Happy Friday & Some Party Invites

4.12.13

Just wanted to pop in again and wish you all a happy weekend! I’m pretty excited because I just got the invites that I designed for my niece’s 3rd birthday party in the mail! I stuck with her favorites: anything that’s pink, and pictures of herself (she’s fascinated by them). We got them printed at Vistaprint, which is also where we did our save-the-dates and our wedding invitations. They’re always my go-to when I’m printing things online because you can literally always find Vistaprint coupon codes. It’s such a good deal, and the quality has been great every time. I had my first Lovely Indeed business cards printed there, too!

Hope you all have a beautiful weekend — I’m heading outside for some Spring sunshine. Who’s got plans this weekend? Let’s hear ‘em! xoxo

Spread the Love // My Blog Crush

2.28.13

Do you guys know Amber over at Damask Love? She’s one of my favorite folks online, and she has organized a super cool campaign to spread some love around blogland! It’s called Spread the Love, and she’s partnered up with Clear and Simple Stamps to help people create paper projects inspired by their favorite bloggers! How rad is that? When Amber contacted me about the project, I was beyond happy to participate and create something inspired by one of my faves.

My blog crush is Danni, from Oh, Hello Friend. Danni’s blog has been inspiring me since day one, and she’s a never-ending source of kindness & creativity. The first thing that popped into my mind was how she always makes those awesome books full of notes for people that she loves. I thought that Clear and Simple Stamps would have some perfect materials to make an homage to a book of notes, inspired by Danni!

I wanted to make a little love note to some of my friends from NYC (I’ve been missing them since we moved to Los Angeles), so The States and Airmail stamp sets were perfect. I also used the Alpha Modern set to stamp some words, and cut some hearts to put in one of those perfect little envelopes.

Also, I have to say — I’ve never used Clear and Simple’s products before this, but they totally rocked my world. I used to be a stamp fanatic when I was younger and sort of got out of the habit, but this stuff could seriously get me back into that world. Their products are high quality and really, really fun to use. The Type A in me also loves how organized their packaging is!

Anyway! You should hop over to Damask Love to see the rest of the folks who are participating in Spread the Love! You can also learn how you can jump in and join the project. Big, huge thanks to Amber and Clear and Simple for spreading the love. xoxo

Business Cards // Gold Heart Giveaway

1.30.13

Update! Winners have been chosen and will be contacted individually! Thanks to all for playing along.

Have you ever worked on a project that was really important to you, and in the end been so happy with the result you can’t stop looking at it? Working on my business cards with Rachel from Lupa & Pepi kind of felt like that! It actually sort of felt similar to when we got our wedding photos back — I just kept flipping through them over and over.

We met Rachel last year at Alt and became buddies right away. She’s got a fantastic papergoods shop and an eye for awesome design, so Mr. Lovely and I were stoked when she agreed to design our business cards! (Roundhouse Designs also did her website, so you should see what they put together.) If you have a sec, you should read the story behind Lupa & Pepi, because it’s kind of adorable.

Rachel nailed it on the letterpress that I was looking for, and I want to hand these things out like candy! For Alt, I jazzed up the cards a little bit with a handmade sleeve. But the best part was a little leather and gold leaf heart clips that I made to go with the cards! By the end of the conference, I was seeing those little hearts on sweaters, in hair, and on bags. I loved that people loved them.

So you want one?! I’m giving away five of them — one each for the blog, Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, and Instagram. Here’s the deal:

To win one here, just leave a comment.
To win one on Facebook, make sure you like Lovely Indeed and write a note on the wall.
To win one on Twitter, follow and tweet at me.
To win one on Pinterest, follow me there, pin one of these photos, and tag me in it.
To win one on Instagram, first follow me, then Instagram a heart shape and tag me in it!

Easy peasy! Entries will close Sunday the 3rd at 6 p.m. PST and the winners will be announced on Monday. Have fun! xoxo

DIY Leather and Gold Leaf Notebook

1.17.13

In case you haven’t noticed, I’m waaaay into gilded leather these days. I’ve got all of these awesome materials in my DIY supplies, just staring at me, waiting for me to make something awesome out of them. So I kindly obliged. And now I have the cutest notebook in town! Wanna make one? Gather your materials:

a piece of soft leather, 8″ x 5 1/2″
about 15-20 pieces of paper, 7 1/2″ x 5 1/2″ (I used a mix of lined paper, graph papers, and blank paper)
upholstery thread
sturdy needle
scissors
pen
ruler
ModPodge
2 small paintbrushes
gold leaf
bone folder
tweezers

Start by folding the pieces of paper in half so that they create the shape of the book. I folded mine one by one using a bone folder so that they had nice clean edges.

