GG's 90th

I had the privilege to attend my grandmother's 90th birthday last September in Florida.  I wanted to add a few touches to the celebration to truly reflect her personality and I wanted to honor her and the amazing woman she is to me. 

 

 

Dorothy Mae Williams, Grandma, and now as my daughter lovingly calls her GG (great grandma) turned 90!  My Mom and Aunt Debi hosted a brunch...these are the invitations I designed.  I just love love love the saying I found online, "Life should be measured not by the number of years, but rather by the love shared, the memories made, the joy given and the blessings received".  How true is that??!! I wanted to include the birds from the Bluebirds of Happiness.  Grandma gave me a little glass bluebird before I got married and told me it was the bluebird of happiness.  I know she loves the color blue and birds, so I themed the invites after those little birdies (I even used the bluebird of happiness poem on my wedding invites). 

 

 

 As we were prepping for the party I thought it would be a good idea to create some type of timeline to show how much has happened throughout her life.  What an amazing life and what an amazing history lesson. She has seen so much change throughout her life. While I was typing these decade cards she would share a little bit about what she remembered (for the particular year).  I think her favorite was during the 40s when she had her first job...she loved dancing! I found some Glenn Miller on my phone and she started tapping her feet, so adorable (and what a great memory)!

 

Each decade was cut out and glued onto burlap.  I used embroidery hoops to display the decades because my Grandma loved to sew and I think the hoops make perfect display frames.
 

 

That's my Aunt Debi and my mom with Grandma...yes that's Hayley...and below are some dear friends of my Grandmothers

 I love playing around with mason jars.  I wanted to test out some milk paint and some crochet decals I came across.  I love the decals because my grandmother use to crochet all the time.  Such a talent and I wish I could crochet like she use to.  I guess I should have paid more attention when she was teaching me. 

 

I sanded down the lids and placed in a bleach solution for a few days...great look (I think).  The decals were easy to place, just peel and stick.

I really like how the 90 paper flowers turned out.  This was made out of cupcake liners and paper plates.  Tutorial will be coming soon. 

 



Everyone had such a wonderful time.  There was a little table when people walked in that had a baby picture of Grandma and her graduation picture.  I set up a little nest with a bluebird (grandma), 2 smaller birds (my mom and aunt) and 7 tiny birds (the rest of the gang)...this symbolized that we are all under her wings and she and will forever be momma bird.

love the picture of Beau (my son and the youngest) with Grandma (our matriarch)

Everyone had such a wonderful time and there was so much joy and love celebrating such a fabulous lady.  love you GG!

xoxo Alisha 

Jessica & Wright's Three Points Ranch Wedding on Style Me Pretty

When I first spoke with Jessica on the phone she told me the most important thing about her wedding was for everyone to have a good time.  Second she wanted all neutral colors with some pops of blue and maybe a little yellow.  She wanted the focus to be on the beauty of Three Points Ranch.  I could tell Jessica was going to be a wonderful bride to work with because she really wanted me to "do what you do best" and make this a truly unique and beautiful event.

   

Antonio Bond created the AMAZING floral displays.  I love the driftwood mixed with the floral.

Striped paper straws attached to jars using twine.

These girls were so beautiful, a bunch of models if you ask me.

Cake Topper designed by Antonio, one of my favorites by far.

Pink Avocado created these per my request, miniature cake and pies in jars

 

It was very apparent the groom was head over heels for his bride.  As I walked through the crowd I was stopped several times and told how much he adores her.  That is why I love what I do; creating the perfect day for the perfect couple.... ahhh sweet love.   

Thank you Jessica and Wright for letting me be a part of your day. 

I would also like to thank Jennifer Lindberg Weddings for the beautiful photos.  They stayed late and captured each and every detail.  To see more of this wedding check it out on Style Me Pretty. 

much love,

lish

Modern Bride China wedding feature

I am so happy to report that our Three Points Ranch wedding has made it to Modern Bride China.  I love so many of the details that went into this wedding.  Everything from the boots to the birds!  I also love the fact so many other people have loved the design and beautiful photos by Sedona Bride. This wedding has been featured in BRIDES magazine, Vogue Japan and now Modern Bride China.  Below are some photos of the actual Modern Bride China coverage.   

Check out the adorable pie flags and drink stirrers by Miss Pickles Press,  they did an amazing job with the invitations as well.  To check out an article on the invites by Beyond Beyond UK, click here.   

For more photos from this gorgeous wedding and a link to the full length slideshow click here. 

much love,
lish

Alcantara Vineyards wedding shoot EXTRAS!

As promised I have added the detail pictures from the last photo shoot for Phoenix Bride & Groom.  I absolutely loved the extras I made for this shoot.  I'm so thankful to Sedona Bride for putting together the following vignette of photographs. 

