Cupcake cupcake toppers

Since the customer who ordered these cupcake toppers hasn't hosted her party yet, I don't want to give away too many details other than saying: it's a cupcake themed cupcake topper. 

Makes perfect sense.  :)

Get your craft on: DIY candle votives

What I wanted to do this past weekend but didn't have the time:

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Those crafty ladies over at Lemon Tree Creations are so inspiring.  I'm a big fan of candles, but not one of plain votives.  So I was disappointed when the weekend escaped me and I couldn't try to make these fun little DIY candle votives of my own.  I mean, seriously: that patina blue one on the left is practically begging to live on my mantle.

Next time, for sure.

Giveaway winner!

Thank you to everyone who participated in this week's giveaway and left such wonderful comments - you're the best!  Here are the results:

Super congratulations to Lindsay at Paint Me A Picture for winning her very own personalized Good Gravy! note cards and address labels for A Good Gravy! Giveaway!

Have a great weekend and see you back here on Monday.

Big boy bed

We've transitioned Griffin to a toddler bed.  This is a mix of emotions for me because:

A) I'm sad he is no longer my baby a crib.
B) I'm doing cartwheels because he's my big boy in a big bed.

I waffle.

Griffin is in the same toddler bed his sister was in when I snapped this photo when he was only a few weeks old:

The absolute look of mischief in Wavey's eyes cracks me right up.


PS: Today is the last day to enter A Good Gravy! Giveaway!  Be sure to click on the button on the right to enter to win!  :)

Free printable: DIY bright polka dot gift tags

We've been letting Wavey dress herself these days.  Below is a photo of a recent ensemble that arrived down the stairs as Wavey exclaimed, "I love polka dots!"

(Don't mind the kitchen in the background which is in dire need of a makeover.  Now that the exterior painting is just about done, you can probably guess what's next on my list.)

In honor of Wavey's recent choice of socks-pulled-to-her-knees (apparently an inherited fashion disorder), you can now download your own Good Gravy! free polka dots printable DIY gift tags in great, bright summer colors. 

Simply click here to download, print, cut and enjoy!

A Good Gravy! Giveaway (Closed)

To start the summer off right, let's have A Good Gravy! Giveaway!  One winner will receive their choice of a 10-piece personalized set of Good Gravy! note cards and address labels.  Plus, shipping's on us, too (that includes our international friends). 

Whatta deal, whatta deal.

Enter by this Thursday at 9:00 p.m. (EST) by simply leaving a comment saying hello or anything else on your mind...that's it!  Winner will be chosen at random and announced on Friday.

Good luck!

Having my cake and eating it too.

Its been feeling like a cake kind of week, and Memorial Day will probably be a perfect excuse to make/eat one.  Which reminds me that I forgot to share how cool Griffin's birthday car cake came out (made by my talented mother-in-law):

We have a rule in our house that if you want a particular slice of a cake, you can have it.  Case-in-point: Wavey wanted a piece in the dead-center.  After all, it's just cake...why be forced to eat from the ends in?

Speaking of cakes and celebrations, check out this well-decorated husky cake from Jessica at Barefoot by the Sea.  Patience and talent never looked so delicious:

Have a great holiday weekend and be sure to check back next week...an exciting Good Gravy! Giveaway is coming soon!

Bird wedding invitation + perfect pair bridal shower invitation

Its been a busy few weeks.  B-U-S-Y.  Here are just a few samples of what I've been working on:

This vintage bird motif is for an October wedding to be held in Saratoga, New York.  The bride chose a chocolate, meadow and navy blue color combination for her invitation suite - great for fall! 

I also just wrapped up a wedding shower invitation project.  The hostess liked the baby shower version I designed back in March and asked to modify it for a wedding shower and include matching thank you notes for the bride. 

Invitations + Matching Thank You Notes = Perfect Pair. :)


Personal information has been modified for privacy.

In 1957, everyone had poor posture

I'm helping a friend put together a slideshow for his dad's surprise birthday party, so among old family photos, I'm also scanning in his high school yearbook photo from 1957. The book contains quite a few gems from back in the day that are worth sharing.

In the photo above and below, why on Earth did the photographer make them all lean in like that?!

Among the senior class, each student had one-word career aspirations, such as "sailor" or "secretary" or "dentist."  There were also plenty of these careers:

And finally, while I took some weird electives in high school (hello, welding!), selling logs wasn't on the docket:

And I don't know what it was about the 1950s, but all the teenagers looked to be about 35 years old to me.

Weed farmers

We're so close to being done with the house painting.  The trim is just about finished and there's a little left down around the back, but hopefully it'll all be done by the end of this week. 

Which then leads me to my next issue: the severe neglect to the front yard.

We've been putting off any work on the front yard because we knew the painters would trample through it, so it was pointless to try.  But now that the exterior is shaping up, we need to shape up the garden!

You can probably guess what we'll be doing this upcoming weekend.

We've all got one or two of our own

I've found a new favorite crack-me-right-up website featuring Awkward Family Photos.  Along with the photo above, here are a few of my favorites:

{Images source}

Perfect for a Friday.  Enjoy!

DIY snack bags and my $125 habit

I'll admit, I use plastic zip-top bags.  I'll also admit that I need to cut back on using them rather significantly.  They're not good for the environment and I'm getting sick of the back of my car getting littered with them after errant cereal snacks sneak their way on out.

Amy from Little Bunny Feet posted this great tutorial about making your very own DIY reusable snack bags.  But since I'm sewing-impaired, it was pretty neat to see Amy celebrate her first "blogiversary" with a giveaway for a snack bag AND a $10 Target gift card.  Check it out!

And for the record, it's been scientifically proven by me and my wallet alone that one hand basket at Target filled just about to the brim with "I just need to pick up a few things" will usually ring up between $100 - $125. 

Scientifically proven. 

Birth announcement: bright paisley + monogram

I'm at a point in my life where I'm enjoying other people's infants because I can gleefully give them back to their parents when they fuss.  Midnight feedings?  Don't miss 'em.  But, I am always happy to design a birth annoucement!

Here is a recent design I created for a family who wanted a traditional, non-photo birth announcement using a monogram.  I like the bright colors of clementine, seaside blue and bright pink paired slate gray ink.

Personal information has been modified for privacy.

My trash, your treasure

It was relieving AND scary at the same time to see that we could overflow the bed of a truck with items we decided on a whim (and a quick sweep through the basement) we no longer wanted, needed or even used.

Our town has a transfer station containing a "swap shop."  Think of it like a little area that's similar to stumbling upon a yard sale...only no one is selling anything because the junk-but-not-trash is free for the leaving and taking.

I prefer more leaving than taking.  Buh-bye baby items!

Feeling blue

...and that's not a bad thing!  Here's a before/after of the house color:

At first, the color seemed a bit alarming, but once it sets in for a few weeks and the white trim is finished, I think the color will appear very crisp.  Plus, the Gravy Kids love it!

Mini bags are my favorite

Add this gathered clutch tutorial to my list of "I wish I could sew." 

Despite all tutorials, I can't figure out how to do the whole pull-the-thread-to-ruffle bit. Not to mention that I'd probably lose a finger working my way around a zipper.  I'll stick to drooling over the work of others.


Thanks to Tasha for this great find!