A Very Southern Christmas Card

Merry Christmas, dear readers! To round out the 8 Days of Christmas I wanted to share a Christmas card I designed for one of Carolina Pear's favorite wedding planners, Leigh Pearce. The card is just like Leigh - fun, sweet and so very Southern!
That's all, folks! See you in 2012!

Come On, You Know You Want Some

Remember, a while back, when I told you guys Carolina Pear was going to sponsor a giveaway over at THRIVE?

Well, I did - you guys clicked over and entered, right? - and Nike selected 2 lovely ladies to each win a 10-pack of custom note cards. One of the winners requested some cards chock-full of monogrammed, chevroned, ombre faded goodness.

I think these hit the mark, no? I love them so much I may have made myself some too! They're just perfect for thank you notes. If any of you want some I may be persuaded to set you up - you can even pick your own colors! Just drop me a line at info@carolinapear.com.

Luke's Birthday Invitation

Today Luke is a year old! I could go on about how much he's grown, or about how this year has flown by. But I won't. Instead let's look at his party invitation!

To save paper (and money) I designed an invitation postcard. I was inspired by the Dick and Jane books, so I mimicked the font and used several Photoshop filters to make some photos of Luke look like hand drawn illustrations. Here's the front:


The back of the postcard had all the party info, as well as a spot to write the guests' address.

When I was a kid my mom always prided herself on never giving me a store-bought birthday cake. Now that I'm a mom (with a small paper goods business) I hope to never buy him store-bought invitations. And because I'm an overachiever (with a BFF who is excellent at decorating cakes) I'm going to try an uphold my mom's cake tradition too.

His party is later this afternoon, so I'll be back in the next day or two to share photos of the cake, the decorations, and of course the birthday boy!

Some Whining and a Bridal Show

Ok, so I haven't posted in an embarrassingly long time.

First it was because my days were super boring: wake the baby up, feed the baby, play with the baby, put the baby down for a nap, clean some stuff, watch some shitty tv (CSI is addictive, people!), wake the baby up, feed the baby, etc. You don't want to read about that, right?

Then I couldn't post because I was super busy with Carolina Pear stuff. Isn't that how it always is? Busy or bored, never steady. So to make amends I've got some posts lined up for you.

First up, I want to show you what Carolina Pear has been up to. To kick off wedding season we had a booth at a small bridal show to make some connections and peddle our wares.

our booth

some cute (and, yes, trendy) bunting thank you cards

thumbprint tree - our fresh, new guestbook alternative

Mr & Mrs note cards

sampler pack for our spring collection

our business card display - isn't it fun?

I just love our booth! Not bad for our first show, if I'm allowed to say so. All of our glassware came from goodwill and thrift shops, which adds to our country chic vibe. As always, to check out more of our portfolio or to place an order visit Carolina Pear's website!

Thrifty Finds In Unexpected Places

Hey guys! Did you miss me? I know my last post mentioned how much free time I have, but this past week or two I have been busy, busy, busy getting Carolina Pear's spring collection ready. I can't divulge the goods yet, but here's what my desk lap looked like this afternoon as I was in full-on packaging mode.

Even though I've been working my fingers to the bone (folder)* I'm never too busy to snag a good deal when I see one.

*See what I did there? I'm so clever.

Case in point: I was at my local bulk sales warehouse, buying tubs of baby formula when I saw the perfect coat: a knee-length, lightweight Kenneth Cole trench coat for $20. I know, right? The coat came in a variety of colors, but I picked red because it would be good for Wolfpack tailgates. Plus, wouldn't it be fun to be the girl in the red rain coat on a dreary day? I thought so.

Next, I have to show you my new sunglasses. I was out picking up supplies for Carolina Pear when I spotted these at Office Depot. Yes, Office Depot. I saw them on my way out the door and I actually stopped in my tracks, yanked them off the display and got back in line to pay for them. Total impulse purchase, but I love them so.

They're just what I needed. I love vintage looking glasses as much as the next hipster wanna-be girl, but unfortunately most retro styles are too big for my tiny little head. I've actually been lucky enough to find small-ish aviators not once, but twice. Sadly the first pair broke and the second pair ended up lost in a creek during a camping trip. *sob* So, knowing my track record I'm going to be extra careful with these. I rather like how they look on me.

