spring

is just around the corner

and that is something

to be happy about. :)

anthro

I don't know about you, but I do love me some Anthropologie. I feel lucky to be able to walk/drive past this store everyday for work - I'll admit I've been known to jaywalk just so I can get a closer look. :)

Not only are the clothes beautifully unique and the home accessories to die for, but the window displays are A-M-A-Z-I-N-G! If you want to know what I'm talking about, just google image search "anthropologie window displays" for some great eye candy. It makes me want to have a huge window in my house someday just so I can make incredible displays out of everyday items like cardboard, paper, etc.

An ostrich made out of paper? Yes indeed!

A few months ago I noticed a little sign in their window for "Visual Tuesdays." So, for a few weeks, I spent my lunchbreak at Anthro helping design their holiday window display. The theme was "15 inches of snow," so lots of white! We used some pretty random items - paper receipt rolls, paper cups dipped in wax, etc.

It was really fascinating to see how they do their displays. Each store has a visual director (not sure that's the actual title), which is a full time job. Every time Anthro does a new display they send a little inspiration booklet to each of their visual directors. It is full of images, some of their own images, some from other artists, to inspire the director. Then the director gets to decide how to execute it in their individual store. I LOVE the concept of giving the director freedom to make the display what they want it to be - what a way to encourage creativity!

So bottom line - Anthro is fresh, fun, and inspiring. A little pricey for my current situation, but you can get a whole lotta inspiration for free by just doing a walk through of the store - or just the window for that matter.

new digs

So I was just reviewing my posts for the past 6 months or so, and I realized there are almost NO pictures of Jeff and me! You would think we have no lives beyond weddings, crafts, food and photography, which isn't quite true. :)

However, I do love having this little spot to share my creative musings and latest (or not so latest) projects. Therefore, if you want to keep updated on the family happenings of Jeff and me, take a little hop on over to our

family blog - woot woot!

I've had this address for a few (ahem) years and am finally getting around to using it. But better late than never, eh?

Enjoy!

dasily + mckay

December brought yet another wedding in Jeff's family, Dasily and McKay. Yes, that's right, 3 weddings in 12 months! Props to Jeff's parents for surviving that! It was a beautiful winter day for a beautiful couple. Congrats, Dasi and McKay!

The Idaho Falls temple - we kinda like this place :)

The happy siblings

I can't even tell you how much I love this face!

Tasty reception treats (LOVE that argyle!)...

and the full spread!

I made the turquoise tablecloths. As for the recipes for some of the treats (including those AMAZING argyle cheesecake pops my mother in-law made), you can find them here, here, and here!

You can also see more wedding pics from the photographer here.

winner winner

And the winner of my most recent giveaway is...

Becky!

Congrats, Beck! Send me an e-mail and let me know what colors you want me to use for your little custom made package.

In fact...why don't all of you who did a blog post on my Etsy shop send me an e-mail with your address and favorite color (karlaehlers (at) yahoo (dot) com)? I do love to make things, so I'll send each of you a little something. :) Thanks again for the shout outs on your blogs!

How's that for a little Christmas Eve present?

NOTE: I made these earrings for a friend a few months back and never got around to posting about them, so there you go!

ho hum

Remember how I used to blog? Yeah, I know it was a long time ago. These last couple of months have been crazy! Someday I will start posting again, and I hope that day is soon. :)

Let's start with this: I will commit to posting about my second giveaway before Christmas.

Deal? Deal!

shallie + jesse

Okay - so maybe I shouldn't get ahead of myself. I haven't posted many details about my sister in-law's wedding, now have I? And that was way back in October...a long time ago!

To make a long story short, I was Shallie's wedding planner and had a blast helping her plan the big day. I spent hours and hours thinking and brainstorming for it - so fun! Martha Stewart and Snippet and Ink were my main go-to websites. I can definitely see myself being one of those moms that just wants to plan their child's whole wedding for them.

We started planning back in June when she got engaged and used a special, private blog I set up (which is now public) to share ideas since we are in different states. It was stressful at times (those centerpieces were just about the death of me), but it all turned out fabulously. Shallie was such a beautiful bride and we are so happy to have Jesse in the family.

The bride and groom, with Shallie's cute little boat shoes peeking out. :)

Where forever started.

An Ehlers' wedding isn't complete without No. 1 making an appearance (family joke)

Jeffrey + Me

Wasabi - hilarious (a Jeff and Karla joke)

The centerpieces that almost brought me to tears, first tears of frustration, then finally tears of joy.

Blessed, blessed pumpkin cupcakes - YUM!

