Sweater Letter

{Pretty little Monogram for your home, read "how-to" below.}

I have had this kraft paper letter "A" sitting around for a couple of years.

I had always planned to do something with it...

maybe just paint it a crazy pop color.

Inspired by something I saw on Etsy, I decided to wrap it in yarn 

to make a "sweater letter."

It was very simple + everything pictured above can be purchased 

at Michael's or any other craft store.

You will need:

(1.) Letter of your choice (2.) Yarn of your choice {I picked a thicker weave but any would work} 

(3.) Hot glue gun...and yes, I have the cutest glue gun ever! (4.) Lastly, scissors.

Start on the back of the letter, glue down the end 

of the yarn and just start wrappin'!

Depending on the complexity of your letter, you may need to start and stop.

I had to on the "legs" of my "A" and also around the hole.

You only need to glue on your first time around the letter, 

after that you can just keep wrappin' without the glue.

Once you get to the top {if your letter has a top} you can just keep spiraling the yarn until the surface is covered...this part requires glue.

 I added a cute little knitted rose brooch that I had and ta-da! 

Look how adorable that is!

I have mine sitting on the shelf in my office!

Meadow Monogram

Penelope Poppy's "Meadow Monogram" won an Editor's Pick 

in Minted's "Summer is Born Birth Announcement" Challenge!

Will be available on minted.com soon!

Hoot.

I bought this adorable owl yesterday at Bath and Body Works. 

{It's an oil warmer}

I can't even explain in words how much I love it!

I was stalking it online for a couple days and decided that 

I needed to have it for my new office!

I wanted a fall scent for it, so I got Spiced Cider which had 

became a quick favorite last fall.

A Love Story.

I got to be a part of a real life love story the past couple of months!

Ashley + Ryan themed their wedding after all of the classic love stories.

 I helped carry the theme through out with all of their print materials.

Introducing the theme with the bookmark Save-the-Date's.

{save-the-dates}

 The invitations were a little different than your typical A9 wedding invite.

We did an A9 bi-fold, to give it a book feel. It was also dressed up with a bright orange satin ribbon bookmark. 

{invitations}

{programs}

{escort cards}

{favor tags}

{table no.}

I was lucky to be able to get these great pics of everything from Kristen at

Kristen Wynn Photography! Check her out, her work is gorgeous!

Mine.

I just purchased my very first font....and man did it feel good!

For too long I have been trying to get by with any 

{sweet} free fonts that I could find.

I saw this font and couldn't resist. It's so pretty. 

It's called Memoriam III and I got it for a good price. 

Can't wait to use it!

Yes, Please.

I am almost salivating over these heels right now!

Parabola Heels from Anthropologie!

Can I really justify spending $158 on shoes when I just bought a house?

Be still.

I have been holding on to this promise!

I need to frame this in a place where I can see it every day!

Do you decorate for the 4th?

I typically don't decorate for holidays besides Christmas {do you?} 

but I found these cute little patriotic blocks on Etsy. 

They are something that I could see myself putting out for 

Memorial Day, the 4th, or Labor Day!

I think they'd be great in a clear glass vase on the mantle 

or a big red bowl in the dining room!

Now I just have to convince my husband that 
they are something that we need in our life!

These blocks are from the vintage housewares shop "fishlegs" on Etsy. 

Social Space Makeover Contest

Social Space Makeover Contest - Making It Lovely

My husband and I just purchased our very first home! 

We are closing next Friday, the 17th. 

The house has lots of potential and I can't wait to get in there,

paint all of the walls and make it our home!

The previous owner used the house as a business so the entire house is covered in berber carpet {good for high traffic areas} which gives it a cold + corporate feel. We would like to pull up the carpet and re-do the hardwoods or lay some laminate. The living room also has some "office shelving" that I would like to tear down. The fireplace needs some serious lovin' and the light fixtures need to be replaced! 

We have furniture that we love, just need help arranging it! We have a huge sectional that I am not sure will fit in the new living space!

I have been wracking my brain over colors for the rooms....I would LOVE inspiration + help!

Shower Invites on Minted

It has been really exciting these past couple of months being a part 

of the Minted community! 

It is so fun to see my designs up on the site for sale!

Two Penelope Poppy designs won in the February Showers Challenge 

and they are now available online!

 Urban Baby

Sweet n' Chic

I also have 4 wedding invitations for sale and there is a Thanksgiving card coming to the site soon! 

Check out the rest of Penelope Poppy's collection on Minted!

Wedding Branding

I was cleaning out my hard drive the other night when I stumbled upon this little gem. When Nate and I were looking for a place to get married {almost 3 years ago!}...we were very close to having our wedding at The Union Project, an old Baptist church in Pittsburgh's East End that has been converted into a space used for creative "stuff."

Their slogan "Providing community space to connect, create & celebrate."

{Check out the site for more info}

Anyways, I was digging through my "Wedding Inspiration" folder 

{any engaged or married woman knows what I'm talking about!} and found a bunch of my preliminary designs.

I was really into the whole "brand your wedding" idea so I had designed this logo/monogram in green and brown {those were our colors} inspired by the awesome stained glass windows at The Union Project.

