First Hair Cut

I have neglected blogging, pretty much, mostly because I have SO much I could go on blogging about, but little time or desire to sit down and do so!

Until I find the motivation to catch up on the blogging of our life the past couple months, I'll at least show a few pictures of my Anderson's first haircut today. :)

 He still doesn't have a ton of hair on top, but what he had was getting scraggly. The back was getting thick, curly and atrocious! I like some baby curl, but the mullet wasn't attractive & I don't want my boy looking like a girl. :)

 Geared up & wondering what those big scissors coming at him are going to do!

 ...But he actually sat surprisingly still...

And it looks much better...cleaner, fresher, and precious.

Thank Yous & Favors!

I am now designing coordinating Thank You cards as well as favor tags!

A customer who purchased the Vintage Carnival invitation asked for this Thank You:

And these bag labels for the little kids to collect tickets & prizes!

Don't you wish you could go to their party?!

Surprise Parties Galore!

Man, there are a lot of Surprise 50th Birthday Parties going on up in here!

I first designed an invite, for my friend, Courtney, who {along with her sister} planned a surprise birthday party for her mom.

 I got to attend, too! Delina was SO surprised & was incredibly happy when she saw her best friend, who traveled from Maine, as well as her parents and family from out of town! How sweet.

Now, here are just some other variations of the same invitation design! It's been popular on Etsy these last couple weeks. 

{Side note: I'm beyond thrilled that I've been keeping busy & enjoying all this designing!}

I even had my first international sale! Cool, right? The address and phone number on the above invite just look so funny to me. ;)

Next post, I'll show you the program that was designed for my friend's wedding this past weekend! AND I've got some new Invite & Thank-you card designs coming!

It's FALL. FOR REAL! And my baby boy turns ONE tomorrow. So, I better get busy on more prep for his big PARTY this weekend!

Have a good week!

Come One, Come All!

Wellllll... I had no idea the whole Vintage Carnival theme would be so popular when I picked it months ago for Anderson's First Birthday Party. That's okay though, because one, I LOVE IT and two, this week I had my first two Etsy sales since I began designing printable invitations!

Here are the two variations of the Vintage Carnival Invite that people recently purchased:

 Both were for combined parties {for a brother & sister and for a set of twins}. Therefore, their mommas picked the colors & styles they wanted for their gender neutral celebrations!

And here is a girl template I made just for fun! {Admittedly after I saw such a fun color palette on Pinterest! Ha!}

And now that Anderson's invites have been sent, here is the template I used for his Vintage Carnival/County Fair Party!

Last but not least, here is a horribly blurry [camera phone] photo of what his invites looked like when printed & finished:

While I'm incredibly sad about how fast this past year has gone, I am so excited to celebrate my soon-to-be ONE YEAR OLD in a few weeks! Pies, popcorn, caramel apples, games, a kissing booth, red wagons & more! I can't wait. :)

Hello & Goodbye and Old McDonald!

This "baby" boy of mine will be ELEVEN months old in two days, and this last week, I think he has learned something new every hour of every day.

He had been waving, but now he's TALKING, saying "Hello" and "Bye Bye" really clearly! Check him out:

And here's the most recent birthday invitation I just put together last night! Old McDonald had a farm, E-I-E-I-O! {Fun little Farm Animal/Barnyard theme for a precious boy's fall birthday party!}

Hope everyone has a lovely weekend! I'm excited to spend some time with great friends!

All Aboard!

For a train-inspired birthday party! {I changed names & addresses, of course!}

 

This particular color scheme was designed to match some autumn decor & some beautiful, green hydrangeas, where the party was to be hosted. :) 

Simple, but makes a statement! Can you imagine the cuteness, once printed and layered on patterned [or solid-colored] cardstock!?

*Design customized to your color scheme of choice.*

Printable File for Download: $10 

Made from Start to Finish:

$1.50/each [10 or less]

$1.25/each [11-25]

$1.00/each [26 or more]

Cards & Creations

All right, y'all. While I LOVE and adore being a stay-at-home-mom, I have also fallen in love with designing cards & stationery for all of life's special moments and celebrations.

Having been a hospitality management major at Ohio State, I developed a passion for events and event planning, so it's no surprise I feel like I have found my niche.

Over the past few months, I have enjoyed creating simple greeting cards, bridal and baby shower stationery, as well as birthday party invitations, and would love to share some of these with you.

Mother's Day card for sweet friends!

Mother's Day card for my favorite sister-in-law!

For a Surprise 40th Birthday Party! 

The inside...

A fun printable for our home.

Little Boy Printables {I can't take credit for the chevron design, see here}

Micah 6:8 Greeting Card

Romans 8:28 Greeting Card

And here are a bunch of fun goodies for a Bridal Shower I hosted for one of my best friends in July:

The Invite.

The Thank-Yous.

Embellished Initial.

Sweet, detailed favors.

Customized Menus.

Everyone's Favorite: the desserts.
And a fun banner!

I have lots of fun {and stinkin' adorable} invitations for some little boys' fall birthday parties, including Anderson's, that I'm excited to share soon! But for now, I must keep them a surprise!

Anyway, my intent is to take my passion and creativity to the next level, and make my hobby a small business. I love every moment of each design, from simple to complex, and would love to help create memories for all of you. Having a bridal shower, baby shower, birthday party, or really any celebration of any kind? I'm your girl!... I plan to eventually use my Etsy shop & may create a separate blog as well. For now, I would so appreciate it if you would spread the word, and if you're interested in seeing more, just ask. 

Follow me, find me on Facebook or Twitter {@AstacioMama}, or e-mail me: emilycastacio@gmail.com

I'll be back soon with more. :) 

Thank you so much!