In my desire to be a better pretty paper provider, I’m trying to make a point of being more creative, crafty and generally “do”-y in the rest of my life. In this vein, I’ve decided to try and jump on parties that come my way. For my upcoming birthday extravaganza (in Nov.), I made fortune teller invites that corresponded to the REQUIRED Saturday Night Live costume element. (Is there a photographer out there willing to take a photo of the invite if she still has it lying around and didn’t get lost in her move?)

But… but… this means I will soon be taking on what I’m sure will be my most difficult client duo: my sister and mother. Sigh. I’ve been trying to dive into this all day but it’s just not gelling. My sister is graduating from high school next month and I have insisted that I will plan the party so I can share it with you all. The problem I’ve come across is multifold. First of all, graduation stuff out there is lame. LAME-O. The equivalent of stock photography lame. My sister does not want glittery graduation hats everywhere. Now the second problem is, the party is for my sister but also for my family… which probably expects glittery graduation hats. Third problem is that my sister is super cool with elements of hipster but not in a way that makes me want to strangle her. I have been mistaken for homeless in Whole Foods*, how am I supposed to be super cool? My sister is ALSO is an accomplished rider but not in a prissy “I want an oompa loompa now, Daddy” way or in a Miley Cyrus country way. And she’s a teenager- obviously- so the rules of the world cite that she can’t care overly about her party. Why does betterment of ourselves always so annoying, dear readers? Also why can’t I stop thinking about “Hey Dude” all of a sudden?

Ok so what I’m thinking is 2 parts “Urban Outfitters” with one part “something to do with horses” and a general dose of “celebration” (not the song- the concept- ew totally not the song). But AGAIN it’s probably going to be more than half family so I don’t think they’d respond as favorable to things like mustaches and photo booths. So again, I repeat, oy vey! Ooo maybe crests can work themselves in there and bridge some gaps. I already do have a graduation invitation with crests…

Anyway there’s no resolution to that at the moment BUUUUUT in the process of looking I found several new amazing wedding inspiration sources:

First we have Laury Liane an event planner that seems to do it from flowers to decoration to… everything.

Next is Livia Cetti, whose work reminds me of Rebecca Thruss, and seems to be would have great ideas and photos for you to take to your vendors to give them an idea of what you want.

And last is not really a wedding resource but POSH Chicago has A TON of cool ephemera, some for cheap, some for not.

*Ok this is probably my favorite story to tell but in short, I used to work next to a Whole Foods and one day in the winter I decided to reward myself with a big cookie but since I didn’t want the world to know I was slipping out for a bit I grabbed an cardigan, a VERY old paint ridden skull cap, and a handful of change from my desk drawer and headed over all wild-eyed and excited for cookies. As I was trying to dig out all my change and count it out for the clerk he kind of sadly looked at me and said “Oh is that all your getting” to which I agreed and he said “Oh that’s ok, you can just have it” and my little crazed sugar loving eyes got all excited and I happily skipped out only to stop outside of the store and think “Wait, did he think I was homeless?”¬† Now I think it’s a 50/50 shot but still, free cookie.