My Mom's Christmas Card 2014

I helped design my mom's Christmas Card this year and love that they had a recent picture to put on there.  My favorite part was my mom's idea, on the back, to put 'Joy Love Peace' on the back and stagger it so it looks like a Christmas tree with a little snowflake at the top. I think that even the back of the card could make a perfect front of the card next year of us!  The calligraphy on the front of the card was done by me and actually the same thing I used on our card this year.  

See our 2013 and 2012 cards here.

Thanks for looking! -Amy 

Our Christmas Card 2014

I thought I would share a bit about our Christmas cards this last year. We make cards every year (see 2011, 2012 and 2013 here) but this is the first year since we were married we had some professional pictures taken.  All the photos were taken by Kate at Birch and Pine.  It was fun to have Wesley in these photos and have our new life in Kentucky documented.  The photo above is the one we chose for the front of our card, all I asked to include was something about Kentucky. This fence above is an old horse fence which are literally all over the city... Lexington is the 'Horse Capital of the World'. Below is a clip of what we put on the back of the card and I also included some more of our favorite photos from the shoot below too.

-----

Antler Bobby Pins

When I went home for Thanksgiving, I came bearing gifts.  I found some inspiration on pinterest and decided to make a couple pairs of antlers for my sisters and cousin and I.  They were so fun and easy to make and we had a great time sporting them.I shaped all the pins out of black oven clay and cooked them as directed.  I then sprayed them all with gold spray paint, added gold glitter to the ends and glued on a bobby pin with some tacky glue. So fun and festive for the holidays.

Calligraphy Envelopes

I decided to try my hand at adding calligraphy to the envelopes of our Christmas cards.  It was an effort that allowed me to practice envelope design as well as get the word out there that I love calligraphy. I knew going into this that it was going to be a HUGE project they wouldn't be perfect, I mean I had never addressed cards in calligraphy before and had no idea what I was doing, but will say I am one step closer to being a little more comfortable with the whole process.

I decided to just accent our friend's and family's last name and write in the rest of the address by hand.  I found that there is a certain type of nib that I preferred (Nikko G) and found there is a huge difference in quality of paper envelopes and ink that flows and works best for my project (I preferred Windsor and Newton Ink over Higgins).

For reference, I sent out 80 envelopes and had about a 50% rate of success... meaning that I had about 40 or so envelopes that didn't turn out.  I found in the beginning I was writing the last names starting with 'A' or 'B' quite a few times (like 6 or 7 times over).   I did get much more confident and comfortable towards the end of the alphabet and didn't need to rewrite them almost ever.  I do know that I need more practice with keeping an even flow and perfecting my up and down strokes (it takes lots of patience and is almost like learning how to write again), but I am happy that I took on this project and look forward to more like it!

What do you think of them?? If you are interested in some calligraphy for your event please contact me either through my etsy shop or via email. Thanks!

Our Christmas Cards 2013 (and 2012)

I really love how our christmas cards turned out this year.  The way my calligraphy matched up perfectly with the light leak of the camera.  This photo was taken back when we were in Montana, at the end of our summer vacation on my favorite hike to Woodbine Falls. The hike is so easy and quick and has the most beautiful views.  I decided to match our cards with a simple calligraphy envelope.  Envelope calligraphy and design is extremely more difficult then you would think but I will write about my very small experience with it soon. If you are interested, this is what our Christmas cards looked like last year, it is pretty amazing to see where I have come in a year and will write about my first year in calligraphy and design in an upcoming post. This card is what started it all.Thanks for looking! If you are looking for something for yourself or an event, check my listing here in my Etsy shop or send me an email!

Capener Christmas Cards 2013

December was a busy month for me and I am so happy about it! I am hopefully going to get all the work I did up on the blog this month in addition to launching a new website and portfolio and some fun new stamp designs! I'm so excite about it all.

Our wedding photographer turned good friend asked me to help design something for her Christmas cards.  It was a quick and last minute but love how it turned out.  I wrote 'Peace' in calligraphy and drew a small half wreath. We added their name in the middle and the date at the bottom between the wreath.  She printed it out at home, cut it out and tied it around their square photo.  It turned out so great and love the idea of having the separate calligraphy piece in addition to the photo. 

If you are interested in having something designed for yourself or an event please see my Etsy shop or email me at amedetails at gmail dot com.

