the mister and i are off to our mini-moon in big sur.  our goal is to recreate this picture sans polar bear.

i'll be back next week and ready to whorange, darlings!

stay pretty, and if i haven't mentioned it already, your hair has never looked more stunning.

xoxo

it actually happened, poodles!  this little missy became a mrs.on saturday!

i can't wait to share the fete with you all once i get some proper pix.  in the meantime, here are some snaps from our vintage photo booth.

FUN 'STACHE FACT:  about five years ago, a psychic told me i would marry a man with a mustache.  i had known steve for several years, but it was one night, after a long talk about radiohead and coachella, that i realized i had fallen for him.  then on our first official "date," steve showed up with, you guessed it...a mustache.  little did he know how far that 'stache would take him.

four years later, for our wedding, i couldn't resist supplying a few barber mustaches-on-a-stick by something's hiding in here.  after all...somethings (and some 'staches) are just meant to be.

okay, poodles...the time has come.  my wedding is less than two weeks away(!!!), which means less WHORANGE and more wedding preparation for me.

posting may be light, but my love for you runs deep.  thank you all so much for your kind emails, comments, advice, and letters.  you've filled me with endless amounts of heartfelt whorange and inspiration.  i hope to do you all proud as i strut my 200 pound, jewel-encrusted ballgown down the aisle in ten days.

stay pretty and keep your hair just as marvelous as it looks today.  i'll be back!

xoxo,
tula

{image via charm and poise.}

oh deer.  recovering from my bachelorette evening.  see you tomorrow, kittens!

(by the way, your hair looks marvelous today!)

tonight is my bachelorette party, kittens.

although i will not be embroidering with the girlies, i will be partaking in one of the sublime stitching embroidering scenes below.

take a guess which one:

here's a hint:  shamelessness -- a plus!

all of these fabulous patterns are available at sublime stitching.

oh deer.  as promised, here are my wedding invitations in their perfectly imperfect glory.  (click here for a larger view.)  wood tree block via the fabulous b green design.

i had never put together a multi-component invite, and must say, within the course of six weeks, i learned more than i ever thought i could about paper, inks, construction, RGB, CMYK, hemp cord, scoring, adobe illustrator, envelopes, letterpressing, offset printing, glue sticks, and masochism.

top honors go to my best friend and maid-of-honor, gennan shippen, who gloriously designed the flora and fauna motifs.  from dancing bunnies and bears, to perching peacocks, to doting deer, gennan's playful yet elegant illustrations truly put the pretty in pretty.

also, my aunt diane provided fabulous calligraphy for the envelopes, which you can't see very well in this picture, but trust me, it's good enough to eat.

i took on the glamorous job of printing and construction.  after receiving quotes from print shops ranging from 1500-2600 dollars, i realized i had to get crafty and DIY it.

i enrolled in a beginning letterpress class at otis college of art & design and learned how to press the invitation's text insert, two sets of thank you cards, and my program cover.  i stayed at the studio until 1:00 a.m. on several nights because i'm a complete loon.  i became obsessed.  steve wondered if i was going to start letterpressing post-it notes and toilet paper.

(by the way, after mentioning my letterpress class last month, i have received a lot of emails from readers asking about my experience.   stay tuned.  letterpress class post coming soon!)

for the remainder of the inserts (RSVP, map, hotel accommodations, wedding day details), i picked up basic white card stock from kelly paper and ran them off at copymat.

one of my and steve's favorite invitation elements is the RSVP card.  we included a message on the bottom of the card which read, "please feel free to write or doodle something for us on the back of this card."  the backside featured a little doe and a simple top border.

here are a few of the smashing replies we've received so far...

green acres reply card courtesy of my favorite west of hollywood prince, laine.

end result -- by making my own invitations with the help of my friends and family, i learned how to work a letterpress, bonded with the guys at kelly paper, saved a few thousand dollars, and only went slightly insane.

cut, print...that's a wrap!

i have a new girl crush.  her name is kelly sperbeck and she's the creator, founder, designer, and darling goddess behind k. autumn custom hair florals. 

