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If you were to come by for a visit you'd be welcomed by a pretty succulent wreath on our door.  I snagged the wreath at 75 % off (less than $5 ) at Michael's and for that cheap I really had to give my crazy idea a go. I had seen the wreath and passed on it. I felt like it needed something. It had a few empty spots and I thought, i could put succulents there! So the next day i bought the wreath and got to work. I cut succulents from my garden and I poked each stem with a long wire through the bottom and twisted it into place on the wreath. I think I just started a new Christmas decor tradition for us! The plants are still alive and I'm going to add them to my succulent pallet right after New Years :)



And now you get a little peek at our little home all dolled up for Christmas :)

You remember we moved a few months ago? We were in between packing the house, leaving the house for viewings and looking for a house and it was chaos. It was exciting. it was frustrating. it was prayer and patience. and it was falling in love all over again with a new place.

although we knew we weren't going to buy a "new" home. we fell in love with our new old ( new to us ) home. you ever get that feeling about a place? you just "know" if you love it or don't. I'm like that. our last place i KNEW it was for us. the same thing with this place.

( More succulents. of course! lol! )

An older lady lived in this house for over 40 years. I lovingly refer to it as our old lady house :) I love her taste and her not adding too much to this place. Because that means we get to change it just the way we like. it's such a foreign concept to us since we lived in our condo for 5 years and weren't allowed to do too much to the space. 

So a little bit at a time we are making changes. You ready for a before picture? say yes! ;)

This picture was from the agents listing. We viewed the house and this is what we saw. I LOVED IT!  hahaaa! They always say to not look at the current state but at the potential. And I knew we had done it before with our condo and I knew we could add our charm to this place too. I'm like, can i keep that sofa and pillow?! but that carpet has got to go. you know? 

So the first thing to go was the carpet. 

The Mr. pulled up the ugly red/orange shaggy carpet and discovered this beautiful flooring! 

To say we were beyond thrilled is a bit of an understatement. We kept asking ourselves, "Who puts this ugly carpet over this beautiful flooring?!" But you know what? I'm thankful she did. It preserved the flooring just beautifully. Real wood flooring! We put IKEA laminate in our last home and expected to do the same here but yay! we saved the money by just yanking that ugly carpet out :)

The house comes with built in shelves in the living room. XO dream come true XO

We've yet to unpack our library of books because we want to paint the shelves white. Of course that's on a really looooong list of things to do and another before & after pic for sure.

So our first Christmas in our first house. it's such a special thing for us. Just 2 months ago it seemed it was not going to be possible and to be here now is such an overwhelming feeling of JOY. I couldn't let Christmas pass without decorating :) I'm thankful for this small little space we now get to call home.  

I might have over done it on the trees though ;P

The Mr. was like no tree this year and I'm like how bout 100 little trees?! lol! sounds like a deal to me. and little r loved it. I hope your Christmas was beautiful & filled with love. Out of all the things/gifts  I am most thankful for love & for blessings that far outreach our expectations. Without it I am sure this house would just feel empty. May you be filled with love & joy friends.

xoxo

-d

Christmas Baking & Packaging

Do you like baking? 

I love cranking up the music and baking for my family & friends. and for me. ;) I would have to admit that I bake more when I'm stressed. Especially during handmade market season. I was procrastinating instead of packaging product I was like,"What did you say Mr.?! You want a double batch of cookies?! You got it!" He's like shaking his head, no. hahaaa! 

But that's what I do and I secretly think my family appreciates all the stress baking. 

I was asked by my friends at Mollie Makes magazine to share a bit about packaging the "goods" and I happily obliged  :) Because you and I KNOW that the Packaging is as important as the tasty treats. Am i right? oh yeah. ;)

( featured in issue 47- back page) First I knew it was going to be a Christmas feature so I gathered Christmas themed embellishments. Stars + gold & silver neutral theme + mini doilies + mini dear & trees ( adorable!).