I really love it and wish that I got to use it...

For the Love of Poppies!

Poppy Spotting!

I don't know about you but I am totally, madly in love with Anthropologie.

When I walk into the store, the best way that I can describe it is:

It's like my brain + soul completely exploded and created a store 

and called it Anthropologie!

As I was browsing the site, I found stylized "Melded Poppy" hardware.

First, "Melded Poppy Knobs"....which come in Sky, White, Yellow + Green.

{I like them all but if I had to pick, I'd say the Sky is my favorite.}

The knobs also come in a cluster design....they are like mini bouquets!

And they also have "Melded Poppy" wall hooks!

which comes in a single or a double hook!

As my friend Victoria would say, these are "supes cute" and I think that

they would be adorable in an office or studio!

They range from $8 - $22. Check them out at your local Anthropologie!

Surprise!

My friend + co-worker, Anna had a little surprise waiting for me
at my desk this morning! How cute are these?
They are little cupcake lip glosses!
{Is that the correct way to pluralize gloss?}

Thanks Anna, you're so sweet!

Sock Monkey Baby Shower

My little sister is pregnant with her first baby!

I threw her a baby shower this past Saturday. Planning this shower has been my life since November. I lived + breathed "Sock Monkey" for 5 months!

We decided to do a Sock Monkey theme because my sister LOVES monkeys!
Her entire guest bathroom is literally filled with them, I'm talking toilet seat cover, toothbrush holder....the whole deal! Her and her hubby are also doing a monkey theme in the nursery {of course}. I loved the color palette that we could do with a Sock Monkey themed shower...the red + chocolate brown + cream is such a modern palette compared to your old school baby blue.

I designed the invitation to fit a #10 envelope. I thought it was nice to see something that wasn't your typical 5x7.

It is safe to say that I probably bit off more {a lot more} than I could chew.
I had so many ideas and wanted to do all of them! I am really thankful for the late night craft session that went down at my place the weekend before. My mom, aunts and cousins came to the rescue!

I came across Sock Monkey sugar cookies in my search for all things Sock Monkey and I just HAD to make them! Now...please note that I have never worked with royal icing before and it was SO much harder than I anticipated. At one point I had a total melt down and said to my hubby "I HATE doing things that I'm not good at!" -haha.

However, I got through it and was pleased with their outcome even though most of the monkeys looked a little sad because there mouths kept running...making little frowns. I also decided to make them cookie "pops" which I had never done but they came out perfect.
{there were only a few casualties}

Our favors doubled as the center piece. The favors were "candy kabobs" -consisting of swedish fish and bulls eyes {I never knew they had a name....I just called them caramels with the icing middle}.

I decoupaged pots with different kinds of coordinating scrap book paper and we stuck the kabobs in the pots using floral foam. For added monkey-ness, I added big Sock Monkey cut-outs on skewers in the middle.

A few of my favorite things:

Super cute polka dot balloons that I found on amazon.

This HUGE stuffed Sock Monkey head that I actually found at Big Lots!

And my sister of course!
I am so excited for the arrival of my first nephew, Brody Alexander!
{Due April 20, 2011}


The Sock Monkey invitations are also now for sale in my Etsy shop!

Poppy!

I am the most indecisive person alive! {my hubby can vouch!}

I need some help! My extremely generous sister loves to spoil me with lavish gifts. {But...who's complaining?} She bought me a Coach bag as a thank you for the baby shower that I just threw for her. {Photos coming soon!}
She picked one out for me but told me that I could totally go look at the other bags to see if there was something I liked better.

I took a little trip tonight to go browse the selection.
I thought that I'd totally stick with the signature "C" print but I think I may have fallen for a "Poppy" one!

How cute would that be? It was pretty much made for me, right? {hello..Penelope Poppy here!}
So there are two bags in the "Poppy Petal Print Glam" style that I really love but I am torn as to which bag to get! They are both the same price, one is a very nice sized tote.....

I LOVE this bag and would get it without hesitation but there is one small problem. The shoulder straps are kind of short and it doesn't like to stay on my shoulder {at least with my winter coat on anyways.}

The other bag is a smaller cross body bag....

Which is equally as cute but I find myself wondering if I should just go all out and get the big tote since I will probably never be able to buy one.

Please help!

Our Lucky Day!

Paper Source launched their newest envelope color today, Clover!

And guess what!? Green is actually one of my favorite colors!

I am doing wedding invitations this year for a Peacock themed wedding.
Clover may be an interesting color to keep in mind for the color palette,
along with Peacock {of course} and Midnight!

I need to get with the program and order a new swatch book!
I still haven't seen Sunshine, Peacock, Paper Bag or Fig!

Mini Cupcake Cards!

I just finished my first custom project through Etsy. A set of 40 mini thank you cards for Denise at AJ Sweet Soap. She makes hundreds of soaps that resemble fabulous foods! She even has a soap that looks like baby carrots and ranch dressing!! --Pretty impressive!

I am very pleased with the finished product...

So cute that you just want to eat them up...

...and my hubby tried!