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New mom and fashion maven Rachel Pluto made these adorable animals for her newborn daughter Maya. Taking a cue from Dwell’s baby animals that retail $105 for three, Rachel handcrafted these adorable reversible giraffe and elephant stuffed animals out of fabric that complemented her Chicago loft nursery. Humble Rachel says, “I kind of just winged …

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Here are our sewn fabric wedding invitations that were featured in the The Knot’s 2007-2008 Fall/Winter National Magazine and “Amazing Wedding Cakes” on WeTV. After searching fabric stores, websites and even ebay, the poppy fabric I found inspired everything – these sewn wedding invitations in particular. We received so many compliments from guests who said …

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When it’s February in Chicago and 17 degrees, warm humidity seems 120 long days away. Little did I know it’s plentiful and free right now …and only a short 10 minute drive from my house. Today my friend Liz took me to Garfield Park Conservatory in Chicago, IL. Constructed in 1905, this indoor world is …

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To celebrate Valentine’s Day, Shane and I took a cooking class at Sur La Table. While the classes there aren’t as hands-on as our beloved, defunct Calphalon Culinary Center Cooking Classes, the personable instructor was full of ad libbed tips and Shane got a spiffy Le Creuset 6.75-qt. Enameled Oval Dutch Oven soup pot. Our …

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One of the biggest challenges of getting married in a “non-traditional” space is that the backdrop might look a too plain or stark during your ceremony. We got married in a Chicago loft space with exposed brick, glass and steel. So we decided to add warmth and focus by creating an “altar” of our own. …

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Here’s a detail that I thought of late in the wedding planning game. We put these reserved cards on front-row ceremony chairs intended for our families. It was easy to make them and they coordinated nicely with our sewn wedding invitations, ceremony programs, table numbers and other printed materials. Supplies: 8 1/2 x 11 luxe …

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I had a ball designing our ceremony programs as small, handsewn booklets. Our non-denominational readings that Shane and my friend Liz found were super cool and so I wanted to our guests to be able to follow along. Supplies: 8 1/2 x 11 cream luxe text-weight textured paper A2 size chocolate folded cards Yellow thread …

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So I was pretty excited about the success of the campfire coffee insulator wrap and decided to make a monogrammed coffee insulator wrap for my sister Krista. Perfect for coffee/tea/cocoa drinkers and the eco-friendly, monogrammed insulator wraps are personal and practical. And not only is it a great way to cut down on waste but …

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