Stella and Dot Summer Love + Trunk Show

Posted on August 13, 2013 by Kristy :: Make Life Cute / Leave a response

Over the weekend, I hosted my first ever Stella and Dot Trunk Show at my house for family and friends, and now you’re invited to shop too!!!

{My sis, Lauren, and I modeling some S&D necklaces on Sunday}

I had never really paid much attention to Stella and Dot before, until I started noticing some super, freakin’ cute stuff one of my Instagram friends was posting for her online trunk show, back in June. So, I clicked over to check it out, started browsing and fell absolutely in LOOOVE with the Turquoise Ikat Palm Springs Scarf! Like had-to-have-it-right-nooow in love! I kind of felt like I was in one of those Pier1 commercials where the products start talking to people.. ha!

And let me just say, I’m soo not, nor have ever been, a scarf person… So this was kind of a very random thing to fall in love with. In fact, just a few weeks prior, my fabulous fashionista, little sis and I were at Express and she was trying to show me how to wear a scarf, and I believe I said something like “I just think I’m not a scarf person.They look so cute on everyone else, but I dunno I just feel weird when I try to wear them”.

Guess I was wrong! The lightweight, flowy material of S&D’s scarves are like none other… and it’s totally magical! I’m soo a scarf person now!

Then a few weeks ago, I meet and became instant friends with Katie {who is a Stella and Dot stylist}, and she invited me to attend the Stella and Dot Michigan Fall Collection Preview Event with her – which was an awesomely, fun night! I think Katie is probably one of the nicest girls I’ve ever met – such a doll!

{Katie and I at the Stella and Dot Michigan Fall Preview Event}

So last Sunday, Katie came to my house, to do the trunk show, and she setup an awesome display of S&D products for my guests to play with. We were all like kids in candy store – trying on all of the jewelry and scarves, and checking out all the fabulous purses and wallets…

{Photo via Katie}

S&D even has a line of Girls jewelry that is super cute.. My six year old niece was at the party and she {of course!} loved it all! She was so cute, I wish I would have remembered to take her picture with all the jewelry on!

Currently, Katie is offering a fabulous promotion – if you spend $50 you can get any of these Trunk Show Exclusive items below at 50% off!

S&D has so much great stuff to choose from! I absolutely adore the new Pewter Metallic pattern… *fingers crossed* that they add a Tech Wallet in that pattern this winter!

Did I mention that their stuff ships and is delivered in 3-5 days and comes in the cutest gift boxes everrr?

Here’s just a feeew of my must-haves and wish list items!

.: Happy Shopping! :.

xo Kristy and Katie

Katie’s Dinosaur Baby Shower!

Posted on July 1, 2013 by Kristy :: Make Life Cute / Leave a response

We had my sister in-law, Katie’s baby shower at the end of LAST June actually.. so yeah, a year ago.. and since it’s almost time for Zach’s {my nephew} first birthday here in a few weeks, I thought it was prooobably about time to share the shower photos + deets!

The shower was held at my parent’s church. We lead guests from the front door to the party room, with cut-out shapes of dinosaur feet, that my mom made…

We used blue and green ostrich feathers {that we purchased from Hobby Lobby} in orange, blue, and green vases {that were purchased from a local floral/ craft store} as the centerpieces.

Each place setting included three plates {one for salad, one for the main entree, and one for dessert}, a mason jar and paper straw, and flatware that was wrapped up super cute! We also included a homemade, dinosaur cookie that my mom made as party favors. We picked up the adorable green, brown and orange placemats for $1 at Michaels. Score!

My aunt and cousin used the polka dot pattern paper I designed to add an extra pop to the plates, and they also used it to create cute, little napkin rings.

Since there wasn’t specific place setting for each guest, we decided on the idea of having a few of the tables be “reserved” for family – so I designed these “Reserved for Family signs” that we place on a few of the tables up front…

My mom made these fabulous, string dinosaur eggs {based off an idea we saw on Pinterest by Turtle Craft Girl} that we hung above the gift table…

I designed a cute, simple banner to jazz up the gift table…

and I also designed a sign for the “cards” basket that was on the gift table.