(click on photos to enlarge)

The olive oil favors are styled using glass bottles with cork caps (you will notice the cork theme throughout).  I just love the look of the fabric tags with kraft paper and the little cork hearts.  I am also loving all the white ink calligraphy used throughout the design goodies. 

The olive oil is from Verde Valley Olive Oil Traders and has a gorgeous color that I feel was best displayed in a clear glass bottle.  I also heart the play on words, Olive You.  Another option could be, Olive You are Here. 

I wanted to keep the place cards and escort cards simple and incorporate corks.  Also since the shoot was happening in Arizona I thought it was appropriate to use miniature succulents.  What stood up best on the plate was three corks tied together and the succulent placed in the middle.  However a great favor for guests could be an option like these succulent cork magnets. 

You could easily tie the place card onto each magnet.

The B & G cork letters are courtesy of Beach Cottage Lane.  They offer a variety of letters other cork art.  I knew the letters would match perfectly with all the cork themed extras.  

The escort cards were also made from kraft paper and featured the white ink calligraphy.  The backs were folded down and placed on vintage shutters.  Aren't the flowers beautiful?  Of course, Showstoppers are responsible for such amazing floral work... totally gorgeous!

Thank you to JB with Sedona Luxury Weddings for asking me to be a part of this shoot.  Also thank you JB for styling the shoot because I was unable to fly.  I think this was a beautiful shoot for beautiful people in the very beautiful Alcantara Vineyards in Sedona, Arizona

much love,
lish

a new take on groom cake... mini cheeseburgers

I have been asked so many times how to make these fun little treats.  As a wedding designer I want the couples personality to come through and shine.  Just because you want to do a groom's cake doesn't necessarily mean you have to have an actual cake. 

My husband loves cheeseburgers and motorcycles.  So, I put on my thinking cap and remembered when I lived in San Diego and went to a Jimmy Buffett concert. While tailgating I was served these fun little cheeseburgers in paradise. They are pretty self-explanatory, but I have included the recipe below.

These were a huge hit and can be used so many different ways, even on cupcakes! I also want to point out this is a fun little project for the kiddos as well!

Cheeseburgers in Paradise Cookies:

What you'll need:

Vanilla Wafers
Grasshopper Cookies
Yellow & Red Frosting
Shredded Coconut
Green Food Color 
Sesame Seeds
Honey

What you'll do:

Place shredded coconut in bowl and squeeze 3-4 drops of green food color (more or less depending on how 'green' you want your 'lettuce').  Take vanilla wafer and put a small amount of frosting on flat side.  Place grasshopper cookie on top of wafer and top with red & yellow frosting and shredded coconut.  Place vanilla wafer on top of stack and brush with honey, sprinkle with sesame seeds.... repeat repeat repeat.  You can even have double cheeseburgers if you prefer!

much love,

lish

DIY Baby Room Valance

This project started with my love for branches and wanting to create a custom, whimsical valance for my new baby girl, Hayley. So I took a long (as straight as I could find) branch with lots of twists and turns for interest and spray painted it white. From there the creativity took root with fun tissue paper poms and sparkle berries (found in the holiday section at any craft store).



This is so simple. After the branch is dry attach above the window using metal hooks. I put two large tissue poms with blue sparkle berries (in the center of the poms) on the end of the branch. I then attached smaller poms on the other side of the branch. You don't need to make the sides even, odd numbers always look better. Also remember you can attach as many poms as you want, you could even cover the branch completely with poms.



For the hanging orbs I used plastic shaped balloons covered in tissue paper dots. I used a circle punch to cut out the dots and attached to the plastic balloon with glue dots (love love love glue dots). I attached the orbs to the branch using fishing line. Hayley loves to stare up at the orbs while I'm changing her diaper. They move around just enough to capture her attention.



Use your imagination and try your own Branch Pom-Pom Valance. There are so many options and ways of decorating. I also love the fact that when I'm tired of those colors or want to try something different I haven't spent a fortune on fabric. I don't feel bad throwing the paper away and starting something different.

much love,
lish

Lemon Drop Favors.... mmm pucker up buttercup....

I created these sweet or should I say sour favors last year for a bride that wanted a hot pink and yellow non-traditional wedding design. There were a ton of extra details I put into this wedding, but by far my favorite were these little sweeties. So easy to do and they were such a hit with the guests. And might I add, super affordable!



All you need to do is take small jelly jars (which you can find in cases at the local grocery store), squares of fabric, twine and some lemon drops. I also ordered miniature wood heart tags with their initials burned into the front (gotta love etsy)!

I stacked the jars in a vintage wheel barrow for guests to grab on their way home. Pucker up buttercup is right.... oh so sweet.

much love,
lish