Pretty Paper Please

I was going through pictures on my phone over the weekend and realized I have done quite a few custom banners this summer for birthday parties, baby showers, engagement parties and so on.  They are such a fun and inexpensive way to create a personalized focal point at any event.

{"Chiefs Treats" was used at a fire chief's retirement party}

{One of the first banners I ever made.  Still one of my favorites}

{A preview of banner for a beach themed engagement party.}

{I loved this simple request for a birthday banner.  Not pictured is an add on of pennants with multi-color ice cream cones.}

{This cute cake topper is perfect of the ice-cream lover and mimicked the ice-cream that attached to the banner above}

(This mini banner hung on the high chair while a cute little girl enjoyed her first birthday cake}

Do you have a party coming up that needs a little something special?  Email me at julianne@juliannekelly.com, and I would be happy to create something unique for you. 

In efforts of "Keeping it Real Mondays" I thought I would share how much my sweet puppy loves paper.  Either she was mad at us for leaving her all day, or she really doesn't like Ballard Designs...

The Perfect Gift

For those that have been following along, you probably remember when I launched my Etsy shop back in October.  It has been such a fun little venture, and I love that people all over the US are receiving these personalized glasses as gifts.  When the shop first launched I was receiving a lot of orders for Christmas gifts and hostess gifts.  Now that it is officially "wedding season" I have been getting orders mostly for weddings or bridesmaid/groomsman gifts.  They are absolutely perfect for a bachelorette party, or for the day of the wedding.    

stemless monogrammed wine glass on J. Kelly Events

In addition to what I carry online, I am often asked to create custom orders.  I have had two unique and fun requests that I thought I would share with you.  The first was an anniversary gift for a wine loving wife and a beer loving husband.  My good friend had seen something similar on another website, but the turnaround time was several months.  I absolutely love the way these tree trunk glasses turned out.  I now carry them in the shop.

set of tree trunk beer and wine glasses available here

The second custom order was a wedding gift for a groom that loved whiskey.  The couple's new monogram would have been "SSS" so we chose to do just one single initial.  I love this decanter with the wooden ball stopper, and the stackable glasses.

If you are interested in a custom order I'd love to hear from you.  Email me at jac06r (at) gmail (dot) com or visit my Etsy shop.  

Thankful, Grateful and Honest

{Via Lara Casey ; if you haven't read her blog, you should}

Well this weekend was crazy to say the least.  It all began on Thursday when Michael came home from work.  I was grumpy, frustrated and in an awful mood.  My mind was filled with fear, doubt and uncertainty.  A few thoughts I had were...

"What if no one likes our booth?  It is SO different than the others"

"What if we don't sell anything?  All of this time and money will be wasted" 

"I am not equipped to run the finances of this business;  all of these legal documents with my name make me a little nervous."

If you didn't notice, the common themes of my worrying stemmed from approval of others and finances.  The start of our booth was kind of on a whim, and this was the first time I really thought about failure.  What if I fail?  I soon realized that I was tying to do everything on my own, instead of relying on God and trusting in his goodness. 

That night I begged the Lord to remove my fears, and give me clear direction.  I desperately needed Him to let me know that I was in the right place.  Now I smile and laugh at how clear and direct God can be.  Friday morning my Etsy shop blew up.  I had over 20 glasses ordered in 2 days, and not to mention another 12 ordered yesterday.  The booth had HUGE sales over the weekend, and the table that I refinished sold.  While we were restocking the booth on Sunday we received tons of complements, and several inquiries for interior design consulting and furniture painting.  The cherry on top was that we will be getting a RETURN on our taxes!!!  I think God made it pretty clear that I am right where I need to be.  When doubts and fears begin to creep in (because in all honesty, they will) this will be a time that I remember.  

God is faithful, and I am so grateful and thankful that I get to do what I love everyday.  

With all that being said, our booth has a new set-up since so many things sold.  Here is a look at the space...   

{Bailey is excited about all of the new accessories}

{This old workbench would make an amazing kitchen island}

{Beau or Bows} Gender Reveal Party

I told you last post that I would be sharing a gender reveal party, and life got a little busy.  We went on a family vacation and I opted to leave my computer at home, so here I am a week and a half later, finally getting around to posting it.  :)

First, let me say this party was SO MUCH FUN to design!  We did not have a lot of time for planning, so my cousin and I planned out the party over a glass of wine and the Victoria's Secret fashion show...I think it's a new recipe for success.  We loved the theme "Beau or Bows" and we wanted to make the colors really pop so we used navy and salmon as our main colors and accented with mint and tan.

