Posts tagged ‘celebrate’

say yes to the forty dollar dress.

bhldn wedding dress | ann-marie morris

For as long as I’ve been dreaming of weddings, I always knew that I didn’t want to invest a ton of money in a dress I would only wear once in my life. Of course I wanted it to be something I would feel good in and would love seeing photos of for years to come, but never something I’d blow the whole budget on. (Photography + decor, on the other hand…all bets are off!)

With that said, when I found my dress last weekend at Anthropologie, I had no idea what kind of savings I was in for!

As the story goes, a local customer had ordered the dress online and then returned it to the store, so it was a rare opportunity for Anthro to actually have it in stock. It’s a beautiful layered + flowy dress in a light pink hue; not something I ever would have imagined choosing, but somehow so perfect. My future sister-in-law Jamie spotted it in the clearance section and convinced me to try it on. Once I did, all the salesgirls had to come see the BHLDN masterpiece for themselves…it turned into quite a party in the dressing room! And as if that wasn’t exciting enough, when I went to purchase it for the $80 clearance price listed on the tag, it rang up as FORTY DOLLARS. As in over $700 off the original price…! To say I was thrilled would be the understatement of the century.

To top it off, I scored the sequined gold flats and the cream jacket for a song, all in the same weekend. I don’t know what I did to deserve such a lucky fashion break (maybe it was all those days spent in my workout clothes / pajamas last summer?), but I am SO grateful!

Now if we could just find a venue at 95% off, I’ll be over the moon! (;

xoxo

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this is where it gets good.

wedding planning | ann-marie loves paper
wedding planning | ann-marie loves paper

Thank you all for your well-wishes on our recent engagement!!

Even though John and I have been together for years, taking this next step has been such an exciting time for the both of us. It’s so surreal to actually be in wedding-planning mode, but as my excessive binge-pinning these past few weeks has shown, I’m pretty thrilled about it (;

So far we have a bridal party, an officiant, a videographer, a color palette, and an almost-positive date (October 26th) squared away. Now we just need everything else – ha! I can’t wait to share all my crazy DIY projects with you…bear with me as this blog gets a little wedding-centric over the next few months!

xoxo

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december daily | part three

December Daily Part Three | Ann-Marie Morris
December Daily Part Three | Ann-Marie Morris

PINK PAGE // If this page looks an awful lot like the previous page, then you would be…correct. Ha! Originally, I planned on inserting a different colored paper in the backside of the glassine bag, but I loved the way the hot pink looked so much, I decided to keep it as is. The pink patterned paper on the outside of the bag is actually a postcard I purchased from Cotton + Flax at Renegade and the gold screenprint on top of that is from Life Love Paper. I also bunched up a little bit of this faux-tinsel yarn (I’m obsessed with this stuff!) and secured it to the underside of my photo with a gold paperclip. (Additional supplies: date stamp | StazOn Ink | Sharpie Ballpoint Pen | washi tape | snowflake printable that I designed – link to come!)

TEAL PAGE // First of all, I was so psyched when I saw this free printable on Pinterest (from the new-to-me and super inspiring blog, A Pair of Pairs) because I knew instantly that I wanted to print it on teal vellum for my book! Love when that happens. To preserve as much of the printable design as possible, I kept my embellishments to a minimum: a photo, a few strips of washi + American Crafts Glitter Tape, and my trusty date stamp. Easy enough to finish in less than ten minutes. Just how I like it.

Random sidenote: I feel like I’m always chasing daylight when it comes to photographing my projects these days – I just can’t seem to stay on top of it! And the thing is, I love more nighttime than daytime in the winter, but I have totally been struggling with it over the past few weeks. These photos were shot on the end of the driveway (of all places) with approximately five seconds of natural light to spare – gah! When and where do you shoot your photos?

xoxo

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workspace wednesday | under the tree

workspace wednesday | ann-marie loves paper

Every night you can bet I’ll be setting up shop under the tree, working away on my laptop, listening to holiday music or a podcast, drinking tea (or wine, depending on what the night calls for) and making the very most of this month. As long as this tree sticks around, I’ll be around.

xoxo

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tote bag diy.

Reusable tote bags are a big thing around these here parts. They’re so big, in fact, that when I went to NYC last March, I excitedly bought my mom a canvas grocery bag from the Zabars featured in You’ve Got Mail (“get in another line”) because I knew she would appreciate both the reference AND the usability. So in the spirit of recycling + good packaging (no longer mutually exclusive!), I decided to create a few tote bags for myself and for others this holiday season. Here’s how to create your own tote bag design:

Tote Bag DIY | Ann-Marie Loves Paper
Tote Bag DIY | Ann-Marie Loves Paper IMG_3938
Tote Bag DIY | Ann-Marie Loves Paper
Tote Bag DIY | Ann-Marie Loves Paper
Tote Bag DIY | Ann-Marie Loves Paper

Instructions

1. Make a stencil. I designed mine in Silhouette Studio and had my Cameo Die-Cutting Machine do the hard work for me. If you don’t have a machine, fear not! You can always use an xacto knife to achieve very similar results.

