sarapaper . . . for life and its special moments

New Blog Site

2011-02-28T18:57:00.001-05:00

I should have updated this awhile ago.

You can find new posts at http://www.sarapaper.com/blog/

I hope to see you there!

Brides, Biking, and Beating the Heat

2010-07-06T20:54:00.014-04:00

It's so hard to keep up. Each week seems more busy than the next and Sara Paper struggles to stay ahead of the game. On the home front the garden is growing like crazy and poor Adam has to take care of it all by himself since this is the height of wedding season and I have an excuse to not do any yard work. I'm excited that everything is growing tall and strong, including my eggplant.

It's just a little guy right now . . .But it inspired me to post purpley and greenish invites.

Let's not forget personal stationery! This one folds on the side instead of the top.

A flat card does the trick!

Don't forget the matching envelope!

How about lady bugs? Here's a cute one.Did I mention that we have bikes now? It's our new hobby.
Here's a note card resting on my bike pedal (makes sense right?)
And here is my hubby checking out his bike when we biked in Ashtabula county.
(I didn't bring note cards along with me then.)
Here we are enjoying The Ferrante Winery that evening.
Delish wine and food and nice music out on their patio.
http://www.ferrantewinery.com/
On the way home we stopped to visit the Ohio State Reformatory in Mansfield. http://www.mrps.org/ Creepy, fun, terribly romantic (okay it's not). But it is interesting.
The Reformatory doors were opened to its first 150 young offenders in September 1896. After housing over 155,000 men in its lifetime, the doors to the prison closed December 31, 1990. The Shawshank Redemption and several other movies was filmed here.

Here I am enjoying the comforts of home.
Notice my shiny face - it was super hot!
I had just told Adam to make it quick - it felt really,
really creepy standing behind those bars.

Adam didn't think so. He probably inhaled
a good amount of lead paint.
Not only could you tour the old cell blocks you got to see
where the warden and his family lived. It was very castle-like.
Now of course it's a peeling mess. Here is some cool wallpaper
left in one of the childrens room.
Seriously, it sounds goofy to urge people to go see an old prison
but it was really interesting. The grounds, the chapel, and the artifacts from over 125 years ago. Most interesting to me is that they fully restored
the main lobby of the building and they rent it out for weddings
and other social functions. Now THAT'S an invite I'd love to design.

I usually don't like to post invites until after the wedding so I will have
lots to post in the next couple weeks. hard to believe it's July and already I have to begin to focus on the
Fall and Winter brides. Not to mention dreaming up holiday items.

But while we're still fighting the dog days of summer
I'll end with this nice thought.

Busy Weekend!

2010-05-24T12:18:00.010-04:00

What a great weekend! Hit the party scene on Saturday night for a bachlorette party. It's been awhile since I did the party drill but it was fun. I have to give two thumbs up to the driver of our Party Bus. For all you bridesmaids who are planning a Bachlorette Party be sure to check out Bandit Transportation. http://www.bandittransport.com/. The bus was clean (at the beginning of the night anyway) roomy and lots of fun. Our driver guy was really nice, blared awesome dance tunes and basically let us be as rowdy as we wanted. He got us to the bars and more importantly got us home safely. We were told at the beginning of the ride that he would happily drop us off at our homes to avoid anyone getting back into their cars at the end of the night. If you ride with Bandit Transportation you'll have a fun night!

Sunday was a different event all together. I wisely took it easy on Saturday night so I'd be able to enjoy a special Sunday Mass at my church, Holy Redeemer Catholic Church in New Bremen.

Fr. James Trick celebrated his 50 years of his Priestly Ordination. I was honored to design the invites for him and to attend his Mass and luncheon. It was a beautiful mass. As always he encouraged his congregation and challenged them to respond in a rousing "Amen!"

Later at the luncheon many people shared wonderful stories of how he touched their lives. My favorite story was when Fr. Jim once felt moved by the Holy Spirit to ask a total (and unlikely) stranger if he'd ever considered the Priesthood. The surprised man replied back, "Well, yes, I actually have". With youth, long hair and an earring, the surprised man would be considered unlikely to wear a priest collar but nonetheless, Fr. Jim helped him on his path. That man still sports long hair and an earring but is now a priest. A perfect example of how saying a few words can impact a life in ways you'd never imagine.

Adam and I spent some time that evening discussing how little things, words, minor events are so important - even when they seem unimportant. We believe that Fr. Trick is God's perfect example of Love. This painting is one Fr. Trick painted with pastels. It is entitled "Gentle Love". There is a beautiful story behind it which I will share another day. I have prayer cards which feature the painting. If anyone wishes to have one please email me and I'll drop one in the mail to you. Large prints, (suitable for framing) are available for purchase at The Cornerstone Shop in New Bremen, Ohio. http://www.newbremen.com/edc/businesses/cornerstone_shop.

A busy week in store before we enjoy the Memorial Weekend! "AMEN!"

Wild, Wonderful Wednesday - and the reasons why

2010-05-19T15:07:00.010-04:00

Why is Wednesday so great? Well, normally it's not. Middle of the week, nothing special sort of day. Today, however, even with the blah weather it seems more special because I got good mail. Some people sent me money (always fun) but I also received two note cards. With actual handwritten words inside of them. Nice words which brightened my day. So I decided to highlight some of my favorite note cards and a few things which made this Wild, Wonderful Wednesday.

First - Wild flowers. Not really all that wonderful though. I won't show you the sad looking flowerbed in which they currently reside. But they are pretty on their own.

Second - Wild Invitation! Can't wait to show this one off. It's still in the proofing stages but I love it. And in the process I got to learn the difference between cheetah spots and leopard spots - interesting.One good thing about the rain is that it's great for our newly planted garden. Adam worked hard last week to get the plants in, construct his clever irrigation system for the second year in a row. This year he topped himself and built a special fence to keep out the dogs and other wild animals that make it into the yard. We hate nothing more, than a beautiful pepper plant, squashed by a clumsy dog.Speaking of rain - we now have a rain gauge. We can now participate in conversations that revolve around how many 1/8s of an inch we have in our rain gauge. Riveting stuff! What is wild about this is that Adam ("King of the Leveler") clearly installed it without the use of a level. I'm in shock.

Since we're in the garden I can show off my favorite note cards. These have a vintage fruit print on them. Reminds me of old tablecloths.

While we're looking at note cards - here's a new one that I really like. It's simple but I love the hydrangea printed in a deep charcoal and my name with a pop of color.

Here's a recent invite for Ohio Northern University. For a Wind Turbine Celebration. The recycled paper fits the bill perfectly. I'll probably use more of this unique paper.

Moving on to why today is so Wonderful - in one word, Sonic. Got a coupon for a free Rt.44 drink. I selected a Cherry Limeade - the best drink ever! Ever order a 44 oz. drink from anywhere?

It's pretty big.

Another picture of Wonderful - our dog Jr. She's probably begging for a sip of that Cherry Limeade.
And Finally . . . something else I received with the mail - the book I ordered from Amazon. Only cost me $0.01 (plus $3.99 shipping). A book with Wednesday in the title - received on a Wednesday!!!! I'll bet the guy that shipped it to me planned it that way.

Blah Day?

2010-05-12T11:46:00.010-04:00

I'm having one of those days where it's hard to get in the groove of working. The weather is yucky, and I'm just feeling "blah" - whatever.

I decided to post a "Harry and Helen" letter, have some lunch and then hunker down and get some work done.

Looks like my case of the "blahs" is nothing compared to what Harry had going on this day in 1945

Sat. May 12, 1945 - Germany

Helen Darling:
Had quite a long dusty ride today. Sure was a mess. This time we are living in one of Adolfs pine forests. The situation isn't bad now as one doesn't have to worry about some wise German throwing some H.E. shells in here.

I went to a stream not far from here to wash off a portion of the crush which has been in my chassis for quite some time. It seems while we were very much in the nude some German female, accompanied by her husband made of tour of the bank, wondering if anyone was from Cincinnati, Ohio. I was submerged in freezing water for about three minutes. I am just about beginning to thaw out. Such is live in Germany.

Yesterday we took six Belgians who had been political prisoners of the Germans for about four or five years. They had the usual tale of starvation and hunger to relate. They looked half starved. One hadn't has a fresh egg in four and a half years. We took them to an American field hospital where they will be fed, treated, then sent home. The missplaced persons are being rapidly sent back to their homes.

In the "Stars and Stripes" tonight, they talked as if practically all combat troops going to the Pacific would receive a furlough to the states. If that is to be my lot I sure hope we are included in the ones to get furloughs. I understand that Service troops and Engineeers won't be so fortunate.

I am a real woodsman tonight using a bunch of pine boughs as a mattress for my sack. The old man (me) played baseball again yesterday and so far I haven't suffered too much. Guess I still have some spring left in my bones.

The country here is very beautiful at the present time. Trees in bloom and all. These Germans had everything and now all is kaput.

Sure seems ages since I've seen you. Maybe won't be long. Just time for me to tell you that you are the sweetest and most lovable gal in the world. I'll love you always darling. You have made me very happy and I am very grateful for everything you have done to keep things going at home while I've been away. You have done a magnificent job honey and I appreciate it more than I can tell you. So until tomorrow, good night sweetheart - I love you.

Devotedly, Harry

---

Well, letters like this sure makes a person stop and think of the luxuries we sometimes take for granted. Who spends their morning grateful for the egg they had for breakfast? I know I don't really give it a second thought. Sixty five years ago Harry longed for his wife while sleeping in a German forest after bathing in a freezing stream - I can certainly get out of my funk and get down to business!!

Pieces of Me

2010-05-10T17:35:00.008-04:00

This time of year is pretty crazy - I get to design, print, assemble, package and often delight in the fun world of wedding invites. It consumes me and fills up my life. Since I can't show you these finished invites yet (well, they aren't finished) I'll give you a sneak peak of what is going on in the studio.

Below are some pieces of me . . . (please note: I hate my camera and not all these photos look as nice as I want).

This is going to be a super cute western style invite.
Rich plum paper with a slight texture,
(the invite will be printed on a rugged recycled cardstock).
All tied with a hemp string.

Pretty in pink looks pretty chic with this picot edged ribbon.

How about layering some elegant champagne
shimmer paper with a subtle swirl pattern?

Black and pink again - love this combination of the luxe ribbon,
crisp black graphics and the softness of the linen papers.

This is what I'd design all day long if I could. Fun colors,
retro font and that awesome recycled paper.

I've been seeing a lot of this green.

This invite is elegant and earthy at the same time.

"Pumpkin" and "Plum" - yummy!
And this bride is going to use these graphics on her cake.

There is a whole lot more going on!
Give me a call to see if I can help you
with your dream invites!

Brides and Cake, Oh my!

2010-05-03T21:10:00.008-04:00

Had a great time this weekend at the Greenville Bridal Gala! Lots of brides and lots of fun. A good amount of cake too. Then a stop at the Maid Rite for a special sandwich. Mom (my side kick at these sort of things) got a kick out of seeing all the gum on the building and remembered going through the drive thru (back in the day ofcourse). http://www.roadsideamerica.com/tip/10128

Then a stop on the way home for ice cream - yup, a great day!

Looking ahead I'm really excited about all the new things coming up. Lots of fun new brides with fun new ideas. Someday I'm going to be caught up and ahead of the game. I've got lots of ideas in store for labels, fun printed envelopes and great color combos.

Until then I'll enjoy designing, printing and producing YOUR ideas!

Quotes on Marriage

2010-04-20T07:27:00.011-04:00

Quote #1
"An ideal wife is any woman who has an ideal husband."

This is that time of year - Bridal Season. This is the time of year I'm so busy I can barely remember my own wedding date - let alone the 50 or so brides I have on the docket. This year in particular I'm exceptionally busy so back in March I warned my husband that in April he should not expect much out of me in the way of housework, cooking or general fun. I apologized in advance and explained how I not only needed to concentrate on the beloved brides, I also wanted to revamp some things in the office to make our (mostly my) life easier. He agreed and has been pretty great about not having my undivided attention.

Quote #2
"Marriage is not a noun; it's a verb. It isn't something you get. It's something you do. It's the way you love your partner every day."

So last night I needed to run to Celina to make some errands. I waited until Adam got home to see if he wanted to go with me. He arrived home tired, dirty (bridal season goes hand in hand with swimming pool building season) with plans to mow the yard. I could tell he really wanted to just do the yard work and then probably zone out on Facebook for a couple years but instead he hustled through the mowing and got cleaned up so we could go together.

Quote #3
"It is not a lack of love, but a lack of friendship that makes unhappy marriages."

We had a fun night. It was one of those night where all you do is run boring errands and then share dinner at some random, not exciting, restaurant while you discuss if you should purchase both the grill and the weed trimmer or just the grill and wait another month for the weed trimmer. One of those "old married couple" nights that are fun because they just ARE.

Quote #4
"The real act of marriage takes place in the heart, not in the ballroom or church or synagogue. It's a choice you make - not just on your wedding day, but over and over again -- and that choice is reflected in the way you treat your husband or wife."

I should mention that one of Adams greatest joys is to make waiters and waitresses laugh. He's probably worried they are going to spit in his food. I usually worry they will spit in our food after they deal with him. Believe me, I've heard my share of stupid jokes.

Patient waitress: "Sir, would you like a box for your leftovers",
Him: "yeah but I gotta warn you, I have a mean left hook".

Get it? Box, left hook. If you box with someone you might get a mean left hook? Funny, right? Last night was no exception. It was a slow night in the restaurant we picked but the waitress looked tired nonetheless.

Me: I ordered a Pepsi or a Coke. (I'm easy like that).
Tired Waitress replied: "Pepsi?
Me: I said sure.
Adam: I'll have a Coke. (wait for it . . . confused look on waitress face and . . . a smile)
Adam said Pepsi would be just fine.

I ordered my food - I got the meatloaf special.
Adam ordered the buffet - and asked the waitress to bring ketchup for me since I forgot to ask.
I cooed at him because it was sweet that he remembered (hey, we've been married for almost 8 years - remembering that I like ketchup on meatloaf is sweet).
Adam smiled because that's what Adam does when I coo at him.

Yeah, we were pretty happy sappy in front of the waitress.

Quote #5
"Love at first sight is easy to understand; it's when two people have been looking at each other for a lifetime that it becomes a miracle."

So Adam leaves the table to visit the buffet and when the waitress brings our drinks she, almost awkwardly, asks how long we'd been married. I told her almost 8 years and she opened her mouth to say something, pointed at me, pointed at Adams empty seat but then abruptly walked away.

When Adam came back I told him about the waitresses odd behavior. As we were wondering about it she came back to the table and apologized. She explained that she'd just gotten married a couple weeks ago and she didn't think it was going to work out. She babbled for a little bit before she left admonishing herself, "I must be crazy for telling you all this."

The third time she visited our table I said, "hey, just so you know - we haven't always gotten along. Believe me, we've had our rough patches. BELIEVE ME. I mean . . ." But she interrupted me and gave us a laundry list of reason she didn't think the marriage was good. And the list was pretty long. And pretty ugly. Then she abruptly left again almost in tears telling herself, "I'm crazy, I really think I'm crazy for talking about this."

Quote 6
"All you need in the world is love and laughter. That's all anybody needs. To have love in one hand and laughter in the other."

I look at Adam with almost tears in my eyes for this poor girl.

Adam looks at me long and hard and says, "I think shes working us for a tip."

But he looked sad too.

Quote 7
"All weddings are similar, but every marriage is different."

The rest of the meal she acted like she'd never divulged her inner most thoughts. So we did too. Then on the way home I said a prayer for her and for her husband. But even today I can't stop thinking about it. Certainly I've had my share of relationships that didn't work out. And let's face it - marriage is hard. But with faith and love everything can work out. There was just something so hopeless about the way she looked. I really hope she's going to be okay.

I told Adam to go ahead and get the grill and the weed trimmer.

He deserves it.

Quotes found on these great websites
http://www.wisdomquotes.com/cat_marriage.html
http://www.quotegarden.com/marriage.html

Good things are coming for Sara Paper in May and June!! Check back often!

What a Great Day!

2010-03-04T13:54:00.003-05:00

First of all, THE SUN! This whole day has been beautiful and sun soaked. My dogs are loving the rays and all day long they have been stretched out in the sun being lazy.

Second of all, MY TAXES ARE PAID! It was a beautiful day four years ago when I first visited Mark Cisco of Cisco and Company. He is always very patient with me and his staff is excellent. I can go forth now and know that I'm paid up and have fulfilled my financial legal obligations.

Third of all, THE LIBRARY was open! With all the cuts in the library it's rare for them to be open when I'm passing through. So I stopped in and grabbed a couple books and then purchased a few from the donation pile.

Fourth of all, THE OFFICE is on tonight AND it's a one hour special!

Fifth of all, I have a NETWORKING EVENT to attend tonight. My friend Marissa from Locust Street Consulting has spearheaded a young professionals networking group. It's called GLYP (Grand Lake Young Professionals). This should be a fun evening.

