Wednesday, May 14, 2008

a fabulous little gift certificate




One lucky mom got this one-of-a-kind Nesting Instincts gift certificate from her kids this Mother's Day! I was dying to show you a picture of it sooner - but had to wait till after Mother's Day so I didn't spoil the surprise. I created this gift certificate with beautiful fonts in chocolate brown, then finished it with a plaid ribbon and a handmade button. I don't know if you can tell from this picture - but the button is actually handmade with a vintage image of a nest on it. How cute is that (if I do say so myself)?



I am slowly but surely creating my own line of custom invitations and stationery. I'm thinking of selling this line on Etsy...but am waiting for a better camera to take more detailed shots. In the meantime, be sure to let me know if you'd like a custom-designed invitation for an event or personalized stationery for yourself. I'd love to create a one-of-a-kind item for you!


In other news...could we please have a moment of silence for my laptop? It totally died on Monday. The hard drive is toast. Of course, I didn't have it backed up anywhere. Which means my entire brain, pretty much, is gone. I've lost everything I've created - all my custom invitations, every song I've ever written (that's personal, but still...), all my business files, blog files, my Outlook calendar & email, everything. I have only myself to blame, for not backing things up...and even worse, I had a feeling it was coming...just thought I had more time. So, my husband is kindly letting me use his computer, so I'm still able to post on the blog and do email...but everything else is gone. Yikes. I try not to think about it, but I have to, because each day, something new comes to mind that I lost. We are exploring our options to see if anything can be retrieved from the hard drive, but it's looking like it would be totally out of our price range to even try. So, (cue funeral dirge) rest in peace, little computer. You served me well, right up until the very end, when you died in the middle of composing this very blog post. >sigh< >sob< ;-)

12 comments:

  1. Very pretty!!!! I love the font and everything. lol

    Sorry to hear about your laptop. Ugh. That happened to me about 3 years ago and I'm STILL sharing the desktop with my kids.

    ReplyDelete
  2. ooohhh...I sure hope I have this computer replaced in three years! Yikes!! I'll go crazy!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Oh, my. I'm so sorry for your loss. I would feel like a friend had died if my computer went and took everything with it. My husband is a computer tech and is always warning me, "It's not IF your computer dies, but WHEN." And yet I still can never seem to remember to back mine up properly.

    I think your story has scared me straight, though. I'll buckle down and do it this afternoon!

    On a lighter note, I love the gift certificate you created. You are just multi-talented, aren't you? Looking forward to seeing more of your stationery and invitations soon. I love that kind of stuff. -Julia

    ReplyDelete
  4. What a lovely invitation! You are a busy girl!

    So sorry about the laptop. I've been there and can feel your pain. I remember it well.

    Blessings,
    Melissa

    ReplyDelete
  5. I love, love the gift certificate!! I'd shop in your Etsy store for SURE.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Julia, Melissa, and Laura thanks for your encouragement! Sandra - thanks for stopping by!

    ReplyDelete
  7. I want to know more about your homemade buttons.. they are as cute as a... well, you know... a button!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Love your gift certificate - great idea! I feel for you with your laptop - I know how vital mine is to me for everything.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Is there anything you can't do...the gift certificate looks fabulous! On the flip side, I'm so sorry about your laptop. I'll see if my hubby has any good ideas. Although I'm sure your hubby already knows everything that could be done.

    ReplyDelete
  10. you guys - I'm sorry - I read over what I said and it made it look like I made that button. It IS handmade - but not by me!! it was a gift from my friend Christa. She purchased it at a cute little shop in Sellwood (Portland, OR). I don't know the name of the shop but I'll look at the card later because I think it has the artist's name on it. Thanks for all the well wishes. Thanks Taej - that would be great.

    ReplyDelete
  11. My mother was the lucky recipient of the gift certificate and she was THRILLED! I must agree that the certificate was beautiful! Thanks, Courtney!

    ReplyDelete

thank you for commenting, dahling! I can't wait to hear what you have to say. :-)