{Frosting Friday} Happy Easter!

One of my favorite things about Easter is that it symbolizes a time of new beginnings.

As signs of spring blossom around us, it's a time of fresh starts. It's a time to remember our blessings and rejoice in the hope that is new every morning.

In fact, did you know that daffodils symbolize rebirth and new beginnings?

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We see this bright and cheerful flower everywhere right now, and after learning about their meaning, I am even more inclined to put a bouquet of these beauties where I can be reminded of the blessings of this time of year.

Low on cost and high on visual impact, why not put a a lovely arrangement of these on your Easter table?

And don't forget, if you need any last minute Easter treats, visit our friends at Sweet E's Bake Shop!

They now ship nationwide, and if you order online, use the code SWEETWEB10 to receive 10% off your order!

{Photo courtesy of Sweet E's}

Have a wonderful Easter!

{Things We Heart} Paper Rosettes

One of the eye-catching party decor trends you're seeing right now is the paper rosette (or paper medallion).

{via Hostess with the Mostess}

How stunning are these yellow, gray, and white paper medallions displayed together as a collage-style backdrop for a dessert table?

As we gather ideas for our Easter table decor, I keep coming across these cheerful little medallions and how they can be incorporated in a multitude of ways.

For example, how adorable would this be for an Easter dessert display? I love the paper medallion showcased inside the rustic wreath.

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And we LOVE this idea of using the medallion as a table number. This can be done elegantly for a wedding (as shown) or played up in bold colors for a bright and fun birthday party.

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Paper rosettes can be a lovely touch to a special gift in place of a traditional bow.

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Displayed artfully, they make a lovely and delicate wall display in an office or bedroom as well.

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Happily for us, there are many paper rosette tutorials out there, but one we found especially easy to follow is this one from HowDoesShe. They take you step by step on how to create this gorgeous backdrop.

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And for the month of April, Paper Source is holding a workshop on how to make rosettes.

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I think there will be some paper rosettes in our near future. Easy, chic, and a fabulous effect!

For more paper rosette inspiration, check out our Pinterest board here:

Will you be giving these chic little beauties a try?

{Event} Game of Thrones

Recently I had the pleasure of participating in a special event for the premier of HBO's original series Game of Thrones. 

The Season 3 premiere was at Grauman's Chinese Theater (now called TCL Chinese Theater), where the red carpet was abuzz with the stars of the series.

The after party for the premiere was held at the iconic Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel.

The event space was transformed as if you stepped into another world from another time.

The hotel was filled with nooks and areas for guests to try their hand at activities like archery, get their fortunes told, watch fire dancers, stilt walkers, jugglers, and belly dancers as they entertained and interacted with onlookers. All of the talent was hired by a fabulous group that I got the chance to meet and be associated with called Fire Groove. With their assistance, they turned this event into an unforgettable experience.

Musicians kept the party hopping as celebrities, HBO executives,

and invited guests mingled and feasted.

Kathryn Murray, a respected colleague of mine, and I got ready prior to the event by getting our hair and makeup done, and dressing in costumes representative of the time period.

Here I am with Kathryn as part of the artistic crew of calligraphers at this station, where guests could get their souvenir of the famous Game of Thrones map (which is featured in the credits) personalized with their own House name in medieval gothic-like typestyle.

{Photo courtesy of Getty Images}

Here are samples of the House names written in calligraphy by Kathryn:

 {artwork courtesy of Kathryn Murray}

And here are my samples of each House name:

The souvenir maps:

It was wonderful getting to spend time doing what I love at such an amazing event, with one of my favorite fellow calligraphers!
Thank you to Kathryn for allowing me to showcase her beautiful work in this post as well :)

Thank you to Kamala and Hannah from Fire Groove for the joy of mixing my talents with yours!

And thank you to HBO for inviting us to be a part of your special Game of Thrones event!
It was an evening to remember!

Catch the season 3 premiere of Game of Thrones this Sunday at 9pm (PST) on HBO.
You won't wanna miss it!

{Frosting Friday} Easter Sweets

With Easter coming next weekend (can you believe it?), we've been thinking about our Easter dinner menu and tablescape details. While all of those details are important,
you know what we're really focusing on....dessert of course!

No special dinner would be complete without something deliciously sweet to finish the meal!

So we always look to our friends at Sweet E's Bake Shop for sweet inspiration!
These bright and sunny tags adorn Sweet E's Easter desserts beautifully don't they?

These cheerful tags can be customized to say whatever spring or Easter saying your heart desires.

If you're having a dessert table, we can create simple tented cards displaying the name of your sweets in calligraphy.

They would also make perfect springy place cards as well.

How adorable are these Easter egg cake pops? What a cute centerpiece idea.

Easter cookies on a stick

 These Bunny Whoopie Pies might just be my favorite Easter dessert this year...they're little, cute, and decadently sweet.

You can order all of these Easter delights plus the custom tags from Sweet E's Bake Shop!

Contact us directly to order place cards, for specific questions, or to discuss custom signage other than what is seen here.

