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Carrie Beth Champion, owner and designer of Sugar B Designs, “specializes in watercolor and custom graphic design, merging the two together to form a unique piece of art.”
“Individualizing each item from the invitation down to the thank you note is what puts the ‘sweet’ in Sugar B Designs.”
Sugar B Designs is located in Birmingham, AL and was recently named Best Invitations by Birmingham Magazine. Carrie Beth was also named one of Birmingham’s Beautiful People in the 2011 issue.
With the holidays around the corner, we saw it fitting to feature her beautiful, festive invitations.
Even though handwritten cards and notes have become a lost art form, Carrie Beth’s designs will have you desiring to get out the ol’ pen.
Her designs speak for themselves.
Fall birthday party invitation
Christmas Stamps- ink color choices are red, green, blue, black, brown and violet
Bridal shower invitation
A hand sketched and inked silhouette
Christmas celebration invitation
Pre-order your Christmas cards by emailing orders@sugarbdesigns.com. View the 2011 Holiday Collection.
Photos by Leslee Mitchell Photography.
Christmas presents alone can stretch our budget, not to mention all the wrapping paper and ribbons needed for the gifts! This year at our last Winter Workshop, we came up with some creative and budget-friendly ways to wrap your presents.
#1:
Rags Aren’t Just for Washing- The pink fabric tied cutely around this small gift is actually a rag from an auto store. These rags came in a pack of over 10. We simply took the ends of the fabric and tied two bows. Then for an added accessory, we tucked pine securely in the bows. For a creative name tag, we tied a deer stencil onto the gift with green twine.
#2:
Dress Your Wine Bottle - Give a host their favorite bottle of wine with a personalized touch.
Cut the sleeve of an old sweater. Put it over the bottle and roll down the top. We added feathers and a name tag. We sewed the person’s name on a canvas type fabric layered with other fun patterns. You can get as creative as you’d like – buttons, felt flowers, etc. Choose colors and fabrics that fit the personality of that person.
#3:
For Those Hard to Wrap Presents- There are always those awkward shaped presents that won’t fit in a box and look odd wrapped in paper. For those hard to wrap gifts, we suggest using a burlap sack. Some burlap providers will actually sew the sacks for you in the sizes that you need. Or you can simply cut a strip of a coffee bag or burlap sack and hand stitch the sides.
We used holly berries, pine and Twizzlers to make it festive. If you want to get even more creative, sew on felt flowers and a name tag much like the stockings we made at the first workshop.
#4:
Craft Paper & Voila! – Instead of the usual wrapping paper, we used craft paper. With a few scraps of fabric and leftover burlap, we created one of kind gifts. Not only will they love the present inside but also the personalized touches you made to the gift wrap.
A suggestion for the kids: Use the craft paper on their play table to wrap the gifts for the grandparents. Let them color the paper. The grandparents will love it, and the kids will have fun doing it!
It’s the week of Thanksgiving, and most of you will be pulling out your Christmas decor the day after, or maybe you have a head-start already. Recently, our holiday decorating tips were featured in Birmingham Magazine. What made our feature unique was that we used various things from the yard to decorate.
Katherine Bailey, interior designer, used a simple piece of wood in a creative way.
The first way that she used it was as a candle stand. She cut pieces in varying heights and placed candles on top, which served as a beautiful touch to the mantle.
She also used pieces of wood, which served as place cards on the table.
Use what’s in your yard to create a one-of-a-kind look for the holidays. This look is understated and budget friendly!
To see the complete mantle and table scape, visit here.
This past Tuesday night, moxii hosted its very first Winter Workshop Series: Stockings from Scratch. The first one was located at Innovation Depot in Birmingham, AL. We had such a blast and the stockings turned out wonderful!
Here are a few pictures from the event. We hope to see you at the next workshop. For workshop details, including dates, times, and projects, visit here.
Christmas decorations can be just plain tacky! We’ll admit it. And we know that everyone has one of those ugly, artificial, Christmas wreaths in their attic. While it may have been in style years ago, it’s not now!
Instead of throwing it to the trash, consider giving it a fresh, new look with cypress in just a few simple steps.
1. Dust off the artificial wreath 
2. Cut several cypress limbs from your tree, a neighbor’s or go to a tree farm. (Be sure to cut at the bottom of the tree, avoiding creating holes.)
3. Place the cypress in the same direction
4. Secure it with the wire limbs of the artificial wreath
5. Be sure to cover the entire wreath, including the inside
5. For more style, wrap a beaded garland around it
Visit here to see our complete cypress wreath in the Nov. issue of Birmingham Magazine.