{recent projects} monogramed wedding napkins for my cuz

so yeah.... i've got some blog catching up to do! =)

so i just thought i'd show you the 5 - hundo napkins i gocco'd for my beatiful cousin who's getting married in just under a month!  it's count down time Bren =)

they are having a black and silver affair with a hint of pink...

they chose to keep it simple by tying in their traditional monogram from their wedding stationary to their cocktail napkins. i love this idea because they can use these napkins in their home, after the wedding, should they have left-overs.

my typical "printing in progress" shot...

here's a better detail shot - {however, taking these at night the flash didn't look so good so i had to settle for some blurry pics.. sorry all}

their napkins turned out to look very clean and traditional: 

black napkins with metallic silver printing

{recent project} hubby's grad announcements

first lemme say - i've been a bad, bad blogger... i'm sorry for my absence! part of the reason i quasi abandoned my blog is because my hubs finally finished law school last week... yippee! =)

it's been 3 years in the making and i can now say that i'm married to a man who is a

Juris Doctor... here's what that translates to mean:

-3 years of law school down... and now he has another degree with hours of studying, tons of hard work, late hours, and pages of papers behind him... however.... we have this to look forward to:

-2 months of 6 day a week bar exam prep classes for 6 hours each day, then more hours of studying each night... and then a crazy intense 3 day testing period at the end of July - {pause for dramatic effect}. . . . the CA bar exam

- then right after all the law craziness is done - our 1 year anniversary will be on the other side of summer waiting to greet us on August 2nd! i can't believe we're already closing in on one year - man how the time has flown... i have a feeling i'm gonna say that A LOT throughout our marriage =) i also have a feeling i'm gonna be uber busy this summer to keep up with him!

without further ado... here are the law grad announcements i made for the hubs... he told me it wasn't an opportunity to get to artsy {big bummer, but no surprise}, after all they are meant to be professional and serious he tells me!... =)

i used a way more contemporary font for the text than what the school's announcements had - and i kept them to the law school's color scheme of grey, cardinal, and black - printed them on slate grey card stock, with a cardinal ring behind the school seal with a second pass of all black text. then i gocco'd our return address on the envelope flap - sorry for the blurs, but i have to keep some things private! =)

i'll be posting more soon, as i've created quite a few new bridal pieces in my absence that i must share!

{random photos}

while i was away today my hubs borrowed my camera to capture two unrelated photos...

the first - our spazzy ragdoll, misty - she loves it when we put her up in the cut out above our glass slider... getting her down is another story...

and my hubs thought i'd love to see this: two ducks were taking a sun bath right by our pool which is viewable from our balcony.  so cute, and i love that they supposedly mate for life!

cute cute

i hope everyone had a great day with mom!

{things i dig} my former prowler sunglasses

this is a really random post - seeing how i'm up being an insomniac... all bets are off! =)

last summer while i still had a quasi-expendable income i purchase the von zipper "prowler" glasses i'd had my eye on for some time... i loved them!  had them for all of two and a half months and they were lost and/or stolen from me at the pool in vegas.... which made me super bummed.

i had just the standard black ones pictured here:

and black's an odd color pick for me since i'm blonde, but i really did love them!

i'm just wondering... if i had it to do all over again, should i go with the standard black or change up for the black with grey satin stripes?  pictured below....
or should i choose the blonde's best accessory... tortoise shell??? 

tough decision... not like i wanna really shell out to buy another pair right now, since i have a perfectly functioning pair of electrics... but hey a girl can dream about the what if, right? =)

i have no idea how i'm so coherent at this time of night to write this... ok now back to bed

*random note: while most girls opt for A list designer sunglasses, my orange county, beachy upbringing automatically makes me prefer the surf brands, plus they're a few hundred dollas cheaper!*

{things i dig} pretty pretty on etsy: elizandaxel

lookie lookie what'll be mine in a few weeks - i found the etsy shop elizandaxel when a treasury they were featured in today popped up and i saw this....

the flora tee

since i'm notorious for living in a white, black or basic plain colored top, jeans, and flip flops... this will provide a pretty and feminine alternative to my basic "uniform" =)  when i snatched one earlier today i couldn't decide if i wanted black or white... but i think i'm leaning toward the white?? 

here's a full length shot - front and back of the shirt - love the dress form too!

oh how i wish i had all the time and creative talent in the world to make pretty tops like this to wear on a daily basis! hmmm.... 

busy, busy, busy

thanks.. err... and i'm sorry to all of you who i've been really delayed on getting back to about your etsy inquiries...  please bear with me as i get my act together, i'm much more caught up on orders now after having a "real" two day weekend!

as some of you might know i have quite a few brides i've been working with on orders, all of them with weddings the first 2 weekends of May - here's a small sample of the things i've been working on recently:

200 custom wedding cocktail napkins for etsy user CelebrationsbyDesign

custom bridal order for etsy member edube021408:

bridesmaid jardin bon bon earrings

and bridesmaid bonne chance bracelets

the necklace portion of a bridesmaid order for erahn:

so far we have 5 oynx esprit necklaces in gold with twisted circles -

still have to finish up her gold belle earrings with onyx wire wrapped teardrops, finished her swarovski gold flip flops, need to tackle the custom cocktail napkins, AND custom wedding coasters!  all before her May 9th wedding! =)

another necklace that i haven't named yet - but will be part of my spring/summer designs

another newbie in the spring/summer group (will come in more colors soon): 

mélange necklace in gold with mother of pearl teardrop

two more that i'm super stoked how they turned out

macramé necklaces - shown in sapphire and peridot - more colors to come

(forgive me if these link to the opposite color, etsy's down currently)

another custom item - the dimanche chain, yet to be listed - makes an awesome layering necklace - comes 54 inches long

another custom, long layering necklace for the same client - the eternite oval necklace (long)

this is yet to be listed (can you tell i'm a little behind), comes 48 inches long

well that's all folks, i'm off to bed - i hope you enjoyed looking at SOME of what i've been working on lately! =)

{shop update} the Viv collection

just wanted to let you know i added the "viv collection" to my shop tonight - 

these have been really popular at my trunk shows and jewelry parties....check them out!

the Viv bracelet {single strand}

the Viv necklace/ bracelet combo {bracelet - triple strand}

as the necklace

next two photos as the triple strand bracelet

hope you love them... they're both such timeless pieces!

b

*thanks ej for the photos*