I love when designs take on a different feel just by being done in different colors. Yesterday I posted this design in Red, Blue and Pink. Today I'm showing it in just Red and Blue. It's only a slight difference, but they take on their own personalities. It will be interesting to see which people prefer. Which do you like? What other colors would you want to see? Available on Etsy!
I had to get these up before Valentine's Day comes and goes. I hope you all enjoy these Love Words Valentine's Toppers/Tags. Now available on Etsy!
So if you're planning something fun this Valentine's Day, maybe these toppers/tags can add a little extra love to your decor! Again, available on Etsy!
As a surprise for my mom this year, my sisters and I created an invite for a Christmas Eve party we have planned. My mom is hosting the casual gathering, but we thought it would be fun to add the Tonality touch to the event. The invites arrived yesterday so now I can show you it as well as a couple ideas we have planned.
We've named the occasion our Christmas Eve Oh Holy Cook-off. Guests (well, our family) are asked to each bring an appetizer, otherwise known as a Yuletide Yummy, to enter in our contest. The Yuletide Yummies will be judged on originality, presentation, holiday inspiration and, of course, yummy goodness. I can't wait to see and sample what everyone brings! Should be fun. And since it's all about food, I have a lot of different food topper and buffet craft ideas underway. Attached are just a couple of them because I don't want to ruin the surprise for my family -- my main blog readers ((wink)).
First I created these DIY Holly Toppers that I saw on Hostess with the Mostess. Hostess with the Mostess did them in beautiful silver and red, but I went the more traditional route (also, instead of a glue gun, be sure to just use Glue Dots, so much easier and less mess). I also created the DIY Serving Disks, another idea found on Hostess with the Mostess; however, instead of just gluing paper to the round wood disks, I decopauged the paper to the disk and then once dry I added glue & glitter all around the edge of the disk. Just a little added sparkle.
Next up, DIY Printable Snowman Toppers that are now available on Etsy. When I make these, I'm going to cut the snowmen and trees out individually and tape to toothpicks. I'll then embellish each snowman with a silver bell on the scarf.
Lastly, a sign I designed and I'm currently using to help decorate my house. I think it will be great at the party too!
That's it for now, I can't wait until Christmas Eve when I can then reveal all the other party details.
So I can't believe it, my No Pink Allowed Baby Boy Shower Invite is proving to be my top seller on Etsy! I loved the idea, but since it's not a traditional invitation I didn't think others would be as taken with it – boy was I wrong. That said, it's about time I posted the pictures from the actually shower we held for my cousin Cristina.
Inspired by a boy's clubhouse (hence, the play on "No Girls Allowed"), we wanted our decor to be elegant yet scream BOY! For the centerpieces, we planted white flowers in galvanized buckets. We then created plant sticks with different boy inspired sayings and quotes. And for the final boy touch, we added plastic bugs and reptiles that we spray painted blue. The spray painted bugs are an easy DIY project that I'll post separtely soon.
We love using the DIY Ruffle Streamers that we found on MADE.
For dessert we had "dirt" cupcakes with worms (we wanted to make sure everything was baby boy approved). I love the different toppers, especially "God made dirt so dirt don't hurt!"
For favors: Homemade chocolate chip cookies made by my cousin Marisa. They are THE BEST! I really like the motherly advise we gave out with the cookies!
And the wait is over! Baby boy Justin is now the youngest member of our family!
The "No Pink Allowed" Invite is now available on Etsy. I'll be adding the decor items soon, but please contact me (amy@tonalitydesigns.com) if you are interested! (BTW, we did actually have some decor items that said "No Pink Allowed," but for some reason I have no pictures of said items. Go figure.)
Many of you know, my family refers to the Wednesday before Thanksgiving as Harvest Fest. During the week of Thanksgiving we always gather for four days and Wednesday night kicks everything off. I do the invites and decor. This year's invite was inspired by our love of Martinis - and a touch of humor. I'm also really enjoying the colors: Teal, orange, taupe and white. It just so happens that my Glue Dots project assignment this month (I think you all know that I'm a Glue Dottess!) needed to be party decorations in teal and orange. So when looking at my craft supplies I focused in on my ribbon collection and Ribbon Candle Votives simply came to mind. Here's how you too can make these festive lights.
