Category Archives: Editorial

At the beginning of this Christmas season we had a talk about how to make this year more meaningful for our five year old, Kevin. He is young & very enthusiastic about gifts {which is perfectly ok}, but we wanted to help him notice all the other marvelous things about Christmastime. I’ve been seeing a lot of DIY Advent Calendars on Pinterest and was really intrigued by the idea of making one.

I have never counted down the days to Christmas in this manner or had one of my own, so I had to do some research. I noticed that some of the Advent Calendars had candy or gifts for each day, and others had a daily activity written on them. I really liked this type of calendar. Kevin is a “quality time” child and it was a good way to do that. He was always excited to find out our activity for the day & it was a bonus that it was also a good exercise for him to practice reading aloud. It was also a way to add more structure & discipline to our evenings. He knew that he needed to eat his dinner & be respectful so that we could do our daily activity. Rocky has been traveling a little more often lately, so it was a good way to keep busy with the kids while he was TDY. Some of the activity cards were geared toward helping others or giving, others told him to open a little gift {Swedish Fish or a small pack of Jelly Beans}. I used the birdseed favor from a wedding I photographed and we made a mini DIY bird feeder {one of our favorites}.

I wanted to design something that could be in plain sight of our home {match our existing Christmas decor} & that was large enough for my eclectic supplies. I ended up stealing the embroidery hoop filled with corkboard {my version of a memo board} from my home office & haven’t returned it yet! I used little odds & ends that I already had, sometimes borrowing from other pieces in the house. It was fun to make some of the ornaments & assemble this surprise for Kevin. Designing & creating this non-traditional Advent Calendar was a good pick-me-up for December & it was a fun way to help us celebrate Christmas a little bit every day. *

*We didn’t do it everyday & sometimes I copped out with a “let’s read a dollar store Christmas book tonight” card. 🙂

Kevin wasn’t particularly excited about writing Christmas cards to deployed soldiers, but I was proud of him for doing it. This is a picture of his daddy {Rocky} from basic training. He has been deployed over Christmas in the past, so it was important to me to do this one.
He drew one of them receiving a present & getting “cheered up from it.”
The DIY Birdseed Feeder was easier than I expected & pretty cute! Kevin liked making it & playing with the leftover gel {from the gelatin packet}.
I made this reindeer ornament with a cookie cutter + sprinkles. Kevin is 5 and Damian {Ocean} is 18 months. Moments like these make my heart swell.

The icing on the cake, was that on Christmas day {after we drove up to see my family in Findlay, Ohio}, we took the boys to ride the Northwest Ohio Railroad Preservation’s Polar Express {NWOR}. It’s a small “magical little train ride around our track decorated with sparkling lights and holiday decorations.” There is a little museum inside & lots of decorated Christmas trees + warm drinks. The staff was so cheerful & even had blankets waiting for us at the train since it was a cold evening. It was probably the best $6 {for all four of us} that we spent on Christmas! The boys had a lot of fun & it was the perfect surprise for them. You can find NWOR on Facebook, follow them for more information about train rides all year long!

Thanks for reading my Christmas flashbacks this weekend! I am really excited to post more weddings & engagements
in February {plus a special little DIY for Valentine’s Day}. Have a good week! ♥

 

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Today was the kind of day we needed:

A {planned} two hour delay for Kevin.
Tim Horton’s for breakfast.
Gas that was cheaper than the advertised price.
A cheerful Damian.
A tidy little house & clean sheets…
and freshly sharpened pencils.

♥

If that wasn’t enough, I received the pictures from Erin & Pete’s vintage wedding featured in The Knot Ohio’s Spring/Summer 2012 issue! I’m really honored to have their wedding included as a real wedding, but they put together a beautiful & very special event!


Now if only dinner were already finished ♥

 

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  • Michelle March - January 25, 2012 - 7:51 pm

    Congrats!! This is wonderful! 🙂

  • Emily A. - January 25, 2012 - 9:39 pm

    Wow! That’s so exciting! 🙂

  • Mary - January 26, 2012 - 6:15 am

    Congratulations!!
    Very Proud of you..and for you!

  • Andrea - February 1, 2012 - 10:10 am

    Thank you all! My bride had worked so hard on this wedding but was so very very sweet… I’m glad they picked her!

Around here we are embracing cooler weather & grey skies. The trees are subtly letting go of green and embracing amber hues.

Fall has arrived in crisp spirit & summer is becoming a sweet memory, {no matter how many calendar days say otherwise}.

I’m not sorry to dust off my boots & slip on cardigans.

