundle of love of two of our college friends, SG's daddy and my hubs were fraternity brothers, and his wife and i became pals back at one of their fraternity formals... this mommy and daddy duo are just wonderful people and i know they are going to be an awesome parental team to this sweet little lady! and of course they'll raise her right... to cheer on the Trojans of course, Fight On! .... sorry, had to get that out =)

SG's mommy has a blog of her own {OC Goodmama}, and we used the background pattern from her blog as the inspiration for the pattern of the announcement, but we bumped the pink up to more of a fuchsia to match the little headband SG is sportin' in her photo!  Then we paired the boldness of the pink with the grey text and envelopes, and i just love the way the custom return addy pops off the envelope!

 :: :: ::  SG's close up  :: :: ::

:: :: ::  text close up  :: :: ::

:: :: ::  close up of the whole she-bang  :: :: ::

if you happen to be in the market for birth announcements for a new addition, or maybe you need 1st birthday invite, these could easily be turned into those!  i just love this mod pattern and would love to create these for you, change up the colors, make matchy cupcake flags, goodie bag toppers, i'd just love to work with this pattern again!  you can shoot me an email at JDVpaperie@gmail.com

this is another item that i'll be listing in my new Joie de Vie Paperie etsy shop, so keep an eye out!

{recent project} baby girl shower goodies

recently i had the opportunity to create few custom items for a lovely prior client, who i not only had the pleasure of working with on design projects for her wedding, 

but i also coordinated her wedding day too!

so i was stoked when i heard from Melissa and that she was hoping i could a make a few colorful touches for a baby shower she was hosting.  she sent me this photo of the bedding the couple was using in their new little girl's room as inspiration for a banner, a welcome sign, and some cupcake toppers.

here's the sign i created to hang from the front door to welcome guests to the shower, i just love how colorful it is!

close up =)

here's the coordinated banner... 

i really wish i had a better place in our house to photograph banners, alas i do not, so our tv console will have to do! 

close up of ribbon detail and the oh-so-cute dotted paper!

and here are the cupcake toppers... we did the 3 different colors and phrases for a little variety

thanks Mel for the order... i can't wait to see more pics from the shower!

if you are interested in custom items such as these, feel free to shoot me an email at JDVpaperie@gmail.com and we can work on the perfect details for your event!

also, i'll be listing these items in my new etsy shop Joie de Vie Paperie, soon so you can order these very items for your upcoming party!