The Landers First Family Portraits and Christmas Cards 2015

Gulp. I admit it. With most of my work done for other companies debuting on their sites, I have very little time for work shared on my own. I have become the very, VERY occasional blogger. And I am okay with that. This is rare, I know, but I am happily sharing a new post!

Melissa Robotti Photography

I have always dreamed of having a professional family portrait session outside. This year my dream became a reality, as my parents gifted me family portraits as an early Christmas gift--I could not be more thrilled!

Melissa Robotti Photography


 Family portraits are something I have been longing to have displayed in a gallery wall in our home to cherish for years to come. {HELP! WHAT ARE YOUR FAVORITE COMPANIES FOR ORDERING PHOTO COASTERS and CARDSTOCK PRINTS?)

Melissa Robotti Photography

I was utterly thrilled when we found Melissa Robotti of Robotti and Rosa Photography to take our portraits. She had the perfect setting in mind when I described desire for a fall sunset session when the light is absolutely enchanting!

Melissa Robotti Photography

I had a ball selecting our wardrobe, all starting with the peachy-pink flutter tulle skirt I had been eyeing at Anthropologie. I felt it was me, encapsulated in garment!

Melissa Robotti Photography

I knew that soft colors photograph the most beautifully, therefore a pale peach, pink, cream and camel color scheme was chosen. A pair of tall chestnut-hued leather boots was spotted at Neiman Marcus Last Call and purchased for a major discount, and it just so happened that my mom had purchased me a perfect-matching peach infinity scarf at Anthropologie two years prior, which gave the texture and warmth I wanted while wearing a simple long sleeve tee.

Melissa Robotti Photography

Ryan wore a cashmere camel sweater, a pale pink button down shirt and khaki pants. What a trooper! He looks SO HANDSOME, swoon!

Our little Noah was dressed in Vineyard Vines head-to-toe. We caught their Friends and Family sale, getting him the cords and sweater. It really complimented his light complexion and hair. The shoes he wore were fabulous--a great find at Clark's Shoes.

Melissa Robotti Photography

 Just turning four, he is at this most precious age I wanted to capture on camera. I wish we would have done family portraits since he was born, but I have been taking quite a few snaps myself, we have no shortage of images. Not to mention Liza Voll took fabulous gorgeous photos of Noah, Ryan and I at his first two birthday parties which I adore.

Melissa Robotti Photography

Noah did a wonderful job during our photo session, warming up to Melissa instantly (she is such a natural with young children, and pulls out the very best in you), and I felt that somehow Melissa was able to capture something unique and beautiful in the portraits no one else could have. Upon going into her studio for our ordering session, I had to pull myself up off the floor--I was enchanted and cannot wait to do a styled shoot with her in her AMAZING studio.

Melissa Robotti Photography

Now of course, we figured the best way to share these portraits was in our Christmas cards. And this year, I had this very unique color scheme: peachy pink, camel and creamy white. Finding a card in those colors wasn't easy. And then being as passionate about paper as I am, I wanted letterpress cards. I just love the look and feel of letterpress. I searched, and searched....and, low and behold, Tiny Prints had the perfect cards! I mean, it felt as if these cards were designed for our family portraits.

The icing on the cake was the fact that they were, indeed, letterpress! I was able to have rounded corners, and then even have the back of the card designed to show additional photos from our portrait session.

I was smitten with something this gal who is very familiar with the stationery industry had never seen before--photo envelope liners! OH MY HEAVENS, I love them. The picture of Noah running through the fields just seemed like the perfect liner (because, he is exuding such JOY, the message we wanted to share with our cards).

On top of that, I got wrap-around return address labels and something I've always wanted to try--matching custom postage stamps!!!!!! This year our photos and cards go together like peanut butter and jelly. They exude our style, message we want to share with our loved ones this Christmas--and I could not be happier.

So that is the story of this year's Christmas cards--a family portrait session, finding that needle in the haystack of a card from Tiny Prints, and discovering my new love: photo envelope liners.

I wanted to share a couple of fun things we are doing this holidays with you, and while I am taking a short break, I couldn't resist sharing our portraits and cards with you.

Next up are our gifts for teachers, neighbors and service men and women. I will share the yummiest treats we chose this year, along with some charming packaging ideas!!!

My blog is due for a much-needed makeover, and I am excited about seeing where God leads me on this journey of where it will go next. Styling, celebrations, interior design, family, faith...looking forward to diving in!



