Work In Progress, Part II...

... here are some more shots of the bags of gourmet yumminess that I am working on for my friend Abby... I'm hoping that I'll be able to get some shots of all the contents of the bags before they are distributed...

... the tags here were made by just importing a .jpg of Abby's wedding monogram and scroll into my mac document, and then overlaying text... I used the same font that was used on their wedding invitations, in order to give all of Abby's wedding pieces cohesive detail.

...once I had the documents formated to my satisfaction, I printed them onto cream colored cards. The font is a sage green color that matches her wedding colors.

... as you can see, I simply took two pieces of tissue paper, one sage green, one chocolate brown, layered them together and stuffed them into the bags...they are Abby's wedding colors and I think with the ligher brown of the bags they look quite nice.

... a simple hole was punched into the bag tags and then the tags were secured to the bags with a simple chocolate ribbon.

...I've also created an itinerary and a card describing the gourmet cheese that she is including in the bags, so I will have photos of those soon, when the assembly is all done! I think adding a simple itinerary card into a goodie bag is a simple way to make your guests feel really comfortable and reassured. Abby's has wedding weekend events listed as well as shuttle times so her guests are all set to celebrate all weekend!

... these are shots of the bags with the tags ready to be stuffed with the rest of the goodies!

...enjoy!

I've Been Reviewed!

Woods&Company has been reviewed!

I was approached by Courtney (not my sister in law!) who writes a blog called The Art of Being Mom. She reviews products and does giveaways.

So, I sent her some Whoopie Pies, Peanut Butter Cup Cookies and Fluffernutter Fudge. She received them, ate them, and wrote about them!

Check out the review of my homemade Whoopie Pies and the other goodies at http://blog.theartofbeingmom.com/?p=1822 


You can also enter to win the giveaway (a dozen homemade Whoopie Pies for FREE!) while you're there!


Enjoy!

Thank you, thank you, thank you...

... Courtney, THANK YOU for always being willing to help me out, especially at a moment's notice or bringing me things when I am stuck in the house because my husband took the car to go watch football at Casa de Olinger! (pro: no football playing incessantly on a Sunday; con: no car to go out and run errands!)

... So as you might have guessed from that first comment, my sister-in-law Courtney (whom I have mentioned previously on this blog) is wonderful and she does so many things for me all the time, always helps me out, and never complains. She's always gracious about it, and I really appreciate it. Today she went to Container Store for me to get some tissue paper and then dropped it off at my house...taking time out of her Sunday to drive across the city, buy these things and bring them to me, AND she had to drive through the thick of the Folsom Street Fair! What a sister-in-law!!

...ANYWAY, I thought it would be neat to make her a little thank you gift. Since I know that she loves the yellow and grey color combination that I used for the bachelorette party favors a few weeks ago (see earlier posts), I decided to use some of the leftover supplies I had from that project to make her some personalized note cards.

...I've also been OBSESSED with downloading new fonts lately, and so I tried out some new ones for this project. I think it's a cute twist on a monogram!

...Thanks again, Court! I really appreciate it! Happy corresponding!

A Work In Progress...

... So I am helping my friend Abby put together her Out Of Town Guest Gift Bags for her wedding next weekend (I can't believe it's next weekend!). She is getting married in the Napa Valley, and I think it is going to be just beautiful!

... anyway, she and her husband-to-be are big foodies (her husband is a phenomenal cook, and they LOVE to buy fresh food at farmer's markets and try new things), so they decided that they would like to incorporate some things that make the Bay Area so special: the wonderful array of delicious food!

... her bags are going to include the following: small, individual breads from Acme, Point Reyes Triple Cream Brie form Cowgirl Creamery, local chocolates, local fruit, and some almonds. I know, YUM, right? Aren't you just salivating right now?

... I have been helping her out with designing the bags and making the labels and the tags. I was fortunate enough to be able to use the ornament and monogram that was designed for their wedding invitations, and incorporate them into the tags. I wanted to mention that because I cannot take the credit for designing that beautiful graphic and the clever monogram.

...I understand these pictures are really NOT THE BEST, but this is a work in progress, and I hope to have some really great pictures when they are all set to go!

...enjoy the pics!

...p.s. for those of you who were worried (is there anyone out there reading this and are you worried?), the cheese, the bread, and the fruit are going to be plopped into the bags onthe day they are delivered!

Oh, this is my dream...

...my sister in law Courtney just brought this to my attention, this is my dream (I think it's hers as well!)...

...check out this fabulously organized work room that has everything at your finger tips...

http://www.unplggd.com/unplggd/-081393

...bliss...

Come and knock on my door....

...so I spent this weekend in San Diego (well, Carlsbad) with two of my best college friends, Jen and Trinity. Such a great time, and completely relaxing! We got caught up, played with Jen's 16 month old, Robbie, and went to the beach...what a life...although I always say I want to move back to New England, San Diego would definitely NOT be bad either! But, I really can't complain, I have an incredible life in San Francisco (it just needs to be a tad warmer, lol!).

...ANYWAY, I am writing about this trip for two reasons...the first is that I received a TON of encouragement for my recent projects from my friends. They saw Mary's Bachelorette Party gift bags on Facebook and were very excited about them. I was encouraged to go into business, and I told them that was my intent. It's just so nice to hear encouraging words when you are trying to get something started and you're not sure if what you are doing is going to be taken seriously...I guess it is! Thanks Jen and Trin for your encouragement and support!

