The Wedding Ones: Invitations

It has been a month since my last wedding post, but planning has been at the forefront of my life lately, and today was the big invitation mailing day!  Wooo they're in the mail!

Of course we DIY'ed it, so we were able to save money and get exactly what we wanted.  This picture shows the full suite: invitation, RSVP front and back, information card, and pretty blue envelope.

They were designed by our amazing artist friend, Emma Mallinen (seriously go check out her website - girl is talented!), and we are SO happy with how they came out.  We just gave her a bunch of general thoughts and ideas, and she came up three design concepts, which we then narrowed down and she tailored to be just right for us.  All the pretty script is done by hand, and the flower illustrations are beautiful gouache paintings.  We're trying to convince Emma she should have a shop on Etsy selling personalized invitations... am I right?!

Once Emma emailed us the completed 300 dpi (very important for printing) files, we used Chris's paper trimmer to cut our paper to size, and then Chris's fancy inkjet printer did the rest of the work.  It definitely took up a good chunk of time, but the whole process barely made a dent in the printer's ink supply.  We also printed our return address on the back flap of our envelopes.

Here's how the cost broke down:
- $63.20 on postage (80 regular forever stamps with pretty flowers on them, and 80 postcard stamps for the RSVP cards)
- $36.99 on a giant pad of super thick and lovely art paper
- $26.56 for 100 light blue envelopes from Creatively Invited on eCrater
- about $2 (?) at Savers awhile ago on the lovely blue, pink, yellow, and white bakers twine-esque stuff, which we used to tie all the inserts together with the invite

Total cost: $128.75 for 68 invitations, and we could have done up to 80 for that exact same price!

AND we still have left overs of pretty much everything, including tons of paper, which we're thinking of using to print our own business cards.

I had a grand old time photographing our beautiful invites in every combination I could think of, so you can fully appreciate how awesome they are :)

I'm obsessed with the beautiful return address on the back of the RSVP card.  They're going to my parents in Oregon, since Chris and I are moving in the middle of this whole thing, so I covered part of it to hide my parents address, but you can get the gist of it.

Since we opted against using inner envelopes (just don't really see the point) and having some kind of folded thing to hold everything together sounded too complicated, I was very excited to discover that this bakers twine I had found at Savers a long time ago perfectly matched the colors.  I just tied up each little set of three cards with a bow, so they are held loosely together, and - bonus! - they look even more adorable.

...And I had to do one picture of everything on our classic map background.

My hand is exhausted from writing out all 68 addresses in my best attempt at pretty handwriting, but at least I made Chris do most of the envelope licking because those things taste pretty awful after a few.  I'm so glad this step is done so we can start getting RSVP's back and move into the final rounds of planning!

What do you think of our invites?  Would you try DIYing your invitations?

The Nifty Thrifty: Barn Sale

We posted about it last week, but in case you missed it, our apartment is in the running for Apartment Therapy's Small Cool 2013 contest!  We need your support to win, so please take a moment to check out our space and favorite it!

We made it almost all week without thrifting, but while driving around on Saturday we came across a local barn sale and had to stop and take a peek.  There was much to be enjoyed, but since we are moving we only picked up a few small items.

This portable Hermes Baby typewriter was Julia's big find of the day--others on Etsy go for $150 and up!  I am always a bit skeptical about typwriters, but they do fetch a good price.  The typewriter is in decent working order (just a few sticky keys and it needs a new ribbon), and it is sitting on its cover, which latches on and has a handle for easy transport.  Look for it in our Etsy shop soon!

My finds, on the other hand, will not be very lucrative, but they are very fun.  These three place mats have hilarious selections of illustrated "tag lines" that might have made good conversation at one point, but might just confuse your guests nowadays, including these stunners:

"Some people get their exercise by jumping to conclusions," "Up to sixteen a lad is a boy scout. After that he is a girl scout," and "Freckles would make a nice sun tan--if they'd only get together."

My other find was the little brass flower bottle opener.  I'm not entirely sure what we'll be doing with either the place mats or the opener, but they were just too cool and too well priced to leave behind.