I’m a Midwest girl & I love my seasons. ♥

Last June Alli & I shot a spread for Styled. The Art of Autumn Merry Making. It is an online magazine with “over 100 pages filled with some of my favorite ideas, people, projects and links for making merry this fall” says founding editor Victoria. You can view it online {perfect for viewing on your iPad} or you can purchase it in print!

Beautiful Cover Photograph By: JACKIE WONDERS

I always love working with Alli, the lovely writer of Hooray Design, because I always feel like we work in sync. Even though we’ve only met in person a few times, we can talk or be perfectly silent & it’s not awkward or intimidating. She is such a creative soul & I love how her thrifty ideas always inspire me! It’s easy to photograph her tables & DIY projects because I always feel so connected & excited about what I’m shooting.

These bottles are covered with scraps from an Anthropologie magazine… I love the colors & textures.

I want to throw a harvest party like this with ombre fruits & vegetables dressing up my table! 😀

Thanks for letting me share your creative & beautiful ideas Alli! See her post on Hooray Blog about this fall party here.

If you haven’t already, grab a pumpkin latte & check out Styled. this weekend!
Don’t forget to sneak in some time to browse Victoria’s blog, A Subtle Revelry.
She has a way of infusing original ideas on her posts, you’ll love her clever DIY projects! ♥

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I saw this on Design Sponge & crossed my fingers that illustrator Tad Carpenter sold this print. I wasn’t the only one who e-mailed him, so he did decide to release these beautiful letterpress prints in white & brown versions! Check out his blog for info on how to get your own!


No matter what we do to fix up this darling old house, the three “mans” I share it with are definitely the very best part. ♥

{Although my pretty little corner office isn’t so bad}.

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  • Michelle March - July 29, 2011 - 10:08 am

    That’s so sweet! 🙂 I completely agree.

  • alli - July 30, 2011 - 7:58 pm

    Oh I love this, it is so true!

    And of course it looks adorable in your home.

Here is a little peek at a DIY Ribbon Chandelier I’ve been working on for my office:

I recently worked on a shoot with Wanda from Sugar Maple Weddings & Events, and she had created a ribbon backdrop that inspired me to find a way to add it to this room. After a little research, I found one from The Sweetest Occasion blog that had me sold on creating my own DIY Ribbon Chandelier.
It was an easy, inexpensive, way to add color + texture to my office. All you need is an embroidery hoop & a variety of ribbon, lace, or fabric.
I love that I can change the ribbons for different seasons or party themes {& still salvage the existing ribbon for other projects}.
#Winning.

Rocky was in San Antonio this week for a BMET {Biomedical Technician} conference. I went there very briefly to see him graduate basic training in 2005, but I’d love to go back & explore the city with him {especially to photograph it}! I love Spanish architecture & all rich history in Texas. I’m so happy he was able to catch up with some old Air Force friends from various parts of his career. Some of them went to school at the same time he did, others worked at the same base, & some served in Afghanistan with him. The boys & I have been trying to be patient, but it’s definitely “can’t sleep like a kid on Christmas Eve exciting” to know that he’ll be home soon!

Kevin & I are scheming about surprising Rocky at the airport with cupcakes.

Probably more for us than him. Any reason to eat a peanut butter cupcake works just fine for us. ♥

 

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  • postcards and pretties - June 28, 2011 - 9:45 am

    that is so cute, Andreia!! Can’t wait to see the end result 😉

  • alli - June 28, 2011 - 9:59 am

    so cute! I tried making one of these but got carried away w/colored ribbon + streamers and it just looked weird : ) yours is adorable! I love the simple color scheme and the addition of lace.

  • Michelle March - June 28, 2011 - 12:22 pm

    So pretty! You’re so crafty, I love it!

  • Debbie @ Bridalhood - June 28, 2011 - 12:31 pm

    Lovely!

  • kimia kline - June 29, 2011 - 3:53 am

    this is gorgeous! what a crafty idea 🙂

  • […] had this beautiful ribbon backdrop, that inspired my own DIY Ribbon Chandelier for my […]

  • Belkis H - July 6, 2011 - 7:35 am

    absolutely adore this!!!! might have to give it a try!

  • Chrissy - August 12, 2011 - 6:09 am

    I adore this lace and ribbon chandelier. I’m making one last minute for my wedding next weekend. I’m going to hang it over my bride and groom table! I’m curious of how long each ribbon/lace strand is?

  • Andrea - August 12, 2011 - 10:04 pm

    They each vary, about 22,” (including room to tie them to the hoop). 19″ after they are tied. Good luck, and CONGRATULATIONS Chrissy!! 😀

  • {amy k.} - February 18, 2012 - 11:41 am

    i love this, so gorgeous!!

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