Supplies
Assortment of Ribbon (In the colors of your party)
Jute Twine (Optional - would work with just ribbon)
Glass Jar (Recycle any jar you happen to have)
Tea Light Candle
Glue Dots Mini
Glue Dots Glue Lines
Instructions
1) Cutting Ribbon: Measure the height of your glass jar. Cut your assortment of ribbon (and jute twine) slightly longer than the height of your jar.You'll need several pieces of ribbon but varies depending on the width of your jar.
2) Attaching Ribbon to Jar: Using the Mini Glue Dots, attach your ribbon (and jute twine) to the rim of the jar (see picture A). Keep going all the way around the jar's rim. I attached mine randomly, but you could create a pattern if you wanted to. Side note: Before Glue Dots we would have had to do this craft with a glue gun. Thank goodness for the ease of Glue Dots and my burn-free fingers!
3) Trimming Ribbon: Set your jar on its rim. Hold up the individual pieces of ribbon (and jute twine) and trim so that each piece hits the bottom of the jar (see picture B). (Note: If you cut each piece precisely to the height of your jar in step 1 you won't have to do this step; however, I thought it was easier to not cut precisely - smile.)
4) Creating Ribbon Band: Set your jar right-side up. Choose a piece of ribbon to use to wrap around the top of the jar to cover all the ribbon tops. Using the Glue Dots Glue Lines, attach ribbon to top of jar (see picture C).
There you have it! Now simply add a tea light and let there be light!
Here's an easy Thanksgiving project you can complete before next Thursday. Use them to embellish your placecards or favor tags. I used them one Thanksgiving on invites and a label for wine charm favors.
Supplies:
3/16" Satin Ribbon with Picot Edges (Any fall color will work. If you can't find Picot Edges, just use regular ribbon.)
2" Piece of Brown Cardstock or Brown Paper Bag
Red Tissue Paper
Mini Glue Dots
1/2" Craft Glue Dots
Yellow Puffy Paint
Black Puffy Paint
White Cardstock (Card size depends on use. This Lil' Turkey is perfect for embellishing a handmade invitation, favor tags, place cards etc. To use as a small 4.25" x 5.5" folded card you'll need a 8.5" x 5.5" piece of paper folded in half.)
Instructions:
1) Draw bean shape on a piece of brown cardstock (or brown paper bag). Should be about 1.5" tall. Tear out bean shape using your outline as a guide. This is your turkey's body!
2) Cut five 2" pieces of ribbon. Fold one ribbon piece in half, secure with Mini Glue Dot. Repeat with other four pieces. These are your turkey feathers!
3) Using Mini Glue Dots, attach the five folded ribbon pieces to the back of your brown turkey body. Layout as half circle to look like feathers.
4) Tear off a small rectangular piece of red tissue paper (only about 1/8" x 1"). Attach to the front of your turkey body using a Mini Glue Dot. This is your turkey's wattle - what make's your turkey gobble!
5) Attach turkey body to your card using a 1/2" Craft Glue Dot. Add the finishing touches to your turkey. Create a beak using the yellow puffy paint. Create eyes and feet with the black puffy paint.
There you have it! A perfect Lil' Turkey you can add to any of your paper goods this Thanksgiving.
Over the weekend, my sister Megan did an amazing job on her husband Brad's 30th Birthday party! Of course she had me design all the paper goods, but I have to give her credit for pulling it all together so bewitchingly. Pictured above is my niece Mackenzie. Does she not make the cutest witch?! Along with planning this party, Megan also made her costume which is just wickedly sweet. You'll note she's holding a Frankenstein Monster Mask. Look even closer and you'll realize it uses a picture of the birthday boy! We had a laugh using Brad's picture to create the monster!
The table really turned out spook-tacular!
A carved out pumpkin acted as the perfect cooler.
We dressed up the wine bottles and each wine glass got a custom tag to act as a wine charm. My favorite saying was "Eat, Drink and Be Scary!"
