Blissful Brides

It has been way too long since I've written a blog, but for me that is good news as I have been happily designing some super fun and amazing invitations this year. I am in love with this job! I enjoyed setting up a display this weekend at the Bridal Bliss show and was privileged to meet some wonderful new brides-to-be! It is my hope that we will be able to create some "blissful" wedding invitations together this fall and next spring. 

Here are a couple of not-so-great iphone shots from The Blu Sash booth Sunday. Congratulations to Chelsea Roster for winning a free custom designed invitation from The Blu Sash!

Give me a call — 859.576.0011!

Happy Fall!

Let them eat cake

 ONE FISH...

Hello! Happy rainy and cold Wednesday to you! I thought we all could use a little bright spot in our day, so I am posting a cake I did for a "Suessical" birthday party. This is by no means an original cake design, but I LOVED making it. I don't make cakes professionally, but love doing them on occasion for family and friends.

Dr. Suess and I go way back. Cat in the Hat was my absolute favorite book and the fish was my favorite character. In fact, I have the exact same book my mother read to me at home. I now read it to my kids regularly. It's missing it's spine, but it's still in good shape! I marvel at my mother's ability to keep things so well preserved.

I truly credit Dr. Suess with inspiring my illustrative style and my my passionate love for children's books! Speaking of those two things, I hope to have more to share with you all in that arena later this year or early next year. I have some exciting things I am "cooking" up graphically, but there is still a lot of groundwork to be laid. I am so excited though!

Have a "Suessical" day!

A fresh perspective

The word I cannot get out of my head today is [ FRESH! ]

Fresh air, fresh flowers, fresh strawberries, fresh lettuce. Everything is new again and I am celebrating simple joys. The joy of opening my windows wide, noticing the sky again, the fresh fragrance after a spring rain and the way a the daffodil my son gave me smells so sweet.

Open your windows today and celebrate the simple pleasures life affords. We are blessed to be here! Each day is fresh and NEW.

1) NEST PRETTY THINGS on ETSY

{ Rosy Bracelet }

1) 1AMANDA on ETSY

{ A Wedding Wish Brooch Bouquet — by Amanda Heer }

1) 0MIN on ETSY

{ Tiny Leaf }

1) WARMNFUSZZIES'S on ETSY

{ Sugar Pop Cathedral Window Pillow Cover }

"The earth laughs in flowers"

EE CUMMINGS

Brown Paper Packages: Emergency Snowman Kit

In case of emergency snow day ... bundle up, grab your "Emergency Snowman Kit" and venture out into the great white unknown!

Make this quick and easy craft with the kids next time it snows. Send them on a treasure hunt through the house and out in the yard to gather the supplies for your very own Snowman Kit. Then put it straight to use or better yet, package it up, have the kids make a cute card and take it to a neighbor or friends house for some instant snow day fun!

Don't forget the hot cocoa!

EMERGENCY SNOWMAN KIT
{ EVERY HOME SHOULD HAVE ONE }

1 ] EYES : SEEING IS BELIEVING.
For my kit, I picked out some large navy blue buttons I had in my sewing drawer,
but acorns, large marbles, rubber bouncy balls or, of course, coal would do.

2 ] NOSE : THE NOSE KNOWS.
A cinnamon stick will do nicely for a nose that you can reuse
or you could purchase a small wooden cone and have the kids paint it orange!


3 ] MOUTH : WHEN YOU'RE SMILIN' THE WHOLE WORLD SMILES AT YOU.
Anything will do for a mouth! A pipe cleaner, a ribbon, or my favorite ... rick-rack! A snowman's smile
always melts my heart and you can't help but smile back!


4 ] BUTTONS : BUTTON UP!
A snowman must be clothed in weather appropriate fashion! Scour the house for old
unwanted buttons and seal them up in a plastic bag, a cute sack or an old breath mint tin.


5 ] HAT : IT'S OLD HAT.
Grab an old hat out of the closet or head on over to your local store

and grab a hat and some mittens on clearance.

For what is a snowman without a hat?


6 ] SCARF : THE FINISHING TOUCHES.
A snowman isn't complete without the cutest old scarf you can find!

Grab one out of the closet or run down to the local thrift shop.


7 ] ARMS : WRAPPED IN A WARM EMBRACE.
Last but not least find a couple of suitable sticks for a set of loving arms.

THEN ....

8 ] BUNDLE UP : WRAP YOUR SWEET SNOWMAN BITS INSIDE THE SCARF.

9 ] IT'S A WRAP : TIE THE SCARF BUNDLE TO THE END OF YOUR TWO STICKS

& VENTURE OUT INTO THE GREAT WHITE WORLD!

10 ] BUILD A BETTER SNOWMAN :

LET IT SNOW, LET IT SNOW, LET IT SNOW!

Kentucky Bride Bridal Show 2011

We had an amazing first time at the Kentucky Bride Bridal Show this last weekend! There was non-stop traffic to our booth and my lovely friend Sarah was so gracious to help me out. My precious daughter let me steal all her bedroom furniture and my sweet husband hauled it all in and out of the swagger-wagon for me. My wonderful mother and sister are the ones who made this opportunity possible for The Blu Sash, so a special thank you to all the people I love the most.