And if you're a crafty gal like me then you probably already have these. Stamps + glitter + stickers. And you see that photo of my guys? I had to include that in the shot because well it was their first tuxedo fitting and they were just hotties & my favorite photo of them thus far. Totally distracting ;)  Anyhoo, if you aren't much of a baker no problems. I sometimes bake like My diva "Little Debbie snacks " or a box of donuts or pick your fav treat and you have a perfect gift. I really don't know anyone who doesn't like desserts or gifts. And i never want to either. just for the record. lol! not kidding. ;) 

I baked these cute mini cupcakes and oatmeal cookies. I kept getting frosting all over my fingers as I styled the shots and totally ate them afterward. I figured in girl math they added up to one cupcake. and i like that kinda math :)

Do you have cards? I used these small project life sized cards I designed last year to doll up this pretty package. (tags + glassine bags + mini wooden clothespins + sequins via Inspire Lovely etsy)

bag it + box it = they'll love it

Some of my favorite embellishments were christmas ornaments that can be used even after the baked goods have disappeared. Above i included a snowflake ornament  XOXO

Stamp tags and add a bit of glitter polka dots using glue & glitter for texture. I love that they look so simple but definitely add interest and festive cheer. I added more glittery snowflakes + mini trees & deer  and used paper punches to layer up the embellishments. I love using simple glue dots to adhere all the pieces together and for the finishing touch I add a mini glittery clothespin ( via Inspire Lovely Etsy )

Here's a close up picture of the handmade glittery polka tags XOXO

oh glitter. you are SO pretty ! The best compliment is when you hear someone say they don't want to open your gift because it's too pretty. So sweet.

And my last inspiration wall photo from our old studio. Mini trees forever! lol! Do you think I have enough?! I used framed art I made last year. I punched shapes out of black cardstock and simply adhered them to the wall with glue dots. Gotta work with what you have right? So happy. Happy to bake + happy when I give stuff I love to people i love. 

I wish you a stressless Christmas loves. And if you are stressed, bake. jk. 

Don't listen to me. ;)  Happy & Merry packaging and giving!

xoxo

-d

Christmas Advent LOVE

Hello :)

Do you have an advent calendar? I've never done one but this year, my friends at my favorite magazine Mollie Makes challenged me to create one using envelopes. The full tutorial was featured in their magazine i believe issue 46. 

So here is my first one!  Is this bright enough? ;) jk It was a bit of an intimidating project to begin since I designed 13 out of the 25 papers for the envelopes. It was really hard finding christmas paper in the summer! lol! 

I gathered my supplies at the start of the project and when I went to shoot the final wall with the advent envelopes i saw this sitting on my desk. Isn't it pretty? I found the tray at a thrift store for $1 :) Gosh I love a good find.

My favorite envelope is #14: Its a piece of paper my little r drew on with a marker  last year. I've kept it up on my inspiration wall ever since and when I went looking around for papers I looked up and thought +perfect+. 

Remember this:

I know its a bit abstract but my intention was including something he made in the advent calendar. And I know he's only 3 but he's not much into scrapbooking ;) lol! So this is as close to scrapbooking as it gets for him and I'm happy XO

My little guy turned 3 on the 10th of December and I visually wanted to give him a marker for his birthday so i put our first picture together on envelope #10. I had just given birth and even though we were both so tired + this photo is super blurry i just love it so. And we haven't slept in since that day lol!!!  So much to be thankful for, thats my focus for this advent. Not focusing on presents. Not focusing on the cost of things. Spending meaningful time together. Making new traditions, like going out for a drive around our new neighborhood to see lights + mexican hot chocolate with huge marshmallows + fresh yummy cookies. Oh so good! We're planning on giving back this season in our neighborhood, family & friends XO even after Christmas is over.  I hope your days are bright & merry. Any fun traditions you'd like to share? Let me know, we are on the hunt for some fun :)

 Happy friday and happy crafting!

xo

-d

SALE > > >

I've never been one to be a great blogger but geez, I haven't seen you in over a month! We have moved and slowly making this very old house our home. She has her quirks. We've met several plumbers and electricians in the month that we've been here. I will share a post on a few house updates soon, there's just too much to share I'm also a sucker for really good before & after shots :) 

For now, happy almost Christmas!!!

