Introducing . . . Mr. & Mrs. Joey Jarvis

On November 22, 2009 our older daughter, Emily, married her best friend, Joey.

It was a small ceremony with family and a few friends. A good friend of ours, Ashley Milam, officiated and did a wonderful job. It was such a sweet ceremony! Our youngest daughter, Demi, was her big sister's flower girl/ring bearer/Jr. Bridesmaid and Joey's dad, Alex, was his best man.

Dee and I created their wedding invitations, wedding program, guest book and favors; as well as throwing the reception.

We covered round tables with white linen tablecloths, scattered purple silk rose petals about, several votive candles and a cylinder vase with floating candles set the mood. We also had the favor boxes on the table with Emily's favorite candy -- Hershey's Kisses.



Dee made her third multi-tiered cake and it was gorgeous! It was delicious, too -- there were only three or four slices left!

The bottom two layers were a white chocolate cake one with a Bavarian cream filling and the other with a strawberry filling. The top layer was chocolate with a chocolate mousse filling. The entire cake was covered with a white marshmallow fondant. The bottom and top layers had scroll work piped with buttercream and each layer had a bottom border piped with the same buttercream. The middle layer was "quilted" and had sugar pearls at the criss-cross.

The invitations were created to fit in a standard #10 business envelope and included a map, response card and a card with their registry information. The heart is stamped and embossed using a platinum ultra-thick embossing enamel. We carried the same heart theme to the favor box which was cut out on the Cricut using the Tags, Bags, Boxes & More cartridge and to the Guest Book cover.

Layla's 2nd Birthday: Invitations, Birthday Onesie, Cake & Cupcakes

Our niece, Layla, turned TWO in November. She loves ladybugs and her nickname is Laylabug. I made her birthday invitations . . . ladybugs, of course! It goes without saying that I used my handy-dandy Cricut. The Doodlecharms cartridge has so many fantastic cuts on it including this wonderful little ladybug. The party information is on the ladybug's tummy -- printed from my home printer -- and included a picture of the birthday girl. And yes, they have googly-eyes! The spots are outlined with red glitter. They fit in a standard sized invitation envelope.

I also made Layla a birthday onesie featuring her favorite "critter." She loved it . . . "Aunt Jen made me ladybug shirt, Mommy!"

Once again I used my wonderful little Cricut and the Doodlecharms and Calligraphy Collection cartridges. This is the "freezer paper" method that I have discussed in previous posts. (Shortened version: cut design out of freezer paper, iron freezer paper on to the fabric, paint, dry and peel freezer paper off!) The ladybug's eyes are tiny white buttons that I stitched on and there are black grosgrain ribbon bows stitched on at both shoulders.

Dee created the most incredible cake! It was her second multi-tiered cake and it tasted as wonderful as it looked. The bottom layer was white cake with buttercream filling and covered in marshmallow fondant. The second tier is chocolate with buttercream and fondant and so is the ladybug on top. The only non-edible pieces on the cake are the ladybug's antennae.

Together we created some "too-cute-to-eat" cupcakes! They were a very large pain in the butt to make, but very cute and the kids at the party devoured them. The ladybug body is an oreo cakester dipped in red chocolate melts, the head is a mini-oreo, the antennae is piped chocolate, the ladybug's spots are black M & Ms and the rest is tinted royal icing -- Dee created the grass with a special Wilton icing tip (looks cool, doesn't it!).

Two Birthday Cards and an Apology

First, the apology . . . I promised myself that I would be a better blogger in 2010 and I haven't done so well.

Dee and I have been sick with the nastiest upper respiratory infection since the first of the year. In the midst of that my Mom married on January 30 and we did all the invites, menu cards, buffet tags, favors, and programs for she and Stan (still have the announcements to create!). As well as helping two of her girlfriends throw her a surprise Bridal Shower (more invitations, favors, buffet tags, gift and desserts). A client hired us to do baby shower invitations, buffet tags, door sign and a diaper cake for her sister for January 31. And we've had several family birthdays and are getting ready for our niece Lexie's 1st birthday (invitations and a 3-tiered cake) in March! Demi will be 6 in April and we have a baby shower to throw for our older daughter and son-in-law in mid-April (she's due with a boy the first week of May). Whew!

So . . . whilst I get my ducks in a row, here are two birthday cards I created -- one for my older daughter's birthday on February 5 and the other for my Mom's birthday on February 10. Both were created using the Cricut and a new cartridge I received for Christmas, "Walk in My Garden."