Leslie & Ryan: Seating Chart

It's Leslie's Wedding Day today, and here is her damask seating chart. Congrats to my last 2009 order!

SEATING CHART DESIGN - BAMBOO & MOD

Here are two new Seating Chart Designs recently added to the GE Designs collection. They are both available for purchase in my shop. The listed price of $45.00 includes custom colors, fonts, custom title/arrangement, dimensions, and UNLIMITED revisions.

My 2009 Christmas Cards

I had great ambitions to create my own Christmas Cards this year (which I never do, ironically since I run GE Designs)... What I didn't take into account, was my hectic schedule, the amount of work it takes, and the amount of money... Seriously, the time between Thanksgiving and Christmas passes by way to quickly. Instead of making 30 cards, I ended up with less than 20. AND, I didn't even ship them till yesterday. Yikes. My original vision, was to create handmade cards with CD holders inside for a CD collection of cool Christmas songs. Hopefully, the recipients receive them by Dec 24. At least I got them off my hands. They'll at least have some music for next Christmas.


I wanted to make a "Starry Night" type of feel, with the clear Swarovski Crystals against the navy Blue and silver metallic cardstock, but once I was done with the first one, I thought the theme looked more like Hannukah cards. So I added the silver embossed Christmas tree on the cover. I probably should have gone with Red. I wanted to make them as intricate as wedding invites, since I was inserting a CD, but once I started pushing back my deadline, I got less and less ambitious with it.

What took the most time, was affixing 3 different sized Swarovski Crystals on each card to make it look like a starry night (Outside and inside). Yikes. It took time to heat/cool the applicator, change attachments according to crystal sizes, the placement took a while since crystals got stuck on the applicator -- the obstacles with rhinestones just lasted days. Never again.

But in honor of the Holidays, check out my 3 Christmas Card designs. Merry Christmas and GE Designs will be back in 2010 with new photos and projects!

Here's a closeup of the embossed Christmas tree. Embossing was another lengthy activity.

This one has a ribbon closure, which required cutting slits and looked pretty... But then I realized that it wouldn't fit in the envelopes. So only one lucky person gets this design.

I originally wanted to create the outer CD holder myself with cardstock using my creativity, but I opted to purchase the Diagonal Enclosure Cards from Paper Source. I think I saved myself the headache by purchasing the ready-made versions. I didn't take photos of the CD labels for the CD itself, but I affixed a sticker label so that the final product wouldn't look half-done. Here is my playlist below. These songs range from the early 90s to now. I tried to include different genres to keep it eclectic.

1. Last Christmas by Glee Cast
2. White Christmas by Rascall Flatts
3. I'll Be Home For Christmas by Rascall Flatts
4. Where Are You Christmas by Faith Hill
5. Christmas Shoes by Various Artist (Not sure who recorded this song - someone sent this to me years ago)
6. Do You See What I See? by Destiny's Child
7. All I Want For Christmas Is You by Mariah Carey
8. Love's In Our Hearts For Christmas by N'SYNC
9. Chestnuts Roasting On An Open Fire by Toni Braxton
10. Let It Snow by Boyz II Men
11. Silent Night by Boyz II Men
12. Little Drummer Girl by Alicia Keys
13. Christmas Song by Dave Matthews
14. Winter Song by Sara Bareilles & Ingrid Michaelson
15. Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas by Colbie Caillat
16. Mistletoe by Colbie Caillat
17. Christmastime by Smashing Pumpkins
18. Happy Xmas (War is Over) by Maroon 5
19. The Little Drummer Boy by Charles Brown

Kim + Scott: Classic Muscle Cars

I always love the themed table cards. Kim and her fiance, Scott, started working with me months ago on their small reception package of table cards and menus. They wanted to incorporate the names and descriptions of some of their favorite classic Muscle Cars that graced the American Automotive Industry. For me, it was pretty cool to read the blurbs that the couple included with the car names. I'm sure the guests will enjoy that as well. Congrats to Kim and Scott!!

