Graduation Week: The Invites

It's no secret that we love an invitation - what better way to make your mailbox merry than to open it up to a sweet announcement of an amazing milestone in the life of someone you know and love??

We know! It's awesome!

And, invites and announcements aren't your typical paper product from Balfour. No - people are creative these days. So, here are our top picks for an awesome graduation announcement or invite.



Tiny Prints scores big this year! Our first 3 picks are from their new graduation line. This darling design is great for any occasion. 

 

We love the layout of this one - simple but interesting. 

 

Taking a mental note of this one... LOVE the thought of also celebrating what's next!

 Esty also has a ton of great options if you want to print at home. Love this one by Lily and Wes.

And you know we love a newsletter - check out this year in review for graduates by  Minted.

 

Pictures also add some fun to the announcement or invite. Check out these selections from Tiny Prints. Love how this one feels like high school. 

 

 

LOVE the added pictures of years past - so fun!

 

And here's another version of a now and then invite/announcement.

 

We fell in love with this feathery sweet invite from Hazy Skies Designs.

 

And, let's be honest... you can't make it through high school (or college) without your friends! 

Graduation Week: The Pictures

Can you believe it? Graduation is right around the corner! Crazy cakes that another year has flown by. We are sure all you senior mommas (and dads) are stocking up on the tissue. Whether it's your first or last... high school or college ... watching anyone you love grow up and move on is so bittersweet.

And it really does happen so fast - wasn't it just yesterday that we were getting ready for our senior year?!? Funny how much you pray for an end of something only to look back and sometimes wish you could get right back in the safety of it all.

So before we go down that road...back on point.

Graduation.

It's about to happen and with that comes things like college prep/job prep/life prep.. but also FUN stuff like PICTURE PREP!

Now you're talking our love language!

We scoured the inter webs for some inspiration and here are some of our top picks.

We are going to start with two of our favorite collages that we found. First up, the men. This was actually pretty hard to find. (Well, in the 25 minutes we spent looking). But seriously, most of the pics we found were for the females - we didn't find near as much inspiration for guys and for that we apologize. Guys - it's ok for you to take pictures too!

Creative Event Studio

 Next up the ladies. We big fat puffy heart these two collages. Sweet with a little sass but most importantly class!!

(And now allow us to step up on the soap box for a minute. Ladies...You are 18... act your age. Quit trying to look so much older than you are. Laugh. Giggle. Be silly - it does wonders for your soul. All these pictures of young ladies looking, well, not very lady like did not make the cut. And there are so many out there! I just want to scream at the screen and say, "HAVE YOUR PARENTS SEEN THESE?!?!")

Ok - stepping down.

His and Hers Photography did an awesome job on these....now if only we were in Iowa! ;)

And this from Pink Fly is also great!  

We also looked for some pics that showcased specific interests.

Like horse lovers...

(No original source)

The sporty type...

(Soccer - no source; Basketball - no original source; Baseball)

(Basketball - no original source, Track, Volleyball)

Make sure to make these pictures reflect you as you are. What are you into? What sets you apart? We loved this picture ... and why wouldn't you? Chucks are awesome!

Brittany Strebeck Photography

We are normally not big fans of glitter. Especially in the "kid art work" category. But this picture by Brandy Waters is ADORABLE!

(What's not adorable is the 100s of feet pics with class years written on the bottom of DIRTY feet. Y'all - feet pics are ok... if you WASH your feet!)

Pictures can also tell stories... and graduation is a road waiting to be travelled. 

(No source)

We also like the idea of taking pictures in spaces that mean something - like your favorite building on campus. 

1L Creative

Or with all the books that got you there...

(No source).

Or, with the PEOPLE that got you there...

It's such a fun time - make sure to make the most of it and all the fun it has to offer!

Check out this post by Studio K for even more ideas. And make sure to check our Picture Perfect Board on Pinterest - we will be adding ideas all week!

TBT: Not that long ago...

*Merry Momma Cindy is taking "blogger's privilege" today!