New Year 2014

S and I went out to dinner to celebrate on New Years Eve. Even though our meal wasn't the best, we still had such a great time. We bundled up, since the whole day was -17, and pretended we were all dressed up even though were in long underwear and turtlenecks.  I tried a bunch of different braid and hair up dos and just couldn't get it to work! Anyone have any secrets?! It was a fun excuse to wear some red lipstick and have a martini. 

We came home and decided to camp out in our living room with Wes and watch a movie. Stripes on stripes.  The next morning, we had probably the best January 1st day ever and laid in that flannel and down comforter bed all day long taking naps, watching bowl games and S played lots of video games. It was glorious. I then found a recipe for 'Mormon Scones' and we decided it is our new favorite unhealthy fried food, probably surpassing our homemade doughnut tradition.  In high school, we frequently ended up at a friend's house and his mom was usually always cooking these scones. I have still remembered (8 years later) how good they were and was happy to find such a good recipe. Hope you had the best first day of the year too! Happy New Year!

Top photo from my instagram

Christmas In Montana 2013

Scott and I both found out we had the week of Christmas off at the last minute.  We decided that if the weather was nice enough we would drive back to Montana to spend it with his family.  The weather was pretty scary over the weekend before, but our drive proved to be dry and quick the whole way (8 hours) there.  The picture above is to document our Christmas together and my first time using a Christmas cracker (they give you crowns in them!)

There was lots of snuggling with Wesley and a white white backdrop. Scott and I accidentally both dressed in flannel for the drive which I didn't realize till I took that picture #flannelcity

(on the left) During our stay, we all went to check out the Army Navy store in Billings because they carry Filson gear that is sometimes on sale.  That store is full of stuff, like lots and lots of stuff. There were all kinds of things hanging from the ceiling (up above me were bullets, a grenade and razor blade wire) and stuff stacked to the ceilings through the whole store. (on the right) I am basically the puppy whisperer. Penne, the wire haired pointing griffon, is within months of the same age as Wesley and they have so much fun together.

Our everyday view.Pretty much the funniest puppy. We were waiting at the drive through at McDonalds and he was perched on our smallest center console.

One of the most beautiful sunsets on the drive home.  That drive was a long one and took what felt like forever but we were lucky to have dry roads.  We also started listening to a book on tape for the first time and are bummed we didn't think to do it sooner!

A Collaboration With Gifts By Allyson

I am so excited to finally share this with you guys! My friend Ally with Gifts By Allyson and I teamed up to create these personalized beautiful wood and calligraphy pieces.  I provide the calligraphy and she carves it in pieces of wood that people can give as gifts and display in their homes.  Ally and I have known each other since high school and she has always been one of the sweetest people.  When I was home over Thanksgiving we had a chance to get together and have some fun projects on some beautiful wood coming in the near future! 

-above- our first project together. It is a piece for a bride and groom whose favorite saying is 'come what may' that we put on a long wood plank with some simple calligraphy.  We gave it to them as a gift early and they decided to also display it at their rustic themed wedding. 

-above- A custom gift for a ferried of ours to give to her family for Christmas. -below- how we wrap up our pieces once they are made and deliver to our customers.

Some holiday pieces we made together. -above- this one got to come home with me! -below- A happy customer showing us how she displayed her Merry Christmas plaque.

-above- I love this shot of our Merry Christmas plaque. We have been lucky enough to make a couple of these and just love that people love them too! This above photo is one of my favorites because it shows a little glimpse into how Ally works.

above- A customer requested a custom last name plaque for his wife for Christmas. Once he saw it he ordered another one for other family members. -below- a fun phrase that we are working on as a constant staple in a family home. 

Thanks for looking and if you are looking for your own custom piece or a replicate of one of the above pieces, check out my listings here in my shop! 

DIY: Use Pictures as Ornaments

We had some friends over the past weekend and decided to break out our new fujifilm instax camera I just bought.  We had the polaroids just laying around and our friend had a brilliant idea to clothespin them to the tree as ornaments (since we don't have many ornaments).  I love the idea of using pictures as ornaments! You could even use them at a party or a way to collect memories over the years... so fun! Photo from my instagram. Merry Christmas! 

Calligraphy Christmas Pillow

In honor of December, I thought I would show you my friend's work. She #cantstopchristmascrafting and I have always considered her one of my most talented friends. I truly wish I lived closer to her but thankful for instagram so I get to see it all!

She borrowed my calligraphy in 'Merry' and 'Bright' from a wood project I have been working on with my friend Ally (big post on that soon!) and applied it to one of her Christmas pillows. She is so so talented and I love how it looks! Now I need to borrow her stocking example and make some of my own!