I found this awesome picture frame for our menu sign in the clearance section of HomeGoods – it was actually “damaged”, but I think the cracks fit our dinosaur theme perfectly!

Styling the dessert table was tons of fun! I chose burlap for the table and backdrop, so that our bright orange, blue, green color scheme would really pop!

We found these cute blue, orange, and green butterflies at Michaels that we clipped onto the grass skirt…

We hung the custom banner I designed over the table…

My mom spray painted plastic dinosaur toys to match our colors, and we placed them randomly around the dessert table, as well as a few other places…

We found these absolutely, PERFECT Whirly Pops in the candy section at Party City, and I used in the vases, on the dessert table, along with the ostrich feathers.

Since we knew the shower theme well in advance, my mom and I stocked up on clearance, egg shaped Easter candy a few months before – which worked out and fit our theme perfectly!

My mom made her famous, almond cupcakes for the party…

which I topped with custom cupcake toppers I designed!

And, of course, no dessert table is complete without our custom candy stickers and mini car bar wrappers!

It all came together beautifully, don’t you think!?

My adorable sister in-law hadn’t seen anything we were planning until she walked into the shower… she was surprised, thrilled, and all smiles!

People Magazine :: “Love Cake” Valentine Printables {free!}

Posted on February 12, 2013 by Kristy :: Make Life Cute / Leave a response

{Photo courtesy of Save the Date for Cupcakes}

Check out the adorable Valentine’s Day ideas + tutorials that Tanya of Save the Date for Cupcakes shared on her blog & with People Magazine featuring our FREE “Love Cake” Valentine’s Printables! {Links to download printables are below!}

Download our Free Printable “Love Cake” Files – feature on People.com:

*Files will be downloaded via SugarSync - our files our hosted via SugarSync, however you DO NOT need a SugarSync account to download them. If you do not have a SugarSync account, simply click the orange “Download” button. Enjoy!

{Photo courtesy of Save the Date for Cupcakes}

How cute are our NEW Lucite Trays! Tanya used our 12″x12″ Lucite Tray - featuring our “Love Cake” art print insert - which is removable & interchangeable, so that you can switch up the look of your tray at anytime!

Had a total blast working with Tanya on this project! She’s a dessert table stylin’, rock star!

Our iPad Cases are fully + totally compatible with Smart Covers!

Posted on January 14, 2013 by Kristy :: Make Life Cute / Leave a response

Whaaa? For real!? You may be asking yourself..

Why, yes, my dear – it’s truuue, you heard correctly! Our deeply, fabulous, personalized iPad Cases pair effortlessly with Apple’s Smart Covers! I, personally, was very excited about that feature, & happen to think it’s pretty flippin’ sweet! I love the simplicity of the Smart Covers, so when we found a way to make our cases compatible with them, I was all in!

Superior screen protection + super cute, ultra-slim case = iPad heaven!

Our cases are a totally must if your looking for the cutest, raddest way to dress up your iPad & show off your personal style! Check ‘em out!

Want something totally custom for your case? Don’t be afraid to ask - however, please note that additional design charges may apply!

PS – Our Cases fit iPad (retina) , 3rd Generation, & 2. Smart Covers are not included & are sold separately by Apple.

{new!} Sweets for Santa plates! + discount code

Posted on November 28, 2012 by Kristy :: Make Life Cute / Leave a response

These babies have been in the works for a while & we’ve been waiting for the past few weeks for our samples to ship & be delivered… aaand I have to say, I’m pretty excited about how awesome they came out, if I’m being honest..

Our new “Sweets for Santa” plates are a cute, modern twist on the traditional cookies for Santa plates + a mini lesson for kids on the importance of being thankful. You & your family can feel free to leave Santa something unique, special, & different this year – cupcakes, pie, candy, cake pops, or whatever you come up with!

I personally kind of think Santa might get a little sick of cookies, but hey to each their own, that could be just me – & I’m not always right ;)

But I think we can all agree that teaching children to be thankful & appreciative is super, suuuper important. With the phrase “Thanks, Santa!”, we thought it would be a great way to reenforce the principel of being thankful to children, by letting them know that we don’t just give in order to get something in return – we leave Santa cookies to show our appreciation for what he has done for us & what he is doing for everyone!

