Guest Post & Freebie from Allie

Hi Glow in The Dark Soul readers! This is Allie, of Alexandra Rae Design and Document Life Workshop. I'm thrilled to be participating in Elaine's fun Holiday Party! I love the holidays-- I'm pretty much like Buddy the Elf!

One of my favorite things about the holiday is the PICTURES that everyone takes... and, of course, that means SCRAPBOOKING those pictures later! Lately, I've been getting really into digital scrapbooking, so I thought that I would design a cute mini kit for you centered around one of my favorite Buddy the Elf quotes, "The best way to spread Christmas cheer is singing loud for all to hear!"

To download the free kit, go here.

I even made a "quick page" for you (it's included in the kit!)-- all you have to do is slide your picture in the blank spot! Here's the quick page with my photo of my husband (from a few years ago!).

You will need some sort of photo editing program to use the elements together-- or you can simply print out the elements and use them in your paper projects! If you want to get into digital scrapbooking, I recommend Photoshop or Photoshop Elements! (Want to know more about digital scrapbooking? Check out my post here)

I can't wait to see what you make with the kit! Be sure to "drop me a line" on twitter or on my blog and let me see what you made!

Happy holidays!

Picnic Kit for the Newlyweds

As you know, I've been posting about Allie's Wedding a lot lately (Sorry about that, but it was BEAUTIFUL!). And as you know, we're really good friends but live in different states. Therefore, I knew when I got the invitation to her bridal shower, that I wouldn't be able to make it. BUT! I still gave her the shower gift I made for her at her rehearsal. I worked really hard on this gift and I was super proud of it! I scoured thrift stores for a nice vintage picnic basket, and when I found one, my plan went into action.

One of my FAVORITE gifts I got as a wedding gift was a picnic kit from my mom and dad: vintage picnic basket, plastic plates, and my mom made me a beautiful quilt for a picnic blanket. :) I decided to do the same sort of thing for these pretty people.



I adhered some cute thick ribbon around the rim of the basket and then some coordinating tule underneath. Then I painted the top of the picnic basket by hand with their last name and flowers that match the ribbon. To seal the paint, I sprayed the top with an art sealing spray from a craft store. I then filled it with pretty floral dishes, a picnic cloth, and some flowers.


I think she really liked it! She seemed surprised and I hope they get some use out of it this fall! Maybe they'll go for a picnic at the Kingwood Center! I just love DIY gifts. :)
<3
E

Choose Your Adventure

The rings were exchanged, the kiss was shared, the cake was cut, and now their adventure really begins! The sun was shining on these 2 special people today that now share the same last name. :)










So here's to Mr. & Mrs. Trumpower and choosing their adventure! It doesn't matter where you are, as long as you're together! More photos to come.
<3
E

This Beautiful Girl

This beautiful girl is getting married tomorrow. She's about to marry the love of her life and I am BEYOND blessed to be the one to capture it forever.


I'm tearing up a little typing this post because Allie has been one of my BEST friends the past few years and I can't tell you how magical it is to be included in the most precious day of her life.

I know that she and Ben are going to have the most serendipitous adventure of their lives together and there couldn't be a more lucky guy than to have her on his arm for the rest of forever.

There are so many wonderful people here to support them and be witness to their marriage, that it just makes it the most perfect atmosphere for their wedding.

I love this girl and it's been such a blessing to be called her friend. I can't wait to look through my viewfinder tomorrow and see her dad walking her down the isle. <3 I love you Allie!
<3
E

Craftcake Design Re-Brand

I've been meaning to write this post for so long, but I was waiting to get my etsy update under way. Since I've been so busy and the update just isn't happening for me right now, I thought I could still rave about my new commissioned re-brand for the shop by Alexandra Rae Design.

Allie Bandy (soon-to-be Allie Trumpower) is owner and operator of Alexandra Rae Design. and Yellow Paper Friday, an awesome personal design business, and there couldn't be a more spirited person behind the genius!

I knew I wanted a complete re-brand which involves SO much change, designing, and WORK. I just didn't have the time and I wanted it done right away, so I opted for the Alexandra Rae Design re-brand package. I contacted Allie, we discussed design, theme, palette, and feel. She ended up emailing me proofs and rough drafts and I loved everything she sent!

I told Allie I wanted something pretty, simple, and earthy, involving a feather design. I gave a few color palette visions I had in mind and she really delivered! The package I chose included a custom logo, etsy banner, avatar image, side bar button, and a multi purpose image to use for packaging, labels, etc. Overall, the design package included everything I needed to re-brand and all I had to do was upload! Her designs are fresh and personal, and her design packages are so AFFORDABLE!!!


Check out her blog and shop to contact her about a blog design or re-brand!

<3
E

I caught the Scrapbook Bug

It started with watching scrap room tours on youtube. Then it went to organizing my supplies. Then it went to starting a mini book. And now I can't stop. It's been SO long since I scrapped and it feels SO good to get some stuff DONE! I'm here to share a mini book I made for Allie! I started this puppy FOREVER ago and with the wedding and graduation and vacation, there's been no time. But here it is! Allie, I'm sorry this is going to ruin the surprise, but I couldn't wait any longer to post it! :)












I whipped that sucker out in a day! I'm proud of how it turned out and I hope that Allie can use it to put out at a bridal shower or something since it's all about her and her hubby-to-be!

