celebrate mother's day, your baby mama, that foxy mama or just because...

i've been playing with illustration a bit more lately. stepping away from the computer and doodling... that's how my interest in art began a long time ago. doodling, in school, probably while i was supposed to be learning my time tables or long division.

enter my foxy mama card. i was brainstorming a cheeky baby shower card and came up with something that applies to nearly any occasion. this foil-stamp foxy mama card works for mother's day, baby showers, your friend who needs a pick me up or even just a birthday card. it's blank inside so there possibilities are endless. enjoy!

p.s. mother's day is sunday, may 12, 2013 :)

paired with coral envelope

foil stamp detail of the illustration

comes with three envelope choices! coral, mint & kraft. available in the shop!

 

sparkly surprise bridal luncheon invite

i forgot to post these! and i promise it's the last installment of andie's wedding paper :) 

the day before she got married her mother's best friend threw a fantastic bridal luncheon for andie & her ladies. andie was sweet enough to recommend me to make the invitations. we went with girly & light to reflect the relaxed luncheon.. and of course, had to add some metallics. 

i stashed some gold sequins in each envelope for a little sparkly surprise.

here's the detail of the invite....pastel confetti & pastel confetti pattern on the back.

to order custom shower invitations, email me at charm and fig (at) gmail (dot) com.

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december (!!! WHAT?!?!) ( + november re-cap)

unbelievable. this year flew by. and so much happened! still more to come, so i went rattle off all my sentiments of 2012 yet. december will rule because: one of my best friends is getting married to a wonderful man, jon's grandmother will celebrate her 70th birthday, my nephew will be celebrating his 6th birthday, there will bea small reunion of my favorite high school gals (eek.. 10 years almost!), and i will unabashedly participate in christmas time cheer.

here's what went down in november...

october instagrams & fake november ramblings.
my calendars went on sale! get 'em, now.
local holiday shopping at #designcraft

and other fun instagram happenings...

a pomegranate tree grows in montrose.

craft night with andie! making a geometric photo background for one awesome smilebooth.

confusing dining choices in montrose, but an awesome hand-painted sign.

custom holiday cards for a great couple (she was my first client ever.. two years ago!)

two texas boys: sweet max & uncle jon.

these frosty snowflakes will be covering some christmas wrap this year.

amazing "earthscapes" stamps from the USPS. satellite shots of the united states.

carving christmas tags - available in the shop! 

a pretty watercolor thank you night from amanda medsger. << check out her stuff!

fancy gin & tonic from mongoose vs. cobra. somehow managed to visit that place 5 times in the past four weeks. not complaining. 

pull your own prints from workhorse printmakers at the #designcraft market.  my new work with your hands poster will be hanging up in my "studio" corner in our apartment.

 

november ( + october wrap up!)

oh hey, october.. you came and went. here's what you we did:

september re-cap & instagrams

neon striped & stamped personal stationery

texas lakehouse wedding invites

modern baby shower

for november.. i predict spare blogging (because in reality, i'm backlogging this from december 2nd!) and lots of food with my family & friends. and better weather, come on houston! show us what you got. let's whip out those cardigans (and not just for our cold offices). 

enjoying eatsieboys at the city hall farmers market

jumping in front of the waterwall

tomato & avocado on toast.

the super precious elizabeth street cafe in austin, texas

want, but obviously don't need. a picture will do.

my frida halloween get-up. it pays to have an overload of cheap mexican jewelry from your grandmother.

andie the droodge

a sparkly number

and hooray for a husband who loves to cook! breakfast crepes & espresso.

pop the question - will you be my bridesmaid?

i posted some new cards in the shop! another fun way to pop the question to your bridesmaids, flower girls, maid of honor, etc. 

the special thing about this card is the diamond image -- it's stamped with a hand-carved stamp (made by yours truly) and embossed with a metallic gold. the one's i have here are pink, but brides can choose just about any color to suit their needs. 

come and get 'em!

 

diy - tiny paper mache bowls

oh hey there. it's been awhile. we've been tied up with weddings, baby showers, the miserable FLU and some serious netflix & hulu marathons.


i've been on the hunt for some small bowls to help organize my jewelry drawer and when the usual places weren't hitting the spot (anthro! why are you so expensive?) i figured i could take a stab at some paper mache bowls with materials that i already have in my house.

here's what you'll need:

1. a balloon for each bowl
2. a jar to suspend the balloon
3. newspaper
4. flour + water for paper mache paste. refined flower works best.
5. glue for base
6. thick twine for a coil base
7. paint/stickers/tape/glitter for decoration.. whatever your heart desires.
8. mod podge to seal

here's some quick & dirty directions....

blow up the balloon to the desired size and start covering with strips of newspaper dipped in flour paste ( i use about 3 parts water, 1 part flour). you'll want to do several layers... it's hard to keep track, but at least 7 will do. be sure to make the bowl height taller than your final product, you'll trim the edges down later. let dry overnight.

after it's dried, i glue a base out of some twine i had laying around. i used extra glue to make the twine harden.

i trimmed one of bowls with a scallop edge...

 and i cut the other asymmetrical. painted blue with very wobbly gold stripes! [quick tip: when painting layers on the dry bowls, you may have to do this over a few days. every time i painted them with a blue layer the newspaper becomes soft and starts to warp a bit.]

and the scalloped one has big polka dots inside of them -- dotted with the eraser of a pencil. the scallops were great for keeping my earrings in place (i spy merah earrings!).

here they are together... they will be nice & happy in my drawer.

 

take two - valentine's inspired nails

can't get enough of the love dovey season. i'm embracing the all the pink that comes my way this year. it's seems to be the one color that is dotting my pinterest boards the most.

for this 'look' i went with really pale pink for all my nails except one - my ring finger (awwwww) on which i used rose gold glitter.

glitter can be such a PAIN to remove. so i love the trend of choosing one finger to give the sparkle treatment. lazy beauty tips at its best.

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rah rah rah! just a glimpse from the HYPA gala...

last saturday we went to the houston young people for the arts i ♥ HYPA homecoming gala - and holy cow it was so. much. fun. big props to hypa founder heather pray for putting together such an awesome event. everyone was encouraged to dress as a high school stereotype and people really showed up with fun costumes.

i was in charge of decor so we really hit it hard with the homecoming theme, a nod to theatre under the stars' current show bring it: on the musical [now playing at hobby center!].

here are the photos from monsterbooth:






a few photos from my iphone - i wore a gold taffeta dress (borrowed from brandi - thanks!) and jon wore his some grungy clothes from his band days...



there were perforamnces from westsie high school marching band - so much energy.




a few more decor shots...



my big project, building these super-sparkly light up letters. loved how they turned out.


[HYPA letter photo by jordan graber]

i urge everyone who has any interest in the arts to join hypa. it's mission is to promote education of the visual and performing arts; advance cultural awareness of current events in the houston art scene, particularly among young people.

and the best part? it's only $20 a year to join. do it.

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