Y'all...not that long ago (well, two years to be exact) Millicent Claire entered our world. Josh and I left our house around 5:30 am and less than three hours later we were holding our Millie. It was an exciting day; we did not find out Millicent's gender before hand so the anticipation levels were high. When our doctor said, "It's a girl!" Josh and I looked into each others' eyes and teared up, big puppy dog tears. And while I am absolutely certain we would have done the exact same thing if the doctor has said "It's a boy!", it was a {MAGICAL MOMENT}.  Josh then had the awesome opportunity to take Millicent out of the delivery room and introduce her to our family.  {MAGICAL MOMENT} The next few days were blissful.  We lovingly held Millicent for hours and the big girls came in and out of the hospital room so excited about their new baby. {MAGICAL MOMENTS} Over the next two years we celebrated birthdays, holidays, births and even deaths and they were all {MAGICAL MOMENTS}.  

These {MAGICAL MOMENTS} are etched into our brains.  They help us remember the fun and the joy this wonderful thing called LIFE brings to us.

And during this time, we had lots of pictures take - both professionally and by us.  And while we never want to be the parents that stop during a magical moment to get the pic, we do want to be the parents that have photo albums for our kids to look through when they come home from college and say things like, "Mom, why did you make me wear that HUGE bow?"

And really, that's a huge part of why we started this blog.  We want to help people capture those {MAGICAL MOMENTS}.  To have something tangible for the kids and grandkids to look at and smile, laugh and remember.  To take pause in this busy world and reflect on the things that matter - your family and friends and pets!

When you receive a Christmas card you do look at the design and the picture of the sender and, of course, you LOVE that part, but where does your heart go...it goes to the {MAGICAL MOMENT} you had with the person/people in the picture.

Don't forget to enjoy the {MAGICAL MOMENTS} in your life today!

We'll see y'all tomorrow,

we're off to have our {MAGICAL MOMENT}

with our precious Mills! 

Photo Credit - Sarah Burns of Butterfly Chaser Photography  

Don't forget to enter to win a {MAGICAL MOMENT}

from Whimsy & Style and Your Merry Mailbox!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

Being golden....

As much as we like to bring you merry with fabulous Christmas cards... we also promised to give you a glimpse into our lives.Today is pretty special day for Merry Little R...it's his birthday. And not just any birthday... it's his GOLDEN birthday! It's really a day for all of us to celebrate since he is the first Merry Little and all.

Can you believe Cindy didn't know what a golden birthday was until she met me? It's when you turn the same age as the day you were born - so Radley is turning 6 on the 6th. And just in case you didn't know either, we are going to show you how to celebrate a golden birthday (because you only get ONE of those!) All of these pictures come from pins on our Golden Birthday board.

1. Decorations - We went with your typical tacky gold. Gold balloons on his floor, gold streamers, gold stars hanging from the ceiling, and we even wrapped all of his presents in gold paper. Basically this:

Photo Credit: Pinterest

If you're going all out, try something like this:

Photo Credit: Pinterest

2. Food - Tons of candy options come wrapped in gold (Rolos, Snickers, Reese's PB cups), we are doing cupcakes and sugar cookies with gold icing. We love this set up

Photo Credit: Pinterest

3. Clothes - Because you can't show up to your golden birthday party and not make a statement!

 Photo Credit: Pinterest

Photo Credit: Pinterest

Rad requested a bowling party, so again, we are going a bit less formal with a custom tshirt I ordered from an Etsy vendor...

4. Favors - This can be anything and you could easily just put the favors in gold gift bag to keep with the theme but we really adore this:

Photo Credit: Pinterest

5. Presents - We would just like you to picture this:

Photo Credit: Pinterest

You also have to think about what's on the inside of that package, because a golden birthday only happens ONCE. So, go big or go home, right? Well, we are going big... 

And can't WAIT to see his reaction! Seriously, I may pass out from excitement.

6. The GOLDEN boy or girl. 

Because without them, there is no celebration to begin with, right? We are so happy to be celebrating our golden boy tomorrow. He is smart and kind and loving. He is brave and strong and more competitive than a 6 year old needs to be. He loves his family. He loves his friends. He is pretty much the "radest" little man that we know. And if you are in the mood for some sappy mommy blogin' then just head on over to my personal blog. 

Happy Golden Birthday, Merry R!