2. Place a sheet of chipboard / cardboard / heavyweight paper inside your tote. (Note: If your bag needs ironing – ugh, ironing! – do this beforehand. It’ll be worth it, I promise.)

3. Position your stencil over the area you would like to paint and adhere it to the bag with removable tape.

4. Using a multi-surface craft paint and a foam paint pouncer, dot over your stencil gently yet firmly until the whole area is covered in paint. I only applied a single coat because that was all I needed. Apply as many coats as you deem necessary.

5. Let dry. Slowly lift your stencil and check for any areas that may need a touch-up.

6. Bring your tote everywhere you shop and let the compliments roll in!

Supplies

Martha Stewart Gold Metallic Paint // Martha Stewart Crafts Foam Pouncer // Tote Bags  //  Silhouette Cameo

xoxo

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december daily: part one.

December Daily season is finally here and I am so psyched about getting back into paper + glue again. Here’s what I’ve been working on:

December Daily 2012 | Ann-Marie Morris
December Daily 2012 | Ann-Marie Morris

COVER. The original state of my book was an old leather day planner that I found at a thrift store for a dollar. To make it my own, I stripped off the leather covering right down to the three chipboard sheets (two covers + one spine). I then re-covered each chipboard sheet with woodgrain contact paper, attached the three components with two strips of lightweight paper, added even more contact paper over that, and finally hot-glued the binder mechanism back in. It definitely took a good chunk of time, but in my opinion, it was totally worth it. As for the embellishment, I just added a few strips of washi + glitter tapes to both covers, a 2012 flair button from Kelly’s December Daily kit, and an Instagram pic with photo corners.

December Daily 2012 | Ann-Marie Morris

INTRO. I knew I didn’t want the first page of my book to feature the first day of month, so I used one of the awesome vellum screenprints from Kelly’s kit in front and placed this sheet of paper from Freckled Fawn behind it to create the sunburst effect under the phrase. And of course, all three of my favorite washi tape colors made it on there. (Nothing says “Happy Holidays” quite like hot pink, am I right?)

December Daily 2012 | Ann-Marie Morris
December Daily 2012 | Ann-Marie Morris

DAY ONE. Clearly I am out of practice when it comes to scrapbooking for myself because this simple spread took nearly two hours! However, in those two hours, I was reminded of how much I miss this hobby + how grateful I am for all the fun (omg, so much fun) supplies that I still have on hand. The little kraft envelope on the right is part of the packaging from Tina’s screenprints that I ordered last week – love when I can recycle! It was also fun using the stamp set that I designed for SC’s 25 Days class (as seen on the righthand page). Lots of good things going on. I am so excited to see how the rest of the book unfolds…

xoxo

Supplies:
American Crafts Brown Sugar Glitter Tape // American Crafts Aqua Glitter Tape
// Adhesive Photo Corners // Kikkerland Paper Clips // Woodgrain Contact Paper // Oh Hello Friend Number Stamp //

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turning anthropologie bags into envelopes.

I don’t know if it’s my “recycle, reduce, reuse” California upbringing (anyone else remember that song??) or if it’s simply my personal inclination to hoard anything made from a tree, but the thought of throwing away something that can easily be repurposed pains me. Especially anything from Anthropologie. (Have you ever watched an Anthro employee wrap a gift with the quintessential brown tissue paper + that giant washi tape dispenser? It is a true delight, my friends.) The other day while I was organizing all my various packaging supplies, I realized that the paper quality of an Anthro bag would be perfect for creating envelopes!

Turning Anthropologie Bags into Envelopes | Ann-Marie Loves Paper
Turning Anthropologie Bags into Envelopes | Ann-Marie Loves Paper
Turning Anthropologie Bags into Envelopes | Ann-Marie Loves Paper

The process of turning a paper bag into an envelope is as basic as you would imagine. First, I cut out one side of the bag (the side that doesn’t fold up) and turned it over to the backside. Using a 4-bar Paper Source envelope template as my guide, I traced the shape with a pencil and then cut it out by hand. Next, I folded up all the flaps, adhered with a tape runner, and applied a liberal amount of washi tape. Done and done!

Tis the season to repurpose!

xoxo

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when friends get married.

Like I mentioned in my birthday list, 2012 has been the year of destination weddings. And I am such a fan.












Two weeks ago, my good friend Jaymee had the most amazing wedding in Santa Barbara. And even though SB is only an hour north of where we live, John and I decided to turn the long weekend into a mini vacation. It definitely turned out to be one of the best ideas we’ve had in the many years we’ve been together. The first night we stayed near the harbor in Ventura and the next two nights were spent in picturesque Carpinteria. During the day, we traipsed all over Solvang, Santa Barbara, Montecito, and even Oxnard for a little Cafe Rio.

In case I haven’t mentioned it in the past fifteen minutes or so, I LOVE California. End of story.

xoxo

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