Kendra's Peacock Themed Baby Shower Invitations

Kendra took my Peacock Save The Date Cards and turned it into a Baby Shower Invitation! We added one more layer of cardstock for more color. 

Shop Announcement: New Hours of Operations for 2011

Well, 2011 has started with a bang, since I am now officially married! And usually, marriage brings a lot of changes into people's lives.  Being with my husband for 10 years and living together for 7 years, the "new" marriage didn't bring anything different to our routine, but this month, the new official hubby started a new job.  The next chapter of our lives actually requires my husband to travel for business 4-5 days a week, which leaves me only 8-10 days of the month to spend quality time with each other.  We'll be signing up for Skype and increasing our minutes on our cell phone plans, but nothing compares to personal time together. Which means, our friends and family probably won't see us too much on the weekends. 

With that said, GE Designs will be revamping Hours of Operation. I've made the announcement in my shop and on Facebook, but this little entry details what that really means.  These hours are just meant for emails and responses on Etsy to both clients and prospective clients. I used to spend all hours on the computer at night and weekends. With my new personal schedule changing, so does my time on the computer.  This doesn't mean I will not be working on orders.  Let's remember that I spend a lot of time putting orders together too.  I guess this is meant more for my current clients, and I don't want anyone to get too ansy for immediate replies. I want you to know that GE Designs orders are still top priority for me.  Weekdays are the same -- the only change is that weekends are personal time only and you probably won't hear back from me till Monday morning. 

Monday - Friday: 9am - 7pm Pacific Standard Time
Saturdays - Sundays: CLOSED

I have also decreased the number of orders I will be accepting each month.  And I will be updating the GE Designs Paper Schedule in the shop announcments page. 
I also get questions on turnaround for orders.  Here's an update:

Samples: 1-2 weeks
Stationery orders SMALL (50 and under): 2 weeks after design is finalized with client
Stationery Orders MEDIUM (51-100): 2-3 weeks after design is finalized with client
Stationery Orders LARGE (100 - 150): 3-4 weeks after design is finalized with client
Stationery Orders larger than 150: at least 4 weeks
Digital Design files: starting at 1 week, ask for details

When I refer to "Stationery" it includes invitation orders, table numbers, programs, etc. This is just an estimate and may be affected by colors and supply availability.

GE Wedding: Cake Mishap

Only two things went wrong with the wedding.  And one of them was the cake they gave me was NOT the cake I ordered.   I HATE giving a bad review on anything online, but this really irks me now.

Here is a photo of the cake that I chose from their catalog of "Couture Cakes":

I then specified that they make the frosting white (along with the frosting details) with red roses.

Here is the a photo of what they gave me:

Any Sesame Street skit would say that these are two totally different cakes.  This was NOT what I expected.  The one they gave me looks more like their complimentary signature cake that they give with the free wedding package.  Can I say, lazy bakery?  Really?  Sigh.  On the night of the wedding, I wasn't so bothered by it, since I was busy trying to breathe in my dress and eat enough food to not pass out.  But now that time has passed, and I'm looking at personal photos, the cake mistake is bugging me more and more.  Like I always say, photos will stay with you forever, and the cake photos are haunting me.

Let this be a lesson to destination brides.  Make sure the venue of your choice makes a cake that looks exactly like the photos they show you. Confirm with them days before the wedding, and POINT to the photo and ask them that the cake look at least 80% like the photo.  Don't advertise it as a choice if you are not going to follow through with the design on the actual day (and charge $$$ for it).  I will concede and say that the cake itself, was super duper delicious. But please, the look of it is more important than how it taste. This will be the last time I complain about it. If our photographer is reading this, please don't send me photos of the cake. Oye.

GE Wedding: Programs

I literally threw these together the night before we left for our trip. I wasn't going to make these, since we only had 7 guests, but then I thought that the wedding coordinator at the hotel probably won't tell them where to go after the ceremony.  Anyway, I took some leftover rhinestone buckles for the front cover, and typed out the inside information as seen below. It's so much easier, when you only have so few to make. 

I didn't have time the night I made these to take photos, so I quickly took photos at our hotel and didn't realize that I didn't take enough. 

Thank goodness, my sister took the shot below at the gazebo location.  Please ignore those white chairs (that's another story).

GE Wedding: Over Before I Knew It

Ok. What happened to my intentions of posting my last few days before the wedding??? It's true, the week before the Big Day, you're just overwhelmed with last minute things to do.

Just checking in, and even now, a few days after our return from Mexico, I still have nothing ready to post, except this photo above of one of my Last Minute items.  But, I promise that once I get caught up with all my current clients and other work, I will make time to share the experience I had in Cancun. 

This was the view from our Suite at the Le Blanc Resort and Spa on our Last Day. 80 Degrees and clear skies