that's a wrap! christmas wrapping made easy.

my go-to for christmas wrap is kraft paper mixed with a bright patterned paper and fun, textured embellishments. it's super easy and looks great every time. this year i embellished with red satin ribbon, bright green raffia and charm & fig letter press holiday tags, a mix of shiny and matte finishes that add interesting textures to the whole look.

pssst! if you ever underestimate your box size and fall short of wrapping a gift with paper you already cut, just cover up the unwrapped section with a band of contrasting wrapping paper and BOOM, you're a creative genius that didn't break the 'measure twice, cut once' rule.

custom botanical stationery inspired by paris markets

this lovely stationery set was commissioned by my dear friend, andie. i'm kind of obsessed. she has a great eye for design and a love for all things french. 

austin, texas BBQ rehearsal dinner invitations

lindsay & boris were getting married in austin, texas.  with strong ties to the city (hook 'em!) and lots of international wedding guests, a big barbecue dinner was a must!

the rehearsal dinner invitation was all about fun: a chalkboard-style invite with vintage typography reminiscent of rustic honky-tonks let their guests know it would be a laid-back affair with lots of texas style. i couldn't resist a buffalo-check envelope liner complete with a custom logo featuring their soon-to-be monogram, LKB

see the full suite below and a little peek at the happy couple's rehearsal dinner celebration.

top off your fizzin' hostess gifts with letterpress gift tags

the easy hostess gift? keep it classy with veuve cliequot & a letterpress gift tag from charm & fig. i've love to have a case of this stuff on-hand for the holiday season.

pink, purple & gold - christmas cards

i was rummaging through the piles of stationery and found last year's christmas card. obsessed with the envelope liners... hand-printed gold ikat!

custom return address stamps now available at charm & fig

the shop is growing (oh so much more to come soon) but i had to get these custom return address stamps out ASAP. with holiday cards coming up, (you're sending them, right?) you can save some serious time and hand cramps with a return address stamp. 

AND it's a great gift for your best pen pal. i will undoubtedly be gifting some of these this year! xo

now available at charmandfig.etsy.com.

holiday tags are here! gold + white foil print letterpress gift tags

white, gold, bright red & chartreuse are taking the lead for my color scheme this holiday season. i'm so excited to decorate our house for christmas -- i've always held back on buying christmas decorations because i didn't want to move a bunch of stuff from apartment to apartment, but now that we're more settled... i'm looking forward to buying cheerful ornaments this year.

to kick-off my eager beaver holiday spirit, i created these holiday gift tags...

a little bit luxe: gold foil on white gets me every time.

white on chartreuse adds an unexpected pop-of-color to your gift wrapping routine...

.. and bright, cheerful red with white for an old school look.

sets of 12 are available in the shop at charmandfig.etsy.com

the weekend itinerary for your best gal's bachelorette party

why the bachelorette weekend itinerary? the party planners already know who is going, who is on the fence -- but this mailed piece gives the guests an idea of what's in store for the big weekend.

these weekends take so much planning and commitment by everyone attending, so the bridesmaids usually know who is 'in' or 'out' far in advance. and suddenly, a generic invitation becomes a bit arbitrary. 

...but there's still so many details to communicate to the guests and an email can be a little lack-luster. the bachelorette itinerary is an easy way way to get the guests excited and convince those on-the-fencers that the weekend is not to be missed!

find us at the tinderbox at mid-main

i started selling some of my cards at the tinderbox earlier this summer. it's both a workshop and a gift shop, filled with hand-crafted goods from texas makers. it doesn't hurt that it's on the same street as sparrow, double trouble and continental club.. you really could spend an entire saturday on the block.

i took a few photos, but you really have to go in there for yourself! i have yet to do a workshop, but i'm thinking about planning a girls night -- the workshops are BYOB, after all.

the owner, ren, has done a fantastic job of curating quality good, thrifty find and bringing together the houston craft community.

falling hard for these waxed canvas totes by bexar goods -- i want the backpack.

there's my foxy mama.

loads of original art and pretty jewelry.

everything you want for a unique tablescape.

..and the hand-printed tea towels. i'm a tea towel hoarder -- i have my eye on the blue agave one now that we have some growing in our backyard!

garden tourism + pretty, pretty flowers

now that i'm all into gardening (woo, new hobby!), i am browsing through all my old travel photos to revisit all the pretty gardens.

on our trip to costa rica, we came across the famous zarcero garden. i had no idea existed until we just stumbled upon it. it was one of those, 'STOP THE CAR' moments. so many gorgeous hydrangeas, dahlias and topiaries.

versailles! we didn't get a chance to tour the gardens, but that alone is reason enough to go back.

new orleans kills it in the porch / window box department. those ferns are 10 feet wide.

i mean, look. this little window box has 10 different kinds of plants in it. this person is an artist.

san antonio japanese tea garden. free and cool. who would have thought?

simple succulent garden in healdsburg, california.

calder's flying dragon in a garden at the art institute of chicago.

yeahh! with that said, i am so ready for fall. and then spring. and we can skip summer cause it's hot here in houston.

where's your favorite gardens? i wanna know, i wanna visit!

martha stewart: she likes us, she really likes us!

pinch me! Charm & Fig's bridesmaids cards were featured on Martha Stewart Weddings' The Brides Guide blog. Check it out here.

summer science museum wedding invitations & dancing with dinosaurs

rawwr! so my good friends cristina and sam had their wedding at the houston museum of natural science, which was such an amazing wedding venue, by the way. working with them was really special because they're both good friends of jon and i, and it's been awesome to see them go from 'dating' to 'married' and all the wonderful stages along the way. they are so MFEO and have already added a new member to their fam since their nuptials last month. a wonderful little dog named zoe.

being that they're such a fun couple, nothing was really off limits. in fact, one request from cristina was to have a t-rex on the invitation. done and done.

pale pinks, mint green & kraft paper. look closely and you'll see a fierce t-rex and an ombre fern fossil envelope liner.

and the USPS was on our side with these amazing american in scientists stamps that matched perfectly.

 r.s.v.p .. come hungry + dressed to kill

houston museum district map + accommodations

check out some of the party pics below...

the bride & groom entering their party,

and me dancing in the conga line. the evening called for sequins.

and this old guy clearly stole the show!

i mean seriously, you haven't lived until you danced with the dinosaurs. we'll never forget this crazy fun night. congrats to sam + cristina, and thank you for letting me a part of this day.

foil print bridesmaid cards: sophia-inspired confetti & calligraphy...

bonjour! we've got new & improved darling cards! gold foil and pastel confetti: maybe they're a little inspired from sophia coppola's marie antoinette. the ladree macarons, the insane louboutin shoes, powdery pastel up-dos... i could watch this movie all day long.

these gold foil print calligraphy bridal party cards come in two styles (bridesmaid & maid of honor) and three colors (pale pink, mint and black). take your pick!