{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.

{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!

Announcement and a GIVEAWAY!

ok folks, i'd like to make an announcement.....

this has been a long time coming, but as you may know i design paper goods {anything from wedding invitations, to personalized paper banners, cupcake toppers for 1st birthday parties, and even rubber stamps} however i don't really focus on promoting those things in my current etsy shop - Joie de Vie Jewelry.

so... i decided it's time, it's time for me to announce that Joie de Vie paperie now has it's very own home!
and to celebrate the new shop i am giving away one of my favorite things right now... you have the opportunity to win your very own JDV custom monogram rubber stamp!  which also happens to be the first item i've listed in the new JDVpaperie shop.

and here are some photos for your viewing pleasure .  .  .  .  .

you can use your new stamp on gift tags, business cards, or  . . . 

or stamp it in platinum on a nice navy envelope and why not coordinate some thank you note cards .  .  .

you can even have your married monogram created and use it to DIY your upcoming wedding with you and your soon to be hubby's married monogram... why not stamp your favor tags or bags?

while this stamp may be small at 2 x 2 inches, it sure is mighty, and will be a welcome addition to anyone's stationery collection... not to mention it'll look pretty darn cute sitting on your desk!

*here are the details to enter the giveaway* 

1} please comment below with the 3 initials you'd like your stamp to have... in order =)

2} i'd love to know who's initials you'd like on the stamp - "my own," "my new married initials", "mine and my hubby's," or "hey, i think i'll give this to some newlywed friends getting married"

3} you can get up to 3 extra entries by doing any of the following things:

* blog about the giveaway

* tweet about the giveaway @JoiedeVieDesign

* post about the giveaway on Facebook 

4} to get your extra entries, please come back and comment again with a link to your tweet, and Facebook or blog post.

 {just make sure to make them individual comments to get the credit for each of them}

{the giveaway ends on Monday, November 1st at 11pm PST}

{GIVE AWAY extended! now ends on Wednesday, November 3rd at 11pm PST}

Giveaway now closed! 

please check back saturday afternoon for the winner...

 the winner will be determined by a random number generator

{new paperie item} colorful luggage tags

now i'm still in the process of producing some more of these guys to show off as samples, but here's the first one...  i joked on the JDV facebook page that my samples would go out to my friends with upcoming birthays, well, Meagan is the lucky first recipient! she's a newlywed who will celebrate their 1at month anniversary and her golden birthday tomorrow, so who better to create the first sample for? =)

and yes Megs, i used your married name, gotta start getting used to seeing it on everything!
love you and happy birthday a day early!

front side

back side

these tags are laminated in a thick plastic to help them stand up to the beatings TSA gives your checked baggage, but they are cute and can certainly be colorful enough that you won't mistake your black suitcase for one of the hundred and something that had been checked onto your flight too!


i will be designing mr. & mrs. ones in the future, but i'd like to show off a few more cute custom designed ones first!

these make a great little gift for the person who has everything, or if you just need a little something gift-wise!  feel free to drop me a line if you're interested jdvpaperie{at}gmail.com





ps. sorry the lighting was horrible since i took them tonight =/

Bella Collina event invites

wow! 

i just got home just a bit ago from a gorgeous event at Bella Collina Town and Golf in San Clemente, it was hosted by one of my favorite people, Mary Lallande, of Jay's Catering, and sponsored by many other wonderful vendors!  in my last post i gave a little peek at some top secret invites i had been working on, well those were for tonight's event... they really had an awesome turn out, the Bella Collina dining room was filled with event professionals ranging from event planners, to musicians and entertainers, photographers, and even some other local wedding venue professionals.

recently i commissioned a photog friend of mine Marcella Treybig Photography to shoot my growing paper goods collection.. and luckily i had just finished the Bella Collina invites in time to have them captured on film.  and if you've followed my blog any length of time, or even have just looked at my photos, you know that was a good thing since i really don't have a clue how to use anything other than a point and shoot camera. =) {yay me!}

anywho, here's how they turned out....

the outer envelope... i have to say, calligraphy always makes invites feel that much more personalized

then i collaborated with the calligrapher to create a digital image of her calligraphy for the return address, which i then had printed on the back of the envelope flap - unifying the typestyles 

{this is a great idea budget-wise, a digital calligraphy file can make the 

same statement as hand written for items that need to be reproduced}

here's the whole suite:

we used stardream opal inner envelopes, which we lined with this GORGEOUS gold metallic Fiori Italian liner, the main invite incorporated custom calligraphy elements mixed with an all caps font and digitally printed on a textured cardstock {again digital printing is a very budget friendly option}.  

then we mounted the invite card on a bronze stardream backing. 

{and in case you haven't seen stardream before, it has a wonderful shimmery, opalescent sheen to it}

and we included a two sided smaller insert to list the participating event sponsors and on the backside, the card introduced the guest speaker for the evening... which was Thea Lignos-Hargrove. 

{the editor of Your Wedding Day Magazine}

and just because i LOOOVE that liner so much, here's one more shot of it =)

you may be thinking... these aren't wedding invites? well, if so you're right, but for me the objective was to create these event invites in the fashion i would for any of my wedding clients, so if you happen to love this style/design, please let me know and i'd be happy to provide you with an estimate for a comparable design suite!

a big shout out and thank you to Katrina of Calligraphy Katrina for lending her talent and time to collaborate on this project, and if you are looking for a talented calligrapher - you will love her work!

