holidays – Preciously Paired

Easy Valentines Photo Gift

posted in diy, holidays, inspiration, kids by Hanna on February 12, 2016

Something about Valentines these last few years has really got me loving this holiday. It’s just a fun time to embrace all the pinks and reds and spread some love! This year I decided to make our Valentines a little more personal. Grandpas and Grandma’s always enjoy getting pics of the grandkids and since we always sent out Valentines boxes to our families I decided this would be a perfect opportunity to combined the two. I put together this SUPER easy valentines backdrop and did a little Valentines shoot!

Livy Valentines 2 Mia's Valentines 2 Girl's Valentines – XOXO tablecloth backdrop inspiration from WALK IN LOVE blog.

– heart banner was done just cutting hearts out from my silhouette and sewing together

Mia’s Dress and tights // Gymboree

Livy’s Dress // The Children’s Place

I also wanted to do something for Eric that would be a little more personal so since I had a backdrop all ready any I did a fun little flip book for Eric to have to take with him on business trips to remind him that I love him 🙂

Flip book inspiration from Camille Styles blog

Top // Downeast Basics

Also as a little tip/side not, I think we all know that sometimes it’s impossible to get perfect lighting for indoors. Either we don’t have good, natural lighting in our house or it’s hard to take pictures at the right time for lighting. To solve this problem sometime if I know I’m going to be doing a lot of pictures I will rent a light. If you live in Utah I’ve found this great place that you can rent camera equipment for pretty cheap, so nice to work with and they have pickup locations in Salt Lake, Draper and Orem so it’s super convenient! It’s Acme Camera Company. I get the Lowel Rifa 44 or 66 light kit which is only around $20 a day.

Budget Friendly Holiday Dinner Party

posted in decor, diy, food, holidays, inspiration, money saving tips, party, Uncategorized by Hanna on December 9, 2015

When the holidays roll around it usually involves parties, food and entertainment. All of that can get a little overwhelming and pricey when you are the one hosting and start feeling like it has to look like it came out of magazine. What we are coming to find out is that you can still get a great look that will impress all your guests from just shopping your house, incorporating a little DIY and shopping dollar stores or discounted items. Also fancy, plastic dinnerware makes clean up a dream!

Here are the details on our Christmas dinner party and some tips that can help you!

– Since there was going a lot of people coming for dinner, to keep the cost low we decided to go with a rustic theme to incorporate elements that we could get right outside our door. We gathered pine cones to use in our centerpieces and branches from trees to make twig start place holders. I kept mine to use on my Christmas tree this year or you could let your guests take them as a little party favor to hang on their trees.

-For all the center pieces we shopped our houses for vases, candles and candlestick holders. Basically grab anything that could look good on the table and help add some fun interest and fill the space! The greenery and cranberries we used in the vases we got on sale at a number of craft stores but you could easily gather those things from outside as well the day of the party.

– If you want to know a secret for an easy and SUPER cheap charger 12×12 craft paper is the answer! We got 6 sheets of this metallic bronze paper for $1! To add a little color to our table and break up the layering of the plates we added some burlap ribbon with fringe ends.

-For dinner we decided to do buffet style so we created a quick menu in Word and got it printed out for $5. A chalkboard and some chalk would also word perfect for this! The sign we hung above the food table we created with a font we liked and cut it out using a Silhouette machine and then strung the words up with some twine.

Now lets move to the best part..the food! We’re really excited to introduce you to Megan and Nathan from the blog “Half Cup of Snark“. Hop on over to their blog to see what was on the menu for our holiday party, to enjoy some witty, food talk and get some A-MA-ZING recipes to wow your guest’s taste buds this Christmas!

Lastly, we all know that the decorations and food for a party are just part of planning but looming in the back of our minds is always, “What am I going to wear??” Well we have you covered for that as well. See how our plaid peplum top and window pane swing dress are perfect for any party, including all the ones for this holiday season! We’ll just call this the post that just keeps giving. 😉

Now with all your bases covered for hosting a bomb holiday party we wish you luck on all your family and friend gatherings!

We’d love to hear some tips and tricks you have tried for saving money hosting a holiday party while still wowing your guest!!

Personalized Holiday Cards

posted in family, holidays, shop by Hanna on October 26, 2015

Growing up and still to this day one of our favorite things about the holidays are the annual Christmas cards. Not only does it mean getting something a little more exciting in the mail besides bills and ads, but also getting to see what family and friend who live far away are up to. It’s a time to reconnect and spread some love.

So as we’re all starting to realize, thanks to stores already having full isles dedicated to Christmas, it’s that time of year again to start thinking about all the things that the holidays entail, including annual, holiday greeting cards.