Paper lanterns...they make me so happy

Be sure to check out the wedding blog for more pictures and sourcing information for most everything we did. And definitely check out their engagement pics here, bridals here, and their wedding pics here from the real deal photographer, Eric Izlas. Amazing!

And by the way, I CERTAINLY can't take credit for everything. Becky and Rod were HUGE contributors - they are responsible for the incredible lighting. Mindy was also a major factor in all the inner tent beautifulness. Grandma Ehlers did a ton of baking. And of course, none of this would have been possible without my wonderful parents in-law, Mike and Lanette. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

back from paradise

We're back! Okay, so maybe we've been back for 2 and 1/2 weeks, but I've just been too busy doing other things to blog. :)

More details and fun pictures to follow!

aloha!

Just wanted to give a little shout out from the middle of the Pacific Ocean. That's right - Jeff and I are currently in HAWAII! We just got here today and are already having a blast!

And just a little update - I will be announcing the winner of the giveaway, but I need to figure out a little detail before I do. Until then...

Aloha!

happy election day!

Don't forget to get informed and vote today!

winner, announcement, and another giveaway

Thanks to random.org we have a winner! And that winner is...

Becca!

Congratulations, Becca! Send me an e-mail when you get a chance and I will send this happy package on its way.

And for those of you who want to get your hands on some handmade goodies, well I have some good news for you...

I opened an Etsy shop!

You can see my shop by clicking here or on the gallery pictures to the right. I have a few items listed and more on the way, including some pretty bags, handbound journals, and little bird pendants, so definitely stay tuned. I love creating handmade goodies and I'm glad to finally have them available to the public! Please feel free to spread the word. In fact...

How about another giveaway?

Here's the deal: you make a post about my Etsy shop on your blog and I'll enter you for a special *custom* giveaway, meaning you will get to tell me what colors you like and I will make 3 items especially for you. After you make the post on your blog, come back and make a comment on this post before Monday, November 2 at 11:59pm and you will be entered in the giveaway. Feel free to use any images from my Etsy shop for your post. :)

happy birthday, jeff!

A beautiful fall day

to celebrate a birthday.

Happy Birthday, Jeffrey!

giveaway time!

Finally - it's time for a giveaway! It's over two weeks late, but I hope you'll think it was worth the wait.

Here we have a lovely little handbound journal, small enough to carry around in your purse, scripture case, etc.

Next is a set of 12 little notecards.

Also included is a little chocolate brown wallet, perfect for carrying your credit cards in - I use mine all the time!

And last but not least is the cute little bird charm made from a Scrabble tile. Don't you love this paper?! I think I might be making another one of these for myself.

So, how do you enter to win? Just leave a comment on this post before Friday, October 23 at 11:59pm. Also, as a little bonus to everyone who has commented on my blog since I first announced the giveaway in September, once you comment on this post, I will enter your name again for each comment you have made since that time up until I made this post. I LOVE LOVE LOVE getting comments, so thank you! :)

here i am!

So, remember how I posted 7 days in a row and went MIA for over a week? Yeah, sorry about the absence. I would have posted sooner, but I've been planning and coordinating my sister in-law's wedding. In fact, I've been working with Shallie on wedding plans since June! The wedding was this past Saturday and it went beautifully! Here are a few pictures of some of the happy details.

And don't worry - I'll be doing another wedding post sometime in the near future. In addition, I am still planning to do the little giveaway I promised! That should be coming later this week, so stay tuned...

fruits of their labors

Someday I will have gardens. Plural. I need a flower garden for looking at and another for cutting - wouldn't it be phenomenal to have fresh flowers is your house every day? And of course I will have a food garden - tomatoes, peppers, zuchinni, squash, pumpkins. And maybe a little raspberry and/or strawberry patch to boot. As an apartment dweller, it's easy to dream big, especially when I haven't weeded for...well...a long time. We'll see how big my plans stay when I'm the one doing all the laboring.

In the meantime, I'm lucky to have friends who will share their bounteous crops with us. In the last couple of months we have been showered with the fruits of other people's labors: zuchinni (of course), tomatoes (roma, cherry, yellow, etc.), peppers, cucumbers, butternut squash, green beans, nectarines, raspberries, and even Asian pears (oh my - AMAZING!). This has led to some experimenting with new recipes, which I am pretty much always up for. I recently made Nectarine Raspberry Cobbler which was quite enjoyable (I substituted raspberries for blackberries and omitted the almonds). Now I want to try Peach Raspberry Cobbler - mmmm.

What do you/will you grow in your garden?