Sixth of all, I have sooo many FUN DESIGNS I'm working on. I can't share them until after the event but I'm excited about them all.

And now a quote of the day selected randomly from my new (to me) book.

"No, I'm breaking it in for a friend." said by Groucho Marx when asked if Groucho was his real name.

Let me introduce you to my friend, Roy G Biv

2010-03-03T08:32:00.009-05:00

Roy G. Biv is a mnemonic for the sequence of hues in the visible spectrum in rainbows, and in order from longest to shortest wavelength:
Red Orange Yellow
Green
Blue Indigo Violet

How exciting for me to have special shelves to keep my colored papers organized! I used to keep them all in one giant stack, which wasn't fun when I needed one sheet of red shimmer paper to work on a proof. "Red" of course being on the bottom. These little shelves (above) were made of the scrap wood from the "real" shelves (below). They worked out perfectly!

Pegboard before . . .

Pegboard after!

The pegboard seemed to be the easiest thing in the world for Adam and Mikey to build. Especially since it was made from a scrap piece that was sitting in Mikes shed just begging for a new life. But I love it the most out of the whole room/closet.

And now a picture of the man that made it all happen. Looks like he now gets to pick where to sleep when he gets in trouble - the doghouse and the paper shelf.

One last thing - we finally saw the sun today!
Hope your day is sunny too!

Yeah - My office is a mess.

2010-02-22T15:04:00.006-05:00

My office is a mess. Not your average run of the mill "I need to dust and do a little filing" mess. This is epic, "in your face, hard to work until it's cleaned up" mess.

Once upon a time Sara Paper was housed in a small room (a glorified closet really) off the front foyer. It was nice and cozy. I met with clients in my living room/dining area of our home. Once a groom-to-be happily watched a Cleveland Browns game from the nearby sofa while us gals pored through the books.

Shortly before we bought our very large printer we decided we needed to rearrange things. The master bedroom became our living room, the living room became the office and the the little cozy office off the foyer became a paper closet. Everything fit and I became an expert at stacking. And I could still close the door so it wasn't a big deal how anything looked in there.

But then I found that I was spending a lot of time moving stuff. And calling out for my husband to come in and move the heavy pieces so I could get to certain parts of the closet. Clearly this wasn't going to be a decent way to live or do business.

So last night I yanked everything out of the closet. My biggest thrill of Sunday was when my sister-in-law asked if I knew of anyone wanting to get rid of a chest of drawers. I NEEDED to get rid of a chest of drawers that was taking up valuable real estate in the closet! They came and picked it up and that was one less thing I had to move.

Here is the picture of my cozy paper closet after it puked all over my office.

Here are my happy little workers. My husband and his dad. They are doing a fabulous job!

I can't wait to share the "after" photos. In the meantime I'll enjoy the nice smell of wood and sawdust which always makes me think of home.

I'm also going to see what Harry and Helen were up to this time 66 years ago.
____

Monday Eve, February 21, 1944

Hello Honey,
Well, how's the most wonderful husband in the world today? It's just 10:20 and I'm laying in bed writing this. I got home around 9:15. Then I had to put up my hair, wash and glance at the paper. Now my letter. I wasn't as tired as usual tonight, somehow.

I sent you a box of cookies today. I hope you like them. They aren't homemade but I thought you fellows would like to munch on them while you study. Hope they're not all broken.

On my lunch hour I got the license plates. It seemed to go through okay. Howards have the license plate service too, but you have to wait a week before you can get them and I didn't want to take a chance. I'll also have to take my drivers test Wednesday morning at 8:00. I'll probably be pretty nervous, but I hope to get along okay. Our license number is pretty easy one to remember 487861, isn't it?

Honey, do you ever get any gum? If you can get any and send it or bring it if you get home. I'd appreciate it. Beechnut preferred, or Beechils in the red or blue package. I'd take almost any kind.

The snow has just about disappeared here no and walks and streets are at the messy stages.

Darling, did you know that I'm crazy about Harry Teague? I love him more and more each day. In fact, I can't hardly wait to see him. Honey, I'm praying for that furlough. I love you and am so proud of you. I can't tell you how much.

I'm yours, as always ~ Devotedly, Helen

Happy New Year! - again

2010-02-01T20:11:00.006-05:00

February 1 might as well be New Year Day for me. Adam and I spent most of January being sick or (for him) healing from surgery. I woke today, February 1, well rested and not sick! I even kicked off the month with a round on the Wii fit. Not too shabby!

I had fun this weekend at the WCSM Bridal Show at Romers in St. Henry. I enjoyed cake (naturally) but more importantly I got to visit with a bunch of brand new brides. I hope I get to know some of them better via a FREE Consultation. Speaking of free - I know a lot of you are cutting corners these days. Many of the brides I spoke to we looking for ways to do their own invites.

Taking on the project of your own wedding invites is a big task, even for those who are crafty. Don't get me wrong - it can be done and I've seen it done beautifully. However, I urge those of you DIYers (Do It Yourself) who are thinking of doing your own invites to give me a buzz first. I can help you cover the invitation bases and maybe even save a little money in the process.

I love to blog about life, but life gets in the way

2010-01-21T09:46:00.015-05:00

I know - it's been forever since I last posted.

I had the end of the year Christmas cards and gifts rush. Then the holidays, then a sobering walk home on New Years Eve which left me with a lingering head cold. Then, since we hadn't yet celebrated Christmas with Adams family we had more of the holidays. Let's not forget the Rose Bowl (O - H ). THEN my husbands gall bladder decides to not work and we have to go get that removed. Have I mentioned that Bridal Show season has started?

And those "special moments"? (As in "Sara Paper . . . for life and it's special moments") Special moments seem to get forgotten under the pile of work. Balance, I've found, is a work in progress. So it's been a bit busy but I want to get back to reporting on YOUR special moments and in turn show you how I can help you with your social stationery.

Have I mentioned that Bridal Show season has started? You can find me at the WCSM Bridal Show on Sunday, January 31, 2010. It's being held at Romers in St. Henry from 1 - 3:30. A good time should be had by all (plus there will be lots of free cake).

I'll also be at the Greenville Bridal Expo at the Darke County Fair Grounds in Greenville. This event is being held on Sunday, February 28, 2010 from 12:30 - 4:00. (also free cake).

I do have some great things cooking lately. Forgive the lousy photography. However, bad photos are better than no photos at all.

Here are some calendars I did for Go Bucks Trucking. Each month features a photo of one of their impressive trucks. Next year I intend to have some templates and will be able to offer personalized calendars useing photos of YOUR family. You'll be able to buy personalized calendars for everyone you know.

This is a close up of the wire binding. We bought a machine this year and can now offer this service in house (and reasonably quick).

Happy New Year to Shannon and David. This is the front of their very fancy petal pocket invite. Shannon and David, who live in Chicago, rang in the new year in Ohio with a New Years Eve Wedding.

Best wishes to Jennifer Bornhorst and Scott Ranly, who will get married this weekend. Their invites are very elegant black, ivory and red. Jennifer was the total opposite of Bridezilla. I wonder if anyone who attends their wedding this weekend will tell me she snapped. I couldn't imagine it, she was so sweet.

More good wishes for Natalie and Luke who also get married this weekend. Natalie was also very non-bridezilla. Her original choice of a deeper plum pocket was back-ordered. So we waited, and waited for the pocket company to tell us they were in stock. Never happened. (well it did finally happen a couple weeks ago but that didn't really help Natalie's situation ) So Natalie gamely switched her colors up a little and I really love the result.

An inside look.

And finally a look at my Christmas.
My husband taught my brothers kids to make balloon animals (and hats). Now that's a gift that will last a lifetime.
Thanks to Topsy Turvy Toys in New Bremen for selling the kit to us.
We had a great time.
I guess "special moments" exist even in the middle of busy times.

Happy New Year! And how I justified my first '10 trip to Coldstone

2010-01-04T16:19:00.005-05:00

The begining of the new year always brings the same resolution for me - lose weight, be healthier. In my defense I tried - I really did. I've been eyeing the Wii fit for weeks now, even though we didn't even own a Wii. This sounded promising to my husband who probably never expected to get a new system since we already have the playstation. He waited patiently until Walmart had their big sale (the one where you buy the Wii system and get a $50 gift card). I finally agreed and he wasted no time hustling to Walmart.

So anyway, we got the Wii. We enjoyed the Wii Sports and I even thought the boxing would make a decent workout. But I still wanted the Wii Fit. We waited until after the holidays (stupidly hoping for a sale) only to find that everyone who received a Wii on Christmas was out shopping the day after Christmas and snatched up all the Wii Fits. Grrr.

I stopped at the Meijer in Troy - Out
I stopped at the Walmart in Troy - Out
No big deal I'll just hit up the Walmart in Piqua - Out

I finally go to the Walmart in Sidney. While getting off I-75 I remembered the Coldstone Creamery. Damn! I told myself that if this last Walmart had a WiiFit then I was going to reward myself with ice cream. After all, I worked off a lot of calories getting in and out of my car.

Of course Walmart failed me. Before I even left the store I talked myself into the ice cream anyway. It was delicious!

Then I saw the sign for the Coldstone Cupcakes. How will I resist these?

2009-12-25T08:53:00.002-05:00

Merry
Christmas!

Trials of Tuesday

2009-12-08T08:42:00.002-05:00

I'm sick. Just a cold but still. And my printer decided it didn't want to work last night. I'm anxiously awaiting the arrival of the service tech so I can get back on schedule.

All in all - not a great start to my Tuesday. I have high hopes for the afternoon though.

Masterpiece Monday - Melissa and Lance

2009-12-07T16:11:00.005-05:00

Love the look of these. Circles are sleek, retro in a modern way (possible?) and a great "theme" to carry through all the wedding details. Melissa and Lance used rich colors to achieve this look.

The inner and outer envelopes - what a bold, fun piece of mail.

The invite, rich color printed on champagne card stock, then mounted onto a copper card stock.

A close up of the top of the invite.

The RSVP postcard. Only takes $.28 postage.

Place card for the wedding guests.

Friendly Friday – Make Up Artist

2009-12-04T14:35:00.009-05:00

For my first Friendly Friday I'd like to introduce my friend Kellie Keck who is, by all accounts a true make up maven. Kelly lives this crazy fabulous life and makes her living by making others look their best. For six years Kelli has been honing her craft of make up artistry. In addition to regular make up Kellie is also skilled in airbrushing.

One look at her portfolio will impress you. She’s done substantial work on not only brides, but on photo shoots with professional models and celebrities. Her work can be seen in national print and television ads. Not only is she super skilled she is also super sweet and really fun. Kellie was happy to share a little bit of Q&A with me.

Me: What are the benefits of having makeup professionally done on a special occasion?

Ms. Keck: There are many benefits and to name just a few: If you have your makeup professionally airbrushed you will have that flawless look that will last all day and isn't cakey. No one should have to feel their makeup and airbrushing is very lightweight. Having a professional makeup artist do your makeup also insures that you look your best. An artist can really bring out your best features and help you to feel even more confident and less stressed. Once you have your makeup professionally done it is hard to imagine a special event without a makeup artist on your team.

Me: What is your favorite part about doing wedding makeup?

Ms. Keck: I love getting to know my brides. Everyone is so unique and has a story so spending that time doing the makeup and getting to know my brides is incredible. It is also very rewarding when I am able to really take the stress away from a bride by covering up a breakout or something similar. It may sound silly but after a bride has spent all of that time planning the wedding and all of the money for photography not to mention getting ready to walk out in front of all her family and friends if a breakout occurs overnight (which it often does) that can cause some serious stress and anxiety. It is great to be able to come in that morning and airbrush it all away and help her to feel confident and relaxed again.

Me: Have any favorite part of the wedding day? (for instance I love looking at the grooms face as he sees his bride for the first time, other people love the cake or the first dance, etc)

Ms. Keck: I really enjoy the getting ready part of the morning. There is such a different energy in the morning. The bride is gathered with all of her bridesmaids and family and everyone is having a good time laughing and sharing stories. it makes me smile to see that girlie bonding and fun!

Me: Any important info you'd like to share with the brides who visit my blog?

Ms. Keck: I am running a special discount right now on bridal makeup. For anyone that is interested in further details please email: info@pearlsandablackdress.com

Also, for weddings in Jan and Feb I am offering a huge discount of 50% off our package prices. Please email for more info on those also.

Me: As a makeup maven, what is your favorite product? Got a fave liner, shadow or product you can't live without?

Ms. Keck: I am such a makeup junkie! I do have some favorites though. I can not live without eyeliner and I go back and forth between a gel liner and a kohl liner. MAC Fluidliners are great gel liners and the Kevyn Aucoin pencil in Basic Black is my favorite pencil. I also love NARS blushes (all of the colors are amazing), Chanel eyeshadows and one of my favorite lip colors is Hue by MAC.

Me: Since Christmas is coming do you have a favorite X-mas tradition, recipe, hint, tip?

Ms. Keck: Christmas is my favorite time of the year. I especially love walking around the mall even if I am not shopping. The window displays are always so festive and people are generally in a good mood. I am LOVE all of the eating! Food around the holidays is guilt-free in my book.

I have a great recipe from The 5 in 10 Dessert Cookbook: 5 Ingredients in 10 minutes of Less. What I love about this recipe, other than how easy it is, is that with all of the other holiday food this is a nice surprise. It is still chocolately and the cookie dough is right at home with holiday food but then the strawberries just add a freshness and lightness to it. It never lasts through the night!

Strawberry Chocolate Truffle Pizza

1 Roll (20 ounces) refrigerated sugar cookie dough

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

1/4 cup heavy cream

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 pint basket fresh strawberries

1. Preheat the over to 400 degrees. Cut the cookie dough into 1/4-inch slices. Place in a foil-lines 14-inch round pizza pan with a 1/4-inch high rim. Press together to form a crust on the bottom. Bake for 8-9 minutes, or until golden.

2. Meanwhile. in a 2-cup glass measure, combine the chocolate chips and cream. Microwave on High for 1 1/2 minutes, or until the chocolate is melted and smooth when stirred. Stir in vanilla.

3. Rinse, drain and hull the strawberries. Cut in half lengthwise.

4. Spread the chocolate cream evenly over the baked crust. Beginning at the edge. arrange the strawberries on the "pizza" in concentric circles, cut side down and with the points toward the outside edge of the pan; cover the chocolate completely with berries. Refrigerate until set, at least 20 to 30 minutes.

Thanks again to Kellie for sharing with us! I hope those of you with a special event in your future will consider giving a Kellie a call and take advantage of her fabulous specials going on.

For more information on Kellie Keck visit one of the sites below

www.pearlsandablackdress.com

www.kelliekeck.com

www.419bride.com - A great planning tool for brides

or call 419-303-5453

Thursday Things

2009-12-03T07:34:00.009-05:00

Things that have been seen and heard . . .

"Greetings from New Bremen"

Earlier this week I posted about the fundraiser, "Greetings from New Bremen". The New Bremen Friends of the Library approached me about making some note cards for them to sell. Since I've spent most of my life in a library or with my nose in a library book, I was happy to help. You can purchase these at the Library, The New Bremen Coffee Company and Books and Topsy Turvy Toys, both in New Bremen. A box of ten sells for $10.00 and single cards are $1 each. Here is the article that ran in the Evening Leader.

So if you are looking for a cute stocking stuffer or just a way to contribute to the Friends of the Library, here's your answer.

Project Happy Christmas

With the upcoming Christmas season its hard to ignore the status of the economy. A local New Bremen couple, Troy and Amy Grillot are taking their person heartbreak and turning it into a beautiful tribute to the newborn son they lost last year before the holidays.

Here is the link to their beautiful story. Their website has lists that you can download and use when doing your holiday shopping. I'm very moved by their story and their motivation to help. These gifts will be specifically given to 3 anonymous families in our area. Each family has suffer this past year. Physically, financially, and emotionally. (This is the point where I count my blessings) . Anyway, I hope others will hear their story and be motivated to give.

Women in Business Luncheon

Local Businesswoman are invited to enjoy lunch, a program and excellent networking. The meeting will be held on Thursday, Dec. 10 at 11:30 at Bella's Italian Grille, located at 108 West Bank Road, Celina. The program will be "Keeping it Together Through the Holidays". Please send your RSVP by Dec. 4th to amy@stmarysohio.org. Also, they will be taking donations of "something warm". This includes new coats, gloves, scarves or hats. All local business women and invited to attend.

SW Auglaize County Chamber of Commerce Holiday Party.

Anyone interested in joining the Chamber of Commerce might consider dropping by the upcoming Holiday Business After Hours on Thursday Dec 10th from 5-7 pm at the Eagles in Minster. This year's event is sponsored by the following Chamber Members: Wagners IGA Minster/Fort Loramie; Coldwell Banker South Shore Realty; and Sarapaper.

Please send your RSVP to info@auglaize.org as soon as possible if you plan to attend. Also, we're still looking for door prize donations from Chamber members. This is a GREAT way to promote your business! You can visit the Chamber website at www.auglaize.org for more details.