Michael (my handy husband) whipped up this a-m-a-zing chalkboard framed with old barn wood.  We used it to display the old wives tale gender predictions and tally the votes.

Each guest wore a bow tie or bow, depending on what they thought the gender would be.  My cousin handmade each of these and then we glued pins on the back of them.  Aren't they adorable?

And now for the dessert table...

Time to cut the cake... It's a....

GIRL!!!!!!

Congrats Taylore and Jay!  We cannot wait to meet your sweet baby girl! 

Resources: Cake by Publix Bakery | Paper goods, cake topper & cupcake toppers by J. Kelly Events | Chalkboards & lettering by J. Kelly Events 

Open House and Some Pictures

Like I mentioned last post, we get ALOT done when we decide to have a party or host a holiday meal. So naturally we have decided to have an open house this Saturday.  I always think that houses look best at Christmas, so I am excited to share our home and all of the work we have done with everyone during the holiday season.  If you live in Jacksonville and would like to swing by on Saturday between 4pm & 7pm send an email to juliannecarrierkelly@gmail.com and I will send you my address.  (I am a little weary of putting my address on here.)  Between my etsy shop and trying to finish things up around the house things have been extremely busy, which leaves little time for posting on the blog, but here is my life via my iPhone & instagram.  

{Christmas Decorations}

{My newest employee}

{Etched glass dessert plates are now on etsy}

{our adorable neighbor and Bailey are best buds...they were "helping" Michael}

{the beginnings of our barn doors...ekkk}

Alright, back to organizing, painting, building, and etching.  Hope to see you on Saturday! 

xoxo

Ready, Set, Random

Where has time gone? Is Thanksgiving really next week? I apologize for my lack of posts, but life has been a little bit crazy.  A little bit of good crazy and a little bit of bad crazy.

This is going to be random, but here is a little update on life via my iPhone pictures...

My little Etsy venture has been going well & I made my first sale over a month ago (along with many others since then).  If you are looking for a great christmas gift, or the perfect hostess gift for all those holiday parties head over to J.KellyEvents. 

{Adding some fun fabric to the back and then it will be posted on the etsy site}

We have some new lighting additions in the house.  The Ikea Ottava Pendant has been sitting on our living room floor for about three months and it is now hanging above the sink.  At the amazing price of $29.99 we could not pass it up & it really adds a nice design element to the kitchen.  It has a little bit of a restoration hardware feel.  I am considering putting an eddison bulb in it, but have not gotten around to it yet.

We found this amazing lantern from an antique store just down the road.  Just a little bit of rewiring and it will be good as new.

For a dose of cuteness this little pup is growing wayyyy to fast.  I swore I would never let my dogs get  in bed with me, but she is just the best little snuggle pup.  

{She takes over Michael's side of the bed when he gets up}

We've had some beautiful weather, and it was absolutely perfect for the Blue Angels show a few weeks back.

We had our first fire and Bailey was thoroughly amused.  She sat and stared the entire night, and only tried to walk into it a few times once.         

We are still getting things put away around here, but I am loving our "new to us" oriental rug.  The round room has proven challenging in finding the perfect furniture layout.  I like everything to be squared and in a round room that is a little difficult.  I am planning on selling the flax colored sofa and replacing it with two chairs and an ottoman.  

We have also been extremely busy in the yard.  The guys that pick up our yard trash must think we have a forest in the back yard because this is about the 5th massive pile that we have left them.  We are hoping to do some planting this weekend.  Yay for new bushes and flowers! 

{Bailey is a lover of leaves and sticks, so she was in heaven}

I Hope I did not loose too many of you in that random post!  Happy Tuesday! 

My Etsy Shop

Happy Friday Yall!!

I hope you have been enjoying your week & this little bit of fallish weather we have been having.  I wanted to share with you my Etsy shop that I just opened.  I have been planning to do this for over a year a while, but with the craziness of home renovations I have not found the time.  If you are looking for the perfect gift or something special for a party, shower or wedding I would love for you to consider the JKellyEvents Etsy Shop.

I only have several items listed, but I hope you will keep checking back as I add more.  We all have to start somewhere, right?  I am learning that everything does not have to be perfectly in place for something to work...learning being the key word in that sentence.

{I love this print by Emily Ley...It would be perfect on my desk as a reminder}

I would love for you to go check it out & share it with you friends.  Keep in mind that I am more than happy to create custom items for your shower, party or wedding.  :)

Have a wonderful weekend!