Fancy Free Fonts

Whether you're looking to spice up your branding, make some cute graphics, or just have a little fun with fonts, we know that not everyone has a budget to pay for those ultra nifty typefaces. I love to find stylish and hip fonts that you can enjoy for free! If you have a particular style you might like to see in a future feature, please let me know!

Christmas Shopping | For the Mr.

I cannot believe it's November. No, really! I live in Louisiana and just yesterday I had the air conditioner on. Are we SURE it's November? The calendar swears it's so, which means I'm WAY behind on my Christmas shopping! [Insert stress here.]

Marketing Your Business With Pinterest

Social media has become a huge marketing source for many companies, big and small. Celebrities use websites like Twitter to endorse products for companies. Big brands use Facebook to engage with their audience and promote their new products. You can even purchase ads and start paid campaigns to increase your visibility on Facebook & Twitter. But what about Pinterest? This is a site where you can create individual boards and pin relative content within it. It's basically a digital inspiration board. People use Pinterest for everything to weight loss to decorating rooms in their homes. With all the amazing content available, it's no wonder Pinterest has become a go-to resource on what products to buy and what products to avoid.

Brown Sugar Bourbon Glazed Tenderloin

Do you see that amazing color under the bacon? If you haven't tried the Grill Mates® Brown Sugar Bourbon Marinade, this is the perfect time to try it! It's an enticing blend of sweet brown sugar, bourbon, red bell peppers and spices (and it goes great with everything.) Not only is this a super tasty recipe, but it's super easy as well.

Free Meal Planning Printable

Meal Planning is essential for my busy schedule. If I don't have a plan in front of me, we could end up eating sandwiches for dinner...like 3 nights in a row. I mean, food is food, but some days I could go without feeling guilty that I don't have a hot meal prepared. So planning out our meals for the week is the best way I've found to keep myself accountable and to be prepared to have meals on deck!

Free Gratitude Printable

Whatever you appreciate and give thanks for will increase in your life!

2013 Holiday Card Collection

We've worked diligently to bring some fun and trendy designs into our 2013 holiday collection. We hope you enjoy them! Visit the full collection here. Receive 15% Off when you use coupon code: SALE15 at checkout!

Fancy Free Fonts

Whether you're looking to spice up your branding, make some cute graphics, or just have a little fun with fonts, we know that not everyone has a budget to pay for those ultra nifty typefaces. I love to find stylish and hip fonts that you can enjoy for free! If you have a particular style you might like to see in a future feature, please let me know!

Free Thanksgiving Printable

Give thanks and appreciate your many blessings this holiday season!

Empire State Building Wedding

The Empire State Building is partnering with RedEnvelope and ProFlowers to give three lucky couples the wedding or vow renewals of a lifetime atop the world-famous Empire State Building. Who hasn't watched Sleepless in Seattle and dreamed about meeting their true love at the top of the Empire State Building? So romantic and iconic. To learn more about this amazing contest check out the app here.

Fluffy Chocolate Chip Cookies Recipe

Cookies are the best medicine. Had a bad breakup? Bake some cookies. Failed your exam? Bake some cookies. Stubbed your toe? Bake some cookies. I think you get the idea. There is just nothing that can beat a soft, warm, gooey chocolate chip cookie. When my husband came home from work yesterday and said he wasn't feeling good, I knew exactly what would make him feel better; COOKIES (and maybe some Aleve.)

Christmas Party Inspiration

'Tis the season! We've put together some awesome inspiration for your next holiday party!

Teespring Review

So, what exactly is Teespring? Teespring is a crowdfunding platform for groups, causes and communities to design and sell custom apparel. Anyone can come and design a shirt which they can then sell via Facebook, Twitter or anywhere else online. The seller keeps all of the profit the shirt earns. People use Teespring as a fundraising tool or just to earn some extra money. The best part is the shirts don't print and ship until a set end date determined by the seller.

King Cake Inspired Cupcakes

One of my favorite little fellas is turning six on November 9th. I LOVE King Cake but this little dude, well, I think it's safe to say he's the King Cake's biggest fan. He went through 11 last year alone! I decided to make it my goal to try to squeeze the amazing King Cake flavors into a cupcake! They didn't win Mr. Carter over completely, but since they all went quickly, I think we can say I got close enough!

Plastidermy Giveaway

I ran across Plastidermy on Etsy by complete accident (but a very happy accident.) I immediately fell in love with their unique take on taxidermy! Not only do I absolutely adore what they do, their story really touched that special place in my heart where I hold my childhood memories!

