garden dreams in the texas heat

i've been totally inspired by rose moss. it's a hardy plant with succulent leaves that can withstand the texas heat and days without water. the bright blooms are right up my ally: neon shades of pink, poppy, yellow and orange. my iphone couldn't event register the brightness of these colors... #nofilter, y'all.

when we purchased our house, i had no idea how much i would enjoy gardening. i've been turning down some late night partying in order to get up early and hit the dirt. must be growing up. 

i pinned this photo a few months ago, and i keep going back to it. we're definitely going to spend the next few months trying to re-create this backyard. it's sustainable and just looks so damn cool. kudos to my good friend elyse who coined the term partio.

i'm torn between creating a modern, sleek backyard and an overgrown hill country garden. texas wildflowers need to 'planted' in september for spring blooms. i've been reading up on planting wildflowers and they just say to drop the seeds on dirt, don't bury them. how easy is that? you can order seed packets from wildseed farms.

here's a little peek of our backyard. blue agave, african irises and rose moss so far. still so much that needs to be done. can't wait to share the full picture.. when it's complete.

free press summer fest 2013

i learned some video skills last month at the blogshop video class in chicago and i put together a personal video of my free press summer fest experience! it was a great way to see a bunch of friends, celebrate my birthday and listen to new music. enjoy! turn the sound up :)

want to see another fun video i did for work?! check my market square park  video, por favor. and if you're in the houston area, come visit market square park for one of our movie nights! they are so much fun.

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easy, cheap & festive party decor + house update

first things first! here's a picture of our house. it was built in 1937 and took a beating over the years. someone bought it late last year, flipped it and sold it to us. we were so lucky to jump on this house when we did - love at first sight and in a neighborhood we're excited to explore. 

..and now to more fun stuff. jon's sister graduated high school this year and all of her brothers and sis'-in-laws got together to throw her a little bash. we were all on a budget, but pulled off a pretty festive fajita soiree in our back yard.

with four kids and lots of birthdays to throw, my mother-law-in-law was smart to invest in a helium tank years ago. the balloons were a last-minute addition to the decor, but they were the best part! we taped fringed tissue paper to the base of the balloon to create these geronimo balloons-inspired floaters.

for the table, i used a dip-dye table cloth and crepe paper to create this striped runner. double-sided tape kept them in place.

to finish the ends, i simply cut out a little wedge.

and throughout the house, i made tissue-paper flowers. they brightened up the windowsills, tables, bathrooms and anywhere that needed a little pop of color.

here's the graduate with her bearded brothers. congrats callie! i was thrilled she happened to match the color scheme with such a pretty yellow dress.

my little nephew max is up-and-running these days. we tied a balloon to him so we easily spot him when he ran off. i think i might utilize this little nugget for when i have kids. my sister-in-law, chelsea, took the most precious photo of max with the balloons. 

that's all, kiddos. xo

no pattern dip dye ombre pillow

it's been a LONG time since i touched my sewing machine. i had every intention of sewing curtains, but instead i just bought tons of unbleached, un-dyed denim and hung it up with raw edges. i love the way it looks.. but more on the curtains later.

it's feeling pretty hot here in houston. we've had such a long spring (actually used the heater in early may!) that the 85 degree feel like a sauna. i don't even want to think about july right now.

in the spirit of summer, i decided to make a bright pink and orange ombre pillow with the extra curtain fabric. i took an old, orange silk pillow and cut fabric for my new pillow with an extra inch for sewing. the old pillow was my 'pattern.'

for this pillow, i only wanted one side to have color -- i think it looks a little more custom and less reckless that way. i busted out my rit-dye... did one end orange (sunshine yellow with a splash of red) and the other bright pink ( red with double splash of yellow).  the i got the fabric completely wet and let it sit in the dye for about half an hour. this will let the dye bleed up the fabric easier. if it's totally try it will have a hard time bleeding and will be a less smooth gradient.

once it was dry, the denim was pretty thick and warped so i needed to put it to the iron.

time to pin and get that pesky zipper out of the way! pin the zipper (zipped!) to one piece of fabric, with the outside of the zipper facing the outside of the pillow. sew the zipper to the first side, then pin the other piece of fabric to the other side of the zipper. 

sew up the rest of the of the sides., before you sew up the last side, make sure you unzip the zipper enough to turn the pillow inside when your sewing is complete.

success! i love the colors it adds to our house.