WWII Wednesday

2009-12-02T08:09:00.004-05:00

Of course I'm going to include Harry and Helen in my blog theme. I picked this one from November 30, 1943. It was written by Helen 59 years prior to my wedding anniversary. Is a looooong one - I may have to take out the boring parts.

Nov. 30, 1943
Here it is 12:00 again and I just got in. Tonight we wree over to Helens parents making plans for decorating the S.M.C. We have a lot of plans now if the kids would just work. Back of the orchestra is my job. I'm having red paper with metallic stickers which glisten. We're having a Christmas tree, red & green bulbs in the lights upstairs and a Christmas tree downstairs with red and green crepe paper.

After work I went over after my fur coat (note: geez Helen, FUR?) and it rather disappointed me. It seems a little snug under the arms. When I got home mother had creamed chicken & biscuits and noodles. Did I ever eat!!! Like a pig no less.

Mother and Daddy went out to fix my fire while I got ready to go to Helens. They've surely been wonderful about this situation. Adeline picked me up and brought me home. Seemed funny for a change. Helen served popcorn and orangeade. Sure hit the spot. Some of the girls strung popcorn as decoration.

I almost forgot to tell you that today I was admiring some "sweetheart pins" which have just come in (note: Helen works at Koerbers Jewelry) Mr K was standing close and I said, "I should have one of these, my sweetheart is in the army." Immediately Mr. K picked one up and said, "with my compliements". It's darling. They sell for $3.30. I was sure tickled.

You asked me if I was making it okay (note: finanacially) Well, you see I've lost $40 by those girls moving out. I was going to have to use the next $50 check to clean up doctor bills, insurance, etc.

It was surely nice of the bakery fellows to send you that fruit cake. Don't forget to thank them. I don't blame you for tucking it away. I'd enjoy seeing the empty cartridges. Maybe I could put one in the scrapbook. Are the arch supports helping any?

Daddys lunch out at work drew names for a christmas gift exchange. They spend $2.00. He got some womans name and she had down $2.00 worth of pants - size 50. Boy did we have fun with that. (note: Even in 1943 I wonder what $2 worth of pants looks like!)

Darling, you are my sunshine and what I live for. To me, you are over anyone else in the world. To have someone like you darling, gives me an incentive to walk, to carry on, to keep up the fort, to wish for you to come soon. Darling, the month of December will pass rapidly and then it will only be a little better than a month, we hope. Chin up honey - remember to pray and think of me lots, that'll help, like everything. I love you.

I am . . devotedly yours always
Helen

And now a WWII inspired design.

Trials of Tuesday

2009-12-01T08:39:00.007-05:00

"Trials of Tuesday" is a pretty lame attempt at a blog theme. I figured Tuesdays could be a mixed bag of whatever is happening.

At first I considered "Table Tuesday". Maybe I'd take a picture of my table and discuss the latest projects? Then I took this picture and well, it just looks messy. Busy, but messy. And it would probably look pretty much the same each Tuesday.

I mean, it might work if I show closeups of the various projects on the table. But then there is the fact that I don't like to show custom designs until after the event. I feel the guests of the event should be the ones to enjoy the invites first. I will give a sneak peak of one I just finished and really, REALLY like.

So then I thought of "Photography Tuesday". I took a shot of the photos that hang in our office. These are the wedding photos of our parents and grandparents. When we got married my dad made little picture holders and we had these photo grouped around our cake. I really liked the touch of having a reminder of the happy days of our family members who have been married years and years.

This one (a photo of my great grandparents on the Schmidt side) doesn't appear on my wall but it's a favorite of mine. Of course this was back when you weren't supposed to be frivolous. Buying (more likely making) a serviceable black dress made a lot more sense back then. This serene looking bride probably wore her wedding dress for years.
Wonder what her wedding invite looked like?

Now how about a shower invite?
Ashley gets married this weekend and she is READY!

Finally, a Christmas gift idea.
I designed these for the Friends of the New Bremen Library. They are sold at the Library and the New Bremen Coffee Company and Books.
10 note cards and envelopes for $10.00.
It's a great stocking stuffer and a really nice gift for someone who lives in New Bremen or used to live in New Bremen. I'll report more later this week with all the details of this great fundraiser.

Well, a busy Tuesday awaits!
Hope you have a wonderful day!

"Masterpiece Monday" and the 7 Year Itch.

2009-11-30T08:36:00.007-05:00

To help me be a more regular blogger (which I enjoy but don't seem to find the time for) I've decided to dedicate days to specific news. So visit everyday to see what is new and exciting in the world of Sara Paper and especially wedding invitations.

Before I dive into the very first "Masterpiece Monday" I'd like to give an anniversary shout out to my handsome husband of 7 years. It's been good, it's been bad, but mostly it's been WONDERFUL. As a side note, I want to mention that Adam and I will now be working together at Sara Paper. He can be the brains and I'll be the talent. I looking forward to having more time to be creative.

And now . . . Masterpiece Monday
For my first masterpiece I want to show off a favorite custom design. Brittany (who is super sweet) and Josh (whom I've never met but I assume is a great guy) just got married this past Thanksgiving weekend. Since I was a Thanksgiving weekend bride I enjoyed meeting with Brittany and her (also sweet) mom and remembering the fun and challenges of planning a wedding around a holiday. Also, I absolutely LOVED the ideas Brittany and I came up with. Shimmer paper, satin ribbon and a rich damask pattern - love it!

Happy Thanksgiving!

2009-11-24T00:28:00.008-05:00

For each new morning with its light,
For rest and shelter of the night,
For health and food, for love and friends,
For everything Thy goodness sends.
~Ralph Waldo Emerson

Not a whole super lot to report on. We're just plugging away here, trying to be caught up before the holiday.

In all our busy-ness I failed to give credit to Adam for his hunting accomplishment. A couple weeks ago he killed an 8 point buck. It was his first kill with a bow which I'm told (by people other than my aforementioned husband) is a pretty difficult feat.

We look towards Thanksgiving with happy hearts. We're blessed with good family and friends, our tiny house bursting at the seams with our new equipment, and especially our wonderful clients.

With our freezer now stocked full of good healthy venison meat what more can we want?

Veterans Day - A History Lesson

2009-11-11T16:19:00.004-05:00

This is a small snippet of the history of Veterans Day. Read whole story here.

Although World War I — known at the time as “The Great War” — officially ended when the Treaty of Versailles was signed on June 28, 1919, fighting actually ceased seven months earlier when an armistice, or temporary cessation of hostilities, went into effect between the Allied nations and Germany on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month. For that reason, Nov. 11, 1918, is generally regarded as the end of “the war to end all wars.” In November 1919, President Wilson proclaimed Nov. 11 as the first commemoration of Armistice Day. The original concept for the celebration was for a day observed with parades, public meetings, and a brief suspension of business beginning at 11 a.m.

Let's see what our WWII Hero Harry was doing on Nov. 11, 1943

Hello Honey,
Well darling, as usual I had your letter this PM. It sure helps to know that there is someone who really cares and thinks of me.

I had a letter from Jack Carey, it was quite a surprise. I must answer. We still haven't any heat in our barracks it's just about 50 degrees in here. There is something wrong with the blower system. It has been real cold here, there is a bitter north wind blowing.

Is Smitty still at Baer Field? I bet Wilma will be heart broken if he ever gets transferred. Today we had to turn our O.D. uniforms in. My trousers need to be taken in at the waist and the blouse is too tight at the arms. I don't know when I'll get it back, probably Sat. I can't go anywhere until I get it back. You can't wear fatigues to the movies or PX. I sure hope I have it back by Sunday. I'd hate to cool my heels in here all weekend. Maybe the weekend after I'll got to Raleigh. It gets pretty tame laying around here looking at the same walls all the time. I don't need my money yet. I still have $28. It's so darn cold in here I think I'll have to go to bed to keep warm.

Today our Lieut. (a fairly decent guy for this outfit) asked everyone, "who had any part of his body hurt to tell him about it". I told him about my flat feet which hurt quite a bit when I've been on them awhile. He told me he would see if there was anything he could do for me. I'll bet you get tired of hearing about my troubles. How is your neck? Too bad about the bonus. I don't think Koerbers were any too nice about the week you were off but I wouldn't take anything for the time we spent together.

Well darling, it's time to tell you once again I love you and think you are the dearest and sweetest gal in this whole world. I am sure looking forward to the days when we will be together again. The sooner the better. Just pray and hope that the day will come soon.

Lovingly, your Hubby, Harry

What the MOST fashionable Fruits are Wearing this Season - it's FAB -U-LOUS!

2009-11-09T18:15:00.005-05:00

Take a moment to consider fruit. Specifically the apple. This one in particular is a nice one.

Now think about the poor apple with its delicate skin, partial to bruising. Wouldn't you want the best for your fruit? What could be the answer to this problem? Why, a fruit sweater of course.

I laughed out loud when Krafty Friend Kat presented this special gift to me at a birthday lunch. It's not only cute and quirky - it's practical. Now I can dress my fruit and then throw it into my bag where they will be protected all day from the jungle of keys, cell phone and 10 lipsticks rolling around my purse. One less excuse for not eating natures best.

That's what I call a shopping spree!

2009-11-06T18:09:00.002-05:00

Probably my largest investment (aside from the printer of course) is my "new" paper cutter! It's still in pieces, littered all over my office but soon it will be a lean mean cutting machine!!! This will help streamline business and make me lots happier in the process.

While Adam and his dad were on the Indiana roadtrip they also picked up a paper drill. It looks pretty old, but Adam tested it and he said it works great! I think he's pretty happy about this purchase. Now I won't be shoving a hole puncher in his hand while he's trying to relax in front of the tv.

Well, this is pretty much the hightlight of my week! Hope you all had a nice one too!

So, can anyone read this?

2009-11-04T09:51:00.012-05:00

Can anyone read the invites below? Maybe a few of you. I certainly can't even though I grew up in a small village in Ohio that was founded by German settlers. Still, even Germans need wedding invites and I happen to have an American Bride who is getting married to her German Groom.

The wedding will take place in Wapakoneta, Ohio but some of the invites will be sent overseas. Our considerate bride took the extra steps to have a portion of her invites printed in German text. With the help of our German groom I'm confident that everything is perfect and wonderful. I think his family will be pleased and touched to receive these invites.

(sorry the photos aren't super good. It's difficult to photograph this beautiful shimmer paper. If you click on the photos you can get a better look at the text.)

The German version of the popular verse,
"This day I will marry my friend . . ."

The outside of the pocket fold invite.

The invite portion printed on beautiful purple haze card stock.

The entire invite with coordinating cards in the pocket.
Printed cards include: RSVP Postcard, Reception Card,
and Accommodations/Direction Card.

Best wishes to Katie who will be traveling over the holidays to visit her Groom and meet his family!. Gute Reise!

Harry and Helen - Halloween 1945 Style

2009-11-01T22:51:00.007-05:00

Halloween is NOT a big deal for me. With the exception of getting to see the little ones dressed up and eating all the leftover candy - I don't get too jazzed about Oct. 31st. Adam and I celebrated Trick or Treat night by dressing up as crossing guards and helping kids in town cross the street. We were on the first intersection in town and didn't see much foot traffic but we had fun getting truckers to honk, seeing how many people would wave back at Adam who waved at EVERYONE. So we got to hang out together for a couple hours. Our nieces and nephews visited us on the street corner and best of all, since I wasn't home to pass out candy I have (had) lots of extra candy.

I spent the actual date of October 31st hanging out with my family and celebrating my dads 60th birthday. In the game of life he claims to be "rounding third". He explained this to my niece who was relieved to be told that she wasn't even at first base yet.

Let's see what Harry & Helen were up to 64 years ago.
____

My darling . . .
And that's just what I mean too, my darling. A more beautiful day could never be found. We are really having beautiful weather for this time of year. Hope it continues as it's easier on the coal pile; especially when there's no coal.

We went down to Jo's tonight and I got my black dress. It sure looks like the dickens on the hanger - hope it looks better on me. She charged me $4.50 for making this one as she had so much trouble with it. I really thought she would charge more than that. Then Theresa, Betty, Peggy and I went to the show, "House on 92nd Street". Pretty good.

The first of November is Ediths birthday. It's just going to pass by so nicely with me. I don't feel that I owe her one single thing! (note: meow!)

Had a letter from your folks today. They got their beans combined but they didn't turn out as good as other years - said it was too wet. Ike is still there, but is a "love sick" man. Lotties birthday is November 10 and he is going there for that.

Well honey, I really don't have much more news, so guess I'll wind this up. Shoe rationing is off so guess I'll see if I can get a pair of black shoes sometime.

Darling, I love you. Never lose sight of that will you? You mean more than anything else to me and I'll love you with all my heart always. You are so considerate and good to me and make me so happy that I married you. Darling, love me always please? I'll promise you, you will never be sorry. I'll try my best to make you happy, forever.
Devotedly your own, Helen
___

Okay, looks like Halloween didn't even rate a passing comment all those years ago. All I know is this - Helen and I both spend $4.50. She got a timeless black custom fitted dress (which she probably wore for years). I on the other hand, purchased a bag of smarties, and a bunch of fun sized candy bars (which are mostly gone by now). Wonder what $4.50 will buy in 2073?

Beautiful Fall Day

2009-10-26T17:08:00.010-04:00

This weather is just amazing. It compelled me to ask my friend Denise if I could use her leaf filled yard for a invitation photo shoot.First a picture of her cat, Pebble Sticks, guarding my invitations.

A simple invite enhanced with a pretty grosgrain ribbon detail.

A close up of the ribbon and layered monogram.

A beautiful copper and gold layered invite.

Close up of the brown satin ribbon.

A popular pocket invite with the reception card and RSVP postcard layered inside.

The invite when it's not inside the pocket.

A favorite of mine. A nice charcoal pocket with invite and matching cards tucked inside.

The matching cards. A pale yellow with the charcoal - beautiful.
Finally, curious Pebble Sticks looking at the latest invite. More tomorrow.

A Scientific Marvel!

2009-10-21T10:02:00.009-04:00

Forget those fancy boat encased in a glass bottle. After Adam cleared out the last relics of the garden he showed me the results of our last garden experiment.

Presenting . . . the tomato grown inside a bottle!!!!!! (ahhhhhh)

Then I filled the bottle with water to further illustrate how impressive this feat is. Yeah . . . not quite sure what I'm going to do with it now.
I really liked using that bottle for flower arrangements. hmmm.

Well, in the meantime
I'll show you some of my newest custom designs.

This is a pretty (and simply elegant) look for a fall wedding.

Next, a very cute Baby Shower invite.
Invite and envelope customized for the little pumpkin theme.

A close up of the top. Super cute and retro.

This was one proof for a wedding invite. The bride ended up choosing a different look but this one grabs attention so I thought I'd post. Rich green cardstock and a deep purple equals a dramatic look.

A close up of the graphics. All my invites are laser printed but this one echos the look of a letterpressed invite. I know, I know, nothing beats the ultimate elegance of expensive letterpressing but the cost of this invite is far more preferable. (believe me)
Rounded corners give it a special touch!

2009-10-13T21:56:00.003-04:00

October 5, 1943 - Monday Evening, "Late"

Dear Harry,
I wrote you one letter earlier tonight but I thought I would start tomorrow's letter now. I drove by the post office to mail the other letter and then drove on home and put the car in the garage, all by myself. I did real good I thought.

Wilma and Elmer were home - and up when I finished putting the car in the garage, they were up in their room and never said "boo". Well, Wilma can go to grass as far as I'm concerned. Tonight I took a bath and had to heat water to wash my face. I went to get a drink and searched in the dark for the glass, and here in it's place was a broken one. I don't know which one broke it. Then also, sitting there was an empty olive bottle!! Ours. I'm just marking time sweetheart, so don't worry about it as I can stand it as long as I have to and then when something better comes along, I'll take it.

This morning I made my first fire. At first I didn't think it was going to catch, but it did and I still have it nice and warm in here. Surprised? I am. I have an appointment for a permanent Oct. 21. We received a letter today from Lr. and Lila Oser, and $1.00 for our anniversary. I'll send you their letter and you can return it with the next one. Also, I'll send you the one from your Grandma. I think I will get the top to my - - enclosing $1.00 for my birthdayyou know what - - tomorrow night. (note: hmmm, sounds like a little inside joke here)

Today is Tuesday. I have been very, very busy today and I don't know exactly what I've been doing. Howard and Debby were in the store yesterday and asked to be remembered to you. They want your address. I must plan to have that shower on Debby. They always seem so nice.

Do you know that Dot has only called once since you've gone and that was to tell me about Jean's baby. It kinda gets my goat. I called Jean and inquired about the baby's health. It is in isolation and whenever they go in or out of the room they must wash their hands in something and wear robes. the baby's stomach fills up with flem and chokes on it. I guess it sorta has the doctors stumped.

Well, honey, I'll clsoe now saying I love you, I love you! xxxx Helen

Hello

2009-09-02T11:55:00.003-04:00

A popular style of invite. I just love any invite that has ribbon.