To construct the book, I used these:


I also used the Urban Rhapsody paper pad from K&Co., acrylic paint, washi tapes, paint chips, and a variety of embellishments from Basic Grey, K&Co., and more!

Oh. And this is what comes of a marathon scrap session and you don't stop to regroup:



Guess I'll have to keep scrapping and make use of the mess! :) Comment if you have questions about the construction of the book or products used! Chances are that I'll be back with more scrap stuff tomorrow!
<3
E

Project Doodle!

Hi pretty people! Broadcasting from back in my little town in Indiana. Although it’s wonderful to be back in my own little house with my kitty and all my craft supplies, I know next week I’ll want to go back to the island. It was SO fantastic to just be able to trek around the island seeing all the pretty candy color beach houses and eat at the local cafes and not have to go to work! We had so many delicious ice cream cones from hometown places in Anna Maria and Sarasota too!

So to kick off me being back on Hoosier soil, I’m going to tell you all about something awesome happening around the blogosphere! Allie from Alexandra Rae Design is holding a FREE class on bring out your inner doodles!

I happen to be a contributor of this project and I’m going to be so proud posting my doodle pages in the flickr group every day! You can all participate for FREE! The project is called 30 Days of Doodles and for a month, Allie will be offering prompts to get your creative brain working overtime and get your journal nice and full. You should totally head over to the blog and see what it’s all about. I want to see everyone trying their hand at doing something creative every day in June! Did I mention it’s FREE!? Because it is. ☺ (And by the way, Janel has a similar project going on as well! Why not try both?)


I hope you can join in on the doodly fun! It’s totally worth it!
<3
E

Red Door Re-Vamp

I haven't shared this on the blog yet, but I was recently hired on at The Christian Center in my town to be full manager of Red Door Vintage, the online vintage branch of their retail department. If you'll recall from this post, I helped the Christian Center launch the shop back in August. Then, I was in charge of the fashion photography and teaching the ins and outs of the site. Now, I'm executing the entire process including: searching for merchandise, photography, research of the vintage pieces, listing, customer communication, advertisement, and shipping. It's been so great!

So tonight I brought some of the new merchandise home to measure and take inventory while Ian and I have a FRIENDS marathon in our horribly wrecked apartment. haha I'm hoping to have some new listings up later on tonight, so be sure to check those out! Remember that all of the proceeds go to feed and house the men living in their homeless shelter.

Also, it would be FANTASTIC if anyone wants to view the shop and write a little review for our new Red Door Community flyer, that would be fantastic! You can just check out the shop and leave a little review in the comments of this post!

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ALSO, if you haven't already, PLEEAAAAASSSSEEEEE go check out the new Design 101 Workshop by Allie! She's doing a SUPER affordable online class on personal design and it's going to be amazingly inspiring!


Plussssssss if you sign up, you JUST might see me pop up as a guest designer! ;)

<3 to all!
E

the most magical day

You'll have to excuse the lack of posts, but I got married this past weekend! I had planned to do a few teensy tiny posts here and there but it just wasn't in the cards. haha So much to do and so many people to spend time with! All in all, the wedding day was fantastic! I didn't feel rushed at all on the wedding day and I was just so relaxed.

The wedding was at night and it was incredible to stand in the doorway of the sanctuary getting ready to walk down the aisle and the church was all lit up and gorgeous. My dad cried, and then I cried. It was just so sweet and magical.

I felt like a movie star with my birdcage veil and 20s style dress. My dress was designed by Mori Lee and we found out it was discontinued shortly before I bought it. The bridal shop ended up paying the designer extra money so that they would make one more for me. Here is the gown from head to toe:


The reception was amazing too! We did a few "Rock the Reception" dances too. Someone caught it on video and is supposed to upload it to youtube soon, so when that happens, I will share!

And one of the most FANTASTIC things that happened on my wedding day (aside from getting married) was that I got to meet ALLIE! it was a dream come true to meet one of my blog pals in real life and I can't believe how amazing it was. Probably the most amazing experience. As SOON as she got there, we ran down the hotel hallway to hug and take pictures. I was sad almost immediately because she's so awesome and I knew she'd have to go back to Ohio. haha


So it was incredible to become Mrs. Davis on Saturday! I can't wait until we get our pictures back from the photographer over Christmas Break and I can share more photos! I can't wait to show all the details of my magical day!


<3
E Davis

Redesign is in the air

I did another blog redesign last week that turned out reeeeaaaalllly cute! Check out Tori's blog, Neon Sweethearts and see the awesome transformation her blog had!


She wanted something super clean and simple with a vintage feel to match her little house and her life. :) She's adorable and I think that the re-design turned out just like she wanted!

I'm thinking about doing a few blog-design commissions, so if you're interested in a blog redesign by me, please leave a comment with your email address and I will get back to you this week and we'll talk prices! Since I'm getting a degree in graphic design, it's a dream come true to be at a point where I feel like I can help people redesign their online, creative space. :) Plus we all share a love for blogging and our blogs are like our babies. haha Here are some examples of some headers I have done in the past:




EDIT: Please comment also if you would like to see more examples of my work. Also, please be aware that I will not use elements that have rights reserved or protection of terms and conditions from purchased digital kits!

SO like I said, if you're interested, gimme a shout out!

ALso, give a shout out to this pretty lady because it's her BIRTHDAY!!!!!


Ok I'm outie!
<3
E