T-2 plus 6?

The Sip N' Meet looming in the near future (two days). Literally 62 hours away & I am scrabbling to accomplish the mile long to-do list.

I am the epitome of a procrastinator. (I'm such a big procrastinator - that when I read this Inspired Room Procrastinators Unite challenge, immediately got excited, focused on my goals, made my list - only to push off the imaginary deadline so far, that I missed the challenge all together.)

So this evening, I was racing around like a crazy woman trying to finish up as much as possible to surprised DH when he arrives home from a long week of travel. With the help of Mum, I "staged" my own home. In moments of clarity, swapped 4 pieces of furniture from one room to another, takin' this, swapping that...here's a snapshot of the journey my furniture traveled tonight:

Added the fab chaise, moving arm chair from master to living room. Wooden table went from living to dinning. Small table moved to Master (hold DH's suitcase when home), Chairs moved about, occasional tables swapped, "refreshed" and antiqued pieces finding a home...

The house had evolved in the course of less than two hours. I have a theory on decorating styles (will blog about it later), but my instant itch to get it done hit me, and poof - I saw where the pieces of the furniture puzzle should all fit in my house.

So, T-2 - party being 2 days away had to change the plans. I talked to the fab friend of the Sip N' Meet tonight. Long story short, RSVPs are low, regrets high, meaning the party would be better if we moved it ahead 6 days.

Never what a procrastinator wants to hear, "You have more time"...

Pleasant Dreams!

The Big Reveal

After much ado, here are the Sip N' Meet invitations that I sent out last week.
(Sorry that portions are blurred - for protection of course - but, I hate the way it makes the pictures look!)
The first picture depicts the unjazzed-up invite, the second the final product.

Click To Enlarge.

The breakdown of the invites:

The base paper is from the Martha Stewart wedding collection boxed invitation set. I luckily found it on clearance at our "Wal-Mart of the future" for $3.50 a box. I picked a paisley paper up at Joann's and found inspiration for the invites colors from this.

I struggled trying to decide if I wanted a graphic design/picture, or just fancy letters. To keep the event less theme oriented and more friendly gathering at the wish of the new mommy, I thought avoiding the typical, darling baby illustrations was best. Also, with my recent obsession with fonts and the impact a great typeface can have, the picture-less path was the way for me.

After designing the invites in photoshop, I took the basic invitation and sent it through my canon printer at home. Once printed, I trimmed the bottom of the invites along the embossed scallop Ms. Stewart's invites provided (this turned out to be my favorite part!).

Using the paisley paper, I added a strip to the back of the invite, allowing the new scallop edge to really pop out against such a graphic paper. Used the remaining paper to line the envelopes - and Voila! Sip N' Meet invitations were born, stamped with the new LOVE stamps, and send to find their happy guest-to-be.


(P.S. - The sweet little baby's older sis just happens to have the middle name Paisley!)

Sip N' Meet

A dear friend of mine recently gave birth to the sweetest little girl! I am throwing her a “Sip N’ Meet” (really a sip n’ see, but I had a cute rhyme for the invite. I will have several posts over the next couple of weeks as I prep. The up-side to the quickly approaching deadline is I am a procrastinator. Loud and Proud – I need that date looming over my head, holding my feet to the fire, to accomplish most things. Including actually decorating our home. This means, lots to do, little time. Whew – I’m tired just thinking about it!

No specific colors or theme, this way I will be able to utilize what I have. I'm thinking ,various soft, muted tones and pastel colors, giving off less of "baby shower" notion (not her wishes) and more of a gathering of friends for a joyous celebration of baby girl.

I will be serving drinks and sweets - cakes, cheesecakes, sangria, etc. It will be on a Sunday, mid-afternoon to allow everyone to go to lunch after church before coming over. Boys were not invited - sorry guys! - making the lighter fair acceptable. Her guest list included about 2 dozen ladies - give or take a few. I dropped them with the postman yesterday. I will have pictures of the invites (I'm thrilled with how they turned out.)

A girl's gotta start somewhere - so I scoured my coveted photo collection. Here is a inspirational photo collage...

Click to make ridiculously large.

Top to Bottom,Left to Right:
Decor 8, Concrete & Honey
Kristybee, No Idea (sorry!)
Sunday Suppers, Sweet Paul