Kim sent me their monogram to include in their cards. I embellished it with Swarovski Rhinestones.

Elizabeth Medina Photography

Wow. It's been a while since I last posted anything. I feel pretty bad. But life's thrown so many things at me, that blogging has been pushed further back as the days of December roll in. BUT, one of the things that have kept me busy is looking for a location for my wedding. For a couple years, I've been toying with the destination idea, and this week, I've been obsessed with Cancun. It's a gorgeous place and so I've been checking out different wedding photos, and found so many talented local photographers. One that stood out to me, was Elizabeth Medina. I was first introduced to her work a couple years ago, browsing for something totally different, and her work is just amazing. She is actually on top of my Wish List for vendors if we decide to have our ceremony in Mexico. She's originally from Michigan and has lived in Mexico in the recent years, which offers amazing backdrops for the gorgeous locations for the weddings. Here is a taste of her current work, available on her blog.

She has so many amazing shots of the brides and grooms on the Mexican beaches. this is one of my favorite TTD shots. I'm leaning towards doing the TTD photoshoot.

I love the poignant moments Elizabeth captures candidly during the receptions and throughout the day...

GE Luxe Invitation: Chandelier Crystal Invitation BOXED

Here are some photos of the boxed version of the Chandelier Crystal Invitation in Chocolate and Dark Red.

Boxed Invitations are a unique way of presenting your invites to your guests, but keep in mind that shipping costs do add up. For one boxed invite, www.usps.com costs under $3.00 to ship (with delivery confirmations). I insert the boxes in white bubble envelopes 7 x 10 inches. I personally haven't mailed out any bulk shipments directly to guests, but there might be bulk rates available.

Tamara + Toby

Tamara was a joy to work with. She and Toby were married the 14th, and ordered a package from GE Designs for their autumn theme. She sent me her lovely monogram, which became part of the design theme of her paper products. Congrats Toby & Tamara!!!

Below are the covers of the programs. They are the A7 (5x7 inches) booklets, with the metallic cardstock upgrade.

Here's a closeup of her matching menus. Each guest had their own at their table setting. Here are her themed table cards -- based on my favorite basketball team, the Los Angeles Lakers, and the Pittsburgh Steelers. They used the names and jersey numbers of both teams' best players.

She ordered some personalized Reserved Seat signs for the bridal party and their parents...

And here is a shot of her poster-sized Seating Chart, with their monogram at the bottom.

And Tamara left the loveliest feedback in my etsy shop. Thanks Tamara!!!

" We loved all our reception materials...everything was beautiful and we got a lot of compliments. I started working with GEDesigns a month before my wedding and the entire process was smooth and simple. My wedding planner said we had some of the best stationery she had ever seen!"

Phoebe's Bat Mitzvah

Lauren and Debbie from Party Perfect in Orlando were the party planners for Phoebe's big Bat Mitzvah last weekend! They're a great event planning team, with impeccable taste and great attention to detail. So glad the programs and menus turned out well. They have a cute blog called Mitzvalicious on Bat Mitzvah party tips which is totally worth checking out...

GE Designs is back!

GE Designs is now back in business from a brief hiatus. The shop will not be opened officially till this weekend on the 22nd, but I'll be posting some photos of orders that were sent prior to the hiatus.. Stay tuned!

GE Designs Mascot Hard at work!

I have my GE Designs workspace in our guest bedroom, and the other day, while I was feverishly assembling an order, Marley, our mascot and my baby, was barking in his sleep in the bed next to my desk. I tried my best to sneak a sleeping photo of him, but he opened his eyes just when I snapped this shot below... I was like, how did he get that blue pillow???? It's HIS now...

On a more serious note, GE Designs will be taking a short break starting November 9th through November 21st. Unfortunately, I will have very LIMITED access to the internet, so replies may be slow. Communcations will resume November 22nd. Thanks for stopping by!

Monica + Marcelo

Here is a last minute package put together for Monica's wedding taking place today. Her colors are a combination of Pool (Turquoise), Persimmon (Canteloupe) and gold.

