laura wedding suite

The Laura wedding invitation suite is named after my great-great-grandmother and namesake, Laura Stump Dumm. For this suite, I tried to visualize what a 1899 wedding celebration in Ohio would be like. I pictured my great-great-grandmother wearing her mother's handmade wedding dress and carrying a bouquet of daisies. The wedding would take place outside under blooming trees, and family, friends and neighbors would bring food (lots of farm fresh veggies and homemade pies!) for the picnic reception. The day would end with fireworks or a parade.

I'm not sure of my great-great-grandparents' actual wedding date, but I do know they were married in 1899. My great-great-grandfather was born on the 4th of July, so I decided to make that their wedding date. Red and greige seem a fitting color combination for July 4th park wedding, and the embroidered daisies fit with the summer picnic vibe. Thanks to the rich colors and classic fonts, this wedding suite could also work really well for a rustic or vintage-inspired fall or winter wedding.

For more information about the Laura wedding invitation suite, please contact us here. 

make a spring flowers greeting card

It's been a while since I shared a handmade greeting card. Winter certainly didn't offer much inspiration for DIY craft projects. Not surprisingly, as soon as spring officially sprung, an idea for a greeting card that celebrates the fresh colors and flowers of the season popped into my mind. Daffodils, tulips and daisies are some of my favorite spring flowers, so I decided to use them for this card. 

Here's how to create your own spring flowers greeting card.

You'll need:

- A variety of colored card stock - In this case, two shades of green, two shades of yellow and two shades of pink

- An envelope

- A cutting mat

- An Xacto knife

- A metal ruler

- Paper glue and/or hot glue

- Basic scissors

-Pattern scissors

- Embellishments of your choice (I used polka dot ribbon)

- Sticker letters or markers

Start by using your mat to find the center of your card base (5.5 ” for this card). Then score it by running the knife lightly down the center once or twice. 

Fold in half.

To make a daffodil, cut six tear shapes and one flower shape. I suggest tracing the shapes in pencil before you start cutting. It definitely makes things easier! I made two daffodils -- one with lighter colored petals and one with darker colored petals. One was slightly bigger than the other.

Use hot glue to put them together. I like using the hot glue to make the flowers because it gives them more of a 3D look. 

Next we're going to make our tulip shape. I cut the center piece first, and then used it to trace two half pieces that will become the outer petals. I'm not sure what these shapes would be called, but you get the idea!

Again, you'll use hot glue to adhere them together. The outer petals should slightly overlap, and the center piece should be visible.

Next we're going to make some daisies. The daisies are similar to the daffodils, except their petals are oblong instead of tear-shaped. They have a round center. I made three daisies using different colors. Hot glue the flower parts together. 

Next is the fun part. You'll take your flowers and arrange them on the front of the card. Don't glue anything to the card base yet. You'll want to cut out some stems and leaves, and then you'll want to try laying everything out until you have an arrangement that feels right. When you're ready, use your hot glue to attach the various pieces, working from the back of the card to the front. I added a strip of pink polka dot ribbon to the bottom of the card. Another alternative is grass!

On the inside of the card, I added another piece of card stock in yellow. I scored it (using the same method as I did above), and then I used my patterned scissors to create a fun edge. I added my other two daisies (you'll notice one is a bit more like a pink daffodil) and some more of that polka dot ribbon. Finish your project by adding a personal message using markers or letter stickers. My card became a birthday card, but this card would make a lovely card for Easter, Mother's Day or any spring occasion. 

Happy Spring!

the yates family in the 1950s

You might remember our previous post about Sadie's parents, Clovis and Eliza. I love these photos taken with some of their children, grandchildren and children's spouses in the mid 1950s. The photos tell so much about who they were -- hardworking Christian people who were very devoted to their large family and each other. After Eliza passed away in 1959, the family remained close-knit. The photo below is Clovis and his daughters Kass, Lois, Olivene, Martha, Sadie and Linda. The bottom photo is Clovis with Sadie's first grandchild and my husband, Jonathan.

denise wedding suite

When it came time to design a wedding invitation suite for unfussy country-inspired nuptials, I pulled inspiration from my mother-in-law, Denise, and a set of vintage napkins I found at an estate sale a couple of years ago.

If Denise and her husband Greg were getting married this year, she'd want a low-key country wedding in the summer. The wedding would take place in a white clapboard church, and the reception would feature fried catfish, sweet tea in Mason jars, wildflowers as decorations and lots of fireflies. There would be live music, well-worn cowboy boots and lots of close family and friends. 

To go along with this imagined wedding, I created a cheerful country wedding suite that has a little bit of a vintage vibe and a very relaxed feel. The colors are slightly country, but they were also very popular in the seventies, back when Denise and her husband Greg actually tied the knot. The daisy embroidery unites those themes of country and the 1970s. The fonts are some of our very favorites. 

This suite can be customized to match any of the colors used in the embroidery -- so avocado green, soft pink, sun yellow, cottage blue and lavender are all color options.  

Below is a photograph of Denise and Greg when they were dating. It was definitely the 1970s. :)

To learn more about the Denise wedding suite, contact us here.