new invites

Here are a couple of the new invites I've designed recently, y'all! The first is for an 80s workout engagement party.

This is actually for my friends that are getting hitched, and I can't wait to get my 80s on! I'm a HUGE fan of theme parties. 

The next is for a lovely client that I had done an invite for a few months ago. Speaking of, I haven't shown that one either.. I can't take all the credit for the design of this one. She sent me some specifications that she wanted on the layout. I love how it turned out!

Since it's taking place in Nashville, she requested the skyline in the background. Thank goodness for photoshop to match it to the rest of the invite! 

I dig it! Next time I'll show you all the baby-themed invites I've been whipping up lately. Yay for wedding season! 

AUsome weekend

Before you get the big D.C. weekend recap, I need to go back a couple and show my Auburn weekend. You may ask "how many times can you go to Auburn, Rachel?" and I would answer A SHIZ TON. 

Of course I got to see my niecey pup!

Ain't she cute? Binky has started calling her "kitty" and likes to send me pics of her saying (what else) "look at kitty!" 

I rode past Toomer's Corner and hung out the window to get this shot. Poor poor trees. The final rolling will be on A Day. Of course I'll be there, and you'll practically be there too since I'll take a million pictures and post them here for you to see. 

So Friday afternoon Binky, Murray, and I did something I haven't done in a long long time. We went to a baseball game! It was a glorious day! In the 60s and sunny. We walked from Binky's house.

Apparently I am the only one who wanted to be a tourist, as these two long legged nuts were ahead of me the whole walk.

The stadium was looking fresh as ever.

We finally made it to the baseball game!

It wouldn't be a game without peanuts, now would it?

As we were buying them, this fly ball popped over the stands, so of course we scooped it up. Can never have enough Auburn souvs, now can we? 

All three of us got peanuts, so of course we turned our row into Logan's Steakhouse. 

This was the season opener, we were playing Maine, and we won. WOO!  

All of us at the game. Look familiar? We did this same pose at the football game, ha!

My other bf was there too..

Aubie! The cutest tiger around! 

Of course I was touristy after the game as well. 

EEE!

So pretty! 

That night, a few of us headed up to Lake Martin because Binky and Caroline were in a karaoke contest! 

Look who was up at the lake and came to visit! Dear ol' dad!

He found that ridiculous hat somewhere.. We tried to make him take it off, and he wouldn't. Bink and Dad had a little photo shoot.

Of course I made him take some with moi as well.

This promptly made Bink jealous and she jumped in on our shots. Typical. 

The two divas. 

Work it.

Caroline's parentals were there too! 

Caroline was up first and did a glorious rendition of "Hips Don't Lie" by Shakira. 

And proceeded to make a mic-dropping exit once it was over. haha

Bink sang "I Love the Nightlife" by Alicia Bridges.

It was quite the show!

As you can tell..

How I wish they would've made it to the next round.. 

The next day, Murray and I went to the Auburn basketball game (yes, it was quite the sports-tastic weekend). I had never been in the new Auburn Arena, so it was very exciting! The only thing missing was my shaker! We played Florida (who is very good), and we lost. Wah wahhh. 

But that was ok! There is a little museum of sorts in the Arena, and the Coaches' Trophy is displayed in there!!!

HOW EXCITING! 

Pat Sullivan's Heisman Trophy was also in there. 

I probably could've stayed in there for hours..

I can't wait to get back for A-Day!!!!

weekend preview

Terribly sorry for leaving the blog hanging for so long! I went to Auburn the other weekend, then was back in Birmingham for a few days of work before I left on vaca to D.C. A couple of friends and myself found a good deal on flights, and we had a buddy up there so we had a lovely free place to stay. How can you turn that down?! YOU CAN'T! 

I have many more pictures, of course, but they need to be edited.

I just wanted to drop in and let y'all know I hadn't dropped off the face of the interwebs. 

In addition to my travels, it's wedding/baby season, y'all! I have done several invitations that I need to post here and on Etsy! Luckily, I can get work done pretty easily by traveling with my computer (awesome job, ftw). Now that the holidays are over, the string art orders  have died down a bit, but the invitations picked up ruhl quick-like. To keep the momentum going, I've signed up for an art show coming up in April, so I'll be revealing some new products shortly! 