{All photos courtesy of Sweet E's}

What's on your Easter dessert menu?

Butterfly Birthday Party

We're celebrating the first day of spring here at 2 Hearts B 1 Designs and thought we'd share an adorable invitation we did for a sweet little girl, Jaelah. We designed a butterfly garden party invitation for her 7th birthday party.

Jaelah's mom came to us wanting to incorporate butterflies, spring, pinwheels, and fresh colors into the invitation.

We printed the invitation on pool blue card stock and matted it to a shimmer violet card stock. A colorful pinwheel situated in playful grass is printed along the bottom of the invite, and the grass is speckled with green glitter. We punched out a white "fence" using a paper punch reminiscent of a butterfly shape, and placed that along the bottom as well to give it texture.

A butterfly embellishment floats along the top right corner of the invite, welcoming guests to "flutter over for spring tea and a gardening party." Too cute!

Lastly, to play on the garden theme, we placed rsvp information on a small scalloped "flower" card, and strung it through the upper left corner of the invite. This additional embellishment feels playful and whimsical, while also functional as the rsvp reminder.

We were so happy to be a part of the party details for Jaelah's 7th birthday!

For more butterfly party inspiration, visit our inspiration board, and follow us on Pinterest!

Happy Spring!

Calligraphy Monday :: Buon Giorno

On this beautiful Monday morning, we thought we'd share this photo of a wedding invitation we addressed in calligraphy, and dream of following it to it's destination...

Maybe where we'd take a walk through Saint Peter's Square, or sip a caffè while sitting and watching people bustling by.

What are you dreaming of this Monday?

Irish Charm

With St. Patrick's Day coming this weekend, I wanted to share a few images from a trip my husband and I took to Ireland last spring. This was a view point from Blarney's Castle.

 Ahhh....isn't it beautiful?

Blarney Castle was built nearly six hundred years ago by one of Ireland's greatest chieftains,
Cormac MacCarthy, and has been attracting attention beyond Munster ever since. Over the last few hundred years, millions have flocked to Blarney, making it a world landmark and
one of Ireland's greatest treasures.
Now that might have something to do with the Blarney Stone, the legendary Stone of Eloquence, found at the top of the Tower. Kiss it and you'll never again be lost for words.

We went with our good friends Holly and Aaron, and had a splendid time
touring this amazing country.

We toured the Guinness brewery...

Learned how to pour the perfect pint. Who knew there was such an art to pouring a beer, but the Irish definitely take their brewin' seriously. Not much of a beer girl, but once you experience Ireland, I definitely learned to appreciate the joy of a tall dark one!
Men and beer ;)
It was delicious and a wonderful time was had by all!

Our trip inspired me to send St. Patrick's Day cards in honor of our wonderful time...

I used a Kraft colored card stock as my folded 5x7 card, and adhered a four leaf clover die cut to the front. I wrote "get lucky" in calligraphy with black ink.

As I hope the four leaf clover brings a little luck to y'all.
With this shamrock, I embellished the edges with green glitter.
An eggplant envelope is the perfect complement to the brown and green tones in the card.

On the inside, I adhered a photo collage of our trip, and printed a sweet saying for our friends
and family to commemorate the occasion.

For more St. Patrick's Day ideas and inspiration, check out our St. Patty's Day Pinterest board:

What are you doing for St. Patty's Day?
May you grab yourself a glass of green beer,
get the chance to enjoy happy hour all day long
and hopefully end St. Patrick's Day by "getting lucky!"
Enjoy!

{Sweet Ideas} :: St. Patrick's Day

If you're planning a little St. Patty's Day get-together this weekend, you're probably going to have some kind of dessert to finish off the occasion.

These adorable cake pops by our friends at Sweet E's Bake Shop are the perfect bite-sized treat. It's just enough to satisfy your sweet tooth at the party, or if you're simply too full from all that corned beef and cabbage, you can take it home for later!

We embellished these cake pops with the names of all the guests attending this get-together, making it serve as both a personalized treat and a place card! These would also be perfect for a baby shower, bridal shower, or a birthday party.

Our custom tags can be created to coordinate with any color palette or party theme. Contact us today so we can help you make your party just a little bit sweeter!

Sweet Finales

This one's for all you Bachelor fans out there.

With tonight being the finale of ABC's The Bachelor, we thought it was appropriate to break out this photo we have from last year's Teen Choice Awards event.

{photo courtesy of Sweet E's Bake Shop}

Yep, that's Bachelor host Chris Harrison, lookin' sharp next to a Sweet E's mini cupcake and cake pop, which happens to be embellished with one of our custom tags.

I know, I know...you may think it a bit silly that we're excited about our little tag popping up next to Chris, but c'mon, after watching 10+ seasons of The Bachelor, it kind of delights us :)

And we may be holding our own Bachelor finale party tonight, cupcakes and all, waiting with eager anticipation to find out which woman the handsome bachelor Sean Lowe chooses....

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Will it be Catherine or Lindsay?

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We can't wait to find out!

Here's to another season of Bachelor entertainment!

Cheers!