our first Christmas cards:

Our first Christmas cards as newlyweds! As much as I wanted to make diy Christmas cards this year, I really had no time. So when I got an email from Night Owl Paper Goods about a sale on holiday cards, I decided to go with that. plus, I really love that these are printed on wood. Plus they come with a 2011 calendar printed on the back, so useful! (I'm all about calendars this year I guess) They had so many nice designs, Nick liked this one the best though :)

I designed a wrap around Christmas label for the envelopes but didn't get to take a picture. We got out of the hospital on Monday and I ran to the post office to send them off. I'm not sure if this will be a yearly thing for us, it kind of took me a while to get them together and I didn't even make them! (unlike Melanie's cute felt cards, which I'm sure took her a lot longer!) hehe. Did you send cards this year? I'd love to see pics if you blogged about it!

ps: in response to the comments below, I sent them in regular A6 envelope's (that I had leftover from the wedding, sweet!) and the postage was only .44 cents :)

Custom Portrait:

what do you guys think of our custom portrait by nan lawson?

the outfits are based off our engagement session.

i love it. she is so legit. nan makes me want to

draw, and take pretty photographs.

inquire about a custom portrait for yourself today!

you can find her at the other links:

site | illustration shop | photograph shop

twitter | flickr | tumblr

thanks nan!

my engagement ring:

so if you're a recent reader to the blog, on november 6, my sweet bf and i got engaged! thank you to everyone who shared in our joys and celebration from the story! and friends who congratulated us at craft shows over the past couple months, it is so special to be able to share it with you.

anyway, i wanted to share my special engagement ring with you today... and really kind of just brag about my fiancee for a second ;) i found this piece of paper on my floor, and when i opened it up i realized that it was a schedule for the day he proposed, broken down minute by minute. i'll admit: i teared up a little and it made me realize just how much work he put into it and how blessed i am to have someone who cares for me so much.

here's the schedule i found:

so cute right? i think it's cute ;)

and i went a little crazy on the pictures of the ring he made out of a block of wood. all he used was a hand saw and a some sandpaper (in the picture above, with the wood block too) he said there was sawdust all over his apartment... when he showed me the block of wood that he started with, all i could think was.. wow, that's legit! hehe.

the block is the 'back up' piece he made just in case he had to start over.. so yea, he started with that wood block and sanded and sanded and sanded until he came up with the ring you see next to the block. he also told me he just guessed on the drill bit size and drilled! it fit my finger perfectly so it was definitely meant to be! he even somehow managed to carve little hearts on the side.

i wore it for a month but we were both afraid it would break esp.. then for christmas, he surprised me with these beautiful rose rings he picked out on etsy! i love them.. and i feel like they're symbolic in a way... the 2 roses represent him and i and the 1 rose represents Christ! when i mentioned it to him he said he thought the exact same thing! so i am just wearing the 2 roses ring and i think the 1 rose will just be my wedding ring. :)

ps: if you want to know where the rings are from, i can ask him!
just let me know!

2 rings, i am a lucky + blessed girl.
thanks for letting me share the engagement rings
with you ;) happy friday dear friends. xo.

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update: nick told me the shop he got the rings from is jennykim!
her work is just fabulous!
thanks for all your sweet comments! nick thanks you too. :)

Also: silver earrings online