Now a super yummy recipe from my sister-in-law, Stacy.
It's so good, you can't even tell it's zucchini

Zucchini Cobbler
8 Cups - zucchini, peeled, chopped and seeded
2/3 Cup - Lemon Juice
1 Cup - Sugar
1 Tsp. - Cinnamon
1/2 Tsp. - Nutmeg

In a large saucepan over medium heat cook and stir zucchini and lemon juice for 15 to 20 minutes or until zucchini is tender. Add sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg. Stir one minute longer. Remove from heat and set aside.

Crust
4 Cups - flour
2 Cups - sugar
1 1/2 Cups - cold butter or margarine
1 Tsp. - Cinnamon

Combine flour and sugar in a large bowl; Cut it butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in 1/2 Cup into the zucchini mixture. Press 1/2 of the remaining crust mixture into a greased 15x10x1 inch baking pan. Spread zucchini over top. Crumble remaining crust mixture over zucchini. Sprinkle with cinnamon. Bake at 375* for 35 to 40 minutes or until golden and bubbly.

Local Haunts and lots of pizza

2009-09-01T16:17:00.006-04:00

It's been such a busy weekend I sort of feel like Thursday was Friday and Monday was Sunday and today is almost the weekend already. Friday I was excited to try out a new restaurant with my friend Chiara. The Calico Cafe in Coldwater is excellent. I enjoyed the BLT salad which almost had too much bacon (is there such a thing?) Then to finish off the excellent meal Chiara and I shared an excellent slice of Carrot Cake. Here's the link to Chiara review of them.

Friday evening we enjoyed 9 holes of golf with friends. Well, the guys enjoyed 9 holes; Angie and I stopped at hole 8 because it was so late we couldn't even see the flag for hole 9. I missed the most exciting part of all - Adam actually had sparks from his club when he made contact with the last ball. We ended the night with tasty pizza and beer at Buds in Minster.

Saturday I worked all day then we went out with our friends Justin and Denise. We goofed off at Lowe's and then had dinner at The Beer Barrel. www.beerbarrelpizza.com/. Again more pizza and beer. While Denise and I insisted on onions on our half the guys decided to try one of their more unusual toppings, dill pickles. (Gross)

Sunday was more work and finally cake (yeah cake) at a birthday party. Grabbed a gift at Topsy Turvy Toys in New Bremen which is an excellent place to find unique childrens gifts. Adam and I love going there because all we have to do is say, "birthday gift, girl, 5 years old, $15 or less" and Cathi or Lisa just magically pull out a wealth of gifts sure to please.

Monday began the new week with breakfast at Haus Der Eleganz in Minster, which is a great place to enjoy coffee or a meal. Today is less exciting. Adam is taking advantage of the awesome weather and is doing all sorts of work outside. Since I can never have too much pizza today I found a new recipe for chicken, pesto and purple grape pizza. I thought it was great and Adam - well Adam ate it. When I asked him if it was a "do again" he was honest and said no. Smart guy. I would have served it again and again.

Took advantage of the zinnia bushes and took some shots of a few recent invites.

A cute little shower invite

This was just a practice invite.
Looks a little sloppy but I really like the look of it.

These stripes are so fun and they can be customized to any color scheme.

A super cute baby shower invite. So pretty and elegant.

Men are like a fine wine.

2009-08-27T16:49:00.008-04:00

“Men are like a fine wine. They all start out like grapes, and it's our job to stomp on them and keep them in the dark until they mature into something you'd like to have dinner with.” Kathleen Mifsud

Okay, not trying to be a jerk. Men are great!! I just thought it was a funny quote and for some women, probably a way of life.

With all my lamenting about my overgrown garden I sort of forgot that we have our own "vineyard". Three sets of overgrown grapevines which sit outside the fencing and thus seem to be in another world entirely. Adam and I were walking around the house today and you could smell the purple grapes basking in the sun. We're going to try our hand at making grape juice. Also I seem to remember an old recipe for Grape Pie. My friends mother used to make it and it was delish.

Took the opportunity to snap a few pictures of some purple invites.

Popular Damask look with a border and names highlighted in purple.

It's hard to tell in the photo but this invite (below) has a subtle lilac rose pattern in the background.
Very pretty with a soft charcoal print and fleur de lies symbol on top.

The envelope is really pretty too with the pattern printed on the front.

The matching RSVP postcard. Very popular. You just apply the postcard stamp and your guest (hopefully) only has to sign their name, put a check mark and drop in the mailbox.

And finally a nicer quote to end this message
"We should all do what, in the long run, gives us joy,
even if it is only picking grapes or sorting the laundry."
E.B. White, American Writer 1899-1985

Choosy Moms choose Jif

2009-08-25T15:00:00.007-04:00

Started my day out with a peanut butter and jam (plum jam) sandwich. I knew it was going to be a good day for at least one of the dogs because I was scraping the bottom of the jar to get enough PB to finish my sandwich. This means that before that plastic jar hits the recycling box it gets thrown outside and the fastest dog gets to lick it clean.
Magnet (Adams dog) is normally the fastest and true to form she won the prize. However, Magnet is a more dainty dog and she finished what she wanted fairly quickly. That's okay, because big bruiser Jr. (my dog) is more than happy to finish the job. It's not easy for a large-sized dog to shove her snout into a 28 oz. jar of creamy peanut butter, and lick it clean but she did it!

Some Fun Facts from Jif website http://www.jif.com/home.asp
- Peanut butter was first introduced to the general public at the 1904 World's Fair.
- We began marketing Creamy Jif in 1958. Extra Crunchy Jif made its debut in 1974.
- The name 'Jif' was chosen because it was easy to say, spell and remember.
- People in the U.S. eat, on average, 7 pounds of peanuts and peanut products per person, per year.
- 270 million pounds of Jif are consumed in the U.S. each year. That's enough to make 2 billion peanut butter sandwiches, or to spread a football field with a layer 55 feet thick! (Now, there's a thought that'll stick to the roof of your mouth!)
- There are about 1,218 peanuts in a 28-ounce jar of Jif. The Jif plant in Lexington, Kentucky is the largest peanut butter producing facility in the world.

Peanut Butter reminds me of fall, back to school, football. Here is an invite that I did recently for a chic August wedding. It would also work well for an autumn wedding. It's a very rich looking shimmery bronze color with a wide brown satin ribbon. Very Pretty!

Food, Family, Festivals, Friendly People and Fun . . . and then more food.

2009-08-23T17:41:00.015-04:00

Let's not forget Farmers Markets, Fallish weather and Finding time For Fun. That's a lot of "F" words, huh? These last couple weeks have been very busy and with the weather being cooler I'm reminded that the holidays are really just around the corner. Last week we had our town festival Bremenfest, which always seems like the end of the summer to me. But while we're still on this side of Labor Day let's discuss summer things.

First off, I have two Columbus haunts to rave about. Adam and I were in C-bus to make deliveries and run other Sara Paper related errands. I had also promised to treat Adam to a nice steak dinner since he sacrificed a big chunk of study time to help me make a couple of deadlines. One of my best clients (hey Miss Alana!) suggested we go to j.gilbert's and enjoy a dinner. It was fabulous!!! A bit more pricey than our normal favorites but definately a treat and probably the best steak ever. After that you'd think we'd be full (and we were) but we couldn't pass up ice cream at jenis. Adam went for the Dark Chocolate Mouth-filling, palate-gripping, intense chocolate flavor with a fudge-like texture. Pleasingly dry finish while I opted for a lighter sorbet Riesling Poached Pear - A surprisingly rich sorbet; pure pear flavor with unique pear texture; sweet Riesling notes shine on the finish. Both excellent. The flavor combos are amazing.

Saturday was a fun day. I traveled to Troy to meet with a new bride (hello Miss Rebecca) who was as sweet as could be. Then I decided to go on to Tipp City to do a little antiquing. I was pleased to see that I was able to catch the last of the Farmers Market. I bought two great products - homemade soap by Living Simply Soap . I bought the pink vanilla scent. I used it this morning and really loved it. There were tons of choices, each packaged as cute as could be. The website is great, I have plans to try out the candles and lotions. Then I bought a great loaf of sour dough bread from the Woodland Gardens Booth. Very yummy!

And then the antiquing!!! I limited myself to a couple hours as I had to get back to my office to work. It's so much fun to find treasures.

Got this cute little creamer pitcher. Reminded me of our garden
and of the cute notecards I made last spring.

Check out the bounty from one day in the garden. Proof that you can plant something, never weed it, and still run a successful garden. The tomatoes on the scale are in the colander I picked up in another shop.

This is a shot of a fan program I did recently for an outdoors wedding.
Seemed to fit in with the tomatoes.

I finished my weekend with a visit with my Great-Aunt Madonna. My mom and my aunt and I went to see her and put some names with some faces. Mom wants to hang some old photos but would really like to be able to say who they are and how they fall in the family tree. Donna was helpful and fun. She told us about the wedding days from long ago. Her wedding day consisted of an 8:30 am wedding mass, then home for a breakfast celebration with the family after which the wedding party would trek to Celina to get their wedding photographs taken. They would then return home and have lunch with more family members before setting up for the barn dance. They would dance all afternoon working up an appetite for dinner with even more family and friends. Then still they would have to attend the public dance in their honor at Kempers Grove, which was a popular reception spot at that time. The parties would last to the wee hours. I couldn't believe it. I asked if everyone did that for their wedding and she nodded and said, "everyone". And the wedding night . . . a trip to the hotel in Greenville only to return the next day to help clean up after the party.

Below, fun picture of Grandpa Willy, Madonna and Anna (with dog Coalie)

Wish I were in Chicago

2009-08-08T09:07:00.005-04:00

I wish I were in Chicago because that is where I was last weekend and we had a great time on our little "vacation". All week we knew we wanted to get away for the weekend but neither of us had the time to really research or make any substantial plans.

Thursday evening we had it narrowed down to three random places, somewhere in Pennsylvania (maybe the Hershey factory), Tennessee, and Chicago. Friday morning we decided, "okay, Chicago it is."

I've never been less prepared for a get away. Normally I like to scout out all sort of restaurant options, find things off the beaten path, maybe a nearby random festival to check out. This time we shoved our clothes in a suitcase, Adam packed a cooler and found a hotel on priceline. We also decided to just buy a GPS on our way. We had an awesome time!

Friday afternoon I'm turning off the computer and saying goodbye to the pooches. Friday evening we are enjoying our super swank hotel in the middle of Greek Town, trying to decide where to grab a late dinner. The hotel was in an excellent location and we were able to walk the path of Greek Town, smelling all the foreign (to us anyway) food. We decided to stop at Athena Restaurant, which is located on Halsted Street. Adam got the loin of lamb and I ordered a combination dish so we could try a little of everything. Adam even tried eggplant (his only known hated food).

The next morning we took our time getting the day started and ended up finding lunch instead of breakfast. You can't go to Chicago and not try "Chicago Style Pizza". We enjoyed an excellent pie at Giordano's. We kept twirling the cheese, and twirling the cheese until we had big lumpy forkfuls of the best tasting pizza. The folks at Giordano's were happy to point us in the direction of all the shopping and the Navy Pier, though they warned us to not try to walk it. We ignored them and went on our way only to find ourselves in a nice sprinkling of rain. Great! We discussed walking back to the hotel (they had free umbrellas we could use) or just buying one along the way. Then we decided to rough it and just walk and see how the weather panned out. It turned out to be a wimpy rain and not even close to getting in our way of a good time.

The estimated 4 mile walk seemed like nothing. We ducked into shops when we got tired of the rain. By the time we reached the "Miracle Mile" the rain had stopped and we were in need of new shoes, our feet were killing us with our old sandals. Who knew we were going to be doing this kind of walking? So we bought new ones and Adam spent the rest of the day trying to bait people into taking the Eddie Bauer bag containing his shot out sandals. While I shopped he had a great time putting the bag down, casually walking away and then watching people as they looked two or three time at the tempting shopping bag. It drove me crazy because I was just waiting for someone at these upscale shops to report a suspicious bag left in their store. Adam loved it and was having a great time chatting with people, giving out candy to kids (another thing I figured someone, someday, will file a report about).

The weather finally cooperated and we spent the whole day walking around, visiting Navy Pier and riding the huge, giant Ferris Wheel, which was more scary than I had anticipated. We ended the long day with a trip to a "greasy spoon" sort of gyro shop down the street from the hotel. Excellent, excellent gyros. We even discussed going into a bar to check out the music but decided to turn in instead.

Sunday Adam tested his Chicago driving skills and couldn't believe how fast people honked. Red light, red light, green li - HONK! Along with the GPS we drove around all the other areas of the city, Little Italy, China Town and a few others. Before we left town we stopped to check out the House of Blues, which wasn't really open but since they had just finished with their gospel bunch we were able to walk in and just sort of check the place out. We'd like to get back and catch a show there. From there we stopped in at Harry Carys restuarant and looked at all the pictures in their lobby. We walked around just a bit more before hitting the road and heading back home.

I'd love to hear of great places to go in Chicago if anyone has any suggestions. Our little get-away was a great time. Probably my only regret, and one I didn't think of until now, is that I didn't take advantage of the GSP and the fact that we went past Ft. Wayne. We could have looked up Harry and Helens old address and seen the house where they lived.

hello . . .

2009-07-13T20:24:00.005-04:00

What a crazy couple of months. Weddings, weddings, weddings. That's all you people seems to be doing is getting married. Luckily for me (in a business sense anyway) that I've been busy with invites, programs and all sorts of fun stuff.

However, I'm just starting to feel like I'm getting my life back. The garden is overgrown, the dog are barking, and a vacation is finally in the near future.

I don't even know where to begin with updating this blog. I guess I'll just go the easy way out and post a couple pics and submit a new Harry & Helen letter. My friends Mel and Chiara have been asking.

On that note I should give a couple "shoot outs" to friends and their websites. Melanie Stucki and Chiara Cameron are the brains behind The Family Fun Finder. This website and their company are a great asset to our community and general area. Looking for something fun to do with your family - check out their site and see what they have to offer.

My dear Make Up Artist, friend, Kellie Keck needs a mention. She's got a great site called 419Bride.com. I know I've mentioned her before but I want to give props whenever I can. Hey Kellie - we need to do lunch again soon!!!

A new gal on the scene is Rachel Post of Boutiqu e Sweets in Mercer County. I'm excited to discover that her website is up and absolutely amazing. She has beautiful and tasty cakes. And I should know. You all know how I loooove my cake. I've had the pleasure of sampling several of Rachels offerings and I have to say, my fave is a vanilla cupcake with strawberry buttercream. Yum!

Another person I always forget to talk about that comes to mind right now is Mary Hoelscher of Rainy Day Purses. She's got a relatively new site as well and now sells her popular purses online. The holidays are coming (according to my mom who shops at Hobby Lobby) - check Mary out and get your Christmas shopping done.

Another thing I can mention is WiB. That is short for Women in Business Networking Association. This is a great new organization spearheaded by Sandy Matthews and the St. Marys Chamber of Commerce. Sandy is affiliated with EZ Promotions out of St. Marys, Ohio. I urge all women of the Auglaize and Mercer County area to join us for a monthly luncheon. I believe it's going to be the second Tuesday of each month. You can call the Chamber for more info - 419-300-4611. This past meeting we enjoyed a great lunch by Creative Catering of St. Marys, Ohio (419) 394-3231 and then took part in a "speed dating" sort of event. You get to meet a lot of fun ladies.

Okay, I found more to talk about than I thought. Still I don't want to disappoint Mel and Chiara so here's what Harry and Helen were up to in July of 1945.
___

July 9, 1945 - Herabruck, Germany
Hello Darling,
Today I recieved my pictures and a June 10th letter. That and a few others have been floating around a long time somewhere. Picture #5 is almost Kaput. It was taken at Sinzig. Tommy is on the left, myself and "Deacon" Douglas. #6 is Lt. Ward, Sgt. Ward & Sgt. Barton. The trucks in the background is the one we used in our travels and laying wire. Overhead you cn see some of our work. (Note: Harry continues to describe each photo to Helen. Sadly in all three boxes of letter I don't have any photos. The photo desciptions aren't terribly exciting so I'll omit them)

I have some water heating on our small Owens cook stove. It only weights about 1 lb. Pretty handy gadget. I need a shave. It's murder for me to shave with cold water. My face gets same as the dickens.

I'll answer June 10th letter. (Note: what follows is a random mismatch of conversation) You had been to the Hitching Post with A&E. I think the army gives a fellow a bit of spunk. It is essential or else a guy would be a doormat. I sure wish you would tell Edith off when she gets on one of those rampages. (Note: ohh, this sounds interesting) When she said, "I hate you" I'd tell her I was glad I knew where you stood and then conduct myself accordingly. I have seven rolls of film in the process of developing if they ever get around to finish them. (Note: ugg - just like a man - talk about something interesting and then change the subject to something stupid like film developing) I won't send any more to them. I'll send the exposed ones to you for development.