Circus Birthday Party Inspiration

One Ticket Style Circus Invitations | Two Circus Fabric Tutu | Three Circus Cake
Four Circus Peanuts | Five Ringmaster Whips
Visit our Pinterest for more Circus Birthday Party Inspiration!

Clear Skin For Life Contest | Truth In Aging

Truth In Aging is giving away Clear Skin For Life (over $500 value) to two lucky winners. Stop using toxic and/or chemical lotions and start treating your acne with FDA approved devices from Quasar that really work.

Favorite Things Friday | Gold Edition

One Rough Diamond Stud Earrings | Two Gypsy Crown
Three Gold Druzy Necklace | Four Knuckle Ring Set

Shapes & Sizes - Bold & Beautifully Composed Rugs

Fall Wedding Inspiration

One Fall Leaves Wedding Invitations | Two Smores Gift for Guests | Three Fall Wedding Cake
Four Fall Bouquet | Five Pumpkin Centerpieces | Six Fall Wedding Sparkles

For more Fall Wedding Inspiration visit our Pinterest board!

Peanut Butter Banana Muffins

Peanut Butter and Bananas are two of my favorite snacks. I have always loved to add peanut butter to my banana bread recipe and that is how these muffins came to be! Light, moist, and perfectly balanced sweetness.

Fancy Designs Throw Pillow Giveaway

From classic patterns to personal photography to quirky quotes, the options are endless at Society6. We have had a blast creating fun, bold products. Our favorite of these products being throw pillows! The throw pillows are made from 100% spun polyester poplin fabric. A stylish statement that will liven up any room! Individually cut and sewn by hand, the pillow measures 16" x 16", features a double-sided print and is finished with a concealed zipper for ease of care. Includes faux down pillow insert.

Free Halloween Printable

  (Unfortunately my printer was running low on black ink, these are much cuter without the lines!) 

Lace Wedding Inspiration

One Vintage Lace Wedding Invitations | Two Lace Wedding Cake | Three Lace Bouquet Wrap
Four Lace Favor Bags | Five Lace Sneakers | Six Lace Nails

Darling Diva Polish Review & Giveaway

If you know me, you know I'm a sucker for a good handmade product. Today I have the honor to share with you a super fun, and very pretty product that is handmade by Carrie Lynn of Darling Diva Polish. Her polish is so unique and I just adore the names. Carrie sent over two polishes with Prince inspired names. Little Red Corvette and Purple Rain. Both are absolutely gorgeous and both are quiet different!

REMBRANDT® Deeply White Mouthwash Review

I'm a woman 20+ years of age. Like most of us, I've tried strips, toothpaste, and mouthwash that all boast that they will whiten your teeth the fastest. Want to know a secret? Most of them don't work and the ones that do only seem to work on a temporary basis. Still, I'm a sucker for good packaging, especially when it promises something like "whitens teeth" and "strengthens enamel." And the packaging for the REMBRANDT® Deeply White Mouthwash is exactly what got me to purchase it. The product, like so many others, claimed to have a minty fresh taste (which is usually code for tastes more like mint flavored bleach product.) I was pleasantly surprised the first night I tested it out. It has a really mild and minty flavor, which made me a bit skeptical. If this doesn't taste like it's basically eroding the coffee/tea stains, and maybe my teeth off, how can it be working? My skepticism aside, within 4 days of use, I noticed a big difference (especially on my front teeth.) I think on a scale from white to meth user, my teeth have never been the worst, but they definitely don't always look pearly white (the product of 2+ cups of coffee/tea a day). Immediately I could see where my teeth were starting to brighten up. [Insert happy girl dance here]

Recovery Reflection Realization

There are days where I wake up and I feel like I'm moving backwards. Nothing I do seems to push me in the direction I want to be going in. This feeling could explain why I have a planner, six notebooks, and calendars on both my phone and my computer all with to-do lists of things I want/need to accomplish. If left to my own devices I would walk backwards all the time. When I make a plan, it means that I am committed to doing something. Whether there's a chance that I won't finish or that I might fail, commitment is big motivator. I really envy those impulsive people who lived life with no intention. No plans, no lists, no rules. I frequently wish I could be more like them. How freeing a life of spontaneity must be!

Princess Party Inspiration

One Princess Party Birthday Invitation | Two Princess Cake Three Pink Tutu Dress
Four Pink Crown Paper Straws | Five Pink Crown Macaroons | Six Lace Crowns

For more Princess Party Inspiration visit our Pinterest Board!

