The couple wanted to go with a plum and gold color palette, and a modern, sleek monogram.

And they chose moss green envelopes:

I had fun with the meal selections on the RSVP card!

It was a fun project and I love the way they turned out!

If you are interested in hiring me to design custom stationery for your event, please contact me at: info{at}eksquisitedesign.com

p.s. My Etsy shop is back up and running. Yay!

Related posts:

1. New Invitation Suite – Delilah
2. Our Invitations
3. Updates!

Related posts:

1. New Invitation Suite – Delilah
2. Blog Changes
3. Custom Invitation Design

I made some pillows for my home office over the last couple of days using leftover burlap from our wedding table runners. I love projects that reuse things you already have, and in this case I had both the fabric and the pillow inserts…yay! All I needed was the fabric paint and the stencils, which I found at JoAnn’s.

First I measured my pillows and cut out 4 squares of both a basic white cotton I had on hand (for a liner), and the burlap. My pillows were 15,” so I cut the liner squares to that measurement. I find in doing that you get a fluffier, more stuffed-looking pillow. The burlap I cut a smidge larger (15.5″), since the frayed edges can be difficult to work with. Here’s one of my burlap squares with my stencil layed out in place:

I quickly realized that I was limited to four letter words given the size of my pillows and stencils, so I decided on ‘work’ and ‘rest.’ Once my stencil was where I wanted it, I used some removeable Artist’s tape to secure them in place:

Next up was paint. I used Tulip black fabric paint:

Next, I colored in the lines! I wasn’t really all that careful or precise, since burlap is so texured:

Yeah, um, I probably could have been a little more precise, as evidenced by the smudge I tried to get rid of with nail polish remover, which didn’t work so hot

I wasn’t crazy about the gaps between the letters from the stencils, so I just filled them in freehand-style:

Much better, right?!

After letting the paint dry overnight, I sewed the pieces together using a tight zigzag stitch on my sewing machine and some heavy-duty thread. I’m pretty happy with how they turned out! I love anything that combines the rustic look with typography (and the smudge isn’t that noticeable). I also like that I can switch them up depending on my mood: productive vs. relaxed

Related posts:

1. Button throw pillows
2. Our New Headboard!
3. Office Update

I loved the lines and I even liked the color. Unfortunately, the Naugahyde had seen better days and was beyond repair. I found some fabric that I liked and enlisted the help of my mother to sew a new chair cover since my sewing machine is not hard-core enough. Thanks, mom! She ended up sewing both pieces which was OK by me because she did a great job. She mentioned that it was “fun”…which is great news because I have another chair I want to re-do! Here is what my little office chair from 1974 looks like now:

Here’s a close-up of the cushion – kinda makes your eyes hurt, huh? I think it’s fun and I felt like I needed a strong graphic pattern in this room for balance:

See that little side table sitting next to it? It’s a beautiful piece that my mom was getting rid of, and it’s currently in the process of getting a makeover, so stay tuned for that!

Related posts:

1. Office Update
2. Redesigning My Home Office
3. Serendipity

Related posts:

1. Custom Invitation Design
2. Updates!
3. New Invites in the Shop!

Photo by Rochell Mort

The cake stand is one of those little wedding details that for me was a pain to figure out. I wanted something cute and custom, but all of the options I found online were WAY more than I wanted to spend. I looked into renting one, but the ones available to rent were not my style – too ornate and blinged out.

This is one of the details that is the perfect DIY project, since the odds that you will use it again are probably pretty slim (especially if you had a rather large cake, like I did). I found my inspiration via this tutorial from The Martha.

I wish I had some better photos of our process, but this is basically how we did it:

Tory’s dad got us a hunk of 1/2″ plywood and used a jigsaw to cut it into a circle 1″ or so larger than the base of our cake (the bottom layer was 16″). We then primed and painted it white. I found some really cute knobs at Anthropologie that I wanted to use as legs to give the stand a little height. Tory pre-drilled some holes in the bottom (5 of them) and screwed the knobs in. I hot glued a ribbon around the edge, and viola! A cheap, cute, custom cake stand was ours!

Here’s another really cute DIY cake stand option, from Design*Sponge, especially if you plan on having several smaller cakes, or a selection of desserts:

I love the rustic look of this cake stand made from a lazy susan, an Ikea planter and twine from Brick City Love:

Here is another (adorable) DIY rustic cake stand idea from Once Wed:

I also like this idea using wooden finials and furniture parts from the hardware store to make an elegant cake stand, from the kitchn:

Or, if cakes are not really your thing, here is an adorable DIY tutorial for a wedding cupcake stand from Once Wed:

There a ton of ideas out there for DIY cake stands. Get creative, save some dough, and get the look you want by making your own!

Related posts:

1. Button throw pillows

Isn’t it amazing how he takes everyday objects and turns them into art? Many more photos of the sculptures here.

Photos by Monica Buck

Related posts:

1. Wedding Stationery on Oh So Beautiful Paper!

I want to try: Banana Cupcakes with Maple Brown Butter Frosting (Cupcake 6), Chocolate Cupcakes with Mint Marshmallow Frosting (Cupcake 8), and Vanilla Cupcakes with Lemon Filling and Meringue Frosting (Cupcake 23). YUM!!!

Which one would you make first?

Photos from Ming Makes Cupcakes

No related posts.

Here’s a pic of my mama fixing my hairdo

My brother, the wonderful and talented Isadore:

He and his dad (Dale) played a live version of a Band of Horses Song (I Go To the Barn Because I Like…)

Husband and wife.

Tory and I love to play board games and trivia, so we decided to do a version of ‘The Shoelywed’ game. The game entails the two of us sitting back to back with one ‘his’ shoe and one ‘hers’ shoe. Our DJ then asked us a series of silly questions, like “Which one of you is the better driver,” “Which one said I love you first,” etc. and you hold up the corresponding shoe. It was fun and our guests seemed to enjoy it

We were on the same page with most of the questions…

Prepping for the toasts…

My mom went first. You can read her entire toast here.

Here’s the best man, Sean giving his toast.

The Maid of Honor, Sandra wishing us a wonderful honeymoon….OPA!!!

Tory gave a lovely toast about love and thanked our guests…

He and his mother had the first dance. They danced to The Beatles “In My Life.”

Tory and I having our first dance. We began with Etta James’ “At Last” (a classic!).

Then, because we both LOOOOVE Pulp Fiction, we surprised everyone by segueing into a John & Uma style version of Chuck Berry’s “You Never Can Tell.”

And everyone danced…

I lOVE this shot!

It was basically the best day ever.

All photos in this post by Rochelle Mort.

Related posts:

1. Our Wedding – The Reception – Part 1
2. I’m Back!
3. Our Wedding – The Entrance

Here’s an excerpt from the review by Rolling Stone:

Exit Through the Gift Shop, a title that tilts wittily at the commercialization of the underground, only sounds nuts. The wild ride of a film, narrated with mock seriousness by Rhys Ifans, sees the art world as a circus, taking in the nut jobs and the celebrated likes of Shepard Fairey, Neckface, Swoon and Banksy himself. We watch in shock and awe as Guetta reinvents himself as the artist Mr. Brainwash, fooling the media and himself in the process. Or maybe not. The line between making guerrilla art and selling out has never blurred more provocatively.

If it’s playing in a city near you, definitely check it out…it was well worth our drive (great music, too)!

Related posts:

1. Mother’s Day Etsy Gift Roundup
2. Etsy Shop now open!
3. New Invites in the Shop!