 

2013 calendars are here!

ah, feels good to get this project posted. i think i started working on my 2013 calendars in march, so i'm very excited to finally get it out the door. i made a print calendar (below) and a printable calendar option.

this 12-page printed calendar features original illustrations and a little french & spanish vocab (months & numbers) to brush-up on throughout the year.... exelente!

my favorite is june's diving girl -- i think i maybe, just might turn this into a screen print next year... 

see the full calendar below and click here to purchase it in the shop! (there's both christmas & hanukah versions)

snowflakes, india-inspired love nest, camping & rainy mountains

ocean scenes, diving girl, patriotic crest & desert camel (it's hot in august, y'all)

nautical anchor, dia de los muertos, autumn moon & feathers & christmas tree.

thanks for checking it out! 2013 is upon us... 

 

it's september - i'm outta here. (+ auggie re-cap)

ah. we're at the beach. on plane. climbing a volcano. catching a wave.... living la pura vida. (ok, maybe in 12 hours we'll be there).

thrilled that i'll be spending the first part of september in costa rica.. the middle part of september in the hill country celebrating one of my best friend's bachelorette and bringing in cooler weather as october nears. bring it on! so ready for fall. and ready to run in some cooler weather. (did i mention i signed myself up for a half-marathon?!)

here's what you missed in august:
a very pathetic july re-cap
new couples shower games at charm & fig - good for baby shower or weddings
some custom work & moving announcements at charm & fig
my countdown to costa rica - etsy treasury and a wipe out!
taking time to make some freaking lemonade.
neon & neutral moleskine journals. made with lots o' love & hand-carved stamps.
a very one-of-a-kind shower invite: tex-brit baby!!

some fun instagram photos along the way... (are you following me yet?)

a view of buffalo bayou park from my mothers -- looks like a 1950's architect's rendering of a model park.

working on a FUN project. will reveal the full thing in late september.

jon & i's attempt to recycle some wine glasses.

goodies from the pinpoint method. check 'em out.

mas projects. neon & neutral.

favorite donut. shipley's strawberry sprinkles. donuts are better than muffins in every way. (taste, calories, joy, etc.)

a good running day for me.. 5 miles.

sprinkles cupcakes - houston, texas.

picking out postcards from penguin books collection.

bracelets made from recycled flip-flops. these colors make me happy!

jazzed up my already peeling mint manicure with some color. just in time for costa rica.

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sweltering auggie (+ july re-cap)

i'm writing this august 12, but post-dating it to august first.. such trickery!

here's the measly july postings you may have missed:
indian summer engagement party
my apologies
july manifesto + june re-cap

but since i have been so out-of-touch online, i've been out doing cool things..like surfing. totally obsessed. prepping for our costa rica trip :)

july started out pretty rainy, but man, we needed it after last year's drought.

a collection of neon stuff on my desk. office supplies rule.

a peek into the upcoming OKRA charity bar. yup - houston's getting a charity bar. drink for good!

me & the surfboard board in port aransas. yeah, it was pretty big.

my friend andie & her pentax. no illusions here, this camera is LARGE.

gorgeous sunset at surfside.

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indian summer engagement party invites

i had the awesome task of coming up with some fun engagement party invitations for my very good friend, andie. for this invite, she was inspired by lena wolff's radiance flag (second image from the top) -- the colors, geometric shapes, the feathers and the hippie hippie shake of it all :)

you can see their sweet engagement shoot here, which was another inspiration for these party invites. summer love that last forever,  awww :) xo.

andie's all about arrows right now... a trend i love to keep up!

like a turd, i didn't take enough photos. but i did manage to get a picture of me & the bride.. wearing the same bright poppy colors (on accident). 

brandi, ginny & andie

jon & russ (the groom) playing bartender.

we had too much fun.. so excited for this wedding!

it's here, it's open : charm & fig

so happy to announce that my etsy shop, charm & fig, is finally up and running!

if you follow this blog, you may recognize some of the items. here's a little peek at some of my new stuff. as you can see, all of these designs are inspired by the beach, which tells me i'm ready for a little vacation.

water color sunset polka dot folded card

hudson bay blanket folded card

postal thank you flat cards

'you're my anchor' folded card

yay! now go check it out.. and if you're on etsy and you like it, please add charm & fig to your favorite shops. thank you.

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