Happy Thanksgiving!

I sit here writing this feeling completely stuffed and slightly embarrassed I encouraged/ was the one cooking so much food tonight, but am oh so thankful to be here with family and a full stomach. We have had a great time here so far playing lots of guitar, eating lots of food, meeting up with friends, spending incredible amounts of time with family and enjoying this amazing weather. We sure do miss our little puppy but are so happy to be able to count so many blessings in our life.

 

Happy Happy Thanksgiving! Oh and if you are looking for the most amazing pecan pie recipe, I think you should make this one. I am a huge fan of pecan pie with pecans all the way through and let me tell you this was so delicious. The only thing I changed in the recipe was adding more pecans then it called for. Making this, we almost ate the filling not leaving enough for the pie; then when it finally came time to eat pie, there wasn't enough to go around (I had to start hiding pieces so everyone could have some!). I think I found my staple pie recipe. I also made a pumpkin roll and think I also found my other staple recipe- for my first time making it, I found it easier then I thought and it didn't crack when I rolled it! Success!

Halloween 2013

I know I am a bit behind in posting but I wanted to post this really because of the recipe and food we ate Halloween. I am a huge fan of homemade costumes, this year Scott dressed up as Sherlock Holmes (he usually is a ninja) and it was pretty funny because one kid who came to our door told him he looked like a disco ball... ya. He was sad that the kids didn't understand his costume but the adults loved it!- once he told them what he was. I thought it was clever. I made a cat mask the afternoon of and we got Wesley a Frankenstein costume for cheap. Next year though I am going to make him a lion's mane and I think that will be his costume every year from now on- he just gets so sad in costumes, or really anything.

I bought my first halloween decoration- a spider that you put a pumpkin in. I thought it was cute, I have never seen it before. However, we have critters around here and everyday we would see a little more bites in our pumpkin. The day before Halloween they broke into the core of the pumpkin and threw the seeds everywhere. I was bummed because I wanted to roast those seeds the day after Halloween, Scott was happy because he thought it looked creepy enough that no more decorations were needed.

Halloween isn't really my favorite holiday but I do love cooking a good meal the evening of, it always seems like the best time to make some good chili. We made homemade chili and put them in homemade pretzel bowls. I have to say it was one of my most favorite recipes. It turned out great.

We made the chili with this recipe from Food Network, except we substituted homemade pinto beans for the pinto beans part and accidentally substituted my mom's homemade salsa for the tomatoes part (which what I am convinced made it so delicious).  I think this recipe is worth it to try and make without the substitutions, it really had the best flavors. We topped it with green onions, cheese and greek yogurt.

We then served the chili in these pretzel bowls from A Beautiful Mess. These are really so easy and I would absolutely make them again, they would be great with any soup. Since there were only a few of us I only made four bowls but they were a hit.

Gold Glass Votive Inspiration

After just finishing up a huge order of gold glass votives, I thought I would share some inspiring dinner parities set ups.

top left/ top right/ bottom left/ bottom right

DIY Spring/ Easter Wreath

I was searching for a nice spring wreath I could make for my door. I found the perfect one at Williams Sonoma and knew it was just what I was looking for. It was super simple, took me about an hour and cost less than $15. Here is how I made it:

1 straw wreath the size of your choice (I got mine at Joann's- bring your coupon!)
Moss (I bought a moss mat at Joanns- bring your coupon!- but loose moss or moss "ribbon" will do)

Some floral pins

Burlap ribbon/ leftovers

I bought the moss mat because I got more good looking moss for my money, but if you can find some other moss that you like the look of then use that.

-If you are using a moss mat, cut about 2 inch strips (these don't have to be perfect). If you use moss ribbon, then just pin one end and keep wrapping all the way around. If you use loose moss, then take chunks of pieces of moss and pin down till your wreath is full.
-Use a floral pin to secure one side down on your wreath and wrap the moss around your wreath, pinning the other edge when done. Continue wrapping strips of moss around overlapping where you left off and pinning the edges.
-Fill in any gaps you may have.
-Add a burlap bow to the top or bottom and hang on your door.

Super easy, quick and beautiful!

St. Patrick's Day Parade

This weekend we decided to bear the cold and go on a nice walk in the sunshine. On Saturday we went to the dog park and to the St. Patrick's Day parade downtown. It was pretty funny, they had a bunch of tractors driving down the street at the parade and I was knee deep in snow walking down the hill!

We had a great weekend and were so happy to see the sunshine! Wesley just loves the snow! I love our little family!