Ahkriti: Indian Inspired Ethnic Jewelry

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Ahkriti: Indian Inspired Ethnic Jewelry

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Today I’d like to introduce you to Reshma Sandell owner of Ahkriti- Indian Inspired Ethnic Jewelry. For the past 3 years Reshma has been handmaking jewelry inspired by her Indian roots.

“My husband would always chide that I spent way too much money on jewelry and that I should learn how to make them myself,” Reshma recalls. “Our move from Vancouver, BC to Mississisauga, ON gave me a lot of time in my hands and one afternoon, my husband packed me off to a beading class. My story to create jewelry began there.”

From her jewelry classes she not only gained a new business, but something personal too. “Designing jewelry is my de-stress mantra. I love to see how each piece unfolds,” she says. “And the best part of designing jewelry is that now I can match any dress in my wardrobe without feeling that huge pinch in my wallet.”

“I design ethnic jewelry and I love using silver in my creations,” Reshma says. “Silver is such a metal that it makes gemstones look more exotic. My one-of-a-kind pieces are mostly a fusion of ethnic and western wear. They are creations for the modern woman who is confident, bold and expressive. Just like I would like to flaunt my accessories, I envision that the woman who buys my jewelry will want to wear it time and time again.”

For Reshma, what type of jewelry to make came naturally. “I come from an Indo Canadian background and Bollywood is in my blood. I noticed that there was not a big market for affordable ethnic jewelry in Canada. Yes, there are stores here that do sell Indian jewelry and they are undoubtedly beautiful, but they are not handmade but sourced from India. I wanted to make something distinct, unique and a style that would be affordable.”

For brides looking for wedding wear or gifts for bridesmaids, Reshma says she’s ready to create something special. “I do undertake custom orders and I am pretty flexible to whatever budget you have, I can always accommodate accordingly.”

To learn more about Reshma and see more designs visit:
Websites: www.etsy.com/shop/ahkriti and www.icraft.ca/ahkriti
Facebook : www.facebook.com/ahkriti
Twitter: twitter.com/ahkriti
Blogs: masalamangomantra.blogspot.com and colorcanopy.blogspot.com

{Written by imbueyouido.com, the blog of Imbue You and Imbue You Wedding}

Sneak Peek: Indian Arch Wedding Reception Stationery Set

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Happy September! Fall is one of my favorite times of the year because I get to show what we’ve been working on all summer.

I’m particularly happy to start unveiling the full ceremony and reception sets we’ve been creating. They feature our most popular designs with a program, menu, favor tag, table number and seating card. Plus coordinating bar signs, buffet cards and other reception necessities can be added on. We wanted to make it easier to create a designer, yet creatively homespun look for weddings.

See more details on how to make it your own here. Or see more of our full stationery sets here.

What do you think? These are the designs from our Indian Arch collection, which can be customized with desired colors and fonts:

With the right fonts, fan wedding programs can walk the line between creative and formal.

Depending on your personal style, stationery designs for your table can match exactly, or use coordinating colors in different ways on each piece.

Favor tags can have a variety of uses. Recently one bride used them to send a special note to out-of-town guests on her welcome bags.

This set is currently available in our Etsy stationery shop or by contacting us, and it will be on our main site soon.

{All photos and designs by Imbue You. Written by imbueyouido.com, the blog of Imbue You and Imbue You Wedding}

3 Tips for Low Stress, High Style Bridal and Baby Showers, and Birthday and Anniversary Parties

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We’ve been working with more and more people planning bridal showers, baby showers, anniversary and birthday parties. It can be really stressful trying to pull together a fun, stylish party for someone you care about.

So I wanted to share 3 quick tips for saving the stress and upping the style the next time you’re hosting a shower or party.

1. Give yourself enough time: Try to start planning at least one month before and give your guests at least 2 weeks notice. More time will keep you from feeling rushed and hurried, and actually allow you to pull together the stylish event you want.

2. Pick a theme: It doesn’t have to be rocket science or even the most original thing in the world. Something as simple as “elegance in gray and yellow” will do. But it should be something that can help you easily find coordinating designs, and cut down on design distractions. Some popular themes we are seeing include: Moroccan, Elephants, Butterfly, Casino, Old Hollywood, Indian and Mexican themes.

3. Ask for help…but not too much help: Finding a co-host or two will definitely cut down on your party planning work load. But more than 3 people planning a party may start to slow you down when making decisions and may add to conflicts over vision and style. Even though it may not be a good idea for all 5 bridesmaids to host the bridal shower, asking everyone to help here and there should work.