Thread your needle with the upholstery thread and wrap the leather cover around the pages. Insert the needle through the leather and the pages, from the outside in. Make a large knot on the outside of the leather to hold the thread in place. Continue sewing the binding with stitches about one inch long. Depending on how much paper you use, you may need something to help the needle through all of the layers. (Pliers may be useful in either pushing or pulling the needle through. Just be careful!)

When you reach the end, knot the thread around itself, again on the outside of the leather.

Fold the pages under so that the front cover is isolated. On one edge (or in any design you like), paint on a layer of ModPodge. Gently lift a piece of gold leaf with the tweezers and set it down on the ModPodge. Allow it to grab on, and use a clean, dry paintbrush to pat the gold leaf down. Let dry for 20-30 minutes, and use the dry paintbrush to gently brush away the excess gold leaf.

Ta-daaaa! Now when you jot down notes, people will wonder how you got so cool as to have a golden notebook. This thing is going with me everywhere. Have fun! xoxo

make and give // diy polka dot pencils

12.4.12

I. Love. These. Pencils. I want to make them for everyone and run through the streets passing them out like candy. Seriously. They’re also pretty fun to make, so if there’s someone on your list who would love these little babies (a coworker, perhaps?), let’s get down to business. You’ll need:

plain No. 2 pencils (dollar store, yo!)
spray paint
Sharpie paint pens
Scotch Blue painter’s tape

Start by masking the eraser and metal ring at the top of your pencils.

Next, spray paint your pencils. It may take a couple of coats to cover the No. 2 stamp.

Finally, use your Sharpie paint pens to make tiny dots up and down each ridge of the pencil! It seems like it would take forever, but once you get a rhythm it goes really quickly.

Bundle them up and you’re done! Make it and give it. xoxo

Tiny Prints Holiday Cards

11.19.12

The holidays are here, so how about a giveaway?! I recently chatted with Tiny Prints about partnering together on their new line of 2012 holiday cards, and how could I resist? You know this girl loves to spread holiday cheer.

I thought it would be easy to pick a fave, but seriously, there were way too many good designs to choose from! I had so much fun uploading my photos with Mr. Lovely to see how they’d look on each card. And on top of being able to upload your own photos, you can customize text on the cards as well. These folks really know what’s up.

We finally decided on the Sheer Cheer design, because we loved the lettering and thought it would look fun with our photos. So here’s the final result:

We decided to use washi tape to attach little holiday messages to the backs of the cards, too!

I just love it! Seriously, I can’t stop looking at it. So, if you’d like the chance to win some of Tiny Prints’ customizable holiday cards for yourself, we’ve got just the giveaway for you. One lucky reader will win 25 holiday cards from Tiny Prints, in a design of your choosing! Please check out all the details below to find out how to enter and win.

What’s Up for Grabs? 25 Holiday Cards from Tiny Prints.

Who’s Eligible? Lovely Indeed readers in the U.S. and Canada.

How Do I Enter? Head over to check out the holiday card collection, find your favorite design, and come back here leaving a comment to tell us which it is.

When Does the Contest End? Sunday, November 25th, 9 p.m. PST. Winner will be announced Monday the 26th.

Have fun and be merry! Can’t wait to hear which one is your fave. And big thanks to Tiny Prints for spreading some cheer our way. xoxo

diy halloween mail: a mini party!

10.9.12

Do you love Halloween? I do! I haven’t dressed up in a couple of years, but that doesn’t mean I don’t like to get into the spirit! This year I thought I’d send a little mini-Halloween party to some folks, to help them start celebrating. It’s like a teeny tiny party in an envelope. Wanna send one, too?

The materials for this one are varied. I kind of just ran around my house, collecting anything that was black, white, or orange. You could use construction paper, cardstock, stamps, pens, stickers, wrapping paper, tissue paper, twine or embroidery thread, and on and on. Just see what you have and start putting it together!

My mini-Halloween party consisted mostly of candy and a little skull garland. If you want to make a garland too, cut out skull shapes and hot glue twine or thread to the back side. So, so simple.

Other than that, I got some Halloween candy and re-wrapped it to look a little more festive. Cover Tootsie Rolls in fun paper, and put candy corn or pumpkins into a glassine baggie. And never, ever forget the washi tape.

I made a couple of extra skulls to use on the front of some handmade cards, wrapped it all in tissue paper, and sent it off in a flat envelope. I think the whole thing shipped for $1.50. Pretty affordable for a mini-party! What else would you put in yours? xoxo