I think our trendy, signature “Sweets for Santa” plates are a great tradition to add to your holiday season – so your family can say “Thank You” to Santa in style!

PS – For a limited time, get 20% off your new, amazingly fab “Sweets for Santa” plates in our Etsy Shop! ♥ Use code INSTATWEET20 ♥ http://www.MakeLifeCute.etsy.com/

XO ♥ Kristy

SugarSync :: a must have app for backing up files!

Posted on November 27, 2012 by Kristy :: Make Life Cute / Leave a response

SugarSync :: “SugarSync is a free service that enables you to back up, access, sync, and share your files from your Mac or PC.”

SugarSync is a suuuper great way to back up files online. There are tons of different uses & features they offer, but I pretty much only use it for automatically backing up files. I currently use the 60 GB plan (mainly because I have a ton of design files & photos – the 30 GB should be good for most people), & I would say it is soo worth it. In your SugarSync Manager, you can choose which folders you want to backup, & it will run automatically run in the background of your computer every time you start-up & will automatically upload any changes made to files in the folders you’ve chosen to back-up. You can access your SugarSync Website from any computer or device & are able to download & share any of your files you have synced.

(Access your SugarSync Manager + Sugar Sync Website easily at anytime in your menu bar!)

Ready to learn from my mistakes? Okay, here goes…

I discovered SugarSync a few years ago, after an extremely horrible ordeal happened.. I was in the process of switching from a PC to a MAC & bought a pretty, pink Seagate removeable hard drive that I had planned to use to backup files + photos, but was also using to move files to the new computer. I didn’t even have the removable hard drive a week, before it completely died & stopped working – with a ton of client files & personal files (digitally photos included! :() on it, that hadn’t been transferred to my new computer yet! I was totally & completely devastated for weeks – as the only option for getting the files back was to pay a data recovery place hundreds to possibly thousands of dollars to try to recover the files & even then there were no guarantees that they would be successful with the recovery. I contacted the place I purchased the hard drive from & also Seagate directly.. both offered to replace the hard drive with a new one (umm no thank you.. lol), & said “sorry about your luck” with losing a ton of important files.. So I forced to just suck it up & let the files go.

Everything happens for a reason though right? I learned a lot from that experience & am thankfully it happened early on instead of later down the road. It’s sooo super, extremely important to save files often & backup your files in multiple locations (in addition to using SugarSync, I also use a Mac Time Capsule). A Time Capsule or a reliable removable hard drive are great ways to back up your files, but not if they &/or your computer are stolen, lost, damaged, ect. That’s why I think an automatic online back-up is a must too!

So while it was horrible to lose all of those files & photos, that situation lead me to start using SugarSync to back up my files, which brings me to how SugarSync majorly saved my life..

Programs crashing doesn’t happen often at all on Macs, but there have been a few super, rare occasion that it has happened to me – for example, if I have a ton of programs open at the same time &/or a lot of junk that has accumulated on my desktop (which slows down any computer Mac or PC ) sometimes these things can cause a program to crash unexpectedly. Program crashes can be devastating to a designer if they haven’t saved the file recently. And what about if you accidentally save over an original file that you needed?

That would be a huge bummer, right? Not so much if you have SugarSync running!

(Options that area available in your SugarSync Website when you click on one of your files.)

When programs crash or you accidentally save over an original file, if you have SAVED the file recently it will be available to download on your SugarSync Website – however you would still lose any work you’ve done after the last time you saved, but it’s way better than losing the whole thing! This LITERALLY saved me in SUCH a huge way that I can’t even express how thankful + grateful I am that they offer this feature.

About a year ago, I was working on a biiig project that came up last minute & had a super tight deadline. In the design program I use, I had the different artwork for the client saved on different layers within the same document. I was deleting the layers to save each item separately as a different file type. As I’m going along, I somehow saved it after deleting all the layers except one, & the program crashed (which I literally think was the first time in two years that it had ever crashed) so there was no way to undo the deleting I had done. When I re-opened the file, there it was… one lonely piece of artwork was all that remained. Again, I was completely DEVASTATED… I cried for like hooours – okay not really, but it felt like hours lol (at the time I didn’t realize that SugarSync had my back & was completely unaware that they had kept every version of the file saved for me). Joel & I searched the internet for a solution for how to recover a file you saved over or lost, we called a few tech savy friends to see if they had any ideas… & came up with nothing.