Pink & Gold Birthday Party Inspiration

One Pink & Gold Glitter Birthday Party Invitations | Two Pretty In Pink Pushup Funfetti
Three Pink & Gold Rhinestone Paper Straws | Four Gold Foil Cupcake Liners
Five Pink & Gold Glamour Necklace | Six Pink & Gold Candy Lollipops

For more pink & gold party inspiration visit our Pinterest board!

Simple Banana Bread Recipe

This banana bread may not look like much, but it's delicious! Better than that, it's SOOOO simple and requires very few ingredients. 

Mint Wedding Inspiration

Mint is a fabulous color choice for a wedding. It looks great any season and pairs perfectly with a wide variety of hues (I'm partial to pairing it with gold and coral tones.)

One Ombre Mint Wedding Invitations | Two Mint & Gold Wands | Three Simple Mint Vase
Four Mint Bridesmaid Dress

Wedding Invitation Etiquette

As a wedding invitation designer, it's my job to educate my brides on proper etiquette for the wording of their invitations. It's not just fancy cardstock and pretty graphics. Traditional invitations follow very specific rules, such as: invitations are always written in the third person and the bride's name always comes before the groom's.

Favorite Things Friday | Food Edition

A favorite dinner at our house is B.L.C (yup C not T.) We aren't huge on the T. A new addition to our bacon, lettuce, and chicken salads has been Annie's Homegrown Organic Cowgirl Ranch Dressing. May I just say that this is one of the best ranch dressings I've ever had. I've become quite obsessed with Annie's dressings. It reminds me of that homemade ranch we'd eat when we were little, but even better!

Wedding Details | Brooch Bouquet

One of the details from our wedding that I get the most questions about was my brooch bouquet. Friends, family, and complete strangers who have seen our wedding on Pinterest all seem to agree that it was beautiful and unique. It really was unique and held so much meaning. From the lace handkerchief that my sister-in-law included on the handle (that once belonged to my husband's great-grandmother), to the charm that was once my grandmother's engagement ring, my brooch bouquet is something that I will cherish for the rest of my life

Favorite Things Friday | Jewelry Edition

One I'm just swooning over this gorgeous peridot ring by a fellow member of The Artisan Group. Candice does incredible things with gemstones! | Two This necklace is currently under consideration to be used for the upcoming season of Once Upon a Time. Pam Hurst is another extremely talented jeweler in The Artisan Group. | Three I love headbands, I love hair jewelry, and I absolutely love anything turquoise. | Four This necklace is a combination of two of my favorite obsessions; druzy jewelry and gold! I just can't get enough!

Sunflower Wedding Inspiration

In honor of our new Rustic Sunflower Wedding Invitations we've put together a beautiful Pinterest board. It's filled with bright and beautiful sunflower inspiration!

Diamond Candles Review & Giveaway

When Diamond Candles contacted me to do a review I was ecstatic! If you aren't familiar with this company it's basically Cracker Jack for grown ups! A yummy scented candle with a surprise ring inside. Candles and bling...what lady doesn't get excited when she hears that?

Our Wedding | The Reception

Our reception was an absolute blast. Complete chaos, but lots of fun! The food was very good, the cakes were delectable, and the booze was flowing! The DJ played great music and people danced...some until they couldn't anymore. My maid-of-honor brought me to tears with her speech and the best-man made us all laugh. It wasn't glamorous, it wasn't perfect, but it was exactly what we both wanted. We couldn't have asked for a better wedding and I'm so happy I've been able to share our wedding, step-by-step, with everyone!

Our Wedding | The Barn

Before we get to the reception, I wanted to share how beautiful our venue was. We didn't go out and rent a party barn, we used a family friend's real working horse barn. If you could have seen this barn when we got started. 20 years of dirt and sand, maybe more years of spiderwebs, and poop. Of course there was poop in the barn. Endless amounts of elbow grease went into transforming that barn we walked into, into the barn our reception was held in. If I had a before and after shot, you wouldn't believe me that it was the same place. We have our friends and family to thank for that transformation. Will's mom and me brushing cobwebs, Will's sister helping to mastermind and transform the barn into a venue (and smelling like vanilla while she sprayed to keep the gnats away), Will's aunt Lisa designing and arranging our "non-flower" flower arrangements. Friends coming to help way into the night, Will's dad cutting up a fallen tree, Mr. Bub bush-hogging. We are so blessed to have such amazing people in our lives!