And speaking of high style: We’re extending our Signature Invitation Collection, printed and shipped through Zazzle, with more designs for showers and parties. Hosts of showers and parties tend to have a shorter time to plan, and the handy thing about these invitations is that they are printed and shipped next business day.

With our elegant lattice print invitation, you can add letters or numbers for a personal monogram, perfect for a birthday or anniversary party.

We’ve been noticing elephants as a theme for both baby showers and bridal showers. We’ve paired our elephant with our vintage Japanese print for a Moroccan feel. See this Moroccan elephant shower invitation here.

Butterfly designs are also popular for both bridal and baby showers. For this modern butterfly shower invitation we’ve combined our butterfly icon with our interlocking circle print.

{Written by imbueyouido.com, the blog of Imbue You and Imbue You Wedding. For more wedding and party stationery advice, get our free Wedding Style Guide.}

{Re Post} Natalie Briggs Sexy Handmade Bridal Garters

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And now for something sexy! And Australian-based Natalie Briggs – Luxury Handmade Garters are certainly that.

What I love about Natalie’s garters is that there’s a little unexpected surprise on each design. It’s almost a shame that you wear them under your dress.

“My style is Modern and Sexy with a little vintage twist,” says Natalie. “I love using Ivory satin and French laces in my work. My style is not your typical lace garter, a lot more thought and design goes into my garters, as well as considering comfort for my brides in my designs.”

{Designer Secret} According to Natalie, the key to choosing the right garter is to know your dress fabric and shape, for instance ball gown, slim fit, fish tail, etc. “Some fabrics, like taffeta are quite see through if they are only one layer, so you have to be careful with a dark garter under these dresses,” she says.

“If a bride has a ball gown dress with tulle layers underneath to give it volume, then I would not recommend a lace garter that is beaded as the beads could get caught on the tulle,” Natalie says. “If a bride has a more slim fitting gown, especially around the thighs, then I’d recommend a more slim fitting garter.”

“I’m pretty good at visualizing what colors will go together and which ones will not,” says Natalie. “I think a lot of brides are looking for a professional opinion which is great! If the colors would not work, then I’d suggest maybe using only one or two of the colors instead, which always works out.”

Natalie’s passion for beautiful garters started with her own wedding more than a year ago.

“I couldn’t find a garter I actually liked. They all looked tacky, and as if they were all designed in the 80′s. So I decided I can do a lot better, and that’s how Natalie Briggs – Luxury Handmade Garters was born.”

For more tips about garters and choosing the right ones, Natalie put together a helpful video.

To learn more about Natalie and see more designs visit:
Website : www.nataliebriggs.com
Facebook : www.facebook.com/NatalieBriggsGarters
Twitter: twitter.com/nataliebriggs_
Blog: www.nataliebriggs.blogspot.com

Photo credit: Koby & Terilyn Brown of ArchetypeStudioInc.com

Sneak Peek: Handmade Thank You Cards

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Although matching stationery is available for all of our handmade designs, we didn’t always feature them in our shop. That was certainly the case for our handmade thank you cards. Well, we’re working on changing that by adding more of our global and beach prints to our thank you cards.

Our handmade thank you cards feature round corners and optional matching envelope wrap address labels. And like our invitation designs, the colors can be customized.

This is one of our latest designs, a tropical beach wedding invitation inspired by one of our customers whose friend is getting married in Hawaii. Some of our favorite designs and prints are inspired by customers. And this is definitely a new fav.

This print is actually from one of our most popular save the dates, our Indian Block Print Bookmark save the date.

This Indian-inspired print is popular on the matching Indian flap fold wedding invitation and Indian wrap wedding invitation. As a thank you card, it has a very Moroccan look as well.

This fun print with beach inspired icon coordinates with our handmade beach fan program. This is actually one of our oldest designs, so it’s really nice to finally have a matching thank you card available.

{Written by imbueyouido.com, the blog of Imbue You and Imbue You Wedding. For more wedding and party stationery advice, get our free Wedding Style Guide. }

New Designs: Messenger Bags

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Last weekend we started expanding what types of designs our prints and patterns are available on. So beyond wedding invitations and stationery, we now offer messenger bags, iPad and laptop sleeves, travel mugs and a growing collection of water bottles.

I really enjoyed creating these new designs, especially the messenger bags. I love how you can mix and match the colors of the prints and the colors of the binding and bag itself to create something truly unique. These are Rickshaw Bagworks messenger bags, so they are super functional and sturdy…fun design that lasts!

It was difficult to choose, but these are some of my favorites. I can see them as wedding party gifts, new mommy gifts or a fun Mother’s Day gift for a mom on the go.

This won the “Today’s Best Award” on Zazzle, where we designed these.