 

 

 

 

Superbowl Party Dessert Touchdown {Rocky Road Chocolate Football By See's Candies}

This Sunday I will be combining two marvelous things: Watching our favorite professional football team play in the Super Bowl, and devouring the most amazing chocolate football {See's Candies Rocky Road made with English walnuts, honey marshmallows and of course, milk chocolate--hand-iced to perfection!} with loved ones.

 We even got an extra one which we have already started slicing into (it is hard convincing a three year old that a chocolate football is untouchable for an entire week!)--and I can say firsthand, it is the sweetest treat. See's Candies made a total touchdown with this one!

 One of these days I will have to tell you about my most cherished childhood memories visiting our local See's Candies store with my grandmother and mother. But for now, I love ordering from them online for my favorite holidays. And with our favorite team playing this year and a toddler who loves footballs and chocolate--this was the best way to sweeten our Super Bowl.

We love you See's!

Minted Custom Art Print + Sneak Preview {Family Room Makeover}

You may recall I blogged about Minted's custom art prints a couple of months ago. It THRILLS me to share with you my pick for our family room.

 

It has been such a wonderful experience decorating our home, making a few more drastic changes, and others subtle. Room by room, we are making this house a home.

Over the years I have discovered that filling the walls is one of the easiest and most important ways to personalize a space. I am a big fan of photographs as well as artwork. When I found all the amazing custom prints online at Minted, I knew we had to have one for our home.

 

Our family room is the space that we spend most of our time in, therefore it was very important to me to work on it first. Coming early in 2015 you will see the "before" and "after" pictures and see the transformation we made. I cannot wait to share it with you!

This first look is our reading corner featuring a big cozy white chair perfect for snuggling up with a book.

We went with a white and khaki color-scheme for the room, and when I saw this darling "little mister" print in coffee, I knew it was THE piece to put in this very special corner. I adore silhouettes (you will discover this when you see our living room), and have always wanted a custom birth announcement print for Noah. This was it!!! I am in love with it.


 The white frame we selected is a perfect match with the white wood walls and ceiling, white drapes and chair. The feel is incredibly light and airy, always a cheerful space to be in. Enormous picture windows let the light stream in.


When hanging our print, I just have to say how impressed we were with how easy it was--and the wire must be a non-slip wire because it is very secure in place, making our job of hanging it take a matter of moments.

Now that I have discovered some of the watercolor and gold foil art prints, I am dreaming up which print from Minted we will use next in our home.

This is a sponsored post. Product or payment may have been provided in exchange for this post. However, I am highly selective of what companies and products I choose to promote. I can say with confidence that after years of working with Minted, I am truly a fan of their work and have carefully chosen their products.

Serena & Lily Sale: Additional 30% Off On Gilt {Favorites for Nursery & Children's Spaces}

Serena & Lily is one of my most favorite brands of beautiful home décor--and I was ecstatic to find this amazing sale on Gilt {get an EXTRA 30% off with code SL30!} From darling bedding for nurseries and children's rooms to drapes and floor poufs for grown up spaces, I am smitten with their unique style.

{Kate Crib Bumper, Kate Crib Skirt, Trellis Stroller Blanket, Moroccan Leather Pouf, Scribble Border Rug}


This time of year I absolutely LOVE searching my favorite designer discount sites, such as Gilt. I think it is because I enjoy searching to find unique holiday decorations and most of all, gifts for my favorite little guy!

{Graham Crib Skirt, Scribble Border Rug, Wayne Pate Pillow Sham}

When I saw this Serena & Lily sale on Gilt, I had to share. It isn't just that it has some of my favorite designs and products, but that they are an additional 30% off the already discounted prices on Gilt. W.O.W.

{Color Frame Duvet Cover, Peacock Scroll Mirror, Kite Sheet Set, Cabin Quilt Standard Sham, Strawberry Script Letter Pillow}
 
We have had Serena & Lily bedding in our master for a few years now, and have loved it.

{Ellory Duvet Set, Ellory Euro Sham, Moroccan Leather Pouf, Scribble Border Rug, Cambridge Headboard}


It's hard to believe it but we are starting to think about a "big boy room" for our guy, and there a few designs here that have proven to be marvelous inspiration, helping me get my creative juices flowing.

{Wildwood Duvet Cover, Kids' Square Pouf, Scribble Border Rug}

You can find all of these fabulous products over on Gilt. If you need an invitation to shop the site, please feel free to accept mine here.

Please know that if I find more favorite brands or sales, I will happily share them with you here. Find any favorites? Would love to hear about them!

Minted Holiday Discount + Christmas Cards, Cookies & Cocoa

Minted holiday cards are fabulous... I don't think that is any secret! It THRILLS me to share with you our cards this year.