This was a big client & a majorly, huge event, & there was no time left to redo everything that was lost. I can’t even describe what a horrible, awful feeling that was. Just as I was about to settle in & accept defeat, I caught myself staring at the cute, tiny SugarSync icon in my menu bar & thought “why not? it’s worth a shot”.. so I opened the SugarSync Manager & then my SugarSync Website. Up until that point, I wasn’t really familiar with the back end of SugarSync, so I wasn’t even sure what I was looking for. After searching around, I found the file I had been working on & clicked on it… The most amaaazing thing everrr happened…

(Every version of your files are stored on SugarSync after ever save!)

When you click on “Versions”, SugarSync brings up every version of the file from every time you’ve saved it!!! Soo AMAZING – beyond words amazing. I was able to download the version of the file I needed before the last save I had done. I lost a small amount of new work that I hadn’t saved before the crash, but it was so minimally compared to what would have happened without SugarSync.

I don’t know if everyone can fully appreciate how phenomenal this feature is, but as I designer I think it’s a super amazing feature! I’m clearly a big fan of SugarSync, & highly recommend using them.

So that’s my story… now what have we learned, guys? Save files often + back up your files in multiple locations!!!

What methods do you use to back-up your files? Any other great apps you would recommend?

XO ♥ Kristy

{New!} Lifestyle Products are now available!

Posted on November 14, 2012 by Kristy :: Make Life Cute / Leave a response

Super excited to announce the release of our new, signature iPhone cases, iPad cases, & melamine plates! They’re now available in our new, Etsy shop!

Annnd! We’re offering 20% off for our super fab Readers, Instagram, Twitter, & Facebook friends + fans! Limited time only.. Use code InstaTweet20 at checkout! http://www.etsy.com/shop/MakeLifeCute

Here’s the scope behind our new designs..

Our neon, Rainbow Snakeskin design, was inspired by my love of bright colors & my silver-metallic, snakeskin, hinge-clutch wallet. I looove that wallet & am always getting complimetns on it & asked where it’s from. I bought it a few years ago from Torrid (literally I think it was like in 2009 so unfortunately they don’t carry it anymore) & it’s held up great despite the abuse it takes. I did however see that Target is currently carrying a “limited edition” wallet that is very simliar, however is much bulkier than the one I got from Torrid. I couldn’t find the wallet on Target’s site, but here is their silver clutch purse that is the same material/ pattern as the wallet. (PS – this is the iPhone case I currently carry).

Our Zebra Girl iPhone case is another one of my favs! It was inspired by & designed for my girl Jackie Sorkin of The Hollywood Candy Girls – who of course loves all things pink, girly, colorful, & zebra!

Our Modern Tile pattern is suuuper popular! We took tons & tons of pre-orders for this iPhone case, & it was the very first case I designed. I carried this case for the past few months & still switch back to it frequently. The design was inspired by the pattern & theme I came up with for my 30th birthday party back in June. Cute, classic, & preppy!

The rest of our designs that are currently available are classic patterns (leopard, chevron, polka dots, stripes, lattice) that we put a cute, unique twist on, so that would be different from anything else that’s out there.

We’re really excited about our new venture, & we hope you are too!

PS – Don’t forget to use the code InstaTweet20 for 20% off your purchase! {Limited time only, so act fast!} http://www.etsy.com/shop/MakeLifeCute

Friday Flashback: Daily Style Session Celeb Event in NYC

Posted on September 21, 2012 by Kristy :: Make Life Cute / Leave a response

Adrienne Bailon {photo image via Hpnotiq}

Last February, I had the opportunity to work with Jackie Sorkin & Hpnotiq on a Celebrity Event for Stella & Dot. It was held at the Empire Hotel Rooftop in New York City, & was during New York’s Fall & Winter 2012 Fashion Week. Some of the celebs that were hanging out at the event were Ashanti, Adrienne Bailon, Kristin Cavallari, Tinsley Mortimer, Shenae Grimes, Simon Doon, and many more!