Our Wedding | Ceremony

A huge chunk of our ceremony was unseen by me. I knew what was going on, strictly by sound. I knew when I heard I'll Be by Edwin McCain start up that our guests were starting to take seats (or in most case, find a place to stand.) Our ceremony was going to be short and sweet. When I heard Bruce Springsteen singing When You Need Me, I knew our family was being escorted down the aisle by our three handsome ushers. I remember the wedding party being in front of me, getting ready to make their entrances. Then Somewhere Over the Rainbow by Bob Marley started up and my wedding party began to walk away. That song had a special place in our wedding. We had happened to be the maid of honor and best man in our maid of honor and best man's wedding, and that was the song the wedding party danced to. I wanted so badly to see my beautiful maids and the handsome groomsmen walk down the aisle. I remember starting to panic because it was just my godchild and me. My dress was rumpled and I couldn't get my veil to sit right. Thankfully a friend came around the corner, fixed me up, gave me a good laugh, and Norah Jones began to sing her sweet Come Away With Me...and I don't remember moving down the aisle at all. I just remember looking at Will (though I do remember praying I didn't trip over a stepping stone) and thinking about how lucky I am. We had our short and sweet ceremony, we read our handwritten (in Will's case, typed) vows, kissed, and were announced husband and wife. We walked back down the aisle, hand-in-hand, to My First Love Song by Luke Bryan. I had never felt more amazing in my entire life.

Our Wedding | The Wedding Party

Some people think the food, the cake, and the free liquor make for a great wedding. Others think the bigger the dress, the more expensive the decor, the better the wedding. I think the wedding party really makes the wedding. And did we have a wedding party! The groomsmen are some total clowns and trust me when I say that the girls can hang with them...every step of the way! Our wedding party, our family, and our friends really made our wedding something special. People are still telling us that our wedding was the funnest wedding they had ever been to (coupled by that they wish they could still be eating the cake and brisket.)

Our Wedding | First Look

When we first met with our photographer, she touched on the subject of "First Look" sessions. I'm an emotional person. I cry if a cartoon fly gets squashed. I knew I was going to cry and this seemed like the perfect way to get some of the tears out of the way.

Our Wedding | Getting Ready

We passed the two months married mark while we were on vacation in Biloxi. When you've been with someone for nearly nine years, two months doesn't seem like that long. It use to be people asked us constantly, "When are you two getting married?" Now they ask us, "Does it feel different?" (followed by, "When are you two going to have a baby?") To avoid the latter subject altogether, I'd say it doesn't feel much different at all. Legally it's different, but that's about it. We are still crazy...and crazy about each other. It's a wonderful feeling knowing that we are bonded forever by something as beautiful as marriage, but I don't think it's changed us at all.

Customized iPhone Case Giveaway

It's that time again, time for another Fancy Designs giveaway! This time we will be giving away another one of our fantastic iPhone cases. In the past we have had an iPhone case on display at GBK's 2011 Emmy Awards Gift Lounge. Wes Ramsey from The Playboy Club and Charmed, as well as Zach Woods from The Office can be seen below with it. (Don't they both look super dapper? Peacock really brings out their eyes!) Now it's your turn to get your hands on one of our cases!

The Day Designer | Designed by Whitney English

Since before I even started my business, I knew I needed a way to organize myself. I am famous for having sticky notes covering my computer screen, on the wall, on the printer, on my mouse, just anywhere. It isn't organized but I've learned to live through the chaos and to decode it. I'll have 16 notebooks scattered with ideas, to-do lists, marketing strategies, and my client information. Again, it's not ideal, no one else in the world could make sense of it, but I made it work. You quickly learn that in business, you need order to be efficient. My biggest problem was, I could not find a way to bring complete order to my business. I bought Moleskine planners, I looked into fancy, pretty planners that lacked functionality (but boy, were they pretty and popular), and I even looked into designing a planner myself. Nothing worked. I ended up with a super cheap planner that I basically altered to fit my needs (and it was 5 times thicker due to my sticky notes.)

Dusty Rose Wedding | Ideas

Feathers and crystals and pearls OH MY! These elements all scream wedding to me. They also all go great with dusty rose! Dusty rose is such a light and elegant shade. It looks great with cream, ivory, and even your grey elements (a light grey or even a charcoal grey.) Here are some must have elements for all your dusty rose wedding needs!