{Psssst: Right now Minted is offering 15% off holiday card orders of $150 or more, and 10% off holiday card orders of $100 or more, with code JOY14}




For the last three years, we have ordered our holiday cards through Minted; each and ever time, I have been blown away by the design choices, card and border styles, paper, quality...love love love

Have you tried ordering holiday cards from Minted? This year I was blown away to discover the "find it fast" tool, which allows you to upload your favorite photos and then preview *EVERY* holiday card design with your personal photos. How amazing is that? This made it so much easier to order our cards.

This year I was once again torn between two designs (had the same problem last year, and therefore we ended up choosing two gorgeous cards)...so we decided why not get some of both? We knew one thing for sure...triple thick cardstock was a must!!! Have you tried it yet? LOVE at first touch. I also wanted to show more than one photo, and so we customized the back of our cards to display our favorite shots we wanted to share with loved ones.



One of our cards caters to my more artistic, soft and whimsical side.

 

 The other caters to our classic, preppy side.

Probably my second favorite new thing with Minted this year, is the FREE recipient address printing. And not only is it available in traditional fonts--you can select from SO MANY different designs with graphics, borders--even two color printing...each envelope looks fabulous.





I was so surprised to see all the new options and features this year for holiday cards at Minted. Every year it is a sheer joy to order our cards with them.


This year, getting the cards ready has been a much quicker, easier process. With the recipient address printing, it has been stuffing, sealing, attaching wraparound return address labels...and putting on postage.

I sat down with a cup of cocoa and cookies for a Christmas Card, Cookies & Cocoa afternoon. How fun would this be with friends?



*This is a sponsored post. Product or payment may have been received in exchange for this post, however all opinions are exclusively my own. I carefully select what companies, products or brands I choose to work with then share with you. I can assure you that Minted has surpassed all my greatest expectations.

Minted Custom Art Prints: Pretty Walls, Perfect Presents

It is no surprise that I love paper. From years in the high-end stationery industry to my passion for luxe paper party products, there is always room in my heart for a new way to enjoy paper in my life.





Minted is a company offering holiday cards, invitations, announcements and stationery I adore (the triple thick paper is spectacular). In addition they also offer amazing custom paper party collections, personalized gift wrap that is beyond compare, and my latest discovery: custom art prints and room signs.

We are having a ball decorating our new home {our living room debut has been delayed, once again...but I can assure you it will be worth the wait!}.

Right now filling our walls with artwork and photographs that are personalized and a reflection of our style is on my mind. I popped over to Minted and have been searching for some amazing prints for our family room. Living room, dining room and Noah's room are next on my list...I love how I am able to customize the size, the frame, even the type of glass.

 

And as Christmas is two months away (Eek!), I started to take a peek at their prints for gifts. WOW. I am loving their hanging signs for children's rooms right now. How sweet is this for a baby or child's gift?

The custom photo art gifts are among my favorites--for a friend who just got married, for grandparents who spend endless hours loving and doting on our son, and for a friend who just found out she's expecting.

I am a new big fan, and stay tuned later this year to see what we selected to warm up the walls in our own home!



This is a sponsored post. Payment or trade may have been received in exchange for this post. However, all opinions in this post are purely my own. I carefully choose what products I would truly recommend, and have the highest standards for quality.

Kate Landers for Layla Grayce

I realized that summer hast almost come and gone, and I have yet to share with you my latest projects for Layla Grayce here on my blog!

It has been a wonderful year thus far, creating lots of original content for Layla Grayce, designing dessert tables (and a cake!) that coincide with current trends in the textile industry. Working with Layla Grayce over the years has been a tremendous honor, and privilege.

 In addition to designing, styling and writing these blog posts for Layla Grayce, I also did all of the photography. That is a brilliant new skill that I have so much more to learn about--and I am more eager than ever to improve! Goodness knows I am just at the tip of the iceberg, but willing to learn more--thankfully the amazing Liza Voll has given me a few great lessons already, and I hope to gain more knowledge from such a talent as Liza.

Another great joy has been working with incredible designers, artists, bakers, crafters and vendors who are a very large part of these shoots-it is a collaborative effort and I always feel such pressure to style everything perfectly so that every item each person created for the shoot is shown off as beautifully as possible.

Please stop over to each shoot post on Layla Grayce to see all the incredible photos and details!!!


{Pastel "Radiant Orchid" Spring Naked Cake}

 

{Honeycomb "New Hive" Housewarming Party}

{Watercolor Citrus Summer Celebration Table}

{Pink & Gray Bridal Shower}

I have autumn, winter, Halloween and Christmas on my mind! And of course, little Noah's 3rd birthday celebration planning is in full swing!