I designed, printed, & shipped super cute + custom blinged-out signs & designed custom candy bar wrappers (which we wrapped around foil-wrapped candy bars) for the dessert stations at the event.

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Some of the Celebs that stopped by were…

Julissa Bermudez, Adrienne Bailoon, Layla Kayleigh, & Kristin Cavallari

Shay Mitchell {of Pretty Little Liars}

Lynn Collins

Simon Doonan

Ashanti

Adrienne Bailoon & Kristin Cavallari

Shenae Grimes

Tinsley Mortimer

So cool to see my designs with all these fab celebs! Annnd this event also scored some awesome features…

MTV.com

Seventeen Magazine.com

Adrienne Bailon’s Offical Website

So rad! Thanks so much to Hpnotiq, Stella & Dot, & my girl Jackie Sorkin!

{Event Photos via Hpnotiq}

{NEW!} coming soon :: lifestlye products + new shop!

Posted on September 17, 2012 by Kristy :: Make Life Cute / Leave a response

I know it’s been quite around here lately, but (of cooourse!) that only means that new & exciting things are happening! We’ve been super, SUPER busy the past few months working on developing a line of NEW, super cute, personalized LIFESTYLE products!

I’m strangely picky about details & am sort of obsessed with things matching & with things being the PERFECT color – so tons & TONS of time has been going into research, color selecting for each product, & also into the printing + developing methods of our new products.

If you’ve been following me on Instagram, Twitter, &/or Facebook, you’ve probably already seem some sneak peeks of the new stuff, & I’ve gotten tons of email asking when the new products will be available for purchase…

We are actually holding off the launch of our new products until our NEW SHOP is ready to go live (YAY!) – which should be very, very soon. However, if you’re interested in any of the products now & can’t wait for the launch, feel free to email me & I’ll hook you up!

I’m very, verry excited about this new venture we are finally embarking on. When I started Posh Pixels Design Studio in 2008, this was actually what I wanted to do right from the start, but at the time offering my design services + expertise & doing party printables was the best option at the time – due to the fact that I was a hot, shot Creative Director at a local marketing firm & wasn’t able to devote my full time to my own business. When I left the day job in 2010, I got caught up in the whirlwind of party designing & also had a few distractions.. but I’m happy to say that I’m finally back on track to the original dream I had for my business!

Friday Flashback :: Lo Bosworth’s Birthday Party

Posted on August 10, 2012 by Kristy :: Make Life Cute / Leave a response

So I’ve had a TON of amazing opportunities over the past year or so, to work with my girl Jackie {of The Hollywood Candy Girls & TLC’s Candy Queen} on some super fun, amazing stuff… but I haven’t had the chance to post about hardly any of it! This will be the first post of many “Friday Flashbacks” as I try to get the blog caught back up with all the amazingness that has been going on around here…

Lauren Conrad, Lo Bosworth, Stephanie Pratt :: Signs design by me!

I CAN NOT believe it has taken me so long to post about this… I use to be totally OBSESSED with The Hills & Laguna Beach - Joel was too, but don’t tell him I told you! Ha! In fact, when we went to SoCal last August to visit Jackie, Laguna was our beach of choice & was where we hung out whenever Jackie’s producers had a closed set during the filming of her show.

I absolutely adore Lauren Conrad! I almost died when I saw these pictures from Hpnotiq of The Hills‘ girls with signs I designed right in front of them! Diiiied!

Lo’s birthday party was last fall, at The Wilshire Restaurant – in Santa Monica, CA. I worked with Jackie & her contact team at Hpnotiq to create designs that worked perfectly with Lo’s specifications. After the design was approved, Joel & I printed, cut, & blinged-out a ton of custom signs, & also did a ton of custom foil-wrapped candy bars with custom wrappers.

Jackie & her candy girls created an amazing candy & dessert bar spread, as well as tons of custom candy centerpieces that were used throughout the party. So blingalicious!

Eeek! Those are my signs! I looove this photo! So fun, right!

Annnd, Lo’s party was also scored features on Radar Online & US Weekly!

The greatest everrrr! Thanks Jackie + Hpnotiq!

Any Hills, Laguna, or LC fans out there? What do you think!?

{All party photos image via Hpnotiq}