Cross your fingers this rain lets up.  

v-day giveaway!

Happy Valentine's Day y'all! Whether you love today or you hate it, I've got a little treat to make you feel all mushy inside with excitement! I mentioned this a few days ago, but my friend Christen is launching her blog's new look today, and she's doing a giveaway featuring one of my string arts! The blog's new name is called Illuminate, so follow the link below to check it out!

CLICK HERE to head over and find out how to win this baby:

In case you don't win, check out my Etsy shop to get your own!

i'm chillin', bit spinnin', it's cool while i'm doin' tile drillin'

The title is to the tune of the ever classic song "Cadillac Pimpin'" HAHA! How many different mirror trials have I done in this space? I found one I just loved from IKEA and decided to replace the craziness that was going on. 

The frame has a lovely depth. I feel like it could be used as a tray of sorts. 

Let's have a look at how it looked before: 

I had this grand idea to layer mirrors with different frames. I never got around to framing out that one in the back. It started to feel too cluttered the way it was, so I decided to scrap that plan.

Also, the print that usually hangs there to the right was hung with command strips, and it fell. I've tried to fix it multiple times with no luck, so I took it out for the time being. That sucker hung up there for MONTHS with no issues. One night I was in the shower staring at it and thought "I'm surprised that thing is still hanging with all the moisture in here", and you know what happened minutes later? It fell. Telepathic? I think so. 

First step was to remove all the mirrors. I decided to center the new purchase under the light fixture, as opposed to over the sink.

To drill into tile, you need a special drill bit. You can see these are labeled Glass and Tile Bits. Home Depot only had this one pack of 4. It was only about $9, so I bought it, but you may be able to find a pack of 1 or 2 for cheaper. 

I measured to the middle of the length of the light and made a mark. I held up the mirror and marked where I wanted the top of it to be. Then I measured how far down the screw needed to be from there. You can mark on ceramic tile with a pencil, and it will wipe right off once you're done.

Several tutorials I read said to place a piece of masking tape over the spot where you're drilling. I used painter's tape. I poked a hole in the middle of the tape with an earring back so I could line it up over the exact spot. Can you see it? 

I poked my pencil through the hole, and used it to line up the tape over my drill mark.

I had these 3/16" concrete anchor screws and decided they would work since they would be anchored to the boards that backed the tiles. 

I used the 3/16" drill bit. I just placed it over the hole in the tape, and slowly drilled into the tile. I only did it for a couple of seconds before stopping. Then I dabbed a tiny bit of water onto the hole. A few of the tutorials suggested doing this to prevent heat from the friction that may cause the tile to break. I did this a couple of times before removing the tape. The water helped to glob up the dust.

Since I had gotten the hole started, I removed the tape, and stuck a new piece under the hole.

And it collects all the dust! Genius, eh? I just learned this trick from one of my favorite blogs, younghouselove.com. 

After the bit went through the tile, it was time to insert the screw. It wouldn't go all the way into the hole. I should have drilled it just a bit wider, but of course I just went ahead with the screw. It chipped off a bit of the tile around the hole, but not a crazy noticeable amount. 

I put a little sheet of paper under the tape and dumped the dust onto it so I could dispose of it. 

Then I hung the new beauty!

One of the issues with the other mirror was that taller people had to squat down to see in it. With this baby, I folded up a piece of paper and slid it behind the bottom of it to angle it up just a bit. I believe it worked, but I need someone tall to come test it out.

I dig it. I think the round shape mimics the round sink quite nicely. 

Mmmhmm. Do you like the Auburn Ave sign in the reflection? My ma got that for me a while ago, and when she came up the other day, she randomly stuck it on an existing nail on that wall. I'm not tall enough to get it down..  

Random, but I'm still spotting bits of grout on the tile. If you google how to remove grout from tile faces, it will suggest using this crazy acid stuff. Don't do that. I have one of these 5 way awesome scraper tools, and it takes just a few swipes to get the grout off. Then you can wipe the dust off with a rag. Note: this works on my white flat tile, so no guarantee if you have textured tile. 

YEAH!