Well darling, my water is boiling. Guess I'd better go shave. I'll wind up this little deal by telling you I love you so darned much it scares me. Scares me in the sense that I won't be able to be everything for you that I want to. You mean everything to me honey. I'll love you always and I belong to you. Heart, body and soul. Yours until eternity. So goodnight sweetheart. Pleasant dreams. Devotedly, Harry

---

I'll end with a picture of a new item I can now offer. How cute are these? They can be customized to your wedding colors.

A Beautiful Bride

2009-05-20T23:57:00.006-04:00

She was so nice, so organized, and best of all thorough. Which made it easy to design and produce wedding stationery for Julie and her fiancee Bradford with almost 2,000 miles between us. For awhile there I had her Phoenix, Arizona address memorized.

Lately I've been getting requests to do invites for people who aren't exactly local. Friends of friends who aren't ever going to be cruising through the sweet little town of New Bremen, Ohio. With phones, texts, and good old "snail mail" it can be done.

Here are a few photos of Julie and Bradford's day - April 18, 2009.

The photographers name is Stephanie Fay and she does beautiful work. http://www.stephaniefayblog.com That is the menu I did for Julie.

Perspective - more than just a big word

2009-05-18T20:49:00.004-04:00

Today was the first day I've been truly happy in about a week. My printer is fixed! Anyone who has spoken to me in the last couple weeks knows I've been scrambling to get things taken care of and I've been stressing out because I have deadlines and well, it's not my style to miss deadlines. Anyway, I'm thrilled today because the service techs fixed the machine. Probably they were even more happy than me, I don't know. They are super nice guys but when they are here it means there is trouble so we're all glad when they don't have to make the trip here to see me.

Anyway, while it's been distressing being behind in my work I like to remember that things could always be worse. That nagging pop up could have been a virus that would ruin my hard drive. On my emergency trip to Columbus I could have blown a tire. The list is endless. Now that I'm listening to the hum of my printer churning out some beautiful wedding invites I'm happy and full of the calm that comes with knowing everything is going to turn out after all.

We watched the movie "Pearl Harbor" last night. Not a real great movie to watch while you're trying to doze off. Watching a movie like that put things into perspective. As usual anything that has to do with WWII reminds me of Harry and Helen. I dug through "the letters" looking for something on the anniversary of Pearl Harbor, which happened on December 7, 1941.

Still in the Woods, Dec. 7, 1943 (note: Harry's letter was written on nice Fort Bragg stationary)

Hello Honey,
Well, here it is 2 years from the day that the Japs started this mess and here I am in the woods learning how to get it over with. I haven't heard any news this week so I don't know much of what is going on. We fired for practice in rapid fire today. I didn't do so good . My gun jammed a couple of times & I didn't get to fire all my rounds. Today turned out to be swell, about 65 degrees.

Well, it is so dark I can't see to write outside anymore so I've lighted my candle. My steel helmet is my candlestick holder as well as my wash basin, bathtub, etc. I also wear it. It's heavy as heck.

Tomorrow we have a 4.5 mile speed march. HECK! We ride about everywhere we go around here. I am just beginning to see the mechanized part of the army.

I am sorry honey, but the advantages of having that pants presser would be almost nil here. Whenever our pants need pressing we can have them done for $.15 or $.20. I am glad to hear that Chet and Amabel was glad to get the letter. I am not writing much this week. I'll try and get a pass this evening and make an effort to get something for Xmas. I have to hurry, won't I?

We didn't wear blouses on guard. O.D. Pants and we had our field jackets cleaned. Guess we were pretty spiffy. We had a superior rating in personal appearances.

You should be here now. The moon is shining through the pine trees, it's really beautiful. As far as I am concerned thats about all that is pretty in this state. This is the official end of our basic training. We really do our specialized work in our last 9 weeks. It won't be long.

Well honey, the order just come to clean our guns so I'll have to tell you I love you so much and that you've been a swell sweetheart and girl friend and wife. A man couldn't ask for a better one. I'll close now. I can't send these air mail as I forgot to get stamps before we left. Lots of love and my unending devotion . . . Harry

It's Picture Day

2009-04-24T16:45:00.008-04:00

Got a little camera happy today. The first picture is of the dogs. Okay, we have a terrible yard. It's a nice, large fenced in yard, but the ground inside the fence is absolute crap. The perimeter of our yard has a nice worn path from the dogs running up and down the fence line. There are little holes here and there where the dogs got a hankering to dig. The garden in the corner is usually a little too overgrown but whatever. Let's not even talk about the "land mines" dotting the surface.

We're like the people who have a terrible couch but don't see the point in buying a new one until the kids are older. As fussy as I am, when I see the daily abuse our lawn receives, I totally "get" that mentality.

Anyway, there is one particular spot in the yard where there used to be a stump. Adam had pulled it out and planted grass but nothing every seems to work so every year it ends up being a dead looking part of the yard. It's also the place the dogs love to relax. On sunny days they take turns laying in that spot (though Junior, the lazy one, seems to hog it the most). In this picture they are ALL enjoying the weather and catching some zzzz's. Pretty rare thing, really.

Next is a photo of the cool display stand that I scored at my church's garage sale for $.25

Pretty sweet huh? It's a nice brass base with some bendy arms.

Here are some close ups of the invites featured on the rack.

She'll be coming round the mountain when she comes . . .

2009-04-22T20:05:00.004-04:00

Mountain of wedding invites that is. With businesses gearing up for spring and the grads graduation, printing and invites are flying out of Sara Paper day and night. Holy cow is it busy!

And speaking of Spring - where the heck is it? Adam is going to a Reds game on Sunday. I would be jealous except for the fact that it might be sunny and nice but who knows, it could be snowing.

I have to admit that we had great weather for the community garage sales last weekend. I made it out to a few of them. Found a nice display rack for invitations so I was happy.

Now a shout out to Administrative Professionals. Today is their day. I "celebrated" in traditional Sara Paper fashion and ate cake. It's not that I eat cake all the time. I really don't. It just seems that I happen to have cake on the days I decide to post here. Today I attended the "South Western Auglaize County Chamber of Commerce Administrative Professionals Day Luncheon." Wow, say that three time fast. I had a booth with the newest designs and joy of joy, Susan Kreig of The Pie Shell was there with her CARROT CAKE - my favorite. Thanks Susan!

Yeah, ummmm, "Hi, how have you been?"

2009-04-11T01:40:00.006-04:00

It's been awhile since my last post. Things have been craaaaazy. Just nuts. But in a good way. My apologies to anyone who had to wait for anything. I think I'm FINALLY caught up (opps, just jinxed myself, didn't I)

Because Easter is just a day away we'll revisit Easter Day, 1944 with Harry and Helen (you are welcome Chiara and Melanie - I know you've been waiting)

April 9, 1944 - Happy Easter Darling!

You probably didn't receive a letter from me yesterday, as I was pretty tired when I got home last night and felt it would be better if I didn't write when I was so tired - and rather provoked. More about that later.

I have to reconsider Saturday's happenings first. First of all, I had two swell letters from you, honey. One was one of the nicest I've ever received from you. It was the one where you reminisced about 1937 and of us in general. I've come to the conclusion that we are madly in love! And honey, when you come on that furlough, it will be just like getting married all over again. (note: GO, Helen! Yeeeeah) One, thing, I'll bet we'll have plenty of entertainment - if you get what I mean. (note: umm, yeah Helen, we get it.)
---
Then Helen goes on at length about her friend Adeline is being a pain in the butt. (My words - not Helens) In my opinion, Helen has a tendency to be "high maintenance" but she seems justified in this particular tirade and I had to feel sorry for her. Helen is pretty depressed and juding from the sound of this letter - badly in need of a man. Anyway, I digress . . .
---
Now for Sunday's activities. Got up at 7:30 this morning and washed then got a chicken dinner. I had sinus so went to bed at 2:00 and staryed until 5:15. I felt much better when I got up. The people here didn't get much of a chance to show off their Easter finery as it rained the whole day. Let's hope that next Easter we'll see the Resurrection of Peace over the world. With this hope in mind I look forward to Easter in 1945.
---
Helen goes back to her laments about her girl friends before launching into her sentimental mode.
---
Honey, speaking of Sept. 29, 1937 - how I was in hopes you'd kiss me!! Didn't we have a wonderful time though? Remember how I sat on your lap coming home and what a terrible time Carl had to fix the date? Honey, when you stop to think, doesn't fate deal funny hands? I hope you will always feel that I have been a good wife. My ambition is to be the one to you and to make you love me forever. I know that I shall love you unto Eternity.

You surely know by now that I love you very much, but I must keep on telling you so you never forget it. Darling, you are what I live for and believe me, I'm proud of the fact that it is you. Darling, I realize all the sacrifices you are making and know that the inconveniences I'm put to by the war couldn't possibly match those you have and the loneliness you experience. Sometimes I feel better than other times, but all the time I remember I have you to love and to love me. You make the world go round and make things worth doing.

Darling, I'm proud to be your wife and don't you ever forget it. Also, remember dear that the most important job at the present time is serving as a private in Uncle Sam's army. You know how you'd feel if you weren't in it.

Devotedly, Helen

And on that note: Happy Easter to all! Say a prayer for those who are currently serving our country and not able to be with their families. Pray also, for those who aren't able to pray freely. I know I'll be counting all my blessings on Sunday.

There's more to life than cake . . .

2009-03-24T09:08:00.004-04:00

Spring is just a buzzing. Especially the last couple days which have been excellent weather days. Some days I feel like I want the world to just STOP for a couple hours so I can get a few extra things done. But times keeps rolling on and I'm not the only one who is a busy bee.

The First Communion Event at Emmy's Bridal was a lot of fun. The Family Fun Finder gals had lots of nice door prizes for the girls to sign up for. Plus they made little coupon packets and cards to hand out. The little girls looked so cute, and let's not forget Susan Krieg from The Pie Shell who came armed with yummy cake.

While at Emmy's we also got to watch girls model their choices for prom dresses. There are some amazing dresses out right now for prom. You wouldn't believe the selection at Emmy's. We all commented a few times, "wow, if you can't find a dress here . . ." Special thanks to the gal that probably tried on 20 dresses. She was a good sport and let us comment and vote on her choices.

Along with prom there is graduation, baby showers, Mother's Day and of course tons of weddings coming up. I hope everyone will give me a call and see what I can offer for these events. I don't think there is a job that is too big or small for me. It's not a problem if you only need something like 15 graduation invites. In this economy a small job is still a job and I'm a big fan of work.

Just when you thought the cake season was over . . .

2009-03-15T21:47:00.008-04:00

After three bridal shows I was pretty sure I'd had my fill of cake for awhile. Since Thursday I had cake three times. (four times if you count the double helping I had on Sat. night - opps).

The Thursday cake was probably the best. Krafty Friend Kat and I decided to get lost in the antique shops of Wapak. First we had to have lunch though. The Cloud Nine Cafe in downtown Wapak was excellent. Kat enjoyed a light but filling quiche and I gobbled up an excellent ceasar salad. I couldn't resist the dessert of the day, homemade, Italian Cream Cake. Yumm-y! Even with me forcing Kat to eat part of it I couldn't finish it and took it home to enjoy later.

Saturday the New Bremen American Legion celebrated it's birthday and of course birthday cake was in order. After the dinner we carried over into the canteen and enjoyed karaoke. The leftover cake was sitting there calling my name. After my sister in law Abi decided to go for a second slice I folded like a stack of cards and followed suit. We had a good time listening to "Adam Cash" and watching "Munch" (my husbands brother) impress everyone with his awesome card tricks.

Then finally today was Adams nephews second birthday. The birthday boy requested a blue cake with green icing and his mom did that and one better and added sprinkles to the top.

It looks like cake is in the future as well. On Sunday, March 22 from 12-4 there will be a First Communion Feature at Emmy's Bridal in Minster. The little girls can try on dresses and there will be several vendors present as well. I will have a line of First Communion invites and thank you cards. Word is Susan Krieg of The Pie Shell will be there with her cake samples, which is always excellent. This event is being planned in conjunction with the Family Fun Finder.

Finally, I have some photos to share of my first brides of 2009.

The first bride and groom of the season is Tricia Brun and Eric Strausbaugh. Tricia and Eric married on February 7th, in the beautiful St. Augustine Church in Minster, Ohio. Poor Tricia! I don't know how she managed to look so beautiful and graceful on what must have been a FREEZING photo shoot!

Photography by Sara Zircher - Heirloom Images, Ft. Loramie, Ohio

My second couple of the season is Tessa Zircher (of Minster) and Matt McDermitt (of New Bremen). They married on February 21, 2009 in Minster, Ohio amidst snow and cold. Which must have been pretty hard for them as they've been living in Hawaii where Matt is stationed. Looks like they enjoy cake as much as I do. (though I don't normally smear it all over my face when I eat mine - I promise)

Photography by Todd B. Acker, Sidney, Ohio

It was a crazy Friday Night!

2009-03-09T21:14:00.007-04:00

You accept that your life is a little boring when your big plans for the weekend include assembling millions of invitations. Truth is, I don't really mind. I invited Krafty Friend Kat to my house on Friday night for a little gabfest to keep me company while I completed a couple order. We had a good time, working well into the night. We chatted about our dream projects and the things we'd do someday and when we had the time. You can cover a lot of ground working through the following supplies.

A whole bin full of daisy brads. we used them all!

Two stacks of beautiful pink.

Also, I keep forgetting to report on an awesome new website that I think will be very valuable to brides in the Auglaize/Mercer County areas. It's called www.419bride.com. My friend Kellie Keck of Pearls and a Black Dress Makeup Artistry started it. I haven't officially joined yet (sorry Kellie -soon, I promise, soon!) but I think it's just awesome. I'll report more later.

Lots of things coming up. Sunday, March 22 is a First Communion Dress Try-On Day at Emmy's Bridal in Minster. I'll have a table with some cute designs. The Administrative Professional Day Luncheon is happening in April. Also in April is the Third Annual MAC Wing-Fest at the New Bremen American Legion. So maybe life isn't so boring after all.

And now, Harry and Helen . . .
November 24, 1943
Dearest Harry,
Betty and I are out here at 3620 waiting for the fire to burn so we can go to bed. I don't know why I'm so tired all the time. I worked right straight through tonight until 7:30. Mr. Koerbers financial advisor was in today to see if we can possibly get an increase in pay. I know $2.00 extra a week would sure help me out. (note: wow!) Mr. Koerber asks me very often how you are and also said that we must be very devoted to one another. I surely assured him too.

After we got home this evening, Mr. Whitenack came over with the garage rent. I forgot to tell you but he has cleaned up the garage and changed sides with me. I told Mr. Whitenack to keep that money for cleaning it up but he wouldn't hear of it.

Gee darling, I love you so much and just wish I could tell you some different way, so until then we'll let Uncle Sam's postal service help us out. I shall always love you though darling. I just wish my prayers would be answered. Do I pray for you to be home? Yes, but others to be home too - for the whole d--- war to be over with. (Note: poor Helen, little did she know she'd have to carry on another two years)

Until then, my dear, I love you. Devotedly, Helen

Ladies and Gents - we have some winners!

2009-03-02T15:11:00.006-05:00

Hello to all. It seems like it's been forever since my last post and so much has been happening. First of all, the Fasching Fest was Fasulous. Adam worked really hard to keep the event as fun as years past and I do believe he did it. They served over 300 meals (cooked to delicious perfection by Wagner's IGA in Minster. http://www.wagnersiga.com/
Then Bette's Polka Band carried on until 9:00. They did a great job and everyone seemed excited to be out celebrating "Fat Tuesday"! All through the night Adam had door prizes. I had to laugh because a woman from Kalida won the Free Chinese Lunch Buffet for a restaurant here in town. I enjoy the food at China 88 but Kalida is kind of a distance from us you know. She was just pleased as punch to have won something. Then later in the night she won the 50/50 drawing, which I believe was almost $250. Not a bad night for Kalida folks.

Now onto the real excitement . . . the winners of the Prize Promo!!!!
I busted into Emmy's Bridal http://www.emmysbridal.com/shortly before they closed on Sat. to ask them to pull some names for me. Lori Rindler, co-owner, (seen below with her employee) was happy to do so. I'm happy to congratulate three gals. Maria Bornhorst of Minster won $250 prize package. She is getting married to Joel Mendes in Columbus. Another $250 package went to Lauren Warner of New Bremen who is getting married to Adam Meyer of Minster (who might have actually gradutated with Maria, I'm not sure).

And my grand prize winner is Jenni Pohlman of Maria Stein! She is marrying Tom Wynk on June 6th.

Congrats to these ladies and good luck to you all as you plan your big day!

2009-02-21T13:00:00.000-05:00

Hope to see everyone there!

Happy Monday Morning!

2009-02-16T07:16:00.005-05:00

And how was your Valentines Day? Ours was nice. I worked all day and Adam studied.