Why not let us handle it this year and we’ll create a personal, holiday greeting for you that is sure to stand out among the rest?! You’ll also be happy to know that it will fit perfectly into your Christmas bugdet with illustrations starting at just $20 for 2 people and just $5 more per person.

If we’ve convinced you head over to our shop and follow the 3 simple steps above! We would LOVE the chance do an illustration for you!

DIY Valentine Graphic Tee | Preciously Paired

Valentines Outfit Inspiration with DIY Graphic Tee

posted in color block party skirts, crafts, diy, holidays, inspiration, women's fashion by Hanna on February 10, 2015

As we get further into the new year, the more “crafty” I seem to get after taking a long break over the holidays. So why not jump back on the bandwagon with some easy diy shirts just in time for Valentines day? If you haven’t noticed yet, graphic tees are all the rage…meaning I don’t have one. Funny enough, I always seem to be the last one on the fashion trend compared to Sara; not necessarily because I’m trying to “stick it to the man” or in this case “fashionistas”, but because I have to see something enough times and on enough people before I’ll get brave and do it myself. That’s right, I’m a fashion follower, not starter and I’m definitely ok with that. Anyway, I’m slowly getting on the graphic tee trend, and have even gone as far as whipping up a few different styles that you can make yourself. They are both ridiculously easy and absolutely possible to make before Valentines Day. The best part about these Valentine inspired tees is that it is a style you can continue on wearing all year long!

Today I’m sharing our women’s Valentines outfit inspiration featuring both one of the diy graphic tees I made, and our classic Color Block Party skirt. But first, here is a quick tutorial on the shirt.

Supplies:

-Shirt

-Cardstock

-X-acto knife

– Fabric Paint and foam brush

– Adhesive Spray

To start, I grabbed a long sleeves tee from Old Navy for $5. I love Old Navy! It was either the best thing or the worst thing I ever did to get an Old Navy card. Next, I decided I wanted to do something a little different than your average “Love” tee so I did the next best thing and did the same word in a different langue; “l’amour which is French for “love”. I just typed the word on a blank document on the computer using a font called “Lainie Day”. I printed that out on cardstock and cut the word out with an x-acto knife to use as my stencil. Once that was done I sprayed the back of the stencil with adhesive spray and placed it on my shirt that was laid out flat with a piece of cardboard placed inside the shirt. Last step is to fill in your word stencil with a couple coats of fabric paint, and once that is dry peel off the paper and you’ll officially be ready to join the fashion club of graphic tees.

Along with getting my craft on, I’ve also started taking more pictures again which has always been a hobby of mine. So doing this shoot with our best friend Ashly, who agreed to be my last minute model, was nothing less than fun! We just love this girl; from her gorgeous face, to her caring personality, and everything in between!

For some Valentines Day outfit inspiration, scroll down to see some different ways this easy diy graphic tee can be styled.

Get this full look by ordering your very own Color Block Party Skirt, which is currently on sale in our shop! Also, make sure to check back later this week for a look at the other graphic tee I did for my daughter that I paired with our Color Block Party skirt for girls!

For more Valentines Inspiration check out some of our other blog post:

6 DIY Projects and Printables That Are a MUST This Valentines Day

Introducing our Valentines Prints and Custom Wedding Illustrations

Kid Approved Valentines Party

Friday Finds Valentines Day Gift Ideas

6 DIY Projects and Printables That Are A MUST This Valentine’s Day

posted in crafts, diy, food, holidays, printable by Sara on February 2, 2015

We’ve compiled the perfect list of cute and budget-friendly ways to celebrate Valentine’s Day this year that are sure to show your sweethearts just how much you love them! What we love most about all of these Valentine’s Day ideas is that they are things the whole family can enjoy, even kids!

1. DIY Heart Sweater | by A Beautiful Mess. We love this easy DIY heart sweater made by A Beautiful Mess. It’s literally as easy as cutting out a fabric heart and sewing it to a sweater. If you don’t sew, you could use iron on paper or fabric glue. Either way, in minutes you will be celebrating Valentine’s Day is style!

2. You Warm My Heart Free Printable | by Confetti Sunshine. How cute would it be to deliver your valentine their favorite hot drink with this adorable printable, created by Confetti Sunshine, wrapped around it?! Just a simple way to let your valentine know you’re thinking of them. My most favorite heart-warming drink is a hazelnut steamer, what’s yours?

3. DIY Conversation Heart Pinatas | by Studio DIY. Neither of us are ones to get super crafty on Valentine’s Day, but these DIY conversation heart pinatas made by Kelly over at Studio DIY are just too fun! Plus, Kelly provides an easy, step-by-step tutorial on her blog on how to make these cute Valentine pinatas. I can already picture the fun our kids (and hubbys) would have breaking into one of these!