{sneak peek} exciting upcoming project

i just have to show off these gorgeous liners from a project i finished up last night... the paper is none other that this gorgeous italian paper by Rossi 1931

i can't tell you what these are for other than to say they're for an upcoming event! 

sorry for the crummy phone photo...

i am so honored to have the opportunity to participate in this event, and i am so stoked to know that my work is going to be placed in the hands of some of my wedding industry heros and some other big shots in the industry... what a HUGE blessing for me!

i promise to post the finished product once i can share them, without ruining anything... man, i'm terrible with staying hush, hush about things.  and yes i always ruin surprises i plan for my hubby, he always knows because excitement just kills me =) 

{follow up} custom collage necklaces

wow, i'm amazed at how crazy this wedding season turned out to be, crazy busy, but absolutely amazing all the opportunities that have been presented to me... but to start catching y'all up on all of my projects from this past wedding season, i figured i'd start you off with the follow up to the sneak peek i showed of the custom collage necklaces i had been working on back in june.  

if you don't remember them you can see the sneak peek post here. 

so... it's no secret that i work on jewelry while i hang by the pool {it's a rough life designing jewelry sometimes} =)... here's a gratuitous pool side day designing and prep'ing

and here's another photo as i was finishing up the necklaces

and here they are being modeled by the bridesmaids on the wedding day... also i did create some earrings for some of the other bridesmaids with different dress necklines.

if you're wondering why some had earrings and some had necklaces, it's because the bride let her gals pick from varying necklines of their dresses {great idea imo} so she did earrings for the BMs with higher necklines and necklaces for the gals with strapless necklines... what a great way to naturally create some visual interest and variation between your gals' styles and looks!

if you're wondering why you don't see pieces like this in my etsy shop, well... that's because while i love doing work like this, it's really difficult to create, list, and successfully sell pieces like this in my shop.  these are such custom pieces that if you're interested in having me create something similar, i'd love to chat with you about it!  i'd be happy to chat about colors, metals, components, etc... and would love to create one, three, or as many as you need of custom necklaces!

you can contact me at JDVJewelry{at}gmail.com

{sneak peek} custom collage bridal jewelry

one of my brides just adores the collage-y style chunky necklaces floating around all over etsy, yet couldn't find anything that she loved, or loved her budget!  so... since she's friend of mine as well, we made a trip to a few spots to look for some individual pieces that would work well together if taken apart and reassembled - i love when my clients challenge me to think outside the box and allow me to do something totally new... even for me.

so i'll be using these earrings as a focal piece for 5 bridesmaids necklaces

these chains below will be mixed in with some beautiful crystals 

{unfortunately the crystals weren't photographing well, so i'll show those when the project is finished}

and these pearls and glass beads with be worked into the necklaces as well!

and the remnant beads... because no doubt i'll have left over goods, i'll be using for some bridesmaids earrings & and a MOG necklace!

can't wait to see how this project turns out =)

{just around the corner} wedding season custom orders!

while i'm knee deep in baby shower, wedding save the date, and wedding invite orders {on top of my normal jewelry orders & inquiries}, i'm so thankful to be one step closer to doing what i love full time! while i'm still working a day job, i have been getting more requests for custom goods for your weddings and special events! and for that, i'd like to thank everyone for taking the time to take notice of what i'm doing, and attempting to do! =)

since things do get so busy, i haven't really had a chance to get any of these custom projects listed in my shop!  but i wanted to show them to you so you know that the sky's the limit to what i'd be happy to create for your special event!

as i'm sure most of my readers are well aware i make jewelry & custom gocco'd cocktail napkins such as these:

but i can coordinate your napkins through to say your escort or place cards like this -

or i can design welcome itineraries to adorn your out of town bags for your desitination wedding, such as this one for a friend and st. louis bride

or i can simply design, print & gocco detail your wedding fan programs for an

 upcoming vineyard wedding -

want some cute and coordinating drink flags, why not?

or maybe you have your invites ready to go but want a fully coordinated paper goods suite designed around your fantastic malibu ranch venue...

{below: custom wine label menus, escort cards, and reserved seating cards}

maybe it's just me {and i'm pretty obsessive/ detail oriented}, but how wonderful is it when there is so much attention to detail that everything flows naturally and wonderfully in each successive area of a wedding starting with the cocktail napkins & drink signs during the pre-ceremony beverage time, to the parasol signs entering the ceremony, then you grab program & your reserved seat, and finally after the ceremony you find your escort cards, head to find your table number sitting atop a wine bottle with a custom label that serves as your dinner menu, and then you get up to the bar to grab a drink to find a custom cocktail menus placed at the bar to aid your beverage selection.... now that, in my opinion is a well planned and thoroughly thought out event! and i can help you do that too... any creative project, the sky's the limit, if you can dream it, i'm willing to create it!

while i do get swamped... i am so thankful for my friends, family, and fans support, encouragement, referrals and business!  being a small business owner ain't easy and is certainly challenging, but i love it, and it's a dream come true - and someday {and i really mean it} i will be so blessed to be able to do what i love full time!  so hang in there if you're working on an order with me, please be patient, i am a one woman gig, and i want nothing more than to create something perfect for you and i'm so thankful that you're supporting my lil' business!

*blair