Pardon my hair, and my language, but it is humid as shit here. There's no point in trying to make it look decent. Tragically, in the South, humid as shit is a regularly occurring meteorological condition and there's nothing I can do about it. Well I could move, but until they build a Bojangle's in the desert, I'm staying put. Mama likes her biscuits.

This little green jacket is my latest find. I was scouring thrift stores for plates/bowls/cake stands to use as display pieces for an upcoming bridal show when I happened to see the jacket. I wasn't even looking at clothes, but someone had just happened to hang it on the end of a rack and the bright green called to me.

Now, I know finding a jacket at a clothing thrift store isn't unexpected but for $4.50 it's still a heck of a bargain. I just love the fabric-covered toggle buttons. Although if the humidity keeps up - and it will - I won't get to wear it for a while.

Have you found any steals lately?

The Wedding That Wasn't

As soon as Carolina Pear was official, our first order of business was to throw a fake wedding. OK, not really. Sort of. Let me back up.

Brettany, my business partner, works as an events coordinator for the Belmont Estate. Last fall the Belmont had a booth at a local bridal fair and Brettany laid out her booth with tables, chairs and linens as if it was a reception hosted by the Belmont. She thought it would look much better if we had some paper goods to jazz up the tables, so she enlisted me to whip up some place cards, menus and table numbers. Although we couldn't officially advertise - Carolina Pear didn't pay to be a featured vendor - it was great to have so many brides see our work.

For the sweetheart table we used a love bird motif for the place cards and table number card.

On the guest tables we used the same cage but swapped out the birds for the table number. Cute, no?

Each place setting got a menu card outlining the dinner courses.

All of the brides I have worked with, myself included, have more contemporary tastes so it was nice to do something with a hint of classical style.

Pardon Me While I Whine

WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHH*

There, now I feel better.
*No, it's not wrong to exploit my crying baby for my personal gain. I needed a funny picture, dammit, and he was already crying. Oh, stop calling social services. This picture was taken when he was 3 weeks old. Otherwise known as the time when ALL HE DID WAS CRY.

I have to apologize for my light posting. On top of studying like crazy - test #2 is on March 1 - I've also been trying to wrap up Rachel's invitation suite and squeeze in a last minute invitation for our first official (yay!) Carolina Pear bride. Oh, and take care of a 7 month old. No biggie.

The actual work hasn't been kicking my butt all that much. I even have time to watch a little tv. Is it just me, or is The Office back to its original levels of awesome this season? What I don't have time for is blogging. Ugh. On the rare occasion I have time to do something creative, it is almost always at night and I don't have the luxury of good lighting to photograph it. I do have a few posts floating around in my head, but they won't make their way onto the internet until March. But when they do - watch out! - they will happen all at once. Because I'm a terrible, impatient blogger incapable of pacing posts or saving ANYTHING for a future blogging drought.

So yeah, it's either feast or famine with me. Sorry 'bout that.

Another Year, Another Wedding

One of best friends in the world, Rachel, is getting married and she asked me to do her stationery! Here's a peek at her save the dates:



Her colors are yellow, black and white as a nod to Appalachian State University. She and her hubby-to-be both graduated from ASU (but never crossed paths) then finally met at an ASU football game. Following the color scheme, Rachel picked daisies to be one of her main flowers. This girl has loved daisies as long as I've known her, so that was no surprise to me. To play off the daisy, I created this geometric flower pattern and served it up in shades of gray and yellow. I also love, love, love her yellow envelopes! So cheerful!

The geometric flower will probably pop up again in her invitations and programs, so stay tuned!

Introducing: Carolina Pear Paper Goods

This is where I shamelessly plug my new business...

I recently launched Carolina Pear, a paper goods company, with my best friend Brettany. I couldn't be more excited about it!


Our love of all things paper blossomed when Brettany and I designed our own wedding invitations, programs, place cards, etc; you name it, we DIY'd it! After we said our "I Do's" and settled into married life with our hubbies, we still had the urge to create. When friends and family got engaged, we were more than happy to lend a creative hand with their paper goods. Last fall, with many weddings under our belts, we felt we were finally ready to start the business we had always talked about.

As much as we adore weddings, our business doesn't stop there. Carolina Pear offers full service stationery design - party invitations, holiday cards, birth announcements and more!

Our bodies may be firmly rooted in the South - hence the name, Carolina Pear - but we would love to help brides and families all across the country! Please check out our website and feel free to recommend us to those in your life. To make it easy for you, I've added a Carolina Pear button to my sidebar, so you don't have to go rooting around the blog to find the link!