We cleaned the house, got groceries (the grocery store was amazingly busy on a Valentines Day Sat. night) and finally by 11:00 pm we were sitting down to eat our special crab cakes we'd prepared. By 12:00 Adam was crashed on the couch while I watched the movie we were supposed to watch together.

We also made a new recipe. The Five Minute Chocolate Cake! My friend Margie passed this on to me, stating, "It could be a microwave miracle or a real flop." While it wasn't the BESTEST cake in the world, it was pretty darn good.

5 MINUTE CHOCOLATE MUG CAKE
4 tablespoons flour
4 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons cocoa
1 egg
3 tablespoons milk
3 tablespoons oil
3 tablespoons chocolate chips (optional)
A small splash of vanilla extract
1 large coffee mug

Add dry ingredients to mug, and mix well; Add the egg and mix thoroughly. Pour in the milk and oil and mix well. Add the chocolate chips (if using) and vanilla extract, and mix again.
Put your mug in the microwave and cook for 3 minutes at 1000 watts.

The cake will rise over the top of the mug, but don't be alarmed! Allow to cool a little, and tip out onto a plate if desired.

----

I had to switch out all the oil for applesauce (Adam used up all the oil making potato chips earlier in the week) so the texture seemed a bit off, but then again it could have been due to the fact that it was baked in a coffee mug. We ate it with ice cream, cherry pie filling and whipped cream - yum!

2009-02-14T10:01:00.006-05:00

Feb, 1945 - Somewhere in France

Hello Darling,
I finally have access to my duffel bag and have some of my stationery. I am writing this by candlelight so please excuse any scribbling and missing words.

We have had sleeping bags issued to us. They are really warm and comfortable to sleep in. We are allowed a stul helmet full of coal per day per tent. So you see, we don't waste any fire during the day.

We were told that we might not receive any mail for a month. That is going to be tough going, but guess I can and may have to put up with worse things than that before I see you again. Just keep on writing. When I do get them I'll have a mess of them. I'll write as much and as often as I can. So don't worry if you don't get letters too regularly. I know everything will turn out okay and we will be together again before very long.

The rain is beating down on the tent right now. It has a nice peaceful patter but it promises to be the cause of lots of mud tomorrow. French mud is in a class of its own.

We are eating out of our own mess hall now. Food is getting much better. We had ham, pineapple, rice, salad and tea. Really tasted good. I have a few candy bars left. They will probably disappear fast.

There isn't much more I can tell you except that I love you and always will. You are my inspiration, my life, my everything. I'll love you always and mean to do everything in my power to make you happy. It was a happy and lucky day when I married you. You have been a perfect wife and I have no regrets in marrying you. You have made me divinely happy. So until tomorrow night . . . Devotedly, Harry

----
Happy Valentines Day to all!!!!

Busy, busy, busy . . .

2009-02-12T15:43:00.006-05:00

A fun jam packed day today. Now I'm relaxing with a coffee and getting ready to dive in again. Lots of jobs in the design mode finally getting moved into the printed proof mode. This is always a fun but time-consuming day. It's fun because I finally get to print the proofs on the fancy paper and hope they look exactly as I envisioned them. It can be time-consuming because one thing usually leads to another and I start pulling out all kinds of paper and random ribbon that I think might add to a design.

And then I have to do a mini photo shoot so I can remember when the heck I mailed. By the time a bride looks them over and shares them with her family and friends, a couple months can easily pass. I don't know about you but I tend to forget the little details and I hate thinking, "oh crap, did I print that on shimmer paper or linen."

I won't share any of the photos of the proofs from today (that's cheating) but I'll show you what the top of my table looks like right now.

Lots of fun colors for a beach wedding (I'm so jealous.)

Oh well, moving on . . . Let's see what Harry and Helen have to say today. I should have started with the very first letter but that box was behind the other boxes and I was a little too lazy to dig it out. Today I took the extra two minutes and pulled out the box with the starting letter.
---
September 27, 1943
Ft. Bening,
Harrison, Indiana

Dearest Helen,
Well, today I am a soldier. We arrived here about 11:30. Waited for awhile. Then some Capt. MD looked down our throats and then short arm inspection. (I told you so). I am writing this in a hurry. Hope you can read some (Note: this letter was very sloppy. I thought "great, I paid $40 for three boxes of paper that I can't even read". But Harry ended up having nice penmanship)

We now are assigned to beds and barracks. We have practiced making beds. The army doesn't use the same method you do. Yours is easier (Note: Harry has a dry wit, I've noticed)

I doubt very much anything can be arranged for Sunday. Will let you know later. They told us that we wouldn't be here for more than 5 or 6 days. We don't know for sure. So mail a few letters.

We had roast beef, boiled potatoes, tomatos, carrots and onions for dinner. Tea to drink. Was pretty good (Note: Harry often reports his meals to Helen, which actually ends up being pretty interesting to me)

Well Honey, I have to sign off now. So I'll close by telling you I love you very, very much.

Love, Harry

P.S. We have tests, shots and get uniforms tomorrow. Busy day.
-----
Okay, so that wasn't the most romantic letter in the world but by the time 1946 rolls around Harry digs deeper into the depths of his heart and it's very touching. I'm looking for a great one for Valentines Day.

This Crazy Weather!

2009-02-11T17:32:00.008-05:00

I'm feeling a little uggg today. Possibly I'm catching the leftovers of whatever knocked Adam down for a few days. Maybe it's the change in weather. Here's a couple fun pictures to illustrate. The first one is of my doggies. Forward to back they are, Junior, Magnet and then Jenkins. They are normally outside dogs, which suits them just fine. Maybe Magnet is a bit of baby because she likes to be close to her original owner Adam. But for the most part she takes her role as protector very seriously and likes to be outside where the action is. In the last couple weeks when we had all that awful cold we left them hang out in the laundry room. They seemed very happy to do so. Here they are quietly chewing on some brand new bones.

The second photo was taken earlier today. After a day of warm temps, a steady rain shower and then a bit of sunshine we got to see the brightest rainbow I've ever seen. It looks like the end is sinking into my cousins back yard.

You can tell Spring is coming because there is so much going on. This weekend is Valentines Day. Then on the Feb. 25 we begin the Lent season. I'll be back to let you know about the Fasching Fest that Adam is planning with the New Bremen Son of the American Legion (SALs). It's a German Celebration with good German food, good German beer and good German music. There will be dancing, door prizes and all kinds of fun.

Then Finally at the end of the month I pull the names of three lucky winners. I'm giving away free wedding invitations!!! I know I haven't been very good at promoting this promotion but if you've book an appointment with me before Feb. 28th then you have already been entered. So to all the brides that have recently come on board, rest assure that you are in the drawing. I'll be emailing you all on Valentines Day with the details and to get you geared up.

A happy WELCOME to all my new visitors!!

2009-02-08T21:13:00.004-05:00

Two days, two shows, probably a dozen (or two) bite sized pieces of cake and best of all, at least 150 brides visiting my booths. Sounds like a pretty good weekend to me.

The Greenville Wedding Expo on Sat. was a packed house. Lots of great door prizes were handed out, cute kids in the fashion show and fun polka dotted "goody bags''. A great big shout out to Crystal and Ashley of Crystal LeeAnn Photography. This couple put on the show and it was a great one.

On Sunday my mom and I went to Romers in St. Henry for the WCSM show. Another packed house and three awesome fashion shows. Since it was the 25th anniversary of the WCSM Bridal Show they added something special to the fashion show. They had vintage wedding gowns from the 50's, 60's and 70's. They also had a couple dresses from the 30's. I can't remember but I think the oldest dress was from 1888. This dress and the others from the turn of the century were formal black and navy cloth. Elegant, and practical. My mom and I noted that most of these earlier dresses were modeled by younger girls, almost preteens. And they were fitting pretty good. I guess size standards for women have changed some in the last 100ish years.

Again, in honor of the upcoming Valentines holiday, a word from war lovers Harry and Helen.

October 15, 1945 - Sat. Night
Harry Darling:
You are probably back in army routine by now and not too happy about it either - neither am I!

You no doubt wonder what we found about about the car. Well, the master cylinder went bad. I still don't have it. I really wanted to use it tomorrow to go out home, but mother offered to take me if I wanted to go. I might take her up on it.

Now - we sold your suit. It didn't fit the fellow so mother allowed him $5.00 for alterations. We got $12.00 from it that way. Ok? I hope so.

For the biggest surprise of all now. Guess who was in the store! Don Hetrick and in civies. He had a girl with him, but so help me I don't know who it was. It might have been Doc's wife; I believe he called her Dorothy. I want to write Don and find out. He didn't "introduce" her and I can't imagine. Doc is in India and Wayne Reiber is now a Lt. Sure does beat me about the girl.
Theresa went to the show with her girlfriend today and Betty had a date with Russ. She has a dinner date with that soldier on Monday night. (Note: Her sister Betty had a very active "social" life I learned throughout the collection of letters. I wonder who she ended up with?)

Am really anxious to know what you found down there at camp. Hope you found good news. Well honey, there's no more to "correspond" about so I'll close for this time.

My Darling, I love you so much, and love you more than I did at any time during the past five years. I want to make you happy more than anything in the world.

Bye honey, devotedly yours, Helen

P.S. Oh you man! How I miss you!

Happy Groundhog Day & Happy Birthday to Matt

2009-02-02T08:36:00.008-05:00

Weekend Recap
I kicked off the weekend with lunch on Friday with my friend Kellie Keck who is an established makeup artist. www.pearlsandablackdress.com
We had lunch at the Alpha Cafe in downtown Wapakoneta. www.alpha-cafe.biz Nothing like a full menu of bar food to get the weekend going. It was good food and good company. It's not exactly "fine dining" but it's relaxing, spacious and they have a beautiful bar which was one of three built in 1893. According to their website, one perished in a fire, one survives out in Arizona and the third resides in our little neck of the woods.

On Saturday Adam and I braved the drifted road of State Route 274 to make it to Columbus for his brother Matts birthday party. After the party we headed to Easton to watch Grand Torino. This was Adams movie choice as he is a great Clint Eastwood fan. He loves all of Clints movies (with the odvious exception of "The Bridges of Madion County" which I adore). I went along half grudgingly. After all, I still haven't seen "Bridal Wars" or "Paul Blart Mall Cop". I was pleasantly surprised and immediately absorbed into the movie. It's a great movie to watch in a crowded theater. While it's obviously not billed as a comedy, it's funny in a way you don't expect and having the crowd around you makes it more enjoyable.

We got home late so after church on Sunday I pretty much crashed on the sofa and watched bad tv to unwind after a busy week and weekend.

This week proves to be equally as busy. I get to meet a new bride every day this week and then on the weekend I have two bridal shows. (yay - cake!) Saturday I will be at the Bridal Expo in Greenville. www.greenvilleweddingexpo.synthasite.com Sunday is the WCSM Show in St. Henry. www.wcsmradio.com/index.php?page=bridal-show-2

And now a word from our war lovers Harry and Helen. The words in red are the ones Helen circled to remind herself to mail Harry the needed supplies.
------
March 16, 1945
Somewhere in Germany

Hello Darling,
Once again I am writing to you under trying conditions. Our German generator has refused to cooperate any longer. The foolish motor runs but no juice is produced. Maybe our boys will be able to fix it up. Right now I am using kerosence lights of doubtful and ancient lineage. So pardon any more errors than my usual quota.

My pen just ran dry and I had to run next door to beg some ink. Hope I have some on the way now. Also some 127 film. I need some badly.

I'd like very much to have my hands on a German pistol. So far I haven't been successful. Don't worry I don't take any changes to get one. They are really nice jobs.

Today was a beautiful day again but it's now trying to rain. April showers and all that stuff.

I boiled out some socks tonight. They were really rank.

Some of these guys around here give me a pain. They are batting their gums about some of the most silly and nonsenical things. Really browns me off at times. Some of them are so dammed stubborn but they won't let any one express an opinion. So I just sit and let them bat their brains out. I think what I please. That policy never gets me into trouble. Only occassionally do I blow my top. Helps the nervous system.

I'm enclosing a propaganda leaflet the Germans are throwing at us. they must think we are all crazy. The average G.I. will pick them up, read some, laugh like hell and throw them away. I think this one quite amusing. No doubt the family will get a bang out of it. I can see Mom & Pop E. laughing. Surely the Germans don't believe we are that crazy. (Note: I wish, but there wasn't any leaflet to be found in the collection)

If I ever get the chance to Paris or Brussells you shall have your Chanel #5. Money here is useless. There are rumors that we are trying to see a movie tomorrow. Probably be one we saw back in the states two years ago.

Well Honey, the space is getting short and my eyes tired from all the dim light. However if it were pitch dark I could still write that I love you and always will. It is the realization that with each passing day brings us one day nearer to victory and consquently home. I've had lots of experiences over here but I'd trade them all for a glance at you and the sound of your voice. So honey, I'll do the next best thing. I'll go to bed and dream of you.

Eternally and Ardently, Harry

Romance in War Times - A look back at WWII

2009-01-29T09:16:00.016-05:00

Okay, I'm a sucker for romance, vintage items, random history and reading. Many years ago, in one of my antiquing jaunts I came across three boxes of love letters written during WWII.
It was a no brainer -
I had to have these letters.
They provided me with many months of entertainment.

It's been awhile since I've poured over the words of these young lovers from Fort Wayne, Indiana. In honor of the weeks leading up to Valentines day and for romance across the globe I will share some of these gems. The following is a letter from Helen (warming up the home fire in Indiana) to Harry her husband, experiencing military life at Ft. Miles, Delaware. This letter was written exactly 63 years ago.

___
January 29, 1946
My darling,
First of all thanks for the two wonderful letters and the lovely package your sent me. The hankies are lovely dear and needless to say, I'll enjoy the Hersheys and chewing gum. The large hankie was especially nice, I liked it best. Daddy was pleased with his razor and said "much obliged". If you can get anymore gum, better do so as it isn't available here. Also some film.

Tonight I had to work - left there at just 10:00. We're taking inventory. It's been a headache for sure. Makes me sorta tired. Irene doesn't have to even work. It gripes me in a way. Oh well. (note: Helen works at a jewelry store and is highly resentful of most of her fellow workers, a point she mentions often)

Jim and Margaret were in to see me today. They are swell kids. There were happy about your discharge news too. Wilma was also in and she had the good news that her "Ray" was supposed to land today. She was expecting a phone call soon. She hasn't seen him for 17 months and she's tickled pink.

Adelines plant is going out on strike again. I believe around Feb. 7, so she'll have some spare time again. Asked her what she was hearing from Elmer - same old thing, "nothing". Soon I shall stop asking.

I love you very much Harry. Just think, it won't be long until I can tell you that personally. I'm wondering now if you'll have patience with me in my ignorance on cooking and keeping house since I'm so out of practice. I want to make you happy and shall try my best to make you more than glad that you married me. You are everything to me and have always been a wonderful husband and sweetheart.

Good night darling. Love me always? Devotedly, Helen
----
Maybe you should consider taking a moment to write an old fashioned love letter to your sweetheart. On real paper. Okay, at least send a text message.

DIY or a Professional - or somewhere in between

2009-01-23T15:21:00.008-05:00

With all the bridal shows swirling about, I've been in touch with my fellow vendors. And we've been talking. In any business you have obstacles and challenges that make you think outside the box. One of the considerations of Sara Paper is the "DIYers". The Do It Yourself Brides.

Let me start out by saying that I am a frugal person. It may not seem like it because I like expensive lipstick, dinners out and I'm pretty fussy about using nice paper for everything. Still, I like to cut corners when I can. So I respect the DIY Brides. Especially these days when you don't know if it will take $11 to fill your gas tank or $20. Especially if you have the challenge of planning the most beautiful day of your life - and then paying for it on a shoestring budget.

Let's face it. It's expensive when you're first starting out. Maybe you don't have the dream job yet. Probably you have student loans. Or you've just purchased a now home and have to fill it with the essentials. It's hard to shell out a bunch of money for printed paper when you really would rather buy a set of matching dishes. "I'll just make them myself," you think to yourself. But wait, this isn't only about spending money. It's about finding value in the services you need.

Wouldn't I love it if all my brides picked out the dream invite? The one with pockets, layers, ribbons and sparkly things and thick shimmery paper. But the reality is that many brides need to exercise frugality. That is why I want to urge all DIY Brides to consider the value of working with a professional before they take on a project themselves.

First off, I don't want to upset my fellow professional vendors. Some vendors might think it's a waste of time to meet with DIY Brides. But I view each free consultation I offer not as a waste of time, but as an opportunity to serve. I understand that not every gal can afford the elaborate, sparkly invite. I can even accept that not every woman even WANTS the elaborate, sparkly invite. (you crazy, nutty people). And that is why I strive to provide a wide variety of products for all tastes and budgets.

This spring I will carry a line of products specifically geared towards the DIY Brides. The Carlson Craft Album is aptly called D.I.Y. I haven't seen the book yet but I think it's going to be a hit.