Shop Announcement

Looks like GE Designs will need to revamp the shop for the rest of 2009. GE Designs will no longer be accepting new orders for handmade paper items like Invitations, Programs, table numbers, menus, etc.

BUT, Seating Chart designs (or anything digital) will still be available. Monograms and logos will be added back into the inventory as well.

Paper products will be back in the first quarter of 2010.

Cori + Sean

Karell + Ibrahim

Anne + Paul

GE Wedding: We're Engaged!

It's a little late, but I am announcing my official engagement to Mr. GE Designs. We've been together for 8 years, and we've lived together for 6. So the engagement and marriage, isn't much of a change, but I'm excited about it being official. And I apologize to any friends that we didn't tell until today, but any one who's close to us knows that we've been a "married" couple for years anyway. BUT the ring makes certain family members feel more at ease. =)

So, I've decided to start documenting some of my preprations and thoughts for our wedding. I'll be searching for local vendors, photographers, flowers, etc. Sort of a daunting task. Thank goodness I've established some relationships with event planners through GE Designs. Also, I have my dear girlfriends to hand over their vendor finds for their weddings. I'll also be creating some new items for myself and my shop, with my own wedding in mind.

To start, I should share the engagement story:

JP (Mr. GE Designs) and I went on a little getaway vacation in Scottsdale, AZ early this month for 5 days at the Intercontinental Montelucia. JP went to ASU out there, so luckily he knew the area and was able to take me to some awesome restaurants around Scottsdale. The town was gorgeous -- the only thing it's missing, is a beach. I will have to say, that with Fashion Square Mall, I can easily move out there. And the weather! Gorgeous in October! Once there, i was so glad we went, as opposed to the hurricane occupied areas of Mexico and the Caribbean. One quick side note for the hotel we stayed at -- gorgeous place, friendly staff, and total luxury, but the in room dining was sooo overpriced.

The second day there, JP wanted to take me hiking to Camelback Mountain. If anyone out there is unfamiliar with Phoenix, Camelback Mountain is a local red rock "mountain" that the locals hike and climb daily. From far away, it looked like it wasn't much. Plus, if you see all the people climbing up and down the entrance, you'd be like, "I can do that." Unfortunately, when we started going up the mountain, at 4:30pm, I wasn't prepared for all the rocks and fancy footwork needed to get to just the first quarter of it. Yikes. We made a few stops to help me catch my breath, but JP kept telling me, "keep going, the view will make it all worth it." I tried a few more minutes up some steep part, but I had to stop and turn around because the area closed at sunset, and the sun was setting quick.

I seem to digress with this Camelback story, but I found out later that JP planned to propose at the top of the mountain as the sun set with the "spectacular view." He told me later that he had the ring in his pocket on that hike attempt. That would have been totally romantic (yet I would've been totally out of breath). Poor guy carried the ring with him throughout the rest of the trip, waiting for another "perfect" moment to pop the question. I'm glad he didn't do the restaurant proposal at any of the fabulous places he took me to. I'm a pretty private person, and I hate drawing attention to myself in public.

So fast forward to our last night there on October 12, 2009. Around 9pm, we decided to hang out at the jacuzzi, since the resort seemed so empty. We had the jacuzzi and the pool all to ourselves. After we dried off, we put our robes on, took some drinks to a pool-side cabana facing Camelback, laid on the modular sofas, and just relaxed as we enjoyed the view of the mountain and the resort. We were cuddling and JP started talking about how wonderful the trip was and that he loved me, and after a few more sweet words, that I can barely remember, he got down on his knees and whipped out the ring. Things are fuzzy after that, but I can say I did cry, we hugged, kissed, and oh yeah... I said YES.

Sarah + Tim

Sarah is the last bride of mine getting married this month! In her package, she ordered custom round labels and table numbers. She is a graphic designer herself, so this was probably one of the easiest last minute orders ever! She knew exactly what she wanted and I simply had to make a replica on my end and bring it to life. Here are her stickers...And her table numbers are extra large, measured at 6" x 9".