Has yard sale season started in your area yet?  What do you think of our finds this week?  Link up your thrifty posts below!

These blogs also host great link-ups that we join, so make sure you check them out, too: Apron Thrift Girl, Me and my Shadow, Sir Thrift-A-Lot, and a mid century one at Remnant!

Without further ado, a few easy rules for the Nifty Thrifty Link Up:
1. We would love it if you would follow our blog on Google Friend Connect (check the right sidebar), like us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter, and leave a friendly comment :)
2. Only link up recent blog posts that showcase your thrifty finds from the week, including items from yard sales, estate sales, thrift stores, consignment stores, flea markets, and even the side of the road! Thrifty finds that you have restored or updated are fine, but please no unrelated DIY or craft projects (we like those, too, but lets keep this link-up focused on thrifty vintage!).
3. Remember to LINK BACK to this blog - a living space - so everyone can join in! 
4. Link straight to your individual post, not your whole blog.
5. No links to Etsy shops or other non-blog sites.

Thanks for joining in!

Small Cool 2013

It's Small Cool time on Apartment Therapy and we're in the running!  We were super excited to have our apartment be the first one posted in our category.  Mostly it's just awesome to see our space up on the Apartment Therapy, but we would love to put up a fight for the prizes, so please please please go FAVORITE our entry!

We already shared all the pictures of our apartment last month (since that's usually when Small Cool starts, so we were trying to be ready for that deadline), and you can check out our Tour the Space page to see even more pictures than the five we were able to submit on Apartment Therapy.  This shot of our living room is the front photo on our entry, and it is named "Chris & Julia's Top Floor Abode."  Before the contest opened, we were preparing our answers and trying to brainstorm a really good title (and not coming up with anything we liked), but when we entered our info we realized that it's actually the folks at Apartment Therapy who come up with a title for you!

Click HERE to see our space and please FAVORITE it!!

It has been a blast to see the favorites and comments roll in, but we definitely need all the help we can get!

The Nifty Thrifty: A Dansk Selection

We had yet another week of limited thrifting here at a living space.  With our new goal of selling off most of the things we've acquired over the past several years we have found little time (or need) to stop and find things.  We did, however, win some auctions on Ebay, our new favorite method of purchasing.  This allows us to sift through things and find good deals with a bit more selectivity than the thrift stores, but we do have to put more down for the return.

These two teak Dansk kitchen items were our wins for the week.  We had great success selling the  last identical pepper grinder we bought on Ebay so we decided to play our odds and buy another--it'll go up on Etsy shortly.  The cutting board on the other hand is awesome, and will be a permanent upgrade to our kitchen.  If you're keeping track, we now own a few too many cutting boards, but we love them all so much, we can't bear to part with any yet...

Julia also picked up a handmade quilt at Savers, but we forgot to take pictures of it, so that will have to wait until next week.

Interested in what we're selling for the move?  Check out our last post about all of the large pieces of furniture that we're trying to unload on Craigslist!

Do you love teak as much as we do?  Have any vintage weaknesses, like we do for Dansk cutting boards?  Let us know how your week went!

These blogs also host great link-ups that we join, so make sure you check them out, too: Apron Thrift Girl, Me and my Shadow, Sir Thrift-A-Lot, and a brand new one at Remnant!

Without further ado, a few easy rules for the Nifty Thrifty Link Up:
1. We would love it if you would follow our blog on Google Friend Connect (check the right sidebar), like us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter, and leave a friendly comment :)
2. Only link up recent blog posts that showcase your thrifty finds from the week, including items from yard sales, estate sales, thrift stores, consignment stores, flea markets, and even the side of the road! Thrifty finds that you have restored or updated are fine, but please no unrelated DIY or craft projects (we like those, too, but lets keep this link-up focused on thrifty vintage!).
3. Remember to LINK BACK to this blog - a living space - so everyone can join in! 
4. Link straight to your individual post, not your whole blog.
5. No links to Etsy shops or other non-blog sites.

Thanks for joining in!

