We went to Provo today to visit with friends and family. I couldn't help but feel a little nostalgic, seeing some old haunts (particularly Diego's - YUM). While there, we ran across loads of yard sales which reminded me of the yard sale Chris and I had when we left the area over two years ago. Which then reminded me of the window bench and coffee table that I so proudly made and sold at that yard sale. This bench was made almost entirely out of windows from the house I lived in while single. Besides windows, I used plywood, foam, fabric and screws. I thought this thing was so stinking awesome, but I couldn't bare the thought of moving it all the way to California (it weighed close to a metric ton). Thankfully, it went to a good, loving home. This was one of many of the projects that Chris and I embarked upon while we were dating. I knew that he was the man for me when he started to get excited about miscellaneous projects like this one. It's been a long time since we've started a project like this, pretty much a year and a half (remember this one?). Now that we're in a house of our own I'm dying to work on some projects. And believe me, we have loads of projects that lie ahead.

Back in March I was asked to design the logo and banner for the hairblooms etsy shop. I thoroughly enjoyed working with Shelly and was giddy over her concept (cameos are awesome). I had so much fun and got so excited about her hairblooms that after I finished the design I checked her shop about 3 or 4 times a day just to see if she had opened shop.

my preliminary thumbnail sketch (not so pretty)

Finished product

In the few weeks that Shelly's shop has been open, I've visited her store over and over, drooling over her adorable headbands. As awesome as all of the headbands are, I'm very partial to the vintage yellow and buttercup hydrangea design. It could be the yellow. I think it would look adorable on Penelope (but it might end up on my head instead ;) ).

Shelly has been kind enough to offer IS•LY readers free shipping at hairblooms, so there's NO reason not to head over there right now and get one for you or some lucky little girl out there. Hurry, offer ends September 30, 2009. Want to win one?!? Head over to hart + sew to enter to win one of Shelly's lovelies!

Between starting a new job and moving into a new house my online time has come to a screetching halt. I'm anxiously waiting to get internet on Monday! See you soon.

Every once in a while I stop thinking about myself and think of others for a moment or two. Since Chris and I have been out and about the last four months the "every once in a while" is turning into "never". I see these boxes at events and weddings all the time. I really like how they close, forming a shape (usually a heart) that pops out. The problem with these boxes is that they're white. Plain. Boring. I was trying to think outside the box (I didn't stray far at all) for the shape of the top. Hearts are overdone, butterflies are not my style and stars are SOO last month. I like clouds. Clouds are a bunch of circles put together. I like circles, too. But how would I tie in the clouds with treats? After a few hours of brainstorming this is what Chris and I came up with:

Most clouds have a silver lining. This one has chocolate.

Click on the image above to download IS•LY's newest freebie. I have one request: would you please print at least one, fill it with chocolate and give it to someone who might be having a bad day? I'm not sure who to give mine to, but I'll think of someone and let you know.

Run for your lives!! Penelope the Destroyer is back and this time she wants more than some silly green plates. She wants CHOCOLATE.

Nathan's sister-in-law, Brooke, made matching blue bows for all of her daughters and was kind enough to make an extra for Pen. She did the hard part of making the bow, I just added a few feathers here and there. I think it looks sweet in Penelope's hair, but I ended up wearing it most of the time. I'll probably get the most use out of it in the long run, too!

I've been anxiously waiting for the right moment to blog about my sister's wedding invitation. I've been so excited about the design and even more excited when all of the elements came together about 3 weeks ago. My sister's colors were black and light blue and their wedding budget was pretty tight, so I worked very hard to figure out the most economical way to print these babies.

Click on the image to enlarge

The invitations turned out beautifully, but the production was not simple or time-friendly. I have many very nice aunts and cousins that agreed to hang out at my parent's house for nearly 6 hours scoring, folding and taping items into place. Granted, not all 6 hours were working on the invitations alone, they were also assembling blue petal boxes to fit a small handful of chocolate cashews (the candy that brought the couple together in the first place). The wedding went very well, and I think Nathan & Linnley are very happy together. To read more about their story, check out their blog.

I'm sure if I shopped long enough and spent enough money I'd be able to find an adorable black dress for Penelope, but I just didn't want to! My sister's colors were baby blue and black and she wanted all of the bridesmaids and girls to wear black dresses. I was originally planning on dressing her up in her charcoal and white striped dress from Easter, but that wouldn't be nearly as much fun as wearing something new or new-ish.

Christopher, who is all too often my muse, had dressed Penelope in one of my shirts (pictured above) about a week or two before the wedding.  While the shirt nearly ate Penelope, I got thinking that hacking it up wouldn't be that hard to do. After all, it would just be a snip here and a seam there, right? Iused one of Penelope's little polo dresses to serve as my guide and I just cut away! I discarded the middle section, but reused the sleeves, collar and bottom of the shirt. All I really had to do was re-attach the sleeves, gather the bottom part, stitch and top-stitch it all. My first attempt at attaching the skirt was really messy and as a result I spent a good hour fixing my mistake, but besides that the dress was a snap to construct.

While this dress wasn't nearly as formal/wedding appropriate as Nathan's nieces dresses were (they were wearing the most adorable shiny poufy dresses!), it was perfect for her. She's a messy little girl, so I didn't have to worry about stains or spills. Best of all, this shirt has had more use in the last 2 weeks than it had in the last year.