...the other reason why this trip was relevant was because the three of us decided to go to the movies on Saturday night (we were laughing comparing what we would have done out on a Saturday night together 10 years ago! We were all so excited to go to dinner and a movie and be back home and in bed by 10!), and luckily, none of us had seem Julie&Julia, a movie that I was really interested in seeing. Apparently we ALL had really wanted to see it, so it was really great that it was still playing! So we went to the movie, which I really enjoyed. But, the point of this whole thing is that I was really impressed by this young woman's determination and commitment to this project of hers. I could relate to her in parts of the movie, with her late nights, messy kitchen, and somewhat neglected husband. Even though I am just starting out, I have already had quite a few weekend days where I stayed in the kitchen ALL DAY making goodies, frosting goodies, packaging goodies. Then there is the labelling, packing, shipping, etc. It's quite an involved process. But, for her it paid off and I am hoping that if I stick with this it will pay off for me as well. She was able to change her life and do something that she really loved, I hope I can do the same.

...I guess the point of this entire entry is that I am very encouraged to continue what I am doing, and I want to thank all my friends and family who are so supportive and encouraging! I mostly want to thank my husband, who has been very patient so far and such a great taste tester, proof reader, and general reviewer of all things Woods!

Thank you all!

Another Bicycle Built For Two...

...here are some more images of the Bachelorette Favor Bags! Enjoy!

A Bicycle Built For Two...

... so my sister-in-law (the one with whom I made the dinner party place cards) has about a million friends. This is because she is such an amicable, warm, funny, caring, awesome person! My husband often jokes that he thinks I like his sister better than him, and perhaps that's why I agreed to marry him...

...anyway! One of Courtney's million friends is getting married soon. Courtney organized and threw a bachelorette party for this friend. She wanted to have some party favors, so she asked me to put together some bags for the event.

...what was IN the bags? Well, here's a list:

A bottle of water (important to stay hydrated when out partying!) with a personalized label (see photo)

A champagne glass personalized with every guest's name and yellow ribbons tied around the stem. This is an easy, inexpensive, creative and fun way for guests to keep track of their glass during the party.

A packet of "morning after" necessities: Advil and Rolaids... packaged and tied with a ribbon and homemade tag

A homemade Whoopie Pie, a yummy goodie for after the party! It was packaged and tied with a ribbon and homemade tag.

I also made tags for the bag.

Since the bride and future husband enjoy cycling together, I did a cycling theme for the bags. Her wedding colors are yellow and gray (a GREAT color combination!), so the bags were also themed around her colors, with yellow and gray ribbons, yellow bags, and gray and white tissue paper.

Giving (and getting!) party favors is always a fun thing, but I think it's even more fun and more special when they have meaning. Why do the "same 'ol, same 'ol" when you can make it really about the guest of honor?

All the tags were made just by using different color and patterned paper and layering them to make them interesting.

Here are the photos!

Hmmm...what to do with these...

...so I walk to work everyday, which is very pleasant. I work about 4 blocks from my house, and could argueably have one of the best commutes in the Bay Area. I get to walk, it's not very far from home, and the weather is never very extreme, so it's usually quite nice... to be home from work 15 minutes after you left? Bliss!

...anyway, I digress. So, part of my walk everyday is by the Flower Market, which is San Francisco's wholesale flower "district". It is about 1 block away from my house. I always enjoy walking by in the mornings, because the nurseries and farms are doing their deliveries, and you can see the florists carting all these great flowers around and into their shops. I walk by all the back doors to the shops, so I really get to see what is being delivered. It is very interesting to see what is in season and you can definitely tell when it's wedding season!

...ANYWAY, as you might imagine, there are always "remnants" of the morning's deliveries that linger on the sidewalk and on some carts as I walk by. Sometime's there'll be entire bunches of flowers thrown away...apparently not making the cut ( no pun intended). I often feel sorry for these poor flowers and want to take them home (they look perfectly fine to me, but then again, I'm no florist!). Most of the time, however, there are just interesting bits and pieces strewn on the sidewalk.

I have found it very interesting to "document" these bits and pieces and have been photographing them as I walk to work... I am thinking about using the photos in a collage of color perhaps for some gift bag tags or something. But I also like the backdrop of the sidewalk...very urban...Maybe I'll just make them into cards somehow.

...but I'm still not sure what I should do with these photos...

I'm still obsessed with whoopie pies...

...I know, I know, the summer of 2009 should be known as The Summer of Whoopie Pie Love... Ever since I figured out how to make the pies, I have been slightly obsessed with all the events where they can be brought out and shown off.

So, you've seen these for my niece's birthday party, and I decided to do a little mock up of how they would look as party favor for a slightly more sophisticated party...perhaps a wedding? I was also playing with the the colors of Raspberry and Sage-ish green/ I think they are a fabulous combo, especially with the chocolate brown color of the pies...

Here are some examples!

Long Time, No Blog!

Hi Everyone!

I know it's been a while, but I have been keeping myself really busy with baking and doing out of town wedding gift bags!

However, I am very excited for the long weekend and a chance to catch up and post some great stuff I've been meaning to show everyone.

Stay tuned!