handlettering – Withjulespham

Ronald+Joy

When I look at my four sisters,

I really don’t know how I ever survived childhood.

Ha ha.

So much has changed, but we’re still a big hot mess.

And I know I wouldn’t be the person I am today without them.

There’s no way I can explain or describe the dynamics of each relationship I have with each sister, but I’ll tell you this:

They’re individually so different in their own right.

And I love each one so much.

Today, it’s all about my our baby sister, Joy.

This girl.

We used to “hate” one another … like big sisters versus little sisters do.

Just ask our group of girlfriends growing up.

She’s exactly 1 year and 11 days younger than me.

Room, clothes, friends, and the list goes on…

We were forced to share everything with much resentment.

Everything.

This only added to our annoyance for the other.

And now thinking back on it, I never ever ever thought in a million years that I would be sad to share her.

Like what? How did that happen?

Y’all, my baby sister is a married woman now.

Witnessing her during this whole marriage process was more emotional than I ever thought possible.

Listening to her talk about her soon-to-be husband with so much love, care, and utmost consideration was a prideful experience for me.

For me, the best thing about being a big sister is watching your little sister grow up in all ways possible.

Joy likes to say “Sisters by birth, but best friends by choice” and I couldn’t agree with her more.

I’m so proud to be her big sister.

My family likes to joke that she got lucky with Ronald, but I know the truth.

And it’s the truth that Ronald married a sweet and caring soul who puts those she loves at the top of her priority list.

I know Ronald is at the very top and just know they’re in for a lifetime of happiness.

So Joy asked me to handletter a few signs for the reception.

They turned out a lot better than expected.

Their florists from The Petaler Co did such a beautiful job executing Joy’s vision by incorporating natural arrangements of florals and greenery at the reception hall.

Look at that gorgeous flower wall!

*A little hint for later on*

So when you have two crafty sisters,

Y’all remember Jill right?

Ms. CEO of OMAC?!

…it can be confusing for the two of them on certain responsibilities they each have.

Example Numero Uno: Bridal hangers.

Jill and I both thought the other would take it upon herself to make Joy a bridal hanger.

She looked at me and I looked at her when the photographers asked if there were nicer hangers…

Um no.

We both forgot.

But I was not going to just call it an “honest mistake” and continue putting on my makeup.

I quickly rushed around the cottage rental in search for prettier hangers or pretty ribbon.

Nothing.

I remember holding a plain metal hanger we happened to find laying around.

And then looking at Joy’s beautiful bouquet…also remembering the gorgeous flower wall being set up from the day before.

Freakin’ lightbulb went off.

I hastily told the photographers to give me 15 minutes and bolted out the door.

Yep, that’s me collecting leaves to embellish the metal hanger.

I was determined to give my baby sister a one-of-a-kind bridal hanger.

She loved it!

I saw some palm leaves and remembered my paint pens I packed in my makeup bag for “just in case”.

I live for opportunities like this.

WithJules made me confident enough that day to pull off these lovely details (on short notice).

Thank you both Joy and Ronald for letting me be part of your beautiful day!

I’ll end this post with my sweet family.

Thank you for reading and following along,

with me

Jules.

Christmas gifts 2016: Wrap it up

I finally get to share what I’m using to wrap gifts! I’ve been purposely saving these brown paper bags from the grocery store all year to do this…hopping I saved enough for all my presents.

I really love the organic feel and simplicity of this kind of wrapping. Plus I’m recycling it just like the bag said. And since I’ve been sharing some basics on hand-lettering, I figured it’ll be fun to add that too.

For this Secret Santa gift, I lettered lyrics from the song “White Christmas” because it’s my coworker’s favorite Christmas song.

Of course, I couldn’t help myself but to buy a bouquet of greenery from the market when I saw it the other day. The florist said it should last till Christmas. So who knows, I may use it for a few other things 🙂

Here it is all ready for my coworker to open. I’m so excited for her to see what’s inside.

So that’s one down and 37439734 more to go.

It was probably really ambitious of me to post five days straight, but I really enjoyed sharing something new everyday this week.

However, pretty sure it’ll be awhile till I do this again. Ha.

Thanks for reading and following along,

with me

Jules.

Christmas gifts 2016: Glass-anything

By now I hope you see a trend with glass-anything for hand lettering with a paint pen. Plexiglass works too, but it might not be as forgiving.

So there you have it…all that’s left is to wrap these little trinkets. I absolutely la la love to wrap gifts and cannot wait to share that tomorrow. It’s almost Friday y’all. Get Excited!

As always, thanks for reading and following along (especially this week)

with me

Jules.

Christmas gifts 2016: Mr&Mrs. First Christmas

Next up is a Christmas gift that I’ve given multiple times over the years. It’s usually a hit with the couple because it contains something so special.

Inside of the ornament is the couple’s wedding invitation. This one pictured is particularly unique because it’s mine and Khang’s.

Big cheesy smile on my face right now.

I was finally able to make us one for our very first Christmas as Mr. & Mrs. Pham.

This gift idea was originally assigned for Thursday’s post but I’m missing Khang a tad bit more today. He’s been away on business so I did it to cheer myself up. And it worked!

A simple yet sentimental gift that’s sure to make it on the Christmas tree for years and years to come.

“Our first Christmas 2016”

I remember opening up the box with our wedding invitations back in April. One look and I excitedly called my sister Jill and found myself crying my eyes out. They were so beautiful.

Jill designed our wedding invitations. She designed everything. The lettering is hers, envelope liner is hers, all of it…hers. It was a looong but fun process that was totally worth it in the end. She’s oh so talented and still to this day I can’t believe how lucky Khang and I were to have her take part in such a big way. So honored. Truly.

To see our invitation in all of its glory and many more beautiful pieces, here’s her business website OhMai! Art Creations

Isn’t it starting to feel a little more like Christmas,

with me

Jules?

Christmas gifts 2016: Hand-lettered macaroon jewelry boxes

When you really start getting comfortable and find your hand lettering “style”, you’ll soon find yourself thinking differently. You’ll think of any and every excuse to personalize an item while causally strolling through Hobby Lobby.

A huge light bulb went off when I saw these adorably tiny macaroon jewelry boxes the other day.

This one was harder to take photos of. It says “and i will hold what’s near and dear <3”.

I wish you could see them in person especially the gold paint ink I used for the lettering. Oh, just think of all the things you could write! Excited to finish and wrap them up in a bow for my loved ones.

Hope you stop by tomorrow to check out more gifts,

with me,

Jules.