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As I was digging the wool socks out of the back of my drawer this morning, I realized that spring isn’t that far off.  Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know it’s still fall, but the reality is that we’re in that time of year when the clock seems to speed up.  By the time it slows down again, we’ll be checking in on the groundhog to see what’s up with his shadow.

So my mind turned to sweet and fragrant thoughts of spring…to flowers, to breezes…and to bees!  Bees are so sophisticated and graphic.  What a cool motif to add to your wedding day!  A symbol that speaks to the hard work of marriage and the sweet rewards that can be reaped.  And the elements here are far from the yellow and black stripes you might think of when I say honeybees.  The cool blue and the glowing amber combine to make a palette that is crisp and fresh and, yes, very sweet.

Check out some of out other honeybee related finds on our Pinterest Board

Happy Cyber Monday!  I hope you had an outstanding Thanksgiving, Black Friday, Small Business Saturday (WOOT!!), a blessedly quiet Sunday, and now a good day today.  We’ve had a good rest, earned and imposed, and are getting ready to get back to showing you the best and most amazing ideas in weddings.

Since so many got a great start on their shopping over the weekend, it’s time to fill in the blanks.  I wanted to remind you all about the last few days of the stamp sale–there’s still some time to pick one of these up for some of the best people you know.  Thoughtful, personal, lovely…you know someone who would love one!  $30 down from the usual $40, they are a great bargain right now.  They give you just Monday, we offer it all of November.  They do take a couple of weeks, so order now!

I spotted the image below on Pinterest and knew I MUST make something similar for Thanksgiving.  Ours will be a quiet affair this year, sticking close to home, movies and cleaning in anticipation of tree trimming.  But even though it’s low key I still want it to be special and festive. I’ve got some fancy cheese, some scaled down versions of our favorite dishes (Brussels sprouts with bacon! Sweet potatoes with marshmallows!), fancy plates from vintage shops and the bounty of the Goodwill.

This is a totally simple and elegant drink to whip up for us or for guests who drop by.  The original recipe called for creating a cranberry syrup and muddling fruit.  While it sounds A-MAZ-ING, I’m pretty sure I won’t have the energy for all that fuss, so I’m opting for a streamlined cocktail I’ve made before. It’s a crowd pleaser, easy to adjust for bigger crowds or designated drivers.  (Just mix up the fruit juice, simple syrup and ginger ale and have the gin (or vodka) on the side.)  Crisp, tart, refreshing and festive.  Do you have a favorite holiday drink to add to my list?  I’m always looking for good ones!

Cranberry Ginger Fizz Cocktail
Ingredients

1 cups real cranberry juice
1/4 cup simple syrup
1 lemon, juiced
1/2 orange, juiced
1 1/2 cups dry gin
1 cup chilled Ginger Ale
Mint & cranberries to garnish

Preparation

Put all ingredients in a pitcher with ice, stir, strain into glasses filled with crushed ice.  Garnish with mint and cranberries.

For the link to the original recipe and lots of other ideas, check out our Pinterest boards!

Silver Brunia seems to be the more subdued cousin of those lively Billy Balls we showed you in a much earlier post.  They are unusual and modern in shape and color, but would not be out of place in the right country style flower arrangement.  They appear frosted–almost sugar coated–and have a very dramatic look when grouped together in big bunches.  I’ve started to see them everywhere!

These are one of the coolest looking flowers I’ve seen!  Combined with dusty miller or other shady gray tones and they look amazing, but why not pair them with bright yellow?  We know yellow and gray is all the rage right now.  A bright pop of color with the hazy shades of the brunia will make both stand out and compliment one another in a really amazing yin/yang kind of way. What do you think?  Unusual and lovely or too unusual for you?

More ideas for these amazing flowers on our Pinterest board!

The whirlwind of the holidays is already starting to swirl around us!  Tonight was definitely an order in pizza kind of night after a week of trying to catch up with myself…and the pizza got me thinking about beers.  And beers had me thinking about weddings (most things get me thinking about weddings).  We’ve not done any posts about local craft beers?!?  How can that be?!? One of the easiest ways to bring a touch of the south, the locale,  your home town, where you met, etc. is to introduce a local beer to the line up of your reception.  Sure, you could tap a keg of the usual lager, but why not offer up something delicious, refreshing and totally unique?