I've been ready for this season, not so much ready for the cold but hey, I'll take it when I have huge sweaters & blankets to keep me warm :) I hope you are well and enjoying everything good that winter has to offer.  

The shop has reopened and I've restocked both stamps & bags. 

We also have 7 new stamps! We sold out of the Christmas stamps so I don't have any festive stamps to share :( I just need to remember to make more next year I guess :) The good news is that now through the rest of this week every stamp order will ship with a set of free tags! ( 20 tags ) Its the perfect pairing XO Also, our stamps are made to fit on all the tags available in the shop, for easy crafting XOXO

I've been really aiming at sending more handmade love & notes to my family & friends, even to customers through our packaging. I'm letting go of things I've had for months, years even, and slowly giving them away hoping they will be cherished and used. This obviously has been tough since I have a lot of stuff. Both for personal crafting and for the shop. I do love it all. And yet,  I haven't used it in the last 2-3 years. So I've been packaging it up, stamp a tag with one of the new stamps + send it off.  

Guess what? I feel a bit lighter :) And happier, giving is so much better than holding on to stuff that sadly doesn't get used. It only took moving 30 + boxes to realize that lol! 

I've also been going over our inventory and I love it all... but not all the room it takes up. SOoooooo I've decided to discontinue over 80% of our pretty ribbons and have reduced the prices to $1 a bundle 

(3 yards). I'm delighted to share a good deal with you, so happy packaging lovely. I hope you get some pretty ribbons :) Sigh... don't they look pretty all bundled up? XOXO

And to finish off the deals... I'm discontinuing all the bakers twine from the shop minus 3-5 colors. So if you'd like to purchase colorful pretty twine on a wooden spool (10 yards for $1.25) head on over to the shop and grab yourself a few spools. 

Well, back to the grind for all of us I guess :) Just remember to take a few moments for yourself and give yourself a break XO

Stay awesome!

-d

Oh Yay!

Today is the last day to use coupon code "Fallxoxo" and save 20% off your total purchase in the shop :) We're closing the shop this weekend and we will be reopen November 7th or hopefully sooner ! Moving time is getting pretty darn close and we're packing everything up next week. Thanks in advance for helping lighten our load and hooray for the weekend!
happy friday lovelies!
xo
-d

Shop Update

- bags -

Chaos. A glittery confetti of chaos. That's how I can best describe the studio as of late. If i end the day with glitter on me + on little r & on mr.handsome then it was a good day :) 

- magnets -

We are closing the shop! Packing our lives into boxes and moving! People. it's real. it's also very real that we will have to move out of our current place and into nothing. oh escrow. why don't you ever go better than anyone expects? surprise me in a good way will ya?! lol!  

- bags -

So i guess it's a mandatory "time off" from the shop. That means we will be closing the shop this friday. Your chance to save 20% off by using coupon code "FallXOXO" at checkout will also end this Friday!

- tassel -

But hooray ! I listed all these pretty new lovelies in the shop for you!  

- bags -

All cloth bags now come in 3 sizes, small + medium + large and in both silver & gold. XOXO

- magnets -

- New embellished bags in Gold + b&w -

- New holiday tags in both red & vintage -

- Merry and Bright tags -

super cute!

- New Advent Calendar Number Tags 1-25 and a star tag -

Use the cloth bags & tags for your advent calendar this year :)

And the tags are perfect for easy decorating XOXO

And the perfect finishing touch for any gift, sequin bows :)

I have been loving these cuties for a long time now. It must be because i don't have a little girl or something but i swear i will top everything of with a bow this year :)

So excited about all these new products. I'm exhausted but very happy with the new found energy that playing with new product brings. It's so fun! Still working on more ideas + playing with new product. With a little time away from the shop I do hope to have more creative energy to bring some ideas into real life. So i'm crossing my fingers for the big studio & life move. Come what may, I'm happy to not be doing this alone, it's much less scary :) In the next couple of days i will take some final pictures of our studio set up as i know i will never have this creative space again. I have to hold back from missing it already. but i know that wherever we go, starting again is going to be okay too :)

happy thoughts lovelies,

-d

Hello Fall XOXO

Let's start with the good stuff: September was awesome. Celebrated all month long as it was my birthday month. I loved it. lots of cake and sprinkles. Lots of family time. 