We got this Skeleton Hand idea from the Hostess with the Mostess Blog. We just loved it! We did 4 different banner sayings: 1) Fang-tastic Goodies, Just for You! 2) Indulge if you dare! 3) Wickedly Sweet Treats 4) Beware! You can't stop at one!
Creep, Boo, Scare! Spooky sayings act as toppers for the different desserts.
I'm sorry, but she's just too cute!
The custom pennant banner looks great with the added touch of the large spiders!
Yum! Wish I could have been there. The only bummer of living in California is all my family that's in Ohio. But since I was able to help my sister with all the planning, I feel like I was there in spirit. Thanks Megan for doing such a wonderful job and taking such great pictures. I look forward to Christmas when we can host a party together during my visit home!
And Happy Halloween everyone! I hope this acts as some inspiration!
My latest invitation design is perfect for Halloween but even better because it's celebrating a Halloween Birthday! It's the final design my sister and I decided to go with for her husband's 30th birthday. I can't wait until we finalize all the decor ideas!
We've been welcoming some new babies into my family lately so I have some new designs now available on Etsy. I'll be adding coordinating party accessories soon.
First up: No Pink Allowed! My cousin Cristina already had two super cute girls at home and was expecting a boy. She didn't really need any of the big items, but definitely was in need of boy clothes and toys. Playing off the idea of a boy's "No Girls Allowed" Club House, "No Pink Allowed" was born. I have pictures of the shower that I'll share soon. Also, baby boy Justin was born happy and healthy at the beginning of August.
Next: Sunshine Baby Shower: Welcome to the World! This shower is still in the works (being held October 16th), but I had to share the invite. I really want to share the other stuff I'm creating, but I know the mother-to-be Kathryn reads my blog! Kathryn is a really close family friend and I'm honored to get to help her sisters and mom with the shower. Kathryn requested that nothing be too girly and noted that she was using golden yellow and gray in the baby's room. With the mention of yellow I couldn't get away from thinking about sunshine, so a whimsical sun instantly became the center of our theme. And now, I can offer a great gender-neutral shower theme on Etsy! More to come from this theme after October 16th!
Lastly: Tortoise & Hare Baby Shower! This design was created a couple years ago, but since I didn't have an Etsy store then, the design is like brand new again. Originally created for my cousin Brian and his wife Mayumi, the Tortoise and Hare theme is whimsical and another gender-neutral option. To see a couple pictures of this shower, here's a link to the baby shower game we played. I'm reworking some of the party decor in order to offer a complete set on Etsy. I'll have it up later this month.
So that's the 3 new Etsy offers! Go baby!
My brother-in-law is turning 30 on October 28th, so my sister and I have been trying to think of a Halloween/Birthday party theme and invitation. I was thinking it would be fun to have an 80s Monster Mash! "What's an 80s Monster Mash?" you say. Well, it's a costume party where everyone has to come dressed not only as a monster but as a monster dressed in 80s garb. So come as a werewolf, but it better be a Teen Wolf, Michael J. Fox inspired werewolf. Or come as Bride of Frankenstein meets Material Girl. Or what about Dracula in some fingerless gloves and parachute pants! You get me? Wouldn't that be such a fun party?!?! Anyways, in thinking about the party I came across a couple invitation ideas I just have to share with you.
This first idea comes from Martha Stewart and friends. Who wouldn't love to receive a severed finger in the mail? My sister thinks this is awful, but I can't help but laugh.
I love this Vampire Invite that I discovered on Nickel Design on Etsy. I've seen this done in different ways and think it's an easy, yet clever DIY invitation idea.
Lastly, what about sending a JibJab movie (the above picture features my sister, brother-in-law, nephew and niece). Their definitely quick and easy since you can just email it or post to Facebook. And you can't help but smile when you put your picture on random characters.
So that's where I'm at. I'll let you know what we decide to do, but how about you? Are you planning a halloween party? If so, I'd love to hear about your ideas! Either post a comment here or send me an email at amy@tonalitydesigns.com.
