Wedding Invitations and All

Since our wedding, we have had a number of friends ask for my help in designing hand made wedding invitations, programs, menus, etc. I have tried making this into a business, but given the time and energy that goes into these paper goods, I do not know if I can put a price on such pieces - hence why I have only made invitations for very near and dear family and friends. Here are a few images of my latest creations.

Invitation

Paper:

Bazzill Basics - Grasscloth - Sassy

Wausau - 110 lb - Bright White

Ink: ColorBox - Eggplant

Stamp: PaperSource

Directions

Paper: Bazzill Basics - Grasscloth - Safari, Wausau - 110 lb - Bright White

RSVP

Paper: Bazzill Basics - Grasscloth - Sassy, Wausau - 110 lb - Bright White

Ink: ColorBox - Eggplant

Stamp: PaperSource

Program

Paper: Wausau - 110 lb - Bright White

Ink: ColorBox - Eggplant

Stamp: PaperSource

Menu

Paper: Bazzill Basics - Grasscloth - Sassy, Wausau - 110 lb - Bright White

Ink: ColorBox - Eggplant

Stamp: PaperSource

Strawberries!

I learned a big lesson with the first crop of ripened berries. While watering the berries in the morning, I saw five deep red strawberries. Before I could harvest them, the birds had an opportunity to visit the crop before I did. All that was left were green stems. This time, I prepared myself with nets and was able to enjoy my strawberries. Sweet, tasty, fragrant, full of life. It was wonderful.

The strawberries that are growing are organic, everbearing Quinault. This variety is a quick producer, 4-5 weeks, with good quality fruit. Virtually no runners are produced, making it a good choice for pots.

Le Jardin

The garden is finally taking shape at our house. Before the raised planter box was built, we grew a few organic vegetables in ceramic pots around the backyard. Here's a picture of me and my first harvest - Sugar Snap Peas. They were crisp, sweet and delicious. The only downside to growing these snap peas is that aphids really like attacking their leaves. I use an organic bug spray that does not harm the vegetables, but boy do I wish my ladybugs stayed around to eat the aphids!

Now that we have the planter box in, I am excited to see how things will grow. Here's what is in the planter: Swiss Chard Ruby Red, Basil Genovese Italian, Cantaloupe Muskmelon Hearts of Gold (front row), Squash: Black Beauty Zucchini and Early Prolific Straightneck, Cucumber Straight Eight (second row), Tomatoes: Sugar Sweetie and Brandywine (third row), Sunflowers: Evening Sun and Mammoth Russian (back row).


The vegetable plants here grew from organic seeds I purchased from Botanical Interests. They have a wide variety of organic seeds and can be found online, at stores like Whole Foods, and nurseries such as Yamagami's Nursery (by the way, I love this nursery - very friendly and knowledgeable staff).