Another reason to contact me before you do your own invitations is because I would love to show you all the other products I offer. A DIY Bride cannot make her own wine glasses. (Well, if she can I'll be very impressed) but I can offer her beautiful personalized wine glasses at a 20% discount. A DIY Bride can't foil stamp her own personalized napkins but I can let her flip through pages and pages of cute, fun designs that she can order from.

A DIY Bride can cut her own paper when she's making her own programs. Sure, it will be free but it might take her several nights to do it. Or a DIY Bride can wisely decide to pay me $10 and I'll cut it in a couple swoops of my cutter. There's a value in paying $10 to save hours and hours of time.

Some things you can't put a price tag on is advice. Professional vendors are pros because they know the ins and outs of their business.

My point is, doing it yourself is a great thing. While there is a certain satisfaction in taking on projects and saving money there is also true value in shopping around and letting a professional help you. Especially when it's such an important event. Give me a call and see if I can help!

Lots of Brides - but barely any cake.

2009-01-12T14:48:00.003-05:00

Okay, Lima Bride 2009 was craaazy! Really fun. Tons of women (and a few guys) braved the weather and came to the Civic Center for a good time. Normally I have time at these shows to mingle a bit and chat with other vendors. Not Lima Bride - it was a madhouse. Still, my trusty mom managed to wrangle a bit of cake from Angie's Cakes from Elida. 419-234-7565. Excellent orange cake. Moist, flavorful and great frosting.

Crystal Lee Ann photograpy is a friend and she was there. http://www.crystalleeann.com/ Crystal and her husband are running the Greenville Bridal show in Feb. More details to follow.

Kellie Keck, Pearls and a Black Dress makeup artisty was a friend present. She famously did the makeup for Governor Sarah Palin for the cover of Newsweek magazine and People magazine. http://pearlsandablackdress.com/Makeup_Artist.html

All the local ladies at Emmy's Bridal showed face as well. http://www.emmysbridal.com/

I made new friends with The Savvy Bride. They do wedding planning out of Lima, Ohio. 419-296-2593. They were just nice, nice, nice all day.

Thanks to all who stopped by my booth. I hope you found some great ideas and will consider giving me a call. I'd love to meet one on one with you!

Bridal Shows - A fun place for almost everyone.

2009-01-09T16:37:00.005-05:00

I'm saying "almost everyone" because you can't dispute the fact that some people would pretty much rather do anything other than attend a bridal show. Well, I'll be presenting my wares at three show this year and I'm inviting you all to grab a bride and attend.

This Sunday I will be at the Veterans' Memorial Civic & Convention Center in Lima, Ohio. The show runs from noon-5:00. I've never been to this particular show but I hear it's a nice one. I can't drag everything to my booth but I will be showing all my custom design work and a selection of albums. Not to mention Programs, Thank You cards and all sorts of other fun stuff.

My favorite things about Bridal Shows

- Free Cake!!! Not just any cake. Really good wedding cake. The cake vendors are generous and happy to feed the masses. Buttercream frosting, carrot cake with cream cheese frosting, filled layers and usually a decent selection of Grooms Cakes that includes German Chocolate Cake.

- Free Stuff. Stuff like a chance to win a free limo rental, a weekend getaway. Most of the times these free drawings and door prizes extends to not only the bride but everyone else in attendance.

- Free Food. Let's not forget about all the little appetizers, meatballs, chicken wings, candies and sometimes even wine. All free. Normally I have my mom in tow and she helps with the set up and passing out information. Last year my husband tagged along to one of the shows and boy was he thrilled to find out that OUR BOOTH was located directly across from a caterer passing out COCKTAIL SHRIMP. That is probably his most favorite party food (other than anything wrapped in bacon). I made him practice restraint and wait until the end of the show and he was rewarded. Those nice ladies were more than happy to lighten their load and serve him all the extras.

- Beautiful decor options, fashion shows, good looking guys in tuxedos, it's all good. You'll see a lot and you'll get tons of great ideas.

Check this link out for more info

http://www.limaohio.com/articles/bride_31559___article.html/lima_.html

When I have more details I'll fill you in on the two shows held in February. Have a great weekend! Stay warm!!

New Years Resolutions

2009-01-05T14:32:00.012-05:00

I don't consider it to be the begining of the new year until the Monday of the first full week in January. This gives me an extra couple days to be lazy, eat what I want and generally gear up for the New Years Resolutions list I draw up. I'm not going to list all my efforts at self improvement but I will share a few.

First, like many others I intend to be much more organized this year. Sara of Sara Paper didn't mail her Christmas cards until Dec. 23. Probably not a big deal but still. I sort of feel I could have been more on top of that. This year I will have a lot more to offer Brides and I don't want to miss out on any opportunity to help someone.

Secondly, I want to do a better job of posting on this blog. I enjoy writing the entries but the weeks zoom by and I miss chances to post all the fun stuff going on.

Thirdly, I'm going to curtail the amount of time I spend online checking my email. I am a terrible cell phone user. I never hear my ringer, voicemails will sit there for a day or two before I think to retrieve them. But email is my vice. And I intend to stop check ing my email in the evening and spend more time focused on family and friends. So rest assured that I will welcome your emails but I will wait to read them in the morning.

Now onto other things. Today I was pleased to get two deliveries of flowers. One was a beatiful bouquet from a special bride. The second was a new Carlson Craft album entitled "Flowers". Occasionally the Carlson Craft company will send me a new album if my sales have been especially good and they arrive without any warning. I now offer 10 albums as well as countless custom design. It's fun to get these and I found this book to be especially great.

I love doing custom design and really that is the bulk of my business. However, the fact remains that some people aren't interested in a custom design and would rather pick something from an album. For those people I am posting some pictures of some of the newest, hottest designs.

Isn't this beautiful? An elegant damask look with hot color accent.

You can change the ink color and liner to whatever you wish.

Yellow! I knew they'd start showing yellow.

A "Seal and Send" invite. The RSVP postcard is perforatted and can be detached and mail back. No envelopes needed. A cost effective (and "green") route for any bride.

Another one with a bold, clean graphic.

Wow, where did the time go?

2008-12-30T23:01:00.004-05:00

We're finally closing in on the last of 2008. It's hard to believe how fast it went. Pretty soon the spring brides will be springing and then we'll be dreaming about Christmas again. I wish a safe and happy new year to all.

A picture of my husband and I celebrating Christmas.

Adam and his cousins the night we went Christmas Caroling. Hands off the one on the left - he's mine! The rest are available, (FYI to all the single ladies). Ignore their fashion sense on this one night. They are really great guys!!!

Happy Thanksgiving!

2008-11-27T08:52:00.004-05:00

A special "hello" today. Amoung other things in my life I'm thankful for my clients whom I appreciate greatly! Have a blessed and wonderful day!

I'm failing my own challenge

2008-11-09T21:12:00.009-05:00

OH, no.

My intention to design, print and post a new design daily has escaped me. My friend Laura taunted me, TAUNTED me about it. While Sara Paper has mostly been chugging along (note to patient brides - all your proofs will be complete this week) there have been a couple bumps in the road elsewhere.

Preparing for a couple holiday shows, a few days devoted to family due to a funeral, and the unexpected installation of a hot water heater took it's toll and something (the November Challenge) had to give. A special thank you to my 6'5" husband Adam for wedging himself into a very, very small utility closet to change the water heater. He worked all day, went to class and then worked into the night to ensure I did not have to take a cold shower in the AM.

At any rate I have at least one new design to post. It's for the Holiday Show at Art Place in St. Marys. (138 East Spring Street, St. Marys) I will have a TON of notecards for sale. I'll be sharing space will a lot of great(er) artists. If you are looking for a unique gift, check them out. The show kicks off November 15 with an Artist Reception and runs through January.

"Hello Chickie" In honor of "Crafty Friend Kat"

And this one for aforementioned Miss Laura, who seems to enjoy penquins.

And now for another bride. Kelly Niblick married John (JD) Hawkins on October 18, 2008. I just love her bridal party who wore rust, a deep red and chocolate. Beautiful!

2008-11-04T20:39:00.003-05:00

I LOVE thes colors together. The regal purple looks a little funny on these photos but I assure you the color matches the print and it's just perfect on this olive cardstock with rounded corners.

The Regal Autumn cost $2.80 a packet. 10% off order of 100 qty. or more.

November Challenge - Catching Up

2008-11-03T08:25:00.006-05:00

Since it's already the third day of November I decided to sort of cheat with my November Challenge. So I printed some old proofs from a bride who got married way back in September. This is a good opportunity to describe how Sara Paper works.

My normal process for meeting with a couple is this.

First meeting (which is free by the way) - We sit around, look through albums and chat about what you'd like your ideal bridal invitations to look like. Sometimes people find the perfect thing in one of the 9 Carlson Craft Albums I carry. For a standard order I collect a 50% deposit and call you when the order arrives (usually within 2 weeks). If you opt to go the custom route I ask for a $25 deposit.

Step Two - I design several samples based on our conversation. I print them and mail them to you so you have the opportunity to see them for yourself. These proofs are not "perfect" but they give you a good idea of whether you like the direction I am going.

Step Three - You pick the favorite design and I make the needed changes. I tweak, design matching cards and envelopes. If you wish I will mail you a final proof. At this time I ask for 50% deposit before I continue on.

Step Four - You pick up your invites!!!!

It sounds too easy, right? Well, I admit, it's not quite that easy. I mean these are custom invites. Sometimes it takes extra effort to "get inside" someones head. There are often ideas and suggestions along the way which add to the process. But that's okay. In the end you have invitations that reflect YOUR wedding.

So, in my examples below, Stephanie and Darin were looking for a perfect mix of her fun colors of pink and green and her desire to do an outdoorsy theme. They were getting married outside after all. So the following designs are some of her proofs. She ended up choosing a photo invite with a nice overlay but these proofs were unique and fun - just like Stephanie and Darin.

November Challenge - Lazy Daisy

2008-10-23T16:40:00.005-04:00

I have a habit of picking up pretty paper, colorful ribbons and all sort of bits and pieces when I shop. I'm almost worse when I shop online. You know how some of those "shops" will entice you. Free shipping on orders of $100 or more. After a nice hefty paper order how can you resist spending an extra $12 to hit that $100 mark and save $20 in shipping.

The Lazy Daisy is a result of several shopping episodes. What we have here is a really nice off white paper that has a great canvas texture. Layered on top of that is a "gumdrop green" paper. It's all held together with a trio of daisy brads.

Lazy Daisy Packet is $2.15 a packet. Includes fully assembled invite and one envelope with return address. Note: 10% off order of 100 qty. or more.

November Challenge - Texas Tea

2008-10-22T18:40:00.007-04:00

While I love designing custom invite I sort of get bummed that all the ideas in my head - well, stay in my head. So I've decided to challenge myself to designing, printing and posting a new design of my own - every day in November. Yikes. Well, I'm getting a head start and here is my first design.

Texas Tea - (aka, Black Gold) This invite is for the more daring bride. It's dark, it's deep, it's perfect for a wedding close to Halloween. You might think this is a black invite with gold paper. Not so. This cardstock is a complicated mixture of shimmery black/brown/gold/even red. The overlay is a fabulous metallic gold vellum. The corners are attached with brown eyelets.

The matching Envelope

Texas Tea Packet $3.20 This invite is one of my costlier ones. The standard package is a fully assembled invite with an inner envelope and an outer envelope with return address.

Addressing Service Availabe for additional cost

Please note: I take 10% off when you order over 100 invites.

Pictures and . . . all sorts of stuff

2008-10-13T22:19:00.014-04:00

Okay, so my birthday is coming up and I'd like to give a blatant hint to my husband. Or rather my DH (dear husband) if you frequent wedding planning message boards and use the lingo.

I'd love a new digital camera. Not anything extravagant, just something that takes action shots and a good close-up without a lot of fancy lighting. True the camera I have is a good one (so I'm told). For awhile I've been meaning to "learn" how to use my current camera but never took the time. So I've been goofing around a little, hoping my weak efforts will be rewarded with a newer, much easier to use camera.

A new Sara Paper Notecard Design. I like it. It's cute. It only cost $2. A pack of 10 costs $15

This one was designed awhile back, when I was anticipating a wealth of tomato (tomatoe) from our garden. Sadly, we only reaped a handful of the little cherry ones.

A more earthy looking card. Love this new paper/envelopes I found. It's called butcher paper. Hard to tell but there are subtle swirls of red marblized in the paper.

I like this photo. It's actually a "good" photo with great lighting, etc. It's an arieal view of a box of programs.

A recent project. My customer is a friend of a friend and we accomplished this look via email and samples sent the old fashioned way. I love this invite because it has three of my favorite things. Shimmery paper, quality ribbon and rounded corners.

A "still-life" photo of a portion of my desk. My humorous "Amy Vanderbilt's Complete Book of Etiquette", A cool vintage clip art book from "Crafty Friend Kat", my plant, a nice stack of bills underneath my very frivilous orange stapler (which, by the way, matches my orange chair).

And now an interesting tibit from Ms. Vanderbilt. This section regards manners in children. Ms. Amy lists 22 different things children should not doing in "polite society". All of these seem to be as true now as when the book was written 56 years ago. Don't pick your teeth, chew with your mouth open, burp in public, chatter incessantly, etc.

For once I can't fault Ms. Amy for be hoity toity. What I found interesting was that the previous owner had the gall and bad manners to make marks in the book. In a random sentance the previous owner boldly underlined the words elemental and manners. Then they neatly put a tick mark next to 19 of the 22 rules. The ones that weren't marked off were,

#12 Speak ill of the dead or repeat damaging gossip.

#13 Swear in a way that is generally considered offensive

#22 (was clearly ticked but then later erased.) Pull our finger joints in public, drum our fingers or indulge in any similar irritating little habits that set people's teeth on edge.

As my friend Laura like to proclaim, "interesting indeed." Are we to assume that some unfit mother was allowing her children to gossip and swear at will? And then, maybe, sometimes allowing them to just plain be annoying?

I'm looking forward to sharing some new designs in the next couple month. Then it's almost 2009 and I get to present the prizes for the "Free Invite Giveaway". I've been booking 2009 Brides left and right but I've been too busy to organize what I need for the Giveaway. Don't worry, if you've booked, you're in the drawing. Good Luck!

Beautiful Babies

2008-10-02T18:14:00.008-04:00

A special congrats to Tom and Amy Wilker of New Bremen. They were blessed with a beautiful set of baby girls. I was thrilled to print the birth announcements. They now have five little gals and Amy running the house. I would feel a little sorry for Tom being the only man but he's probably okay with it. Double diaper duty, maybe not so much.

Now onto fall related stuff. Crafty friend Kat and I had our booth at the New Bremen Pumpkinfest. Her sister Amy added her pottery to the pleasant mix of stuff. We had Kat's hand dyed wool, my notecards, her little clay pumpkin magnets, all kinds of stuff. It was a perfect day, perfect weather, and perfect pumpkin brats and cookies.

I hate to ruin a perfectly nice post about fall by bringing up the matter of Christmas. I know, I know it's too soon. But it's really not. If you are a business or organization you likely have a large Christmas Card mailing in front of you. Best to look over your options now. Chck out this site for some ideas and give me a call. http://viewccproduct.singleresource.com

If you just need cards for your personal family and friends you can tinker away for another month. But at some point you have to tackle that job. So start thinking about it now people. Find a great family picture and make a mental note to contact me for a personal card.

Look at your gift list and see who would appreciate a gift of :
- Personalized stationery,
- Notecards basket with a self inking return address stamp
- Personalized recipe cards
- A gift certificate to a new bride. She can order invites, programs, a guest book, cake topper, whatever.

And now a gem from Amy Vanderbilt Complete Book of Etiquette (circa 1952) regarding household management.

"If you have a one-employee household and a busy family it will certainly be necessary for you to give your maid some systematic assistance, as well as careful supervision.

Ms. Amy then describes (at length) how to instruct the maid with regards to the groceries. She helpfully tells us we can save money by doing the grocery shopping ourselves though she warns that while phone in orders from a charge-account store is convenient it is also expensive. If you opt to have the maid do the shopping her wise advice is to "check up" on the staff. She encourages us by saying, "Don't be embarressed at checking up. Your employees will respect you more if you are not "easy".

Atleast Ms. Amy has another chapter entitled "Gracious Living without Servants". Ohhhh the horror!

Falling for . . . Long Lost Brides

2008-09-22T12:13:00.013-04:00

Yes, it's the first day of Fall. Autumn. The weather has been beautiful lately and I was pleased this past Saturday to know that three of my brides (one of which was having an outdoor wedding) would be enjoying beautiful, beautiful days.

This coming weekend I have three more brides getting married. Whew! No wonder the summer flew by. Saturday is not only a wedding day but it's also the day New Bremen holds its annual Pumpkinfest. Kat and I will have a booth. I know she's been working hard to have some cute items for sale and I intend to do the same.

I decided to get on the ball and post a couple more Bride Photos. This is Kimberly Hausfeld and Zachary Wiford, formerly of Minster, currently of Dublin. It's sort of rare that I met the groom, so I've never met Zach. But I got to know Kim (and her nice mother Elaine) very well and I can tell this picture is reflective of a fun, and fun loving couple.