4. Scratch-off Valentine Printable | by Better Homes and Garden. Nothing like a fun scratch-off Valentine card to intrigue your sweetheart. You can download this FREE printable on Better Homes and Garden’s website, and they even provide a great video on how to make the scratch-off solution. There is even an option for you to customize and download your own scratch-off Valentine printable!

5. La La Love You: French Toast | by Grilled Cheese Social. Nothing speaks love to us better than food! And this french toast recipe by MacKenzie at Grilled Cheese Social, topped with mascarpone cheese, nutella, and fresh strawberries sound like it would definitely do the trick! Plus, it is something the whole family would enjoy!

6. Valentine’s Day Tumble Game | by Tried and True. Vanessa from Tried and True created this fun Valentine’s Day game out of a mini Jenga game she found at Dollar Tree! We LOVE this idea as it is inexpensive, easy to make, and completely customizable! Perfect for a romantic night with your sweetheart or a fun game night with the whole family!

We hope you found some inspiration with this Valentine’s Day round-up! If you have any fun Valentine’s Day projects, please share them with us in the comment section below!

XOXO, Sara

Introducing our Valentines Prints and Custom Wedding Illustrations

posted in decor, holidays, printable, shop by Hanna on January 30, 2015

I’ve mentioned this a couple times on the blog, but I have a hard time figuring out what to do for these smaller holidays to make them memorable and fun. As sad as it is to say, Valentines is usually an after thought now that we have kids and after just getting past the bigger holidays like Christmas and New Years. I think I get stuck on doing something that is going to be so useful and meaningful that I end up taking too long and not doing anything. Yes, there have been a few Valentines where I haven’t done anything for my husband! It’s pretty sad. That’s why I get really excited about what we do when holidays come up where you want to give something that special with a personal touch.

With our custom illustrations it’s a fun spin on the average gift of a simple picture and yet is still personal. Sara and I thought it was so sweet of a husband that took the initiative and ordered a custom, wedding illustration for his newly married wife as a gift for this Valentines Day. So after making one for myself, we wanted to share the love and offer this idea for those out there along with any other custom, illustration for 20% off!

Also to add to the fun of Valentines Day we added some illustrated, Valentines prints and cards to our shop that would be an equally fun and inexpensive gift to give. These are also on sale for 20%! So hop over to our shop and order your own personalized Valentines gift! The sale will last until Monday night.

Monthly Photo Challenge | Preciously Paired

My Monthly Photo Challenge of 2014

posted in family, holidays, inspiration, lifestyle, New Years by Hanna on January 7, 2015

Happy New Year everyone! We are happy to be back with some new changes and goals for our blog and business. Perhaps we’ll even decide to fill you in a little bit on what some of those things are in the near future! Stay tuned!

We spent the holidays doing lots of custom illustrated portraits and Christmas cards which we loved being able to do! Thank you so much to those who have supported us and our creative work! It has been SO crazy how far we’ve come since joining up together last year. We also got to spend the holidays together…like for 2+ weeks! It was fabulous and crazy as usual and I didn’t even take one picture! I actually hosted Christmas at my house for my family. For about 5 days we had anywhere from 11-15 people at our house at any given time. Like I said, crazy! But, I wouldn’t have had it any other way. I know we won’t always be able to get together so easily and for such a long amount of time so I took deep breathes and enjoyed the time we all had together.

Although the holidays were fun I’m excited to get back into a routine, get my house back together and start this year fresh with some new resolutions. I decided to be more realistic on myself this year and I made only 2 resolutions, one of which is to become a basketball fan and even more namely a BYU basketball fan. I’m sure that seems like a very strange resolutions but if you knew me and then my husband you would totally understand. Aside from my resolutions I’m starting this 8 week challenge of eating good and exercising. After not consistently exercising for almost 3 years it’s going to be an interesting start. Wish me luck!

Now that we’re semi caught up without me writing a complete saga of the last couple of months of my life we can move onto what this post is actually about. Last year I saw this post on Pinterest where someone took a picture of their kids once a month for a year. Since we just moved into our house at the beginning of last year I thought it would be a fun way to not only see my girls growth throughout the year but to see the progression of the seasons in our first, very own yard as well. Surprisingly I stuck too it with the help of my husband and bribes that involved candy. I only missed one month…July was a busy month! I’m so glad I decided to do this and love see our first year in our house in review.

Category: holidays

Easy Valentines Photo Gift

Budget Friendly Holiday Dinner Party

Personalized Holiday Cards

Valentines Outfit Inspiration with DIY Graphic Tee

6 DIY Projects and Printables That Are A MUST This Valentine’s Day

Introducing our Valentines Prints and Custom Wedding Illustrations

My Monthly Photo Challenge of 2014