Big Boss Brewery is located in our own Raleigh, NC and has been in operation since 2006.  They offer a wide range of year round brews, as well as a very cool selection of seasonal offerings.  The graphic bottles add a touch of rockabilly cool to any party, but kegs are available for some of their recipes.  Hell’s Belle is their version of a Belgian Blonde and would go great with some slightly spicy dinner offerings.  Light and refreshing, it’ll help keep (or definitely encourage) your guests to dance the night away.

Check out some of our other beverage finds on our Pinterest Board or head on over to Big Boss Brewery’s website to check out their other offerings!

I know I’ve been writing about it a lot lately, but I don’t want you to miss out on the great deal on these personalized self-inking stamps!  $10 off is a huge discount, the stamps are great for you or as a gift, they’ll streamline your holiday process or will add a bit of personal flair to your correspondence or your wedding!

The designs are so sweet and elegant-they really do exemplify everything Paperwhites strives for!  If you order now, they should be here right at the beginning of December, just in time for holiday cards!

With the holidays coming up, I’ve got a few projects here and there I want to get done.  One is to make some mercury glass vases, another is to look for great mercury glass vases to buy in case I run out of time (I am nothing, if not realistic.)

Either way, there is something terribly enchanting about mercury glass.  Vintagey wear, mirrored glamour, with golden candlelight glowing inside.  They are the perfect addition to any holiday table, shower or wedding.  No need for flowers or anything elaborate, though you can if you like.  The reflection and shine stand alone or can compliment whatever you’d like to add. Beautiful and simple and just lovely.

Tutorials and sources on our Pinterest board! Check ‘em out!

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Last week we spent a bit of time drooling over bridesmaid thank yous. Still thinking about those sweet gray and yellow clutches! I thought it would be fun to give the gents a turn (and it’s an awesome turn at that.). It sometimes feels like the groomsmens’ gifts are so serious. These are anything but…but will still be appreciated!

The Hair of the Dog is a very cool, highly recommended etsy shop based in South Carolina. They offer embellished, personalized  flasks for all kinds for groomsmen (or even bridesmaids? ooohhh.). Styles range from quirky to sophisticated and are such a neat way to say “Thanks for all your love an support…now go enjoy yourself!”  These are my very favorite.  Mustaches are everywhere from photo booths to cookies to these flasks.

You can check them out at The Hair of the Dog’s etsy shop.  Check out other fun mustache ideas on our Pinterest board!

I love this time of year!  The holidays are ramping up, we’re getting our ducks in a row for the coming year (New Color Palettes for 2012 y’all!), the weather is a constant surprise…

With all the big doin’s going on, it’s easy to lose track of the little things.  Like teacher gifts?  A little something for your babysitter? A token for the minister’s wife?  Might I suggest one of our personalized self-inking stamps?

Ok, ok, I know that was a little heavy handed, but the sentiment is real.  You could pick out a generic box of chocolates or a mug that will end up in a tag sale or maybe, just maybe, you could give one of those gifts they never even realized they needed/wanted/would use daily.  How great would it be for your son’s teacher to be able to label her classroom books?  Your babysitter, the future Junior Leaguer, to have her own classic monogram in this age of tweets and statuses? Your minister’s wife to add a bit of herself to the written correspondence she’s always sending out?  The stamps do take a bit of time, so order now while it’s on your mind, the price is great (just $30, down from $40!) and the inspiration is here!

For the Teacher:

For the debutante:

For the minister’s wife:

I think I love sharing things from our own studio most of all!  As we approach the weekend, I wanted to give you a little sneak peek one of our new designs, photographed by the incredible Hilton Pittman.  We will be sharing lots more in coming weeks.  This one is extra sweet to me.  I love the cameo.  The color combo is one that has gotten a great response from a lot of our Pinterest friends.  The amazing people at Viva L’Event did the styling.

Part of the reason I wanted to highlight this particular design was to show something we did that was outside the catalog we have online.  One of the best things about being a boutique like ours is the personal service and the ability to really work with clients to give them the very personal service they are looking for and the custom designs they crave.   We bring lots of ideas to the table to help create the perfect invites to set the stage for your perfect day.

You can see our catalog on our website paperwhitespress.com. Interested in something customized just for you?  Just contact us to start the discussion!