The Big Move: Furniture for Sale

If you haven't heard it yet, we're moving out to California this summer, and that means we have a long list of things to do before we're settled in our new home.  First things first, we need to start downsizing for the move, and we have quite the number of things to sell off.  Remember all of those nice pieces of vintage furniture we have... yeah, many of them are now for sale!  So for this post we'll be showcasing all of the items we still have available, and giving you--our readers--first dibs.  The catch is that you have to be local, pay with cash, and be able to carry your purchases away yourself.  Comment or email us with any questions or offers!

Starting off with a bang!  This is my favorite piece we will be selling.  With it's brass, details, and hidden white drawers this American of Martinsville mid century dresser/credenza couldn't get any cooler - $450

The largest item we have available is our beautiful solid walnut hutch.  It is in awesome shape, and even has sliding glass doors (for the two largest shelves) that we have kept safely stored away -$450

Our freshly re-upholstered and incredibly comfy Danish modern daybed will also be available.  I am reluctant to sell this, but it's a bit large, and we are trying to downsize, so we think we should really let it go - $850

Our mid century media stand is a great piece, and highly functional--it currently holds many dvds, electronics, and vintage video game systems - $150

This beautiful Craddock Dependable Furniture display/buffet has been displaying stock in our apartments for years now, but it might just be that time - $200

This awesome mid century room divider/bookshelf with sliding panels will also be available.  I've never seen another of these, and I would definitely keep it if I wasn't moving - $250

Our original orange upholstered Eames chairs will be up for grabs as a set or individually - $425 for both or $225 for one

And there's more... much more.  This is the majority of the big furniture pieces we still need to sell, but we also have tons of smaller vintage items we want to clear out before the move.  We're planning to have a huge yard sale next month, too, but if you're local and want to get first dibs, feel free to contact us about coming on over to shop!

Shoot us an email for more information on specific items.  We will consider price negotiations and trades (we'd really like a womb chair!), but the best way to get a good deal is to buy more!  Remember, by buying from us you're helping a young couple start a new life on the west coast :)

Any other furniture in the photos that I did not mention is either not for sale or sold already!

The Nifty Thrifty: I'd Buy You The Moon

Hey Thrifters!

The Nifty Thrifty is back, and on time (unlike last week)!  Shockingly, we didn't make it to Savers again this week.  Since we found out that we will be moving in early July for my job next year we have been cutting back pretty dramatically on our regular thrifting.  We have, however, continued with our online purchases to boost the quality of the items in our shop.  I hadn't bought anything on Ebay since high school, and at that time I was mostly buying new items, but I've recently realized that it is another great place to look for good deals on vintage goods; you just have to make sure you stick to your spending limits.

This 6" Replogle moon and celestial globe set is one of our most recent Ebay purchases, and they are both already listed in our Etsy shop!  I'm super happy with my recent Chein moon globe purchase, and since I have an affinity for moon globes I couldn't pass up the opportunity to have these little guys in our shop.

This is an awesome little 4" stainless steel and orange enamel Cathrineholm bowl I also purchased on Ebay.  I might end up selling this at some point, but it is in excellent condition, so it will have to chill on my dresser for a while before I can decide whether to part with it or not.

Like our finds, or did you find anything exciting this week?  Let us know, and link up below!

These blogs also host great link-ups that we join, so make sure you check them out, too: Apron Thrift Girl, Me and my Shadow, Sir Thrift-A-Lot, and a brand new one at Remnant!

Without further ado, a few easy rules for the Nifty Thrifty Link Up:
1. We would love it if you would follow our blog on Google Friend Connect (check the right sidebar), like us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter, and leave a friendly comment :)
2. Only link up recent blog posts that showcase your thrifty finds from the week, including items from yard sales, estate sales, thrift stores, consignment stores, flea markets, and even the side of the road! Thrifty finds that you have restored or updated are fine, but please no unrelated DIY or craft projects (we like those, too, but lets keep this link-up focused on thrifty vintage!).
3. Remember to LINK BACK to this blog - a living space - so everyone can join in! 
4. Link straight to your individual post, not your whole blog.
5. No links to Etsy shops or other non-blog sites.

Thanks for joining in!