I look forward to the future of The Blu Sash and the new brides I will be working with this year. It has been such a privilege!

I'll be posting the winner of the FREE custom invitation design tomorrow, so check back! Sweet dreams and good night!

Blessings,

Donia

Let them eat Cake

"Four things on earth are small, but they are exceedingly wise: the ants are a people not strong, yet they provide their food in the summer ..."

— PROVERBS 30:24-25

If you've been following this blog and my 1-year old business, you know that I occasionally make cakes for friends. The Blu Sash leaves the baking and cake decorating to the professionals the rest of the time. Once in a while I will have a friend ask me to make a cake for a special occasion and I will oblige as I love to experiment and try something new.

A few weeks ago a dear friend called wanting me to make a "Mad Hatter" cake for his wife's birthday and I was more than happy to do it. I knew mine wouldn't be Cake Boss quality, but I thought it would be fun to give it my best. It was a late night with a few rough patches in the wee morning hours. At 2 am I was trying to glue the fondant base back down to the cake with frosting. The fondant was splitting apart due to the weight of the top two cakes [note to self: more dowels next time]. At 3 am I said a prayer, put the cake in the fridge and trudged off to bed hoping the morning would not present a toppled cake. The next morning the frosting had set up nicely, I put on the finishing touches and viola, it was done!

It was handed off to my friend and I held my breathe as I waited to hear that it had made it's long journey through the mountains of Eastern Kentucky, without incident. The news came and it was safe at home. What a glorious feeling! A job well done, despite my fears of the cake's stability. I couldn't wait to hear about Emillee's response upon seeing it!

Then the news came. The bad news. Ants. Ants had found the cake during the night between delivery and birthday party. A crushing blow to all involved! Nothing could be done and the cake was a loss.

I feel so heart-broken for Ben that I am seriously thinking about making him a cake to take her for Valentines. It was such a sweet, loving gesture and then the ants had to come and crash the party. You can't blame them though. They were just doing their job. Frosting, cake and raspberry filling are hard to resist!

Here are my wishes for you in 2011: May you have your cake and eat it too!

{ Although The Blu Sash will not be in the business of baking your cake, we do offer cake design services and have local vendors we work with to create the perfect cake for your occasion. Let us coordinate with those lovely invitations and party favors we look forward to designing for you! }

859.271.6934 or 859.576.0011
donia@theblusash.com

An Invitation to Love } Side By Side

{ SIDE BY SIDE }

A WEDDING INVITATION SUITE

All Photos Courtesy of www.claytonaustinlovestories.com

[ Stationery photos by The Blu Sash ]

Oh we ain't got a barrel of money,

Maybe we're ragged and funny;

But we'll travel along, singin' a song,

Side by side.

— Harry Woods (melody) & Gus Kahn (lyrics) 1927

Some things are timeless. A century old photograph buried in a box. A dress in an attic trunk. A letter from the front lines. A rusting license plate hanging in a barn. The words to a song long forgotten. They still have the power to move you because they posses a human element that can touch any heart regardless of century, decade or hour.

Love is timeless. It is has and always will be the essence of our very being. Today, perhaps love has become too much of a packaged product. We polish and shine our love for all to see. It must be perfect. Unblemished. An ideal. A dream. But reality sets in. Love becomes bumped along the dusty road of life. There are detours, delays, road blocks, wrecks. Often love is left along these lonely roads of disappointment and despair when it is at these times love needs us most.

Would it be that more went into marriage realizing that the dream is about living in this imperfect world with a determination to work for something that is worth more than it costs. What many fail to realize is that the potholes are melded together with periods of breath-taking scenery, memorable stops and mountain top experiences. If one gets out of the car halfway through the journey, so much will forever be missed.

Brooke and Manny's wedding made me think of the beauty found in the rough patches of life. The Shack Up Inn in Clarksdale, Mississippi was full of just such beauty. The beauty of the forgotton, the beauty of the well-loved, the beauty of simplicity, the beauty of trials and tribulation, the beauty of the soul and the beauty of love.

Brooke is my dear cousin and this wedding was a family event. I am so thankful this vivacious woman with a great thirst for life allowed me to be a part of her day through design. It was a weekend full of love and joy, tears and laughter, fellowship and celebration, song and dance. Many people from many walks of life coming together to celebrate a time, a place and a love. A love in all its beautiful, flawed, timeless perfection.

{ WEDDING INVITATION SUITE }

[ All artwork used in this invitation suite was drawn on the computer

using vintage 1920's labels and music sheet artwork as reference. ]

[ Vellum direction cards were enclosed with the invitations

and envelopes were lined with a metallic paper and coordinating pattern. ]

[ The reply card was a 2-sided postcard and

1920's scrollwork was carried over onto the envelope flap. ]

{ SIDE BY SIDE }

"Young lovers seek perfection. Old lovers learn the art of sewing shreds together and of seeing beauty in a multiplicity of patches. " — Finn, How to Make An American Quilt