kelly handcrafts gorgeously layered silk douppioni flowery clips accented with delicate touches of feathers and gemstones.  i first spotted kelly's craveable clips at oh joy! when miss joy donned a scarlet k. autumn floral on her wedding day.  i bookmarked joy's page and added k. autumn clips to my list of future fashion must haves.

well, the future has come, poodles.  i'm getting hitched, so i figure it's the perfect excuse to wear a fancy floral.

i met k. autumn's kelly during a recent visit to the bay area, and not only did i discover that miss kelly is ridiculously talented and inspirational, but she's also beyond nice and groovy cool...

and cute, too, yes?

kelly was in the process of moving her studio, so we met at her friend's photography suite.  here, i found a garden of k. autumn's fabulous flowers perched upon plushy little poufs, begging to be modeled.  i even fished through k. autums's colorful collection of gemstones...

i also got a peek at some of kelly's up-and-coming designs such as the ballerina pink triple flower (below right).

next, came the temptation of the veil.  one reason why i wanted a hair floral is because i'm not really a veil kind of gal.  nonetheless, i tried one on per my mom's wishes.

putting my mug in a birdcage veil confirmed my complete inability to walk or think with a net over my face.  don't get me wrong, i think birdcages are fab, but they leave me void of coordination.  plus, they make me feel a little, well...caged.

i can't wait to wear my feathery little flower on the day i become a dynamic duo!  i'm not going to tell you which one i picked, though.  you'll have to wait and see.

however, here's a little hint:

goes perfectly with my shoes, not to mention my wiglet.

kelly's got her work cut out for her!

{floral headpiece via fabulon.}

the sadistic search is over, poodles.  i finally found my nuptial kicks!

thank you, everyone, for your suggestions, guidance, and emails.  and thank you jolie from the fabulous la maisonette for putting red vintage shoes in my head.  (and thank you coco for pointing me in the right direction.) these ruby reds aren't vintage, but they still send my heart aflutter.  and they were affordable to boot!  (89.00 bux -- not bad, right?)

okay, now if i could only find a fabulous and affordable DJ...

darlings, pour yourself a cocktail because postings may be a bit light for the next few days.  i'm in the middle of printing, assembling, logging, gluing, weighing, tying, pressing, and cutting my wedding invitations, and honey...it ain't all glamour.  i'm DIYing it and there is no turning back now!

i'll give you the full skinny on the invitation soon, but in the meantime, here are some pictures of me letterpressing a little bit of text onto ye ole invites.

yep, i decided to take a letterpress night class at the local art college.  my stationery budget is pretty tight, so i figured a class would allow me get a little press in my wedding without having to pay the letterpress prices.  plus, i'm learning a new skill, which is always a groovy thing.

here's a teeny, tiny peek at my first pressing.

sure, it's not the most complicated design, but each piece is pressed with 100% tula love.  full invitation ensemble to come!

L.A.based contemporary artist, and friend of WHORANGE, alexandra grant designed this beautiful, special edition love necklace for LA><ART to help raise funds for a wonderful cause:  the Watts House Project (WHP).

The WHP is an artist-driven, neighborhood redevelopment program aimed at improving the homes and lives of residents living near the historic watts towers located in south central los angeles.  directed by artist edgar arceneaux, the ongoing project uses art and architecture as a catalyst for expanding and enhancing community.

alexandra's inspiration for the love necklace stemmed from her original WHP proposal:  to have the word “love” placed upon the roof of the Cerate family home on 107th street.

according to the WHP:

"Grant and the Cerate Family are currently working together with architect Mike Niemann on a plan which will incorporate and balance the family’s needs and wishes for their house and lifestyle with Grant’s proposal for 'love on the house.'  The Cerate Family own a roofing business and are open and excited to develop Grant’s idea further to incorporate a sculptural element on their roof."

the shape of the sculpture inspired alexandra's elegant sterling silver love necklace, which embodies both the “hand-made” and the universal aspects of love.

improving the lives of others and enhancing community through art.  what’s not to whorange?

to learn more about the Watts House Project, click here.

to purchase the special edition love necklace (125.00 for sterling silver and 500.00 for 18k gold), visit the honor fraser gallery.

and to view more of alexandra grant's fabulous art, visit her website.

{above image:  "first portal" and "second portal" by alexandra grant.}

{above image:  "my self of loss" by alexandra grant.}