{ :: love ardently :: } » Personal Works

candy card

Ivana Brata — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 21:38:52 +0000

After the heart button string-tie envelope DIY yesterday, it’s time to reveal the inside of the envelope that I sent to my swap buddies at Weddingbee and Crow & Canary.

Err… this time I really have to credit the inspiration to Martha. I couldn’t find a wider solid pink grosgrain ribbon on Michaels the other day (can you believe that?!), so I just used a less wide ribbon I had on hand. I hope it resembles a candy enough :)

Light of Days

Ivana Brata — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 00:23:00 +0000

As if keeping one blog is not consuming my time enough, I’ve decided to take on another project. Since the end of last year, I’ve been contemplating on doing “something-a-day” project to challenge myself creatively everyday. I promise you it was not because I watched Julie and Julia :)

So, at the end of December 2009, I was writing down my 2010 resolution and as a devout (trying to!) Christian, one of my high-priority resolution was to spend more time reading the Bible. I thought that I could probably combine it with my attempt on doing “something-a-day” project.

So today, I present to you: Light of Days.

It’s a project that tackles my discipline, spiritual maturity, and creativity, all at the same time. I’m interested to see how it all coming to be at the end of 2010! I hope you are following my journey :)

Have a Sweet Christmas, you :)

Ivana Brata — Thu, 24 Dec 2009 20:01:35 +0000

This year, I participated on Brooklyn Bride’s Card Swap and here is what I came up with.

At the time, I was just doing a major furniture re-arrangement and decorating overhaul in my apartment and it was such a hectic time, especially with my friend’s visit. I couldn’t find my baker’s twine so I had to send the actual cards using jute twine instead. Anyways… this was such a quick, short, and definitely sweet project that I totally enjoy!

Hope you enjoy your Christmas Eve. Have a sweet one!

Pink and Green Baby Shower

Ivana Brata — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 04:19:53 +0000

A couple weeks ago I was assigned to do a decoration for our church friends’ baby shower. It was a bit of last minute, but I still wanted to put together something nice :) My favorite elements out of everything was the fabric bunting (even though it was such a pain to make) and the diaper cake (this one was so FUN to make!). I’m not sure if anyone would be interested if I put together a tutorial on the diaper cake, but I took step-by-step pictures, so I might do that some time.

If I were to do it again, I’d probably “revise” the felt flower centerpiece. I should’ve had something with more popping colors. I’m also not quite satisfied with the fabric background. I don’t like how the “division” of the panel was still showing. Anyway… all in all it was quite successful. Both the mother-to-be and the father-to-be seemed to be happy, so mission accomplished! :)

Baby Shower Sneak Peek

Ivana Brata — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 04:18:52 +0000

… a.k.a what has been causing me back pain all day. :)

Oh well, it’s pretty worth it. It’s actually so, so fun, but my sewing machine wouldn’t cooperate with me. I had to end up hand-sewing them, but it’s looking cute so far, so I’m happy! :) I’m not sure I’ll be able to pull it off, but I might be making a diaper cake too tomorrow. Saw this tutorial to make it. Exciting! I only hope that I have the time. We shall see if time allows.

Leash Pouch

Ivana Brata — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 21:55:39 +0000

Made this leash pouch for a dog lover friend. Thanks to Ellie’s idea the other day. :) I like how it turned out even though it’s not perfect and it could be MUCH more tidier. It’s been a LONG time since I last sew and embroidered and I clearly need more practice! :)

Web Design Class Projects

Ivana Brata — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 02:38:03 +0000

I’m currently taking a Web Design class at a local community college to brush up my web design skill since I’ve forgotten most of what I learned in school. Plus, at the time, we didn’t learn any CSS at all so I need to get updated. I’ve grown to love CSS so much, it makes everything so much more organized compare to the older HTML system. I should’ve learn these stuffs earlier :) Anyway… Here are some of the assignments I’ve done. Pretty basic and simple, actually. I’m sure we’ll be doing something more advanced later! :)

A Little Something for the Niece.

Ivana Brata — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 18:22:37 +0000

Last weekend, the husband and I went to Oklahoma for our niece’s birthday. We have two nieces and we have bought a present for the birthday girl but we wanted to also give a little something for the other sister so she doesn’t get jealous of all her sister’s birthday attentions :) So… I made a little something for her.

I have the plastic headband in stock and I picked the ribbon color to wrap it out of my wedding ribbon leftovers. The green tulle was also a wedding leftover and I bought the pearl on eBay and had them for a while. So last week, I just had to purchase the matching fabric for the flower petals.

We went to Philbrook Museum for the MyMuseum Family Day where kids will receive art activity cards, an art supply, and an art kit toolbox to put everything in. My sister put on my cutie niece a pretty blue dress that match perfectly to the headband. I love it on her!

Chic, Fun Atlanta Wedding.

Ivana Brata — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 20:37:14 +0000

Last Spring, we created this invitation suite for a chic, fun and contemporary wedding at a gorgeous city club in the heart of Atlanta! Nita and Edward shared the same last name initial, which makes a fun monogram. The invitation is a combination of the bride’s fondness of “French-ish” decorative elements and the couple’s modern city wedding style.

Custom monogram, custom map, embossed hard-cover invitation, custom die-cut envelopes. It was such a fun project!

{More of Nita & Edward’s invitation…}

Nita and Edward (Edo) happened to be our very-very good friend and we attended the wedding last Spring. The wedding was so beautiful, intimate, touching, yet so fun. The wedding was shot by the oh-so-talented Lifebox Studio. See it for yourself!

And more jaw-dropping photos…

{More Nita & Edward’s wedding photos…}

Fabric Flower Fabulosity

Ivana Brata — Sun, 02 Aug 2009 05:18:19 +0000

It seems like fabric flowers are everywhere. I was smitten by fabric flowers from J Crew earlier this year. Now, you can pretty much see them everywhere, including your neighborhood’s Target, the stores at Etsy, and even MarthaStewart.com. This trend almost bored me actually, just because it’s everywhere. I don’t usually like things that has been done and used over and over again, but I just can’t help to love this one. It’s irresistable!

This is a fabric flower hair pin that I made about 3 months ago to match my dress at a friend’s wedding.