And then just for fun we put our home up for sale. Jk. It wasn't for fun. We really did put our home up for sale. I really did keep it clean for 2 weeks straight and I seriously doubt I could've made it 3 while people came to see it. But it was a great month. I can't wait to show you more pictures I took of our place. It's simple but it's home. And then, just as I was enjoying the fact that we actually sold our home... then reality started sinking in and the idea of moving has me feeling a bit less excited. More like just not excited at all. Because you know, moving isn't fun. But we ARE excited about finally buying a home that doesn't have a shared wall. And that does have a garage & a big back yard. I've already started missing this place and we haven't even moved! I'm such a sap. It didn't look like this when we first moved in and I guess looking back at all the work we put into this place & making it ours I feel like I will miss that part of us here. Luckily, our next home is a fixer upper so yay to putting our magic touch on that home too. It's going to be good. really really good :) 

So in 100 degree weather I got ready for this fall photo shoot and bought myself some more flowers & pumpkins and totally ate all the candy corn I darned pleased. Because life goes on and now we're onto fall, even if san diego doesn't believe in it with this hot weather. lol!

I'm loving fall anyway XOXO. 

New vintage card & fall inspired cards in 2 paper color choice options.

And I'm still in love with mason jars. So we made Kraft mason jar sticker labels. Perfect for labeling handmade gifts + treat bags & leaving cute random notes XO.

I also love these mason jar tags. I love labeling stuff. Everything. Just because. I should show you my tag drawer. Its pretty crazy in a good way :)

Kraft tags are super cute. I think these would be fun to use as place card holders for weddings and sending handmade love to friends & family. I think mason jars are forever XO.

You know i love clothespins. I thought they'd be even cooler with phrases! You know the pencils with engraved phrases. Well i rarely use a pencil or give one away so i thought the same idea with the phrases would look awesome on clothespins! I LOVE these! I've been using them on packaging recently and think it's super fun adding a cute phrase to each gift :)

And I've been loving these half tone mini wooden clothespins as well. Everything is cuter in mini format am I right? Each clothespin measures 1 inch. Adorable!

Last year was our first year debuting our mini calendars. I'm so pleased to share our 2015 calendars! 

We've included 5 font options with 3 paper color choices. I love customizing stuff & love the gift of choice. So that's what these beauties are all about. Use them in your paper projects, for gift giving or to decorate  and hang in your office & home. 2015 is going to be so lovely with these beauties.

A bit of handmade goodness for you. I've been making these doily garlands whenever I get the chance and I am so happy to share this one with you guys. I think this is the best way to upcycle thrifted doilies. I love that you can use these over and over again to decorate. Perfect for decorating a wedding table and a sweet corner of your home. I only made this one for this shop update so hurry quick before it's gone!

And the same goes for this little black garland. Perfect for minimal decorating. And works perfect for everyday decor. I always have a garland up somewhere in our home ;)

And our black & white design paper tags are now available in kraft ! :)

You can buy one of nine designs or one of each design. 

We've recently started offering wholesale options on these too. 

And I've saved the best new for last...It's sale time again, we're celebrating a new adventure for Inspire Lovely... we're moving our studio! If you've been waiting to stock up today is your day :) Enjoy this month's fall sale by entering "FallXOXO" at checkout for 20% off your order all month long. We're trying to lighten our load to make moving the studio easier so thanks in advance for your help ;)

Happy Fall & shopping! ps: I really wish i could share my bowl of candy corn & candy pumpkins because sometimes i only want to eat one and then i feel pressured to finish the 100 i have left lol! No self control, shame hehee.

-d