Their bridesmaids were decked in a colorful green for the June wedding. I know they had a fabulous time.

Awhile back I purchased an etiquette book at the Canalside Bookstore in St. Marys. I wanted a book that would be a reference for the sort of things that don’t go out of style. The book I purchased was admitably outdated but I thought it would make interesting reading material. “Amy Vanderbilts Complete Book of Etiquette” was published in 1952 and still holds correct information for addressing wedding invitations. However, later in the book proper Ms. Amy devoted 68 pages to the proper ways a woman should present herself (in 1952) to the world. I didn’t read them all but here are some highlights. I thought it would be fun to post them from time to time.

On the subject of dining: “Every woman should change for dinner, if only into a clean housedress. Dinner is the high point of the day. Fresh clothes and make-up are psychologically sound.”

For women business execs. According to Amy Vanderbuilt a woman executive paying for a business lunch is beyond akward. Her advice is to plan ahead and arrange prior credit with the restaurant, or (and this is unbelievable) “quietly lay a bill on the table toward the end of the meal and say (to the man), “settle the check for me please. Of course it’s on my expense account.”

I won’t even tackle the two pages devoted to the proper way a woman should sit. But I can assure you, I'm definately doing it wrong.

Well, forget Amy Vanderbilt. Finally, from my collection of favorite quotes,

"October gave a party;The leaves by hundreds came

-The Chestnuts, Oaks, and Maples, And leaves of every name.

The Sunshine spread a carpet, And everything was grand,

Miss Weather led the dancing, Professor Wind the band.

~George Cooper, "October's Party"

Lots of things cookin!

2008-09-09T20:47:00.011-04:00

Okay, so we're two weeks into Buckeye Season. I've already hit my mom up for a batch of her famous Buckeyes which Adam loves. When we got married (back in 2002) I had a Grooms Cake made for Adam and my mom covered it with Buckeyes. In total we had over 900 Buckeyes at our wedding and Mom made every single one of them.

Weddings and parties are in full swing. Recently Denise Busic, one of my clients, threw a "Knights and Dragons" party for her son Colin who turned 4 in August. Ofcourse she needed a perfect invite to match.

According to Denise, "They pelted the 4ft dragon with 300 water balloons. They were vicious! The pinata took forever. The girls gave him a good beating. I've been told to sabotage it in the future. They made shields for their family crests as a craft. And my neighbor drug over her bouncy castle. " Sounds like an awesome day for everyone.

Other exciting news is that I recently purchased a corner rounder. I have three dies to make different levels of corner roundness. It's a really fun tool and it gives an extra something to some invites. I've also been searching for new paper and ribbon. Almost everyday the nice UPS guy brings me something new.

I've been promising pictures of brides - I have a few saved up for another post.

What else? Well my friend Kat and I enjoyed a nice shopping spree on Sunday at the Flower Factory in Dayton. I have lots and lots of ribbon now. Beautiful burgundy, burnt orange, browns and greens. All beautiful. Kat is gearing up for the Fall Harvest Festival being held this weekend at Lake Loramie. She's having a booth to peddle her yarn and jewelry and she's been kind enough to make room for my notecards as well. In addition to notecards I will have my "Bag of Scrap" which is essentially a ziplock bag full of odd and ends, pretty papers, bits of ribbon, buttons and whatever else I sort of forget about but am relunctant to throw away.
Anyway, this is a big weekend for the Lake and it's a worthwhile trip. Check out the Fort Loramie Chamber website to learn more. http://www.fortloramie.com/index.php

I'm really excited for Sunday. The Country Living Magazine is having a Fair/Festival of it's own in Columbus. I've talked (okay forced) my husband into going with me. There will be antiques, crafts, demonstrations and good food. Who knows, maybe one day I'll have a booth at one of these big shows. http://www.countryliving.com/antiques/shops-and-shows/cl-fair-2008

A-hoy Strangers!

2008-08-25T08:40:00.006-04:00

I've been meaning to update my blog, I really have. I was shocked to get online today and realize that it's been almost a month since my last post. While the hazy, hot (and dry) days of summer are still technically here, I do see autumn on the horizon. Since this is my favorite time of the year I'm happy to say good bye to festivals, water aerobics (thanks to my bride Leslie Stienecker who invited me to the pool and got me hooked) and even Turtle Sundaes from the Tasty Treet.

September I will say hello to Adams chili and my apple crisp, a couple antique festivals, the Buckeyes and a lot of exciting things in store for Sara Paper.

- I intend to have my price list and some photos online so all curious brides can check me out.

- I'll be unrolling Christmas card options! I have four new albums from carlson craft with some really great stuff. Lots of photos cards, funky modern colors and even some "green" options.

- Most exciting of all I'll be offering a 2009 Grand Prize. A Wedding Invitation packet worth $500! You don't want to miss this opportunity. I'll have more details after Labor Day.

- More photos of happy brides (and grooms). I've been storing them up.

And now a "shout out" to my husband Adam. He deserves all sorts of credit for his role in the Bremenfest Parade. His family and friends worked really hard on their float entry and won the prize for "Best Novelty" and the "Mayors Award" as well. They designed an incredible float complete with "canons" and smoke and pirates and well, all sorts of things. Adam felt it was important to be an authentic pirate and devised for himself a wooden leg. Luckily he wasn't so authentic as to sever his limb. But he endured the pain of walking a mile or two in a heavy and uncomfortable leg.

A New Addition - to the office

2008-07-23T08:44:00.004-04:00

I'm so excited about my new addition I feel like I should mail out something akin to Birth Annoucements. I have a new dining room table set! If anyone has visited my office recently and sat at my table you were probably being polite when you didn't say, "wow, this chair is really wobbly". My friend Laura wasn't so polite, mostly because she thought she was the problem not the chair.

In the morning sunlight.

Anyway, on Sunday I was in sort of a stupid mood. Poor Adam had no clue what my problem was so I decided to spare him. I went on a jaunt to Wapakoneta to bum around the antique shops. It was at Gild the Lily (102 East Auglaize Street - lots of great items there) that I found the most perfect table and chairs. Deep mahogony wood, antique-ish character (however, I couldn't tell you when it was crafted) and beautiful aqua upholstery. I loved it, though I reasoned in my head that I don't have anything aqua in my home for it to match. I have red curtains for crying out loud. And an orange office chair. Still, I sat on each chair and was pleased that only one had a flawed arm. It was a fabulous price, proof that if you spend years searching and longing for such a treasure it will eventually happen. I called Adam (who was even more confused as I was suddenly in a good mood) and got the okay to make the purchase. He picked it up yesterday (Special thanks to brother Munch for helping Adam carry it into the house - sorry I couldn't chat) and I'm just thrilled. Somehow, aqua fabric and all - it just works.

A closeup of the fabric and the craftsmanship

Just a fun picture. A vase (or vaaaase if you want to be fancy) from our wedding, a doily I believe made by Adams grandmother and of course the top of the new table.

Me, being goofy - I guess I should get back to work now.

2008-07-17T22:51:00.004-04:00

Some recent brides in all their glory (the guys look pretty good too) Jason and Neily (Dingledine) Iannantuono

Married May 31, 2008 in Chicago Illinois

(aren't they all beautiful)

Caton and Teresa (Dubbs) McLear

Married June 14, 2008 in New Madison Ohio

(in an impressive motorcycle themed wedding - you should have seen the pics)

Photo by Stockton Studio, New Madison, Ohio

Kurt and Chrissy (Homan) Albers

Married June 14, 2008 in St. Sebastian, Ohio

(on probably the first HOT day of the summer in an un-airconditioned church)

Photo by my old buddy, Todd B. Acker, Sidney, Ohio

A Weekend Getaway!

2008-07-02T20:39:00.006-04:00

All sorts of fun. Brides getting married, the weddings a fleeting blimp on the course of their marriage. Some will get to enjoy the rest of their summer in newlywed bliss. Other have the summer to sweat out the rest of their wedding plans.

My husband and I finally took a little weekend getaway. A nice relaxing jaunt to Cincinnati, or more specifically across the river to Covington, Kentucky. We spent Saturday walking the streets of the Main Strasse Village http://www.mainstrasse.org/, lounging at the hotel pool and finally an evening at Newport on the Levee http://www.newportonthelevee.com/ where we enjoyed excellent German food and beer at the Hofbrauhaus. http://www.hofbrauhausnewport.com/.

Imagine our surprise to be seated at a table next to a fellow New Bremen resident! Talk about trying to get away. And then later we enjoyed chatting with three Navy Men and their wives, one of which originally hailed from Coldwater. These men served in Korean War and were enjoying a nice reunion. We had fun talking to them, especially Adam who worked so hard to find the ladies a nice felt tip pen so they could add their marks on the already written on table. These ladies were so nice that when they left they came back into the hall and presented Adam with his very own Hofbrauhaus mug. The big one. I forget the whole story behind it but I know Adam was sweet talking and pretending it was his birthday. Anyway, we got a great kick out of it.

We spent the rest of the night meeting new people, including the band, Monica with her harmonica and her brother Joe, and a nice group of Dayton students celebrating their friends 21st. Apparently too, the Hofbrauhaus, and I guess Cinci in general, is an excellent place to have a bachlor/bachlorette party. In fact, we met a bachlorette party participant on the bus on the way back to the hotel. She was from Bradford. So future brides take note and make the trip to Cinci to have some fun.

We capped off the trip with a visit to the Freedom Center, the Reds Museum and finally shopping at the Ikea just off of 75.

Now it's back to work and I'm very excited to be brainstorming with a new bunch of brides with fabulous ideas!

Another Random Spotlight

2008-06-18T21:44:00.005-04:00

Well, my grand plan of updating this blog and keeping a regular rotation of client spotlights is out the window. It's just not happening. It seems I only do the spotlight when something newsy is going on. Well today I have such an opportunity to share.

My Random Spotlight client is Bev Hurlburt of We Speak Communications. Bev recently ordered stationery for her business. She is a motivational speaker and from the looks of it, has a lot of important stuff to talk about.

Check out her website, http://www.wespeakcommunications.com/ and try to catch her in action. She is speaking this Sunday, June 22 at the Bethany UMC in Celina at 7:00pm. This evening is free and open to the public.

Starting to Feel like Summer

2008-06-11T09:42:00.006-04:00

For weeks now I've been talking about my "Spring Brides". Looks like we're almost into summer. Where did the time go? One of the things that make my life feel like summer is the Farmers Market. The market in St. Marys started on May 31st. It was a beautiful day and my friend Kat and I enjoyed a relaxing morning on the bridge.

Me, showing off my notecards which I peddle at the bridge

Here we have Kat, showing off her wares of hand dyed wool,

baby shoes, jewelry and all sorts of stuff.

I encourage everyone to attend our Farmers Market. It's held every Saturday from 8-12 at the Covered Bridge in St. Marys. You'll find unique items, yummy food (not to mention free samples) and entertainment.

Friday Fun - I have a twin, sorta

2008-05-30T16:27:00.004-04:00

I love to go antiquing. I like buying vintage housewares, things I can use to decorate my home, anything interesting looking that I can turn into something useful and attractive for present day use. Things I enjoy looking at but normally never buy are mostly girly things. Hats with tired netting that has seen better days, long opera length gloves with impossibly tiny fingers, that sort of thing. Other things fun to look at are vintage magazines and photographs.

I recently bought a bag of photos because one of them looked a great deal like me. I just couldn't pass up owning the photo.

A close up/side by side comparison (ignore the fact that my photo is several years old.)

Husband and Wife Landscaping

2008-05-21T10:12:00.009-04:00

It's been awhile since my last post, with good reason. I've been super busy with a multitude of brides and various projects. I'm looking forward to the summer, have been faithfully attending my pilates and zumba classes and according to the post title, doing a bit of landscaping.

First off, I'm not the worlds greatest gardener. I'm more of an "appreciator" of great landscaping. But I try to keep up and do my part by planting a couple flats of annuals and of course a garden heavy with tomatoes. This year Adam commented that we need to plant perennials so we have less work in the spring. So in addition to my petunias I planted a Bleeding Heart bush (very pretty delicate little blooms). My neighbor offered me some of her hostas that she was planning on eliminating from their much more impressive landscaping, so I hopped on that and moved the hardy plants to my yard.

Now, let's talk about my husband and his thoughts (or in this case his actions) in the landscaping realm. He's a mulcher which is great. The town offers free mulch which is actually pretty decent mulch. Last night he works until he can no longer see. He's cleaned up the grape vines (our own little vineyard) behind our home, yanked out all the sticklers and dug up some random tulips bulbs. Then a fresh layer of mulch and his own decorations. I laughed out loud when I went out there this morning.

My idea of pretty

His idea of pretty

A close up of what made me laugh.

His prized cattle heads from Jackson County, each artfully adorned with a fading tulip.

Compromise is everything in a marriage.

Christan Garman Fundraiser

2008-05-07T07:06:00.002-04:00

An important message from my brother-in-law Rodney that I wanted to pass along.

On June 14th, there will be a fund raiser for Christan Garman. In case you aren't familiar with the situation, Christan is a 26 year old from New Bremen that had a stroke about a month ago. Her fiance is serving in Iraq with the Marines and the hospital bills and rent and car payments and probably about everything else are piling up. So they could use some help.

First off, please try to attend the benefit in New Bremen on June 14th at Speedway Lanes. There will be more info on that coming later. Secondly, they are asking to get some things together for a Silent Auction. If you have some items you'd be willing to buy or make and donate, that would be great too. Thanks everyone!

If anyone reading is interested in donating items to the silent auction let me know and I can put you in contact with the right people. Rodney (a.k.a. Munch) is getting people to work together to make a great OSU gift basket. So you see, you don't have to donate a large item. Grab your friends and have fun pulling together a gardening basket, summertime basket, dinner and a movie, or a kid basket. I'm sure someone at the auction would love to bid on it.

According to reports from her family Christan is slowly but surely getting better. She's getting stronger everyday and working hard at her therapy. Christan and her fiancee Kris are planning a November wedding and I been told that upcoming event is what is keeping her motivated to work so hard. It's hard to imagine that at 26 your life can change that drastically but her family and friends are pulling together with their love and support. If you are inclined, please keep all these folks in your prayers.

May Showers = well, May Showers

2008-05-02T17:34:00.006-04:00

So it rained today. A lot. Twice I had to shut down my computer because I don't trust my surge protectors and I have the horrible worry that the lightening is going to zap my computer which essentially runs my whole life. But that's life.

A quick "shout out" to my sister in law Abi who is celebrating a birthday today.

And happy wishes go to several Sara Paper Brides who will be wed tomorrow.

Aletha and Eric will marry at the Columbus Museum of Art surrounded by family and friends from literally all over the globe. One of my popular services is the Addressing Service. Brides love it because it saves them a lot of time and writing. I enjoy it because I get to see a lot of cool names and addresses. This wedding had an incredible amount of names I couldn't pernounce and places I didn't even know exsisted.

Another couple getting married tomorrow is Heather and Tom from the Lima area. This is a fun couple. Tom even helped the bridesmaid plan the Bachlorette Party. He worked behind the scenes to get Heather a few days off work. When Heather sat down to a meeting at the Abercromie corporate office she was very pleasantly surprised to find her bridesmaids in attendance ready to wisk her off to her party. They also added their own touch to their invites and programs. I printed them and they finished them off with their own embossing tool.

I wish for these couples a beautiful day (regardless of the weather) and many years of happiness.

Some more tidbits from http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/index.html
In 1519 Artist Leonardo da Vinci died. And much more recently, in 1997 Tony Blair became, at age 44, Britain's youngest prime minister in 185 years.

And finally another recent Sara Paper project.

These programs were for Jennifer and Grant, a Columbus area couple who recently married at Disney World in Orlando, Florida. Jennifer had a specific vision and I'm really proud to have worked on these extra fancy and special programs.

April Showers = May Flowers

2008-05-01T10:42:00.007-04:00

I can hardly believe it's May 1st already. Seriously. If April showers brings May Flowers Adam and I are in big trouble. We have no flowers to speak of and only a tiny bit of green hostas poking up from their winter slumber. Our landscaping is definately lacking, but we (meaning Adam) have been busy fixing our grape arbors, tiling up the garden and cleaning out the shed.

I found a fun website http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday From it I found out that May 1, 1967 is the day singer Elvis Presley married Priscilla Beaulieu in Las Vegas.

Also on May 1, 1931 the 102-story Empire State Building in New York City was dedicated.

Looking back over the month of April I can see why it went so fast. I wrapped up several weddings, assisted with birth announcements, and various parties. Adam has been plenty busy too. He got a new job working at Gossman Pools in Maria Stein. http://www.gossmanpools.com/ If you need a swimming pool or hot tub, Adam is your guy. He loves hard work, learning new things and he's sporting a pretty nice tan already.

Here is one of the projects that I've been working on these past couple months.