Dallas Mintie Meet-Up

Last week, a group of Dallas Minties, new and old, gathered at Times Ten Cellars for a little meet-up. It was the perfect, intimate setting for all of us to chat over some wine and cheese. There are actually a nice number of active Minted designers around Dallas, and we had a great turnout. It's hard to get everyone together at once, so when one night worked for everyone, it was just meant to be!

Minted sent me some t-shirts to pass out, so I tied them up with name tags and used them as a place card of sorts.

They also sent tons of samples, showing off their new holiday designs, triple thick paper and new die cut shapes. We all enjoyed admiring our fellow Minties' gorgeous work.

Here I am with our very own Mintie Mentor, Ann Gardner and Rebecca Bowen.

The whole group (clockwise from the front): Jill Efrussy of Stamped Paper Co., Annie Roche of 5by7 Designs, Susan Asbill, Ann Gardner, Me, Rebecca Bowen, Vivien Jordan of The Eclectic Press, Lesa Abney of Paper Nest by Lesa, and Abigail Luby of Chips and Salsa Designs.

Thanks to all the designers that came out! I am so grateful to be part of this design community. We all share the same passion for design (and obsession with Minted) and everyone is so kind and supportive. I feel like we all bonded and established some great friendships in just a few short hours. I'm already excited to plan for our next meet-up in the spring!

Featured: Bow Tie Baby Boy Birth Announcements on Invitation Crush

Today, some recent birth announcements that I designed are being featured on Invitation Crush!

I was so excited to design the birth announcements for our friends and I LOVE how they turned out. Sometimes, I wonder if my design even matters, because all I can see when I look at it are those big baby eyes! Isn't he adorable?!

You can see some more photos of Ryder and his announcements on Invitation Crush!

Minted Design Challenge: Perfect Match Wedding Invitations

Things are pretty crazy right now, life and work both, but I wanted to really get a good number of designs into Minted's annual wedding invitation challenge. Last year, I was working on my collection around this time, so didn't get to submit but one, so I went for it, pulling an almost-all-nighter to get some designs in by the deadline and this is it! Mint, Navajo, Modern Art, Gala, Graffiti, Polished, Hatched, Handkerchief, Watercolor, Delightful, and Black Tie.

Voting is now open, so go check out all the gorgeous designs!

My Best Friend's Baby Shower

This weekend, I threw my second baby shower of the month for my best friend, Carrie, who is welcoming baby Parker in December. You might remember my Minted party decor submission a few weeks ago, that was inspired by these invites, and I finally snapped some photos to share the actual invitations. (I am sure the suspense has been killing you!)

We didn't have a theme, but I wanted it to be tied into her nursery, which will have olives and greys. And of course, I couldn't just do regular invitations - I had to add a little something (or several somethings) to make them special. I used olive envelopes, striped liners and tied each one with twine and a tag suggesting guests bring a book for Parker's library.

At the shower, there were more paper goodies: a banner, food/drink signs and little book plates for all the books that people brought.

It was one dreary weekend in Texas, but we had a fun time and I wrapped up my baby shower hosting duties for the year. Now we just get to wait patiently for the arrival of all the babies! I am so excited!

Featured: White Lace on SMP

Yesterday, a fellow designer let me know that my White Lace wedding invitation was featured on Style Me Pretty!

Since there's no contact between me and Minted brides that order my invitations, it's especially sweet to see them and the beautiful wedding that they played a part in. This wedding was so gorgeous, so swing on over to SMP and check it out!