Happy First Birthday, Happy Jack!!

Welcome to almost February!

This weekend was spent hanging out with my good friends, Michael and Nicole, and their precious kiddos Grace (2 1/2) and Jack who just turned 1!! Such delightful babies, and I love when their birthdays come around because it means I get to make something fun for them! Their house is just full of Auntie Em pizazz. Check it out!

I have never seen a child born with more hair, so here is Grace's 1st birthday gift:

 

And then along came baby Jack:

 

Followed by Gracie turning two:

And then Jack turning ONE!

So much fun! Some of these items are listed on my Etsy site here: Embellished on Etsy

I leave you with these fun, bright bridal shower invites!

Have a great week!

Warmly,

Emily

Where is Summer?

If it weren't for my little pooch, I'd probably be hibernating right now! Unfortunately Thankfully he requires frequent walks which forces me to get out of the house and away from my projects for at least a few minutes at a time.

What I'm working on...

Well, for starters, I've opened an Etsy account. It's a work in progress, but it's there and will continually be growing. Check it out! Embellished on Etsy

I have so many works-in-progress at the moment but cannot post them just yet. Jack's first birthday is coming up next week, so his Auntie Em has made him quite the gift. Also, Samantha is about to become a big sister, so I've been busy adding a few fun touches to the new baby's nursery. I will of course post the final look once it's finished. Stay tuned for the Hawaiian wedding scroll invitations. And the whimsical yellow-and-black ones. And the regal purple and gold sunflower ones. And the ...

Well, just stay tuned!!

Warmly,

Emily

Happy New Year!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from my home to yours! Our Christmas card this year:

FRONT:

 

INSIDE:

 

 BACK:

Here it is! The back of princess Grace's dollhouse painted by her Auntie Em. Photographed by her dad over at www.connorstudios.com.

I have been keeping busy. The Christmas decor came down this past weekend. For some reason, I feel that the faster I take down the decorations, the sooner spring will arrive. So I am very patiently waiting on those daffodils to make an appearance!

This sweet bride is getting married in Hawaii (lucky girl!) And we will be doing scroll invites that ship in a gold mailing tube. But for now, here are her airplane ticket save-the-dates! Cute, huh?

Stay tuned! Spring 2011 wedding season is upon us!

It's FREEZING!!

I know, I know. It's December, and I should expect the weather to be less than desirable but REALLY. It's cold out there! Which only means one thing -- more time to Embellish! Thankfully my brain hasn't frozen, and I am doing some major projects. I have three weddings in May, so I have produced the save-the-dates for those and am working on the invitations now:

Rachel and Wes: Aren't they adorable?!

 

Friends continue to have babies. It really does seem like every time someone calls me, it's to announce a pregnancy or engagement. Such happy times.

New baby Blakely: Beautiful boy

 90th birthday celebration: Congrats!

This past weekend, the mama of this sweet girl asked me to come over and help her out with a major problem. They bought a dollhouse for Grace for Christmas, but the back of it is so bland and boring!! ENTER EMILY! I painted their little family and a tree and some clouds and birds on the back to jazz it up a bit. I'm still waiting on pix from that, but cannot WAIT to upload them when they come in.

Grace playing with my Yoshi:

The holiday decorations in our house are full-force, and I cannot wait to move into a bigger home so I can decorate stair banisters and mantel pieces.

My Christmas will be spent in sunny Tampa this year, but I will be accessible by phone and email throughout the entire holiday season, so feel free to contact me as you please!

Warmly,

Emily

 

November already?!

I love wine! And with that love for wine comes an overwhelming supply of corks! Here are a few perfect-for-fall projects I've done for my own home:

Sweet Samantha Paige turned 1 in August. I cannot believe it! Her mama is one of my dearest friends and is expecting baby girl #2 in March. I cannot wait to start projects for this beautiful new baby's nursery, and I am so excited for Samantha to be a big sis! What a wonderful thing it is to have a little sister. I know first hand :) Here is a little something I put together for Samantha's birthday gift:

Moving along we have the final component to Liz's rose-and-champagne wedding. I loved the theme I came up with for the invites, and I especially loved that Liz wanted the whole thing carried throughout all of her wedding stationary. Beautifully elegant menus:

Jordan's wedding is coming up in just a few weeks! I am so excited for these invitations because they are so different in an unpredictable kind of way. Loooooong and skinny :) The RSVP cards are postcards (good way to save on postage) and fit just perfectly in the envelope. These invites were complete once combined with a direction card and a little piece of purple tissue paper:

And last but not least, here are some paintings I've been working on recently. Such fun to have friends who request to hang your stuff in their house. The horse is for Barb and the children are the very specific (paint kids dancing in the rain with umbrellas) request of Steph. Now I just need to find a children's hospital with a similar request for their coffee room. :)

Thanksgiving and Christmas fun are just around the corner! Bundle up!

Warmly,

Emily

color block?

The incredibly talented Melanie of Melanie Mauer Photography in Lexington, Ky., posted this very useful guide to color coordinating. What an awesome idea she has to find your favorite artwork and use the colors from that! While you're checking it out, be sure to travel all around her site and look at some of the most beautiful wedding/engagement/children photography. Her site just oozes classic beauty. Enjoy!

http://melaniemauer.com/

Warmly,

Emily

awesome autumn

Happy fall!

I hope you are visiting Embellished after a beautiful day like we had today here in DC. Wow. Just gorgeous.

Between attending weddings --

getting to know my brand new (min-pin, pomeranian/poodle) puppy, Yoshi --

And going on a girls cruise with my bff's --

I have been quite busy! BUT I of course always make room for my fabulous clients! And how could I resist when people come to me with sweet requests like these thank you cards --

WEDDING --

BABY SHOWER --

I also found this awesome tutorial from the fabulous Patrice over on www.lemontreecreations.blogspot.com and just had to redo it for myself. The site is incredibly fun with lots of really great ideas. And I mean who wouldn't want a little witch wreath for Halloween?! Love it:

I have a friend's family who is turning their gorgeous Smith Mountain Lake home into a bed & breakfast. It was fun to do a commercial brochure to mix things up a bit:

To leave you with a little preview of what's to come. So far it seems gold/yellow is a really popular color for spring weddings this year. I've been working on quite a few projects with this sunshiny color for the 2011 spring wedding season.

Talk soon!

Warmly,

Emily