gender reveal party.

i whipped up this little invite today for a gender reveal party we're throwing for our family and close friends next week after our "revealing" sonogram for baby rains. :)

i'm really excited about how it turned out... i think it's super cute and fun. cheery. :)

***UPDATE: at our little gender reveal party, we announced to our friends & family that we are having another BABY GIRL! :) her name is rylie elizabeth, and she should be joining our family around june 23rd of 2010. we cannot wait to meet her!***

***YET ANOTHER UPDATE: due to a LOT of interest in this invitation over the last 2 years, i am now selling customized digital versions of the invite, which you may print on your own, or share digitally. if you are interested, please email me at sara.beth.rains@gmail.com. if you want printed invitations shipped to you, or an invitation created for another event, i'd love to chat about that, too! thanks! (oh! and our sweet rylie is about to be TWO!!!... my how time flies...)***

christmas card.

this is our family's 2009 christmas card.

because i was SO busy this year with the end of my degree and all, i designed it at vistaprint.com and think it turned out really great - especially for what it is! the colors on the actual card are SO much more vivid and festive... the scanner didn't do it justice. :)

...and i love this picture for 2 reasons:

1) emma's smile is simply irresistable! it is definitely kiss-worthy... and we laugh, because she totally looks like she came right from an episode of "toddlers and tiaras!" don't you think? :)

2) this is our very first picture as a family of four! our friends, the stewarts, snapped this photo at a trip to the big orange pumpkin farm in october - right after we'd found out about the little bean growing inside of me. so fun!

do you remember my christmas card post from last year? i wistfully wondered if i would maybe be printing "another baby announcement in the next two years..." i love that on december 27, 2008 i wished we'd have another baby to announce in two years... and that on june 22, 2010, hopefully that little baby will be here - and we'll be announcing his/her arrival! :) i guess christmas wishes DO come true! :)

emma kate is turning three.

i am SO excited for emma's little fairy party this year. i can't believe she is going to be 3 years old. THREE years old! she's not a little baby girl anymore, that's for sure...

emma is in love with "tinkerbell" (sweetest disney movie out there, in my opinion!), so this year, we're all about fairies! i found this "fairy girl" invitation by inviting company. it's the perfect colors of a tinkerbell party, and the little girl even looks like my little fairy girl. when emma saw it for the first time, she giggled and said, "mommy... that's EMMA!" :)

the wording for this invite reads:

"a magical day it will be... Emma Kate is turning 3!

fairy wings, a wand, pixie dust & tutus -
become a real fairy at Tink's Workshop,
where these magical treats await you!

Come for a "fairy sweet" Tea Party
at Emma's Enchanted Fairyland..."

i found a great site where i can get wings for all the little girls for around $1.50/each, and a friend and i are going to make tutus, also... i can't WAIT!

i'll post pics of the sweet party soon... we've still got 3 weeks. :)

sweet baby kisses.

i am in love with this invitation from cross my heart!

my sweet friend michelle and her hubby jeremy are expecting their first child in october. their new baby girl will be named chloe faith... how sweet is that?

chloe faith's super cute nursery features cheerful bedding & accessories in coral, lime green and pale blue, so i wanted an invitation that showed off those colors. i was so excited when i found this one!

i printed the invitation in green & coral to match the geometric graphic on the paper. the clean font is "champagne & limosuines," and the scripty font is "monterrey."

i am sure that chloe faith will be just as bright, fun, and happy as this little invitation to a party in celebration of her little life! :)

baby shower: boy, oh boy.

a family friend from church, carol, is throwing shower for her niece, angelica, who is expecting new baby boy.

this invitation is by cross my heart, a local invitation company... which i LOVE. everything they make is SO cute! i love the funky stroller and gifts on this whimsical turquoise & lime invite.

i used "champagne & limosines" for the body of the text, and "amelie" for the mommy-to-be's name. all the ink was done in black, to keep it clean and simple. :)

baby shower: ready for take-off.

this super cute invitation is for my friend, sunny's baby shower. her little guy is due in mid-september. the nursery has a vintage airplane, car & truck theme, so this invitation was perfect!

the invitation is by lipstick shades. their selections are all very cute, clean and modern! and each invitation comes with a coordinating lined envelope. (sunny's envelopes were lined with the red, gred and blue polka-dotted pattern from the bottom of the card.)

i used "century gothic" in all lower-case for the text. i thought its clean, modern style matched the invitation very well. i printed the bulk of the text in baby blue, to match the images on the invitation.

sunny's name is in "amelie" (one of my favorites), to add a little whimsy to the boyish card. i accented with red to match the details in the invitation.

bridal tea.